DE112011106087B3 - Control device for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

A control device for an internal combustion engine (2), comprising:means for detecting an amount of particulate matter contained in an exhaust gas in an exhaust gas passage (4) of the internal combustion engine (2) based on electrical characteristics via electrodes (12, 14) of a particulate matter sensor ( 8) provided in the exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine;means for burning and removing the particulate matter deposited on the element portion by maintaining the element portion of a particulate matter sensor (8) in a predetermined temperature range for burning the particulate matter deposited on the element portion after the internal combustion engine (2) has been started and the determination of the amount of particulate matter has been completed; andmeans for maintaining the element portion in the predetermined temperature range after the particulate matter is burned and removed until the internal combustion engine stops,characterized in that it further comprises:means for setting a parameter related to a state for detecting the amount of particulate matter means for determining, after a start of a current operation of the internal combustion engine (2), whether the detection of the amount of particulate matter in a previous operation from start to stop of the internal combustion engine (2) is completed; andmeans for reading the parameter recorded during the previous operation when it is determined that the particulate matter amount detection is not completed, wherein:the means for detecting the particulate matter amount detects the particulate matter amount detection performed in the previous operation , matching the parameter after the start of the current operation of the internal combustion engine.

Description

technical field

The present invention relates generally to control devices for internal combustion engines. More particularly, the present invention relates to a control device for an internal combustion engine that includes a particulate sensor provided in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine to detect an amount of particulate matter in an exhaust gas.

State of the art

the JP 2008-190 502 A discloses, for example, a sensor that detects an amount of particulate matter (hereinafter also referred to as “PM”) contained in an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine. The Indian JP 2008-190 502 A The sensor disclosed includes an insulating layer on which the PM is deposited and a pair of electrodes spaced from each other on the insulating layer. When the exhaust gas contacts the sensor, PM in the exhaust gas is deposited between the electrodes. The conductivity across the electrodes changes in accordance with the amount of deposited PM, and a resistance across the electrodes changes. Thus, the amount of PM deposited between the electrodes can be detected by detecting the resistance across the electrodes of the sensor, and the amount of PM contained in the exhaust gas can be estimated accordingly to detect a failure of a PM separating filter, etc capture.

In this sensor, when the amount of PM deposited between the electrodes exceeds a predetermined level, a value of resistance across the electrodes no longer changes. The sensor is then unable to output a value that corresponds to the amount of PM deposited. In such a situation where a lot of PM is deposited between the electrodes, the technique disclosed in US Pat JP 2008-190 502 A is disclosed, a PM reset is performed, which burns the deposited PM to remove it by heating the sensor for a predetermined period of time with a heater included in the sensor. Also the DE 10 2009 028 319 A1 discloses a control device for an internal combustion engine and a method analogous thereto.

Explanation of the invention

Problem to be solved by the invention

When the internal combustion engine is started, condensed water stagnates in the exhaust gas passage. In such a case, an element portion of a PM sensor may get wet by the condensed water during engine startup. If the PM reset element portion is rapidly heated while wet, cracking may occur at the element portion of the PM sensor 8 .

To avoid cracking during engine start-up, the PM sensor is typically heated and reactivated after ensuring that the moisture in the exhaust passage has been released and the exhaust passage is dry. However, this takes a significant amount of time to complete PM reset and switching to a PM quantity detection mode after engine start-up. As a result, particularly after a cold start, the PM sensor may not switch to the PM quantity detection mode if a short trip is repeated so that the system stops before the water temperature rises sufficiently.

In order to establish the PM detection mode immediately after the engine is started, the PM reset may be performed after stopping or before starting (preheating) the operation of the engine, for example. However, a PM reset at such a time has a significant effect on the battery charge, and it is also difficult to ensure the time for the PM reset.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems and to provide a control device for an internal combustion engine which is improved so that a PM amount can be measured at an earlier point in time when the internal combustion engine is started.

device to solve the problem

In order to achieve the above object, a control device for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention includes means for detecting an amount of particulate matter contained in an exhaust gas and means for burning to remove particulate matter deposited on a member portion is.

The particulate matter amount detecting means detects an amount of particulate matter contained in an exhaust gas in an exhaust passage from electrical characteristics across electrodes of a particulate matter sensor provided in the exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine. As used herein, the term “electrical properties” refers to a property that changes with the amount of particulate matter deposited, such as a current value when a predetermined voltage is applied.

