BRPI0702927B1 - engine controller of a bi-fuel engine - Google Patents

Abstract

engine controller When supplemental fuel (gasoline) in a sub-tank (6) is slowed by the low-temperature start of an engine (2) to turn on a fuel switch (40), an engine ecu (80) lights a lamp (86) to make a driver supply the supplemental fuel. In addition, the engine ecu (80) takes the amount of injection of the extra fuel to be supplied to the engine (2) at the subsequent low-temperature start, which is lower than when the fuel switch (40) is off, preventing as soon as the extra fuel is decreased. In addition, the amount of supplemental fuel injection in a state in which the fuel supply lamp (86) is on or at low starting time is changed according to the number of times the engine (2) starts. at low temperature when the fuel switch (40) is on.

Description

"MOTOR CONTROLLER OF A BIOFUEL ENGINE" FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to an engine controller for a flexible fuel engine in which a main fuel and a supplementary fuel are used. The supplementary fuel is different in property from the main fuel and supplements a combustion mainly at the start at a low temperature.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In a flexible fuel engine in which the main fuel and the supplementary fuel are used, since the main fuel has a lower ignition point than gasoline, a sub-tank to store gasoline as supplementary fuel it is provided apart from a main tank to store the main fuel. When the engine is at a low temperature, the supplementary fuel (gasoline) in the sub-tank is supplied to the engine in place of a main fuel to start the engine (see JP-2-149758A and JP-2006-105043A).

[0003] In the previous engine controller, the supplementary fuel in the sub-tank is used only to start at a low temperature, so that the user cannot recognize the remaining amount of supplementary fuel in the sub-tank, except in cases where the user visually checks the remaining amount of supplemental fuel.

[0004] For this reason, there are cases where before the user checks the remaining amount of supplementary fuel and refills the subtank with supplementary fuel, the sub-tank will be empty of supplementary fuel and consequently the engine cannot be started at next low temperature start.

[0005] In order to avoid this problem, it can also be conceived that the user should be led to supply the sub-tank with the supplementary fuel to the

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 9/56 / 39 detects that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel is decreasing by turning on the fuel level indicator lamp. However, only by switching on the fuel level light when the remaining amount of supplementary fuel is decreasing, the user does not always notice that the fuel level light is on. In addition, even if the user notices that the fuel level indicator light is on, the user does not always check the sub-tank or fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel.

[0006] For that reason, even if the remaining amount of supplementary fuel in the sub-tank is detected as decreasing and the fuel level indicator light is on, there are cases in which before filling the sub-tank with the supplementary fuel, the sub-tank will be empty of supplementary fuel, making it impossible to start the engine on the next low temperature start.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] The present invention was developed in view of these problems. It is an objective of the present invention to avoid the possibility that in an engine controller that supplies an engine with supplementary fuel (gasoline) when the engine is at a low temperature and that it runs the engine with the main fuel after the engine has already started , the sub-tank is empty of supplementary fuel and consequently the engine cannot be started when it is in low temperature.

[0008] In an engine controller, a low temperature determination device, determines whether an engine can be started by the main fuel stored in the main tank when the engine is started.

[0009] When the low temperature determination device

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 10/56 / 39 determines that the engine can be started, the normal start control device supplies the engine with the main fuel in the main tank to start the engine. Conversely, when the low temperature determination device determines that an engine temperature is lower than the temperature at which the engine can be started, the low temperature determination device supplies the engine with supplementary fuel in a sub- tank to start the engine. [00010] In addition, the engine controller includes a remaining quantity detection device for detecting the remaining amount of supplementary fuel from the sub-tank, decreasing to an established remaining quantity or less. When the remaining quantity detector device detects the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity or less, the supplementary fuel consumption reduction device makes up the quantity of supplementary fuel, which the low temperature starter supplies to the engine. at the time when the low temperature is installed in the engine, less than that of a normal operation in which the device that detects the remaining quantity does not detect the remaining quantity of the supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less.

[00011] For this reason, it is possible to increase the number of times that the low temperature trigger device can start the engine after the device detecting the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining amount established or less, until the subtank becomes empty of supplementary fuel. Therefore, it is possible to increase the likelihood that a user (or an engine inspector) will check the sub-tank and fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel before the sub-tank is empty of supplementary fuel. Then, according to the present invention, it is possible to decrease the probability that the engine cannot be started at the time of the next

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 11/56 / 39 starting at low temperature because the sub-tank is empty of supplementary fuel without being supplied with the supplementary fuel.

[00012] Here, when the remaining quantity detector device detects the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the supplementary fuel consumption reduction device only needs to be able to make the quantity of supplementary fuel, whose low temperature starter supplies the engine, in a smaller amount within a range where the engine can be started as in normal operation. Specifically, when the remaining quantity detector device detects that the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel is decreasing to the determined remaining quantity or less, the supplementary fuel consumption reduction device can make a period of time in which the low starting device temperature supplies extra fuel in a shorter time than in normal operation time. Alternatively, when the remaining amount detecting means detects that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel is decreasing to the remaining amount remaining or less, the supplementary fuel consumption reduction means can make the amount of supplementary fuel per unit time when the device low temperature start-up supplies the supplementary fuel in a lesser amount than during normal operation.

[00013] When the remaining quantity detector device detects that the supplementary fuel quantity is decreasing to the established remaining quantity or less, the complementary fuel consumption reduction means reduces a period of time during which the low starting device temperature supplies the supplementary fuel in such a way that the number of times the low temperature starter starts the engine is increased, the period

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 12/56 / 39 of time during which the low temperature starter refills with the supplementary fuel is decreased. With this, it is possible to further extend the time that elapses after the remaining quantity detection device detects that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel has decreased to the remaining amount established or less, until the sub-tank is empty of supplementary fuel. Consequently, it is possible to decrease the probability that the engine will not be able to start at low temperature.

[00014] When the remaining quantity detector device detects that the remaining supplemental fuel is decreasing to the established remaining quantity or less, the supplementary fuel consumption reduction device reduces the amount of supplementary fuel supply per unit time when the device low temperature starter supplies the supplementary fuel in such a way that the number of times the low temperature starter starts the engine is increased, the amount of supplementary fuel per unit time when the starter at low temperature it refills as supplementary fuel is decreased. With this, it is possible to further extend the time that elapses after the remaining quantity detection device detects that the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel is decreasing to the established remaining quantity or less until the sub-tank is empty of additional fuel. Consequently, it is possible to decrease the probability that the engine cannot start at a low temperature.

[00015] When the remaining quantity detector device detects that the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel is decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, if the reducing device of supplementary fuel consumes the quantity of supplementary fuel used at the time of engine start at low temperature by

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 13/56 / 39 low temperature engine starting device is lower than during normal operation, it is possible to increase the number of times the low temperature starting device can start the engine and increase the likelihood that the user will supply the sub-tank with supplementary fuel before the tank is empty of supplementary fuel. However, without the user checking the sub-tank and recognizing that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel has decreased to the remaining amount set or less, the user does not fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel.

[00016] It is then sufficient to provide the engine controller with a notification device to notify the user that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount established or less when the remaining amount detector device detects that the remaining amount of fuel supplementation decreases to the remaining quantity established or less.

