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US5343840A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Fail-safe intake air flow control system for internal combustion engine

Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
•
Filing: 1993-04-30
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Granted: 1994-09-06
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Expires: 2013-04-30
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Abstract

Abstract An intake air flow control system for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle comprises an accelerator pedal depression sensor for detecting depression depth of an accelerator pedal, a throttle actuator for regulating opening degree of a throttle valve in dependence on the depression depth of the accelerator pedal, a bypass intake passage which bypasses an intake pipe at a location where the throttle valve is disposed, a bypass control valve installed in the bypass intake passage, an abnormality detector for detecting abnormality of control of the throttle actuator, and a controller for controlling the opening degree of the bypass control valve in dependence on depression depth of the accelerator pedal in response to detection of abnormality of in the control performed through the throttle actuator. Operation of the engine can be fail-safed even upon occurrence of failure in the throttle control system in the fully closed state of the throttle valve.

Inventors

  • 👤 Seiji Wataya
  • 👤 Yukinobu Nishimura
  • 👤 Nobutake Taniguchi

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-29 01:39
CPC Classifications
F; F02; F02D; F02D11/00; F02D11/06; F02D11/10; F02D11/107; F02B; F02B1/00; F02B1/02; F02B1/04; F02D2011/101; F02D2011/102

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim 193 words
An intake air flow control system for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, comprising: accelerator pedal sensor means (8) for detecting an actuation level of an accelerator pedal; throttle actuator means (3) for controlling an opening degree of a throttle valve (2) in dependence on the detected actuation level of said accelerator pedal; a bypass intake passage (12) bypassing an intake pipe (14) of said engine at a location where said throttle valve is disposed; bypass control valve means (13a) installed in said bypass intake passage; abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality occurring in the control performed by said throttle actuator means when the throttle valve is in a fully closed state; and means (10, 13b) for controlling the opening degree of said bypass control valve in dependence on the detected actuation level of said accelerator pedal in response to a detection of abnormality in the control performed by said throttle actuator means, wherein said abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality based on a difference in magnitude between the actuation level of said accelerator pedal and a real opening degree of said throttle valve, in comparison with a predetermined value.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 193 words
An intake air flow control system for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, comprising: accelerator pedal sensor means (8) for detecting an actuation level of an accelerator pedal; throttle actuator means (3) for controlling an opening degree of a throttle valve (2) in dependence on the detected actuation level of said accelerator pedal; a bypass intake passage (12) bypassing an intake pipe (14) of said engine at a location where said throttle valve is disposed; bypass control valve means (13a) installed in said bypass intake passage; abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality occurring in the control performed by said throttle actuator means when the throttle valve is in a fully closed state; and means (10, 13b) for controlling the opening degree of said bypass control valve in dependence on the detected actuation level of said accelerator pedal in response to a detection of abnormality in the control performed by said throttle actuator means, wherein said abnormality detecting means detects an abnormality based on a difference in magnitude between the actuation level of said accelerator pedal and a real opening degree of said throttle valve, in comparison with a predetermined value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 29 words
An intake air flow control system according to claim 1, wherein opening degree of said bypass control valve is ordinarily controlled in dependence on running states of said engine.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 38 words
An intake air flow control system according to claim 1, wherein said abnormality detecting means detects abnormality in at least one of said throttle valve and said throttle actuator in the fully closed state of said throttle valve.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 33 words
An intake air flow control system according to claim 2, further comprising means for detecting abnormality in operation of said control means to thereby control the opening degree of said bypass control valve.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 33 words
An intake air flow control system according to claim 1, wherein said bypass control valve means and said bypass intake passage are additionally used for supplying intake air to said engine during idling.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4335689A Cited
JPS618441A Cited
US4960087A Cited
JPS6413524A Cited
US4895118A Cited
US4875456A Cited
US5251597A Cited
JPH03267542A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1997-09-05 1998-03-07 1998-09-06 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2001-09-05 2002-03-07 2002-09-06 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2005-09-05 2006-03-07 2006-09-06 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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