Claims
- 1. A catalyst deterioration detecting apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
a controller that:
detects an amount of oxygen stored in an upstream catalyst and an amount of oxygen stored in a downstream catalyst; controls the amount of stored oxygen in the upstream catalyst by controlling an air-fuel ratio of gasses that flow into the catalyst based on said detected amounts; detects an oxygen storage capacity of the upstream catalyst based on said detected amount of stored oxygen in the upstream catalyst; and determines degradation of said upstream catalyst based on said detected oxygen storage capacity.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an upstream exhaust gas oxygen sensor located upstream of said upstream catalyst, and a downstream exhaust gas oxygen sensor located between said upstream catalyst and said downstream catalyst.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said controller further detects said amount of oxygen stored in said upstream catalyst and said amount of oxygen stored in said downstream catalyst based on said upstream and downstream sensors.
- 4. A catalyst deterioration detecting apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
a controller that:
detects an amount of oxygen stored in an upstream catalyst and an amount of oxygen stored in a downstream catalyst; controls the amount of stored oxygen in the upstream catalyst by controlling an air-fuel ratio of gasses that flow into the upstream catalyst; detects an oxygen storage capacity of the upstream catalyst based on said detected amount of stored oxygen in the upstream catalyst during vehicle operation; and determines degradation of said upstream catalyst based on said detected oxygen storage capacity.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising an upstream exhaust gas oxygen sensor located upstream of said upstream catalyst, and a downstream exhaust gas oxygen sensor located between said upstream catalyst and said downstream catalyst.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said controller further detects said amount of oxygen stored in said upstream catalyst and said amount of oxygen stored in said downstream catalyst based on said upstream and downstream sensors.
- 7. A catalyst deterioration detecting apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
a controller that:
detects an amount of oxygen stored in an upstream catalyst and an amount of oxygen stored in a downstream catalyst; controls the amount of stored oxygen in the upstream catalyst by controlling an air-fuel ratio of gasses that flow into the catalyst; and detects an oxygen storage capacity of the upstream catalyst based on operation where the engine is operated lean to fill the upstream catalyst with oxygen and then the engine is operated rich; and determines degradation of said upstream catalyst based on said detected oxygen storage capacity.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising an upstream exhaust gas oxygen sensor located upstream of said upstream catalyst, and a downstream exhaust gas oxygen sensor located between said upstream catalyst and said downstream catalyst.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said controller further detects said amount of oxygen stored in said upstream catalyst and said amount of oxygen stored in said downstream catalyst based on said upstream and downstream sensors.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said lean operation is ended based on said downstream sensor.
- 11. A catalyst deterioration detecting apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
a controller that:
detects an amount of oxygen stored in an upstream catalyst and an amount of oxygen stored in a downstream catalyst; controls the amount of stored oxygen in the upstream catalyst by controlling an air-fuel ratio of gasses that flow into the catalyst; and detects an oxygen storage capacity of the upstream catalyst based on operation where the engine is operated rich to deplete oxygen in the upstream catalyst and then the engine is operated lean; and determines degradation of said upstream catalyst based on said detected oxygen storage capacity.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising an upstream exhaust gas oxygen sensor located upstream of said upstream catalyst, and a downstream exhaust gas oxygen sensor located between said upstream catalyst and said downstream catalyst.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said controller further detects said amount of oxygen stored in said upstream catalyst and said amount of oxygen stored in said downstream catalyst based on said upstream and downstream sensors.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said rich operation is ended based on said downstream sensor.
- 15. A method for detecting deterioration of a catalyst for an internal combustion engine, the method comprising:
detecting an amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst; controlling said amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst by adjusting air-fuel ratio of the engine based on said detected amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst; determining degradation of the catalyst based on said detected amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst.
- 16. The method of claim 15 wherein said control is based on an error between a set point amount of oxygen storage and said detected amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst.
- 17. The method of claim 16 wherein said set point is at a location in an exhaust system, said location moved based on engine operating conditions.
- 18. The method of claim 16 wherein set point location is moved along a length of the exhaust system.
- 19. The method of claim 16 wherein set point location is moved between different positions in a catalyst brick.
- 20. The method of claim 16 wherein set point location is moved between different catalysts.
- 21. The method of claim 16 wherein set point location is moved between different catalyst bricks.
- 22. The method of claim 15 wherein said adjusting air-fuel ratio of the engine includes adjusting injected fuel that enters the engine combustion chamber.
- 23. The method of claim 15 wherein said determining degradation includes determining a level of degradation.
- 24. The method of claim 15 wherein said determining degradation includes determining a rate of degradation.
- 25. A method for detecting deterioration of a catalyst for an internal combustion engine, the method comprising:
detecting an amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst; controlling said amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst by adjusting air-fuel ratio of the engine based on said detected amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst; detecting an oxygen storage capacity of the catalyst based on said detected amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst; and determining degradation of the catalyst based on said detected oxygen storage capacity of the catalyst.
- 26. The method of claim 25 wherein said control is based on an error between a set point amount of oxygen storage and said detected amount of stored oxygen in the catalyst.
- 27. The method of claim 26 wherein said set point is at a location in an exhaust system, said location moved based on engine operating conditions.
- 28. The method of claim 26 wherein set point location is moved along a length of the exhaust system.
- 29. The method of claim 26 wherein set point location is moved between different positions in a catalyst brick.
- 30. The method of claim 26 wherein set point location is moved between different catalysts.
- 31. The method of claim 26 wherein set point location is moved between different catalyst bricks.
- 32. The method of claim 25 wherein said adjusting air-fuel ratio of the engine includes adjusting injected fuel that enters the engine combustion chamber.
- 33. The method of claim 25 wherein said determining degradation includes determining a level of degradation.
- 34. The method of claim 25 wherein said determining degradation includes determining a rate of degradation.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120, and is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/167,154 filed Jun. 10, 2002, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,661 issued Sep. 24, 2002, Ser. No. 09/681,872 filed Jun. 20, 2001, and is also a continuation of Ser. No. 10/603,222 filed Jun. 24, 2003, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,409 issued Oct. 7, 2003, Ser. No. 09/681,873 filed Jun. 20, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. This application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120, and is a continuation application, of the following U.S. patents and patent applications, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes: Ser. No. 10/262,322 filed Oct. 2, 2002 which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,093 issued Dec. 24, 2002, Ser. No. 09/681,870 filed Jun. 20, 2001; Ser. No. 09/681,874 filed Jun. 20, 2001; and Ser. No. 10/167,275 filed Jun. 10, 2001 which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,662, Ser. No. 09/681,875 filed Jun. 20, 2001.
[0002] This application also incorporates by reference in its entirety for all purposes U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,360 issued Feb. 1, 1994 to Hamburg et al.
Continuations (8)
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10167154 |
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10757873 |
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09681875 |
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10757873 |
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09681872 |
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10167154 |
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10757873 |
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10603222 |
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10262322 |
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10757873 |
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10262322 |
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