Malfunction detecting method for a vehicle fuel level sensor
First Claim
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1. A fuel level sensor malfunction detecting method for a vehicle, comprising:
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concluding that monitoring conditions are satisfied;
counting a time period during which (a) the fuel level comes within a target range and (b) a difference between maximum and minimum values of the fuel level is less than a first minimum value;
concluding a change rate of opening of a throttle valve has shown a value greater than a target value during the counted time period;
accumulating malfunction occurrences if the change rate of the throttle valve opening was greater than the target value; and
concluding that the fuel level sensor has malfunctioned if the accumulated malfunction occurrences are greater than a maximum malfunction value.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a fuel level sensor malfunction detecting method and system for a vehicle. In the method and system the rate of change in the opening of the throttle valve and the detection of a transmission kick-down are conditions for determining the malfunction of the fuel level sensor, thereby making it possible to detect a malfunctioning fuel level sensor more accurately.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A fuel level sensor malfunction detecting method for a vehicle, comprising:
- the;
concluding that monitoring conditions are satisfied;
counting a time period during which (a) the fuel level comes within a target range and (b) a difference between maximum and minimum values of the fuel level is less than a first minimum value;
concluding a change rate of opening of a throttle valve has shown a value greater than a target value during the counted time period;
accumulating malfunction occurrences if the change rate of the throttle valve opening was greater than the target value; and
concluding that the fuel level sensor has malfunctioned if the accumulated malfunction occurrences are greater than a maximum malfunction value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A fuel level sensor malfunction detecting method for a vehicle, comprising:
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concluding that monitoring conditions are satisfied;
counting a time period during which (a) the fuel level comes within a target range and (b) a difference between maximum and minimum values of the fuel level is less than a minimum value;
concluding a change rate of a throttle valve opening was greater than a target value, or detecting a kick-down during the counted time period;
accumulating malfunction occurrences if the change rate of the throttle valve opening was greater than the target value and the kick-down was detected; and
concluding that the fuel level sensor is malfunctioning if the accumulated malfunction occurrences are greater than a maximum malfunction value. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for detecting a failed fuel level sensor in a vehicle, comprising:
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determining whether a fuel level sensor output is within a target range;
determining that a difference between a maximum and a minimum fuel level sensor output is below a minimum value;
monitoring the fuel level sensor and a throttle valve opening sensor for a time period wherein the vehicle is moving;
accumulating a malfunction if, during the time period, the throttle valve opening sensor registered a rate of change greater than a target rate; and
concluding that the fuel level sensor is malfunctioning if the accumulated malfunctions exceed a maximum malfunction value. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A system for detecting the malfunction of a fuel level sensor, comprising:
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a fuel level sensor generating a signal representative of fuel level;
a throttle position sensor generating a signal representative of throttle position;
a battery voltage sensor generating a signal representative of battery voltage;
a vehicle speed sensor generating a signal representative of vehicle speed; and
an electronic control receiving said signals and unit programmed with instructions for determining if the fuel level sensor is malfunctioning based on said signals. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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Specification