Method and apparatus for using an accelerometer signal to detect misfiring in an internal combustion engine
First Claim
1. A method of using a real-time accelerometer signal to detect misfire in an internal combustion engine, said method comprising:
- (a) operating said engine at an operating point, and collecting said real-time accelerometer signal from an accelerometer sensor that comprises data characteristic of a combustion parameter;
(b) digitizing and filtering said real-time accelerometer signal to isolate data in a frequency range associated with said combustion parameter to produce a filtered signal data set;
(c) integrating said filtered signal data set to produce an integrated signal data set; and
(d) comparing said integrated signal data set with a predetermined reference data set associated with said operating point, to determine when misfire occurs.
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Abstract
The method comprises operating an engine and collecting a real-time accelerometer signal from an accelerometer sensor. The real-time accelerometer signal is digitized and filtered to isolate data in a frequency range associated with combustion to produce a filtered signal data set. The filtered signal data set is integrated to produce an integrated signal data set, and misfire is detected by comparing the integrated signal data set with a predetermined reference data set associated with the same operating point. The apparatus is a control system for an engine that comprises an accelerometer sensor mounted to the engine; a look-up table in which is stored predetermined reference data sets, in association with predetermined operating conditions; and an electronic controller programmed to carry out the foregoing method.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of using a real-time accelerometer signal to detect misfire in an internal combustion engine, said method comprising:
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(a) operating said engine at an operating point, and collecting said real-time accelerometer signal from an accelerometer sensor that comprises data characteristic of a combustion parameter; (b) digitizing and filtering said real-time accelerometer signal to isolate data in a frequency range associated with said combustion parameter to produce a filtered signal data set; (c) integrating said filtered signal data set to produce an integrated signal data set; and (d) comparing said integrated signal data set with a predetermined reference data set associated with said operating point, to determine when misfire occurs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A control system for an internal combustion engine, said control system comprising:
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an accelerometer sensor mounted to said internal combustion engine at a location where said accelerometer sensor can detect oscillations that correlate to a combustion parameter; a look-up table in which is stored a predetermined reference data set, in association with a predetermined operating condition; an electronic controller programmed to receive a real-time accelerometer signal from said accelerometer sensor when said engine is operating at said predetermined operating condition, to digitize and filter said real-time accelerometer signal to isolate data in a frequency range associated with said combustion parameter to produce a filtered signal data set, to integrate said filtered signal data set to produce an integrated signal data set, and to compare said integrated signal data set to said predetermined reference data set to determine when misfire occurs; and a signal wire for transmitting said signal from said accelerometer sensor to said electronic controller. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification