Method of controlling internal combustion engine

Claim 1

A method of controlling an internal combustion engine system which comprises an internal combustion engine in which an air-fuel mixture prepared from air introduced through an intake air passage and fuel fed from fuel supply means is subjected to combustion to produce thermal energy which is converted into mechanical energy for rotating an output shaft of said engine, while exhaust gas resulting from the combustion is discharged through an exhaust gas passage; an air flow sensor for producing an output signal representative of the state of intake air flow within said intake air passage of said engine; and an arithmetic circuit for producing a control signal for driving said fuel supply means in dependence on the output signal from said air flow sensor; said method comprising the steps of: arithmetically determining the quantity of air charged to said engine on the basis of the output signal from said air flow sensor; generating said control signal on the basis of the result of said arithmetic determination; driving said fuel supply means in dependence on said control signal; wherein said step of arithmetically determining the air quantity charged to said engine comprises: a first step of generating data representative of a sensor signal sampling timing for sampling the output signal from said air flow sensor in synchronism with pulsation of the air flow fed to said engine; a second step of producing a timing signal for sampling said sensor output signal on the basis of said data representative of the timing for sampling sensor output signal; a third step of sampling the output signal from said air flow sensor in accordance with said timing signal produced at said second step; and a fourth step of determining the intake air quantity on the basis of a number of the signal values sampled at said third step.

Claim 2

A method of controlling an internal combustion engine system which comprises an internal combustion engine in which an air-fuel mixture prepared from air introduced through an intake air passage and fuel fed from fuel supply means is subjected to combustion to produce thermal energy which is converted into mechanical energy for rotating an output shaft of said engine, while exhaust gas resulting from the combustion is discharged through an exhaust gas passage; an air flow sensor for producing an output signal representative of the state of intake air flow within said intake air passage of said engine; and an arithmetic circuit for producing a control signal for driving said fuel supply means in dependence on the output signal from said air flow sensor; said method comprising the steps of: arithmetically determining the quantity of air charged to said engine on the basis of the output signal from said air flow sensor; generating said control signal on the basis of the result of said arithmetic determination; driving said fuel supply means in dependence on said control signal; wherein said step of arithmetically determining the air quantity charged to said engine comprises: a first step of generating data representative of a sensor signal sampling timing for sampling the output signal from said air flow sensor in synchronism with pulsation of the air flow fed to said engine; a second step of producing a timing signal for sampling said sensor output signal on the basis of said data representative of the timing for sampling sensor output signal; a third step of sampling the output signal from said air flow sensor in accordance with said timing signal produced at said second step; and a fourth step of determining the intake air quantity on the basis of a number of the signal values sampled at said third step.

Claim 8

A method of controlling an internal combustion engine system having an internal combustion engine in which an air-fuel mixture prepared from air introduced through an intake air passage and fuel fed from fuel supply means is subjected to combustion by air-fuel mixture ignition means to produce thermal energy which is converted into mechanical energy for rotating an output shaft of said engine, while exhaust gas resulting from the combustion of fuel is discharged through an exhaust gas passage, an air flow sensor for producing an output signal representative of the state of intake air flow within said intake air passage of said engine, which signal varies in synchronism with the rotation of the output shaft of said engine, and a signal processing device for producing a control signal for driving said fuel supply means and said air-fuel mixture ignition means in response to an interrupt signal and in accordance with the output signal from said air flow sensor, said method comprising the the steps of: (a) sampling the output signal produced by said air flow sensor a plurality of times for the generation of each interrupt signal and in synchronization with the variation of said intake air flow, so as to be in synchronization with the angle of rotation and dependent upon the rate of rotation of said output shaft, (b) supplying a prescribed plurality of data representative of the plurality of samples of the output signal sampled in step (a) to said signal processing device, and (c) producing said control signal in accordance with the average value of said prescribed plurality of data representative of said plurality of said samples of said output signal supplied in step (b), whereby said control signal for driving said fuel supply means and said air-fuel mixture ignition means is produced in accordance therewith.

Claim 9

A method of controlling an internal combustion engine system having an internal combustion engine in which an air-fuel mixture prepared from air introduced through an intake air passage and fuel fed from fuel supply means is subjected to combustion by air-fuel mixture ignition means to produce thermal energy which is converted into mechanical energy for rotating an output shaft of said engine, while exhaust gas resulting from the combustion of fuel is discharged through an exhaust gas passage, an air flow sensor for producing an output signal representative of the state of intake air flow within said intake air passage of said engine, which signal varies in synchronism with the rotation of the output shaft of said engine, and a signal processing device for producing a control signal for driving said fuel supply means and said air-fuel mixture ignition means in response to an interrupt signal and in accordance with the output signal from said air flow sensor, said method comprising the the steps of: (a) sampling the output signal produced by said air flow sensor a plurality of times for the generation of each interrupt signal and in synchronization with the variation of said intake air flow, so as to be in synchronization with the angle of rotation and dependent upon the rate of rotation of said output shaft, (b) supplying a prescribed plurality of data representative of the plurality of samples of the output signal sampled in step (a) to said signal processing device, and (c) producing said control signal in accordance with the average value of said prescribed plurality of data representative of said plurality of said samples of said output signal supplied in step (b), whereby said control signal for driving said fuel supply means and said air-fuel mixture ignition means is produced in accordance therewith.

Claim 43

A method according to one of claims 24 and 28, wherein the resistance value of said second thermo-sensitive resistive element is considerably less than that of said second resistor element.