Process for acquiring and/or paying a fee for exhaust pollutants and a motor vehicle with an exhaust pollutant set which operates using this process

• US 6,234,390 B1
• Filed: 01/26/1999
• Issued: 05/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sachsenring Automobiltechnik AG
• Original Assignee: Sachsenring Automobiltechnik AG
• Inventors: Rabe, Jürgen
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): St. Cyr, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US09/230,470
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 235/384, 235/380, 235/381, 902/24
• US Class Current: 235/384
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 11/00 Monitoring or diagnostic devices for exhaust-gas treatment apparatus , e.g. for catalytic activity safety, indicating or supervising devices for internal combustion engines F02B77/08; testing of machines G01M13/00
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2550/00 Monitoring or diagnosing the deterioration of exhaust systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/06 Arrangements for road pricing or congestion charging of vehicles or vehicle users, e.g. automatic toll systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0858 wherein the data carrier is removable
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0873 Details of the card reader
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

A process is disclosed for determining and/or paying a compensation for pollutants in the exhaust fumes of a combustion unit (1). The pollutants in the exhaust fumes are determined by at least one sensor (4) and an amount of monetary unit which corresponds to the pollutant emission is debited from a chip card (9) by a computer (7) and a chip card reader (8).

Claims

1. A process for at least one of acquiring and paying a fee for pollutants in the exhaust of a combustion unit provided with a start system and an exhaust channel, especially of an internal combustion engine, there being at least one pollutant sensor in the exhaust channel which produces, via a converter, an electrical signal, the signal being sent to a detector unit which outputs the signal to a computer in a form which can be processed as a control signal, and the computer makes available a value signal at an output which corresponds to the determined pollutant content, the value signal is formed from the control signal and is sent to a debiting unit which makes available a debiting signal by which the amount corresponding to the respective pollutant content is debited from a memory, the memory can be filled with monetary units by a chip card which is charged with monetary units via a chip card reader, the process comprising the steps of:

providing a chip card charged with monetary units;

inserting the chip card into the chip card reader, the chip card remains in the reader during operation of the internal combustion engine for use as the memory;

debiting from the chip card an amount of monetary units corresponding to the respective instantaneous pollutant content;

generating and transmitting at least one warning signal by at least one of the computer and the debiting unit, said at least one warning signal corresponding to one of an amount of monetary units below a lower boundary value and an amount which is not present on the chip card;

inputting said warning signal into a control unit provided with said combustion unit;

preventing starting of one of the combustion unit and a motor vehicle if the chip card is not completely inserted or the chip card is uncharged or has an insufficient quantity of remaining monetary units.

2. The process of claim 1, including the step of limiting a running time of the combustion unit depending on the remaining monetary units of the inserted chip card.

3. The process of claim 2, including the step of limiting the driving range of the motor vehicle depending on the remaining monetary units of the inserted chip card.

4. The process in claim 1, including the step of limiting the driving range of the motor vehicle depending on the remaining monetary units of the inserted chip card.

5. The process of claim 1, further including the step of outputting another warning signal depending on one of the remaining monetary units, the presence of an uncharged chip card and the presence of an incompletely inserted chip card.

6. The process of claim 5, wherein said another warning signal is output continuously.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein a commercial unit is formed from the converter, the detector unit, the computer, the debiting unit and at least one assignable pollutant sensor, said commercial unit being permanently installed on an internal combustion engine connected to the combustion unit.

8. The process of claim 1, wherein one pollutant sensor is used for all relevant pollutants.

9. The process of claim 1, wherein several pollutant sensors are used for one of different pollutants and pollutants proportions.

10. The process of claim 9, wherein one of a fuel mixture preparation and a mixture composition for the combustion unit is controlled via the computer from the signal made available by the at least one sensor such that one of optimized and minimum pollutant emission values in the exhaust are obtained.

11. The process of claim 1, wherein the pollutant sensors are attached to project into a muffler of the exhaust system of the combustion unit.

12. The process of claim 1, wherein the process is used in motor vehicles with one of an internal combustion engine and a gas turbine.

13. The process of claim 1, wherein one of a fuel mixture preparation and a mixture composition for the combustion unit is controlled via the computer from the signal made available by the at least one sensor such that one of optimized and minimum pollutant emission values in the exhaust are obtained.

14. The process of claim 1, wherein control takes place such that a sum of the pollutant emissions is controlled to a value which is at least one of harmless, least harmful, tolerable, and most tolerable, and which is justifiable for protecting the environment.

15. The process of claim 14, wherein in addition to determining the pollutant content, at least one of the fuel consumption and the number of kilometers driven per debiting period is determined and values corresponding thereto are used together with the value of the pollutant emission to compute the values to be debited.

18. The motor vehicle of claim 1, further including a starting system for the motor vehicle controllable via at least one of the computer and the debiting unit such that one of starting and restarting of the motor vehicle is impossible when one of the chip card is incompletely inserted, an inserted chip card is uncharged and the chip card is insufficiently charged with monetary units.

16. A motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine and an exhaust system connected thereto, comprising:

at least one pollutant sensor located in an exhaust stream of the exhaust system, said at least one pollutant sensor adapted to react to the pollutants contained in the exhaust and output a signal which corresponds to an amount of discharged pollutant, further including a debiting unit via which an amount of monetary units corresponding to the value signal can be debited from a memory which can be charged via a chip card, wherein a chip card reader is assigned to the debiting unit, wherein the memory is directly on the chip card and the memory is chargeable with the monetary units, and wherein the debiting unit is adapted to continuously debit monetary units from the chip card during operation of the internal combustion engine according to the instantaneous pollutant content at least one of a sound generator and an optical display via which at least one audio signal and visible signal can be delivered when one of the chip card is incompletely inserted, an inserted chip card is uncharged and the chip card is insufficiently charged with monetary units.

17. The motor vehicle of claim 16, further including a starting system for the motor vehicle controllable via at least one of a computer and the debiting unit such that starting and restarting of the motor vehicle is impossible when one of the chip card is incompletely inserted, an inserted chip card is uncharged and the chip card is insufficiently charged with monetary units.