WO2008130257A1

WO2008130257A1 - External module for controlling the engine power

Info

Publication number: WO2008130257A1
Application number: PCT/PL2008/000021
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tomasz Pirowski
Original assignee: Tomasz Pirowski
Priority date: 2007-04-24
Filing date: 2008-03-10
Publication date: 2008-10-30
Also published as: PL382259A1

Abstract

The object of the invention is the external module for controlling the power of a Diesel engine, working in the common-rail system. This module is a single- channel analogous transducer of the tension, digitally controlled. The module according to the invention consists of the proper external module assembled in the vehicle and of the cellular phone (15) served by the user of the vehicle. The external module for controlling the engine power according to invention, consists of the analogous transducer of the tension (3), two joint serially amplifiers of the tension (l) and (2), two digital-to- analogues transducers (4) and (5), the digital microcontroller (7), the input port of the signal (WeI) and the output port of the signal (WyI). The module has installed internal storage (10), the analyser of the presence of the signal for controlling the supply voltage of elements of the module (9) and the analog- to-digital converter (6). The internal storage (10) is directly connected to the microcontroller (7) of the module. Besides the module has installed bluetooth radio-interface (8), enabling the wireless connection with the cellular phone (15) and/or with the personal computer.

Description

External module for controlling the engine power

The object of the invention is an external module for controlling the power of a Diesel engine, working in the common-rail system. This module is a single- channel analogous tension transducer, digitally controlled from the level of the module and/or from the level of a cellular phone.

The external module for controlling the engine power, according to the invention, works in the serial connection with the signal line of the sensor of the pressure of the common-rail (fuel rail) . The external module for controlling the engine power allows to determine value of the pressure of the fuel injected into the combustion space of Diesel engine and to determine real-time changes of its value, in a way that is fully user-configurable.

Many engine controls that determine the pressures of the fuel injection are known. These solutions are based on the so called injection map, that is a two- dimensional table containing pressure values at a given rpms of the connecting shaft and positions of the gas pedal. The data collected in the two-dimensional tables are worked out by producers of a fuel injection system during the engine production process. These data are copied for all produced engines of a given type, they are not changed during all the period of engine use, till the end-of-life of the engine. Known engine controls measure the current pressure of injected fuel by means of the pressure sensor situated in the fuel pressure accumulator of common-rail. Such sensor indicates the tension within the range from 0 to 5V. This indication is proportional to the pressure of injected fuel. If the measured pressure is lower than that given in the 2D table, kept in the memory of the controller, then the controller increases the pressure of the fuel pump by means of the valve with smooth flow regulation. If the measured pressure is too high, then the controller decreases the pressure of the fuel pump. In the case when the pressure is in agreement with the pressure given, the controller undertakes no action. Such system is a typical feedback loop with a integrating-differentiating-proportional regulator (PID), or its derivative.

Well-known, from the American notification of the invention No. US 2006/0282425, is a system of the fuel injection of the explosion engine, working in a system of continuously increased pressure of injected fuel, leveled by the accumulator of the fuel pressure of the common rail system. In this invention, the fuel injection to the combustion chamber of a cylinder (fuel being received by the pump from the petrol tank and held in constant, defined pressure in hoses over cylinders) is controlled by an electronic control module. This module is a system of electronically control of the engine. It consist of a digital computer equipped with ROM and RAM memories, a microprocessor, ports of the power: input and output, linked with the microprocessor and with ROM and RAM. The output signal from the sensor of the fuel pressure is sent, through the A/D converter, to the input port. The second input signal is sent from the sensor of the gas pedal. The third input signal informs about the rotation angle of the crank-shaft, in cycles, every time for the angular value 15°. The output port sends signals to fuel snouts, to the valve of fuel line, to the control cock of the fuel pressure and to the control cock of the controller of the fuel flow through the fuel lines and to the pump. Fuel pump cooperates simultaneously with driving parley. A defect of known engine controllers is the lack of the possibility of the optimisation of the fuel injection pressure, and consequently of the engine power, to current, real-time, actual working conditions of the engine, with particular reference to the technical state of the engine and the degree of its wear. Besides, an inconvenience of known engine controllers is constant usage of parameters given once by the producer; these parameters are subject to no changes during the exploitation of the engine, until its technical waste. There are no possibilities of limiting or increasing the maximum engine power. Realtime optimisation of the engine work is missing.

