Air Source Device Intake Valve State Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air source devices struggle to accurately measure the intake amount of air sucked from outside and supplied to a tank, particularly due to the difficulty in detecting the change from a closed to an open state of mechanical intake valves, which affects the precision of air supply and pressure management.
Innovation Solution
The air source device employs a mechanical intake valve that opens when the suction-side pressure becomes lower than atmospheric pressure, and an ECU estimates this change based on tank pressure changes, allowing for accurate calculation of the intake amount by monitoring pressure gradients and differences between tank and passage pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mechanical intake valve is used to control air intake based on pressure difference, then the device complexity is reduced and reliability is improved, but the measurement precision of intake amount deteriorates due to inability to directly detect valve state changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from tank pressure changes to estimate the intake valve state. The ECU monitors the increasing amount of tank pressure and uses this feedback to determine when the intake valve transitions from closed to opened state, thereby indirectly measuring the intake amount without direct valve state detection
Solution Approach 2:
The tank pressure serves as an intermediary parameter to infer the intake valve state and calculate intake amount. Instead of directly measuring valve position or air flow, the system uses tank pressure changes as a mediator to obtain intake amount information
2Measurement precision
If the intake amount is calculated based on tank pressure increasing amount from the estimated valve opening time point, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional estimation and calculation processes
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the existing tank pressure sensor and ECU to perform the estimation and calculation functions. No additional dedicated measurement devices are introduced; the existing components serve multiple functions including intake amount measurement through software-based estimation algorithms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables precise acquisition of the intake amount of air supplied to the tank, improving the accuracy of air management and pressure control, thereby enhancing the efficiency of systems like vehicle height adjustment systems.
Implementation Method 1
the intake valve is configured such that, when a pressure of the air in the suction-side portion is not less than an atmospheric pressure, which is a pressure of the outside, the intake valve is in a closed state, but when the pressure of the air in the suction-side portion becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure, the intake valve is changed to an opened state
Data Source
AI summary
An air source device includes: a tank; a compressor; an intake valve; and an ECU configured to acquire an intake amount, which is an amount of air sucked from an outside and supplied to the tank by the compressor, based on an increasing amount of a tank pressure, which is a pressure of the air accommodated in the tank, the increasing amount being an increasing amount from a time point when the intake valve is estimated to be changed from a closed state to an opened state.