Combustible gas measurement

• US 5,708,585 A
• Filed: 03/20/1995
• Issued: 01/13/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Kushion, Mark Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US08/407,351
• Time in Patent Office: 1,030 Days
• Field of Search: 364/431.06, 364/431.05, 364/483, 364/557, 364/558, 364/565, 364/431.061, 364/431.062, 73/118.1, 73/23.32, 73/23.31, 73/25.01, 73/25.03, 73/204.15, 73/204.14, 73/204.19, 73/204.25, 123/697, 123/688, 123/703, 422/94, 422/51, 422/95, 422/96, 422/97, 422/98, 374/36, 374/33, 374/40, 374/42, 436/141, 436/147
• US Class Current: 701/108
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/692 Thin-film arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/6986 with pulsed heating, e.g. dynamic methods
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/16 caused by burning or catalytic oxidation of surrounding material to be tested, e.g. of gas
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0047 for organic compounds

Abstract

A pulsed measurement technique for calorimetric sensors provides a short current pulse through catalyzed and inert sensor elements to minimize self heating while providing for sensor resistance measurement, so that a determination of the level of catalytic activity at the surface of the catalyzed element may be made for sensing the concentration of combustible elements of automotive internal combustion engine exhaust gas. Exhaust gas temperature measurement is provided by monitoring the inert element resistance. Exhaust gas flow rate measurement is provided by heating the inert element for a short heating period, and then removing the heat source while monitoring the time rate of return to the known initial inert element temperature.

Claims

1. A method of determining the concentration of combustible engine exhaust gas elements, comprising the steps of:

exposing a catalyzed temperature sensitive element which is coated with a catalyst and an inert temperature sensitive element to a flow of internal combustion engine exhaust gas;

applying a pulse of electrical current through the catalyzed and the inert elements;

determining the electrical resistance of the catalyzed and of the inert elements;

generating signals representing the concentration of combustible engine exhaust gas elements as a predetermined function of the determined electrical resistance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises the steps of:

sampling the voltage across the catalyzed and across the inert elements while the pulse of electrical current is being applied through the catalyzed and the inert elements; and

determining the electrical resistance of the catalyzed and of the inert elements as a predetermined function of the current pulse applied to the elements and of the voltage sampled across the respective catalyzed and inert elements.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the current pulse has a predetermined pulsewidth of short duration such that substantially no additional heating of the catalyzed and inert elements results from application of the current pulse at the applying step.

4. The method of claim 1, further providing for exhaust gas temperature sensing, further comprising the step of:

determining engine exhaust gas temperature as a predetermined function of the electrical resistance of the inert element.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the generating step generates signals representing the concentration of combustible engine exhaust gas elements as a predetermined function of the determined electrical resistance and of the determined engine exhaust gas temperature.

6. The method of claim 1, further for determining engine exhaust gas flow rate, further comprising the steps of:

providing for self-heating of the inert element by applying current to the inert element for a predetermined period of time sufficient to increase the temperature of the inert element;

following the predetermined period of time, periodically determining the electrical resistance of the inert element by (a) applying a pulse of electrical current through the inert element, (b) measuring the voltage drop across the inert element while the pulse of electrical current is being applied to the inert element, and (c) determining the electrical resistance of the inert element as a predetermined function of the current pulse applied through the inert element and of the measured voltage drop;

estimating a rate of change of temperature of the inert element as a predetermined function of the periodically determined resistance; and

calculating exhaust gas flow rate as a predetermined function of the estimated rate of change.

7. An apparatus for sensing concentration of combustible elements in internal combustion engine exhaust gas, comprising:

a first and a second temperature sensitive elements exposed to internal combustion engine exhaust gas, the first element being coated with a catalyst so as to catalytically react with the combustible elements in the engine exhaust gas, wherein energy generated in the catalytic reaction elevates the temperature of the first element above the temperature of the second element;

a current pulse generating circuit for generating a current pulse and for applying the current pulse through the first and second temperature sensitive elements;

a voltage sampling circuit for sampling voltages across the first and the second temperature sensitive elements while the current pulse is passing through the elements;

concentration determining means for determining the concentration of the combustible elements in the engine exhaust gas as a predetermined function of the sampled voltages.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the concentration determining means comprises:

a difference determining circuit for generating a resistance difference signal indicative of a resistance difference between the first and second temperature sensitive elements as a predetermined function of the sampled voltages; and

a controller comprising (a) input circuitry for receiving the generated resistance difference signal, and (b) a central processing unit for generating concentration values as a predetermined function of the received signal.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller further comprises:

a read only memory unit storing predetermined schedules of concentration values as a function of resistance difference signal values; and

wherein the central processing unit comprises arithmetic logic circuitry for referencingfrom read only memory the concentration value corresponding to the received resistance difference signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the current pulse is of a predetermined duration that is sufficiently short that substantially no element heating occurs in response to application of the pulse to the elements.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, further for sensing engine exhaust gas temperature, further comprising:

temperature determining means for determining the temperature of the engine exhaust gas as a predetermined function of the sampled voltage across the second temperature sensitive element.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the temperature determining means further comprises:

input circuitry for receiving the sampled voltage across the second temperature sensitive element; and

arithmetic logic circuitry for generating a value representing exhaust gas temperature as a predetermined function of the received signal.