[00017] In other words, with this notification device, it is possible to notify the user that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount established or less. Consequently, it is possible to further increase the possibility that the user will supply the sub-tank with supplementary fuel before the fuel in the sub-tank is exhausted. By extension, it is possible to prevent the engine from being unable to start due to the exhausted fuel starting at low engine temperature.

[00018] Additionally, when the notification device notifies the user that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel is decreasing to the remaining amount established or less, if a notification mode is fixed, it can be taken into account that the user does not notice the consequently do not fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel, or even if the user notices the notification, the

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 14/56 / 39 the user determines that the sub-tank is not yet empty of supplementary fuel and consequently does not fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel.

[00019] So, to increase the probability that the user will fill the sub-tank with the supplementary fuel, before the supplementary fuel has finished in the sub-tank, it is sufficient to configure the notification device in such a way that when the remaining quantity detection device detects that the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel is decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the notification device switches the notification mode that the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreases to the established quantity or less than according to the number of times the low temperature starter starts the engine. Alternatively, it is sufficient to configure the notification device in such a way that when the remaining quantity detection device detects the remaining quantity of the supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the notification device changes the way of notifying that the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount set or less according to the number of times the engine controller is started (in other words, the number of times the engine has started).

[00020] With this, the user recognizes the need to supply the sub-tank with the supplementary fuel from the change in the notification mode that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount established or less.

[00021] Thus, it is possible to increase the probability that the user will fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel before the sub-tank becomes empty of supplementary fuel and consequently more effectively prevent the engine from becoming disabled to start in

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 15/56 / 39 low temperature time.

[00022] If the configuration of the notification device like this is applied to an engine controller fitted with the supplementary fuel consumption reduction device, it will be possible to extend the time that elapses since the remaining amount of supplementary fuel is detected as decreasing until the remaining amount is established or less until the supplementary fuel is finished and the user is quick to fill the sub-tank with the supplementary fuel. Thus, it is possible to more effectively prevent the engine from becoming disabled from being started in low temperature time. However, the objective of the present invention can be achieved only by applying the notification device configuration like this to an engine controller with the supplementary fuel consumption reduction device.

[00023] In other words, when the remaining quantity detector device detects the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel as decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the notification device can change the way of notifying that the remaining quantity of supplementary fuel is decreasing up to the remaining amount established or less according to the number of times the low temperature starter starts the engine (in other words, the amount of decrease in supplementary fuel in the subtank). Additionally, when the remaining quantity detector device detects the remaining amount of supplemental fuel as decreasing to the remaining amount or less, the notification device can switch the way of notifying that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel is decreasing to the established remaining amount or less according to the number of times the engine controller is started (ie the number of times the engine is started) [00024] For this reason, changing the notification mode that

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 16/56 / 39 Remaining amount of supplementary fuel is decreasing until the amount remaining, or less, it is possible to increase the likelihood that the user will fill the sub-tank with the supplementary fuel before the sub-tank runs out of fuel supplementary and consequently nullify the probability that the engine cannot be started at a low temperature. Thus, it is possible to achieve the objective of the present invention.

[00025] Even if the notification device notifies the user that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel in the sub-tank is decreasing to the level of remaining quantity established or less, when the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining quantity established or less, as described above, when the station at which the notification is made is a station in which the frequency with which the supplementary fuel is used when starting the engine is small, for example, at an intermediate station between winter and in the spring, the extra fuel in the sub-tank does not empty. Consequently, in this case, it can be considered that the user does not fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel.

[00026] Thus, when the season goes in a state where the sub-tank is not filled with complementary fuel, from spring to summer, from summer to autumn, and after autumn to winter, when the Starting at low temperatures often starts the engine, there is a possibility that the engine cannot be started at low temperature because the amount of extra fuel in the sub-tank has decreased rapidly.

[00027] Thus, to avoid such a problem, it is sufficient to provide the motor controller with an ambient temperature change detection device that shows an engine temperature (water temperature freezing the engine) when starting the engine for each drive

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 17/56 / 39 of the engine and which detects a transition time based on a change in the engine temperature shown, when a state (eg hot season) at which an air temperature, at which the low temperature starting device it does not start the engine, it is changed to a temperature, (for example winter) when the low temperature starter starts the engine. It is sufficient to configure a notification device in such a way that when the temperature changes, the detector device detects the change in the air temperature transition time where the low temperature starting device starts the engine, the notification device changes the mode to notify that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount established or less, in this case, prompting the user to fill the sub-tank with the supplementary fuel.

[00028] In other words, with this, it is possible to rush the user to fill the sub-tank with the supplementary fuel in a transition season (for example, a transitional season between autumn and winter) to a temperature at which the low temperature starter start operating and fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel before the sub-tank runs out of supplementary fuel. This way, it is possible to prevent the engine from being unable to start from now on at low temperature.

[00029] When the notification device is configured to control display devices, such as a lamp, a light emitting diode, and a liquid crystal to notify that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount set or less, it is enough to change the lighting patterns (lighting, flashing, lighting time, off (light) time, or others) and colors of the lighting on the display device (ie lamp, light emitting diode, or others) and at least one of the characters or symbols shown on the

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 18/56 / 39 display device. With this, the user can recognize the need (urgency) of supplying the sub-tank with supplementary fuel based on the patterns and lighting colors of the display device, or a change in the characters or symbols shown on the display device. [00030] Extending the time that elapses after the remaining amount of supplementary fuel is detected as decreasing to the remaining amount established or less, until the supplementary fuel in the sub-tank is exhausted, or changing the way in which the notification device notifies you that the Remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount established or less, it is possible to increase the likelihood that the user will fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel before the supplementary fuel in the sub-tank is exhausted. However, if the user does not fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel, finally, the engine cannot start at a low temperature.

[00031] Thus, it is sufficient to supply the engine controller with the device for determining the fuel depletion and configuring a device for determining the fuel depletion as follows: when the device detecting the remaining quantity detects the remaining quantity of the supplementary fuel decreasing until the remaining quantity is established or less, the fuel exhaustion determination device determines whether the low temperature starting device can start the engine; and when the fuel exhaustion determination device determines that the low temperature starting device cannot start the engine, the fuel exhaustion determination device determines that the supplementary fuel from the sub-tank is emptied and stores in a storage medium the depletion of supplementary fuel in the sub-tank.

[00032] In other words, with this, when a problem occurs in

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 19/56 / 39 starting the engine, the user may find that the defective starting of the engine is caused by the depletion of supplementary fuel in the sub-tank or by a failure in systems other than the supplementary fuel supply system (supply system failure) main fuel from the main tank or in the ignition system) when reading the information stored in the storage medium. Therefore, it is possible to quickly take measures such as filling the sub-tank with complementary fuel and repairing the engine.

[00033] In addition, the fuel exhaust determination device can be configured as follows: when the exhaust determination device determines that the supplementary fuel in the sub-tank is exhausted, the fuel exhaust determination device notifies the user the depletion of supplementary fuel, for example, by lighting an engine check lamp to rush the user to check the engine, or the like, and store the depletion of supplementary fuel in the storage medium.