Known, from the Polish notification of the invention No. P.360569, is an electronic module for enlarging the engine power, with electrically controlled fuel injection, consisting of analogue-to- digital transducers, back-up buffer of two-state entries which are linked to a single-chip processor. This processor contains the control programme and the operating system, co-operating with built-in memories of different control strategies. Besides, the module contains an optional system of synchronization of the work with the industrial controller. A defect of the electronic module for enlarging the engine power is insufficient computing power, for performing of the heuristic optimisation. A defect of this module is also limited speed of reaction and limited band of the transfer of the tensive signal in the system: adc. - processor - dac. Although there is the possibility of the installation of the processor with a considerable computing power in this module, for free performing of the heuristic optimisation, the costs of producing of such module considerably exceed advantages resulting from savings of the fuel during its use.

In Diesel engines, the engine power is dependent on the quantity of injected fuel. Pressurization of fuel causes the increase of the mass of the dose in the magnitude of the square root of the pressure value. The decompression of injected fuel causes the decrease of the mass of the dose of this fuel. Changes of the mass of the dose of the fuel, resulting from the 2D table, can be realized in a statistical mode, through the change of the data recorded inside the industrial injection controller, or in a dynamic mode, in any time chosen by the user of the engine, or by processor analyser of working conditions of the engine, through the use of the external controlling module according to the present invention.

Essence of the external module controlling the engine power, according to the invention, is increasing or decreasing of real indications of the sensor of the fuel pressure of fuel rail (common-rail), which causes the change of the fuel consumption and the change of the engine power. The external module controlling the engine power is a single-channel, analogous transducer of the tension that is controlled digitally. The module is installed serially to the signal line of the pressure sensor in the pressure accumulator of common- rail fuel rail. Because the industrially installed engine controller works in a feedback loop, this decrease of the real indication of a definite value of tension, corresponding to some definite change of the value of the fuel pressure, will cause the increase of the fuel pressure in the pressure accumulator of common-rail for exactly this value. In turn, the rise of the indication of the sensor will cause the decrease of the real fuel pressure in the pressure accumulator of common-rail

The external module controlling the engine power, according to invention, is composed of an analogous transducer of the tension, with no fewer than two, connected serially and precisely integrated, amplifiers of the tension; no fewer than two digital-analogue transducers; a digital microcontroller with suitable computing power, controlling digital-analogue transducers; and ports of the input and the output of the signal. The module has also installed internal memory, an analyser of the presence of the signal for controlling the supply voltage of elements of the module and the analog-to-digital converter for converting the voltage level of the module input signal to the digital form so the microcontroller of the module is able to qualify what control is necessary in a given moment. The internal memory keeps the information of the initial or enhanced characteristics in the form of maps, i.e. 2D tables of the module. The internal memory is directly linked to the microcontroller of the module. The analyser of the presence of the signal detects unsuitable adjustments of entry parameters of the module, to needs of a given pressure sensor of the pressure accumulator of the common-rail. Furthermore, the module has installed radio-interface bluetooth enabling a direct wireless connection with a cellular phone and/or with a personal computer .

A cellular phone which is the indispensable external equipment of the module according to the invention, during the optimization of control signals, has installed radio-interface bluetooth, the internal memory of the telephone and its own microcontroller. The cellular phone has also installed special software written in the Java language, co-operating with the software installed in the microcontroller of the module. This software contains all functions necessary to automatic or supported by the module user optimization of parameters of the real-time work of the engine. Furthermore this software contains functions for data acquisition and functions and official records of the communication among the tandem of microcontrollers of the module and the cellular phone. Thanks to this software, follows the connection of microcontrollers of the module and the cellular phone into one synergistic device, being the so called processor of the signal". The processor of the signal uses the microcontroller of the cellular phone which is many times quicker than the microcontroller of the module and the memory of the cellular phone whose resources are many times greater than those of the memory of the module. It has been revealed that the connection of microcontrollers and resources of the memory of the module and the cellular phone through bluetooth interfaces caused a considerable acceleration of the optimization of the pressure of the fuel injection. Not known yet additional effect of the connection of the external module with the cellular phone is the possibility of the interaction with the user of the engine and the possibility of the acquisition of data about changes of pressure of the fuel in common-rail; that additionally improves the optimization of the pressure of the fuel injection. Furthermore, the cellular phone has a display and a keyboard. Thanks to the display and the keyboard of the cellular phone, the user of the vehicle interacts with the software inside the module. This interaction includes among other things a possibility of execution of a change of a chosen characteristics of the engine performance to one from several characteristics kept in the memory of the module; the input of new characteristics and their free edition on the display, with the review of collected data. Microcontroller installed on the module and the microcontroller installed in the cellular phone, together with bluetooth interfaces, form one device - the processor of the signal of the module according to the invention.

