Engine system diagnosing apparatus and method

• US 6,820,471 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2002
• Issued: 11/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ito, Tokiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): JENKINS, JERMAINE L
• Application Number:
  US10/101,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20020144667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 978 Days
• Field of Search: 731/16--181, 701/113-115, 123/142.5 R, 123/123, 123/142.5
• US Class Current: 73/114.68
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 11/20 concerning atmospheric freezing conditions, e.g. automatically draining or heating during frosty weather
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2011/205 using heat-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2023/00 Signal processing; Details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/22 Safety or indicating devices for abnormal conditions in air/fuel ratio feedback systems F02D41/1495, in electric control linkage F02D11/107, in purge control systems F02M25/0809
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 25/0809 Judging failure of purge control system
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 19/10 by heating of engine coolants
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

Diagnosing apparatus and method diagnose an engine system provided with a heat accumulating device arranged to preheat an engine. A warm-up state of the engine system, before a warm-up operation of the engine by the heat accumulating device, is detected so that warm-up data representative of the detected warm-up state is stored in a memory, and the engine system is diagnosed to detect its warm-up state on the basis of the warm-up data stored in the memory. This arrangement permits accurate diagnosis of a warm-up state of an engine system.

Claims

1. A diagnosing apparatus for diagnosing an engine system to detect a warm-up state thereof, said engine system being provided with a heat accumulating device arranged to preheat an engine, comprising:

a controller that;

detects the warm-up state of said engine system and stores warm-up data representative of the detected warm-up state in a memory before a warm-up operation of said engine is performed by said heat accumulating device; and

performs a diagnosis of the warm-up state on the basis of said warm-up data stored in said memory.

2. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory is a nonvolatile memory.

3. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller further:

detects a preliminary operation to be performed before starting of said engine; and

stores the detected warm-up data in said nonvolatile memory when said preliminary operation has been detected.

4. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the controller further:

permits said heat accumulating device to warm up said engine when said engine has not been warmed-up to a predetermined warm-up state after detection of said preliminary operation; and

inhibits starting of said engine until said engine has been warmed-up to said predetermined warm-up state.

5. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said preliminary operation is at least one of an opening action of a door provided on a vehicle equipped with said engine system and a switching operation of an ignition switch to an on state.

6. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller further:

detects a preliminary operation to be performed before starting of said engine;

initializes said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory to a predetermined initial value upon detection of a switching operation of an ignition switch to an off state during an operation of said engine; and

updates said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory so as to represent the warm-up data as detected by said controller, when said controller has detected said preliminary operation and when said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory represents said predetermined initial value.

7. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the controller further:

permits said heat accumulating device to warm up said engine when said engine has not been warmed-up to a predetermined warm-up state after detection of said preliminary operation; and

inhibits starting of said engine until said engine has been warmed-up to said predetermined warm-up state.

8. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said preliminary operation is at least one of an opening action of a door provided on a vehicle equipped with said engine system and a switching operation of an ignition switch to an on state.

9. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller diagnoses said engine system to detect at least one of an abnormality of an evaporative purge system of the engine system and a deterioration of a catalyst disposed in an exhaust system of the engine system.

10. A method of diagnosing an engine system to detect a warm-up state thereof, said engine system being provided with a heat accumulating device arranged to preheat an engine, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the warm-up state of said engine system before a warm-up operation of said engine is performed by said heat accumulating device;

storing warm-up data representative of the detected warm-up state in a memory; and

performing a diagnosis of the warm-up state on the basis of said warm-up data stored in said memory.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said memory is a nonvolatile memory.

12. A method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of:

detecting a preliminary operation to be performed before starting of said engine, and wherein said detected warm-up data is stored in said nonvolatile memory when said preliminary operation has been detected.

13. A method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

permitting said heat accumulating device to warm up said engine when said engine has not been warmed-up to a predetermined warm-up state after detection of said preliminary operation, and

inhibiting starting of said engine until said engine has been warmed-up to said predetermined warm-up state.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein said step of detecting a preliminary operation comprises detecting at least one of an opening action of a door provided on a vehicle equipped with said engine system and a switching operation of an ignition switch to an on state.

15. A method according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

detecting a preliminary operation to be performed before starting of said engine;

initializing said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory to a predetermined initial value upon detection of a switching operation of an ignition switch to an off state during an operation of said engine; and

updating said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory so as to represent the detected warm-up data when said preliminary operation has been detected and when said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory represents said predetermined initial value.

16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

permitting said heat accumulating device to warm up said engine when said engine has not been warmed-up to a predetermined warm-up state after detection of said preliminary operation; and

inhibiting starting of said engine until said engine has been warmed-up to said predetermined warm-up state.