[00034] If the fuel exhaustion determination device is configured in this way, when the failure to start the engine is caused by the depletion of supplementary fuel, it is possible to notify the user of the fact that the engine cannot start due to running out of supplementary fuel and rushing the user to quickly fill the sub-tank with supplementary fuel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [00035] Fig. 1 is a general construction diagram showing the overall construction of an engine and its first configuration control system.

[00036] Fig. 2 is a flow chart showing the process of starting the control at low temperature performed by an ECU motor from

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 20/56 / 39 first configuration.

[00037] Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing the main fuel injection control process performed by the first configuration ECU engine.

[00038] Fig. 4A and 4B are graphs showing a map of estimation of alcohol concentration and a map of determination of satisfaction of starting condition in low temperature, which are used in the execution time of the process of control of starting in low temperature shown in Fig. 2.

[00039] Fig. 5 is a time table showing a control operation at a low temperature start time by the ECU engine in the first configuration.

[00040] Fig. 6 is a flow chart showing the low temperature start control process performed by an ECU engine in a second configuration.

[00041] Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing the process of light control of the fuel supply lamp performed by the ECU engine of the second configuration.

[00042] Fig. 8 is a graph showing the operation of setting the control time of the low temperature start of a modification.

[00043] Fig. 9 is a graph showing the operation of establishing a supplementary fuel injection amount for a modification 4.

[00044] Fig. 10 is a flow chart showing the process of controlling the light of the fuel lamp of a modification 5.

[00045] Fig. 11 is a flow chart showing the low temperature start control process of a modification 6.

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 21/56 / 39

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED CONFIGURATIONS. [00046] Preferred configurations of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First configuration) [00047] Fig. 1 is a general construction diagram showing the general construction of a motor 2 of a first configuration to which the present invention is applied, and its control system.

[00048] Engine 2 of this configuration is a four-cycle multi-cylindrical engine, used as a power source for a car and provided with a main tank 4 to store mixed alcohol fuel and gasoline (mixed-alcohol fuel) as the main fuel and a sub-tank 6 to store gasoline as supplementary fuel.

[00049] A suction passage 10 of the engine 2 is branched into passages for respective cylinders in a suction pipe 14 arranged in a downward direction for a hydraulic oscillation column 12 and the passages are connected with the combustion chambers 20 of the respective cylinders via suction ports 16, respectively. In addition, a suction air quantity sensor 22 to detect a suction air quantity and an electronically controlled throttle valve 26 having its opening controlled by a motor 24 are arranged upwardly from the hydraulic oscillation column 14 arranged at the suction passage 12. The choke valve is also provided with a choke sensor 27 to detect its openings (choke openings).

[00050] Next, the main fuel injectors 28 for main fuel injection and supply and supplementary fuel injection nozzles 30 for injecting and supplying supplementary fuel are arranged in the suction ports 16 of the cylinders descended in the hydraulic oscillation column 14 , respectively.

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 22/56 / 39 [00051] A passage 32 for supplementary fuel supply to the supplementary fuel injection nozzles 30 is common for the respective cylinders and the supplementary fuel is supplied to the supplementary fuel injection nozzles 30, from the sub -tank 6 via a supplementary fuel supply pump 34, a stop valve 36, and a fuel control valve. For this reason, the amount of supplementary fuel injection from the supplementary fuel injection nozzle 30 is determined by opening the fuel control valve 38 (directing the workload ratio) and its steering time, the fuel control valve. fuel being driven by workload by an ECU 80 engine which will be described later. Sub-tank 6 is provided with a switch 40 placed in the ON position when the amount of supplementary fuel is decreased to an amount in which the sub-tank needs to be supplied with the supplementary fuel.

[00052] On the other hand, the main fuel injector 28 is supplied at a pre-determined pressure with the main fuel sucked by a main fuel supply pump 42, from the main tank 4. The main fuel injector 28 opens the valve solenoid built here according to the ECU 80 engine direction signal to inject and supply the main fuel in an amount responsive to its valve opening time for the corresponding cylinder. The main tank 4 is provided with a tank to absorb the evaporated fuel from the main tank 4 and the suction port 10 and the engine 2 is provided with the bleed valve 46 to flow the absorbed material in the tank 44 into the suction port 10 by a negative pressure produced in the suction passage 10.

[00053] Next, the combustion chambers 20 of the engine cylinders 20 are provided with ignition sockets 50 to connect a fuel mixer.

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 23/56 / 39 fuel and air introduced in combustion chambers 20, respectively. A water temperature sensor 54 to detect the temperature of the cold water flowing in the water jackets around the combustion chambers 20 and knock sensors 56 to detect the detonation of the engine 20, are arranged in the water jackets. The ignition sockets 50 of the cylinders are provided with ignition coils 52 for high voltage application for spark charge to the ignition sockets 50 according to the engine command ECU 80, respectively.

[00054] Furthermore, the exhaust passage 60 of the engine 2 is connected to the combustion chambers 20 of the respective cylinders via the exhaust ports 62. In the exhaust passage 60, an combustible proportion sensor 66 is arranged to detect the proportion of the fuel mixture supplied for combustion in the combustion chambers 20 of the respective cylinders. In addition, a catalyst device 68 for cleaning the exhaust gas that is deposited downwardly on the air-fuel ratio sensor 66.

[00055] Next, motor 2 is provided with a rotational angle sensor 58 to generate a pulse signal at a specified rotational angle of a crankshaft, an accelerator sensor 72 to detect an operating position (the amount of depression) of an accelerator pedal 70 operated by a driver, and the like. The detection signals from these sensors, 58, 72 are imputed to the ECU engine 80 together with the detection signals from the other antecedent sensors and switches.

[00056] Next, the ECU 80 engine is an electronic control unit, mainly built for an 82 microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM and the like. The ECU 80 detects the state of operation of engine 2 on the basis of detecting the signals of the various qualities of sensors and antecedent sockets and performs the fuel injection control by controlling the opening time of the fuel injector valve.

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 24/56 / 39 main fuel 28 (ie the amount of fuel injection), the ignition time control by controlling the time when the ignition coil 52 develops high voltage (ie ignition time), or the control throttling, controlling the opening of the throttle valve 26 based on the detection of the accelerator sensor signal 72 and the like.

[00057] The ECU 80 engine is provided with a non-volatile memory (EEPROM in this configuration) 84 for storing data necessary to control, in order to prevent data from being lost when the power supply coming from a battery-powered vehicle is closed .

[00058] Additionally, the ECU 80 engine has a fuel supply lamp in sub-tank 86 and an engine check lamp 88 connected, with the fuel supply lamp in sub-tank 86 arranged in front of the driver's seat of the vehicle and by speeding the driver to fill sub-tank 6 with supplementary fuel, the engine check lamp 88 warning the driver of the occurrence of an abnormality in engine 2. When the supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 is decreasing to take commutator 40 to in the ON position, the ECU 80 engine turns on the fuel tank light of the sub-tank. When an abnormality occurs in the engine control, for example, engine 2 cannot be started, engine ECU 80 lights engine check lamp 88.

