A controller for an internal combustion engine includes: a failure determination section which determines a failure state in a case where a relative rotation phase of an intake side valve opening and closing timing control mechanism does not change when controlling the mechanism after starting the driving of a starter motor and trying to change the relative rotation phase of the mechanism in a start control for starting an internal combustion engine. When the section determines a failure, the controller performs at least one of an intake air amount increase control in which an opening degree of a throttle valve is increased, an ignition timing advance angle control in which injection of fuel is performed at a timing earlier than a set timing and ignition is performed, and a multi-injection control in which the fuel is injected immediately before the ignition in addition to the fuel injection in an intake stroke.

An apparatus for controlling a variable valve timing (VVT) in an internal combustion engine, which varies an opening and closing time of an intake valve and an exhaust valve by controlling a rotation phase of a camshaft with respect to a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine, includes a controller configured to determine whether an engine state enters a scavenging region or not in an overlap area of the intake valve and the exhaust valve and to control the VVT to reduce a valve overlap period depending on a period of time elapsed after the engine state enters the scavenging region.

Methods and apparatus relate to air handling for an internal combustion engine system, particularly utilizing premixed air and fuel. The engine system includes an intake air throttle (IAT) having a position set in response to the engine speed and a variable valve timing module having an intake valve timing set in response to the engine load. The variable valve timing module may be a cam phaser having a position at or between full retard and full advance positions. The engine system may operate in a transient mode or a fuel efficiency mode. The IAT position is adjusted in response to an engine speed error value or set at full throttle. The cam phaser position is adjusted in response to a pressure difference across the IAT, the engine speed, or is set to a limit position.

An object is to provide a control device that calculates an intake pipe pressure of an engine, in which the humidity of air is measured, and a change in a gas constant due to a change in the total number of moles of air is corrected, to improve the accuracy of the calculation value of the intake pipe pressure.

A control device that controls an engine provided with an air amount measurement unit that measures an air amount passing through a throttle throttle valve provided in an intake passage of the engine, and a humidity measurement unit that measures a humidity of air passing through the throttle throttle valve, includes: an air amount calculation unit that calculates an air amount flowing into a cylinder of the engine based on a measurement result of the air amount measurement unit; and a pressure calculation unit that calculates a pressure of the intake manifold on a downstream side of the throttle throttle valve based on the air amount measured by the air amount measurement unit, the air amount calculated by the air amount calculation unit, and the humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit.

A method for predicting a future camshaft position includes approximating a regulating circuit or a part of a regulating circuit that includes at least an adjusting device by a transfer function, and ascertaining a future camshaft position on the basis of the transfer function. An engine control unit is also provided.

An internal combustion engine includes a fuel nozzle for injecting a fuel into a combustion chamber, and a plasma igniter for generating one or more pluralities of free radicals within the chamber, and initiating a flame to ignite the fuel. The igniter protrudes into the chamber. A method of igniting a fuel within a combustion chamber and controlling combustion phasing includes injecting a first portion of the fuel into the combustion chamber, energizing the plasma igniter to generate one or more pluralities of free radicals, each plurality having a known voltage, subsequently injecting a second portion of the fuel into the combustion chamber, and closely coupling activation of the plasma igniter with the second injection to ignite the fuel. Combustion phasing of the ignition event is controlled by controlling the number and voltage of the pluralities of free radicals generated by the plasma igniter.

A method for controlling an engine variable valve timing of a hybrid electric vehicle, may include providing a cam position setting table of a fuel efficiency prioritized intake/exhaust cam control mode, and a cam position setting table of a normal intake/exhaust cam control mode, the cam position setting table of the fuel efficiency prioritized intake/exhaust cam control mode being differentiated from the cam position setting table of the normal intake/exhaust cam control mode; selecting one of the fuel efficiency prioritized intake/exhaust cam control mode and the normal intake/exhaust cam control mode by a canister loading amount and whether or not diagnosis of an intake cam and diagnosis of an exhaust cam are completed; and determining position control values of the intake and exhaust cams by using the cam position setting table and then controlling positions of the intake cam and the exhaust cam by the determined position control values.

A method for reinforcing anti-engine stall may include performing a cam timing control for measuring engine speed of an engine wherein when abnormality of a crank position detector is detected by a controller, engine speed of the engine is controlled to be higher than that at the time when the abnormality of crank position detector occurs while maintaining position for cam phase control operation of a variable timing system.

A method for advancing valve actuation during low load or idle diesel engine conditions to promote aftertreatment heat up comprises switching a cam phaser from a nominal lift position to an advance lift position to open an affiliated valve before nominal. Valve lift is actuated via the cam phaser. The valve is lowered towards nominal closure, and valve closure is interrupted by actuating a latch phaser. Valve closure is extended beyond nominal valve closure.

In a control device and a control method for a variable valve timing mechanism according to the present invention, the rotational phase of a camshaft is measured based on the cam angle signal and crank angle signal upon receiving each pulse of the cam angle signal, and the rotational phase change over time within a period of the cam angle signal is measured based on the motor angle signal. It is decided whether the cam angle signal and/or crank angle signal has a prescribed pulse pattern at a diagnostic timing that comes after the last pulse of the cam angle signal. When this decision result is positive, it is then decided whether the motor angle sensor operates normally or abnormally based on the rotational phase and the amount of rotational phase change that are measured when the last pulse of the cam angle signal is received before the diagnostic timing.