The signal issued from the sensor of the pressure installed in the pressure accumulator of the pressure of the common-rail fuel rail of the engine is received by the port of the input of the signal of the external module. This signal enters across digital-analogous transducer and across the microcontroller of the module to the new device, the processor of the signal. This signal comes across two connected serially and precisely integrated amplifiers of the tension. Amplifiers of the tension are configured to the work with the amplification of 1, however in such manner that any tension can be added to the tension of the input signal across the first amplifier, or any tension can be subtracted across the second amplifier. These tensions are produced by first or second digital- analogous transducers, respectively. Each of two installed amplifiers has a separate function, for improving the quality and the exactitude of the transformation. One amplifier can only add tensions, the second amplifier can only subtract tensions. Digital-analogous transducers controls digitally the internal microcontroller of the module. In the case when the module is connected through the bluetooth interface with the cellular phone, digital-analogous transducers are controlled by the microcontroller of the cellular phone. At that time the microcontroller of the module delivers in real-time only ready control signals, as worked out in the microcontroller of the cellular phone. Control signals are delivered in real- time to the signal output port of the module. Digital- analogous transducers never act simultaneously. Output from the second amplifier ends with a signal output port.

Microcontroller of the module, through digital- analogous transducers, makes the measurement of the real indication of the tension of the pressure sensor. The value of this tension is indispensable to the qualification in which area of the industrial characteristics of the pressure, that is to say the 2D table in the industrial controller of the engine, is in this moment the industrial control. The information about the characteristics of the industrial control is gathered successively, during the work of the industrial controller with the engine. This information serves to optimise the control in order to decrease the fuel consumption or to enlarge the engine power. This information is gathered in the internal memory of the module according to the invention in the form of 2D tables. The optimisation of the fuel consumption and/or the engine power demands a considerable amount of calculations and advanced heuristics. Thus, for the enlargement of the computing power, to assure that the modified signal controlling the work of the engine comes back in real-time to the pressure sensor, the microcontroller of the module connects, through the bluetooth radio-interface of the module and through the analogical bluetooth interface installed in the cellular phone, with the microcontroller of the cellular phone, creating together the so called processor of the signal. Thanks to the special software of the cellular phone in the Java language, the microcontroller of the module can use any computing power of the microcontroller of the cellular phone as well as the large memory that can be installed on the cellular phone, for the automatic preparation of extremely optimised performance characteristics and for the storage of large collections of data about the pressure of the fuel and about the speed of its changes in time. In the processor of the signal, the microcontroller of the cellular phone has a function of the main processor of data; the operations connected with data assembling and with the modification, or a lack of the modification of control signals going out from the module are performed by the microcontroller of the module. The fact that the cellular phone has the transmission function allows free exchange of data with other external modules. This exchange permits to transfer between vehicles ready, newly worked out performance characteristics of engines or data necessary for the elaboration of these characteristics. Additional essential property of the external module for controlling the engine power according to the invention, through the utilization of the function of the "assignment" of a specific cellular phone to the given module, is the realization of the function of the activation of enlarged power or the economisation of the fuel, in the case of real-time detection of the bluetooth interface of the cellular phone by the bluetooth interface of the module - without any interaction. Furthermore, the module has the role of the immobilizer function, when the bluetooth interface is not active during a defined time period. These functions can be freely configured by the user of the vehicle with Diesel engine from the level of the cellular phone. An advantage of the external module for controlling the engine power according to the invention, is the ability of automatic optimisation of the work of the engine, based on large resources of data from precedent engine work. An equally important advantage is the possibility of real-time changes of characteristics of the pressure of the fuel in Diesel engine with the injection common-rail. Thanks to this one can enlarge the engine power, or limit the fuel consumption according to the needs; that improves the economy of the work of the engine and the comfort of the user of the vehicle. The module has the possibility of interactive changing of the engine power in any chosen moment and in the any point of the work of the engine, through the utilization , of comfortable keyboard of the cellular phone and its display. The module according to the invention has unlimited possibilities of the memorization of many performance characteristics of the engine, optimised to different targets. The module retains gathered data from the sensor of the pressure of the fuel of common -rail fuel rail and from other sensors related to the engine power. Through the utilization of the function of the transmission of the cellular phone, it allows for the exchange of these data between other external modules. This exchange permits to provide vehicles with ready, newly worked out performance characteristics of engines or data necessary to the elaboration of these characteristics. The utilization of the function of the transmission of the cellular phone causes that other user of other vehicle, possessing installed external module for controlling the engine power according to the invention, has no need to create his own optimisation of the work of the engine from the beginning.