[00059] In addition, the ECU 80 engine is started when an ignition switch (IGSW, not shown) is placed (in the on position) and performs several previous control processes until the ignition switch (IGSW) is placed (in the position off). Immediately after the ECU 80 engine starts, the ECU 80 engine determines, based on the alcohol concentration of the main fuel in the main tank 4 and an engine temperature (water temperature), whether engine 2 can start with the main fuel. When ECU 80 determines that the

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 25/56 / 39 engine 2 cannot start with the main fuel (low temperature conditions to be described later have been satisfied), ECU 80 performs control of the low temperature start by injecting supplementary fuel into tank 6 (coming ) of the supplementary fuel injection nozzle 30 to start engine 2.

[00060] The low temperature start control process performed in this way by the ECU 80 immediately after the ECU 80 engine is started and the main fuel injection control process is performed in correspondence with the low temperature start control process will be described according to a flow chart shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.

[00061] As shown in Fig.2 in the low temperature start control process, first in step S110 (S designating a step) process 1 of the estimate of the alcohol concentration of the main fuel in the main tank 4 is performed. In this process of estimating the alcohol concentration, for example, the value obtained from a correction factor (fuel-air ratio correction factor) is ready in EEPROM 84, the value obtained being updated in order to make an oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas no greater than a value specified on the basis of the air-fuel ratio sensor 66 detection signal when computing a fuel injection amount. The alcohol concentration of the main fuel is estimated according to the divergence between the value obtained from the air-fuel ratio correction factor and a reference value (value 1), and an estimate of the alcohol concentration, shown on the map, by For example, in Fig. 4A it is used to estimate the alcohol concentration of the main fuel.

[00062] The amount of fuel injection is computed by the procedure steps: finding the amount of basic injection of the main fuel in an amount of air suction detected by the

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 26/56 / 39 sensor 22 of the amount of air suction and a speed of the NE motor obtained on the basis of the detection signal of the rotational angle sensor 58; and correcting the basic injection amount of the main fuel at the base of the air-fuel ratio sensor detection signal 66 and the like. In the feedback control of the air-fuel ratio, using the air-fuel ratio sensor, as the alcohol concentration of the main fuel becomes higher, the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas becomes higher and consequently the factor correction of the proportion of fuel is also greater. Thus, in EEPROM 84, a high value is stored as a correction factor value for the air-fuel ratio obtained. Then, in step S110, the alcohol concentration of the main fuel is estimated by using the correction factor value of the fuel ratio obtained and the map shown in Fig. 4A.

[00063] When the alcohol concentration of the main fuel is estimated in this way in step S110, the routine proceeds to step S120 where the detection of the water temperature sensor signal 54 is converted A / D (analog / digital) to read the TWH cold water temperature of the engine 2. Then, in the next step S130, it is determined from the THW cold water temperature and the alcohol concentration in the main fuel estimated in step S110 if the condition of starting in low temperature (low temperature start condition) in which supplementary fuel is used to start engine 2.

[00064] In short, the main fuel starts less easily as the alcohol concentration becomes higher and the air temperature becomes lower. Thus, if the low temperature start condition is satisfied, it is determined in step S130 by using a low temperature start condition determination map shown in Fig. 4B, showing the THW cold water temperature parameters and the concentration of alcohol in the main fuel.

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 27/56 / 39 [00065] When it is determined in step S130 that the starting condition at low temperature has not been satisfied, engine 2 can be started only with the use of the main fuel and consequently the starting temperature control process is finished without any processing performed. On the contrary, when it is determined in step S130 that the condition for starting at low temperature has been met, the routine proceeds to the next step S140 where it is determined whether the start of engine 2 is driven by the driver, and when it is determined that the start engine 2 is driven, the routine expects the start to be driven.

[00066] Then, when it is determined in step S140 that the start is directed, the routine continues until step S150 where it is determined whether the switch (SW) 40 provided in sub-tank 6 is (in position) ON. When fuel switch 40 is (in position) OFF (that is, the amount of supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 is sufficient), a previously established reference time (for example, 30 seconds) is established as a control time for starting at low temperature S170. Conversely, when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON (that is, the remaining amount of supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 is small), half the reference time (for example 15 seconds) is set to control for starting at low temperature in step S160.

[00067] Next, when the low temperature start control time set in step S160 or step S170, the supplementary fuel supply pump 34 is directed at step S180 and the stop valve 36 is opened to start supply fuel to the supplementary fuel injection nozzle 30 in sub-tank 6.

[00068] Next, in the next step S210, the motor speed is found at the base of the detection signal of the rotational angle sensor 58 and it is determined whether the motor speed NE is a speed of determination

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 28/56 / 39 starting previously established NE1 (eg 800 rpm) or higher. When it is determined that the speed of the NE motor is not the start determination speed NE1 or greater, the process waits for the speed of the NE motor to reach the start determination speed NE1.Then, when it is determined in step S210 that the engine speed NE reaches start determination speed NE1, the routine proceeds to step S220 where the targeting of the workload ratio of the fuel control valve 38 is changed to a minimum workload required to maintain the targeting of the engine 2 to henceforth decrease the amount of supplementary fuel injection from the supplementary fuel injection nozzle 30 to a minimum amount required to continue targeting engine 2.

[00069] Next, it is determined in step S230 whether the time counted by the start timer to count the time in step S200 (fuel supply time) reaches the low temperature start control time established in steps S160 or S170. When the time counted by the timer does not reach the low temperature start control time, the process waits until the fuel supply time reaches the low temperature start control time. Then, when the fuel filling time reaches the low temperature start control time, the routine proceeds to step S240 where the fuel control valve 38, the fuel stop valve 36, and the supply pump of supplementary fuel 24, are deactivated to stop the fuel supply (in other words, to stop the injection of supplementary fuel) to the supplementary fuel injection nozzles 30 from sub-tank 6, where the starting control process at low temperature it is finished.

[00070] Next, the main fuel injection control process shown in Fig. 3 is performed immediately after the

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 29/56 / 39 ECU 80 engine started, just as with the previous low temperature start control process. In this main fuel injection control, first, in step S300, it is determined by the same procedure as in steps S110 to S130 if the condition of starting at low temperature is satisfied.

[00071] When the low temperature starting condition is not satisfied, the main fuel supply pump 42 is directed in step S310 to start supplying fuel to the main fuel injector 28 from main tank 4. Next, in the next step S320, the main fuel injector 28 is directed to each cylinder in synchronization with engine rotation 2 to perform the injection injection control process of the supply cylinder with the main fuel to start the engine. Additionally, when engine 2 is started in this start injection control process, the routine continues to step S330 where normal fuel injection control processing is performed after the engine starts.

[00072] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S300 that the condition for starting at low temperature is satisfied, the routine proceeds to step S340 where it is determined whether the start of motor 2 is driven (ON) by the driver. When the start of engine 2 is not yet driven (ON), the process waits for the start to be driven by the driver. When starting, the routine proceeds to step S350 where the main fuel supply pump 42 is stopped to interrupt the supply of the main fuel injector 28 with the fuel from the main tank 4. Then, in step S360, the NE motor speed is found at the base of the detection signal of the rotational angle sensor 58 and it is determined whether the NE motor speed makes a previously established injection start determination speed NE2 or more. When the NE motor speed does not reach the determination speed

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 30/56 / 39 NE2 injection start, the process waits for the NE motor speed to reach the NE2 injection start determination speed. The NE2 injection start determination speed is set at a motor speed that is equal to or less than the NE1 start determination speed.

