Internal combustion engine having electric controlled fuel injection with oxygen sensor for detecting intake air amount

Claim 2

An internal combustion engine comprising: an engine body; an intake system for introducing air into the engine body, said intake system having a throttle valve for controlling the amount of air introduced into the engine body; control means for controlling an operating characteristic related to the amount of air introduced into the engine; an exhaust system for removing resultant exhaust gases from the engine body; oxygen sensor means, arranged in the intake system and responsive to a partial pressure of oxygen in the intake system, for detecting an amount of air newly introduced into the engine; heater means arranged in the oxygen sensor for activating the oxygen sensor; heater control means for controlling the temperature of the oxygen sensor to a predetermined value; determining means for determining whether the sensor has been activated; first calculating means, responsive to the detected oxygen partial pressure by the oxygen sensor means, for calculating a value of said engine operating characteristic matching the detected amount of air newly introduced into the engine when it is determined by the determining means that the sensor has been activated; second detecting means for detecting, without using the detected oxygen partial pressure, a parameter indicating an amount of air newly introduced into the engine, and; second calculating means, responsive to the detected parameter, for calculating a value of said engine operating characteristic matching the detected amount of air newly introduced into the engine when it is determined by the determining means that the sensor has not been activated.

Claim 3

An internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein said second detecting means comprises a sensor for detecting a degree of opening of the throttle valve.

Claim 4

An internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein said determining means comprises means for detecting a parameter related to a temperature of the oxygen sensor, and means for comparing the detected temperature parameter of the sensor with a predetermined value of the parameter for determining whether the oxygen sensor has been activated.

Claim 5

An internal combustion engine according to claim 3, wherein said parameter detecting means detects the impedance of the oxygen sensor means as the parameter related to the temperature of the sensor.

Claim 6

An internal combustion engine: an engine body; an intake system for introducing air into the engine body, said intake system having a throttle valve for controlling the amount of air introduced into the engine body; control means for controlling an operating characteristic related to the amount of air introduced into the engine; an exhaust system for removing resultant exhaust gases from the engine body; oxygen sensor means, arranged in the intake system and responsive to a partial pressure of oxygen in the intake system, for detecting an amount of air newly introduced into the engine, said sensor means comprising a body formed of a solid electrolyte, a pair of electrodes formed on the electrolyte body, a diffusion means for generating a diffusion of oxygen at a controlled rate between the gas in the intake system and a reference gas, and means for controlling a predetermined voltage applied across the electrodes; heater means arranged in the oxygen sensor for activating the oxygen sensor; heater control means for controlling the temperature of the solid electrolyte body of the oxygen sensor so that the impedance of the sensor is controlled to a predetermined value; said heater control means comprising means for applying an AC current across the electrodes to obtain an electric signal indicating an impedance of the sensor, comparing means for comparing the detected electric signal from the sensor with a predetermined level, and means for controlling the electric current in said heater means in accordance with the result of the comparison; determining means, responsive to the impedance of the oxygen sensor, for determining whether the oxygen sensor has been activated; calculating means, responsive to the detected oxygen partial pressure by the oxygen sensor means, for calculating a value of said engine operating characteristic matching the detected amount of air newly introduced into the engine when it is determined by the determining means that the sensor has been activated; second detecting means for detecting, without using the detected oxygen partial pressure, a parameter indicating an amount of air newly introduced into the engine when it is determined by the determining means that the sensor has not been activated and; second calculating means, responsive to the detected parameter, for calculating a value of said engine operating characteristic matching the detected amount of air newly introduced into the engine.

Claim 7

An internal combustion engine: an engine body; an intake system for introducing air into the engine body, said intake system having a throttle valve for controlling the amount of air introduced into the engine body; control means for controlling an operating characteristic related to the amount of air introduced into the engine; an exhaust system for removing resultant exhaust gases from the engine body; oxygen sensor means, arranged in the intake system and responsive to a partial pressure of oxygen in the intake system, for detecting an amount of air newly introduced into the engine, said sensor means comprising a body formed of a solid electrolyte, a pair of electrodes formed on the electrolyte body, a diffusion means for generating a diffusion of oxygen at a controlled rate between the gas in the intake system and a reference gas, and means for controlling a predetermined voltage applied across the electrodes; heater means arranged in the oxygen sensor for activating the oxygen sensor; heater control means for controlling the temperature of the solid electrolyte body of the oxygen sensor so that the impedance of the sensor is controlled to a predetermined value; said heater control means comprising means for applying an AC current across the electrodes to obtain an electric signal indicating an impedance of the sensor, comparing means for comparing the detected electric signal from the sensor with a predetermined level, and means for controlling the electric current in said heater means in accordance with the result of the comparison; determining means, responsive to the impedance of the oxygen sensor, for determining whether the oxygen sensor has been activated; calculating means, responsive to the detected oxygen partial pressure by the oxygen sensor means, for calculating a value of said engine operating characteristic matching the detected amount of air newly introduced into the engine when it is determined by the determining means that the sensor has been activated; second detecting means for detecting, without using the detected oxygen partial pressure, a parameter indicating an amount of air newly introduced into the engine when it is determined by the determining means that the sensor has not been activated and; second calculating means, responsive to the detected parameter, for calculating a value of said engine operating characteristic matching the detected amount of air newly introduced into the engine.

Claim 8

An internal combustion engine according to claim 5, further comprising electric current control means for cancelling the operation of the comparing means so that an excessive increase of the electric current in the heater means is prevented.

Claim 9

An internal combustion engine according to claim 6, wherein said electric current control means comprises a comparator means which compares the electric current in the heater means with a predetermined upper limit, and means for cancelling the operation of the first comparator means when the electric current in the heater means becomes larger than the predetermined value.

Claim 10

An internal combustion engine according to claim 7, wherein said cancelling means comprises a diode arranged between the first and second comparator means in such a manner that the operation of the first comparator means is cancelled when the electric current in the heater becomes higher than the predetermined value, whereby the heater is deenergized.

Claim 11

An internal combustion engine according to claim 5, wherein said second detecting means detects the degree of opening of the throttle valve.