TRS ECU Wake-Up Scheduling for Low-Power Engine Diagnostics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transport refrigeration systems face inefficiencies in fuel usage, maintenance costs, and battery depletion due to unnecessary engine operation and data acquisition complexities during Start/Stop modes, particularly in Cycle Sentry Null conditions.
Innovation Solution
A TRS controller periodically activates the engine control unit to acquire engine sensor data, determining efficient power consumption stages and engine operating modes based on calculated diagnostic times, eliminating the need for duplicate sensors and optimizing power management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ECU is continuously activated to acquire engine sensor data, then the system can monitor engine status in real-time, but fuel consumption increases and battery power depletes excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The ECU is activated periodically at scheduled intervals rather than continuously. The TRS controller determines optimal activation times based on operational requirements, allowing the ECU to enter low-power states between activations. This periodic activation maintains necessary monitoring capabilities while significantly reducing fuel consumption and battery power usage during Start/Stop modes.
2Reliability
If the ECU is continuously activated to acquire engine sensor data, then the system can monitor engine status in real-time, but battery power depletes excessively during Start/Stop modes
Solution Approach 1:
The ECU operates in periodic activation cycles with scheduled intervals between activations. During Start/Stop modes, the TRS controller intelligently determines when ECU activation is necessary based on operational context, allowing the ECU to remain in low-power states during unnecessary periods. This approach maintains monitoring reliability while preventing excessive battery power depletion.
3Loss of information
If duplicate engine data acquisition sensors are implemented on the TRS controller, then engine data can be acquired during TRU Cycle Sentry Null modes, but device complexity and initial product cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the engine data acquisition functionality into the existing ECU rather than implementing duplicate sensors on the TRS controller. The TRS controller communicates with the ECU to obtain necessary engine data, eliminating the need for separate sensor hardware while maintaining data acquisition capability during all operational modes including TRU Cycle Sentry Null.
Solution Approach 2:
The ECU is designed to serve multiple functions: it controls engine operation and simultaneously provides data acquisition capabilities for the TRS controller. This multi-functional approach allows the same component to fulfill both engine management and data collection roles, eliminating the need for duplicate specialized sensors and reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for periodic system diagnostic of a TRS are provided. In particular, a TRS controller is configured to periodically activate an engine control unit (ECU) of a genset to acquire engine sensor information while the engine is not running. The TRS controller is configured to determine an efficient time to bring the ECU out of a minimum electrical power consumption stage into a medium power consumption stage in order to determine a next action of the TRS.