DE102018003131B4 - Method, device and system for reducing the pollutant emissions of a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for reducing the pollutant emissions of a motor vehicle, in particular a vehicle with a diesel fuel-powered engine, in relevant areas, comprising the steps of checking while the vehicle is being driven, whether the vehicle is in a relevant area or not, provided the check shows that the vehicle is in a relevant area, setting the engine control in a clean mode in which at least the amount of a specific pollutant emitted by the vehicle's engine is reduced,- if the check shows that the vehicle is not in a relevant Area is, setting the engine control in a normal mode, - where on routes in the relevant areas where a higher engine power is required, communication with the transitions to these routes installed verification units (7) takes place, which causes the engine power in the area of concern the routes is increased and after leaving the relevant routes the engine control is switched back to the clean mode.

Description

The invention relates to a method with which the pollutant emissions of a vehicle can be sustainably reduced in relevant areas, in particular in conurbations, preferably in large cities, which have problems with increased exhaust gas values, a device for carrying out the method and a system within which the method can be applied.

Environmental problems in large cities, especially in the form of increased levels of pollutants in the air, have been known for a long time. Motor vehicles are a significant factor in increased levels of pollutants in the air in large cities. Therefore, in order to reduce the fine dust levels in the air of polluted areas, usually in towns and cities, environmental zones have already been introduced, in which usually only motor vehicles are allowed to drive that do not exceed a limit value for the emission of the specific pollutant "fine dust" when driving.

Currently, nitrogen oxides are increasingly coming into focus as a specific pollutant. In order to reduce the nitrogen oxide pollution in certain large cities, in the near future it is very likely that older diesel vehicles will be banned from driving in those cities that are particularly affected by the exhaust gas problem. Particularly affected are those cities in which there is a very high volume of traffic and/or which are in a very unfavorable topological location, e.g. B. in a boiler area.

A number of methods are already known from the prior art with which the nitrogen oxide emissions from internal combustion engines, in particular from diesel engines, can be reduced.

So will in DE 199 10 503 C1 proposed to minimize nitrogen oxide emissions from internal combustion engines by operating the relevant internal combustion engines in a combined lean and rich combustion mode.

In DE 697 32 534 T2 a method is disclosed with which the nitrogen oxide emissions of an internal combustion engine are reduced by means of a suitable exhaust gas recirculation.

Furthermore shows DE 10 2012 209 114 A1 an exhaust gas catalytic converter, which has a special exhaust system and a special regulation. With the help of this special catalytic converter, nitrogen oxides can be removed better than with conventional catalytic converters from the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine that are routed through this catalytic converter.

In DE 10 2009 054 046 A1 describes a method with which the concentration of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines can be controlled and reduced using ammonia.

Finally are in DE 10 2016 104 996 A1 , DE 196 37 209 A1 and WO 2010/127 901 A1 location-dependent controls of an internal combustion engine to reduce emissions described. However, the solutions described have the disadvantage that the power reductions that inevitably accompany the emission reduction can lead to the vehicles equipped with the location-dependent controls impeding the flow of traffic on steeper inclines.

For the above reasons, the object of this invention is to find a method, a device and a system with which it is possible in an economical way to retrofit motor vehicles, especially older motor vehicles, so that they can be used in relevant areas, especially large cities and other metropolitan areas, cause a sustained reduction in pollutant emissions while at the same time preventing the vehicles concerned from obstructing the flow of traffic.

All areas in which the concentration of at least one specific pollutant is problematic and in which driving bans are already in place as a result are to be designated as relevant areas.

To solve this problem, the present invention proposes a method for reducing the pollutant emissions of a motor vehicle in relevant areas, in which it is usually checked permanently or at least at very short, regularly recurring time intervals while the vehicle is being driven whether the vehicle is in a relevant area or not. The recurring intervals can be e.g. B. be intervals with a duration of one or more milliseconds up to a maximum duration of one or more seconds.

The relevant area is usually a large city in which there is a driving ban for vehicles which, during normal operation, exceed a limit value for the emission of a specific pollutant.

If the check in question shows that the vehicle is in a relevant area, the engine control unit is set in such a way, ie configured, that the specific pollutant emissions, e.g. B. an emission of nitrogen oxides, fine dust, carbon dioxide or Koh lenmonoxide, can be sustainably reduced. This mode with a sustained reduction in pollutant emissions of at least one specific pollutant, such. B. the pollutant nitrogen oxide, is hereinafter referred to as clean mode.

If the check shows that the vehicle is not in a relevant area, the engine control unit is switched to a normal mode. The normal mode is the mode in which the vehicle in question is normally used and in which the exhaust emissions related to a specific pollutant, e.g. B. the nitrogen oxide emissions, do not meet the requirements applicable to the relevant areas.

