EP1933025A1 - System und Verfahren zur Steuerung ohmscher Lasten mit an der Motormasse angeschlossener Erdrückleitung - Google Patents

System und Verfahren zur Steuerung ohmscher Lasten mit an der Motormasse angeschlossener Erdrückleitung Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1933025A1
EP1933025A1 EP06026131A EP06026131A EP1933025A1 EP 1933025 A1 EP1933025 A1 EP 1933025A1 EP 06026131 A EP06026131 A EP 06026131A EP 06026131 A EP06026131 A EP 06026131A EP 1933025 A1 EP1933025 A1 EP 1933025A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
power
terminal
load
pwm1
intermittent current
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP06026131A
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English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Paolo Casasso
Riccardo Graglia
Andrei Kanev
Filippo Parisi
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GM Global Technology Operations LLC
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GM Global Technology Operations LLC
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Publication date
Application filed by GM Global Technology Operations LLC filed Critical GM Global Technology Operations LLC
Priority to EP06026131A priority Critical patent/EP1933025A1/de
Publication of EP1933025A1 publication Critical patent/EP1933025A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02P—IGNITION, OTHER THAN COMPRESSION IGNITION, FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES; TESTING OF IGNITION TIMING IN COMPRESSION-IGNITION ENGINES
    • F02P19/00—Incandescent ignition, e.g. during starting of internal combustion engines; Combination of incandescent and spark ignition
    • F02P19/02—Incandescent ignition, e.g. during starting of internal combustion engines; Combination of incandescent and spark ignition electric, e.g. layout of circuits of apparatus having glowing plugs
    • F02P19/021—Incandescent ignition, e.g. during starting of internal combustion engines; Combination of incandescent and spark ignition electric, e.g. layout of circuits of apparatus having glowing plugs characterised by power delivery controls
    • F02P19/023—Individual control of the glow plugs
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02P—IGNITION, OTHER THAN COMPRESSION IGNITION, FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES; TESTING OF IGNITION TIMING IN COMPRESSION-IGNITION ENGINES
    • F02P19/00—Incandescent ignition, e.g. during starting of internal combustion engines; Combination of incandescent and spark ignition
    • F02P19/02—Incandescent ignition, e.g. during starting of internal combustion engines; Combination of incandescent and spark ignition electric, e.g. layout of circuits of apparatus having glowing plugs
    • F02P19/021—Incandescent ignition, e.g. during starting of internal combustion engines; Combination of incandescent and spark ignition electric, e.g. layout of circuits of apparatus having glowing plugs characterised by power delivery controls
    • F02P19/022—Incandescent ignition, e.g. during starting of internal combustion engines; Combination of incandescent and spark ignition electric, e.g. layout of circuits of apparatus having glowing plugs characterised by power delivery controls using intermittent current supply
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02D—CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES
    • F02D41/00—Electrical control of supply of combustible mixture or its constituents
    • F02D41/20—Output circuits, e.g. for controlling currents in command coils
    • F02D2041/202—Output circuits, e.g. for controlling currents in command coils characterised by the control of the circuit
    • F02D2041/2024—Output circuits, e.g. for controlling currents in command coils characterised by the control of the circuit the control switching a load after time-on and time-off pulses
    • F02D2041/2027—Control of the current by pulse width modulation or duty cycle control
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02D—CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES
    • F02D2400/00—Control systems adapted for specific engine types; Special features of engine control systems not otherwise provided for; Power supply, connectors or cabling for engine control systems
    • F02D2400/14—Power supply for engine control systems

