EP0816820A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Engine emissions analyzer with diagnostic
Assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
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Filing: 1997-05-30
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-05-30
Abstract
Abstract A method for analyzing automotive vehicle emissions wherein significant engine events are detected and logged over a test period and are applied to a model defining the emissions impact of such events to yield a vehicle emissions estimate for the test period with a diagnostic for diagnosing a deviation in performance of emissions control systems away from an expected performance and for correcting the vehicle emissions estimated to reflect the operating condition of the emissions control systems. The corrected estimates are stored and/or indicated. The logging of the events and the estimating, storing and indicating the emissions may be carried out on-board the vehicle. Further estimating, storing and indicating may be provided off-board the vehicle by downloading the logged events and diagnostic information to an external analyzer.
Inventors
- 👤 David Kay Lambert
- 👤 Peter John Groblicki
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 19:42
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01M; G01M15/00; G01M15/04; G01M15/10; G01M15/102
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
132 words
A vehicle emissions estimating method for indicating
emissions of an automotive vehicle having a plurality of emissions control
systems, comprising the steps of: storing a model representing a relationship between emissions
control system fault conditions and corresponding variation in vehicle
emissions away from a base level of vehicle emissions; diagnosing an emissions control system fault condition; referencing the vehicle emissions variation corresponding to
the diagnosed emissions control system fault condition from the stored
model; periodically during a test period, determining an occurrence
of any of a predetermined set of engine events; estimating a level of vehicle emissions as a predetermined
function of the determined occurrences; applying the referenced vehicle emissions variation to the
estimated level of vehicle emissions to form a corrected vehicle emissions
estimate; and indicating the corrected vehicle emissions estimate.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the emissions control
systems include catalyst treatment systems for catalytically treating engine
exhaust gas, air/fuel ratio control systems for driving engine air/fuel ratio
toward a target air/fuel ratio, exhaust gas recirculation systems for
recirculating a portion of engine exhaust gas to an engine intake, and misfire
detection systems for diagnosing improper combustion conditions in the
engine.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the diagnosed fault
condition includes fault conditions in an emissions control system that
normally result in an increase in vehicle emissions.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the base level of vehicle
emissions is the level of vehicle emissions estimated at the estimating step.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
103 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the stored model
comprises, for each of the plurality of emissions control systems, at least
one corresponding emissions variation indicating the variation in vehicle
emissions away from a base level of vehicle emissions when a fault
condition is diagnosed in the corresponding emissions control system; the method further comprising the step of distinguishing,
when an emissions control system fault condition is diagnosed, the one of
the plurality of emissions control systems experiencing the diagnosed fault
condition; and wherein the referencing step references an emissions
variation corresponding to the one of the plurality experiencing the
diagnosed fault condition.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
172 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the stored model
comprises, for each of the plurality of emissions control systems, a schedule
of correction values stored as a function of a fault severity value indicating
the variation in vehicle emissions away from a base level of vehicle
emissions when a fault condition is diagnosed in the corresponding
emissions control system having a severity corresponding to the fault
severity value; the method further comprising the steps of: distinguishing, when an emissions control system fault
condition is diagnosed, the one of the plurality of emissions control systems
experiencing the diagnosed fault condition; determining a fault severity value representing the degree that
the diagnosed fault condition impacts vehicle emissions; and referencing, from the stored schedule corresponding to the
one of the emissions control systems experiencing the diagnosed fault
condition, the correction value stored as a function of the determined fault
severity value, and wherein the applying step applies the referenced
correction value to the estimated level of vehicle emissions to form a
corrected vehicle emissions estimate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: sensing a download request; and transmitting the determined occurrences and the diagnosed
fault condition to an external analyser upon sensing the download request.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the transmitting step
transmits the determined occurrences, the diagnosed fault condition, and the
corrected vehicle emissions estimate upon sensing the download request.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
78 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the stored model
represents a relationship between emissions control systems fault conditions
and corresponding variation in each of at least the vehicle emissions
elements of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and oxides of
nitrogen (NOx) away from a base level of such emissions elements, and
wherein the estimating step estimates a level of at least the vehicle emissions
elements of CO, HC, and NOx as a predetermined function of the
determined occurrences.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
147 words
A method for indicating an estimate of the emissions of
an automotive vehicle having a plurality of emissions control systems,
comprising the steps of: storing an emissions model representing vehicle emissions as
a function of a predetermined set of vehicle operating parameter values; storing a schedule of model correction values as a function of
a series of emissions control system fault conditions; logging values of the predetermined set of vehicle operating
parameters over a test period; generating a base vehicle emissions estimate by applying the
logged values to the stored emissions model; diagnosing emissions control system fault conditions over the
test period; applying a diagnosed emissions control system fault condition
to the stored schedule to reference a model correction value; correcting the base vehicle emissions estimate by applying the
referenced model correction value to the base vehicle emissions estimate;
and indicating the corrected base vehicle emissions estimate.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
123 words
The method of claim 10, wherein the stored schedule comprises, for each of the plurality of emissions control
systems, a series of correction values stored as a function of a degree of
deterioration of the corresponding one of the plurality of emissions control
systems, the method further comprising, for a diagnosed emissions control
system fault condition, the steps of: identifying the one of the plurality of emissions control
systems corresponding to the diagnosed emissions control system fault
condition; and estimating a degree of deterioration of the identified one of
the plurality; and wherein the applying step applies the estimated degree of
deterioration to the series of correction values corresponding to the
identified one of the plurality to reference the correction value
corresponding thereto.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of: detecting a download request; and downloading the logged values and the diagnosed emissions
control system fault conditions to an external device upon detecting the
download request.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of: detecting a download request; and downloading the logged values, the diagnosed emissions
control system fault conditions, and the corrected base vehicle emissions
estimate to an external device upon detecting the download request.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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