Engine Starter Health Estimation

Abstract

An engine starter health assessment is performed by a remote processing system using operational data provided via a telematics control unit including an edge computing system. A starter health anomaly may be determined in response to an actual or observed engine speed for a successful engine start deviating from a predicted engine speed by more than a threshold amount.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The present disclosure relates to engine health estimation apparatus, methods, systems, processes, and techniques. Engine health estimation is intended to estimate the health of an engine and / or one or more engine components to identify malfunctioning, failing, or improperly operating engine systems or components and to provide maintenance, repair, or replacement before a failure occurs. Several proposals for engine health estimation have been made; however, existing approaches have numerous shortcomings, deficiencies, and unrealized potential. A substantial need remains for the unique apparatus, methods, systems, and techniques disclosed herein.

[0002] Disclosure of Illustrative Embodiments

[0003] In order to clearly, concisely, and accurately describe the illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, the manner and process of making and using the present disclosure, and to enable the practice, making, and use of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to certain exemplary embodiments, including those shown in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the present disclosure. However, it will be understood that no limitation of the scope of the present invention is thereby intended, and that the present invention encompasses and protects such changes, modifications, and further applications of the exemplary embodiments as may occur to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0004] One embodiment is a unique engine starter health estimation process. Another embodiment is a unique engine starter health assessment system. Other embodiments include unique methods, techniques, and apparatus for engine starter health estimation. Engine starter health estimation according to the present disclosure may include system features and process operations related to data collection, data preparation, data analysis, and health estimation of the engine starter under assessment. Other embodiments, aspects, objects, features, advantages, aspects, and benefits should become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating certain aspects of an exemplary engine starter health estimation system.

[0006] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating certain aspects of an exemplary engine starter health estimation system.

[0007] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating certain aspects of an exemplary engine starter health estimation process.

[0008] Figure 4 is a graph showing engine speed and battery voltage over time after a successful engine start.

[0009] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating certain aspects of an exemplary engine starter anomaly detection process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Reference Figure 1 , illustrates certain aspects of a starter health estimation system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. The system 100 includes a combination of components, including an internal combustion engine 102 connected to a starter 104 and an alternator 106. The starter 104 and alternator 106 are connected to an energy storage device 108, such as a battery. The components of the system 100 may be located on a vehicle 110; however, non-vehicle applications of the system 100 are also contemplated.

[0011] The system 100 also includes a telematics control unit 115 that receives data 112 from the operation of the engine 102. The telematics control unit 115 includes a telematics device 114 and an edge computing system 116, such that the data 112 can be provided to the edge computing system 116 in real time. The telematics control unit 115 is connected to the remote processing system 118 and is operable to provide at least a subset of the data 112' pre-processed by the edge computing system 116 to the remote processing system 118. The pre-processed data 112' includes a value and / or a subset of values quantifying the health of the starter 104 for analysis by at least one of the edge computing system 116 and the remote processing system 118 to determine an estimate of the health of the starter 104.

[0012] Each of the telematics control unit 115 and the telematics system 118, as well as other components of the system 100, may be implemented in one or more computer systems including one or more computers specifically configured according to the techniques of this disclosure to provide the configurations and functionality described herein. In certain embodiments, the telematics device 114 and the edge computing system 116 may be located on the vehicle 110. In certain forms, one or more of the telematics control unit 115 and portions of the system 118, as well as other components of the system 100, may include a network-accessible cloud computing platform.

[0013] Reference Figure 2A plurality of sensors 120, 122, 124 are provided for collecting various types of data 112. For example, the engine sensor 120 may collect engine data such as engine speed, time of successful engine start, time of failed engine start, average engine speed from the start of the ignition event / crank start until the engine speed threshold for a successful start is reached, and average engine speed from the start of the crank start until the failed start. The environmental sensor 122 may collect environmental data such as ambient air temperature, ambient air pressure, coolant temperature, oil temperature, and clutch status (if a clutch is provided on the vehicle 110). The voltage sensor 124 may collect voltage data such as the maximum, minimum, and average battery voltage from the time of the ignition event to the successful engine start.

