A method for monitoring an unmanned utility diesel engine

Abstract

This invention discloses a diesel engine monitoring method for unmanned driving applications, relating to engine monitoring technology. The ECU obtains the diesel engine's required parameters from the unmanned vehicle controller. The ECU performs fault analysis based on the collected diesel engine operating parameters and the required parameters to determine whether the diesel engine is operating normally. If the determination result indicates that the diesel engine is not operating normally, the ECU generates fault information and sends it to the unmanned vehicle controller. Upon receiving the fault information, the unmanned vehicle controller forwards it to the unmanned driving dispatch platform. This invention solves the problem in existing technologies where unmanned vehicles struggle to detect engine mechanical faults, effectively alerting backend management personnel when a diesel engine mechanical fault occurs, thus protecting vehicle operational safety.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to engine monitoring technology, and more specifically, to a method for monitoring diesel engines for unmanned driving applications. Background Technology

[0002] The operation of a diesel engine is a complex combustion process involving multiple coupled parameters, requiring coordination and support from the intake system, fuel system, electronic control system, and lubrication system. While electronically controlled diesel engines can diagnose faults in engine sensors, electronic actuators, and wiring harnesses, they cannot accurately diagnose faults in mechanical components. Currently, the diagnosis of the powertrain system in autonomous vehicles primarily relies on monitoring and diagnostics within the diesel engine control unit itself. However, this diagnostic method has drawbacks in the field of autonomous driving; it cannot provide early warnings when mechanical engine faults occur, potentially leading to serious accidents.

[0003] Existing technical solutions primarily rely on the diesel engine controller's own diagnostics to determine if the engine is functioning properly. However, this approach struggles to detect issues such as unstable engine speed, black smoke, insufficient power, and abnormal noises caused by mechanical engine malfunctions in a timely manner. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a diesel engine monitoring method for unmanned driving applications, which addresses the shortcomings of the prior art and solves the problem that it is difficult for unmanned vehicles to detect engine mechanical faults.

[0005] The present invention discloses a diesel engine monitoring method for unmanned driving applications, the method comprising:

[0006] The ECU obtains the diesel engine's required parameters from the autonomous vehicle controller. The ECU performs fault analysis based on the collected diesel engine operating parameters and required parameters to determine whether the diesel engine is operating normally. If the determination result is that the diesel engine is not operating normally, the ECU generates fault information and sends the fault information to the autonomous vehicle controller. After receiving the fault information, the autonomous vehicle controller forwards it to the autonomous driving dispatch platform.

[0007] As a further improvement, when performing the fault analysis, the ECU first traverses the electronic control data of the diesel engine to confirm whether there is an electronic control fault code. If there is no fault code, the fault analysis is performed; otherwise, the fault type of the electronic control fault code is identified in advance, and a fault-specific processing text is retrieved from the database according to the fault type. Then, the fault-specific processing text is sent to the autonomous driving dispatch platform through the autonomous vehicle controller.

[0008] As a further improvement, the fault analysis includes power over-limit anomaly monitoring, speed deviation over-limit anomaly monitoring, speed fluctuation over-limit anomaly monitoring, and speed acceleration over-limit anomaly monitoring; when the monitoring result of the power over-limit anomaly monitoring is normal, it proceeds to the speed deviation over-limit anomaly monitoring; when the monitoring result of the speed deviation over-limit anomaly monitoring is normal, it proceeds to the speed swivel over-limit anomaly monitoring; when the monitoring result of the speed swivel over-limit anomaly monitoring is normal, it proceeds to the speed acceleration over-limit anomaly monitoring.

[0009] Furthermore, the power over-limit anomaly monitoring specifically involves the ECU combining the received demand power and demand transmission efficiency with the calibrated universal characteristics to find the theoretical fuel injection quantity, and comparing the actual fuel injection quantity collected with the theoretical fuel injection quantity. When the deviation between the actual fuel injection quantity and the theoretical fuel injection quantity exceeds the set fuel quantity difference threshold, it is determined that there is an anomaly in the diesel engine mechanical components.

[0010] Furthermore, the abnormal monitoring of excessive speed deviation specifically involves: when the ECU receives the required speed, it controls the actual speed of the diesel engine according to the required speed, and when the actual speed of the diesel engine fails to reach the required speed within a preset time, it is determined that the diesel engine speed increase is abnormal.

[0011] Furthermore, the abnormal monitoring of excessive speed fluctuations specifically involves the ECU judging speed stability based on the integral value of the absolute value of the deviation between the received required speed and the actual speed it collects. When the integral value exceeds a preset integral threshold within a unit of time, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the stability of the diesel engine speed control.

