Method and control device for controlling purge valve of evaporated fuel treatment device

Abstract

A fuel component purged from a canister (3) of an evaporated fuel processing device is introduced into an intake path (7) of an internal combustion engine (1) as a purge gas. The purge path (5) is provided with a pair of purge valves (8A, 8B) that open and close alternately and are each duty-controlled. The opening cycle of each of the purge valves (8A, 8B) is (an odd multiple of ΔREF), where ΔREF is the intake stroke interval based on the number of cylinders, and each opening period is shifted by a half cycle. For example, the initial opening period of the first purge valve (8A) includes a section in which an intake pulse waveform descends from a peak to a valley, and the initial opening period of the following second purge valve (8B) includes a section in which the intake pulse waveform ascends from a valley to a peak. Accordingly, the influence of an intake pulse is at least partially cancelled.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an evaporated fuel treatment device using a canister, and more particularly to control of a purge valve provided in a purge passage between the canister and an intake passage of an internal combustion engine. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to prevent fuel vapor generated in a vehicle fuel tank from leaking to the outside, a fuel vapor treatment device has been widely used in which the fuel vapor is temporarily adsorbed in a canister using an adsorbent such as activated carbon, and then, while the internal combustion engine is running, fresh air is introduced to purge the fuel components from the canister and introduce them into the intake system of the internal combustion engine. A purge valve provided in the purge passage is generally duty-controlled at an appropriate drive frequency to control the flow rate of purge gas introduced into the intake passage of the internal combustion engine.

[0003] In such an evaporated fuel processing system, the amount of purge gas is metered based on the pressure difference across the purge valve in the purge passage and the open time of the purge valve (i.e., the duty ratio), but in the intake passage to which the purge passage is connected, there is an intake pulsation with a period related to the number of cylinders. The effect of this intake pulsation is relatively small when the average pressure in the intake passage is sufficiently low, such as when the load on the internal combustion engine is relatively low, and the pressure difference across the purge valve is large.

[0004] However, in the supercharged range of a supercharged internal combustion engine or in the high load range of a naturally aspirated internal combustion engine, the pressure difference (average pressure difference) across the purge valve becomes small, and the influence of intake pulsation becomes relatively large. This causes a problem that the purge gas flow rate varies depending on the relationship between the intake pulsation and the purge valve opening period.

[0005] Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a technique in which multiple purge valves are arranged in parallel and the opening and closing periods of each valve are shifted in phase to shorten the overall opening and closing cycle. However, these documents do not describe the problem of the influence of intake pulsation or a means for solving the problem. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-10767 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-332205 Summary of the Invention

[0007] The method for controlling a purge valve of an evaporated fuel processing device according to the present invention comprises: In an evaporated fuel processing device, one or more purge valves that are duty-controlled are provided in a purge passage between a canister and an intake passage of an internal combustion engine, The opening cycle of the purge valve is synchronized with the rotation of the internal combustion engine, and The interval between the start point of one open period and the start point of the next open period is (odd multiple of ΔREF / 2), where ΔREF is the intake stroke interval determined by the number of cylinders. Also, if the number of cylinders is C, the above odd number is (2·C+1).

[0008] The period of the intake pulsation occurring in the intake passage is determined by the number of cylinders connected to the intake passage, and the pressure in the intake passage repeatedly increases and decreases in relation to the intake stroke of each cylinder. For example, in a simplified waveform of intake pulsation, the distance between two adjacent peaks is ΔREF. Since the distance between the start point of one open period and the start point of the next open period is shifted by (an odd multiple of ΔREF / 2), for example, if one open period starts from a peak of the intake pulsation waveform, the next open period will start from a valley of the intake pulsation waveform.