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a power controller for operating a load at constant power and to a method of controlling such a load.
  • the invention relates to a glow plug controller, a Diesel engine comprising such a controller and a method of controlling glow plug heating in a Diesel engine.
  • a glow plug is conventionally used in a Diesel engine for pre-heating a cylinder thereof, so as to facilitate self-ignition of an air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber.
  • a glow plug is operated during a starting and a warm-up phases of a Diesel engine; when the engine is operating continuously, the glow plug is normally off.
  • glow plugs had an elongate shape with a glowing element supported at an end thereof and would be mounted in a cylinder wall of the engine with the glowing element extending into the combustion chamber.
  • glow plugs have been introduced, to which the present invention is also applicable. Therefore, the term "glow plug" is used in the present description in a purely functional sense and shall not be construed to imply a specific shape.
  • a glowing control system for a modern Diesel engine may comprise a set of glow plugs, usually one glow plug being associated to each cylinder of the engine, an electronic glow plug controller for supplying a heating current to the glow plugs, and wiring for interconnecting the controller, the glow plug(s) and a vehicle battery.
  • a glow plug conventionally comprises an electrical conductor which is heated by a current flowing through it, and which has a resistivity which increases with temperature. If a high voltage is applied while the temperature of the heating material is still low, there is a risk that the heating material will fuse, so that the live time of the glow plug is short.
  • the heating power of the glow plug decreases substantially while it is heating up, and there is a risk that a temperature which is high enough for self-ignition cannot be reached. It is therefore necessary to control the heating power applied to the glow plug during the heating process, in order to avoid both excessive heating power at the beginning and insufficient heating power at a later stage of the process.
  • a glow plug controller comprising a PWM (pulse width modulation) circuit for supplying a PWM (pulse width modulated) heating current having a given duty factor to the glow plug, power measuring means for measuring the power of the PWM heating current flowing through the glow plug and control means for adapting the duty factor of the PWM heating current according to a deviation between the measured power and a desired power.
  • PWM pulse width modulation
  • Such power measuring means have a problem in that a measurement of the power of the PWM heating current carried out in the controller depends on the difference between the output potential of the PWM circuit and the ground potential of the controller, whereas the heating power generated in the glow plug is a function of the PWM potential and the ground potential at the heating plug.
  • ground terminals of the controller and of the glow plug are electrically connected via an engine block and a vehicle frame, their ground potentials may be different, in particular due to currents flowing from other electrical consumers and/or sources to the battery via the ground and which may cause voltage drops between different locations of the ground.
  • An other possibility would be to isolate the first load from the vehicle ground altogether and to provide two conductors between the power controller and the first load. In that case, it would be sufficient to measure a voltage difference between the two conductors, but it is problematic to ensure a reliable isolation between the first load and the motor block. An isolation failure might cause the controller to supply an excessive current which would destroy the first load.
  • a power controller comprising a first supply terminal for connecting to a supply potential, a second supply terminal for connecting to a ground potential, a set of output terminals for connecting to a respective load, the set comprising at least one output terminal, a power supply circuit for supplying a power-controlled intermittent current to each output terminal, the power controller being characterized in that the power supply circuit comprises a voltage measuring means for measuring a difference between a first voltage level at an output terminal of said set during an ON period of the intermittent current supplied to this terminal and a second voltage level at an output terminal of said set during an off period of the intermittent current supplied to this terminal, and a power control means for controlling the power of the intermittent current based on said difference.
  • the voltage measuring means may be for measuring said first and second voltage levels
  • the power control means is for controlling the power of the intermittent current based on said first and second voltage levels.
  • the invention makes use of the fact that if the heating current supplied to the glow plug is an intermittent current, the output terminal of the controller will be pulled to the ground potential of the load during an OFF period of the intermittent current. There is therefore no need to provide an extra conductor for transmitting the ground potential of the load to the controller, and there is no isolation needed between the load(s) and the ground of the controller, either.
  • the power supply circuit is a PWM circuit
  • the intermittent current is a PWM current
  • the power control means controls a duty factor of said PWM current.
  • the voltage measuring means is adapted to measure said first and second voltage levels consecutively at a same output terminal. This allows for a particularly simple controller design which can control the power supplied to one or more loads based on first and second voltage levels measured at a same one of these loads.
  • the set comprises a plurality of output terminals, and the output current at one of said output terminals is phase shifted with respect to the output current at another one of said terminals.
  • a further advantage of this embodiment is that the voltage measuring means can be adapted to measure said first and second voltage levels simultaneously at two of said output terminals or to measure directly the voltage difference between these two terminals. Therefore, the difference between the first and second voltage levels can be obtained immediately without having to store temporarily one of said voltage levels.
  • a combustion engine comprising an engine block having at least one cylinder and a load associated to said cylinder, a battery, and a power controller as defined hereabove, wherein the battery, the load and the power controller are connected to a common ground.
  • the combustion engine is a Diesel engine and the load is a glow plug.
  • a difference between a first voltage level at a terminal of a load of said set during an ON period of its respective intermittent current and a second voltage level at a terminal of a load of said set during an OFF period of its respective intermittent heating current can be measured, and a mean power of at least one of said intermittent currents is estimated based on said difference.
