Cooling Water Control Valve Failure Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling water control apparatuses struggle to accurately determine valve failures in cooling systems, particularly when the engine is stopped, leading to potential overheating and reduced accuracy in determining valve states.
Innovation Solution
A cooling water control apparatus that includes a switching valve connecting two pipes, a determining device, and a controlling device, which maintains cooling water flow even when the engine is stopped to ensure accurate valve failure detection by monitoring temperature differences between the pipes and adjusting the flow rate based on vehicle speed and battery residual power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the engine is stopped to improve fuel efficiency, then fuel consumption is reduced, but the accuracy of valve failure detection deteriorates due to insufficient cooling water flow
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs valve failure detection before the engine stop is initiated, ensuring that the cooling water flow is sufficient to enable accurate temperature-based valve state determination. By completing the detection action in advance while the engine is still running, the system avoids the measurement accuracy problem that would occur during engine stop.
2Use of energy by stationary object
If cooling water flow is reduced when the engine is stopped, then electrical power consumption is reduced, but the reliability of overheating prevention is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system determines valve failure before engine stop, so that subsequent engine stop decisions can be made with full knowledge of the valve state. This preliminary detection ensures that overheating risks are identified and addressed before the engine stops, maintaining reliability while allowing power reduction during the actual stop period.
3Device complexity
If the valve state is determined based on temperature difference during engine operation, then the detection method is simple, but the detection accuracy deteriorates when the engine is stopped due to lack of temperature variation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs valve state determination while the engine is still operating, when temperature variations are present and provide sufficient signal for accurate detection. By completing this determination before engine stop, the system avoids the fundamental problem of insufficient temperature variation that would otherwise occur during engine stop, maintaining both simplicity and accuracy.
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 solution enables reliable detection of valve failures, prevents overheating, and maintains determination accuracy even when the engine is stopped, improving fuel efficiency and reducing electrical power consumption.
Implementation Method 1
it is determined whether or not there is a closed failure of the valve, which connects the first and second cooling water passages, on the basis of a difference between temperature of the cooling water in the first cooling water passage and temperature of the cooling water in the second cooling water passage
Implementation Method 2
a first cooling water passage which circulates the cooling water and which passes through an inside of the engine
Implementation Method 3
the supplying mechanism supplies the cooling water to the first pipe. As a result, the cooling water circulates in the first pipe. Similarly, the supplying mechanism supplies the cooling water to the second pipe
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3(a)~3(d)
AI summary
A cooling water control apparatus (30) controls a cooling apparatus having first pipe (181) which circulates cooling water through an engine (20); second pipe (182) which circulates cooling water not through the engine; a switching valve (13) whose state is changed between opened and closed states; and a supplying mechanism (16) which supplies cooling water, and has a determining device (30) which determines whether there is failure of the switching valve based on difference (ΔTsens) between first temperature (thw) of cooling water in first pipe and second temperature (thb) of cooling water in second pipe after the command for changing the state of the switching valve from closed state to opened state is outputted; and a controlling device (30) which controls the supplying mechanism to supply cooling water even after the engine stops, when the engine stops while the determining device determines whether there is failure of the switching valve.