[0012] Furthermore, the abnormal monitoring of excessive speed acceleration specifically involves the following steps: the ECU calibrates the target speed based on the throttle opening of the diesel engine, calculates the speed difference and time difference based on the target speeds at two different times, and calculates the diesel engine speed acceleration based on the speed difference and time difference; if the diesel engine speed acceleration is less than the target acceleration, it is determined that the diesel engine has misfired.

[0013] Beneficial effects

[0014] The advantages of this invention are:

[0015] 1. The ECU of this invention obtains the diesel engine's required parameters from the autonomous vehicle controller and performs fault analysis on the collected diesel engine operating parameters and required parameters to determine whether the diesel engine is operating normally. When the diesel engine is operating abnormally, it generates fault information and sends it to the autonomous vehicle controller. Upon receiving the fault information, the autonomous vehicle controller forwards it to the autonomous driving dispatch platform and reports the fault, alerting the back-end management personnel to protect vehicle operation safety. This solves the problem in existing technologies where autonomous vehicles struggle to detect engine mechanical faults.

[0016] 2. When performing fault analysis, the ECU first traverses the electronic control data of the diesel engine to confirm whether there are electronic control fault codes. This can rule out that the fault is caused by an electronic control fault, reducing the risk of misdiagnosis. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the diesel engine monitoring method for unmanned driving applications of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the fault analysis process of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The present invention will be further described below with reference to embodiments, but this does not constitute any limitation on the present invention. Any limited modifications made by any person within the scope of the claims of the present invention are still within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

[0020] See Figures 1-2 This invention discloses a diesel engine monitoring method for unmanned driving applications. The method involves: the ECU acquiring the diesel engine's required parameters from the unmanned vehicle controller; the ECU performing fault analysis based on the collected diesel engine operating parameters and the required parameters to determine if the diesel engine is operating normally; if the determination result indicates that the diesel engine is not operating normally, the ECU generates fault information. The ECU sends the fault information to the unmanned vehicle controller via the J1939 protocol. Upon receiving the fault information, the unmanned vehicle controller forwards it to the unmanned driving dispatch platform and reports the fault, alerting backend management personnel to protect vehicle operational safety. This method solves the problem in existing technologies where unmanned vehicles struggle to detect engine mechanical faults.

[0021] In this invention, during fault analysis, the ECU first traverses the diesel engine's electronic control data to check for any electronic control fault codes. If none are found, fault analysis is performed; otherwise, the fault type of the electronic control fault code is identified, and a specific fault handling text is retrieved from the database based on the fault type. This text is then sent to the autonomous driving dispatch platform via the autonomous vehicle controller. This method effectively eliminates the possibility that the fault is caused by an electronic control malfunction, reducing the risk of misdiagnosis.

[0022] Specifically, fault analysis includes monitoring of power over-limit anomalies, speed deviation over-limit anomalies, speed fluctuation over-limit anomalies, and speed acceleration over-limit anomalies.

[0023] After the electronic control fault code analysis is successful, the system first enters the power over-limit anomaly monitoring stage. Specifically, the power over-limit anomaly monitoring involves the ECU combining the received required power and transmission efficiency with the calibrated universal characteristics to find the theoretical fuel injection quantity. It then compares the actual fuel injection quantity with the theoretical quantity. If the deviation between the actual and theoretical fuel injection quantities exceeds a set fuel quantity difference threshold, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the diesel engine's mechanical components. A corresponding fault code is then generated, and the system enters a safe mode, simultaneously shutting down. The fault code is then sent to the autonomous driving dispatch platform via the autonomous vehicle controller. If the power over-limit anomaly monitoring result is normal, the system then enters the speed deviation over-limit anomaly monitoring stage.

[0024] The speed deviation over-limit anomaly monitoring works as follows: When the ECU receives the required speed, it controls the actual speed of the diesel engine according to the required speed. If the actual speed of the diesel engine fails to reach the required speed within a preset time, it is judged as an abnormal increase in diesel engine speed, and a corresponding fault code is generated, entering a safety mode and shutting down the engine. The fault code is then sent to the autonomous driving dispatch platform via the autonomous vehicle controller. If the monitoring result of the speed deviation over-limit anomaly monitoring is normal, it proceeds to the speed adjustment over-limit anomaly monitoring.

