IP Library Granted Patent US 7,769,524
Granted Patent B2
US 7,769,524 · App. 12/107,854 · Granted Aug 3, 2010

Control system for determining mass air flow

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,769,524
App. No.
12/107,854
Granted
Aug 3, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system and method comprises receiving a mass air flow signal having a frequency that varies based on mass air flow in an intake manifold of an engine, determining first period data from the mass air flow signal, deriving first mass data for the mass air flow signal based on the first period data, cumulating the first period data and the first mass data for N cylinder events, wherein N is an integer greater than 1, and calculating a mass air flow between the N cylinder events from the cumulated first period data and the cumulated first mass data.

Claims (31)

1. A method comprising:

receiving a mass air flow signal having a frequency that varies based on mass air flow in an intake manifold of an engine;

determining first period data from the mass air flow signal;

deriving first mass data for the mass air flow signal based on the first period data;

storing the first period data and the first mass data for N cylinder events, wherein N is an integer greater than 1; and

calculating a mass air flow between the N cylinder events based on the stored first period data and the stored first mass data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the first period data includes determining the first period data between consecutive transitions of the mass air flow signal to a negative slope.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting an engine operating parameter based on the calculated mass air flow.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the mass air flow signal is a square-wave signal.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein determining the first period data is performed between falling edge transitions of the mass air flow signal.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein deriving the first mass data includes indexing a table having the first mass data based on the first period data.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the calculating the mass air flow includes dividing the stored first mass data by the stored first period data.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a second period between the N cylinder events; and

calculating a second mass between the N cylinder events based on a product of the calculated mass air flow and the second period.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the determining the second period between the N cylinder events is based on an engine position sensor ring (EPSR) signal.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the EPSR signal indicates a piston located at a range of 68°-78° before top dead center.

11. A control system for an engine, comprising:

a timing module that receives a mass air flow signal having a frequency that varies based on a mass air flow in an intake manifold of the engine, that determines first period data from the mass air flow signal, that derives first mass data based on the first period data, and that stores the first mass data and the first period data; and

a mass air flow module that calculates a mass air flow for N cylinder events from the stored first mass data and the stored first period data, wherein N is an integer greater than 1.

12. The control system of claim 11 wherein a first period of the first period data is selected between consecutive transitions of the mass air flow signal to a negative slope.

13. The control system of claim 11 wherein the mass air flow module divides the stored first mass data by the stored first period data to calculate a mass air flow.

14. The control system of claim 11 wherein the mass air flow signal is a square-wave signal.

15. The control system of claim 14 wherein the first period of the first period data is selected between falling edge transitions of the mass air flow signal.

16. The control system of claim 11 wherein the timing module includes:

a mass conversion module that derives the first mass data based on the first period data; and

a data accumulation module that cumulates the first mass data and the first period data.

17. The control system of claim 16 wherein the mass conversion module includes a look-up table having first mass data indexed by first period data.

18. The control system of claim 11 wherein the mass air flow module determines a second period between the N cylinder events and derives a second mass between the N cylinder events based on a product of the calculated mass air flow and the second period.

19. The control system of claim 18 wherein the mass air flow module determines the second period based on an engine sensor position ring (EPSR) signal.

20. The control system of claim 19 wherein the EPSR signal indicates a piston located at a range of 68°-78° before top dead center.

Assignments (12)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 7, 2014
From: WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
Reel/Frame 034384/0758 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Feb 10, 2011
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
Reel/Frame 025781/0211 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 8, 2010
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY
Reel/Frame 025324/0475 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 5, 2010
From: UAW RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS TRUST
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 025315/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 4, 2010
From: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 025245/0780 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Aug 28, 2009
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: UAW RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS TRUST
Reel/Frame 023162/0187 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Aug 27, 2009
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Reel/Frame 023156/0215 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 21, 2009
From: CITICORP USA, INC. AS AGENT FOR BANK PRIORITY SECURED PARTIES; CITICORP USA, INC. AS AGENT FOR HEDGE PRIORITY SECURED PARTIES
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 023155/0880 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 20, 2009
From: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 023124/0670 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 16, 2009
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: CITICORP USA, INC. AS AGENT FOR BANK PRIORITY SECURED PARTIES; CITICORP USA, INC. AS AGENT FOR HEDGE PRIORITY SECURED PARTIES
Reel/Frame 022554/0479 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Feb 3, 2009
From: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Reel/Frame 022201/0363 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 23, 2008
From: KALWEIT, NICHOLAS JOHN; WIGGINS, LAYNE K.; MA, QI
To: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 020842/0510 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 6095806500 · Jul 2, 2007
Related Publication 20090012693A1 · Jan 8, 2009