AUTOMOTIVE COMBINATION SENSOR

• US 20140324323A1
• Filed: 04/24/2013
• Published: 10/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Gates, Freeman Carter, Naddaf, Fadi Maroun, McRoy, Gitanjli, Vroman, Dennis
• Granted Patent: US 9,617,928 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/108
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2021/083 controlling exhaust gas recirculation electronically
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 21/08 the other gas being the exhaust gas of engine
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/0406 Intake manifold pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0052 Feedback control of engine parameters, e.g. for control of air/fuel ratio or intake air amount
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0072 Estimating, calculating or determining the EGR rate, amount or flow sensors in EGR systems F02M26/45
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

Systems are provided for EGR mass and air mass estimation during steady state and transient operations. By utilizing a combination sensor comprising of a manifold absolute pressure sensing element and a differential pressure sensing element sharing a common pressure chamber with connections to the intake manifold, errors in EGR mass estimation may be reduced.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an intake manifold;

an exhaust gas recirculation passage coupled to the intake manifold with an exhaust gas recirculation valve; and

a sensor housing coupled directly to the intake manifold, with an absolute pressure sensing element and a differential pressure sensing element sharing a connection to the intake manifold.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an orifice positioned downstream of the valve, wherein the differential pressure sensing element is coupled to an upstream area of the orifice through a separate connection, and wherein the shared connection includes an internal manifold positioned within the sensor housing coupling the absolute pressure sensing element and the differential pressure sensing element, the internal manifold including at least one port communicating with an interior of the intake manifold.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the separate connection is on an opposite side of the sensor housing as the shared connection.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor housing is comprised of plastic, the intake manifold also comprised of plastic, the housing mounted to the intake manifold via a sealed port and an external fastener.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a controller with computer readable instructions for:

determining an exhaust gas recirculation amount based on the output of the absolute pressure and the differential pressure sensing elements; and

determining an air flow based on the output of the absolute pressure sensing element and the exhaust gas recirculation amount.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the absolute pressure sensing element and the differential pressure sensing element share a common pressure chamber, the common pressure chamber coupled to the intake manifold on a first side of a substrate within the sensor housing.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the differential pressure sensing element is coupled to an upstream area of the valve through a separate connection, and wherein the shared connection includes an internal manifold positioned within the sensor housing coupling the absolute pressure sensing element and the differential pressure sensing element, the internal manifold including at least one port communicating with an interior of the intake manifold.

8. A system, comprising:

an intake manifold;

a sensor housing coupled to the intake manifold and enclosing;

an inner manifold communicating with the intake manifold and first and second separate pressure sensing elements; and

a port coupling the second sensing element with an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system via a passage;

a controller including instructions for controlling an EGR valve to adjust EGR flow based on output of the first and second sensing elements.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the port is positioned on an opposite side of the second sensing element from the inner manifold.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the second sensing element is a differential pressure sensing element and the first sensing element is an absolute pressure sensing element.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the port couples the second sensing element with the EGR system via the passage upstream of an orifice, the orifice positioned downstream of the EGR valve.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the inner manifold communicates with the intake manifold via a connection positioned between the first and second sensing elements, closer to the first sensing element than the second sensing element.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the first and second sensing elements are positioned on a common board within the sensor housing, the sensor housing being a unitary housing mounted directly to the intake manifold.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the inner manifold is curved between the first and second sensing element, curve bending toward the intake manifold from the first and second sensing elements.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein a cross-section of the inner manifold is uniform through the curve.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the first and second sensing elements are located at opposite ends of the curve from one another.

17. A system comprising,

an intake manifold having a sensor housing mounted directly thereon, the sensor housing including an internal manifold communicating with an interior of the intake manifold and a first differential pressure sensing element and a second absolute pressure sensing element;

and

a connection between only the differential sensing element and an exhaust gas recirculation system upstream of a measuring orifice.

18. The system of claim 17 further comprising a controller with non-transitory instructions stored in memory, including instructions for adjusting an exhaust gas recirculation valve responsive to outputs of each of the first and second pressure sensing elements.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the controller further includes instructions for adjusting a fuel injection amount responsive to the first and second pressure sensing elements.

20. The system of claim 19 further comprising a board positioned within the sensor housing, the first and second pressure sensing elements mounted to the board, the inner manifold coupled on a first side of the board, and the connection coupled on a second, opposite side of the board.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the inner manifold is curved.