Low resistance exhaust system with correction module for regeneration control
AssigneeGale Banks
InventorsGale C. Banks, III, Quinn Alexander Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A low resistance exhaust system with regeneration control includes a correction module. The correction module is programmed and operable to receive pressure signals from a sensor assembly measuring pressure across an exhaust particulate filter, and to compute a corrected pressure signal to send to the vehicle engine control module (ECM). The corrected pressure signal allows the ECM to properly evaluate the pressure signals arising from the use of a low resistance aftermarket exhaust outlet tube. This allows the ECM to accurately execute regeneration actions to properly manage soot buildup in the exhaust particulate filter despite being calibrated for the OEM/stock exhaust outlet tube, and to avoid triggering DTCs.
Claims23
A low resistance exhaust system for enhancing the performance of an internal combustion engine of a vehicle comprising an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) exhaust system, wherein the OEM exhaust system comprises a first exhaust outlet tube comprising a first exhaust tip open to atmosphere, an exhaust particulate filter (EPF) upstream of said first exhaust outlet tube, and a sensor assembly operable to measure pressure across the EPF, the low resistance exhaust system comprising:
- a second exhaust outlet tube adapted to couple to the EPF in place of the first exhaust outlet tube comprising a second exhaust tip open to atmosphere and having a lower flow resistance than the first exhaust outlet tube;
- and
- a correction module comprising at least one processor, memory, and signal generator, and wherein the correction module is configured to:
- receive at least one raw pressure signal from the sensor assembly representative of the pressure across the EPF in the flow path associated with the second exhaust outlet tube, and to compute and generate a corrected pressure signal corresponding to the at least one raw pressure signal received from the pressure sensor assembly by applying signal modification logic defined for operation with the second exhaust outlet tube;
- and to send the corrected pressure signal to a vehicle engine control module (ECM);
- and
- wherein the vehicle ECM is tuned to interpret pressure signals arising from the sensor assembly across the EPF in the flow path associated with the first exhaust outlet tube;
- and to evaluate the pressure signals to determine a regeneration action to mitigate soot buildup.
A correction module for use with a vehicle having an internal combustion engine, the correction module comprising:
- a signal generator;
- at least one processor and memory configured to receive at least one raw pressure signal representative of the pressure across an exhaust particulate filter (EPF) in a flow path associated with a second exhaust tube;
- wherein the second exhaust tube has a lower flow resistance than a first exhaust outlet tube, and to compute and generate a corrected pressure signal corresponding to the at least one raw pressure signal received from the pressure sensor assembly by applying signal modification logic defined for operation with the second exhaust outlet tube, and to send the corrected pressure signal to a vehicle engine control module (ECM);
- and
- wherein the vehicle ECM is tuned to interpret pressure signals arising from the sensor assembly across the EPF in the flow path associated with the first exhaust tube;
- and to evaluate the pressure signals for a regeneration action to mitigate soot buildup.
A method for conditioning a pressure signal from a differential pressure sensor (DPS) in an exhaust system of a vehicle having an internal combustion engine, wherein the DPS measures pressure across an exhaust particulate filter (EPF) of an aftermarket exhaust outlet tube having a lower flow resistance than an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) exhaust outlet tube, the method comprising:
- sending a raw pressure signal from the DPS to a correction module comprising at least one processor, memory, and a signal generator;
- generating, by the correction module, a corrected pressure signal to send to an OEM-calibrated engine control module (ECM);
- wherein the signal generator, at least one processor and memory are configured to transform the raw pressure signal into the corrected pressure signal based on at least one dataset previously mapping DPS pressures for the OEM exhaust outlet tube and the aftermarket exhaust outlet tube based on soot load;
- and
- sending the corrected pressure signal to the OEM-calibrated ECM.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.