System

• US 20060116811A1
• Filed: 11/22/2005
• Published: 06/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dasan Invest Co., Ltd. (Min-Woo Nam)
• Original Assignee: Tantalum Innovations Ltd.
• Inventors: Willard, Alexander
• Granted Patent: US 8,437,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/109
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0235 in relation with the state of the exhaust gas treating apparatus control of exhaust gas treating apparatus per se F01N
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/1495 Detection of abnormalities in the air/fuel ratio feedback system
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/2403 using essentially up/down counters
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

The present invention provides an onboard system for determining vehicle emissions. The emissions are determined in real-time and may be transmitted to a remote terminal for storage and/or analysis. Date is supplied solely to an emissions unit from a vehicle diagnostic system: the vehicle diagnostic system receives vehicle data from vehicle systems and sub-systems.

Claims

1. An apparatus for measuring the emissions produced by a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

an emissions unit, a vehicle diagnostic system, and one or more vehicle systems, wherein;

the vehicle diagnostic system being in direct communication with the one or more vehicle systems and, in use, receiving vehicle data from the one or more vehicle systems;

the emissions unit, in use, receiving diagnostic data solely from the vehicle diagnostic system; and

the system, in use, determines the emissions produced by a vehicle using the diagnostic data received by the emissions unit.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in use, the determination of the emissions produced by the vehicle is made onboard the vehicle.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, in use, the emissions unit determines the emissions produced by the vehicle.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a communications interface and a remote terminal, the communications interface, in use, providing a connection to the remote terminal for the transmission of diagnostic data received by the emissions unit to the remote terminal.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the remote terminal determines the emissions produced by the vehicle.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a determination of the emissions produced by the vehicle is made at a rate of at least 1 per second.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 wherein a determination of the emissions produced by the vehicle is made at a rate of 10 per second.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the apparatus further comprises a vehicle location unit.

9. A vehicle comprising an apparatus for measuring the emissions produced by a vehicle according to claim 1.