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A system for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine includes a controller configured to send signals for controlling at least one of air-fuel ratio, spark-ignition timing, and fuel injection timing to an internal combustion engine. The system further includes a sensor configured to s

A system for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine includes a controller configured to send signals for controlling at least one of air-fuel ratio, spark-ignition timing, and fuel injection timing to an internal combustion engine. The system further includes a sensor configured to send a signal indicative of exhaust gas temperature to the controller. The system is configured to control at least one of the air-fuel ratio, spark-ignition timing, and fuel injection timing based on a signal indicative of at least one of an operating condition of the internal combustion engine and load on the internal combustion engine, and a difference between a target exhaust gas temperature and the signal indicative of the exhaust gas temperature.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A system for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine, the system comprising: a control module configured to control at least one of an air-fuel ratio, a spark-ignition timing, and a fuel injection timing of the internal combustion engine;a sensor configured to generate a signal ind

1. A system for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine, the system comprising: a control module configured to control at least one of an air-fuel ratio, a spark-ignition timing, and a fuel injection timing of the internal combustion engine;a sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of exhaust gas temperature; anda controller configured to: determine a desired mode of operation of the internal combustion engine as improved responsiveness, stoichiometric combustion, or improved fuel efficiency;based on a given load and speed of the internal combustion engine, determine a target exhaust temperature corresponding to the desired mode of operation;command the control module to set at least one of the air-fuel ratio, the spark-ignition timing, and the fuel injection timing based on the target exhaust temperature before determining a difference between the target exhaust temperature and the signal indicative of the exhaust gas temperature; andcommand the control module to adjust the at least one of the air-fuel ratio, the spark-ignition timing, and the fuel injection timing based on the difference between the target exhaust gas temperature and the signal indicative of the exhaust gas temperature. 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a storage device configured to store at least one of a map, a look-up table, and an equation relating the given load and speed of the internal combustion engine and the target exhaust gas temperature to the at least one of the air-fuel ratio, the spark-ignition timing, and the fuel injection timing, wherein the controller is configured to determine how to set the at least one of an air-fuel ratio, a spark-ignition timing, and a fuel injection timing by reference to the at least one of the map, the look-up table, and the equation. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: automatically select the desired mode of operation based on a known application of the internal combustion engine; andselect the desired mode of operation based on manual input received from a user of the system. 4. A system for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine, the system comprising: a control module configured to control an air-fuel ratio of the internal combustion engine;a storage device configured to store at least one of a map, a look-up table, and an equation correlating a given load, speed, and desired mode of operation of the internal combustion engine to a target exhaust temperature;a sensor configured to generate signals indicative of an exhaust gas temperature of the internal combustion engine; anda controller configured to:reference the least one of the map, the look-up table, and the equation to determine the target exhaust temperature;command the control module to set the air-fuel ratio of the internal combustion engine based on the target exhaust gas temperature;command the control module to adjust the set air-fuel ratio to a plurality of different air-fuel ratios;estimate a peak exhaust gas temperature based on the signals generated during adjustment from the set air-fuel ratio to the plurality of different air-fuel ratios; andupdate the correlation between the given load, speed, desired mode of operation and target exhaust gas temperature stored in the storage device based on the estimated peak exhaust gas temperature for future use in air-fuel ratio setting. 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to command the control module to control operation of the internal combustion engine at each of the plurality of different air-fuel ratios for a predetermined period of time. 6. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to estimate the peak exhaust gas temperature by generating an equation based on the exhaust gas temperatures associated with each of the plurality of different air-fuel ratios. 7. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to determine when the internal combustion engine is operating at steady-state, and to command the control module to adjust the set air-fuel ratio to the plurality of different air-fuel ratios only when the engine is determined to be operating at steady-state, and wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the internal combustion engine is operating at steady-state based on at least one of a throttle position, an air-mass-per-charge, an exhaust gas temperature, and an engine speed. 8. The system of claim 4, wherein the internal combustion engine comprises a plurality of cylinders, and the sensor is one of a plurality of sensors configured to generate signals indicative of exhaust gas temperatures for each of the plurality of cylinders. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to: command the control module to separately adjust the air-fuel ratio of each of the plurality of cylinders to the plurality of air-fuel ratios; andestimate for each of the plurality of cylinders the peak exhaust gas temperature based on the signals generated during adjustment of the air-fuel ratio. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to: determine a mean peak exhaust gas temperature based on the estimated peak exhaust gas temperature determined for each of the plurality of cylinders and make a comparison of the estimated peak exhaust gas temperature associated with each of the plurality of cylinders with the mean peak exhaust gas temperature; anddetermine whether one of the estimated peak exhaust gas temperatures is invalid based on the comparison. 11. A system for controlling operation of an internal combustion engine comprising at least one cylinder and at least one fuel injector for supplying fuel for combustion in the at least one cylinder, the system comprising: a control module configured to control an air-fuel ratio of the an internal combustion engine;a storage device configured to store at least one of a map, a look-up table, and an equation correlating a given load, speed, and desired mode of operation of the internal combustion engine to a target exhaust temperature;a sensor configured to generate signals indicative of an exhaust gas temperature of the internal combustion engine; anda controller configured to: command the control module to set the air-fuel ratio of the internal combustion engine based on the target exhaust gas temperature;command the control module to adjust the set air-fuel ratio to a plurality of different air-fuel ratios;determine whether there is a fault associated with operation of one of the sensor and the at least one fuel injector based on the signals generated during adjustment from the set air-fuel ratio to the plurality of different air-fuel ratios; andcontrol the internal combustion engine responsive to the fault. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the fault includes at least one of the following: the sensor has shorted to ground, the sensor has shorted to power, the sensor has shorted to wire harness, the sensor has malfunctioned, the at least one fuel injector remains open, the at least one fuel injector remains closed, and the at least one fuel injector provides incorrect fuel metering. 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to determine that the sensor has failed if the signal indicative of exhaust gas temperature is outside a minimum limit or a maximum limit. 14. The system of claim 11, wherein: the engine comprises a plurality of cylinders and at least one fuel injector associated with each of the plurality of cylinders, andthe sensor is one of a plurality of sensors configured to generate signals indicative of exhaust gas temperatures associated with operation of each of the plurality of cylinders, andthe controller is configured to determine whether there is a fault associated with operation of one of the plurality of sensors and the at least one fuel injector associated with each of the plurality of cylinders based on the signals. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller is configured to compare the signals generated by each of the plurality of sensors and, if one of the signals indicates a temperature outside a range of a mean of the temperatures associated with operation of others of the plurality of cylinders, the controller is configured to determine whether a fault exists with a corresponding one of the plurality of sensors or the at least one fuel injector associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of cylinders. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to compare the one of the signals to maximum and minimum coarse thresholds and maximum and minimum fine thresholds and, if the one of the signals is outside either the maximum or minimum coarse threshold, indicate failure of the corresponding one of the plurality of sensors. 17. The system of claim 14, wherein: the internal combustion engine comprises two fuel injectors associated with each cylinder;each of the two fuel injectors is configured to supply a portion of a total amount of fuel supplied to an associated one of the plurality of cylinders; andthe controller is further configured to determine whether there is a fault associated with operation of one of the two fuel injectors, and responsively supply the total amount of fuel with a remaining one of the two fuel injectors.