Engine Fuel Supply Control with Bidirectional Signal Diagnostics
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel supply control apparatuses for engines fail to maintain normal operation when control system malfunctions occur, particularly due to abnormalities in signal transmission and reception between the fuel pump and fuel injection valve control systems, leading to potential vehicle stall.
Innovation Solution
A fuel supply control apparatus and method that includes an engine control unit and a fuel pump control unit, where the engine control unit receives output signals from a fuel pressure sensor and outputs actuating signals to the fuel pump control unit, which diagnoses signal abnormalities and outputs diagnostic signals to the engine control unit, enabling fail-safe functions based on these diagnoses to maintain vehicle operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the fuel pump or fuel injection valve is stopped to perform fail-safe function against control system malfunctions, then system reliability is improved, but vehicle running capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into multiple independent diagnostic functions: one for detecting actuating signal abnormalities and another for detecting diagnostic signal abnormalities. This segmentation allows the system to identify specific failure modes and apply targeted responses rather than blanket shutdown, preserving vehicle operation when possible.
Solution Approach 2:
The fail-safe function is made dynamic by adjusting its response based on the type of abnormality detected. When only actuating signal abnormalities are detected, the system performs fail-safe on fuel pump operation. When diagnostic signal abnormalities are detected, the system maintains fuel pump operation, dynamically adapting the fail-safe response to preserve vehicle running capability.
2Reliability
If diagnostic signals are transmitted from fuel pump control unit to engine control unit, then system reliability is improved through better monitoring, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The diagnostic signal transmission function is merged into the existing control communication infrastructure between the fuel pump control unit and engine control unit. Rather than adding a separate monitoring system, the patent utilizes the existing signal pathways to carry diagnostic information, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication interface between control units is given multi-functionality: it serves both for normal control signal transmission and for diagnostic signal transmission. This universal use of existing communication channels avoids the need for dedicated diagnostic hardware, maintaining system simplicity while enhancing monitoring capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a fuel supply control apparatus and to a fuel supply control method, provided with an engine control unit and a fuel pump control unit. The engine control unit outputs an actuating signal for a fuel pump to the fuel pump control unit. The fuel pump control unit outputs a diagnostic signal indicating whether or not abnormality occurs in input of the actuating signal to the engine control unit. Furthermore, the engine control unit diagnoses whether or not abnormality occurs in input of the diagnostic signal and diagnoses based on the output signal from a fuel pressure sensor whether or not abnormality occurs in a control of fuel pressure. Then, the engine control unit performs a fail-safe function, based on whether or not the abnormality occurs in the input of the diagnostic signal, whether or not the abnormality occurs in the control of the fuel pressure, and whether or not the abnormality occurs in the input of the actuating signal in the fuel pump control unit.