On routes or at points in the relevant areas where higher engine power is required, e.g. on routes with an increased incline and/or on routes where higher speeds are permitted, e.g. B. 70 km/h or 80 km/h (instead of the usual 30 km/h or 50 km/h in cities), a temporary increase in engine power is also permitted. For this purpose, special checking units are arranged at the transitions between routes on which the engine power available in clean mode is sufficient and routes on which engine power is no longer sufficient in clean mode. These special checking units are set up to communicate with a transceiver unit in the vehicle and cause the engine power to increase in the area of the relevant routes and to switch back to the (regular) clean mode after leaving the relevant routes.

Using the method according to the invention, the engine control unit of the vehicle can either be switched to normal mode for a short time, or the engine control unit is switched to a mode (mountain mode) in which engine power is increased compared to the clean mode, but in which it is still lower specific pollutant emissions is caused than in normal mode. This method is particularly suitable for combination with a variant of the method according to the invention, in which driving into the relevant areas is also determined by means of checking units, since in this case the transceiver units perform a double function.

The method according to the invention can advantageously be used for vehicles with a diesel fuel-powered engine, e.g. B. for diesel vehicles that only meet the standards Euro 3, Euro 4 or Euro 5. The method can be used particularly advantageously for older passenger cars that are operated with diesel fuel. With the method according to the invention it can be achieved that these vehicles in conurbations/large cities, for which the vehicles in question are affected by a driving ban, can again comply with the prescribed limit values for specific pollutant emissions, usually nitrogen oxide emissions, provided they are clean with the method according to the invention mode to be operated.

The method can be used in an analogous manner for diesel-powered commercial vehicles such. As trucks, tractors or ships are used. It is also conceivable to use the method according to the invention for vehicles that have a gasoline-powered engine, such as an engine with gasoline direct injection.

The method according to the invention thus makes it possible, with comparatively little effort, to retrofit older vehicles in such a way that they once again meet the limit values for specific pollutant emissions in the relevant areas.

In an advantageous variant of the method according to the invention, the engine control unit is only switched from normal mode to clean mode if a driving ban applies to the relevant area that depends on the level of a specific pollutant emission or several specific pollutant emissions. The currently planned driving bans relate in particular to the increased nitrogen oxide emissions of older diesel vehicles. The method according to the invention is therefore intended in particular to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides in conurbations such as towns, cities, but also other problematic areas that have imposed a driving ban on older diesel vehicles or other vehicles, to the extent that the prescribed limit values for the nitrogen oxide emissions can be achieved again. With the method according to the invention, however, the emissions of other specific pollutants can also be minimized if a driving ban in a relevant area depends on other specific pollutant emissions.

In a preferred variant of the method according to the invention, the clean mode is achieved by changing the engine control unit, in which the engine power is reduced in such a way that the engine power is still sufficiently large for operation in a relevant area on the one hand, but on the other hand there is a sufficient reduction in the specific pollutant emissions is reached. Since the relevant area is usually an urban area where the maximum speed allowed is usually 50 km/h or a maximum of 60 km/h, but anyway is significantly lower than the maximum speed outside urban areas, a significantly lower maximum engine power is normally required in the relevant areas than outside the relevant areas.

In vehicles that have a higher engine output in normal mode, the power can be reduced more than in vehicles that have a lower engine output in normal mode. On the other hand, it is to be expected that both vehicles with higher engine power and vehicles with lower engine power can reach the prescribed limit values (e.g. the prescribed limit values for nitrogen oxide emissions) as a result of the reduction in engine power carried out using the method according to the invention. Because the vehicles with the greater engine power usually also have a comparatively high level of pollutant emissions, which can be greatly reduced in clean mode. On the other hand, vehicles with a smaller engine output already have lower pollutant emissions from the outset, so that it is usually not necessary to reduce pollutant emissions as much as in the case of vehicles with a large engine output.

In a preferred variant, the specific pollutant emissions are reduced by limiting the maximum speed of the vehicle's engine. Alternatively or in addition, other parameters of the engine control, such. B. the fuel mixture, the ignition point or the boost pressure (if a turbocharger is available) can be changed in order to achieve a reduction in the specific pollutant emission or the specific pollutant emissions that are relevant to driving bans. So e.g. B. to reduce the emission of the specific pollutant nitrogen oxide, in addition to a limitation of the maximum speed of the engine with a slightly richer fuel / air mixture can be operated.

To check whether the vehicle is in a relevant area, e.g. B. is located in an urban area with a driving ban, the position of the vehicle can be located by means of satellite positioning (GPS) and/or by means of mobile phone location. The position of the vehicle determined in this way can be compared with map data that stores the positions at which relevant areas are located and at which they are not.

