A vehicle system includes: an internal combustion engine including an electronically-controlled throttle valve configured to change throttle opening degrees in a step-wise manner among at least three selectable opening degrees, and being mounted on a vehicle; and a control device configured to control the vehicle. The control device includes a required throttle opening degree setting component and a first throttle opening degree selecting component. The first throttle opening degree selecting component is configured to: select, at the time of acceleration of the vehicle, a first throttle opening degree that is greater than the required throttle opening degree and is the closest to the required throttle opening degree; and select, at the time of deceleration of the vehicle, a second throttle opening degree that is smaller than the required throttle opening degree and is the closest to the required throttle opening degree.

A vehicle control apparatus includes input-side and output-side rotating elements, a fuel injection controller, and an ignition timing controller. The ignition timing controller controls ignition timing of an engine to first timing on the condition that the engine is controlled from a fuel cut state to a fuel injection state, and afterwards, changes the ignition timing to second timing on advance side of the first timing. The ignition timing controller changes the ignition timing toward the second timing at a first change rate until a rotational acceleration rate of the output-side rotating element reaches a threshold. After the rotational acceleration rate of the output-side rotating element reaches the threshold, the ignition timing controller changes the ignition timing toward the second timing at a second change rate greater than the first change rate.

An engine includes: an engine main body including a plurality of cylinders; a plurality of throttle valves positioned on intake sides of the plurality of cylinders; and a controller configured to control opening and closing operation of the plurality of throttle valves. Output of a part of the plurality of cylinders is larger than output of rest of the plurality of cylinders. And the controller opens a part of the throttle valves upstream of the part of the plurality of cylinders at a lower speed than rest of the throttle valves upstream of the rest of the plurality of cylinders.

In an electronically controlled throttle control device in which a throttle control output command calculated by an electronic control unit (ECU) is calculated based on a throttle main control command, calculated from a throttle opening deviation which is a difference between a throttle opening command and a throttle opening detection signal, and a throttle correction control command which is a value obtained by integrating a product of the throttle opening deviation and a coefficient, the coefficient for calculation of the throttle correction control command is changed depending on a driving state based on an acceleration state and a deceleration state of a throttle and a small throttle deviation state.

A vehicle control system includes an accelerator sensor which detects an accelerator opening, and a processor which sets a target acceleration of a vehicle based on the detected accelerator opening, sets a target torque of a drive source based on the set target acceleration, and controls the drive source to generate the set target torque. In a case where the target acceleration at a time when the accelerator opening is increased is set as a depression-increasing target acceleration and the target acceleration at a time when the accelerator opening is decreased is set as a pedal-returning target acceleration, under the same condition of the accelerator opening, the processor sets the target acceleration such that the depression-increasing target acceleration and the pedal-returning target acceleration are different from each other in a predetermined range of an upper limit acceleration or less and a lower limit acceleration or greater.

The inhibition device includes a micro-controller configured with a triggering condition including a number of intervals and, for each interval, a corresponding duration and a corresponding threshold. Each interval is a range specifying how much the vehicle's acceleration pedal has changed its position in terms of percentages of a pedal stroke. Each duration specifies the fastest time duration allowable for the acceleration pedal to attain a corresponding interval of pedal position change. The micro-controller converts progress signals of the acceleration pedal to corresponding percentages, obtains a difference DEF between the successive percentages, records a time duration RES between successive progress signals, and calculates DEF/RES=X. When X is greater than or equal to a threshold of a corresponding interval, the micro-controller sends an idle signal to the vehicle's engine control unit or intercepts the progress signals to prevent them from reaching the engine control unit.

In an internal combustion engine which performs a homogeneous lean combustion mode and a stratified lean combustion mode, there is provided a new internal combustion engine control device capable of obtaining a stable combustion state by decreasing influences of delay of an air flow and a degree of change of a transient state and smoothly performing switching between the homogeneous lean combustion mode and the stratified lean combustion mode. Accordingly, in the present invention, when switching between the stratified lean mode in which a compression stroke injection is performed by a direct injection injector 7 and the homogeneous lean combustion mode in which an intake stroke injection is performed by the direct injection injector 7 is performed, a predetermined delay time t is provided from at least a switching operation of a tumble control valve 6, a switching operation between the compression stroke injection and the intake stroke injection is performed, and the delay time t is set so as to correspond to a magnitude of the degree of change L of the transient state. A switching timing between the compression stroke injection and the intake stroke injection is controlled according to the flow delay of an air control system such as the tumble control valve 6 and the degree of change L of the transient state, and thus, it is possible to improve combustion stability in a combustion chamber.

A storage device of a control system stores a trained neural network that is trained by using training data to which information as to whether there is an abnormality in an air flow meter is given as a true label. The trained neural network receives, as inputs, condition index values including the opening of a throttle valve and the engine speed, a load detected value calculated based on a detection signal of the air flow meter, a load estimated value estimated without using the detection signal of the air flow meter, and a change index value indicating the degree of change of the engine load. A CPU of the control system executes a diagnostic process to determine whether there is an abnormality in the air flow meter, using the neural network, which receives the condition index values, load detected value, load estimated value, and change index value as the inputs.

A control strategy includes: after an engine is energized, the continuously variable valve lift mechanism self learning to determine a current position; if the self learning is successful, the continuously variable valve lift mechanism being located at a maximum lift position, preparing for starting the engine, and determining a regulating mode based on a starting temperature, wherein at the time of normal temperature start, regulation is performed from the maximum lift position to a minimum lift position, and at the time of low temperature start, regulation is performed from the maximum lift position to a position where the two valves for the same cylinder have a maximum lift difference; if the self learning fails, entering a preliminary start mode; entering a CVVL control mode based on an operation condition of the engine; and powering off the engine.

A storage device of a control system stores a trained neural network that is trained by using training data to which information as to whether there is an abnormality in an air flow meter is given as a true label. The trained neural network receives, as inputs, condition index values including the opening of a throttle valve and the engine speed, a load detected value calculated based on a detection signal of the air flow meter, a load estimated value estimated without using the detection signal of the air flow meter, and a change index value indicating the degree of change of the engine load. A CPU of the control system executes a diagnostic process to determine whether there is an abnormality in the air flow meter, using the neural network, which receives the condition index values, load detected value, load estimated value, and change index value as the inputs.