An electronic device includes a voltage regulator circuit having a power NFET coupled between an upper supply voltage and a pre-regulator output node and a current source coupled in series with a diode element between the upper supply voltage and a lower supply voltage. A gate of the power NFET is coupled to a first node between the current source and a diode element. A bypass circuit includes a power PFET coupled between the upper supply voltage and the pre-regulator output node. A comparison circuit is coupled to turn the bypass circuit off when the upper supply voltage is greater than a regulation threshold voltage.

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 method for operating an internal combustion engine, including aligning an injection behavior of the number of injectors. Aligning the injection behavior includes switching off one injector of the number of injectors, detecting a signal of the internal combustion engine that is to be assigned to the switched off injector, determining an alignment characteristic from the signal and assigning the alignment characteristic to the switched off injector as an alignment characteristic assigned to the injector, and switching on the previously switched off injector. Aligning the injection behavior further includes performing the aforementioned steps sequentially for the other injectors of the number of injectors and correcting a control of an injector that is to be corrected using the measured value assigned to the injector that is to be corrected.

A control device for an internal combustion engine includes an information acquirer, a first computing unit, and a second computing unit. The information acquirer acquires information on a state amount that changes depending on the operation state of the internal combustion engine. A region determiner determines whether the state amount falls within a set region. The first computing unit uses an in-region state amount within the set region, as an input value to compute a control amount of the internal combustion engine by a neural network. The second computing unit selects a reference state amount within the set region, based on the out-of-region state amount, uses the selected reference state amount as an input value to compute a reference control amount by the neural network, and computes the control amount corresponding to the out-of-region state amount based on the computed reference control amount.

An internal combustion engine includes a state determination device. The state determination device includes a storage device and an execution device. The execution device executes an acquisition process, and a determination process. The execution device executes a guard process of bringing an internal combustion engine state variable closer to an allowable range or a value within the allowable range when the internal combustion engine state variable acquired in the acquisition process is out of the predetermined allowable range. The execution device determines the state of the internal combustion engine based on the internal combustion engine state variable after the guard process in the subsequent determination process when the guard process is executed.

A method to control the combustion of an internal combustion engine comprising determining a combustion model providing a spark advance value depending on an objective value of a quantity representing the incidence of a low-pressure EGR circuit, of the rotation speed, of the intake efficiency and of an open-loop contribution of a combustion index; calculating a first closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on the combustion index; calculating a second closed-loop contribution of the spark advance depending on a quantity indicating the knocking energy; and calculating the objective value of the spark advance angle to be operated through the sum of the spark advance value provided by the combustion model and of the first closed-loop contribution or, alternatively, of the second closed-loop contribution.

A controller controls a vehicle including an engine with a fuel vapor processing device. The fuel vapor processing device executes purge control that sends fuel vapor of a fuel tank, via a canister, to an intake passage on condition that air-fuel ratio learning is complete. The controller includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry automatically stops the engine when an automatic stopping condition is satisfied, automatically starts the engine when an automatic starting condition is satisfied, determines that a prohibition condition for prohibiting automatic stopping is satisfied when the air-fuel ratio learning is incomplete, and inhibits automatic stopping of the engine even if the automatic stopping condition is satisfied when determining that the prohibition condition is satisfied.

A state estimation device for an internal combustion engine includes: a storage device that stores mapping data, the mapping data being data defining a mapping that takes as an input an internal combustion engine state variable and that generates as an output an estimated value for estimating the state of the internal combustion engine; and an execution device that executes an acquisition process of acquiring the internal combustion engine state variable and an estimation process of calculating the estimated value based on the output of the mapping. The mapping data is data learned by machine learning. When the estimated value is out of an acceptable range, the execution device executes a guard process of adjusting the estimated value to a value close to or within the acceptable range. When executing the guard process, the execution device calculates the value after the guard process as the estimated value.

A vehicle control device includes a memory configured to store relationship definition data that defines a relationship between a state of a vehicle and an action variable, which is a variable relating to an operation of electronic equipment in the vehicle, and a processor. The processor is configured to execute acquisition processing of acquiring a detection value of a sensor and driving preference information, operation processing of operating the electronic equipment, reward calculation processing of providing a greater reward when a characteristic of the vehicle satisfies a criterion than when the characteristic of the vehicle does not satisfy the criterion, and update processing of updating the relationship definition data. The processor is configured to, based on update mapping, output the relationship definition data updated to increase an expected return on the reward when the electronic equipment is operated in compliance with the relationship definition data.

A controller for an internal combustion engine includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry executes a selecting process that selects one of a multi-injection process or a single injection process. The multi-injection process includes executing an intake synchronous injection and an intake asynchronous injection. The single injection process includes executing the intake asynchronous injection. In the intake synchronous injection, the fuel is injected in synchronization with a period in which an intake valve is open. In the intake asynchronous injection, the fuel is injected at timing advanced from timing of executing the intake synchronous injection. The processing circuitry changes ignition timing to a retarded side value in accordance with switching from execution of the multi-injection process to execution of the single injection process.