Internal combustion engine having combustion heater

Claim 1

An internal combustion engine having a combustion heater for raising a temperature of intake air of said internal combustion engine by utilizing combustion heat held by a combustion gas emitted when burning a fuel, and a combustion gas introducing passageway, through which a combustion gas discharge port of the combustion heater is connected to an engine intake passageway, for introducing the combustion gas into the intake passageway, said internal combustion engine comprising: an oxygen supplying apparatus for supplying oxygen to the engine intake air having become the engine intake air containing the combustion gas when the combustion gas is introduced via said combustion gas introducing passageway into said engine intake passageway; and an oxygen supply quantity control apparatus for controlling a quantity of oxygen supplied by said oxygen supplying apparatus, and wherein said oxygen supply quantity control apparatus executes, at the engine starting time or before the engine starting time and also introducing the combustion gas into said engine intake passageway at that time, an augmentation control of augmenting the quantity of oxygen supplied to the engine intake air by said oxygen supplying apparatus, the oxygen content in the engine intake air that is decreased due to the introduction of the combustion gas into said intake passageway, is supplemented under the augmentation control, and this oxygen supplement makes the engine intake air the intake air with the oxygen content effective in enhancing a starting characteristic of said internal combustion engine.