KR100188594B1 - System and method for indicating exchange-time of air filters for automobiles - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a replacement timing guidance system and method for a vehicle air filter. More particularly, the present invention relates to a replacement timing of an air filter according to a driving environment, The present invention relates to a system and method for replacing an air filter for a vehicle, which can automatically improve the fuel efficiency and appropriately use the air filter.

The guide system of the present invention includes first and second flow rate sensors installed at the air filter inlet and outlet of the air cleaner, respectively, for detecting the flow rate of air at the inlet and the outlet, and a second flow rate sensor for detecting the inlet flow rate and the outlet flow rate It is determined whether the average flow rate affects the engine output in accordance with the data map set in the memory. If there is no influence, the filter change guidance signal is generated when the travel distance is larger than the recommended replacement distance, A filter change instruction signal is generated when the travel distance is larger than the recommended replacement distance. When the travel distance is smaller, it is determined whether the travel distance is larger than the corrected replacement recommended distance according to the waiting state Control means for generating the filter replacement guidance signal when the filter replacement instruction signal is large and generating a filter cleaning guidance signal when the filter replacement guidance signal is small, A first warning light which is illuminated according to a guide signal to guide replacement of the filter, and a second warning light which is illuminated in accordance with the filter cleaning guide signal to guide cleaning of the filter.

Description

System for guiding the replacement of air filter for vehicle and method of guiding the same

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a replacement timing guidance system for a vehicle air filter according to the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an installation state of a flow velocity sensor according to the present invention. FIG.

3 is a graph showing the relationship between the engine speed and the engine output according to the degree of contamination of the filter.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the pollution degree of the filter and the air velocity according to the engine speed.

5 is a control flow diagram for the inventive system of FIG. 1; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a recommended replacement distance correction coefficient table according to the standby state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

1: CPU 3: first flow rate sensor

5: second flow rate sensor 7: green warning light

9: Red warning light 11: Air filter

[Industrial Applications]

The present invention relates to a replacement timing guidance system and method for a vehicle air filter. More particularly, the present invention relates to a replacement timing of an air filter according to a driving environment, The present invention relates to a system and method for replacing an air filter for a vehicle, which can automatically improve the fuel efficiency and appropriately use the air filter.

BACKGROUND ART [0002]

An apparatus for sucking a mixer in a cylinder to operate the engine and discharging the combustion gas to the outside after the mixer is burned is referred to as an intake and exhaust device, and is divided into an intake device and an exhaust device.

The intake system comprises an air cleaner for removing dust and the like contained in the air to be sucked, and an intake manifold for distributing the mixer to each cylinder. The exhaust system includes an exhaust manifold for collecting the combustion gas of each cylinder, And an exhaust pipe and a silencer that go out to the outside.

Furthermore, the air cleaner removes dust contained in the air sucked by the engine, and also serves to eliminate intake noise generated in the intake system.

On the other hand, the dust floating on the road where the car runs is mainly composed of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, iron oxide and the like, and the urban area also includes carabons. Also, the concentration of dust varies depending on road conditions, weather conditions such as pavement roads, unpaved roads, dusty roads, and construction sites.

However, since the above-mentioned dusts are an important factor to shorten the life of the engine by abrading the cylinder of the engine, the air filter of the air cleaner is changed for a predetermined period or a certain distance depending on whether it is dry or wet.

[Technical Problem]

However, in the present vehicle, there is a possibility that the air cleaner, that is, the air filter may not be contaminated at the replacement travel distance due to the idle driving. On the contrary, in the case of a vehicle which travels a lot of dusty roads or construction sites, The air cleaner may be contaminated.

Therefore, in the case of the former, the amount of waste air cleaner generated increases, thereby increasing the environmental pollution and increasing the burden of the exchange cost. On the other hand, in the latter case, there is a problem that the intake air is reduced and the engine performance is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an air filter which is capable of changing the air filter replacement time according to the traveling environment, The present invention also provides a system for guiding the replacement time of an air filter for a vehicle and a method for guiding the replacement time of the air filter.

[Structure and operation of the invention]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air cleaner including first and second flow rate sensors provided at an air filter inlet and an outlet of an air cleaner, respectively, for detecting a flow rate of air at an inlet and an outlet, It is determined whether the average flow rate of the outlet flow velocity affects the engine output in accordance with the data map set in the memory. If there is no influence, the filter exchange guidance signal is generated when the travel distance is larger than the recommended replacement distance, If there is an influence on the output, a filter replacement guidance signal is generated when the travel distance is larger than the recommended replacement distance. If the travel distance is smaller, it is determined whether the travel distance is larger than the recommended replacement distance Control means for generating the filter replacement guidance signal when it is judged to be larger and generating a filter cleaning guidance signal if it is smaller, A first warning light which is illuminated in accordance with a filter replacement guidance signal to guide replacement of the filter, and a second warning light which is illuminated in accordance with the filter cleaning guidance signal to guide cleaning of the filter. Provide a guidance system.