The means for burning and removing the particulate matter deposited on the element portion burns and removes the particulate matter deposited on the element portion by keeping the element portion of a particulate matter sensor within a predetermined temperature range after the internal combustion engine is started and determining the amount of the particulate matter is completed. Here, the term “predetermined temperature range” refers to a temperature range in which the particulate matter deposited on the element portion can be burned.

The control device for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention further includes means for maintaining the element portion in a predetermined temperature range after the particulate matter is burned and removed until the internal combustion engine stops.

Preferably, the control device for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention comprises means for recording a parameter relating to a condition during the detection of the amount of particulate matter. In this case, the control device further includes means for determining, after the start of a current operation of the internal combustion engine, whether the detection of the particulate matter amount is completed in a previous process from the earlier start to the earlier stop of the internal combustion engine. The control device in this case also comprises means for reading the parameter recorded during the previous operation if it has been determined that the acquisition is not completed. The means for detecting the amount of particulate matter may be able to continue the detection of the amount of particulate matter corresponding to the parameter after the start of the current operation of the internal combustion engine performed in the previous operation.

The control device for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention may be such that the particulate matter amount detection means resumes the detection of the particulate matter amount performed in the previous operation when the detection of the particulate matter amount performed in the previous operation to be continued as above, and when a temperature in the exhaust passage after starting the current operation of the internal combustion engine is determined to be higher than a reference temperature.

Effects of the Invention

The particulate matter may be burned and removed after the completion of the particulate matter amount detection. Thereafter, the temperature of the element portion can be maintained in a temperature range where the particulate matter is burned until the engine is stopped. This prevents particulate matter from depositing on the element portion after removal of the particulate matter is completed. When the element portion has been kept in the temperature range until the previous engine stop, the detection of the amount of particulate matter at the actual start of the engine can be started without the operation of burning and removing the particulate matter of the sensor.

Even when the element portion is wet due to condensed water in the exhaust passage when the engine starts, a temperature at which the amount of particulate matter is detected is lower than a temperature at which the particulate matter is removed. Therefore, element breakage is unlikely to occur. Therefore, detection of the amount of particulate matter can be started immediately without waiting for the condensed water to dry after the engine is started. This allows the particulate matter amount detection mode to be established at an earlier time after the start of the internal combustion engine, so that an opportunity for detecting the particulate matter amount can be secured even more reliably.

character list

• 1 Fig. 12 is a schematic view showing a general arrangement of a system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
• 2 12 is a schematic view showing an element portion of the PM sensor according to the embodiment of the present invention.
• 3 14 is a flowchart illustrating a control program executed by the control device in the embodiment of the present invention.
• 4 14 is a flowchart for illustrating another control routine performed by the control device in the embodiment of the present invention.

Modes for carrying out the invention

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying figures. In each of the figures, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or corresponding parts, and descriptions for those parts are simplified or omitted.

embodiment

[Arrangement of a System of the Embodiment]

1 Fig. 12 is a schematic view showing a general arrangement of a system according to the embodiment of the present invention. in the in 1 As shown in the system, a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) 6 is disposed in an exhaust gas passage 4 of an internal combustion engine 2 . The DPF 6 separates particulate matter (PM) contained in an exhaust gas. A PM (particulate matter) sensor 8 is disposed downstream of the DPF 6 of the exhaust gas passage or in the exhaust gas passage 4 . The PM sensor 8 detects an amount of PM contained in the exhaust gas flowing through the DPF 6 .

The system includes a control device 10. Various sensors, including the PM sensor 8, are connected to an input side of the control device 10. FIG. Various actuators for the internal combustion engine 2 are connected to an output side of the control device 10 . The control device 10 executes a predetermined program based on input information sent from the various sensors and operates the various actuators to perform various controls on the internal combustion engine 2 .

2 12 is an enlarged schematic view showing an element portion of the PM sensor 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Regarding 2 For example, the element portion of the PM sensor 8 includes a pair of electrodes 12, 14 disposed on a surface thereof. The electrodes 12, 14 are arranged with a certain distance between them so that they are not in contact with each other. In addition, each of the electrodes 12, 14 comprises a comb-shaped section and is arranged in such a way that the comb-shaped sections interlock with one another. The electrodes 12, 14 are in contact with an insulating layer 16 formed adjacent thereto. The insulating layer 16 has a function of depositing the PM thereon. A heater, not shown, is embedded within the insulating layer 16 in a layer below the electrodes 12,14.

