Method and apparatus for controlling exhaust gas purification system for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11092050-B2
Application number	US-202016865700-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 4, 2020
Priority date	Nov 6, 2017
Publication date	Aug 17, 2021
Grant date	Aug 17, 2021

Abstract

In a control apparatus, a calculation calculates an additional heating amount for an exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine in accordance with an activity of an exhaust purification catalyst in response to the internal combustion engine being required to be started after start of heating of the exhaust purification catalyst by an electric heating device. A drive control unit controls, in accordance with the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas, an amount of heat of the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control apparatus for controlling an exhaust gas purification system, the exhaust gas purification system including:
an exhaust purification catalyst disposed in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine of a vehicle; and
an electric heating device for heating the exhaust purification catalyst based on supplied electric power,
the control apparatus comprising:
an activity acquisition unit configured to acquire an activity of the exhaust purification catalyst;
a heating control unit configured to cause the electric heating device to initiate and continuously heat the exhaust purification catalyst until the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst becomes a totally active level in response to an ignition operation of the vehicle;
a calculation unit configured to:
calculate an additional heating amount for the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine in response to the internal combustion engine being required to be started after start of heating of the exhaust purification catalyst by the electric heating device, the additional heating amount being required for the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst to become the totally active level;
determine whether the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst is a non-activity level, a semi-activity level, or the totally active level in response to the internal combustion engine being required to be started; and
adjust the additional heating amount tor the exhaust gas in accordance with determination of whether the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst is the non-activity level, the semi-activity level, or the totally active level;

a drive control unit configured to control, in accordance with the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas adjusted by the calculation unit, an amount of heat of the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine to accordingly heat the exhaust purification catalyst in parallel with heating of the exhaust purification catalyst by the electric heating device under control of the heating control unit.

2. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the calculation unit is configured to reduce the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas with an increase in the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst.

3. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the calculation unit is configured to calculate the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas heat in accordance with at least one of a speed of the vehicle or an acceleration of the vehicle.

4. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the calculation unit is configured to calculate the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas in accordance with an amount of a purification target component contained in the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine.

5. A method of controlling an exhaust gas purification system that includes:
an exhaust purification catalyst disposed in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine of a vehicle; and
an electric heating device for heating the exhaust purification catalyst based on supplied electric power,
the method comprising the steps of:
acquiring an activity of the exhaust purification catalyst;
initiating and continuously heating, using the electric heating device, the exhaust purification catalyst until the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst becomes a totally active level in response to an ignition operation of the vehicle;
calculating an additional heating amount for the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine in response to a request for starting the internal combustion engine, the additional heating amount being required for the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst to become the totally active level;
determining whether the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst is a non-activity level, a semi-activity level or the totally active level in response to the internal combustion engine being required to be started;
adjusting the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas in accordance with determination of whether the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst is the non-activity level, the semi-activity level, or the totally active level; and
controlling, in accordance with the adjusted additional heating amount for the exhaust gas, an amount of heat of the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine to accordingly heat the exhaust purification catalyst in parallel with heating of the exhaust purification catalyst by the electric heating device under control of the heating control unit.

6. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising:
reducing the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas with an increase in the activity of the exhaust purification catalyst.

7. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising:
calculating the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas heat in accordance with at least one of a speed of the vehicle or an acceleration of the vehicle.

8. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising:
calculating the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas in accordance with an amount of a purification target component contained in the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine.

9. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising:
calculating the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas in accordance with an energy deficiency which is energy that is required for a temperature of the exhaust purification catalyst to have reached a totally active temperature.

10. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising:
calculating the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas in accordance with an amount of energy discharged from the exhaust purification catalyst layer.

11. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the calculation unit is configured to calculate the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas in accordance with an energy deficiency which is energy that is required for a temperature of the exhaust purification catalyst to have reached a totally active temperature.

12. The control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the calculation unit is configured to calculate the additional heating amount for the exhaust gas in accordance with an amount of energy discharged from the exhaust purification catalyst layer.

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Matsumura Yasuhiro

Classifications

• Y02T10/12

  Improving ICE efficiencies · CPC title

• F01N3/021

  by means of filters · CPC title

• F02D43/00

  Conjoint electrical control of two or more functions, e.g. ignition, fuel-air mixture, recirculation, supercharging or exhaust-gas treatment · CPC title

• Y02A50/20

  Air quality improvement or preservation, e.g. vehicle emission control or emission reduction by using catalytic converters · CPC title

• F01N2240/16

  an electric heater, i.e. a resistance heater · CPC title