[00073] When it is determined in step S360 that the NE motor speed reaches the NE2 injection start determination speed, the routine proceeds to step S370 where the main fuel supply pump 42 is directed to start the injector supply of the main fuel 28 with the fuel of the main tank 4. Then, in the next step S380 the main fuel injector 28 is activated for each cylinder for a time specified in the synchronization with engine rotation 2 to execute the injection control process. specified amount of supply for each cylinder with a specified amount of primary fuel.

[00074] Additionally, while the specified quantity injection control process is performed, it is determined in step S390 whether the low temperature start control process is finished. When the low temperature start control process is not finished, the routine proceeds again to step S380, in which the state of the low temperature start control process is finished is monitored. When it is determined in step S390 that the low temperature start control process is finished, the routine proceeds to step S330 where normal fuel injection control processing after engine 2 starts is performed.

[00075] As described above, when the ignition switch (IGSW) is in the on position to start the ECU 80 engine in the engine controller of this configuration, low temperature start control process and the fuel injection control process

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 31/56 / 39 are run by the ECU 80 engine.

[00076] When the ECU 80 engine starts (in other words, engine 2 is started) if the THW cold temperature of engine 2 is lower and consequently engine 2 cannot be started with the main fuel (alcohol - mixed fuel) stored in main tank 4 (that is, the conditions for executing the low temperature start control are satisfactory), as shown in Fig. 5 the supplementary fuel is injected at an injection rate corresponding to the service ratio of activation of the fuel control valve 38 of the supplementary fuel injection nozzle 30 at the same time (timing t1) when the driver starts to drive the actuator.

[00077] Complementary fuel injection is continued for the low temperature start control time. When the NE engine speed reaches the NE2 injection start determination speed (timing t2) while the supplementary fuel is injected, a specified amount of the main fuel is injected into each cylinder from the main fuel injector 28. Additionally, when the speed of the NE motor reaches the starting determination speed NE1 (time delay t3) driving the workload ratio of the fuel control valve 38 is decreased to the minimum service ratio required to keep the motor 2 running by injecting the quantity of the main fuel and injecting the supplementary fuel, where the amount of injection of the supplementary fuel is reduced.

[00078] For this reason, even if the THW cold water temperature (by extension, the engine temperature) is low and consequently engine 2 cannot start with the main fuel when engine 2 starts, it can be safely triggered with the injection of the supplementary fuel in the engine 2. Thus, even if the injection of the supplementary fuel is interrupted after the start control time in

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 32/56 / 39 low temperature passes (t4 time delay) the low temperature start control process is switched to the normal fuel injection control process for engine 2 only by the main fuel, engine 2 can be started continued steadily.

[00079] Additionally in this configuration, when the fuel switch 40 placed in the sub-tank 6 is in the ON position, the ECU engine 80 turns on the sub-tank fuel supply lamp 86, in order to speed the driver to fill the sub-tank. tank 6 with supplementary fuel from the supplementary fuel injection nozzle 30, by the low temperature start control process, the ECU 80 engine sets the low temperature start control time of the fuel injection time at half the reference time of a normal operation to advance the timing when the low temperature start control process is completed from timing t4Till timing t4 ', shown in Fig.5 to reduce the time period during which supplementary fuel is injected into engine 2 .

[00080] For this reason, according to the motor controller of this configuration, it is possible to increase the number of times that motor 2 can start by the low temperature start control process during the time that elapses after the fuel 40 detects the remaining amount of supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 decreasing until the sub-tank becomes empty of supplementary fuel. Therefore, it is possible to decrease the likelihood that sub-tank 6 will become empty of supplementary fuel because sub-tank 6 is not supplied with supplemental fuel after the sub-tank 86 fueling lamp is lit.

[00081] In this configuration, the fuel switch 40 corresponds to the remaining quantity detection device of the present invention, the sub-tank fuel supply lamp 86

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 33/56 / 39 corresponds to the present display device and the ECU 80 engine corresponds to the notification device of the present invention. In addition, the control processes performed by the ECU 80 engine, the processes for determining the low temperature start condition performed in the previous steps S130 and S300 correspond to the low temperature determination devices of the present invention, the start injection control process performed in step S320 of the main fuel injection control process corresponds to the normal start control process of the supplementary fuel performed in steps S140 to S240 of the low temperature start control process corresponds to the low temperature start device of the present invention . Of the processes in steps S140 to S240, in particular, the process in step S160 corresponds to the supplementary fuel consumption reduction device of the present invention.

(Second Configuration) [00082] In the first configuration, it was described that when a commutator 40 is (in position) ON, the ECU engine 80 turns on the sub-tank fuel supply lamp 86. However, when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON, it is preferable to strongly accelerate the driver to fill sub-tank 6 with supplementary fuel with the consumption of supplementary fuel. For this purpose, for example, it is sufficient to change the lighting status of the sub-tank 86 fueling lamp.

[00083] In the following, an engine controller suitable for changing the lighting status of the fuel tank lamp of the subtank 86 in this manner will be described as the second configuration of the present invention.

[00084] The construction of the motor controller of the second configuration is the same as, and is different from that of the first configuration

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 34/56 / 39 in the low temperature start control process and in the lighting control process for the fuel tank lamp of the subtank 86, which are performed by the ECU 80 engine. Next, the procedures for these control processes will be described on the basis of a flow chart shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7.

[00085] The low temperature start control process shown in Fig. 6 is performed by the ECU 80 engine immediately after the ECU 80 engine starts, just like the low temperature start control process in the first configuration. When this process is started, the ECU 80 engine determines in step S410 whether fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON.

[00086] When fuel switch 40 is not (in position) ON, a low temperature start count value n is established having an initial value "0" in step S420. Then, in the next step S340, the low temperature start count value n is written to EEPROM 84 in a non-volatile memory and the routine proceeds to step S440. Conversely, when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON, the routine proceeds to step S440 without executing any process.

[00087] Next, in step S440, whether the low temperature start condition is satisfied is determined by the same procedure as in previous steps S110 to S130. the condition of starting at low temperature is satisfied is determined by the same procedure as in the steps ends without performing any procedure. Conversely, when the low temperature start condition is met, the routine proceeds to step S450 where the supplementary fuel injection control process is performed using the same process as in previous steps S140 through S240.

[00088] When the supplementary fuel injection control process ends, the routine proceeds to step S460 where the n value of

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 35/56 / 39 low temperature start count is read on EEPROM 84 and in the next step S470, a value 1 is added (incremented) to the low temperature start count n value and the low start count n value temperature after the addition is written to EEPROM 84. In this way, the low temperature start count value n on EEPROM 84 is updated and this process ends.

[00089] Next, the lighting control process of the fuel fill light shown in Fig. 7 is processed by the ECU 80 together with the low temperature start control process immediately after the ECU 80 is started.

[00090] In the process of controlling the lighting of the fuel supply light, it is determined in step S510 whether switch 40 is (in position) ON. When switch 40 is not (in position) ON, the sub-tank 86 fueling lamp is turned off in step S520 and then this process ends.

[00091] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S510 that fuel switch 40 is not (in position) ON, the sub-tank 86 fuel supply lamp is lit and then the routine proceeds to step S540 . In step S540, the low temperature start count value n is read on EEPROM 84 and it is determined whether the low temperature start count value n is a specified value Kn (for example, 3) or more.