Alternatively or additionally, to check whether the vehicle is in a relevant area, communication with checking units that are arranged at least at the transitions between an area that is not a relevant area and a relevant area (e.g. at all transitions , along which roads or passable paths run). The verification units are usually transceiver units, z. B. are constructed similarly to the transceiver units that are currently already in the known electronic toll systems such. B. EETS, Toll Collect or AUTO PASS can be used.

It is also conceivable to carry out the method according to the invention using existing electronic toll systems (systems for electronic toll collection).

It is also possible that the checking units not only emit a signal indicating that a relevant area begins at the relevant point, but the checking units could also be used to determine whether a vehicle is lawfully entering the relevant area allowed.

For this purpose, the checking units could determine whether the vehicle is equipped with a device for performing the method according to the invention and whether z. B. when driving into the relevant area using the method according to the invention, the engine of the vehicle was properly switched to the clean mode. It is also conceivable that vehicles that already meet the exhaust gas regulations applicable to the relevant area in normal mode, send a signal to the checking units using a suitable transmitter unit, which indicates that they (even in normal mode) may drive into the relevant area in question.

In order for vehicles that do not meet the requirements in terms of specific pollutant emissions in normal mode (for vehicles that are allowed to drive into areas/urban areas with driving ban zones) to be able to get an entry permit into the affected areas at all through the application of the method according to the invention, it must be ensured that switching the vehicle's engine to clean mode in a relevant area is also guaranteed to occur. In other words, the method must guarantee protection against sabotage, which prevents people from illegally obtaining an import permit by pretending that they are using the method according to the invention properly in the relevant areas.

In order to obtain such protection against sabotage, the device used for the method can be integrated into the engine control unit in such a way that an intervention in the device, which serves the purpose of preventing switching to the clean mode and reducing the engine power in the relevant area to avoid, difficult has serious consequences. Such an intervention could, for example, result in the engine no longer running or only running to a very limited extent. In addition, it can be ensured that the restriction in question can only be lifted again by authorized bodies.

The device that is set up to carry out the method according to the invention. and the main component of which is usually an electronics box, has a locating unit that is set up to determine the position of the device and thus the position of the associated vehicle via satellite locating and/or mobile phone locating, a data unit in which map data are stored, with stored in the map data at which positions relevant areas are located, an engine control unit that is set up to operate the vehicle's engine (as required) in a normal mode and alternatively in a clean mode, and a central control unit that is set up to do so to compare (permanently or at short intervals) the data from the tracking unit with the map data from the data unit and, if the comparison shows that the vehicle is in a relevant area, to use the engine control unit to operate the engine of the vehicle in clean mode.

The locating unit and the data unit can advantageously be implemented using standard components such as those used in mobile phones.

Alternatively or additionally, the device for carrying out the method according to the invention has a unit that can communicate with installed checking units. The checking units can be checking units that are installed at the borders of a relevant area and by means of which the device receives the information that the associated vehicle is driving into a relevant area or that it is leaving the relevant area again. However, the checking units can also be checking units that are used to mark routes within the relevant area where an increase in the maximum engine power of the vehicles is necessary (mountain mode).

The devices according to the invention for carrying out the method can also be part of an overall system that ensures that only authorized vehicles can enter a relevant area for which a driving ban exists. In other words, it is monitored that the limit values of a specific pollutant emission prescribed in the relevant areas are observed. The system has checking units that are arranged at least at the transitions (usually at all transitions where roads or trafficable paths run) between an area that is not a relevant area and a relevant area. The system also includes transceiver units located in the motor vehicles that are allowed to enter the relevant areas. The transceiver units are set up to communicate with the checking units and, if the associated vehicle meets the required limit values for pollutant emissions, to give the vehicle permission to drive into the relevant area.

For this purpose, vehicles that already meet the limit values in normal mode could be equipped with a simplified electronics box that communicates with the checking units and indicates that the vehicle can also drive into the relevant area in normal mode. Unauthorized vehicles could either use a roadblock such. B. a barrier, are directly prevented from entering. Alternatively, unauthorized vehicles could be recorded and their owners subject to a penalty.

Authorized vehicles are vehicles that either generally meet the limit values for pollutant emissions (ie also in normal mode) or vehicles that have been switched to clean mode using the method according to the invention.

The same or similarly constructed checking units could advantageously also be used in those areas within the relevant areas where higher engine power is required.

• 1: eine eine einfache Variante der Vorrichtung zur Durchführung des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens.
• 2: eine Vorrichtung zur Durchführung des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens, bei der die Motorleistung temporär erhöht werden kann.

The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of two exemplary embodiments, which show this in a schematic view

• 1 : a simple variant of the device for carrying out the method according to the invention.
• 2 : a device for carrying out the method according to the invention, in which the engine power can be temporarily increased.

