Internal-combustion engine design support system

• US 20070106453A1
• Filed: 11/03/2006
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Inventors: Yokohata, Hideaki, Kusunoki, Yasutomo
• Application Number:
  US11/592,229
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106453A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/15 Vehicle, aircraft or watercraft design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30

Abstract

Disclosed is an internal-combustion engine design support system for presenting a combination of functional specification types or the like of a design-target engine in connection with a target performance parameter value set out in a new vehicle. The system comprises a database (1) storing data about a design parameter value of a given design parameter, a functional specification type of a given functional specification and a performance parameter value of a given performance parameter, which are associated with each of a plurality of existing internal-combustion engines, a performance calculation section (21) for calculating a performance parameter value of the given performance parameter of at least one of an internal-combustion engine model set by changing a combination of a reference design parameter value and/or a reference functional specification type of a base internal-combustion engine selected from the existing internal-combustion engines, and a combination presentation section (22) for outputting at least one combination of a design parameter value and a functional specification type of the internal-combustion engine model having the performance parameter value calculated by the performance calculation section (21), according to a given presentation condition.

Claims

1. An internal-combustion engine design support system comprising:

a database (1) storing data about a design parameter value of a given design parameter, a functional specification type of a given functional specification, and a performance parameter value of a given performance parameter, which are associated with each of a plurality of existing internal-combustion engines;

performance calculation means (21) for calculating a performance parameter value of said given performance parameter of at least one of an internal-combustion engine model set by changing a combination of a reference design parameter value and/or a reference functional specification type of a base internal-combustion engine selected from said existing internal-combustion engines; and

combination presentation means (22, 23) for outputting at least one combination of a design parameter value and-a functional specification type of said internal-combustion engine model having the performance parameter value calculated by said performance calculation means, according to a given presentation condition.

2. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said given functional specification stored as the functional specification type in said database (1) includes at least one selected from the group consisting of with/without a supercharger, a fuel injection system, standard fuel, with/without a variable valve control mechanism, a valve drive mechanism and the number of intake/exhaust valves.

3. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said given design parameter stored as the design parameter value in said database (1) includes engine displacement.

4. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said performance calculation means (21) is operable to calculate a performance parameter value of said given performance parameter for all combinations of a plurality of design parameter values of said given design parameter and a plurality of functional specification types of said given functional specification, under a given constraint condition.

5. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said given performance parameter to be calculated by said performance calculation means (21) includes fuel consumption rate.

6. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said given presentation condition for said combination presentation means (22, 23) includes presentation in ascending order of cost and presentation in descending order of performance parameter value.

7. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to selectively present only a combination of a design parameter value and a functional specification type of said internal-combustion engine model which has a performance parameter value meeting a target performance parameter value, or to present a combination of a design parameter value and a functional specification type of said internal-combustion engine model, internal-combustion engine models, with discrimination whether a performance parameter value of said combination meets a target performance parameter value.

8. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to display, on display means (4), a relation map which represents a combination of a design parameter value and a functional specification type, or a combination of respective performance parameter values of a plurality of performance parameters, in the form of a combination of respective parameters of coordinate axes, while plotting, on said relation map, a reference performance parameter value of said base internal-combustion engine, a target performance parameter value set out in a design-target internal-combustion engine, and the performance parameter value calculated by said performance calculation means (21).

9. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 8, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to display said relation map while plotting thereon a performance parameter value at least one of said existing internal-combustion engines.

10. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 9, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to display said relation map while plotting thereon a plurality of performance parameter values of said existing internal-combustion engines in such a manner that the performance parameter values are grouped on the basis of a combination of two or more functional specification types.

11. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 8, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to display said relation map in such a manner that coordinate axes thereof represent engine displacement as the design parameter and fuel consumption rate as the performance parameter, respectively.

12. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to either one of claims 8 to 10, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to display said relation map in such a manner that coordinate axes thereof represent maximum power as the performance parameter and fuel consumption rate as the performance parameter, respectively.

13. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 8, wherein said design parameter includes engine displacement.

14. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein:

said performance calculation means (21) is operable to calculate a cost parameter value of a given cost parameter in addition to the performance parameter value of the given performance parameter; and

said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to display, on display means (4), a relation map having at least two coordinate axes which represents, respectively, said given performance parameter and said given cost parameter for each of a plurality of the internal-combustion engine models, while plotting, on said relation map, a reference performance parameter value of the given performance parameter and a cost parameter value of given cost parameter of each of said internal-combustion engine models, together with an indicator representing a target performance parameter value.

15. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to indicate, on said relation map, respective plots of said internal-combustion engine models, with discrimination whether a specific functional specification type is employed in each of said internal-combustion engine models.

16. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to indicate, on said relation map, an indicator representing a specific engine cost value.

17. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 1, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to display, on display means (4), a radar chart having a plurality of coordinate axes which represent, respectively, a plurality of performance parameters, while plotting, on said radar chart, post-change performance parameter values calculated by said performance calculation means (21).

18. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 17, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to indicate a target performance parameter value for each of said performance parameters, on said radar chart.

19. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 17, wherein said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to display a lower-layer radar chart for each of said performance parameters on the coordinate axes of said radar chart serving as an upper-layer radar chart, said lower-layer radar chart having a plurality of coordinate axes which represent, respectively, a plurality of detailed-performance parameters interacting with a performance parameter value of said performance parameter.

20. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 19, wherein:

said performance calculation means (21) is operable, when the performance parameter value of the performance parameter on either one of the coordinate axes of said upper-layer radar chart, to calculate respective post-change performance parameter values of the detailed-performance parameters to be affected by the change in the performance parameter value of said performance parameter; and

said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to indicate said calculated post-change performance parameter values on the lower-layer radar chart having the coordinate axes representing said detailed-performance parameters.

21. The internal-combustion engine design support system according to claim 19, wherein:

said performance calculation means (21) is operable, when the performance parameter value of the detailed-performance parameter on either one of the coordinate axes of said lower-layer radar chart, to calculate a post-change performance parameter value of the performance parameter to be affected by the change in the performance parameter value of said detailed-performance parameter; and

said combination presentation means (22, 23) is operable to indicate said calculated post-change performance parameter value on said upper-layer radar chart having the coordinate axes representing said performance parameters.