[0009] Therefore, the influence of the intake pulsation is at least partially offset, and a stable purge gas flow rate according to the duty ratio can be obtained. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an evaporated fuel treatment device according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] 4 is a time chart showing the relationship between the waveform of intake pulsation and the opening periods of first and second purge valves. [Diagram 3] 4 is a main flowchart of a purge valve control according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart of control of the drive timing of the second purge valve. [Diagram 5] 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams showing examples of open periods when the duty ratio is large and small. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a typical configuration of an evaporated fuel processing device in a vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine 1. The evaporated fuel processing device processes evaporated fuel generated in a fuel tank 2 of a vehicle while the vehicle is stopped, without allowing it to flow out to the outside, and is mainly composed of a canister 3 filled with an adsorbent such as activated carbon to temporarily store evaporated fuel. The canister 3 has a charge port 3a and a purge port 3b at one end of an internal flow path, and a drain port 3c at the other end. The charge port 3a communicates with the upper space of the fuel tank 2 through a charge passage 4, while the purge port 3b communicates with the intake passage 7 of the internal combustion engine 1 through a purge passage 5. The drain port 3c is open to the atmosphere through a drain passage 6. In some cases, a drain cut valve (not shown) is provided in the drain passage 6 for leakage inspection or the like.

[0012] For example, evaporated fuel generated while the vehicle is stopped or during refueling is introduced into the canister 3 through the charge passage 4, and is adsorbed by the adsorbents in each part as it flows through the adsorbent toward the drain port 3c. The fuel components thus adsorbed are purged from the adsorbent when the negative pressure generated in the intake system while the internal combustion engine 1 is operating causes air to be taken in through the drain passage 6, and are introduced into the intake system of the internal combustion engine 1 through the purge passage 5, and are finally combusted in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine 1 together with fuel from the fuel injection valve.

[0013] The internal combustion engine 1 shown in the figure is a four-stroke cycle spark ignition engine, for example, an in-line three-cylinder engine with a turbocharger. Therefore, the intake passage 7 of this internal combustion engine 1 is equipped with a turbocharger compressor 11, and a throttle valve 12 is arranged downstream of the compressor 11. Also, an admission valve 13, for example a butterfly valve, for generating negative pressure in the intake passage 7 is arranged upstream of the compressor 11 in the intake passage 7. The tip of the purge passage 5 is connected to the intake passage 7 between the admission valve 13 and the compressor 11. Therefore, even in the supercharging region, a certain degree of negative pressure is generated by the action of the admission valve 13, and it is possible to purge the canister 3 by the pressure difference with the atmospheric pressure on the drain passage 6 side, that is, to introduce purge gas into the intake passage 7.

[0014] A pair of purge valves 8 made of solenoid valves are provided in the purge passage 5 to control the flow rate of purge gas. Specifically, a part of the purge passage 5 branches into a pair of parallel purge passages 5a, 5b, and a first purge valve 8A and a second purge valve 8B are disposed in each of the purge passages. That is, the two purge valves 8A, 8B are disposed in parallel to each other. Here, it is desirable that the pair of branched purge passages 5a, 5b have equal lengths, and in particular, it is desirable that the portions of each purge passage 5a, 5b closer to the intake passage 7 than the purge valves 8A, 8B have equal lengths. In other words, the passage lengths from the tip opening of the purge passage 5 connected to the intake passage 7 to each purge valve 8A, 8B are equal to each other. This makes the influence of the intake pulsation reaching each purge valve 8A, 8B equivalent.

[0015] The purge valves 8A, 8B are duty controlled by a controller 9. The controller 9 is configured as a part of an engine controller that performs various controls of the internal combustion engine 1 (including fuel injection control, ignition control, opening control of the throttle valve 12, opening control of the admission valve 13, etc.).

[0016] The duty control of this embodiment is performed so that the opening period of the purge valves 8A, 8B is synchronized with the rotation (crank angle) of the internal combustion engine 1. In other words, the drive frequency of the duty control changes according to the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine 1, and a drive pulse signal is output at a predetermined crank angle.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a time chart showing the relationship between (a) the waveform of the intake pulsation in the intake passage 7 and (b) the open period of the first and second purge valves 8A and 8B. "PCV1" and "PCV2" in the figure refer to the first and second purge valves 8A and 8B, respectively. Also, "#1", "#2", and "#3" are cylinder numbers. Here, ignition occurs in the order of "#1 → #2 → #3".

