A control system for a compression ignition engine includes a combustion chamber, a throttle valve, an injector, an ignition plug, an EGR system, a sensor device and a controller. The controller includes a first mode module, a second mode module and a changing module configured to change an engine mode from a first mode to a second mode in response to a change demand. The changing module outputs signals to the throttle valve and the injector in response to the demand so that an air-fuel ratio of mixture gas becomes a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio or a substantially stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, and outputs a signal to the EGR system so that an EGR gas amount decreases more than before the demand, and when the EGR gas amount is determined to be decreased to a given amount, the changing module permits that the second mode module starts the second mode.

A vehicular internal combustion engine system includes an internal combustion engine and an electric intake air supply device. The internal combustion engine is shifted into a stoichiometric combustion mode, and a lean combustion mode. The electric intake air supply device is driven by an on-vehicle battery, and employed to contribute a part of intake air quantity at least under a specific operating condition when in the lean combustion mode. A control method includes: determining an electric energy of the electric intake air supply device that is required to maintain achievement of a target air fuel ratio of the lean combustion mode when in a lean combustion operation region; and causing a shift from the lean combustion mode into a stoichiometric combustion mode when the on-vehicle battery is in an insufficient state of charge with respect to the electric energy.

A method and apparatus for controlling part load mode engine torque are provided. The method includes setting a limitation of part load mode engine torque based on a current traveling environment and calculating a first engine torque variation in the basis of state information of a battery. When the first engine torque variation is calculated, a second engine torque variation is calculated based on a measured engine error amount. The limitation of part load mode engine torque is compensated based on the calculated first and second engine torque variations.

Methods, devices, controllers, and algorithms are described for operating an internal combustion engine wherein at least some firing opportunities utilize low temperature gasoline combustion (LTGC). Other firing opportunities may be skipped or utilize some other type of combustion, such as spark ignition. The nature of any particular firing opportunity is dynamically determined during engine operation, often on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis. Firings that utilize LTGC produce little, if any, nitrous oxides in the exhaust stream and thus, in some implementations, may require no aftertreatment system to remove them from the exhaust stream.

A homogenous charge electromagnetic volumetric ignition (HCEMVI) internal combustion engine (ICE) and its ignition method are disclosed in the present invention. The HCEMVI ICE includes a control module of the engine, an electromagnetic wave source, an electromagnetic wave coupling module and the cylinders of the ICE. Its ignition method is stated as: the control module of the engine controls the electromagnetic wave generation and, when the piston of a cylinder containing an air-fuel mixture moves to the preset ignition advance angle, the electromagnetic wave source is commanded to generate an electromagnetic wave at a frequency in accordance with the resonant frequency of the cylinder head at the advance angle. The electromagnetic wave is transmitted into the cylinder by the coupling module to create a strong electric field through electromagnetic resonance in the cylinder head and initiate volumetric ignition and bulk combustion of the air-fuel mixture inside the cylinder of the engine.

A method for testing power of an electric drive system includes setting the electric motor of the electric drive system to a desired speed and applying a brake load to the system. The method also includes increasing the brake load until an engine of the electric drive system is fully loaded. After the engine is fully loaded, the method includes maintaining the brake load until the acceleration remains between the upper predetermined threshold and the lower predetermined threshold for the predetermined period of time, which indicates that the engine has stabilized at full power. Once the engine is at full power, the commanded power of the electric drive system required for stabilizing the engine at full power is averaged, and the average power is compared to a predetermined pass/fail threshold to determine if the electric drive system has sufficient power.

A method for controlling an internal combustion engine is provided, which includes defining a first area in which the engine operates in a stoichiometric combustion mode and a second area in which the engine operates in a lean combustion mode, on an operation map defined by the engine load and speed, and causing a controller to determine that an operation point on the operation map shifts from the first area to the second area based on signals from an accelerator opening sensor and a crank angle sensor, predict a length of time that the operation point stays in the second area, switch a combustion mode to the lean combustion mode when the predicted time is longer than a given period of time, and maintain the stoichiometric combustion mode when the predicted time is shorter than the given period of time.

Methods, apparatus, systems, and computer-readable media are provided for employing a mode expansion module to increase a number of operating modes in which a vehicle can operate. The mode expansion module can operate as a computing device, which can be connected to an existing vehicle for sending and receiving both sensor signals and engine control signals. The mode expansion module can be controlled by a user using an existing vehicle control switch that is connected to the vehicle, and can leverage connections to an existing display panel in the vehicle in order to indicate to the user the operating mode that has been selected. Furthermore, when a particular mode of the mode expansion module is selected, the mode expansion module can modify control commands being transmitted from an existing engine control module, and/or modify sensor signals being provided to the existing engine control module.

A control system for a compression ignition engine configured to start compression ignition combustion by igniting mixture gas formed by injecting fuel into combustion chambers is provided, which includes combustion chambers each defined in respective cylinders so that displacements of the combustion chambers change by respective pistons reciprocating, a throttle valve, ignition plugs, injectors, a sensor having measuring parts including an atmospheric-pressure detector configured to detect an atmospheric pressure, and configured to measure parameters related to operation of the engine, and a controller. The controller executes a lean compression ignition combustion control in which compression ignition combustion is performed at a given lean air-fuel ratio higher than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. The controller restricts the execution of the lean compression ignition combustion control when the controller determines that the atmospheric pressure is lower than a given threshold based on a signal outputted from the atmospheric-pressure detector.

A method for controlling starting of a mild hybrid vehicle includes receiving a starting-request signal and in response, increasing a rotation speed of the engine by driving the MHSG by electricity supplied from a battery. Status data of the mild hybrid vehicle for controlling starting of the engine is monitored to obtain an engine rotation speed from the status data and determine an injection-starting rotation speed based on the status data. When the engine rotation speed is greater than the injection-starting rotation speed, fuel injection of the engine is started.