Again 1 can be removed, the simple variant of the device is equipped with a locating unit 1, which uses GPS data and mobile phone location constantly or at regular intervals of a few seconds, the location of the vehicle in which the device according to the invention is installed, is determined. This location data is transmitted to data unit 2 . In the data unit 2 are the current location data of all No driving zones deposited. By comparing the current location data with the data stored in the data unit 2, it is constantly determined whether the vehicle in question is in a no-driving zone or not. If the vehicle in question is in a no-drive zone, a central control unit 3 puts the engine controller 4 into a clean mode, which guarantees that the engine 5 does not exceed the limit values for the pollutant emissions relevant in the no-drive zone, usually the maximum nitrogen oxide emissions.

2 shows a device with which the engine control unit 5, if necessary, z. B. on routes in a driving ban zone with an increased slope, can be put into a state in which the engine can achieve a higher performance. Performance can range between clean mode and normal mode performance, but a temporary switch to normal mode can also be allowed. The device can also be used to determine whether a vehicle equipped with the device is authorized to drive into a no-driving zone.

For this purpose, the vehicle is equipped with a transceiver 6 that can communicate with checking units 7 that are permanently installed either at the borders of no-drive zones or at the borders of routes on which higher power is required. By communicating between the transceiver units 6 and checking units 7, which are arranged at the borders of no-drive zones, it can be ensured that only authorized vehicles can enter and that the engine control unit 4 of the authorized vehicles actually switches to the clean mode when entering the no-drive zones. By communication of the transceiver units 6 with the checking units 7, which are arranged at the borders of routes on which a higher engine power is required, the respective vehicles can be temporarily switched to a mode with a higher engine power.

Reference List

1

tracking unit

2

data unit

3

control unit

4

engine control unit

5

engine

6

transceiver unit

7

verification unit

Claims (9)

Method for reducing the pollutant emissions of a motor vehicle, in particular a vehicle with an engine operated with diesel fuel, in relevant areas, comprising the steps - Checking while driving the vehicle whether the vehicle is in a relevant area or not, - if the verification shows that the vehicle is in a relevant area, setting the engine control to a clean mode in which at least the amount of a specific pollutant emitted by the vehicle's engine is reduced, - if the check shows that the vehicle is not in a relevant area, setting the engine control to a normal mode, - whereby on routes in the relevant areas where higher engine power is required, communication with verification units (7) installed at the transitions to these routes takes place, which causes the engine power in the area of the relevant routes to be increased and after leaving the relevant routes, the engine control is switched back to the clean mode. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the engine control is only switched to the clean mode if a driving ban applies to the relevant area, which depends on the level of at least one specific pollutant emission, the driving ban always being in the clean mode Limit value of at least one specific pollutant emission is undershot. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clean mode is achieved by changing the engine control, in which the engine power is reduced in such a way that the engine power is still sufficiently large for operation of the vehicle in relevant areas, but a significant reduction at least one specific pollutant emission is achieved. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one specific pollutant emission is reduced by limiting the maximum speed of the engine of the vehicle. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that to check whether the vehicle is in a relevant area, locating the position of the vehicle by means of satellite positioning and / o which is carried out by means of a mobile phone location, and the determined position of the vehicle is compared with map data, the map data storing the positions at which relevant areas are located. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that to check whether the vehicle is in a relevant area, communication with checking units (7) takes place, which takes place at least at the transitions between an area that is not a relevant area and a relevant area are arranged. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that technical measures are taken to safely avoid switching the vehicle's engine to clean mode in a relevant area due to sabotage. Device that is adapted to a method claim 1 to be carried out, with a locating unit (1) which determines whether a vehicle is located in a relevant area, a data unit (2) in which map data are stored, the map data storing the positions at which relevant areas are located, a Engine control unit (4) which is set up to operate the engine (5) of the vehicle at least in a normal mode and in a clean mode, and a control unit (6) which is set up to combine the data from the locating unit (1) with the to compare map data stored in the data unit (2) and, if the comparison shows that the vehicle is in a relevant area, to switch the engine control to the clean mode. System for monitoring that at least the limit value of a specific pollutant emission is complied with in a relevant area, which is set up according to a procedure claim 1 to be carried out, comprising checking units (7) which are arranged at least at the transitions between an area which is not a relevant area and a relevant area, transceiver units (6) which are arranged in the motor vehicles which are allowed to enter relevant areas, wherein the transceiver units (6) are set up to communicate with the checking units (7), if it is determined by means of communication between a respective transceiver unit (6) and the associated checking unit (7) that the associated vehicle does not exceed the required limit values for a meets specific pollutant emissions, the vehicle is given permission to drive into the area in question, with vehicles that are not equipped with transceiver units (6) not being given permission to drive into the area in question.

Images