Patent ID: 7278260

Claim:
A method for control of an internal combustion engine to regenerate an exhaust-gas purifying mechanism disposed on an exhaust line of the engine, comprising: analyzing a composition of exhaust gases by an oxygen sensor situated solely downstream from the purifying mechanism during a phase of regeneration of the purifying mechanism; and creating a signal for control of the engine based on the analysis to modify the composition of the exhaust gases upstream from the purifying mechanism so that an output signal from the oxygen sensor reaches a setpoint value immediately after the start of the regeneration phase and substantially maintains the setpoint value through the end of the regeneration phase, wherein the signal for control is zero prior to the start of the regeneration phase, reaches a first control value immediately after the start of the regeneration phase and substantially maintains this value until the end of reduction of nitrogen oxides by the purifying mechanism, then reaches a second control value, which it substantially maintains until the end of the regeneration phase.