Patent ID: 6463732
Filing Date: 2002-10-15
Classification: F01N,F02D,Y02T

Abstract:
A method for checking the effectiveness of at least one measure (M) for heating a catalytic converter in the exhaust gas system of an internal combustion engine, the method comprising the steps of:activating said at least one measure (M) to initiate said heating of said catalytic converter; detecting a signal (SA) in said exhaust gas system of said engine; evaluating said signal (SA) to determine an index (Tact) for an increase in temperature of said catalytic converter after activating said at least one measure (M); determining an expectation value (Tmodel) for the increase of said temperature from operating characteristic variables of said engine and a temperature model; comparing said index (Tact) to said expectation value (Tmodel); evaluating said measure (M) for initiating said heating of said catalytic converter as ineffective when said index (Tact) is clearly less than said expectation value (Tmodel) with said expectation value (Tmodel) having been formed under the expectation of an effective heating measure; or, evaluating said measure (M) for initiating said heating of said catalytic converter as being ineffective when said index (Tact) is not clearly less than said expectation value (Tmodel) with said expectation value (Tmodel) having been formed under the assumption of an ineffective heating measure.