Anomaly detection device

Abstract

To provide an abnormality diagnosis device capable of appropriately handling a diagnosis execution history in the case where a vehicle is put under a special environment and abnormality diagnosis is not executed.SOLUTION: A device for executing abnormality diagnosis of equipment and storing a diagnosis execution history in a storage part when a basic condition for executing abnormality diagnosis of equipment of an engine mounted on a vehicle is established and a special environment condition of the vehicle is not established in the state that an ignition is turned off includes: a determination part for determining establishment and non-establishment of the basic condition and the special environment condition a plurality of times in the state that an ignition is turned off; and a storage control part for storing a diagnosis execution history in the storage part after the ignition is turned on, assuming that abnormality diagnosis has been executed according to the results of a plurality of times of determinations. The storage control part executes storage processing when the basic condition is established once of the plurality of times of determinations, and the special environment condition is established in all of the plurality of times of determinations, and does not execute the storage processing when the special environment condition is not established once of the plurality of times of determinations.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an abnormality diagnosis device.

Background Art

[0002] There is known an abnormality diagnosis device that executes an abnormality diagnosis of a fuel pressure sensor of an engine mounted on a vehicle in an ignition-off state (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When an abnormality diagnosis is executed, it is conceivable to store a diagnosis history in the memory of the abnormality diagnosis device. For example, the presence or absence of such a diagnosis history is confirmed by an inspector during a vehicle inspection. Here, when the vehicle is placed in a special environment, the accuracy of the abnormality diagnosis decreases, so it is considered that the abnormality diagnosis should not be executed. However, when the vehicle is continuously used in a special environment, the diagnosis history will not be stored without executing the abnormality diagnosis. Regarding the handling of the diagnosis history in such a special environment, no consideration has been given in the above technology.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an abnormality diagnosis device that can appropriately handle a diagnosis history when the vehicle is placed in a special environment and the abnormality diagnosis is not executed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The above objective can be achieved by an abnormality diagnosis device that, with the ignition off, performs an abnormality diagnosis of the engine equipment mounted on a vehicle and stores the diagnosis history in a storage unit, based on whether the basic conditions for performing an abnormality diagnosis of the equipment are met and whether the special environmental conditions indicating that the vehicle is in a special environment are not met, and which performs an abnormality diagnosis of the equipment based on whether the basic conditions for performing an abnormality diagnosis of the equipment mounted on the vehicle are met and whether the special environmental conditions are not met, and which has a time interval between determinations, and which performs a storage process to store the diagnosis history in the storage unit after the ignition is turned on, based on the multiple determination results of the determination unit, wherein the storage control unit performs the storage process if the basic conditions are met at least once out of the multiple determinations and the special environmental conditions are met in all of the multiple determinations, and does not perform the storage process if the special environmental conditions are not met at least once out of the multiple determinations. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an abnormality diagnosis device that can appropriately handle the diagnosis history when a vehicle is placed in a special environment and abnormality diagnosis is not performed. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the engine's configuration. [Figure 2] Figure 2A is a flowchart illustrating the decision control performed by the ECU activated by the soak timer when the ignition is off, and Figure 2B is a flowchart illustrating the memory control performed by the ECU activated when the ignition is on. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a timing chart illustrating a case where special environmental conditions are always met with the ignition off. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a timing chart illustrating a case where special environmental conditions are temporarily not met when the ignition is off. [Figure 5]Figure 5 is a timing chart illustrating a case where the basic conditions are temporarily not met when the ignition is off, but the special environmental conditions are always met. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] [Vehicle Outline] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the engine configuration. Vehicle 1 comprises an engine 10, drive wheels 15, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 20. The engine 10 is the power source for driving vehicle 1. The power from the engine 10 is transmitted to the drive wheels 15. The engine 10 is equipped with a fuel pressure sensor 12 that detects the pressure of the fuel supplied to the fuel injector.

[0010] The ECU20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The ECU20 is electrically connected to the ignition switch 3, atmospheric pressure sensor 4, and fuel pressure sensor 12. The ignition switch 3 detects whether the ignition is on or off. The atmospheric pressure sensor 4 detects atmospheric pressure. The ECU20 drives and stops the engine 10 based on the on / off status of the ignition switch 3.

[0011] The ECU20 performs a diagnostic check of the fuel pressure sensor 12 when the ignition is off. When the ignition is off, the ECU20 starts and stops at predetermined intervals using a soak timer. When the ECU20 starts up when the ignition is off, it performs a diagnostic check if the basic conditions are met and the special environmental conditions are not met. The basic conditions are the conditions for performing a diagnostic check of the fuel pressure sensor 12, and mainly relate to the state of the engine 10. The basic conditions include the engine 10 coolant temperature being within a predetermined range, the engine 10 being sufficiently warmed up by the previous trip, the battery voltage being at a normal value, diagnostic detection not being prohibited, and the ignition being off. The basic conditions do not include the special environmental conditions described below.

