KR101755449B1 - System of controlling low pressure exhast gas recirculation using exterior database - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus using an external database that receives weather information from an external database storing weather information including temperature and humidity and regulates LP EGR gas.
A low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus using an external database according to an embodiment of the present invention controls a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (LP EGR) valve to regulate the LP EGR gas recirculated to the intake passage, Cooling means for cooling LP EGR gas recirculated; A receiving unit connected to an external database storing weather information including humidity to receive the weather information; And an engine controller that receives weather information from the receiving unit and estimates the amount of condensed water generated in the cooling unit and adjusts the opening amount of the LP EGR valve according to the predicted amount of condensed water.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus and an exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a low pressure exhaust gas recirculation (LP EGR) control apparatus, and more particularly, to a system and method for controlling LP EGR gas by receiving weather information from an external database storing weather information including temperature and humidity Pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus using an external database.

In order to prevent air pollution caused by exhaust gas generated in recent vehicles, automobile manufacturers are developing technology. Particularly, efforts are being made to remove hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas.

One of the ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas is exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology. Exhaust gas recirculation technology is a technique of mixing a part of the exhaust gas into a mixer to lower the concentration of oxygen. Thus, when the concentration of oxygen is lowered, the combustion temperature is lowered, and the amount of generation of nitrogen oxides is suppressed.

This EGR technology is divided into low-pressure EGR (LP EGR) and high-pressure EGR (HP EGR). HP EGR recirculates the exhaust gas from the front end of the turbocharger to the intake passage so that the exhaust gas pressure is high. In contrast, the LP EGR recirculates the exhaust gas downstream of the turbocharger to the intake passage, so that the exhaust gas pressure is low.

At present, HP EGR has been verified to some extent and applied to many vehicles, but LP EGR needs to be reliable in terms of condensate. Especially, in the case of LP EGR, the durability of the LP EGR cooler and the intercooler may deteriorate because the amount of condensed water generated at the rear end of the LP EGR cooler and at the rear end of the intercooler increases when the vehicle is operating in a region where the temperature is low or humidity is high. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the use of LP EGR in an operation area where condensate generation is expected to be large.

On the other hand, information on temperature and humidity is needed to predict the amount of condensate generated. The air temperature can be obtained by an outdoor temperature sensor that is basically installed to drive an air conditioner of a vehicle, but a separate sensor is required for information on humidity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for controlling the operation amount of LP EGR by acquiring weather information from an external database storing weather information including temperature and humidity without attaching a separate humidity sensor Pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus using an external database capable of performing exhaust gas recirculation control.

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for controlling low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation using an external database according to an embodiment of the present invention controls a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (LP EGR) valve to regulate the LP EGR gas recirculated into the intake passage Cooling means for cooling the recirculated LP EGR gas; A receiving unit connected to an external database storing weather information including humidity to receive the weather information; And an engine controller that receives weather information from the receiving unit and estimates the amount of condensed water generated in the cooling unit and adjusts the opening amount of the LP EGR valve according to the predicted amount of condensed water.

The cooling means may be at least one of an LP EGR cooler and an intercooler.

The external database may be a weather database.

The receiving unit may receive current vehicle location information.

The receiving unit may be a telematics unit or a smart phone.

The receiving unit is connected to the external database through a wireless communication network, and may be connected to the engine controller using Bluetooth or CAN communication.

A low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus using an external database according to another embodiment of the present invention includes an intake passage for supplying intake air to an engine; An exhaust passage for exhausting the exhaust gas of the engine to the outside; A turbocharger disposed between the intake passage and the exhaust passage and compressing the intake air using energy of the exhaust gas; A post-treatment device mounted on an exhaust passage at a rear end of the turbocharger to remove harmful substances contained in the exhaust gas; An intercooler mounted on an intake passage at a rear end of the turbocharger to cool the intake air; (HP EGR) gas to the intake passage by connecting the intake passage at the rear end of the intercooler and the exhaust passage at the front end of the turbocharger to supply an HP EGR gas cooler for cooling the HP EGR gas and an HP HP EGR passage with EGR valve; An LP EGR cooler for supplying the LP EGR gas to the intake passage by connecting the exhaust passage at the rear end of the post-treatment apparatus and the intake passage at the front end of the turbocharger, and an LP EGR valve for controlling the LP EGR gas atmosphere The LP EGR passage; A receiving unit connected to an external database storing weather information including humidity to receive the weather information; And an engine controller that receives weather information from the receiving unit to predict the amount of condensed water generated in the intercooler or the LP EGR cooler and adjusts the opening amount of the LP EGR valve according to the predicted amount of condensed water have.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the amount of generated condensed water is estimated by receiving weather information from an external database storing weather information including humidity, a separate sensor is not required.

In addition, since the LP EGR operation amount is controlled based on the predicted amount of condensed water generation, the durability of the LP EGR cooler and the intercooler can be improved.

