Fuel supply system for an internal combustion engine

Claim 1

A system for providing the fuel requirements of an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant circulated therethrough and having an air-fuel intake region whose temperature increases to a value above the coolant temperature during engine operation, the system comprising: means effective to sense the coolant temperature; means effective to generate an estimated temperature signal having a value representing an estimated temperature of the air-fuel intake region, the last mentioned means (A) determining the value of the estimated temperature signal in accord with a predetermined engine operation schedule based on the elapsed time of engine operation and the sensed coolant temperature and (B) determining the value of the estimated temperature signal in accord with a predetermined engine shut down schedule based on the elapsed time of engine shut down and the sensed coolant temperature; and means effective to supply fuel to the air-fuel intake region in accord with the value of the estimated temperature of the air-fuel intake region.

Claim 2

A system for providing the fuel requirements of an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant circulated therethrough and having an air-fuel intake region whose temperature increases to a value above the coolant temperature during engine operation, the system comprising: means effective to sense the coolant temperature; means effective to generate an estimated temperature signal having a value representing an estimated temperature of the air-fuel intake region, the last mentioned means (A) determining the value of the estimated temperature signal in accord with a predetermined engine operation schedule based on the elapsed time of engine operation and the sensed coolant temperature and (B) determining the value of the estimated temperature signal in accord with a predetermined engine shut down schedule based on the elapsed time of engine shut down and the sensed coolant temperature; and means effective to supply fuel to the air-fuel intake region in accord with the value of the estimated temperature of the air-fuel intake region.

Claim 3

A system for providing the start and warm-up fuel requirements of an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant circulated therethrough and having an air-fuel intake region whose temperature increases to a value above the coolant temperature during engine operation, the system comprising: means effective to sense the coolant temperature; means effective to generate an estimated temperature difference signal having a value representing an estimated difference between the temperature of the air-fuel intake region and coolant temperature, the last mentioned means (A) determining the value of the estimated temperature difference signal in accord with a predetermined engine operation schedule based on the elapsed time of engine operation and (B) determining the value of the estimated temperature difference signal in accord with a predetermined engine shut down schedule based on the elapsed time of engine shut down; means effective to generate an estimated temperature signal that is the sum of the estimated temperature difference signal and coolant temperature, the estimated temperature signal representing an estimated temperature of the air-fuel intake region; and means effective to supply fuel to the air-fuel intake region during engine start and warm-up in accord with the value of the estimated temperature of the air-fuel intake region.

Claim 4

A system for providing the start and warm-up fuel requirements of an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant circulated therethrough and having an air-fuel intake region whose temperature increases to a value above the coolant temperature during engine operation, the system comprising: means effective to sense the coolant temperature; means effective to generate an estimated temperature difference signal having a value representing an estimated difference between the temperature of the air-fuel intake region and coolant temperature, the last mentioned means (A) determining the value of the estimated temperature difference signal in accord with a predetermined engine operation schedule based on the elapsed time of engine operation and (B) determining the value of the estimated temperature difference signal in accord with a predetermined engine shut down schedule based on the elapsed time of engine shut down; means effective to generate an estimated temperature signal that is the sum of the estimated temperature difference signal and coolant temperature, the estimated temperature signal representing an estimated temperature of the air-fuel intake region; and means effective to supply fuel to the air-fuel intake region during engine start and warm-up in accord with the value of the estimated temperature of the air-fuel intake region.

Claim 5

The method of providing the start and warm-up fuel requirements of an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant circulated therethrough and having an air-fuel intake region whose temperature increases to a value above the coolant temperature during engine operation, the method comprising the steps of: (A) sensing coolant temperature; (B) estimating the temperature of the air-fuel intake region based on coolant temperature and the elapsed time of engine operation and engine shut down; and (C) supplying fuel to the air-fuel intake region during engine start and warm-up in accord with the estimated air-fuel intake region temperature.

Claim 6

The method of providing the start and warm-up fuel requirements of an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant circulated therethrough and having an air-fuel intake region whose temperature increases to a value above the coolant temperature during engine operation, the method comprising the steps of: (A) sensing coolant temperature; (B) estimating the temperature of the air-fuel intake region based on coolant temperature and the elapsed time of engine operation and engine shut down; and (C) supplying fuel to the air-fuel intake region during engine start and warm-up in accord with the estimated air-fuel intake region temperature.