Leak diagnosis system for evaporative emission control system

• US 5,739,421 A
• Filed: 12/03/1996
• Issued: 04/14/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Iochi, Atsushi, Goto, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Dombroske, George M.
• Application Number:
  US08/759,753
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• Field of Search: 73/116, 73/117.2, 73/117.3, 73/118.1, 73/49.7, 73/40.5 R, 123/519, 340/451
• US Class Current: 73/49.7
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 25/0809 Judging failure of purge control system

Abstract

A leak diagnosis system for an evaporative emission control system executes a correction process of diagnosis decision value. When the purge control of the evaporative emission control system is not executed, a purging line of the system is set in the atmospheric condition for a predetermined time. A pressure sensor installed in the purging line detects a pressure value V_A0 in the atmospheric condition. A control unit of the leak diagnosis system determines a leak decision value V_P0 on the basis of the atmospheric pressure detection value and an equation V_P0 =V_A0 +ΔV₀ where ΔV₀ is a difference between the output value in the predetermined positive pressure P₀ and the output value V_A0 in the atmospheric pressure condition and is constant. Therefore, it becomes possible to accurately execute the leak diagnosis.

Claims

1. A leak diagnosis system for an evaporative emission control system connected to an internal combustion engine having an air induction passage, comprising:

an adsorbing means for temporally adsorbing evaporative fuel from a fuel tank storing fuel for the engine;

a purging means for purging the evaporative fuel of said adsorbing means to the engine;

a pressure detecting means for detecting a pressure value of the evaporative emission control system except for the fuel tank;

a base-pressure setting means for putting said pressure detecting means in the atmospheric pressure and obtaining the pressure value of said pressure detecting means in the atmospheric pressure;

a diagnosing-value correcting means for correcting the detection value of said pressure detecting means on the basis of the detected value of said pressure detecting means in the atmospheric pressure;

a decision-value setting means for setting a decision value on the basis of the detection value corrected by said diagnosing-value correcting means and a characteristics of said pressure detecting means;

a diagnosing means for diagnosing a leak condition of the evaporative purge system by changing the pressure in the evaporative emission control system to said decision value set by said decision value setting means.

2. A leak diagnosis system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detected value of said pressure detecting means is directly proportional to the pressure to be detected by said pressure detecting means, where the linear function between the detected value of said pressure detecting means and the pressure has a constant gradient and a deviating intercept.

3. A leak diagnostic system as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said decision value setting means sets said decision value corresponding to a positive pressure difference from the value obtained by said pressure detecting means in the atmospheric pressure;

and

wherein said diagnosing means raises the pressure in the evaporative emission control system until said value from said pressure detecting means equals said decision value.

4. A leak diagnosis system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a vacuum switching means for switching a communicating condition of said adsorbing means with the air intake passage of the engine and a fresh-air guide switching means for switching a communicating condition of said adsorbing means with the atmosphere.

5. A leak diagnosis system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said diagnosis means executes the leak diagnosis of the evaporative emission control system on the basis of the detected pressure of said pressure detecting means when the pressure of the evaporative fuel from the fuel tank is increasing and both said vacuum switching means and said fresh-air guide switching means are put in the close state.

6. A leak diagnosis system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said diagnosing means executes the leak diagnosis by detecting the output of said pressure detecting means in a condition that the opening and closing of said vacuum switching means is selectively changed while said fresh-air guide switching means is closed.

7. A leak diagnosis system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said base-pressure setting means puts said pressure detecting means in the atmospheric pressure by setting said vacuum switching means in a close state and setting said fresh-air guide switching means in the open state.

8. A leak diagnosis system for an evaporative emission system connected to an internal combustion engine having an air induction passage, comprising:

a fuel tank for storing fuel used in the engine;

an evaporative fuel passage connected to said fuel tank;

a canister connected to said evaporative fuel passage;

a vent control valve connected to a fresh air guide port of said canister;

a vacuum cut valve installed to said evaporative fuel passage;

a bypass valve connected to said evaporative fuel passage to bypass said vacuum cut valve;

a purging passage connecting said canister and the air intake passage of the engine;

a purge control valve installed to said purging passage;

a pressure sensor installed to said purging passage to be located between said purge control valve and said canister;

a purge cut valve installed to said purging passage between said purge control valve and said pressure sensor;

a control unit electrically controlling open-and-close state of each of said bypass valve, said vent control valve, said purge control valve and said purge cut valve, said control unit obtaining a first output of said pressure sensor when said purge control valve, said purge cut valve and said bypass valve are closed and vent controlled valve is opened for a predetermined time, said control unit determining a leak decision value on the basis of a corrected value of said first output and a characteristic of said pressure sensor, said leak decision value to be compared with the output value in a leak detecting condition.

9. A leak diagnosis system for an evaporative emission system connected to an internal combustion engine having an air induction passage, comprising:

a fuel tank for storing fuel used in the engine;

an evaporative fuel passage connected to said fuel tank;

a canister connected to said evaporative fuel passage;

a vent control valve connected to a fresh air guide port of said canister;

a vacuum cut valve installed to said evaporative fuel passage;

a bypass valve connected to said evaporative fuel passage to bypass said vacuum cut valve;

a purging passage connecting said canister and the air intake passage of the engine;

a purge control valve installed to said purging passage;

a pressure sensor installed to said purging passage to be located between said purge control valve and said canister;

a purge cut valve installed to said purging passage between said purge control valve and said pressure sensor;

a first means for setting the pressure of said purge passage of said pressure sensor into the atmospheric pressure to correct an output value of said pressure sensor; and

a second means for determining a leak decision value to be compared with the output value in a leak detecting condition, said leak decision value determined on the basis of the corrected output value of said pressure sensor and the characteristics of said pressure sensor.

10. A method for diagnosing a leak in an evaporative purge system connected to an internal combustion engine having an air induction passage, the method comprising the steps of:

temporally adsorbing evaporative fuel from a fuel tank storing fuel for the engine;

purging the stored evaporative fuel to the engine;

detecting a diagnosis pressure value of the evaporative emission control system except for the fuel tank by using a pressure sensor;

exposing a pressure detected portion to the atmospheric pressure so as to obtain a value of atmospheric pressure;

correcting the detected diagnosis pressure value on the basis of the obtained value of atmospheric pressure;

determining a decision value based on the corrected detected diagnosis pressure value and a characteristic of the pressure sensor; and

diagnosing the leak condition of the evaporative purge system on the basis of the determined decision value.