DPF warning system

• US 8,350,682 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2009
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AB Volvo
• Original Assignee: MACK Trucks Incorporated (AB Volvo)
• Inventors: Higgins, John C., Troupe, David Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie
• Application Number:
  US12/483,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20100315213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/425.5
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/543 for indicating other states or conditions of the vehicle indicating taxis' state of hire or fare G07B13/045
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 11/00 Monitoring or diagnostic devices for exhaust-gas treatment apparatus , e.g. for catalytic activity safety, indicating or supervising devices for internal combustion engines F02B77/08; testing of machines G01M13/00
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 9/002 of filter regeneration, e.g. detection of clogging
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

A system for providing external notification of a vehicle event to an operator includes a reader device connected to a control unit providing status of at least one vehicle condition with the vehicle having a diesel particulate filter (DPF), a plurality of warning devices connected to the reader device and a power supply connected to the reader device and to the warning devices wherein the reader device receives data via data lines from the control unit, decodes the received data to determine the occurrence of a vehicle event relating to the DPF and controls ground signal lines of the warning devices to trigger at least one of the warning devices based on the detection of a particular event.

Claims

1. A system for providing notification of a vehicle event to an operator outside the vehicle, the system comprising:

a reader device connected to a control unit via a plurality of data lines, the control unit providing status of at least one vehicle condition wherein the vehicle is equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF);

a plurality of warning devices connected to the reader device; and

a power supply connected to the reader device and to the warning devices, wherein the reader device;

receives data from the control unit;

decodes the received data to detect the occurrence of a vehicle event relating to the DPF; and

controls ground signal lines of the warning devices to trigger at least one of the warning devices based on the detection of a particular event.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data received from the control unit corresponds to vehicle conditions including the status of the DPF.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle event is a regeneration of the DPF.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a first one of the plurality of warning devices provides a visual warning.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein a second of the plurality of warning devices provides an auditory warning.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the regeneration has one of a first urgency level and a second higher urgency level.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first urgency level regeneration triggers a first one of the plurality of warning devices to provide a warning signal.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the second urgency level regeneration triggers a second one of the plurality of warning devices to provide a warning signal.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the second urgency level regeneration triggers a first and a second one of the plurality of warning device to provide respective warning signals.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein ground signal lines of a first and a second one of the plurality of warning devices are controlled by the reading device to trigger a corresponding warning signal.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein a first and a second one of the plurality of warning devices are located at an external portion of the vehicle.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is an engine electronic control unit (ECU).

13. A method of providing external notification of a vehicle event to an operator of the vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving of data by a reader device from a control unit via a plurality of data lines;

decoding the received data to detect occurrence of a vehicle event corresponding to a diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration; and

triggering at least one of a plurality of external warning devices based on a type of detected regeneration.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the data is received by a reader device from an engine electronic control unit (ECU) of a truck.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the type of detected regeneration is one of a first urgency level regeneration and a second higher urgency level regeneration.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

triggering a plurality of warning devices if the detected regeneration is the higher urgency level regeneration.

17. A vehicle having a diesel particulate filter (DPF), the vehicle comprising:

a reader device receiving data corresponding to vehicle conditions from a control unit via a plurality of data lines;

a plurality of external warning devices each having a ground signal line connected to the reader device; and

a power supply connected to the reader device and to each of the warning devices wherein the reader device decodes the received data to detect the occurrence of a vehicle event relating to the DPF and controls the ground signal lines of the warning devices to trigger at least one of the warning devices based on the detection of a particular event.

18. The truck of claim 17, wherein the warning devices are located on an external portion of the truck.

19. The truck of claim 18, wherein the external portion is a rear portion of the truck.

20. The truck of claim 17, wherein the warning devices provide at least one of a visual and an auditory warning signal.