Vehicle Fuel Quality Alert System Using Onboard Data Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle condition monitoring systems often process ambiguous and irrelevant data, leading to difficulties in determining useful information, which can result in costly and time-consuming maintenance, and may inadvertently exacerbate issues like fuel system overpressure due to operator actions or vehicle performance restrictions.
Innovation Solution
A method that sends vehicle data to an off-board data analysis system when fuel system pressure exceeds a threshold, receiving coaching instructions to reduce overpressure instances, and monitors fuel tank fill-ups and engine start faults to alert operators of bad fuel and adjust engine conditions accordingly, thereby mitigating future faults.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vehicle data is sent to central server for processing, then vehicle condition monitoring capability is improved, but data processing complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing data filtering and prioritization logic in the vehicle's onboard control unit before data transmission. The system pre-processes sensor data to identify only relevant fault codes and parameters that require central server analysis, sending condensed data packets instead of raw complete datasets. This preliminary filtering reduces the processing burden on the central server and accelerates overall diagnostic response time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the essential and relevant data elements from the complete vehicle sensor dataset before transmission to the central server. The control unit identifies and transmits only critical fault codes, error parameters, and diagnostic information that are directly related to detected anomalies, leaving out redundant normal operating parameters. This extraction approach significantly reduces data volume and processing requirements while maintaining diagnostic effectiveness.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive vehicle data is transmitted to central server, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but communication data volume and processing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential diagnostic elements from the complete vehicle dataset. The control unit identifies and transmits only critical fault codes, error parameters, and diagnostic information that are directly related to detected anomalies, leaving out redundant normal operating parameters. This extraction approach significantly reduces data volume and processing requirements while maintaining diagnostic effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating data transmission based on diagnostic importance. Different data elements are transmitted with different levels of detail and frequency depending on their diagnostic value. Critical fault information is transmitted immediately with high priority, while routine operational parameters are either omitted or transmitted at lower frequencies, optimizing the balance between diagnostic accuracy and communication efficiency.
3Reliability
If real-time fuel system pressure monitoring is implemented, then fuel system protection is improved, but system complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action through threshold-based monitoring of fuel system pressure. Instead of continuous high-frequency monitoring, the system periodically checks pressure against predetermined threshold values and triggers alerts or protective actions only when thresholds are exceeded. This periodic threshold-based approach maintains fuel system protection while significantly reducing the energy consumption associated with continuous monitoring and processing.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for a vehicle wirelessly communicating with a central server. In one example, a method may include monitoring faults and sending engine conditions along with driver inputs to the central server for processing.