[0025] The speed fluctuation exceeding limit anomaly monitoring works as follows: The ECU judges speed stability based on the integral value of the absolute value of the deviation between the received required speed and the actual speed it collects. When the integral value exceeds a preset integral threshold within a unit time, it is determined that there is an anomaly in the diesel engine speed control stability, generates a corresponding fault code, enters safe mode, and shuts down. The fault code is then sent to the autonomous driving dispatch platform via the autonomous vehicle controller. If the monitoring result of speed fluctuation exceeding limit anomaly monitoring is normal, it proceeds to speed acceleration exceeding limit anomaly monitoring.

[0026] The monitoring of abnormal acceleration due to excessive speed is mainly based on the uniformity of acceleration of the diesel engine speed to determine whether each cylinder is working normally. Under normal circumstances, the acceleration trend of each cylinder is consistent after the engine does power. When a misfire occurs, the acceleration of a single cylinder will be significantly weaker. Therefore, the ECU calibrates the target speed according to the throttle opening of the diesel engine, and calculates the speed difference and time difference based on the target speed at two different times. The diesel engine speed acceleration is then calculated based on the speed difference and time difference. If the diesel engine speed acceleration is less than the target acceleration, it is determined that a misfire has occurred.

[0027] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several modifications and improvements without departing from the structure of the present invention, and these will not affect the effectiveness of the implementation of the present invention or the practicality of the patent.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring diesel engines for unmanned driving applications, characterized in that, The method is as follows: The ECU obtains the diesel engine's required parameters from the autonomous vehicle controller. The ECU performs fault analysis based on the collected diesel engine operating parameters and required parameters to determine whether the diesel engine is operating normally. If the determination result is that the diesel engine is not operating normally, the ECU generates fault information and sends the fault information to the autonomous vehicle controller. After receiving the fault information, the autonomous vehicle controller forwards it to the autonomous driving dispatch platform. When performing the fault analysis, the ECU first traverses the electronic control data of the diesel engine to confirm whether there is an electronic control fault code. If there is no fault code, the fault analysis is performed. Otherwise, the fault type of the electronic control fault code is identified in advance, and a fault-specific processing text is retrieved from the database according to the fault type. Then, the fault-specific processing text is sent to the autonomous driving dispatch platform through the autonomous vehicle controller. The fault analysis includes monitoring of power over-limit anomalies, speed deviation over-limit anomalies, speed fluctuation over-limit anomalies, and speed acceleration over-limit anomalies. When the monitoring result of the power over-limit anomaly monitoring is normal, the process proceeds to the speed deviation over-limit anomaly monitoring. When the monitoring result of the speed deviation exceeding the limit abnormality monitoring is normal, it enters the speed fluctuation exceeding the limit abnormality monitoring; when the monitoring result of the speed swivel exceeding the limit abnormality monitoring is normal, it enters the speed acceleration exceeding the limit abnormality monitoring.

2. The diesel engine monitoring method for unmanned driving applications according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power over-limit anomaly monitoring specifically involves the ECU combining the received demand power and demand transmission efficiency with the calibrated universal characteristics to find the theoretical fuel injection quantity, and comparing the actual fuel injection quantity collected with the theoretical fuel injection quantity. When the deviation between the actual fuel injection quantity and the theoretical fuel injection quantity exceeds the set fuel quantity difference threshold, it is determined that there is an anomaly in the diesel engine mechanical components.

3. The method for monitoring a diesel engine for unmanned driving applications according to claim 1, characterized in that, The specific method for monitoring abnormal speed deviation is as follows: when the ECU receives the required speed, it controls the actual speed of the diesel engine according to the required speed, and if the actual speed of the diesel engine does not reach the required speed within a preset time, it is determined that the diesel engine speed increase is abnormal.

4. The method for monitoring a diesel engine for unmanned driving applications according to claim 1, characterized in that, The speed fluctuation exceeding the limit abnormal monitoring is specifically as follows: the ECU judges the speed stability based on the integral value of the absolute value of the deviation between the received required speed and the actual speed collected. When the integral value exceeds the preset integral threshold within a unit time, it is judged that there is an abnormality in the stability of the diesel engine speed control.

5. The diesel engine monitoring method for unmanned driving applications according to claim 1, characterized in that, The specific method for monitoring the abnormal speed acceleration exceeding the limit is as follows: the ECU calibrates the target speed based on the throttle opening of the diesel engine, calculates the speed difference and time difference based on the target speeds at two different times, and calculates the diesel engine speed acceleration based on the speed difference and time difference. If the diesel engine's speed acceleration is less than the target acceleration, it is determined that the diesel engine is experiencing a misfire.

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