Further, the correction of the recommended replacement distance is performed by calculating a travel distance per hour by searching a recent filter cleaning day to obtain a travel distance and a travel time of the vehicle, calculating a recommended travel distance correction coefficient based on the obtained travel distance per hour, .

On the other hand, the method of guiding the replacement time of the air filter includes a first step of obtaining a flow rate before and after the air filter, a second step of obtaining an average flow rate by averaging the flow rates before and after the obtained filter, And if the driving distance is less than the recommended replacement distance, the control unit generates a filter replacement guidance signal when the driving distance is greater than the replacement recommended distance, A fourth step of determining whether the travel distance is larger than the corrected recommended travel distance; and a fourth step of determining whether the travel distance is larger than the corrected recommended travel distance. And a fifth step of performing the second step.

As described above, in the present invention, the flow rate before and after the air filter is detected and the average flow velocity is calculated to determine whether the engine output is influenced. If the engine output is influenced, if the travel distance is larger than the recommended replacement distance Informs the driver to replace the air filter. If the travel distance is shorter than the recommended distance to be exchanged, the travel distance per hour is calculated, and the recommended distance correction coefficient is changed to change the recommended travel distance. Then, if the travel distance is greater than the new recommended distance, If it is small, guide the user to clean the air filter.

Therefore, depending on the pollution degree of the air filter according to the driving environment of the vehicle, it is guided whether the air filter is exchanged or cleaned. Therefore, the air filter is always kept in an optimum state, thereby improving the fuel efficiency and knowing when the proper filter is exchanged.

[Example]

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a replacement timing guidance system for a vehicle air filter according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an installation state of a flow velocity sensor according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the degree of pollution of the filter and the air velocity in accordance with the engine speed, FIG. 5 is a control flowchart for the system of the present invention in FIG. 1, 6 degrees is the recommended recommended distance correction coefficient table according to the waiting state.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, an input of a microprocessor (CPU) 1 in which a system control program, a ROM storing a reference set value and a RAM for temporarily storing data being processed are integrally provided, The throttle opening degree signal indicating the engine rotation speed, that is, the rpm signal, the throttle opening amount, and the vehicle travel distance Signal is being input. A green warning light 7 and a red warning light 9 are connected to the output of the CPU 1. Here, the first and second flow rate sensors 3, 5 are installed at the inlet and the outlet of the air filter 11 mounted on the air cleaner, respectively.

Hereinafter, the operation of the system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First, when the ignition switch is turned on to start the engine (S1), a throttle opening signal indicating the rpm signal of the engine and the throttle opening amount is applied to the CPU 1 (S2).

Then, the flow velocities v1 and v2 before and after the air filter 11 are detected from the first and second flow velocity sensors 3 and 5 and applied to the CPU 1 (S3). Accordingly, the CPU 1 obtains the average flow rate by averaging the flow velocities v1 and v2 (S4).

On the other hand, the filter passing air velocity in the initial clean air filter 11, that is, the flow velocity increases proportionally to the front and rear of the air filter in proportion to the engine rotation speed (throttle opening amount). Therefore, the initial reference value can be obtained by reading the data of the initial flow rate of the vehicle into a memory, storing the data, and storing the data.

The data map for judging the degree of filter pollution is generated by measuring how the air resistance before and after the air filter changes according to the pollution degree of the filter. In this case, the value is measured according to the change of the engine rotation speed. The data map is completed by measuring the change in output of the engine according to the degree of pollution of the filter 11 as shown in FIG. 3, and correlating the engine performance with the engine performance based on the measured value.

It is determined whether the average flow velocity has an influence on the engine output according to the data map (S5). If the result of the determination is negative, it is determined whether the current travel distance is greater than the exchange recommended distance A (S6). If the current travel distance is not larger than the recommended exchange distance A, the process returns to step S2. The CPU 1 turns on the red warning light 9 notifying the replacement of the filter so that the air filter 11 is exchanged (S7). Thereafter, when the air filter is replaced with a new one, the running distance is set to zero (S8), and the process returns to step S2.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the engine output is affected, it is determined whether the current driving distance is smaller than the recommended replacement distance A (S9). If the determination result is larger than the replacement recommended distance A, the red warning lamp 9 is turned on (S10). After the driver changes the filter to a new one (S11), and the filter 11 is replaced with a new one, the travel distance is set to zero (S12).