Using the function of the assignment of a specific cellular phone to a specific module, the module according to the invention has also the immobilizer function, when the bluetooth interface of the cellular phone assigned to the module is not active. Furthermore, all functions of the module according to the invention, can be freely configured by the user of the vehicle with Diesel engine from the level of the cellular phone. The example of realization of the external module for controlling the engine power according to the invention is shown in figure; Fig.l shows the diagram of connections in the module. The external module for controlling the engine power, according to invention, consists of the analogous transducer of the tension 3, two joint serially amplifiers of the tension 1 and 2, two digital-analogous transducers 4 and 5, the digital microcontroller 7, the input port of the signal WeI and the output port of the signal WyI. The module has installed internal storage 10, the analyser of the presence of the signal for controlling the supply voltage of elements of the module 9 and the analog-to- digital converter 6. The internal storage 10 is directly connected to the microcontroller 7 of the module. Besides the module has installed bluetooth radio-interface 8, enabling the wireless connection with the cellular phone 15 and/or with the personal computer.

The cellular phone 15 is an indispensable external equipment of the module according to the invention. The cellular phone 15 has installed bluetooth radio- interface 12, the internal storage of the telephone, the microcontroller 13, the display 11 and the keyboard 14. Microcontroller 7 installed on the module and the microcontroller 13 installed in the cellular phone 15, with bluetooth interfaces 8 and 12, form the processor of the signal 16 of the module according to the invention.

Claims

1. The external module for controlling the engine power, consisting of the processor, the element of the memory, the analog-to-digital transducers; this processor contains the control programme and the operating system co-operating with built-in memories of different control strategies, characterized by the fact that it is consistent of the external control module and the cellular phone (15) , whereat the external module for controlling the engine power has installed bluetooth interface (8) , as^' well as the cellular phone (15) has installed bluetooth interface (12); these interfaces (8) and (12), along with the microcontroller (7) of the module and with the microcontroller (13) of the cellular phone (15) form the processor of the signal (16) ; on the other hand the external control module consists of the analogous transducer of the tension (3) , two joint serially amplifiers of the tension (1) and (2), two digital-analogues transducers (4) and (5), the digital microcontroller [I), from the input port of the signal (WeI) and the output port of the signal (WyI), the internal storage (10), the analyser of the presence of the signal (9) and the analog-to- digital converter (6), whereat the internal storage (10) is directly connected to the microcontroller (7) of the module, and the module has installed bluetooth radio-interface (8), enabling a wireless connection with the cellular phone (15) and/or with the personal computer, whereat the cellular phone (15) has installed bluetooth interface (12), the microcontroller (13), the internal storage, the display (11) and the keyboard (14) .

2. The external module according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that in the processor of the signal (16), the microcontroller (13) of the cellular phone (15) has the function of the main processor of the data, while operations connected with assembling of the data and with the modification, or a lack of the modification of control signals outgoing from the module are performed by the microcontroller (7) of the module.

3. The external module according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that it realizes the function of the activation of enlarged power or the economisation of the fuel, in the case of the realtime detection of the bluetooth interface (12) of the cellular phone (15), through the bluetooth interface (8) of the module - without an interaction.

4. The external module according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the cellular phone (15) is an immobilizer when the bluetooth interface (12) of the cellular phone (15) assigned to the module is not active.

5. The external module according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that is a data source to the exchange of these data between other external modules installed in other vehicles of similar type with Diesel engine, whereat this exchange permits to provide vehicles with ready, newly worked out performance characteristics of engines or data necessary to the elaboration of these characteristics .

6. The external module according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that all functions of the module according to the invention can be freely configured by the user of the vehicle with Diesel engine from the level of the cellular phone (15) .