  • a car battery 1 having a positive terminal, also referred to in the following as the supply voltage terminal, and a negative terminal, also referred to as the ground terminal.
  • An engine block 2 is connected to the ground terminal by a ground conductor 3 which comprises at least a major portion of the metallic frame of the vehicle.
  • An electric starter motor 4 and an electric generator 5 are mechanically connected to a crankshaft, not shown, of the engine. They are electrically connected to the supply terminal of battery 1 by supply conductors 6 and to the ground terminal via ground conductor 3.
  • the starter motor 4 or the generator 5 When the starter motor 4 or the generator 5 is in operation, considerable currents flow through ground conductor 3, which may give rise to voltage drops between spaced-apart points of the ground conductor 3, as indicated in Fig. 1 by a resistor symbol 7.
  • a glow plug 8 in engine block 2 has a terminal connected to a glow plug controller 9 by a single conductor cable 10. Another terminal of the glow plug 8 is connected to ground conductor 3 via engine block 2.
  • Glow plug controller 9 has a ground terminal 14 connected to ground conductor 3. Due to the above-mentioned currents that may be flowing in ground conductor 3, the potential at ground terminal 14 may differ from that of engine block 2.
  • Glow plug controller 9 comprises a voltage sensor 11 for measuring a voltage between wire 10 and ground terminal 14, a PWM circuit 12 for outputting a PWM current to wire 10 according to an input duty factor signal, and a power control circuit 13 for generating the duty factor signal input to PWM circuit 12 based on the voltage detected by voltage sensor 11.
  • step S1 the power control circuit 13 waits for the PWM circuit 12 to assume an ON state. In other words, the power control circuit 13 is triggered by a rising flank of the output voltage from PWM circuit 12.
  • control circuit 13 determines the voltage level U ON in wire 10 in step S2 and the current I ON through wire 10 in step S3.
  • the control circuit 13 then waits for the PWM circuit 12 to switch off again in step S4.
  • voltage sensor 11 obtains the voltage level U OFF of conductor wire 10 in step S5.
  • U OFF may be non-zero due to currents flowing between the battery 1 and other devices along ground 3.
  • the effective voltage across glow plug 8 can be approximated by U ON -U OFF . It is an approximation, because the two voltage levels are measured at different times and the currents that cause U OFF to be non-zero may vary.
  • FIG. 3 A typical sequence of PWM voltage pulses on wire 10 is illustrated in Fig. 3 . It is assumed here that during the time interval shown in the graph of Fig. 3 the temperature and, hence, the resistance of the glow plug 8 do not change substantially, so that variations of the duty factor (i.e the pulse width) can be attributed to fluctuations of ground potential U OFF , as explained below.
  • the duty factor i.e the pulse width
  • U OFF assumes a positive, non-zero value.
  • the duty factor ⁇ for the first pulse P1 after t 1 has been obtained based on measurements taken at the rising and falling flanks of the pulse P0 immediately preceding t 1 . Therefore, the width of pulse P1 is the same of that of P0.
  • the duty factor ⁇ for the next pulse P2 is obtained by carrying out step S2 of Fig. 2 immediately after the rising flank of P1 and step S5 immediately after the falling flank. At this time, a positive value of U OFF is measured in step S5, causing the duty factor of P2 and the following pulses to be set higher than those of P0 and P1.
  • the device and method of the invention allow for a very strict control of the heating power of glow plug 8. Any change in U OFF occurring within a PWM pulse is taken account of in the next pulse, and a change occurring between two PWM pulses is taken account of in the second pulse after the change, so that substantial fluctuations of heating power cannot last longer than approx. one duty cycle of the PWM signal.
  • Fig 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the electric system of a Diesel engine which is distinguished from the system of Fig. 1 by the fact that several glow plugs 8 1 , 8 2 , ..., are connected to glow plug controller 9 by wires 10 1 , 10 2 , ..., each of the glow plugs 8 1 , 8 2 , ... being associated to a cylinder 15 1 , 15 2 , ... of the engine block 2.
  • the power control circuit 13 of this controller 9 might operate according to the method of Fig. 2 , supplying PWM pulses simultaneously to each of the glow plugs 8 1 , 8 2 , ....
  • a phase shift between the heating currents of the different glow plugs 8 1 , 8 2 , ... allows for an operating method of power control circuit 13 which is different from the one shown in Fig. 2 and which will be explained referring to the flowchart of Fig. 5 .
  • two heating currents PWM1, PWM2 are considered, which are preferably phase shifted with respect to each other by approximately 180°C. It should be noted, however, that the method is operable for any non-zero phase shift.
  • step S11 the power control circuit 13 waits for an instant when PWM1 is on and PWM2 is off.
  • the power control circuit 13 measures the voltage ⁇ U between wires 10 1 , 10 2 carrying the heating currents PWM1 and PWM2, respectively.
  • This voltage can be obtained by means of voltage sensors of the same type as voltage sensor 11 of Fig. 1 , connected between a respective associated one of conductor wires 10 1 , 10 2 , ... and the ground terminal 14 of glow plug controller 9 and by calculating the difference between the voltages detected by the two voltage sensors associated to conductor wires 10 1 , 10 2 respectively, or by using a single voltage sensor connected directly between wires 10 1 , 10 2 .
  • step S13 the instantaneous current ION in wire 10 1 is detected.
  • step S14 can be used to control the width of this same pulse.
  • the duty factor ⁇ can be adapted to variations of the ground potential still faster than by the method of Fig. 2 . Since ⁇ U is obtained by a single measurement or two simultaneous measurements there is no need to buffer voltage samples so that the hardware of power control circuit 13 can be simplified.
  • Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating the waveforms of heating currents PWM1, PWM2 in case of fluctuations of the ground voltage level of engine block 2, in analogy to Fig. 3 .
  • Vertical dash-dot lines indicate instants at which step 11 of the procedure illustrated in Fig. 5 is carried out.
  • the ground voltage is zero, and the pulses forming the heating currents PWM1, PWM2 have a constant width.
  • the ground voltage becomes positive, so that ⁇ U detected in step S12 at time t 1 ' in the course of pulse P1 of PWM1 is smaller than usual. This is taken account of by increasing the duty factor ⁇ of P1, which is shown in Fig. 6 to be noticeably longer than immediately preceding pulse P0.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Combined Controls Of Internal Combustion Engines (AREA)
EP06026131A 2006-12-16 2006-12-16 System und Verfahren zur Steuerung ohmscher Lasten mit an der Motormasse angeschlossener Erdrückleitung Withdrawn EP1933025A1 (de)