If it is determined in step S9 that the current driving distance is smaller than the replacement recommended distance A, the latest filter cleaning date is searched to obtain the vehicle traveling distance and the traveling time from the latest filter cleaning day (S13). Then, the travel distance DELTA T is calculated by dividing the vehicle travel distance by the travel time using the values obtained above (S14).

Then, a ΔT as shown in FIG. 6 is retrieved (S15) based on the calculated travel distance ΔT per hour, and a correction coefficient α for the recommended replacement distance A is obtained (S16 ). The correction coefficient alpha is set to 0.9, 1.0, and 1.1, respectively, as the standby state is classified as bad, normal, or good.

When the correction coefficient? Is determined as described above, the correction exchange recommended distance (A 占) according to the new correction coefficient? Is compared with the travel distance (S17). If the current travel distance is larger, The CPU 1 turns on the green warning light 7 (S18) to induce the driver to clean the air filter 11 (step S18) S19). When the air filter 11 is cleaned, the filter cleaning date is stored in the memory (S20), and the process returns to the step (A).

Therefore, in the present invention, when the change interval of the cleaning period enters a certain range, that is, the travel distance is not so good, the user is instructed to change the filter when the cleaning time comes.

[Effects of the Invention]

As described above, in the present invention, the flow rate before and after the air filter is detected and the average flow velocity is calculated to determine whether the engine output is influenced. If the engine output is influenced, the travel distance is larger than the exchange recommended distance If so, tell the operator to replace the air filter. If the travel distance is shorter than the recommended distance to be exchanged, the travel distance per hour is calculated, and the recommended distance correction coefficient is changed to change the recommended travel distance. Then, if the travel distance is greater than the new recommended distance, If it is small, guide the user to clean the air filter.

Therefore, the air filter is guided as to whether to replace or clean the air filter according to the pollution degree of the air filter according to the driving environment of the vehicle. Therefore, the air filter is always maintained in an optimum condition,

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art.

Claims (4)

First and second flow rate sensors provided at the air filter inlet and outlet of the air cleaner respectively for detecting the flow rate of the air at the inlet and the outlet and the average flow rate of the inlet flow velocity and the outlet flow velocity of the air filter are set in the memory It is determined whether or not the engine output is influenced by the data map. If there is no influence, the filter change guidance signal is generated when the travel distance is larger than the recommended replacement distance. If the engine output is influenced, It is determined whether the travel distance is larger than the corrected recommended replacement distance according to the waiting state when the travel distance is smaller. If the travel distance is larger than the recommended replacement distance, the filter replacement guide signal A control unit for generating a filter cleaning guide signal when the filter replacement guide signal is small, First warning lamp, and the filter cleaning guide lights in accordance with the signal-vehicle air filter replacement timing of the guidance system being configured with a second warning lamp for guiding the cleaning of the filter for guiding the exchange. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the correction of the recommended replacement distance is performed by searching a latest filter cleaning date to calculate a travel distance and a travel time of the vehicle to calculate a travel distance per hour, And obtaining the air-fuel ratio by multiplying the air-fuel ratio by a recommended standard exchange distance. A second step of obtaining a flow rate before and after the air filter, a second step of obtaining an average flow rate by averaging the flow velocities before and after the obtained filter, a third step of determining whether the engine output is influenced by the average flow rate, When the driving distance is greater than the recommended replacement distance, the filter replacement guidance signal is generated. If the determination result indicates that the engine output is affected and the mileage distance is smaller than the replacement recommended distance, And a fifth step of generating a filter replacement guidance signal when the travel distance is greater than the filter replacement guidance signal when the travel distance is greater than the filter change guidance signal when the travel distance is greater than the filter change guidance signal, Wherein the air filter is provided with an air filter. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the correction of the recommended replacement distance includes: calculating a travel distance per hour by searching a recent filter cleaning date to obtain a travel distance and a travel time of the vehicle; and determining a waiting state based on the obtained travel distance per hour Obtaining a replacement recommendation distance correction coefficient by multiplying the correction recommendation distance correction coefficient by a standard recommended replacement distance; and obtaining a replacement recommended distance correction coefficient by multiplying the correction coefficient by a standard replacement recommended distance.