Patent ID: 6829887
Filing Date: 2004-12-14
Classification: B60K,B60W,F01N,F02D,F02N,Y02A,Y02T,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of controlling a vehicle including an internal combustion engine such that the internal combustion is controlled so as to purify an exhaust emission from the internal combustion engine with an exhaust-emission purifying catalyst disposed in an exhaust system of the internal combustion engine, and such that the internal combustion engine is brought into a temporary engine-stop state while a predetermined condition of the vehicle is satisfied, said method comprising the steps of:detecting a temperature of said exhaust-emission purifying catalyst; operating the internal combustion engine when the detected temperature of the exhaust-emission purifying catalyst has been lowered below a predetermined lower limit threshold, even while said predetermined condition of the vehicle is still satisfied, the catalyst maintaining an exhaust-emission purifying ability at a temperature above said predetermined lower limit threshold; and restoring the internal combustion engine to the temporary engine-stop state if the predetermined condition of the vehicle is still satisfied, when the temperature of the exhaust-emission purifying catalyst has been raised to a predetermined upper limit threshold higher than the lower limit threshold, the upper limit threshold providing a compromise between the frequency and time duration of the heating to occur as a result of the operation of the internal combustion engine while said predetermined condition of the vehicle is satisfied; and wherein the operation of the internal combustion engine while said predetermined condition of the vehicle is satisfied is controlled so as to effectively heat said exhaust-emission purifying catalyst.