[0012] Special environmental conditions are conditions that indicate that vehicle 1 is in a special environment. In this embodiment, special environmental conditions are considered to be met when the atmospheric pressure correction coefficient kPa is less than a predetermined value α which is less than 1. The atmospheric pressure correction coefficient kPa is the value obtained by dividing the current atmospheric pressure by the standard atmospheric pressure. The smaller the atmospheric pressure correction coefficient kPa is (less than 1), the lower the current atmospheric pressure is. For example, if vehicle 1 is stopped at high altitude, the atmospheric pressure correction coefficient kPa will be less than 1.

[0013] Furthermore, the special environmental conditions are not limited to those described above. For example, a special environmental condition may be considered to exist when the ambient temperature detected by a temperature sensor, such as an intake air temperature sensor, is below a temperature β that is lower than 0 degrees. Alternatively, a special environmental condition may be considered to exist when at least one of the following conditions is met: the atmospheric pressure correction coefficient kPa is less than a predetermined value α, or the ambient temperature is below a predetermined temperature β.

[0014] As described above, the ECU20, when the ignition is off, is started and stopped at predetermined intervals by a soak timer. An abnormality diagnosis is performed each time the ECU20 is started, and once the abnormality diagnosis has been performed a predetermined number of times, the ECU20 stores the diagnosis history in RAM. The ECU20 is an example of an abnormality diagnosis device. The CPU, ROM, and RAM of the ECU20 functionally realize the determination unit and the memory control unit, as will be described in detail later. As explained below, the ECU20 performs determination control to determine whether the basic conditions and special environmental conditions are met or not, and memory control to exceptionally store the diagnosis history in RAM even if an abnormality diagnosis is not performed according to the determination result.

[0015] [Decision Control] Figure 2A is a flowchart illustrating the determination control executed by the ECU 20 activated by the soak timer in the ignition-off state. The ECU 20 determines whether both the basic conditions and the special environmental conditions are satisfied (step S1). Step S1 is an example of the process executed by the determination unit. If Yes in step S1, the ECU 20 increments the time counter (step S2). The time counter counts the time when the special environmental conditions are satisfied.

[0016] If No in step S1, or after the execution of step S2, the ECU 20 determines whether the special environmental conditions are not satisfied (step S3). Step S3 is an example of the process executed by the determination unit. If Yes in step S3, the ECU 20 turns on the normal environment flag (step S4).

[0017] If No in step S3, or after the execution of step S4, the ECU 20 determines whether the normal environment flag is on (step S5). If Yes in step S5, the ECU 20 clears the time counter, turns off the special environment flag described later, and clears the trip number counter described later (step S6).

[0018] If No in step S5, or after the execution of step S6, the ECU 20 determines whether the time counter is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (step S7). If Yes in step S7, the ECU 20 turns on the special environment flag (step S8). If No in step S7, or after the execution of step S8, this control ends.

[0019] [Memory Control] Figure 2B is a flowchart illustrating the memory control executed by the ECU 20 activated by turning on the ignition. The ECU 20 determines whether the special environment flag is on (step S11). If Yes in step S11, the ECU 20 increments the trip number counter (step S12).

[0020] If the answer is No in step S11, or after the execution of step S12, the ECU 20 turns off the normal environment flag (step S13). Next, the ECU 20 determines whether the trip number counter is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (step S14). If the answer is Yes in step S14, the ECU 20 regards that an abnormality diagnosis has been executed, and executes a storage process of storing the diagnosed history in the RAM (step S15). Step S15 is an example of a process executed by the storage control unit. If the answer is No in step S14, or after the execution of step S15, this control ends.

[0021] [Timing Chart] FIG. 3 is a timing chart illustrating the case where special environmental conditions are always satisfied in the ignition-off state. FIG. 3 shows the on / off state of ignition, the on / off state of the normal environment flag, the on / off state of the ECU 20, the establishment of basic conditions, the on / off state of the special environment flag, and the transition of the trip number counter. FIG. 3 illustrates the case where the vehicle 1 is always placed in a special environment.

[0022] The ignition is switched from on to off (time t1). After a predetermined time has elapsed since the ignition is off, the ECU 20 is turned on by the soak timer, the basic conditions are satisfied, and the special environment flag is turned on (time t2, Yes in step S1, No in steps S2, S3, and S5, Yes in step S7, step S8).

[0023] Thereafter, the ECU 20 is turned off. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the ECU 20 is turned on by the soak timer, the basic conditions are satisfied, and the special environment flag is maintained on (time t3, Yes in step S1, No in steps S2, S3, and S5, Yes in step S7, step S8). Thereafter, the ECU 20 is turned off. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the ECU 20 is turned on by the soak timer, the basic conditions are satisfied, and the special environment flag is maintained on (time t4, Yes in step S1, No in steps S2, S3, and S5, Yes in step S7, step S8).

