Patent ID: 6189317
Filing Date: 2001-02-20
Classification: B60K,B60W,F02D,F02P,Y02T,Y10S

Abstract:
An apparatus for controlling an internal combustion engine, comprising:amount-of-intake-air control means for generating a command value for the opening of a flow control valve disposed in an intake passage of the internal combustion engine, which emits exhaust gases through a catalytic converter, so as to increase an amount of intake air introduced into a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine by a predetermined quantity greater when the internal combustion engine operates in an idling mode after the internal combustion engine has started to operate than when the internal combustion engine operates in a normal idling mode, and controlling the opening of the flow control valve based on the generated command value; andignition timing control means for controlling the ignition timing of the internal combustion engine according to a feedback control process to correct the ignition timing so as to be retarded in order to converge the rotational speed of the internal combustion engine to a predetermined target rotational speed while the amount of intake air is being increased by said amount-of-intake-air control means;said amount-of-intake-air control means comprising:means for successively acquiring amount-of-heat data representing the amount of heat energy actually given to the catalytic converter by exhaust gases flowing into said catalytic converter while the amount of intake air is being increased; andmeans for correcting the command value for the opening of said flow control valve according to a feedback control process in order to converge the acquired amount-of-heat data to a predetermined target value representing an amount of heat energy to be given to said catalytic converter.