Cross-port air flow that improves engine fuel economy and reduces pumping losses during part-throttle operation can be implemented in various types of internal combustion engine systems using ports that interconnect the intake ports of different cylinders, thus allowing different cylinders to share combustion air. Cross-port air flow is commenced during part-throttle engine operation to disrupt the primary combustion air flow from each throttle to its associated cylinder, which reduces charge density and engine power. The engine compensates for the reduced power by incrementally opening the throttles, thus increasing the primary combustion air flow, reducing pumping losses and improving fuel economy.

A throttle device 1 includes a throttle valve 2 which is disposed in an intake passage 101, and includes a first valve body 20 and a first rotatable shaft 21 for rotatably holding the first valve body 20, a bypass valve 3 which is disposed in a bypass passage 8 connected to the intake passage 101 so as to bypass the throttle valve 2, and includes a second valve body 30 and a second rotatable shaft 31 for rotatably holding the second valve body 30, a common motor 4 for applying a driving force to the throttle valve 2 and the bypass valve 3, a first gear 5 configured to be able to transmit or block the driving force of the motor 4 with respect to the first rotatable shaft 21, a second gear 6 configured to receive the driving force of the motor 4 and transmit the driving force to the second rotatable shaft 31, and a sensor 7 for detecting a rotation amount of the second rotatable shaft 31 of the bypass valve 3 or another rotatable shaft rotating in conjunction with the second rotatable shaft 31.

A throttle device 1 includes a throttle valve 2 which is disposed in an intake passage 101, and includes a first valve body 20 and a first rotatable shaft 21 for rotatably holding the first valve body 20, a bypass valve 3 which is disposed in a bypass passage 8 connected to the intake passage 101 so as to bypass the throttle valve 2, and includes a second valve body 30 and a second rotatable shaft 31 for rotatably holding the second valve body 30, a common motor 4 for applying a driving force to the throttle valve 2 and the bypass valve 3, a first gear 5 configured to be able to transmit or block the driving force of the motor 4 with respect to the first rotatable shaft 21, a second gear 6 configured to receive the driving force of the motor 4 and transmit the driving force to the second rotatable shaft 31, and a sensor 7 for detecting a rotation amount of the second rotatable shaft 31 of the bypass valve 3 or another rotatable shaft rotating in conjunction with the second rotatable shaft 31.

In at least some implementations, a method of controlling a fuel-to-air ratio of a fuel and air mixture supplied to an engine, includes the steps of determining an engine deceleration event, determining the number of engine revolutions required for the engine speed to decrease from one speed threshold to another speed threshold, comparing the number of engine revolutions determined above against a revolution threshold, and making the fuel and air mixture richer if the number of engine revolutions determined above is greater than the revolution threshold. The method may also include determining if, before the engine stabilized at a stable engine speed (which may be an engine idle speed), the engine speed decreased below the stable engine speed as the engine decelerated to the stable engine speed from a speed above the stable engine speed, and making the fuel and air mixture leaner if the determination is affirmative.

A vehicle includes an engine, a second MG for running, a battery that supplies and receives electric power to and from the second MG, and an ECU. The ECU is configured to control the engine and the second MG and to execute intake air amount learning. When the SOC of the battery exceeds a second threshold value that is higher than a first threshold value while the vehicle is running using the second MG with the engine in a stopped state, the ECU maintains the engine in the stopped state and maintains the second MG in a driven state, and then does not execute the intake air amount learning. When the SOC of the battery takes a value between the first threshold value and the second threshold value, the ECU starts the engine, drives the second MG with constant torque, and executes the intake air amount learning.

A method for operating an idling control device for a motor vehicle. The idling control device specifies a total setpoint torque including a setpoint torque of an electric motor and a setpoint torque of an internal combustion engine which interacts with the electric motor, and sets the setpoint torques by respective control paths. In a first operating mode the idling control device sets a requested total setpoint torque only via the control path of the internal combustion engine by at least one control intervention, and in a second operating mode the idling control device sets the requested total setpoint torque by at least one control intervention via the control path of the internal combustion engine and by at least one control intervention via the control path of the electric motor. The control interventions via the control path of the internal combustion engine consist of at least one predetermined slow control intervention, and the control interventions in the control path of the electric motor consist of at least one predetermined fast control intervention, which intervenes with a higher rate of change over time than the at least one predetermined slow control intervention.

A two-stroke combustion engine comprising a user-operated throttle control, an adjustable valve arranged to control one or more air intakes of the combustion engine, and a control unit arranged to control a state of the adjustable valve, wherein the combustion engine is arranged to operate in a first idle mode at an idle engine speed below a clutch engagement engine speed when the user-operated throttle control is not engaged, wherein the combustion engine is arranged to operate in a second idle mode at a target engine speed above the clutch engagement engine speed when the user-operated throttle control is engaged and when the engine is not subject to an external load, the control unit being arranged to control the state of the adjustable valve to maintain engine speed at the target engine speed when the engine operates in the second idle mode.

A vehicle controller is provided. An update process updates a relationship defining data by inputting, to a predetermined update map, a state of a vehicle, a value of an action variable used to operate an electronic device, and a reward corresponding to that electronic device. A reward calculating process provides, based on the state of the vehicle obtained by an obtaining process, a greater reward when a characteristic of the vehicle meets a standard than when the characteristic of the vehicle does not meet the standard. A loosening process loosens the standard to a larger extent when the degree of deterioration is large than when the degree of deterioration is small.

A vehicle controller is provided. An update process updates a relationship defining data by inputting, to a predetermined update map, a state of a vehicle, a value of an action variable used to operate an electronic device, and a reward corresponding to that electronic device. A reward calculating process provides, based on the state of the vehicle obtained by an obtaining process, a greater reward when a characteristic of the vehicle meets a standard than when the characteristic of the vehicle does not meet the standard. A loosening process loosens the standard to a larger extent when the degree of deterioration is large than when the degree of deterioration is small.

Cross-port air flow that improves engine fuel economy and reduces pumping losses during part-throttle operation can be implemented in various types of internal combustion engine systems using ports that interconnect the intake ports of different cylinders, thus allowing different cylinders to share combustion air. Cross-port air flow is commenced during part-throttle engine operation to disrupt the primary combustion air flow from each throttle to its associated cylinder, which reduces charge density and engine power. The engine compensates for the reduced power by incrementally opening the throttles, thus increasing the primary combustion air flow, reducing pumping losses and improving fuel economy.