Method for determining a filling level of a fluid tank in a motor vehicle

• US 10,145,717 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2015
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Romstoeck, Christian, Feldges, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Paul D
• Application Number:
  US14/953,661
• Publication Number:
  US 20160169728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,100 Days
• Field of Search: 702 55
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 9/00 Measuring inclination, e.g. by clinometers, by levels
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/80 Arrangements for signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 25/20 of apparatus for measuring liquid level

Abstract

A method for determining a filling level of a fluid tank in a motor vehicle, enables both a detection of an ascent or a descent of the motor vehicle with the aid of multiple pieces of position data ascertained in succession via a position determination system, and a plausibility check of the measuring value of the filling level sensor, in that a grade of an associated route section is ascertained for the ascertained position data, a selection of at least two route sections having different grades is carried out, and a measuring value of the filling level sensor to be expected is ascertained for each of them, and a comparison of the measuring values to be expected with the measured measuring values is carried out.

Claims

1. A method for determining a filling level of a fluid tank in a motor vehicle, the method comprising:

performing a first calculation of a fluid volume of the fluid tank with a first process, the first process including;

detecting an ascent or a descent of the motor vehicle with multiple pieces of position data ascertained in succession via a position determination system,

ascertaining a grade of an associated route section in each case for the ascertained position data,

selecting at least two route sections having different grades, ascertaining a measuring value of a filling level sensor to be expected for each of them, and obtaining a measured measuring value for each of them from the filling level sensor situated in the fluid tank, and

performing a plausibility check of the measured measuring values of the filling level sensor via a comparison of the measuring values to be expected with the measured measuring values of the filling level sensor, wherein the first calculation of the fluid volume is based on the plausibility check;

displaying on a display device an indication of the filling level to a driver of the motor vehicle based on the calculated fluid volume of the fluid tank; and

preventing a restarting of the motor vehicle based on the calculated fluid volume of the fluid tank;

wherein the fluid tank is a urea-water solution tank.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a second calculation of the fluid volume of the fluid tank is performed with a second process using data about an instantaneous consumption of the fluid of the fluid tank, a comparison of the calculated fluid volume of the first and second processes being performed and in the case of a match, the fluid volume calculated according to the first process, or otherwise the fluid volume calculated according to the second process, being output as the filling level of the fluid tank.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, if the ascent or the descent of the motor vehicle is detected, the fluid volume of the fluid tank is determined only according to the second process from data about the instantaneous consumption.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein in the case of a detection of the ascent or the descent of the motor vehicle, a signal of the filling level sensor is filtered.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a detection of an ascent or a descent of the motor vehicle occurs via a comparison of multiple position data ascertained in succession.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein only those measured measuring values which match the expected measuring values or lie within an established tolerance range are processed in accordance with the first process.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the detection of an ascent or a descent of the motor vehicle occurs so that a comparison of elevation information associated with the position data is performed over a predefined time interval, and in the case of a continuous increase of the elevation, an ascent is inferred, or in the case of a continuous decrease of the elevation, a descent is inferred.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, in addition to the position data, geographical map data about a route which is presently being traveled on is used for detecting an ascent or a descent of the motor vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a comparison of the measuring values to be expected with the measured measuring values is performed in that a first difference is ascertained between two of the measuring values to be expected, a second difference is ascertained between two of the measured measuring values, and the first and the second difference are compared to each other.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the ascent or the descent of the motor vehicle is detected, a factor which is a function of the grade is ascertained, and a correction of the measuring signal of the filling level sensor is performed using this factor.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the displaying includes displaying a warning to the driver to replenish fluid in the fluid tank.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program, which is executable by a processor, comprising:

a program code arrangement having program code for determining a filling level of a fluid tank in a motor vehicle, by performing the following;

performing a first calculation of a fluid volume of the fluid tank with a first process, the first process including;

detecting an ascent or a descent of the motor vehicle with multiple pieces of position data ascertained in succession via a position determination system,

ascertaining a grade of an associated route section in each case for the ascertained position data,

selecting at least two route sections having different grades, ascertaining a measuring value of a filling level sensor to be expected for each of them, and obtaining a measured measuring value for each of them from the filling level sensor situated in the fluid tank, and

performing a plausibility check of the measured measuring values of the filling level sensor via a comparison of the measuring values to be expected with the measured measuring values of the filling level sensor, wherein the first calculation of the fluid volume is based on the plausibility check;

displaying on a display device an indication of the filling level to a driver of the motor vehicle based on the calculated fluid volume of the fuel tank; and

preventing a restarting of the motor vehicle based on the calculated fluid volume of the fluid tank;

wherein the fluid tank is a urea-water solution tank.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein a second calculation of the fluid volume of the fluid tank is performed with a second process using data about an instantaneous consumption of the fluid of the fluid tank, a comparison of the calculated fluid volume of the first and second processes being performed and in the case of a match, the fluid volume calculated according to the first process, or otherwise the fluid volume calculated according to the second process, being output as the filling level of the fluid tank.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium as recited in claim 12, wherein the displaying includes displaying a warning to the driver to replenish fluid in the fluid tank.

15. An electronic control unit, comprising:

a processor configured to determine a filling level of a fluid tank in a motor vehicle, by performing the following;

performing a first calculation of a fluid volume of the fluid tank with a first process, the first process including;

detecting an ascent or a descent of the motor vehicle with multiple pieces of position data ascertained in succession via a position determination system,

ascertaining a grade of an associated route section in each case for the ascertained position data,

selecting at least two route sections having different grades, and ascertaining a measuring value of a filling level sensor to be expected for each of them, and obtaining a measured measuring value for each of them from the filling level sensor situated in the fluid tank, and

performing a plausibility check of the measured measuring values of the filling level sensor via a comparison of the measuring values to be expected with the measured measuring values of the filling sensor, wherein the first calculation of the fluid volume is based on the plausibility check;

displaying on a display device an indication of the filling level to a driver of the motor vehicle based on the calculated fluid volume of the fluid tank; and

preventing a restarting of the motor vehicle based on the calculated fluid volume of the fluid tank;

wherein the fluid tank is a urea-water solution tank.

16. The electronic control unit as recited in claim 15, wherein the displaying includes displaying a warning to the driver to replenish fluid in the fluid tank.