17. A method according to claim 15, wherein said step of detecting a preliminary operation comprises detecting at least one of an opening action of a door provided on a vehicle equipped with said engine system and a switching operation of an ignition switch to an on state.

18. A method according to claim 10, wherein said step of performing the diagnosis of the warm-up state comprises diagnosing said engine system to detect at least one of an abnormality of an evaporative purge system of the engine system and a deterioration of a catalyst disposed in an exhaust system of the engine system.

19. A diagnosing apparatus for diagnosing an engine system and determining whether the diagnosis is performed based on a detected warm-up state thereof, said engine system being provided with a heat accumulating device arranged to preheat an engine, comprising:

a controller that;

detects the warm-up state of said engine system and stores warm-up data representative of the detected warm-up state in a memory before a warm-up operation of said engine is performed by said heat accumulating device; and

determines whether the diagnosis of the engine system is performed on the basis of said warm-up data stored in said memory.

20. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said memory is a nonvolatile memory.

21. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the controller further:

detects a preliminary operation to be performed before starting of said engine; and

stores the detected warm-up data in said nonvolatile memory when said preliminary operation has been detected.

22. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the controller further:

permits said heat accumulating device to warm up said engine when said engine has not been warmed-up to a predetermined warm-up state after detection of said preliminary operation; and

inhibits starting of said engine until said engine has been warmed-up to said predetermined warm-up state.

23. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said preliminary operation is at least one of an opening action of a door provided on a vehicle equipped with said engine system and a switching operation of an ignition switch to an on state.

24. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the controller further:

detects a preliminary operation to be performed before starting of said engine;

initializes said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory to a predetermined initial value upon detection of a switching operation of an ignition switch to an off state during an operation of said engine; and

updates said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory so as to represent the warm-up data as detected by said controller, when said controller has detected said preliminary operation and when said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory represents said predetermined initial value.

25. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the controller further:

permits said heat accumulating device to warm up said engine when said engine has not been warmed-up to a predetermined warm-up state after detection of said preliminary operation; and

inhibits starting of said engine until said engine has been warmed-up to said predetermined warm-up state.

26. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said preliminary operation is at least one of an opening action of a door provided on a vehicle equipped with said engine system and a switching operation of an ignition switch to an on state.

27. A diagnosing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said controller diagnoses said engine system to detect at least one of an abnormality of an evaporative purge system of the engine system and a deterioration of a catalyst disposed in an exhaust system of the engine system.

28. A method of diagnosing an engine system and determining whether the diagnosis is executed based on a detected warm-up state thereof, said engine system being provided with a heat accumulating device arranged to preheat an engine, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting the warm-up state of said engine system before a warm-up operation of said engine is performed by said heat accumulating device;

storing warm-up data representative of the detected warm-up state in a memory; and

determining whether the diagnosis of the engine system is performed on the basis of said warm-up data stored in said memory.

29. A method according to claim 28, wherein said memory is a nonvolatile memory.

30. A method according to claim 29, further comprising the step of:

detecting a preliminary operation to be performed before starting of said engine, and wherein said detected warm-up data is stored in said nonvolatile memory when said preliminary operation has been detected.

31. A method according to claim 30, further comprising the steps of:

permitting said heat accumulating device to warm up said engine when said engine has not been warmed-up to a predetermined warm-up state after detection of said preliminary operation, and

inhibiting starting of said engine until said engine has been warmed-up to said predetermined warm-up state.

32. A method according to claim 30, wherein said step of detecting a preliminary operation comprises detecting at least one of an opening action of a door provided on a vehicle equipped with said engine system and a switching operation of an ignition switch to an on state.

33. A method according to claim 29, further comprising the steps of:

detecting a preliminary operation to be performed before starting of said engine;

initializing said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory to a predetermined initial value upon detection of a switching operation of an ignition switch to an off state during an operation of said engine; and

updating said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory so as to represent the detected warm-up data when said preliminary operation has been detected and when said warm-up data stored in said nonvolatile memory represents said predetermined initial value.

34. A method according to claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

permitting said heat accumulating device to warm up said engine when said engine has not been warmed-up to a predetermined warm-up state after detection of said preliminary operation; and

inhibiting starting of said engine until said engine has been warmed-up to said predetermined warm-up state.

35. A method according to claim 33, wherein said step of detecting the preliminary operation comprises detecting at least one of an opening action of a door provided on a vehicle equipped with said engine system and a switching operation of an ignition switch to an on state.

36. A method according to claim 28, wherein said step of performing the diagnosis of the warm-up state comprises diagnosing said engine system to detect at least one of an abnormality of an evaporative purge system of the engine system and a deterioration of a catalyst disposed in an exhaust system of the engine system.