System and method for analyzing carbon build up in an engine
First Claim
1. An induction cleaning analyzing system comprising:
- a pressure sensor configured to measure airflow pressures flowing in a common airflow pathway of a vehicle into which at least one of exhausts from plural cylinders in an engine flow or intake air is drawn by the cylinders;
an ignition event detector configured to determine ignition events of the respective cylinders; and
one or more microprocessors configured to obtain pressure waveforms representative of the airflow pressures in the common airflow pathway as measured by the pressure sensor and to divide the pressure waveforms into waveform segments, the one or more microprocessors also configured to associate different subsets of the waveform segments with different ones of the cylinders using the ignition events determined by the ignition event detector,wherein the one or more microprocessors also is configured to identify cyclic variations in the airflow pressures flowing in the common airflow pathway and caused by at least one of the cylinders by examining the waveform segments associated with the at least one of the cylinders,wherein the one or more microprocessors are configured to determine a magnitude of carbon build up in one or more of the cylinders by examining the cyclic variations in the airflow pressures caused by the one or more of the cylinders.
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Abstract
An induction cleaning analyzing system includes a pressure sensor, an ignition event detector, and a control module. The pressure sensor measures airflow pressures of intake air and/or exhaust from cylinders in a common airflow pathway of a vehicle. The ignition event detector determines ignition events of the cylinders. The control module obtains pressure waveforms representative of the airflow pressures and divides the pressure waveforms into waveform segments. The control module associates different subsets of the waveform segments with different ones of the cylinders using the ignition events. The control module also identifies cyclic variations in the airflow pressures flowing in the common airflow pathway and caused by at least one of the cylinders by examining the waveform segments associated with the at least one of the cylinders.
15 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An induction cleaning analyzing system comprising:
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a pressure sensor configured to measure airflow pressures flowing in a common airflow pathway of a vehicle into which at least one of exhausts from plural cylinders in an engine flow or intake air is drawn by the cylinders; an ignition event detector configured to determine ignition events of the respective cylinders; and one or more microprocessors configured to obtain pressure waveforms representative of the airflow pressures in the common airflow pathway as measured by the pressure sensor and to divide the pressure waveforms into waveform segments, the one or more microprocessors also configured to associate different subsets of the waveform segments with different ones of the cylinders using the ignition events determined by the ignition event detector, wherein the one or more microprocessors also is configured to identify cyclic variations in the airflow pressures flowing in the common airflow pathway and caused by at least one of the cylinders by examining the waveform segments associated with the at least one of the cylinders, wherein the one or more microprocessors are configured to determine a magnitude of carbon build up in one or more of the cylinders by examining the cyclic variations in the airflow pressures caused by the one or more of the cylinders. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system comprising:
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a pressure sensor configured to measure at least one of intake air pressures or exhaust pressures of plural cylinders flowing through a common air passageway associated with an engine; an ignition event detector configured to sense ignition signals representative of combustion cycles of the cylinders; and one or more microprocessors configured to separate the at least one of intake air pressures or exhaust pressures into waveform segments and to associate different subsets of the waveform segments with different ones of the cylinders, and wherein the one or more microprocessors are configured to identify variations in the at least one of intake air pressures or exhaust pressures caused by at least one of the cylinders by identifying cyclic variations in the waveform segments in the subset of the waveform segments that are associated with the at least one of the cylinders, wherein the one or more microprocessors are configured to quantify an amount of carbon build up in the engine using the cyclic variations in the waveform segments in the subset of the waveform segments associated with the at least one of the cylinders. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of identifying cyclic variations in combustion efficiency in cylinders of an internal combustion engine with aid of instrumentation, the engine including an air induction system, the cylinders, means for generating an ignition event for each of the cylinders, and an exhaust system, the instrumentation including one or more microprocessors programmed with one or more software routines, memory, and means for measuring cylinder pressure pulses;
- the method including;
running the engine through a number of combustion cycles; measuring the pressure pulses with the means for measuring cylinder pressure pulses; generating a waveform from the measured cylinder pressure pulses; dividing the waveform of the measured cylinder pressure pulses into waveform cycles and cycle segments, wherein each waveform cycle represents a complete combustion cycle of the engine, wherein each cycle segment represents a combustion cycle of a separate cylinder of the engine, and wherein a total number of the cycle segments equals a total number of the cylinders; marking each of the waveform segments from a cycle of the engine with a separate and distinct identifier, and repeating this identifier sequence for a number of successive cycles; and comparing each individual waveform segment during a particular cycle with the waveform segment having the same identifier for a number of successive cycles to identify cycle to cycle variations for each waveform segment, wherein the one or more software routines includes a routine to determine if the means for measuring the cylinder pressure pulses is properly positioned and properly functioning so that the means for measuring detects all the pressure pulses from each of the plurality of cylinders, and further comprising utilizing the routine to determine if the means for measuring the cylinder pressure pulses is detecting all the pressure pulses. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
- the method including;
Specification