US 8,215,833 B2Granted

Diagnostic apparatus for vehicle cooling system

AssigneeDenso Corporation

InventorsAkinori Kouda, Naoki Kokubo

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Abstract

When the driving wind and the cooling wind are generated, based on the phenomenon in which the temperature difference is generated between the front surface and the rear surface of the radiator (14), the temperature difference between the detection value of the rear temperature sensor (22) and the detection value of the front temperature sensor (21) is compared with the abnormality determination value so that it is determined whether the front temperature sensor (21) and the rear temperature sensor (22) are properly fixed on the radiator (14), whereby it is determined whether the abnormality (unauthorized alteration) exists. By setting the abnormality determination value according to the ambient temperature and the vehicle speed, corresponding to a variation in temperature difference between the front surface and the rear surface of the radiator (14), the abnormality determination value is varied to be set at a proper value.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A diagnostic apparatus for a vehicle cooling system which mounts a radiator provided with a function of purifying an ambient air passing therethrough, comprising:

a front temperature sensor integrally fixed on a front surface of the radiator to detect a temperature of an air flowing into the front surface of the radiator;
a rear temperature sensor integrally fixed on a rear surface of the radiator to detect a temperature of an air flowing out from the rear surface of the radiator;
and
an abnormal diagnosis unit configured to perform an abnormal diagnosis of the radiator based on a relationship between a detection value of the front temperature sensor and a detection value of the rear temperature sensor, wherein
when a difference between the detection value of the rear temperature sensor and the detection value of the front temperature sensor is less than or equal to an abnormality determination value, the abnormal diagnosis unit determines that the radiator is altered to an unauthorized radiator having no function of purifying ambient air.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.