1 is a schematic view of a vehicle to which a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
2 is a view schematically showing a process of receiving weather information from an external database in a low pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view schematically showing a process of controlling low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation by transmitting weather information received by a receiving unit to an engine controller in a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

1 is a schematic view of a vehicle to which a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

1, the vehicle to which the low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied includes an engine 10, an intake passage 20, an exhaust passage 30, a turbocharger 40, A processing unit 50, a HP EGR passage 60, and an LP EGR passage 80.

The engine 10 generates a driving force of the vehicle by burning fuel, and includes a plurality of combustion chambers 12. The combustion chamber 12 is connected to an intake manifold 14 and is supplied with intake air (a mixture of fresh air, fuel and EGR gas). The exhaust gas is connected to an exhaust manifold 16 to exhaust exhaust gas generated in the combustion chamber 12. And discharged to the passage (30).

The intake passage 20 is for supplying fresh air to the combustion chamber 12. An intercooler 70 is mounted at a rear end of the turbocharger 40 of the intake passage 20 to cool the intake air. The air cooled by the intercooler 70 has a higher density so that more air can be supplied to the combustion chamber 12. The intake passage 20 is connected to the intake manifold 14.

In the case of a gasoline engine, an injector is mounted in the intake passage 20 or the combustion chamber 12 to inject fuel. In the case of a diesel engine, an injector is mounted in the combustion chamber 12 to inject fuel into the combustion chamber 12 Direct injection.

The exhaust passage 30 is connected to the exhaust manifold 16 for exhausting the exhaust gas generated in the combustion process of the engine 10 to the outside of the vehicle. The exhaust passage 30 may be equipped with a post-treatment device 50 for purifying harmful substances contained in the exhaust gas.

The turbocharger 40 is installed between the intake passage 20 and the exhaust passage 30 by supplying intake air to the combustion chamber 12 by compressing the intake air using the energy of the exhaust gas. The turbocharger 40 includes a turbine 42 mounted on the exhaust passage 30 and rotated by the exhaust gas, a compressor 44 mounted on the intake passage 20 and compressing the intake air by the rotational force of the turbine, And a connecting shaft 46 connecting the turbine 42 and the compressor 44 and rotating them together.

The post-treatment apparatus 50 purifies hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulate matter, and the like contained in the exhaust gas. The post-treatment apparatus 50 is mounted on the exhaust passage 50 at the rear end of the turbocharger 40 and may include an oxidation catalyst, a soot filter, a selective catalytic reduction apparatus, a nitrogen oxide reduction catalyst, and the like. The post-processing apparatus 50 is widely known in the art and will not be described in detail.

The HP EGR passage 60 connects the front end exhaust passage 30 of the turbocharger 40 and the rear intake passage 20 of the intercooler 70 to the exhaust passage of the high pressure before passing through the turbocharger 40, (20). The HP EGR passage 60 is equipped with an HP EGR cooler 62 for cooling the HP EGR gas and an HP EGR valve 64 for regulating the amount of recycled HP EGR gas.

The LP EGR passage 80 connects the rear end exhaust passage 30 of the post-processing device 50 and the front intake air passage 20 of the turbocharger 40 to a clean low-pressure And the exhaust gas is supplied to the intake passage 20. The LP EGR passage 80 is equipped with an LP EGR cooler 82 for cooling LP EGR gas and an LP EGR valve 84 for regulating the amount of recycled LP EGR gas.

Hereinafter, the operation of the low pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus using the external database according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a process in which a receiving unit receives weather information from an external database in a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. And controlling the low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation by transmitting the weather information received by the receiving unit in the recirculation control device to the engine controller.

As shown in FIG. 2, an external database 100, a wireless communication network 110, and a receiving unit 120 are required for low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control according to an embodiment of the present invention. The receiving unit 120 acquires weather information stored in the external database 100 by these components.

The external database 100 stores weather information including temperature and humidity of each area. Such weather information can be updated in real time. As the external database 100, a weather station database can be used. On the other hand, the weather information about the temperature can be detected by an outside temperature sensor mounted on the vehicle.

The wireless communication network 110 operatively connects the external database 100 and the receiving unit 120 to transmit the weather information of the external database 100 to the receiving unit 120. The wireless communication network 110 may be a 3G communication network 112 or a wireless AP 114, but is not limited thereto.

The receiving unit 120 receives weather information of the external database 100 through the wireless communication network 110. [ Also, the receiving unit 120 can receive current vehicle location information. Accordingly, the receiving unit 120 may receive only the weather information of the current location of the vehicle from the external database 100, receive the weather information of all the regions from the external database 100, You can also choose weather information for your location. As this receiving unit 120, a telematics unit 122 may be used. Since the telematics unit 122 is basically installed in some vehicles, there is no need for additional equipment to operate the embodiment of the present invention when the vehicle equipped with the telematics unit 122 is used. If the vehicle is not equipped with the telematics unit 122, the smartphone 124 may be used as the receiving unit 120. When the smartphone 124 is used as the receiving unit 120, it is necessary to download an application capable of receiving location information and an application capable of collecting weather information from the external database 100.