[00092] When the low temperature start count value n does not reach the specified Kn value, this process is terminated without performing any processing. On the contrary, low temperature start count value n is a specified value Kn or more, the fuel tank lamp of the sub-tank is changed to the lighting mode or the flashing mode and this process ends.

[00093] Thus, in the motor controller of this configuration,

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 36/56 / 39 when the ECU 80 engine starts and engine 2 starts, if the low temperature start condition is satisfied and the supplementary fuel injection control process is carried out, start count value n in low temperature is increased to count the number of runs of the supplementary fuel injection control process (the number of starts at low temperature). When the count value (low temperature start count n value) becomes the specified Kn value (for example, 3) or more, the lighting mode of the sub-tank 86 fueling lamp is switched from normal lighting for blinking mode.

[00094] Thus, according to this configuration, when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON, the fuel tank lamp of sub-tank 86 is lit and sub-tank 6 is not filled with fuel and in After the supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 is further emptied by the supplementary fuel injection control process, the lighting mode of the sub-tank's fuel supply lamp is changed to speed the driver to effectively fill the sub-tank. 6 with the fuel. This can prevent sub-tank 6 from running out of fuel.

[00095] In this configuration, the lighting control process of the fuel supply lamp shown in Fig. 7 corresponds to the notification device of the present invention.

[00096] While two configurations to which the present invention is applied have been described up to this point, it is not intended to limit the present invention to the respective antecedent configurations, but the present invention can be modified in several ways, starting from the spirit and essence of the present invention.

[00097] The modes of the present invention will be described as modifications to the respective prior configurations.

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 37/56 / 39 (Modification 1) [00098] In the second configuration it was described that the supplementary fuel injection control process in step S450 shown in Fig. 6 is performed by the same procedure (S140 to S240) as in the first configuration. However, in this configuration, the supplementary fuel injection control process does not necessarily need to be performed by the same procedure as in the first configuration, but, for example, the S150 and S160 process can be excluded from the supplementary fuel injection control process. (S140 to S240) in the first configuration and the low temperature start control time can be established as a previously established reference time, regardless of whether the fuel switch is (in position) ON or OFF.

[00099] In other words, this process cannot prevent the fuel in sub-tank 6 from decreasing, but it can rush the driver to fill sub-tank 6 with supplementary fuel according to the change in the lighting mode of the fuel supply lamp sub-tank 86. Thus, it is possible to reduce the probability that sub-tank 6 will run out of supplementary fuel to make it possible to start the engine at low temperature start-up time.

(Modification 2) [000100] In the second configuration, the process was described: the amount of supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 is detected decreasing additionally by the number of starts at low temperature (value of low temperature start count) when the fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON and the lighting mode of the sub-tank fuel supply lamp is switched to normal lighting mode for flashing mode. However, the following process

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 38/56 / 39 can be used: when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON, ECU 80 engine start numbers (in other words, engine 2 start number) are counted in place of engine number low temperature starts (low temperature count n value) and, when the count value becomes an established value or more, the lighting mode of the sub-tank fuel supply lamp changes from normal lighting mode to blinking mode.

[000101] Even in this process, when the fuel supply lamp of sub-tank 86 is lit but the sub-tank is not full of fuel, it is possible to effectively rush the driver to fill sub-tank 6 with fuel. This can therefore prevent sub-tank 6 from running out of fuel.

[000102] When the lighting mode of the sub-tank 86 fueling lamp is changed in this way based on the number of low temperature starts (or the number of starts) of engine 2 when the fuel switch is (in position) ) ON the sub-tank 86 fuel supply lamp, it is not simply switched from normal lighting mode to flashing mode, but as the number of low temperature starts (or the number of starts) of engine 2 increases , the blinking interval between the sub-tank 86 fuel supply lamp can be changed to a smaller or different color when the sub-tank 86 fuel supply lamp is lit can be changed according to number of low temperature starts (or the number of starts) of engine 2.

[000103] Additionally, in the previous description, the fuel tank lamp of sub-tank 86 is used as a display device to notify that fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON (in other words, the remaining amount of fuel). additional fuel decreases). However, this

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 39/56 / 39 fuel from sub-tank 86 is not an ordinary bulb, but it can be a light emitting diode. Additionally, a display panel composed of liquid crystal or similar can be used as a display device and the fact that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases can be notified by displaying characters or symbols on the display panel.

(Modification 3) [000104] In the low temperature start control process shown in Fig. 2, it was described that according to whether the fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON or OFF, the start control time in low temperature is set as a reference time or a time shorter than the reference time. However, in the process, in step S160 of establishing the low temperature start control time when the fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON, as shown in Fig.8, the low temperature start time can be set according to such that the low start temperature control time becomes shorter according to the number of low temperature starts (low temperature start value n) of motor 2, that is, as the number of starts in low temperature increases.

[000105] According to this process, it is possible to further reduce the amount of supplementary fuel decreased by the low temperature start of engine 2 performed when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON.

(Modification 4) [000106] In the low temperature start control process shown in Fig.2, the process in which the low temperature start control time is changed depending on whether fuel switch 40 is (in position) has been described ON or OFF. However, the following process can be employed: when engine 2 is started at low temperature,

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 40/56 / 39 as shown in Fig.9, the low temperature start control time is fixed at a specified reference time; and during the time that elapses after engine 2 is started (timing t1) until the speed of the NE engine reaches the NE1 speed (timing 3) of starting determination, the amount of extra fuel injection injected from a fuel nozzle supplementary fuel injection 30 in step S190, is less than in normal operation when fuel switch 40 is (in position) OFF.

[000107] Still in accordance with this process, it is possible to further reduce the amount of supplementary fuel decreased by starting engine 2 at low temperature when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON.

[000108] In this case, the amount of supplementary fuel injected from the supplemental fuel injection nozzle 30 when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON may be a specified amount less than in normal operation. However, preferably, as shown in Fig. 9, it is sufficient to decrease the amount of supplementary fuel injection as the low temperature starts (low temperature start value n) of engine 2 increase.

(Modification 5) [000109] In the first configuration, it was described that the process in which when fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON, the fuel tank lamp of sub-tank 86 is lit to rush the driver to fill the sub-tank 6 with supplementary fuel. However, even if the fuel tank lamp for sub-tank 86 is lit in this way, for example, when the fuel tank lamp for sub-tank 86 is lit even in early spring, the driver can be considered to determine that the fuel

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 41/56 / 39 supplementary in sub-tank 6 is not consumed by starting at low temperature because it got hotter from now on and consequently does not fill sub-tank 6 with supplementary fuel.

[000110] When the season changes from summer to autumn, from autumn to winter in the state where sub-tank 6 was not filled with supplementary fuel in this way and then engine 2 starts again at low temperature, it can be it is considered that the supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 is rapidly reduced to make it impossible to start engine 2 in time of low temperature.

[000111] Thus, to avoid such a problem, it is sufficient to have the ECU 80 engine perform the lighting control process of the supplementary fuel supply lamp shown in Fig.10.

[000112] This is the lighting control process for the supplementary fuel supply lamp shown in Fig.10. it is a process performed together with the low temperature start control process shown in Fig. 2 on the ECU 80 engine in the first configuration immediately after the ECU 80 engine is started.

