Method and arrangement for determining misfires in an internal combustion engine

US5231869A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Robert Bosch GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Martin Klenk · Munich, DE
• Winfried Moser · Ludwigsburg, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 10, 1992
• Grant date: Aug 3, 1993
• Expiry date: Jan 10, 2012

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01M15/11
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The invention is directed to a method for determining misfires in an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle. The determination is discontinued after a misfire under specific further conditions for a pregiven number of ignition strokes. When the misfire determination is not discontinued, then a check is made as to whether simple measurement value relationships apply which make a misfire very improbable. If such measurement value relationships are present, then the actual complicated misfire determination is discontinued. It is of special significance to count ignition strokes, which are counted in order to determine the relative frequency of misfires, only then when the above-mentioned conditions are all satisfied which determine as to whether a condition is present at all in which a determination of the misfire is purposeful. In this way, the decisive frequency determination is not influenced by the count of the ignition strokes which are not at all relevant to misfires. The above-mentioned procedure leads to a shortening of the average computation time because of the interruption of the misfire detection in many cases in which specific conditions are satisfied. Furthermore,…