Methods to identify missed engine stops and serviceability

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11164405-B2
Application number	US-201515758257-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 9, 2015
Priority date	Sep 9, 2015
Publication date	Nov 2, 2021
Grant date	Nov 2, 2021

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method in a vehicle, comprising detecting an engine stop opportunity and recording, in a memory, data corresponding to a first engine stop that occurred in response to detection of the engine stop opportunity. The method further includes detecting an engine stop inhibit, and recording, in a memory, data corresponding to a first missed engine stop wherein the first missed engine stop indicates detection of the engine stop opportunity without an engine stop in response to the detection of the engine stop opportunity.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of diagnosing a system failure of a vehicle having an engine, comprising:
detecting, by an engine stop opportunity determiner, an engine stop opportunity, wherein the engine stop opportunity determiner receives at least one stop opportunity signal from at least one of an engine speed sensor, a throttle or pedal position sensor, a transmission gear position sensor, a brake engaged sensor, and an engine odometer sensor;
detecting, by an engine stop inhibit determiner, an engine stop inhibition, wherein the engine stop inhibit determiner receives at least one stop inhibit signal from a sub-system of the vehicle;
determining, by an interpreter, that an engine stop did not occur in response to the detected engine stop opportunity, wherein the interpreter receives an input from the engine stop opportunity determiner indicating the engine stop opportunity and an input from the engine stop inhibit determiner indicating the engine stop inhibition;
identifying, by the engine stop inhibit determiner, an engine stop inhibition reason that prevented the engine stop from occurring in response to the detected engine stop opportunity by identifying the sub-system of the vehicle emitting the at least one stop inhibit signal; and
writing, to a non-volatile memory, the engine stop inhibit reason, wherein the sub-system of the vehicle includes at least one of a hybrid system, an after-treatment system, an engine system, an energy storage and battery system, or a vehicle and machine system.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that an engine stop did not occur in response to the detected engine stop opportunity indicates a missed engine stop, and the method further includes incrementing a missed engine stop count in response to determining that a missed engine stop occurred.

3. The method of claim 1 , further including incrementing an engine stop count in response to determining that an engine stop occurred in response to detecting the engine stop opportunity.

4. The method of claim 1 , further including detecting an engine stop inhibit and incrementing an engine stop inhibition count in response to detection of the engine stop inhibit.

5. A method of diagnosing a system failure in a vehicle, comprising:
detecting, by an engine stop opportunity determiner, a first engine stop opportunity, wherein the engine stop opportunity determiner receives at least one stop opportunity signal from at least one of an engine speed sensor, a throttle or pedal position sensor, a transmission gear position sensor, a brake engaged sensor, and an engine odometer sensor;
writing, to a non-volatile memory, data corresponding to a first engine stop that occurred in response to detection of the engine stop opportunity;
detecting, by the engine stop opportunity determiner, a second engine stop opportunity;
detecting, by an engine stop inhibit determiner, an engine stop inhibition, wherein the engine stop inhibit determiner receives at least one stop inhibit signal from a sub-system of the vehicle, and one or more causes for the engine stop inhibition by identifying the sub-system of the vehicle emitting the at least one stop inhibit signal, wherein the sub-system of the vehicle includes at least one of a hybrid system, an after-treatment system, an engine system, an energy storage and battery system, a vehicle and machine system cause, or an external system cause; and
writing, to the non-volatile memory, data corresponding to a first missed engine stop wherein the first missed engine stop indicates detection of the engine stop opportunity without an engine stop in response to the detection of the engine stop opportunity.

6. The method of claim 5 , further including incrementing an engine stop count in response to determining that an engine stop occurred, incrementing an engine stop inhibit count in response to detection of an engine stop inhibition, and incrementing a missed engine stop count in response to determining that a missed engine stop occurred.

7. The method of claim 5 , further including writing, to the memory, data corresponding to detection of the engine stop opportunity and detection of the engine stop inhibition.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein detecting an engine stop opportunity includes detecting that the vehicle speed is below a threshold speed, a transmission of the vehicle is engaged in a gear ratio that permits movement of the vehicle, an accelerator pedal of the vehicle is not engaged, and at least one of a parking brake of the vehicle is engaged or a friction break of the vehicle is engaged.

9. The method of claim 5 , further including writing, to the memory, a total number of engine stop opportunities for a first time period, a total number of engine stops for the first time period, a total number of missed engine stops for the first time period; and a total number of missed engine stops that occur in response to the engine stop inhibit and the corresponding engine stop inhibition cause.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the memory comprises one or more non-volatile memory sectors configured to retain data while the memory is in a power down state.

11. The method of claim 5 , further including determining that an engine stop occurred in response to detection of the engine stop opportunity.

12. The method of claim 5 , further including determining that a missed engine stop occurred in response to detection of the engine stop opportunity and detection of the engine stop inhibit.

13. The method of claim 12 , further including detecting at least one of a vehicle sub-system fault or a vehicle sub-system condition in response to at least one of detecting the engine stop inhibition or determining that a missed engine stop occurred.

14. A method of diagnosing a system failure, comprising:
commanding a first circuit to detect a first engine stop opportunity and to communicate the engine stop opportunity to a controller;
commanding a second circuit to detect an engine stop inhibition and to determine whether a missed engine stop occurred, wherein the second circuit receives at least one stop inhibit signal from a sub-system of the vehicle, and communicate the engine stop inhibition to the controller;
commanding the second circuit to write engine stop inhibition data to a non-volatile memory, the data corresponding to an occurrence of the missed engine stop; and
detecting, by the controller, a vehicle sub-system fault in response to at least one of detecting the engine stop inhibition by identifying the sub-system of the vehicle emitting the at least one stop inhibit signal, wherein the sub-system of the vehicle includes at least one of a hybrid system, an after-treatment system, an engine system, an energy storage and battery system, or a vehicle and machine system or determining that a missed engine stop occurred by detecting a failed engine stop in response to the engine stop opportunity when the second circuit fails to communicate a stop inhibit signal.

15. The method of claim 14 , further including incrementing an engine stop inhibition count in response to detection of an engine stop inhibition, and incrementing a missed engine stop count in response to determining that a missed engine stop occurred.

16. The method of claim 14 , further including writing, to the non-volatile memory, data corresponding to detection of the engine stop opportunity and detection of the engine stop inhibition.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein a missed engine stop indicates detection of the engine stop opportunity without an engine stop in response to the detection of

Assignees

• Cummins Inc

Inventors

• Books Martin T
• Muralidhar Praveen Chitradurga
• Rauch Jeffrey S
• Wardlow Jon S

Classifications

• F02N11/0818 Primary

  Conditions for starting or stopping the engine or for deactivating the idle-start-stop mode · CPC title

• F02N2200/102

  Brake pedal position · CPC title

• F02N11/0822

  related to action of the driver · CPC title

• F02N2200/064

  Battery temperature · CPC title

• F02N2200/022

  Engine speed · CPC title