Apparatus configured to estimate quantity of fuel stored in vehicle

• US 7,942,042 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2009
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Miyata, Toshiyuki, Yamamoto, Hiroki, Kawakita, Koji, Ueda, Katsunori
• Primary Examiner(s): MCCALL, ERIC SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US12/362,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20090211349A1
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 731/143.8, 731/145.2, 731/145.3, 731/145.4, 732/90.R, 732/91
• US Class Current: 73/114.54
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/804 containing circuits handling parameters other than liquid level

Abstract

An apparatus, configured to estimate quantity of fuel stored in a vehicle, includes: a fuel tank; a fuel quantity measure; a filtering processor; a filter gain setter, configured to set a filter gain; and a vehicle status detector, configured to detect which one of a starting state, a halted state, a state achieved immediately after stoppage of the vehicle, and a traveling state, wherein the filter gain setter sets: a first gain as the filter gain when the vehicle is the starting state; a second gain as the filter gain, which is larger than the first gain, when the vehicle is in the traveling state or the state achieved immediately after stoppage of the vehicle; and a third gain as a filter gain, which is larger than the first gain and smaller than the second gain, when the vehicle is in the halted state.

Claims

1. An apparatus, configured to estimate quantity of fuel stored in a vehicle, comprising:

a fuel tank, configured to store fuel used for an engine mounted in the vehicle;

a fuel quantity measure, configured to measure quantity of fuel stored in the fuel tank;

a filtering processor, configured to subject the quantity of fuel to filter processing by a filter gain to detect an estimated quantity of fuel stored in the fuel tank;

a filter gain setter, configured to set the filter gain; and

a vehicle status detector, configured to detect which one of a starting state, a halted state, a state achieved immediately after stoppage of the vehicle, and a traveling state corresponds to a state of the vehicle, wherein

the filter gain setter sets a first gain as the filter gain when the vehicle status detector detects that the vehicle is the starting state;

sets a second gain as the filter gain, which is larger than the first gain, when the vehicle status determination means determines that the vehicle is in the traveling state or the state achieved immediately after stoppage of the vehicle; and

sets a third gain as a filter gain, which is larger than the first gain and smaller than the second gain, when the vehicle status determination means determines that the vehicle is in the halted state.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle is a flexible fuel vehicle that causes an engine to burn composite fuel stored in the fuel tank, thereby acquiring driving force.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising

an alcohol content estimator, configured to estimate the quantity of fuel fed to the fuel tank based on the estimated quantity of storage determined by the filtering processor, and estimate an alcohol content in the composite fuel based on the estimated quantity of fuel.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the fuel quantity measure is a fuel level sensor configured to measure a liquid level of the fuel stored in the fuel tank.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle status detector detects that:

the state of the vehicle is the starting state when the vehicle is at a standstill and when a period achieved after starting of the engine does not reach a first threshold period;

the state of the vehicle is the state achieved immediately after stoppage of the vehicle when the vehicle is at a standstill, when the period achieved after starting of the engine reached the first threshold period, and when a period achieved after stoppage of the vehicle does not reach a second threshold period;

the state of the vehicle is the halted state when the vehicle is at a standstill, when the period achieved after starting of the engine reached the first threshold period, and when the period achieved after stoppage of the vehicle reached the second threshold period; and

the state of the vehicle is the traveling state when the vehicle is in the middle of traveling.