[000113] In the lighting control process of the supplementary fuel supply lamp, first in step S610, it is determined whether fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON. When fuel switch 40 is not (in position) ON, the sub-tank 86 fuel supply lamp is switched off in step S620 and two count values, mj to determine the change in air temperature, set to the values (0) and are stored in EEPROM 84 and then this process ends.

[000114] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S610 that fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON, the sub-tank fuel supply lamp 86 is lit in step S630 and the routine proceeds to step S640 . In step S640, the counting value m is

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 42/56 / 39 read by EEPROM 84 and it is determined if the counting value m is a previously established specified Km value (for example, 100) or more. [000115] When it is determined in the next step S640 that the counting value m does not reach the specified Km value, the routine proceeds to step S650 where it is determined whether the THW water temperature of engine 2 is a specified temperature (for example , 20 ° C) or higher, the specified temperature showing bad weather in which engine 2 does not start at low temperature.

[000116] When it is determined in step S650 that the cold temperature of the THW water is 20 ° C or more, the routine proceeds to step S660 where a value of 1 is added to the counting m value to update the counting m values and the The updated m value is then written to EEPROM 84 and this procedure is ended. In contrast, when it is determined in step S650 that the THW cold water temperature does not reach 20 ° C, this process is terminated without being carried out.

[000117] Next, it is determined in step S640 that the counting value m does not reach the specified value Km, the routine proceeds to step S670 where the counting value j is read in EEPROM 84 and it is determined whether the value j of count is the specified Kj value previously established (for example, 10) or more.

[000118] When it is determined in step S670 that the count value j does not reach the specified Kj value, the routine proceeds to step S680 where the temperature of the THW cold water of the engine 2 is within the range (for example, 18.19 ° C), which is higher than the temperature at which the low temperature start condition of motor 2 (17 ° C in this configuration) is satisfied.

[000119] When it is determined in step S680 that the THW cold water temperature is within the temperature range of 18 to 19 ° C, the routine proceeds to step S690 where a value of 1 is added to the value of

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 43/56 / 39 counting j to update counting value j and counting value j is written to EEPROM 84 and then this process is terminated. Conversely, when it is determined in step S680 that the cold water temperature is not within the range of 18 to 19 ° C, the routine proceeds to step S650.

[000120] Additionally, when it is determined in step S670 that the counting value j reaches the specified value Kj, the routine proceeds to step S670 that the counting value j reaches the specified value Kj, the routine proceeds to step S700 where the lighting mode of the sub-tank fuel supply lamp 86 'changed from flashing mode and then the process is ended.

[000121] Thus, in the lighting control process of the supplementary fuel supply lamp shown in Fig. 10, when the number of times m the THW cold water temperature when starting engine 2 reaches 20 ° C or more makes the specified Km value (for example, 100) or more in the state where fuel switch 40 is (in position) ON and thereafter, the number of times j that the THW cold water temperature reaches 18 to 19 ° C makes the specified value Kj or more, it is determined that after fuel switch 40 is turned ON, the air temperature (eg season) is changed to the air temperature (eg winter season) at which the low temperature starting condition of engine 2 starts to be satisfied and, consequently, the lighting mode of the sub-tank 86 fueling lamp is changed from the normal lighting mode to the flashing mode.

[000122] Thus, if the fuel supply lamp lighting control process is performed by the ECU 80 engine on the engine controller of the first configuration, it is possible to rush the driver to fill the sub-tank 6 with the supplementary fuel in the appropriate time to start the engine 2 low temperature start, according to a change in air temperature (station). Consequently this can avoid

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 44/56 / 39 that engine 2 is unable to start at low temperature thereafter.

[000123] Additionally, the lighting control process of the supplementary fuel supply lamp shown in Fig. 10 can be combined with the lighting control process of the fuel supply lamp of the second configuration shown in Fig.7: that is , after the process is performed in steps S650, S690 or S700, the process in step S540 shown in Fig. 7 can be performed, and when it is determined in step S540 that the low temperature start count n value is the value If specified or more, the lighting mode (flashing interval or lighting color) of the sub-tank 86 fueling lamp can be changed.

(Modification 6) [000124] In the previous configurations or modifications, the time that elapses after the fuel switch 40 is set (in position) ON to turn on the lighting of the fuel lamp of the sub-tank 86 until the sub-tank 6 becomes empty of supplementary fuel, it can be stretched. However, if the driver checks the lighting mode of the sub-tank 86 fuel lamp but does not complete sub-tank 6 with supplementary fuel, sub-tank 6 finally becomes empty of supplementary fuel and therefore engine 2 does not. can start at low temperature.

[000125] When engine 2 cannot start in this way, the driver needs to determine whether this is caused by depletion of supplementary fuel or failure in engine 2 as well as failure of the fuel supply system from main tank 4 or the system ignition and take fuel or repair measures. However, the fact that the sub-tank 86 fuel supply lamp is on does not always mean that sub-tank 6 is empty of fuel.

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 45/56 / 39 supplementary fuel, therefore, it is impossible to determine the cause of the starting problem in engine 2 from the lighting mode of the fuel tank lamp of sub-tank 86.

[000126] Next, to easily find out if the failure that occurred when starting engine 2 is caused by depletion of supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 or by failure in engine 2, it is sufficient to change, for example, the process of low temperature start control of the first configuration shown in Fig. 2 by the process shown in Fig. 1.

[000127] The low temperature start control process is basically the same as the process shown in Fig. 2 of the first configuration and is different from the process of the first configuration in that the determination process in step S202 is performed after the process in step S200 it is executed and according to the result of the determination of the determination process, the routine is selected between the process in step S210 and the process in steps S204 and S206.

[000128] That is, in the low temperature start control process shown in Fig.11, the timer on microcomputer 82 is activated in step S200 to start counting the time period during which the supplementary fuel is supplied from the sub -tank 6. Next, it is determined in step S202 whether the time counted by the timer becomes an established time T1, which is greater than the time (for example, 5 seconds) that elapses after the supplementary fuel starts to run. injected until the NE speed of the motor reaches the start determination speed NE1 or more. When the time counted by the timer does not reach the time T1 established, the routine proceeds to step S210 and from then on the determination processes in steps S210 and S 202 are repeatedly executed. When it is determined in step S202 that the time counted by the timer remains the established time T1 or more before it is determined in step S210 that the speed of the motor NE

Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 46/56 / 39 reaches the start determination speed NE1, it is determined in step S204 that the supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 is exhausted and the supplementary fuel depletion is stored in EEPROM 84. Next, the check lamp of the motor 88 is started in step S206 and the low temperature start control process is terminated.

[000129] As a result, even if the condition of starting at a low temperature has been satisfied at the time of engine 2 starting and supplementary fuel is injected, when engine 2 cannot start even if the established time T1 elapses, the depletion of supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6 is stored in EEPROM 84 and the engine check lamp 88 is on. As a result, the driver can detect the failure of the engine 2 to start due to the fact that the engine check lamp 88 is on and can easily find based on the information stored in EEPROM 84 if the failure of the engine 2 to start is caused by depletion of supplementary fuel in sub-tank 6.