 3, the receiving unit 120 transmits to the engine controller 128 the weather information received from the external database 100 and the current position information of the vehicle. When the telematics unit 122 is used as the receiving unit 120, the weather information and the position information can be directly transmitted to the engine controller 128 through the CAN communication. Alternatively, when the smartphone 124 is used as the receiving unit 120, the smartphone 124 may transmit position information and weather information to the relay unit 126 mounted on the vehicle using Bluetooth, 126 transmits position information and weather information to the engine controller 128 via CAN communication.

In the present specification, communication between the smartphone 124 and the relay unit 126 through Bluetooth is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The smartphone 124 and the relay unit 126 can communicate information with all possible wireless or wired networks. Also, the relay unit 126 may be embedded in the engine controller 128.

The engine controller 128 estimates the amount of condensed water generated in the LP EGR cooler 82 and the intercooler 70 using the weather information received from the receiving unit 120, the vehicle position information, And controls the operation of the LP EGR valve 84 according to the amount of condensed water. The amount of condensate generated is estimated by the following equation.

Condensate generation = amount of water vapor contained in the gas - amount of saturated water vapor at the falling temperature * gas flow rate

Based on the above equation, the direct factors related to the amount of condensate generated are the downstream temperature of the LP EGR cooler, the flow rate through the LP EGR cooler, the amount of water vapor inside the working fluid (LP EGR gas and fresh air), the intercooler post- Indirect factors related to the direct factor include the cooling water temperature, the efficiency of the LP EGR cooler, the difference in pressure between the front and rear ends of the coolers, the amount of fuel, the amount of fuel, temperature, vehicle speed, atmospheric pressure, boost pressure, intercooler efficiency, And the ratio of EGR gas.

The engine controller 128 preliminarily stores the amount of condensed water generated as a function of the indirect factors. Since these functions can be properly defined by the engine designer, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

The engine controller 128 decreases the LP EGR operation amount when the predicted condensed water generation amount is large and increases the LP EGR operation amount when the predicted condensed water generation amount is small.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, since weather information such as humidity and temperature is acquired from the weather station database, no separate sensor is required, and a telematics unit basically equipped in a vehicle or a smartphone used by many people can be used The amount of opening of the LP EGR valve is controlled, so that the price of the vehicle does not increase significantly.

In addition, since the opening amount of the LP EGR valve is controlled according to the amount of generated condensed water, the durability of the LP EGR cooler and the intercooler can be improved.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, And all changes to the scope that are deemed to be valid.

Claims (11)

A low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation control device for controlling a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (LP EGR) valve to regulate the LP EGR gas recirculated to the intake passage,
Cooling means for cooling the recirculated LP EGR gas;
A receiving unit connected to an external database storing weather information including humidity to receive the weather information; And
An engine controller that receives weather information from the receiving unit to calculate an amount of condensed water expected to be generated in the cooling means, and adjusts an opening amount of the LP EGR valve according to the calculated amount of condensed water;
Pressure exhaust gas recirculation control device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the cooling means is at least one of an LP EGR cooler and an intercooler. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the external database is a meteorological station database. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the receiving unit is capable of receiving current vehicle location information. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the receiving unit is a telematics unit or a smart phone. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the receiving unit is connected to the external database through a wireless communication network and is connected to the engine controller using Bluetooth or CAN communication. An intake passage for supplying intake air to the engine;
An exhaust passage for exhausting the exhaust gas of the engine to the outside;
A turbocharger disposed between the intake passage and the exhaust passage and compressing the intake air using energy of the exhaust gas;
A post-treatment device mounted on an exhaust passage at a rear end of the turbocharger to remove harmful substances contained in the exhaust gas;
An intercooler mounted on an intake passage at a rear end of the turbocharger to cool the intake air;
(HP EGR) gas to the intake passage by connecting the intake passage at the rear end of the intercooler and the exhaust passage at the front end of the turbocharger to supply an HP EGR gas cooler for cooling the HP EGR gas and an HP HP EGR passage with EGR valve;
An LP EGR cooler for supplying the LP EGR gas to the intake passage by connecting the exhaust passage at the rear end of the post-treatment apparatus and the intake passage at the front end of the turbocharger, and an LP EGR valve for controlling the LP EGR gas atmosphere The LP EGR passage;
A receiving unit connected to an external database storing weather information including humidity to receive the weather information; And
An engine controller that receives weather information from the receiving unit to calculate an amount of condensed water expected to be generated in the intercooler or the LP EGR cooler and adjusts an opening amount of the LP EGR valve according to the calculated amount of the condensed water;
Pressure exhaust gas recirculation control device. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the external database is a meteorological station database. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the receiving unit is capable of receiving current vehicle location information. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the receiving unit is a telematics unit or a smart phone. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the receiving unit is connected to the external database through a wireless communication network and is connected to the engine controller using Bluetooth or CAN communication.

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