[0024] Subsequently, ECU20 is turned off. After a predetermined time has elapsed, ECU20 is turned on when the ignition is turned on, the special environment flag is turned off, and the trip counter is incremented (time t5, Yes in step S11, steps S12 and S13).

[0025] If the trip counter incremented when the ignition is turned on is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (Yes in step S14), the ECU 20 stores the diagnostic history in RAM (step S15). Therefore, as shown in Figure 3, if the basic conditions and special environmental conditions are met in all cases while the ignition is off, the diagnostic history can be stored in RAM, as if an abnormality diagnosis had been performed. By restricting the storage of the diagnostic history when an abnormality diagnosis has not been performed in this way, it is possible to prevent the misuse of the diagnostic history record even when no abnormality diagnosis has been performed.

[0026] Figure 4 is a timing chart illustrating a case where special environmental conditions are temporarily not met when the ignition is off. Figure 4 will be explained focusing on the differences from Figure 3. When the ignition is off, the atmospheric pressure correction coefficient kPa becomes greater than or equal to a predetermined value α (time t2a). The soak timer turns on the ECU20, the basic conditions are met, the normal environment flag is turned on, the special environment flag is turned off, and the trip counter is cleared (time t3, No in step S1, Yes in step S3, Yes in steps S4 and S5, No in steps S6 and S7).

[0027] Subsequently, the atmospheric pressure correction coefficient kPa falls below a predetermined value α. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the soak timer turns on the ECU20, the basic conditions are met, and the special environment flag remains off (time t4, step S1: Yes, steps S2 and S3: No, step S5: Yes, steps S6 and S7: No). After that, the ECU20 turns off. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the ignition is turned on, turning on the ECU20, the special environment flag remains off, and the trip counter remains in a cleared state (time t5, step S11: No, steps S13 and S14: No). In this way, if the special environment conditions are not met even once while the ignition is off, the diagnostic history is not stored in RAM. This is because in such cases, the special environment conditions may not be met, and an abnormal diagnosis may be performed appropriately. In this way, it is possible to avoid the diagnostic history being stored unintentionally, as if an abnormal diagnosis had been performed.

[0028] Figure 5 is a timing chart illustrating a case where the basic conditions are temporarily not met when the ignition is off, but the special environmental conditions are always met. Figure 5 will be explained focusing on the differences from Figure 3. The soak timer turns on ECU20, the basic conditions are not met, and the special environment flag remains on (time t3, step S1: No, step S3: No, step S5: No, step S7: No). When the ignition is turned on, ECU20 turns on, the special environment flag is turned off, and the trip counter is incremented (time t5, step S11: Yes, step S12).

[0029] If the trip counter incremented when the ignition is turned on is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (Yes in step S14), the ECU 20 stores the diagnostic history in RAM (step S15). As shown in Figure 5, if the basic conditions are met at least once with the ignition off (times t2, t4), and special environmental conditions are met in all cases (times t2, t3, t4), then the abnormal diagnosis is considered to have been performed and the diagnostic history can be stored in RAM.

[0030] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 vehicle 10 Engines 20 ECU (Anomaly Diagnosis Unit, Judgment Unit, Memory Control Unit)

Claims

[Claim 1] In an abnormality diagnosis device, which performs an abnormality diagnosis of the engine equipment installed in a vehicle when the ignition is off, based on the fact that the basic conditions for performing an abnormality diagnosis of the equipment are met and the special environmental conditions indicating that the vehicle is in a special environment are not met, and stores the diagnosis history in a storage unit after performing the abnormality diagnosis a predetermined number of times, The aforementioned basic conditions include: the engine coolant temperature being within a predetermined range; the engine being sufficiently warmed up by the previous trip; the battery voltage being at a normal value; diagnostic detection not being disabled; and the ignition being off. The aforementioned special environmental conditions are deemed to be met when the atmospheric pressure correction coefficient, which is the value obtained by dividing atmospheric pressure by standard atmospheric pressure, is less than a predetermined value less than 1. With the ignition off, a determination unit determines whether the above basic conditions and the above special environmental conditions are met or not multiple times at intervals, The system includes a storage control unit that, in accordance with the multiple determination results of the determination unit, even if an abnormality diagnosis is not performed, exceptionally deems that an abnormality diagnosis has been performed and, after ignition is turned on, executes a storage process to store the diagnosed history in the storage unit. An abnormality diagnosis device wherein the memory control unit executes the memory processing after ignition is turned on if the basic conditions are met at least once out of the multiple determinations and the special environmental conditions are met in all of the multiple determinations, and does not execute the memory processing after ignition is turned on if the special environmental conditions are not met at least once out of the multiple determinations.

Images