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EP06026131A EP1933025A1 (de) 2006-12-16 2006-12-16 System und Verfahren zur Steuerung ohmscher Lasten mit an der Motormasse angeschlossener Erdrückleitung

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Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP06026131A EP1933025A1 (de) 2006-12-16 2006-12-16 System und Verfahren zur Steuerung ohmscher Lasten mit an der Motormasse angeschlossener Erdrückleitung

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EP1933025A1 true EP1933025A1 (de) 2008-06-18

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Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2006534A2 (de) 2007-06-23 2008-12-24 BERU Aktiengesellschaft SUE Glühsystem, Steuereinrichtung und Verfahren zur Leistungssteuerung einer Glühkerze
WO2010066523A1 (de) * 2008-12-11 2010-06-17 Robert Bosch Gmbh Steuereinheit für eine mehrzahl von glühstiftkerzen und verfahren hierzu
JP2014025447A (ja) * 2012-07-30 2014-02-06 Ngk Spark Plug Co Ltd グロープラグの通電制御装置及びグロープラグの通電制御方法
ES2648862R1 (es) * 2015-11-18 2018-01-15 Robert Bosch Gmbh Procedimiento para hacer funcionar y dispositivo para hacer funcionar un número n de bujias de incandescencia

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3608602A1 (de) * 1986-03-14 1987-09-17 Siemens Ag Verfahren zum ansteuern von gluehkerzen bei dieselmotoren
DE29620634U1 (de) * 1996-11-27 1997-02-06 Hella Kg Hueck & Co, 59557 Lippstadt Steuergerät in einem Kraftfahrzeug
WO2006009523A1 (en) * 2004-07-19 2006-01-26 Cosylab, D.O.O. Method for determining and regulating the glow plug temperature

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3608602A1 (de) * 1986-03-14 1987-09-17 Siemens Ag Verfahren zum ansteuern von gluehkerzen bei dieselmotoren
DE29620634U1 (de) * 1996-11-27 1997-02-06 Hella Kg Hueck & Co, 59557 Lippstadt Steuergerät in einem Kraftfahrzeug
WO2006009523A1 (en) * 2004-07-19 2006-01-26 Cosylab, D.O.O. Method for determining and regulating the glow plug temperature

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2006534A2 (de) 2007-06-23 2008-12-24 BERU Aktiengesellschaft SUE Glühsystem, Steuereinrichtung und Verfahren zur Leistungssteuerung einer Glühkerze
JP2009002347A (ja) * 2007-06-23 2009-01-08 Beru Ag グローシステム、制御部およびグロープラグの出力制御方法
EP2006534A3 (de) * 2007-06-23 2010-03-24 BERU Aktiengesellschaft SUE Glühsystem, Steuereinrichtung und Verfahren zur Leistungssteuerung einer Glühkerze
WO2010066523A1 (de) * 2008-12-11 2010-06-17 Robert Bosch Gmbh Steuereinheit für eine mehrzahl von glühstiftkerzen und verfahren hierzu
JP2014025447A (ja) * 2012-07-30 2014-02-06 Ngk Spark Plug Co Ltd グロープラグの通電制御装置及びグロープラグの通電制御方法
ES2648862R1 (es) * 2015-11-18 2018-01-15 Robert Bosch Gmbh Procedimiento para hacer funcionar y dispositivo para hacer funcionar un número n de bujias de incandescencia

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