[0018] The intake pulsation occurs when each cylinder of the internal combustion engine 1 undergoes an intermittent intake stroke, and its period or frequency is determined by the number of cylinders sharing the intake passage 7. In a four-stroke inline three-cylinder engine, the intake stroke occurs every 240° CA of crank angle, so that as shown in FIG. 2(a), the intake pulsation has a pressure waveform peak every 240° CA. Therefore, the intake stroke interval ΔREF is expressed in crank angle as 240° CA. Note that FIG. 2(a) shows a simplified waveform of the intake pulsation for easy understanding. The crank angle of the internal combustion engine 1 is detected by a so-called crank angle sensor or cam angle sensor (not shown), and based on the output signal, a REF signal that is a reference for fuel injection timing control and ignition timing control of each cylinder is obtained every 240° CA of crank angle. In other words, the intake stroke interval ΔREF is the interval from the REF signal of a certain cylinder (e.g., cylinder #1) to the REF signal of the next cylinder (e.g., cylinder #2) in the ignition order. The dashed lines in FIG. 2 indicate the timing of the REF signal of each cylinder. The REF signal is output, for example, a certain crank angle before the compression top dead center of each cylinder. In the present invention, the intake stroke interval ΔREF may be handled in real time instead of in crank angle.

[0019] Each of the first purge valve 8A and the second purge valve 8B is driven at an interval of (an odd multiple of ΔREF). That is, the period of the drive pulse signal is (an odd multiple of ΔREF). More preferably, the odd number is (2·C+1), where C is the number of cylinders. For example, in one embodiment which is an in-line three-cylinder engine, the period of the drive pulse signal for each of the first purge valve 8A and the second purge valve 8B is (7 times ΔREF).

[0020] Also, the rising edge of the drive pulse signal for the first purge valve 8A and the rising edge of the drive pulse signal for the second purge valve 8B differ by half the above-mentioned period. That is, in the embodiment of the in-line three-cylinder engine, the phase difference between the drive pulse signals in the duty control of the first purge valve 8A and the second purge valve 8B is (ΔREF×7 / 2). Therefore, for the entire purge system including the two purge valves 8A and 8B, the interval between the start point of one open period and the start point of the next open period is (ΔREF×7 / 2).

[0021] FIG. 2(b) shows the open periods of the first and second purge valves 8A and 8B based on the drive pulse signal. Here, for ease of understanding, a case where the duty ratio is relatively small is taken as an example. The first purge valve 8A and the second purge valve 8B are preferably driven with the same duty ratio. As described above, the start point of the open period of the first purge valve 8A and the start point of the open period of the second purge valve 8B are shifted by half a period of each open period, which is an odd multiple of ΔREF. Therefore, as shown in the figure, for example, the first open period of the first purge valve 8A includes a section in which the intake pulsation waveform descends from a peak to a valley, and the subsequent first open period of the second purge valve 8B includes a section in which the intake pulsation waveform ascends from a valley to a peak. Therefore, the influence of the intake pulsation on the purge gas flow rate, which depends on the pressure difference between the front and rear of the purge valves 8A and 8B, is substantially canceled by the first purge valve 8A and the second purge valve 8B.

[0022] That is, when the behavior of the intake pulsation with respect to REF shifts slightly forward or backward, if the purge gas flow rate during the opening period of the first purge valve 8A (the section where the intake pulsation waveform descends from the peak to the valley) decreases, the purge gas flow rate during the subsequent opening period of the second purge valve 8B (the section where the intake pulsation waveform ascends from the valley to the peak) increases, and if the purge gas flow rate during the opening period of the first purge valve 8A increases, the purge gas flow rate during the opening period of the second purge valve 8B decreases. Note that the behavior of the intake pulsation with respect to REF changes slightly depending on the propagation speed of the pressure wave (the speed of sound in the intake passage), etc.

[0023] Therefore, even in a situation where the pressure difference (average pressure difference) before and after the purge valve 8 is small, such as in the supercharging region, the variation in the purge gas flow rate due to the influence of intake pulsation is suppressed, and a stable purge gas flow rate according to the duty ratio is obtained.