[0014] Signals containing data from the sensors 120, 122, 124 may be output for direct reception by the telematics control unit 115, and / or may be output to an onboard control computer of the engine 102, such as an engine control module (ECM) 126. At least a subset of the pre-processed data 112' is then transmitted to a remote processing system 118 via the telematics control unit 115. The remote processing system 118 analyzes at least a subset of the pre-processed data 112' derived from the data 112 collected by the sensors 120, 122, 124 and uses one or more models and / or algorithms to determine an estimate of the health of the starter 104. The health estimate may be output by the remote processing system 118 to one or more output devices 130, 132, 134, respectively, for an operator, a fleet manager, and / or a service technician.

[0015] Reference Figure 3 , a flow chart illustrating certain aspects of an exemplary engine starter health estimation process 300 is shown. Process 300 begins upon an ignition event and an engine start attempt and proceeds to operation 302 , where the engine 102 is operated to generate data 112 . The data 112 is received at the telematics device 114 of the telematics control unit 115 and pre-processed by the edge computing system 116 at operation 304 before being transmitted to the remote processing system 118 , as indicated by operation 307 . At operation 307 , at least a subset of the pre-processed data 112 ′ is analyzed by the remote processing system 118 , and an estimate of the health of the starter 104 is determined by the remote processing system 118 based on the analysis of the subset of the pre-processed data. At operation 310 , the estimate of the health of the starter 104 determined from the analysis may be output to one or more output devices, such as an operator, a fleet manager, and a maintenance technician.

[0016] In an embodiment, the analysis at operation 307 includes analyzing engine data, environmental data, and voltage data, such as from sensors 120, 122, 124 discussed above. In one embodiment, a model is used in the analysis to determine the difference in the time it takes for the battery 108 to reach a threshold battery voltage when the engine speed is greater than a threshold engine speed. In one embodiment, the model can be represented by the following equation:

[0017] Equation 1

[0018] In Equation 1, (Engine speed threshold for successful engine start); ; ; ; ; and . This can be achieved by With the observed A comparison is performed to determine an anomaly in the engine starter health. A starter anomaly is detected if the observed engine cranking speed exceeds the expected or predicted engine cranking speed by more than a threshold amount. Figure 4 An example of an implementation of the model of Equation 1 is shown in .

[0019] Figure 5 The starter abnormality detection process 500 is shown in FIG. The process 500 begins at operation 502 to determine the cranking V of the battery 108 during a cranking operation associated with an engine start. δ (Battery voltage change). If V δ If within the range, the process 500 continues at operation 506 to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The depicted process detects the health of the starter 104. Based on the results of the health evaluation of the starter 104, process 500 continues with a determination at operation 510 that the starter 104 is abnormal, or a determination at operation 514 that the starter is normal.

[0020] If V δ If the cranking speed is abnormally high or abnormally low, the process 500 continues at operation 504 to determine the cranking speed of the engine 102. If the cranking speed is determined to be abnormally high or abnormally low, the process 500 continues at operation 512 to output a warning to the battery and starter. If the cranking speed is determined to be within the range at operation 504, the process 500 continues and determines that the starter is normal at operation 514.

[0021] If V δIf the cranking speed is abnormally low, process 500 continues at operation 508 to determine the cranking speed of engine 102. If the cranking speed is determined to be abnormally high or within range, process 500 continues and determines that the starter is normal at operation 514. If the cranking speed is abnormally low, process 500 continues and outputs a warning for the battery and starter at operation 512.

[0022] The telematics control unit 115 may include any suitable wireless or wired data transmission mechanism that transmits data 112, 112' using, for example, electrical wires, optical links, communication lines, power lines, radio signals, ultrasonic signals, infrared signals, or other signals. The telematics control unit 115 may be wireless, hardwired, analog, optical, or digital. The telematics control unit 115 may receive information directly from the sensors 120, 122, 124 and / or from the ECM 126.

[0023] In one embodiment, the telematics control unit 115 includes a global positioning (GPS) unit; an external interface for mobile communications, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Wi-Fi, WiMax, or Long Term Evolution (LTE); an electronic processing unit; a microcontroller and / or microprocessor; a mobile communication unit; and a certain amount of memory to intelligently store information about the vehicle's sensor data.

[0024] The telematics control unit 115 may include an edge computing system 116, e.g., one or more computer processors and / or servers located outside the cloud and onboard the engine 102, the vehicle 110, and / or in geographic proximity to the system 100 to support edge computing applications and real-time pre-processing of the data 112. The telematics control unit 115 and / or the edge computing system 116 may also include a receiver for receiving all or a subset of the data 112 from the ECM 126, a memory for storing data and / or computer program instructions for performing all or a portion of the process 300, and a transmitter for transmitting the subset of the pre-processed data 112' and the health estimate to the telematics system 118 using any suitable wireless or wired communication protocol.