Each of the electrodes 12, 14 is connected to a power source (not shown) through power connection circuitry and so forth. Thus, a predetermined voltage can be applied across electrode 12 and electrode 14 . The heater is connected to the power supply (not shown) through the power supply circuit and so on. Thus, a predetermined electric current or power is supplied to the heater, and the element portion can be heated. The power supply circuit, etc. is connected to and controlled by the control device 10 .

[Outline of Control According to the Embodiment]

Types of control performed by the control device 10 in this embodiment include detection of the PM amount contained in the exhaust gas and failure detection of the DPF 6 based on the PM amount. More specifically, the control device 10 applies a predetermined voltage (hereinafter referred to as "depositing voltage") across the electrodes 12, 14 to detect the PM amount, and detects a value of the PM sensor 8 through a detector flowing current as a sensor output.

When the deposition voltage is applied across the electrodes 12 and 14, the PM in the exhaust gas is deposited between the electrodes 12,14. As the amount of PM deposited between the electrodes 12,14 increases, conductive portions between the electrodes 12,14 increase, resulting in a smaller resistance across the electrodes 12,14. In this embodiment, the sensor output from the PM sensor 8 is a value of a current flowing through the PM sensor 8, and the current value increases as the amount of PM deposited between the electrodes 12, 14 increases. Accordingly, the amount of PM contained in the exhaust gas can be detected by the PM sensor 8 . A state in which the deposition voltage acts and the current value is detected is also referred to as “PM detection mode” hereinafter. The element portion is kept at a temperature of 300°C or less in the PM detection mode.

In addition, the control device 10 compares the detected sensor output with a criterion value to thereby determine whether there is a fault in the DPF 6 . The criterion value is a value that approximates an upper limit of sensor output that corresponds to the amount of PM contained in the Exhaust gas is allowed to be contained downstream of the DPF 6 when the DPF 6 is operating normally. The criterion value is found and appropriately set for each PM sensor 8 through experiments, etc. Therefore, when the sensor output is larger than the criterion value, it is determined that the amount of PM discharged downstream of the DPF is large and the DPF 6 is defective.

Types of control performed by the control device 10 further include PM reset, which removes the PM deposited on the element portion of the PM sensor 8 by burning it. More specifically, in the above failure detection of the DPF 6, the sensor output matching the amount of PM deposited on the element portion for a predetermined period of time is compared with the criterion value. Therefore, the PM deposited on the PM sensor 8 needs to be temporarily removed in order to start the failure determination of the DPF 6 . The control device 10 thus performs the PM reset so that the PM is removed by burning it: that is, the control device 10 turns on the heater, heats the element portion of the PM sensor 8 to a temperature at which the PM burns or to a higher temperature and keeps the temperature for a certain time. Here, the PM reset temperature is 500°C or more.

[Characteristic control of the embodiment]

Condensed water may remain in the exhaust gas passage 4 when the internal combustion engine 2 is started. If the PM sensor 8 is rapidly heated while being wet by the condensed water, the element portion may be broken. Therefore, the PM reset is typically performed after the engine 2 has started and the condensed water in the exhaust passage has disappeared. After the PM reset is completed, the PM sensor is switched to the PM detection mode and the failure determination of the DPF is performed. In such cases, it is difficult to switch the PM sensor to the PM detection mode early after the engine starts.

If the PM is not deposited on the PM sensor 8 when the engine 2 starts, the PM detection mode can be established immediately after starting without performing the PM reset. In addition, the PM detection mode operates at a temperature of 300°C or less, which is lower than the PM reset temperature. The cracking of the element portion of the PM sensor 8 due to soaking occurs when the element portion is rapidly heated while being wet. However, cracking is unlikely to occur in the PM detection mode at a temperature of around 300°C. Therefore, if the PM is not deposited on the PM sensor 8 of the engine 2, it is unnecessary to wait for the condensed water in the exhaust passage to drain and dry, and the PM detection mode can be established immediately, and the presence of a fault in the DPF 6 can be determined.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, the following control is performed to establish the PM detection mode immediately after the engine is started. The PM reset is performed when failure detection of the DPF 6 is completed after the engine is started. After the completion of the PM reset, the element is maintained at the PM reset temperature (500° C. or more) it is until the engine is stopped.

