Method and device for predicting the failure time of the pressure limiting valve of a high-pressure fuel pump of a motor vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11448149-B2
Application number	US-202016898975-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 11, 2020
Priority date	Dec 13, 2017
Publication date	Sep 20, 2022
Grant date	Sep 20, 2022

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and a device for predicting the failure time of the pressure limiting valve of a high-pressure fuel pump of a motor vehicle. The method includes measuring a characteristic parameter of the pressure limiting valve each time the motor vehicle has been switched off, determining and storing a variable determined by using the measured characteristic parameter, determining the time profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter, predicting the future profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter, and comparing the predicted future profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter with a predetermined wear limiting value. The comparison is to predict the time at which the predicted future profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter reaches the predetermined wear limiting value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for predicting a failure time of a pressure limiting valve of a high-pressure fuel pump of a motor vehicle, the pressure limiting valve configured to open and discharge fuel from a high-pressure region to a low pressure-region, comprising the steps of:
measuring a characteristic parameter of the pressure limiting valve measured each time the motor vehicle has been switched off;
determining and storing a variable determined by using each characteristic parameter measured after each time the motor vehicle has been switched off, the variable being an aggregate of at least three previously calculated variables;
determining a time profile of variable determined from each characteristic parameter measured after each time the motor vehicle has been switched off, wherein the time profile is tracked against the number of operating hours of the pressure limiting valve;
predicting a future profile of the variable determined from each characteristic parameter based on the determined time profile of the pressure drop tracked against the number of operating hours of the pressure limiting valve; and
comparing the predicted future profile of the variable determined from each characteristic parameter with a predetermined wear limiting value to predict a time at which the predicted future profile of the variable determined from each characteristic parameter reaches the predetermined wear limiting value.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of providing the characteristic parameter to be pressure.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising the steps of providing the variable determined from the measured pressure to be pressure drop.

4. The method of claim 3 , determining the time profile further comprising the steps of determining the time profile of the pressure drop.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of predicting the time at which the predicted future profile of the pressure drop reaches the predetermined wear limiting value.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising the steps of providing the predicted time at which the predicted future profile of the pressure drop reaches the predetermined wear limiting value to be the failure time of the pressure limiting valve.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of providing operating times in which the motor vehicle has been operated at critical operating points to predict the failure time of the pressure limiting valve.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
providing a device for predicting a failure time of the pressure limiting valve of a high-pressure fuel pump of a motor vehicle, the device further comprising a control unit.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of predicting the time at which the predicted future profile reaches the predetermined wear limiting value based upon comparing the predicted future profile with the predetermined wear limiting value.

10. A motor vehicle control unit for predicting a failure time of a pressure limiting valve of a high-pressure fuel pump of a motor vehicle, the pressure limiting valve configured to open and discharge fuel from a high-pressure region to a low pressure-region, the motor vehicle control unit configured to perform a method comprising the steps of:
measuring a characteristic parameter of the pressure limiting valve each time the motor vehicle has been switched off;
determining and storing a variable determined by using the characteristic parameter measured after each time the motor vehicle has been switched off, the variable being an aggregate of at least three previously calculated variables;
determining a time profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter measured after each time the motor vehicle has been switched off, wherein the time profile is tracked against the number of operating hours of the pressure limiting valve;
predicting a future profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter based on the determined time profile of the pressure drop tracked against the number of operating hours of the pressure limiting valve; and
comparing the predicted future profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter with a predetermined wear limiting value and predicting a time at which the predicted future profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter reaches the predetermined wear limiting value based upon the comparison.

11. The motor vehicle control unit of claim 10 , the characteristic parameter further comprising pressure at the pressure limiting valve.

12. The motor vehicle control unit of claim 11 , wherein the the variable determined from the measured pressure is pressure drop.

13. The motor vehicle control unit of claim 12 , wherein determining the time profile further comprises determining the time profile of the pressure drop.

14. The motor vehicle control unit of claim 11 , wherein the predicted time at which the predicted future profile of the pressure drop reaches the predetermined wear limiting value is the failure time of the pressure limiting valve.

15. The motor vehicle control unit of claim 10 , further comprising operating times in which the motor vehicle has been operated at critical operating points to predict the failure time of the pressure limiting valve.

16. The motor vehicle control unit of claim 10 , the method further comprising the steps of predicting the time at which the predicted future profile of the variable determined from the characteristic parameter reaches the predetermined wear limiting value.

Assignees

• Vitesco Tech Gmbh

Inventors

• Wirkowski Michael
• Ritsch Tobias
• Stephani Claus

Classifications

• F02D2041/1412

  using a predictive controller · CPC title

• F02D41/221 Primary

  relating to the failure of actuators or electrically driven elements · CPC title

• F02M63/005

  Pressure relief valves · CPC title

• F02D2250/31

  Control of the fuel pressure · CPC title

• F02M63/0245

  between the high pressure pump and the common rail · CPC title