[0025] The remote processing system 118 may include, for example, a computer processor and / or server located in a cloud computing service or at another location remote from the engine 102 and the telematics control unit 115. The remote processing system 118 may communicate with the telematics control unit 115 via any suitable means, such as via wired and / or wireless communications over the Internet using any suitable communication protocol. The remote processing system 118 may also include a memory for storing data or a subset of the data transmitted by the telematics control unit 115. The remote processing system 118 may also include computer program instructions for executing all or a portion of the process 300, as well as a transmitter for transmitting the health estimate or abnormality indication of the starter 104 to the output devices 130, 132, 134.

[0026] The output devices 130 , 132 , 134 may include, for example, one or more of a computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, app, dashboard display, terminal, screen, printer, speaker, light, or other visual indicator and fault code. The output devices 130 , 132 , 134 include a receiver for receiving an estimate of the health of the starter 104 and / or an indication of an anomaly from the remote processing system 118 .

[0027] Various aspects of the present disclosure are contemplated. According to one aspect, a method for starter health estimation includes: operating an engine, the engine including a battery and a starter powered by the battery to start the engine; transmitting data from the start of the engine to a telematics control unit, the telematics control unit including a telematics device and an edge computing system for preprocessing the data; performing an analysis of at least a subset of the preprocessed data using a teleprocessing system connected to the telematics control unit; estimating a health of the starter in response to the analysis of the subset of the preprocessed data; and outputting the estimate of the health of the starter from the teleprocessing system.

[0028] In one embodiment of the method, the estimate of the health is output to at least one of an operator, a fleet manager, and a maintenance technician.

[0029] In one embodiment of the method, the subset of the pre-processed data includes an average engine speed from the start of an engine start to one of a successful engine start and an engine start failure. The subset of the pre-processed data may include environmental data, engine operating data, and voltage data associated with the battery. The environmental data may include ambient air temperature, ambient air pressure, coolant temperature, and oil temperature.

[0030] In one embodiment, the method includes determining that a cranking voltage of the battery is within a predetermined range before performing the analysis of the subset of the preprocessed data. The estimate of the health of the starter may be determined responsive to an actual speed of the engine during starting of the engine, and the method may include determining an abnormality of the starter responsive to the actual speed exceeding a predicted speed determined by the analysis of the subset of the preprocessed data by more than a threshold amount.

[0031] In one embodiment of the method, the remote processing system is a cloud computing service. The cloud computing service is connectable to the telematics control unit via an internet connection.

[0032] In one embodiment, the method includes inputting the subset of at least the pre-processed data from operation of the engine from the telematics control unit to the remote processing system; and performing the analysis on the remote processing system.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a distributed engine health estimation system is provided, the distributed engine health estimation system including an internal combustion engine, the internal combustion engine including a battery and a starter powered by the battery. The system includes a telematics control unit configured to receive and transmit data associated with the internal combustion engine, the starter, and the battery during starting of the internal combustion engine, and the telematics control unit includes a telematics device and an edge computing system configured to pre-process the data. The system includes a teleprocessing system that is different from and remote from the engine and the telematics control unit. The teleprocessing system includes a server and / or a computing device, and the teleprocessing system is configured to analyze at least a subset of the pre-processed data and estimate the health of the starter in response to the analysis.

[0034] In one embodiment, the telematics system comprises a cloud computing service configured to receive the subset of the pre-processed data from the telematics control unit. In one embodiment, the internal combustion engine is provided on a vehicle.

[0035] In one embodiment, the remote processing system is configured to output the estimate of the health of the starter. The remote processing system is connectable to output the estimate of the health of the starter to an output device of at least one of an operator, a fleet manager, and a maintenance technician.

[0036] In one embodiment, the subset of the pre-processed data includes an average engine speed from the start of an engine start to one of a successful engine start and an engine start failure. The subset of the pre-processed data may include environmental data, engine operating data, and voltage data associated with the battery. The environmental data may include ambient air temperature, ambient air pressure, coolant temperature, and oil temperature.

[0037] In one embodiment, a processor and / or server is configured to estimate the health of the starter in response to a comparison of an actual cranking speed of the internal combustion engine start with an expected cranking speed determined by the analysis of the subset of the pre-processed data. The processor and / or server may be configured to determine an abnormality in the estimated health of the starter in response to the actual cranking speed differing from the expected cranking speed by more than a threshold amount.