When the element is kept at the PM reset temperature, the PM is burned so that the PM is not deposited on the element portion. Therefore, a state in which the element portion is free from the PM deposition can be maintained after the completion of the PM reset. If a previous operation of the internal combustion engine is stopped in a state in which the element portion is kept free from the PM deposition as described above, the failure detection for the DPF 6 in the current operation of the internal combustion engine 2 can be started immediately at the start of the operation without the perform a PM reset.

Note, however, that the engine 2 may have been stopped during execution of the failure detection for the DPF 6 in the previous operation, for example. In such cases where the internal combustion engine 2 has been stopped during the execution of the failure detection of the DPF 6, the control device 10 also stores data such as a detection time in which the PM amount detects in a backup RAM and operating condition parameters for correcting various issues.

Then, after the engine 2 is started, information stored in the backup RAM for the current operation is read out, and the detection of the amount of PM carried over from the previous operation (the procedure for determining whether the DPF 6 is defective) , continues without performing the PM reset. Because the temperature of the PM detection mode here is also maintained at 300°C or less, the failure determination for the DPF 6 can be started immediately after the engine 2 is started without breaking the element.

Alternatively, the engine 2 in the previous operation may be stopped in the middle of the PM reset after the failure detection for the DPF 6 is completed. In this case, the PM reset may be performed to remove the PM from the element portion after the engine 2 is started for the current operation. The temperature during PM reset must be increased to 500°C or more. After the engine 2 starts, the PM reset is performed after conditions necessary for starting the reset, such as a condition necessary for avoiding the PM sensor 8 from being soaked, are satisfied. The failure detection for the DPF 6 is then performed while the element portion is PM-free. After the failure detection for the DPF 6 is completed, the PM reset is performed again as described above.

[Embodiment specific control program]

3 14 is a flowchart illustrating a control program executed by the control device in the embodiment of the present invention. This in 3 The program shown is repeated at predetermined intervals. In the program of 3 it is first determined whether the engine 2 has been started (S102). If it is determined that the internal combustion engine 2 has not been started yet, the control is ended directly.

When it is determined that the engine 2 has started in step S102, it is next determined (S104) whether the sensor is operative. If it is determined that the PM sensor 8 is inoperative, the control is ended directly.

According to the present invention, when it is determined in step S104 that the PM sensor 8 is operative, the sensor temperature is maintained at 300° C. or less (S106). This temperature corresponds to that of the operating environment in which the PM sensor 8 normally works to detect the PM, and substantially no heat is supplied by the heater and so on.

Next, it is determined (S108) whether a flag XMODE_1 is ON. By default, the flag XMODE_1 is OFF and remains OFF from the start of failure detection for the DPF 6 to the termination of the same. When it is determined that XMODE_1=ON, it is confirmed that the failure detection is completed before the engine is stopped in the present process.

If it is determined in step S108 that XMODE_1 = ON, it is determined (S110) whether a flag XMODE_2 is ON. By default, the XMODE_2 flag is OFF and remains OFF after the operation described in more detail below from the start of failure detection for the DPF 6 to the completion of the PM reset. When it is determined that XMODE_2=ON, it is confirmed that both the failure detection and the PM reset were completed before the engine 2 was stopped in the previous process.

If it is determined in step S110 that XMODE_2=ON, the deposition voltage is applied and deposition of PM is started (S112). Here, application of a predetermined deposition voltage across the electrodes 12, 14 is started in accordance with a predetermined control signal from the controller 10, and the output from the PM sensor 8 is detected.

Next, XMODE_1 and XMODE_2 are turned OFF and XMODE_3 is turned ON (S114). XMODE_3 is a flag which is OFF by default and which is turned ON from the start of failure detection to the completion of PM reset as described later.

Next, the failure detection for the DPF 6 is performed (S116). In the failure detection for the DPF 6, the output from the PM sensor 8 is detected after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of application of the deposition voltage, and the output is compared with the reference value. The DPF 6 is determined to be faulty when the sensor output is larger than the reference value. The failure detection for the DPF 6 is controlled in accordance with a program for performing failure detection. During the performance of failure detection, data such as an elapsed time in PM detection and operating condition parameters for correcting various outputs are stored in the backup RAM.