[0024] In particular, in the above embodiment, in consideration of the number of cylinders, a phase difference of (ΔREF×7 / 2) is given to the opening periods of the two purge valves 8A and 8B in an in-line three-cylinder engine. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 2, for example, if the first opening period of the first purge valve 8A includes a section in which it descends from a peak corresponding to the #1 cylinder to a valley, the subsequent opening period of the second purge valve 8B includes a section in which it ascends from a valley corresponding to the same #1 cylinder to a peak of the next #2 cylinder. In other words, it corresponds to the intake stroke of the next cycle of the same cylinder, and even during a transient period in which the operating conditions (rotation speed and load) of the internal combustion engine 1 change, the influence of the intake pulsation can be suppressed with higher accuracy. In addition, the next opening period of the first purge valve 8A includes a section in which it descends from a peak corresponding to the #2 cylinder to a valley, and the subsequent opening period of the second purge valve 8B includes a section in which it ascends from a valley corresponding to the same #2 cylinder to a peak of the next #3 cylinder. Furthermore, the next opening period of the first purge valve 8A includes a section descending from the peak corresponding to the #3 cylinder to a valley, and the following opening period of the second purge valve 8B includes a section ascending from the valley corresponding to the same #3 cylinder to the peak of the next #1 cylinder. In this way, the opening periods of the first purge valve 8A and the second purge valve 8B change in sequence to correspond to the #1 to #3 cylinders, so that the effects of variations in intake pulsation between cylinders are smoothed out.

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a main flow chart of the purge valve control in one embodiment. The routine of this main flow chart is executed in synchronization with the REF signal output every 240° CA. In step 1, the value of the counter N indicating the number of REF signals is read. In step 2, it is determined whether N is 1. If N is 1, the process proceeds to step 3, where the duty ratio of the first purge valve 8A is calculated based on the required purge gas flow rate. This duty ratio is the ratio of the open period in one cycle, and corresponds to the width of one open period shown in FIG. 2(b). In a preferred embodiment, as described above, the duty ratio of the second purge valve 8B also has the same value.

[0026] In step 4, the delay T_delay from the start of the opening period of the first purge valve 8A to the start of the opening period of the second purge valve 8B is calculated. As described above, in one embodiment, this delay T_delay is (ΔREF×3.5). Then, the process proceeds to step 5, where a drive command is given to the first purge valve 8A. In other words, one drive pulse signal is output to the first purge valve 8A. This causes the first purge valve 8A to open and close as shown in FIG. 2(b).

[0027] In the next step 6, the counter N is incremented, and in step 7, it is determined whether the value of the counter N has reached 8. If the value of the counter N is less than 8, the routine ends. If the value of the counter N has reached 8, the routine proceeds to step 8, where the value of the counter N is initialized to 1.

[0028] If N=1 is not true in step 2, the process proceeds from step 2 to step 6. Therefore, the processes in steps 3 to 5 are executed only once every seven times of the routine in Fig. 3 synchronized with the REF signal, thereby obtaining an opening period of the first purge valve 8A synchronized with the rotation of the internal combustion engine 1, and the period is (7 times ΔREF).

[0029] Fig. 4 is a flow chart for controlling the drive timing of the second purge valve, and the routine in Fig. 4 is executed, for example, at short time intervals. In step 11, it is determined whether or not a drive command has been given to the first purge valve 8A, and if NO, the routine is terminated.

[0030] If there is an instruction to drive the first purge valve 8A, then in step 12, a timer T is started. In other words, the timer T is initialized to 0. Then, in step 13, it is determined whether the value of the timer T is equal to or greater than the delay T_delay calculated in step 4. If the result is NO, then in step 14, the timer T is repeatedly counted up.

[0031] If "T≧T_delay" is satisfied in step 13, the process proceeds to step 15, where a drive command is issued to the second purge valve 8B. In other words, one drive pulse signal is output to the second purge valve 8B. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the second purge valve 8B opens and closes with a delay of half a cycle from the first purge valve 8A.