[0038] Although illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described in detail in the drawings and the foregoing description, this is to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive in nature, and it should be understood that only certain exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, and all changes and modifications that fall within the spirit of the claimed invention are protected. It should be understood that although the use of words (such as preferred, preferably, preferred, or more preferred as utilized in the above description) indicates that the features described in this way may be more desirable, this is not necessary, and embodiments lacking these words may be considered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is defined by the appended claims. When reading the claims, when words such as "one," "at least one," or "at least a portion" are used, it is intended that, unless specifically stated to the contrary in the claims, there is no intention to limit the claim to only one item. When the language "at least a portion" and / or "a portion" is used, unless specifically stated to the contrary, the item may include a portion and / or the entire item.

Claims

1. A method for starter health estimation, the method comprising: operating an engine, the engine including a battery and a starter powered by the battery to start the engine; transmitting data from the start of the engine to a telematics control unit comprising a telematics device and an edge computing system for pre-processing the data; performing, using a telematics system connected to the telematics control unit, an analysis of at least a subset of the pre-processed data provided by the edge computing system, wherein the subset of the pre-processed data includes an average engine speed from the start of an engine start to one of a successful engine start and an engine start failure, the subset of the pre-processed data includes environmental data, engine operating data, and voltage data associated with the battery, wherein the environmental data includes ambient air temperature, ambient air pressure, coolant temperature, and oil temperature; estimating a health of the starter motor in response to the analyzing the subset of the preprocessed data; outputting the estimate of the health of the starter from the remote processing system; as well as determining that a cranking voltage of the battery is within a predetermined range before performing the analysis of the subset of the pre-processed data, wherein the estimate of the health of the starter is determined in response to an actual speed of the engine during starting of the engine, and the method further includes determining an abnormality of the starter in response to the actual speed exceeding a predicted speed determined by the analysis of the subset of the preprocessed data by more than a threshold amount.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the estimate of the health is output to at least one of an operator, a fleet manager, and a maintenance technician. The method of claim 1 , wherein the remote processing system is a cloud computing service. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the cloud computing service is connected to the telematics control unit via an internet connection.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising inputting at least the subset of the pre-processed data from operation of the engine from the telematics control unit to the remote processing system; and performing the analysis on the remote processing system.

6. A distributed engine health estimation system, comprising: an internal combustion engine comprising a battery and a starter powered by the battery; a telematics control unit configured to receive and transmit data associated with the internal combustion engine, the starter, and the battery during starting of the internal combustion engine, the telematics control unit comprising a telematics device and an edge computing system configured to pre-process the data; as well as a remote processing system, the remote processing system being distinct and remote from the engine and the telematics control unit, the remote processing system comprising a server and / or computing device, wherein the remote processing system is configured to analyze at least a subset of the pre-processed data provided by the edge computing system and to estimate the health of the starter in response to the analysis, wherein the subset of the pre-processed data includes an average engine speed from the start of an engine start to one of a successful engine start and an engine start failure, the subset of the pre-processed data includes environmental data, engine operating data, and voltage data associated with the battery, wherein the environmental data includes ambient air temperature, ambient air pressure, coolant temperature, and oil temperature; wherein the remote processing system is configured to determine that a cranking voltage of the battery is within a predetermined range before performing the analysis of the subset of the pre-processed data, wherein the processor and / or server is configured to estimate the health of the starter in response to a comparison of an actual rotational starting speed of a start of the internal combustion engine with an expected rotational starting speed determined by the analysis of the subset of the preprocessed data, and wherein the processor and / or server is configured to determine an abnormality in the estimate of the health of the starter in response to the portion of the actual rotational starting speed that differs from the expected rotational starting speed exceeding a threshold amount. 7 . The distributed engine health assessment system of claim 6 , wherein the remote processing system includes a cloud computing service configured to receive the subset of the pre-processed data from the telematics control unit.

8. The distributed engine health estimation system of claim 6, wherein the remote processing system is configured to output the estimate of the health of the starter.

9. The distributed engine health estimation system of claim 8, wherein the remote processing system is connected to output the estimate of the health of the starter to an output device of at least one of an operator, a fleet manager, and a maintenance technician.

10. The distributed engine health assessment system of claim 6, wherein the internal combustion engine is disposed on a vehicle.

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