A control device is configured to perform, when it is estimated that a combustion fluctuation increases, estimation related to an ignition delay for initial flame generated from a discharge spark and an air-fuel mixture containing fuel spray injected by intake stroke injection. When it is estimated that the ignition delay for the initial flame is increased from that before the increase in the combustion fluctuation, an injection amount in expansion stroke injection is reduced in a next time cycle. When it is estimated that the ignition delay for the initial flame is reduced from that before the increase in the combustion fluctuation, the injection amount in expansion stroke injection is increased in a next time cycle.

An air-fuel ratio controller of an internal combustion engine includes an open-loop processor setting a base injection amount, a feedback processor calculating a feedback operation amount, an increase processor performing an increase correction on the base injection amount when a temperature of the internal combustion engine is a specified temperature or lower, an operation processor operating a fuel injection valve based on the corrected base injection amount and that is corrected using the feedback operation amount and a learning value, and an update processor updating the learning value. If the increase processor performs the increase correction, the update processor updates the learning value to increase an increase correction rate of the base injection amount when a temperature of the cylinder wall surface is high.

A method, computer program product and apparatus for the pilot control of a mixture preparation for an internal combustion engine are disclosed, which include determining a configuration of the internal combustion engine. The configuration is determined by a combination of discrete positions of a plurality of actuators which influence at least one operating parameter of the internal combustion engine. The method, computer program product and apparatus additionally determine a constant adaptation component of the mixture preparation which is fed back by an exhaust gas probe of the internal combustion engine, and store the constant adaptation component and the associated configuration in memory. The pilot control of the mixture preparation is performed with the constant adaptation component when the internal combustion engine is operated in the same configuration.

A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine is configured, during a slightly stratified-charge lean-burn operation, to: calculate a basic total fuel injection amount based on a required torque; calculate a compression stroke injection amount based on an ignition delay index value; calculate, as a basic main injection amount, a value obtained by subtracting a compression stroke injection amount from the basic total fuel injection amount; calculate, based on an output value of an in-cylinder pressure sensor, an actual specified combustion index value that represents a main combustion speed or a combustion fluctuation rate; calculate a main injection correction term based on a result of a comparison between a target specified combustion index value or a tolerable specified combustion index value, and the actual specified combustion index value; and calculate a main injection amount by adding the main injection correction term to the basic main injection amount.

An exhaust purification system of an internal combustion engine which has a plurality of cylinders is comprised of an exhaust purification catalyst, a downstream side air-fuel ratio sensor, and a control device which controls the average air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas and the combustion air-fuel ratios of the cylinders. The control device performs average air-fuel ratio control where it alternately controls the average air-fuel ratio between the rich air-fuel ratio and the lean air-fuel ratio and inter-cylinder air-fuel ratio control where it controls the combustion air-fuel ratios of the cylinders so that the combustion air-fuel ratio becomes the rich air-fuel ratio at least at one cylinder among the plurality of cylinders even when the average air-fuel ratio is controlled to the lean air-fuel ratio by average air-fuel ratio control. In average air-fuel ratio control, the average air-fuel ratio is controlled so that the lean shift amount when controlling the average air-fuel ratio to the lean air-fuel ratio becomes smaller than the rich shift amount when controlling the average air-fuel ratio to the rich air-fuel ratio.

A fuel injection valve is controlled by setting a required injection amount using a required load factor of an engine and a purge correction amount. A purge control valve is controlled using a driving duty based on a required purge ratio when a purge of supplying the evaporated fuel gas to an intake pipe is being executed. During execution of the purge, the purge concentration-related value is learned based on an air-fuel ratio deviation that is a deviation of an air-fuel ratio from a required air-fuel ratio. The certainty of the purge concentration-related value is estimated using a first counter that reflects a number of times of learning of the purge concentration-related value during a first purge and that does not reflect a number of times of learning of the purge concentration-related value during a second purge.

A fuel injection valve is controlled by setting a required injection amount using a required load factor of an engine and a purge correction amount. A purge control valve is controlled using a driving duty based on a required purge ratio when a purge of supplying the evaporated fuel gas to an intake pipe is being executed. During execution of the purge, the purge concentration-related value is learned based on an air-fuel ratio deviation that is a deviation of an air-fuel ratio from a required air-fuel ratio. The certainty of the purge concentration-related value is estimated using a first counter that reflects a number of times of learning of the purge concentration-related value during a first purge and that does not reflect a number of times of learning of the purge concentration-related value during a second purge.

An imbalance detection device is provided. An obtainment process includes obtaining a rotation waveform variable based on a detection value of a sensor that detects a rotational behavior of a crankshaft, and an air-fuel ratio detection variable in each of a plurality of first intervals. A calculation process includes calculating an imbalance variable based on an output of a mapping having a value obtained by the obtainment process as an input. The imbalance variable indicates a degree of variations in an air-fuel ratio of the internal combustion engine. The rotation waveform variable indicates a difference between instantaneous speed variables that are variables corresponding to the rotational speed of the crankshaft in each of the second intervals.

A device and method for controlling an internal combustion engine having a catalytic converter. At least one actuating variable for the internal combustion engine is determined as a function of a system model of the catalytic converter and/or the internal combustion engine. The system model, a setpoint variable for the control and/or the actuating variable is adapted. Information about a modeled residual oxygen content in the exhaust gas downstream from the catalytic converter is determined using the system model. Information about an acquired residual oxygen content in the exhaust gas at the output of the catalytic converter is acquired. The information about the modeled residual oxygen content is compared with the information about the acquired residual oxygen content. A measure for an adaptation requirement is determined as a function of the result of the comparison.

A prescribed air-fuel ratio feedback control region for performing feedback-control of air-fuel ratio has therein: a first region where fuel is injected, during one combustion cycle, only from a first fuel injection valve injecting fuel directly into a cylinder; and a second region where fuel is injected, during one combustion cycle, from both of the first fuel injection valve and a second fuel injection valve injecting fuel into an air-intake passage. A second region is configured such that an amount of fuel injected from the first fuel injection valve and an amount of fuel injected from the second fuel injection valve remain at a given constant ratio regardless of operating status. A diagnosis on the first and second fuel injection valves is performed by using a first air-fuel ratio learning value learned in the first region and a second air-fuel ratio learning value learned in the second region.