When the failure detection is completed in step S116, the flag XMODE_1 is turned ON (S118). This indicates that the failure detection during the current operation of the internal combustion engine 2 is completed.

Next, the PM reset is performed (S120). More specifically, the heater is turned on in accordance with a control signal from the controller 10 to thereby heat the element portion to a predetermined temperature or higher. The PM deposited on the element portion of the PM sensor 8 is burned and removed.

Then, it is determined whether the PM reset is completed (S122). When it is determined that the PM reset is not yet completed, the PM reset completion detection in step S122 is repeated at predetermined intervals while the PM reset is being performed.

When it is determined in step S122 that the PM reset is complete, the flag XMODE_2 is turned ON and the flag XMODE_3 is turned OFF (S124). This indicates that the process up to the PM reset during the current operation of the internal combustion engine 2 is completed.

Next, the sensor temperature is maintained at 500°C or higher (step S126). Because the temperature at PM reset is 500°C or higher, the temperature of the element portion after PM reset is maintained at 500°C or higher as it is. The PM does not deposit on the element portion in this temperature range. That is, the state in which the PM from the PM sensor 8 has been burned is maintained in step S124.

Then the current program is terminated. When the engine 2 is stopped after the end of step S126 as explained above, the PM detection (failure detection) can be performed in the subsequent operation immediately after the engine 2 is started.

Meanwhile, in the previous operation of the engine 2, when the program has ended by stopping the engine after the PM reset is executed in step S120 and before the PM reset is completed in step S122, the flag XMODE_1 is ON and the flag XMODE_2 is OFF . In this case, XMODE_2=ON does not hold in step S110 when the engine 2 for the current operation is started and the program is being executed.

The element portion of the PM sensor 8 is considered to be PM occupied, and the PM reset must be performed before starting the failure determination. Therefore, if XMODE_2=ON does not hold in step S110, then in step S130 it is determined whether the PM reset condition is met. More specifically, the condition for the PM reset includes avoiding soaking from the condensed water. For example, it is determined whether the temperature of the wall or a portion where the condensed water stays in the exhaust gas passage 4 is at a dew point or 100°C or higher. Such a condition is set and stored in the control device 10 in advance.

When it is determined that the condition for the PM reset is not satisfied, the process in step S130 for determining whether the condition is satisfied is repeated at predetermined intervals until the condition is satisfied. On the other hand, the PM reset is performed (S132) when the condition for the PM reset is determined to be satisfied in step S130. More specifically, the heater is turned on by a control signal from the controller 10 to thereby heat the element portion to a predetermined temperature.

The completion of the PM reset is determined next (S134). If the PM reset is determined to be incomplete, the process in step S134 is repeated to determine the completion of the PM reset.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the PM reset is completed in step S134, it is determined that the PM deposit on the element portion is removed and the failure detection can be performed. The process then goes to step S112, and control corresponding to the processes of steps S112 to S126 is performed.

Otherwise, the routine may be ended with the engine 2 stopping during the failure detection of step S116. The XMODE_1 flag then remains OFF because it was turned OFF in step S114. Then, XMODE_1=ON does not exist in step S108 in the program of the present operation after the internal combustion engine 2 is started.

In this case, it is next determined whether the flag XMODE_3 is ON (S136). In step S114, the flags XMODE_1 and XMODE_2 are turned ON and at the same time XMODE_3 is turned ON. XMODE_1 is switched before XMODE_2 and XMODE_3 in step S118 and is turned ON. Thus, if XMODE_1 is OFF and XMODE_3 is OFF, this indicates that the PM reset has never completed before.

Therefore, if XMODE_3=ON does not hold in step S136, the first PM reset for the PM sensor 8 is performed according to operations of steps from S130 to S134. Control corresponding to operations of steps from S112 to S126 is thereafter performed.

On the other hand, when XMODE_3 = ON in step S136, it is assumed that the previous operation of the engine 2 is stopped during the failure detection operation for the DPF 6 . In this case, a parameter etc. recorded in the previous failure detection is read out (S138). The information is added and control is passed to step S112. The failure detection which was interrupted in the previous process is resumed, and processes of steps from S112 to S126 are sequentially performed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the failure detection and the PM reset are performed once per crank until the internal combustion engine 2 stops. The PM sensor 8 is kept at 500°C or more after the PM reset so that the PM does not deposit on the element portion. Thus, the failure detection can be performed immediately after the engine 2 is started in the next process without waiting for the condensed water to be drained. The period of time from the start of the engine 2 to the completion of the failure detection can be shortened, and therefore the failure detection can be performed even when a trip is comparatively short, resulting in more opportunities to perform the failure detection.

