Throttle Body Coking Compensation via Diagnostic Reporting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing throttle area control systems in motor vehicles fail to effectively compensate for changes in throttle opening area due to deposit accumulation, known as coking, which can lead to performance issues and inefficiencies over time.
Innovation Solution
A control system comprising a throttle control module and a diagnostic module that maintains tables of throttle area compensation factors, applies limits to these factors, and reports a coking value to users and service providers, allowing for proactive maintenance and prevention of performance degradation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If throttle area compensation is applied to account for coking, then throttle performance is maintained, but system complexity increases due to additional tables and diagnostic modules
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates and stores compensation factors in lookup tables before they are needed. The throttle control module maintains tables of compensation factors that are determined in advance based on expected coking conditions, allowing quick application of compensation without real-time complex calculations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces compensation factors as an intermediary element between the raw throttle position sensor signal and the actual throttle area calculation. These compensation factors serve as a mediator that adjusts the relationship between throttle position and effective area without requiring direct measurement of the actual throttle opening.
2Measurement precision
If compensation factors are stored in tables indexed by throttle area, then compensation accuracy is improved, but memory requirements and data management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The compensation data is segmented into multiple lookup tables, each covering a specific range of throttle areas. The system divides the full throttle operating range into segments and maintains separate compensation factor tables for each segment, allowing accurate compensation without requiring a single large complex table.
Solution Approach 2:
The system stores more compensation factor data than strictly minimum necessary by maintaining multiple tables with overlapping or adjacent ranges. This excessive data storage ensures that appropriate compensation factors are always available for any throttle position without requiring complex interpolation or calculation.
3Reliability
If upper limits are applied to compensation factors, then system reliability is improved by preventing excessive correction, but the range of effective compensation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes upper limits on compensation factors as a protective measure against excessive correction. These limits act as a cushion that prevents the compensation mechanism from over-correcting throttle area calculations, even under extreme coking conditions, ensuring system stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of compensation factor application by adjusting the effective compensation based on operating conditions. The upper limits are not fixed absolute constraints but are adjusted according to throttle position and operating mode, allowing maximum compensation range while maintaining reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A control system for a vehicle comprises a throttle control module and a diagnostic module. The throttle control module controls a position of a throttle of the vehicle and compensates for changes in effective opening area of the throttle due to coking. The diagnostic module reports a coking value to a user based upon an amount of compensation performed by the throttle control module. A method comprises controlling a position of a throttle of a vehicle; compensating for changes in effective opening area of the throttle due to coking; and reporting a coking value to a user based upon an amount of compensation performed.