Fault recognition system and method for an internal combustion engine
First Claim
1. A system for fault recognition for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors operable to sense conditions of the engine;
a controller associated with the engine and including;
means for receiving sensor signals from each of said plurality of sensors; and
means for setting the state of a fault signal for each of said plurality of sensors as a function of said sensor signals; and
fault recognition means for activating a fault recognition signal only when all of a predetermined group of said fault signals have been set to a predetermined state for each fault signal in said group.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fault recognition system is implemented as an adjunct to fault determination software of an on-board engine control module (ECM). The ECM activates a "Type A" or "Type B" fault code for each signal received from a plurality of sensors disposed about the engine when that signal exceeds a predetermined threshold. A "Type C" fault is recognized and activated when all of a predetermined group of underlying "Type A" or "Type B" fault codes have been activated. The "Type C" fault is displayed, while the underlying faults may or may not be displayed. The "Type C" fault provides a better and more immediate indication of the source of the engine problem than any of the underlying faults. Only those underlying faults that aid in the recognition of the source of the engine problem are displayed. The remaining faults underlying the "Type C" fault are masked. When the "Type C" fault becomes inactive, any underlying fault codes are unmasked for subsequent evaluation. To avoid false positives or negatives, all of the underlying faults must be activated for a predetermined period before the "Type C" fault will be activated. Likewise, before the "Type C" fault is de-activated, at least one of the underlying faults must be inactive for a predetermined period.
47 Citations
23 Claims
-
1. A system for fault recognition for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
-
a plurality of sensors operable to sense conditions of the engine; a controller associated with the engine and including; means for receiving sensor signals from each of said plurality of sensors; and means for setting the state of a fault signal for each of said plurality of sensors as a function of said sensor signals; and fault recognition means for activating a fault recognition signal only when all of a predetermined group of said fault signals have been set to a predetermined state for each fault signal in said group. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A method for fault recognition for an internal combustion engine, the engine including a plurality of sensors operable to sense a plurality of engine operating conditions and an on-board monitoring system operable to set the state of fault signals in relation to the output of each sensor, said method comprising the steps of:
-
polling the state of fault signals set by the monitoring system; and activating a fault recognition signal only when all of a predetermined group of fault signals have been set to a predetermined state for each fault signal in said group. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
Specification