[0032] The above-mentioned duty control of the purge valve 8 may be performed on a crank angle basis or on a real time basis.

[0033] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the open period when the duty ratio is large and small. As described above, the second purge valve 8B (PCV2) opens with a delay of half a cycle from the first purge valve 8A (PCV1). In FIG. 5, only one cycle or 1.5 cycles are shown. As shown as "Small Duty", when the duty ratio is small, the open period of the first purge valve 8A and the open period of the second purge valve 8B do not overlap. As shown as "Medium Duty", when the individual duty ratios are 50%, the two open periods are alternately and consecutive as a whole. When the duty ratio is even larger, as shown as "Large Duty", the open period of the first purge valve 8A and the open period of the second purge valve 8B partially overlap. Also, "Full" indicates the case where the duty ratio is 100%.

[0034] Although an embodiment in which a pair of purge valves 8A, 8B are alternately opened has been described above, a configuration in which a larger number of purge valves 8 are provided in parallel is also possible. In addition, this invention can be similarly applied to a configuration in which a single purge valve 8 is provided in the purge passage 5. That is, if the period of the drive pulse of a single purge valve 8 is set to (an odd multiple of ΔREF / 2), for example (ΔREF×3.5), the effect of canceling the intake pulsation described with reference to FIG. 2 can be obtained in the same manner as in the above embodiment. That is, the interval between the start point of one open period and the start point of the next open period is (ΔREF×3.5), and as shown in FIG. 2, for example, the first open period includes a section in which the intake pulsation waveform descends from the peak to the valley, and the subsequent open period includes a section in which the intake pulsation waveform ascends from the valley to the peak for the next cycle of the same cylinder.

[0035] In addition, when a pair of purge valves 8A, 8B is used as in the embodiment described above, the maximum purge gas flow rate is shared by the two purge valves 8A, 8B. This is advantageous in that a small-capacity solenoid valve, which generally has high responsiveness, can be used compared to the case where a single purge valve 8 is used.

[0036] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the present invention is applied to a supercharged engine equipped with a turbocharger, but the present invention can also be applied to a naturally aspirated engine in the same manner.

Claims

1. In an evaporated fuel processing device, one or more purge valves that are duty-controlled are provided in a purge passage between a canister and an intake passage of an internal combustion engine, The opening cycle of the purge valve is synchronized with the rotation of the internal combustion engine, and The interval between the start point of one open period and the start point of the next open period is (an odd multiple of ΔREF / 2), where ΔREF is an intake stroke interval determined by the number of cylinders. If the number of cylinders is C, the odd number is (2·C+1). A method for controlling a purge valve of an evaporated fuel treatment device.

2. Two purge valves are arranged in parallel with each other, The two purge valves are alternately opened so that the interval between the start point of an opening period of one purge valve and the start point of the subsequent opening period of the other purge valve is the above-mentioned (odd multiple of ΔREF / 2).

2. The method for controlling a purge valve of an evaporated fuel treatment device according to claim 1.

3. The two purge valves are driven with equal duty ratios.

3. The method for controlling a purge valve of an evaporated fuel treatment device according to claim 2.

4. The purge passages from the intake passage to each purge valve are equal in length.

4. A method for controlling a purge valve of an evaporated fuel treatment device according to claim 2.

5. (delete)

6. With respect to the peaks and valleys of the waveform of the intake pulsation, one open period includes the peak and the next open period includes the valley.

5. A method for controlling a purge valve of an evaporated fuel treatment device according to claim 1.

7. A canister for absorbing evaporated fuel; one or more purge valves provided in a purge passage between the canister and an intake passage of the internal combustion engine; A controller that performs duty control on the purge valve; In an evaporated fuel treatment device comprising: The above controller is The opening cycle of the purge valve is synchronized with the rotation of the internal combustion engine, and The purge valve is driven so that the interval between the start point of one open period and the start point of the next open period is (an odd multiple of ΔREF / 2), where ΔREF is an intake stroke interval determined by the number of cylinders; Here, the number of cylinders is C, and the odd number is (2·C+1). A purge valve control device for an evaporated fuel treatment device.

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