[000130] In the process of controlling the low temperature start shown in Fig. 11, the processes in steps S202, S204 and S206 correspond to the fuel depletion determination device of the present invention.

Claims (14)

1. Engine controller of a flexible fuel engine using main fuel and supplementary fuel, which is different in properties from the main fuel and supplements combustion mainly at low temperature start, the engine controller, characterized by the fact that comprises: a main tank (4) for storing the main fuel; a sub-tank (6) for storing supplementary fuel; a low temperature determination device (80) for determining whether the engine can start with the main fuel when starting the engine (2); a normal start control device (80) for starting the engine by supplying the engine with the main fuel in the main tank when the low temperature determination device determines that the engine can start; a low temperature starting device (80) for starting the engine by supplying the engine with additional fuel in the subtank when the temperature determining device determines that the engine cannot start, where after the engine starts, the engine is supplied with and driven by the main fuel in the main tank; a positive remaining quantity detector (40) to detect the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreasing to a previously established amount or less; and a supplementary fuel consumption reduction device (80) to make a quantity of supplementary fuel, which the low temperature starter feeds to the engine at the low temperature start time of the engine, less when the quantity detector device remaining detects a remaining amount of Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 48/56 2/8 additional fuel decreasing to the remaining amount set or less than that of a normal operation in which the device detecting the remaining amount does not detect a remaining amount of additional fuel decreasing to the remaining amount set or less. 2. Engine controller according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the remaining quantity detector device detects a remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the supplementary fuel consumption reduction device makes a period of time during which the low temperature starter supplies the supplementary fuel shorter than in normal operation time, thus making the amount of supplementary fuel to be supplied to the engine less than in normal operation time . 3. Engine controller according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that when the device for detecting the remaining quantity detects a quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the device for reducing the consumption of supplementary fuel reduces the period of time during which the low temperature starter supplies the supplementary fuel in such a way that as the number of times the low temperature starter starts the engine is increased, the time period during which the low temperature starter supplies the supplementary fuel is decreased. 4. Engine controller according to claim 1, characterized in that when the device for detecting the remaining quantity detects a quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the device for reducing the consumption of supplementary fuel makes an amount of supply Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 49/56 3/8 supplementary fuel per unit time when the low temperature starter supplies the supplementary fuel, less than in normal operation time, thus making a quantity of supplementary fuel to be supplied to the engine, less than in time normal operation. 5. Engine controller according to claim 4, characterized by the fact that when the device for detecting the remaining quantity detects a quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the device for reducing the consumption of supplementary fuel reduces the amount of supplementary fuel supply per unit time when the low temperature starter supplies the supplementary fuel in such a way that as the number of times the low temperature device starts the engine is increased, amount of supplementary fuel supply is decreased. 6. Engine controller according to claim 1, further characterized by the fact that it comprises a notification device to notify that a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount established or less, when the remaining amount detector device detects a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining amount set or less. 7. Engine controller according to claim 6, characterized in that when the remaining quantity detector device detects a remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, the notification device changes a way of notifying that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount of supplementary fuel according to the number of times the starter Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 50/56 4/8 at low temperature starts the engine. 8. Engine controller according to claim 6, characterized in that when the remaining quantity detection device detects that a remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining quantity established or less, the notification device changes the mode of notify that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount of supplementary fuel according to the number of times the engine controller is started. 9. Engine controller of a flexible fuel engine using main fuel and supplementary fuel, which is different in properties from the main fuel and supplements combustion mainly at a low temperature start, the engine controller characterized by the fact that it comprises : a main tank (4) for storing the main fuel; a sub-tank (6) for storing supplementary fuel; a low temperature determination device (80) for determining whether the engine can start with the main fuel when starting the engine; a normal start control device (80) for starting the engine by supplying the engine with the main fuel when the low temperature determination device determines that the engine can start; a low temperature starting device (80) for starting the engine (2) supplying the engine with supplementary fuel when the low temperature determining device determines that the engine cannot start, where after the engine starts , the engine is supplied with and driven by the main fuel; Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 51/56 5/8 a remaining quantity detector device (40) for detecting a remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to a previously established quantity or less; and a notification device (86) for notifying that a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount set or less when the remaining amount detector device detects a remaining amount of supplemental fuel decreasing to the remaining amount set or less. wherein when the amount remaining device detects a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining amount set or less, the notification device changes a notification mode that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the set amount remaining or less according to the number of times the low temperature starter starts the engine. 10. Engine controller of a flexible fuel engine using main fuel and supplementary fuel, which is different in properties from the main fuel and combustion of supplements mainly at low temperature start, the controller is characterized by the fact that it comprises: a main tank (4) for storing the main fuel; a sub-tank (6) for storing supplementary fuel; a low temperature determination device (80) for determining whether the engine can start with the main fuel when the engine (2) starts; a normal start control device (80) for starting the engine by supplying the engine with the main fuel when the low temperature determination device determines that the engine can Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 52/56 6/8 to start; a low temperature starting device (80) for starting the engine by supplying the engine with supplementary fuel when the low temperature determining device determines that the engine cannot start, where after the engine starts, the engine is supplied with and driven by the main fuel; a remaining quantity detection device (40) for detecting a remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to a previously established quantity or less; and a notification device (86) for notifying that a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount set or less when the remaining amount detector device detects a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreasing to the set amount remaining or less than when the remaining quantity detector device detects a remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity set or less, the notification device changes the way of notifying that a remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining quantity set or less according to a number of times the engine controller starts. 11. Motor controller according to claim 6, characterized by the fact that it also comprises a temperature change detection device, which samples an engine temperature at the moment of starting the engine, for each engine start, when the remaining quantity detection device detects a remaining quantity of supplementary fuel decreasing to the remaining quantity established or less, and which detects, on a basis of a change in the sampled temperature of the engine, a transition timing, when a state in which a temperature air in which the starting device in Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 53/56 7/8 low temperature does not start the engine, it continues, it is changed to an air temperature in which the low temperature starting device starts the engine where when the air temperature change detection device detects the timing of transition changed to air temperature where the low temperature starter starts the engine, the notification device changes a way of notifying that a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount set or less, thus forcing a supply the supplementary fuel to the sub-tank. 12. Engine controller according to claim 7, characterized in that the notification device triggers a display device to notify that a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount set or less and changes at least one pattern of lighting, a lighting color, a display character and a display symbol as a way of notifying that the remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreases to the remaining amount or less. 13. Engine controller, according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that it also comprises a device for determining the fuel depletion, in which, when the device for detecting the remaining quantity detects a remaining amount of supplementary fuel decreasing for the remaining quantity established or less, the fuel exhaust determination device determines whether the low temperature starting device can start the engine, and when when the fuel exhaust determination device determines that the low temperature starting device cannot start the engine, the exhaust device determines that the extra fuel in the sub-tank is exhausted and Petition 870180141037, of 10/15/2018, p. 54/56 8/8 stores the depletion of supplementary fuel in a storage medium. 14. Engine controller according to claim 13, characterized by the fact that when the fuel exhaustion determination device determines that the supplementary fuel in the sub-tank is exhausted, the fuel exhaustion determination device notifies the exhaustion supplementary fuel and stores the depletion of supplementary fuel in a storage medium.