[Other control example of this embodiment]

The embodiment has been described for the case where the deposition voltage was applied in step S112 immediately after reading the parameters in step S138. However, the present invention is not limited to this. 4 14 is a flowchart for illustrating another control program that the control device executes in the embodiment of the present invention.

This in 4 The program shown is the same as that in 3 program shown with the exception that the program of 4 includes a process of step S140 after the process of step S138 before the process of step S112. in the in 4 In the program shown, it is determined in step S140 whether the condition for avoiding water soaking in the PM detection mode is satisfied after reading the parameter in the previous operation in step S138. The condition for avoiding water soaking includes, for example, whether the temperature of the wall or a portion where the condensed water stands is at the dew point or 100°C or more. Such a condition is set in advance and stored in the control device 10 in advance.

If it is determined in step S140 that the condition is not met, the process in step S140 is repeated to determine whether the condition is met. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S140 that the condition is satisfied, control proceeds to step S112 and the failure detection resulting from the previous operation is continued.

Moreover, the failure detection for the DPF 6 is performed as the PM detection mode after the engine is started in the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the case of performing the failure detection for the DPF 6 . The present invention is also effective in detecting the amount of PM contained in the exhaust gas as the PM detection mode at an early stage after the engine is started.

In addition, the embodiment has been described for the case where the temperature during the PM reset and after the completion of the reset are both set to 500° C. or more. This is the temperature effective for burning the PM deposited on the element portion. However, the temperature range for burning the particulate material in the present invention is not limited to 500°C or more, and can be set appropriately according to the deposition of the particulate material or components of the particulate material or other factors.

Also, in the embodiment, the temperature during the PM detection mode is described as 300°C or less. The temperature during the detection of the PM in the present invention is not limited to this. However, the temperature during PM detection needs to be lower than the temperature during PM reset and within a range where the element portion is unlikely to be broken even if the element portion is wet.

The reference numerals of the number of elements, the sizes, the volumes, the areas, etc. referred to in the present embodiment are not limited to those in the present invention as long as not expressive Lich was described or a reference number is obviously in principle a specific number. In addition, the constitutions and steps of the illustrated embodiment are not always necessary for the present invention except for those specifically described or a constitution or step limited to a specific one in principle.

Reference List

2

Internal combustion engine

4

exhaust passage

6

DPF (diesel particulate filter)

8th

PM sensor

10

control device

Claims (3)

A control device for an internal combustion engine (2), comprising: means for detecting an amount of particulate matter contained in an exhaust gas in an exhaust gas passage (4) of the internal combustion engine (2) based on electrical characteristics via electrodes (12, 14) of a particulate matter sensor ( 8) provided in the exhaust gas passage of the internal combustion engine; means for burning and removing the particulate matter deposited on the element portion by maintaining the element portion of a particulate matter sensor (8) in a predetermined temperature range for burning the particulate matter deposited on the element portion after the internal combustion engine (2) is started and determining the amount of the particulate material is complete; and means for maintaining the element portion in the predetermined temperature range after the particulate matter is burned and removed until the internal combustion engine stops, characterized in that it further comprises: means for reading a parameter related to a state for detecting the record particulate matter amount; means for determining, after a start of a current operation of the internal combustion engine (2), whether the detection of the amount of particulate matter in a previous operation from start to stop of the internal combustion engine (2) is completed; and means for reading the parameter recorded during the previous operation when it is determined that the particulate matter amount detection is not completed, wherein: the particulate matter amount detection means performs the particulate matter amount detection performed in the previous operation was continued according to the parameter after the start of the current operation of the internal combustion engine. Control device for an internal combustion engine (2). claim 1 wherein: the particulate matter amount detecting means resumes the detection of the particulate matter amount performed in the previous operation when a temperature in the exhaust gas passage (4) after starting the current operation of the internal combustion engine (2) is determined to be higher than a reference temperature will. Control device for an internal combustion engine (2). claim 1 or 2 , further comprising means for maintaining the element portion in a second temperature range lower than the predetermined temperature range, the second temperature range being a range in which the particulate matter sensor (8) is capable of determining the amount of particulate matter .

Images