RU2361278C2 - System for remote control of fuel consumption and vehicle operation modes - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: physics; control.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to devices for measuring and analysing fuel consumption, operational parametres of a vehicle, passenger traffic, determination of the location of a vehicle and transmission of information through wireless communication to an information reception and processing centre. The system for remote control of fuel consumption and operation modes of a vehicle consists of a unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, speed and engine rpm, unit for processing and archiving temperature of the coolant liquid and pressure in the lubricating system, capacitance sensor of the fuel tank and a unit for collecting data and transmission through wireless communication to a centre for receiving and processing archived information.

EFFECT: obtaining result of measuring amount of fuel in a fuel tank in litres with high accuracy taking into account temperature correction, recording each parametre into an archive with a heading in form of an exact date and time correct to the second, recording only changes to archived parametres, remote reception of archived content at a remote control station, possibility of connection to a unit for collecting and transmitting information to 32 processing and archiving units, including sensors for measuring passenger flow and a GPS/GLONASS unit; possibility of a user selecting a method for receiving-transmitting information: on a radio channel, GSM/GPRS-channel or using the Internet.

6 cl, 6 dwg

Description

The system is designed for all types of vehicles and can be used as a “black box” for determining fuel consumption in liters, the number of gas stations and the volume of gas stations, the number and volume of unauthorized fuel drain at any time of the day even with the engine turned off, the distance traveled in kilometers, instantaneous values of vehicle speed, engine speed, engine coolant temperature, pressure in the lubrication system, determination of the location of the vehicle. The system can also be used to determine the number of passengers carried in the case of using a vehicle to transport passengers.

The “Transcontrol” system is known for its functional purpose - the development of the company “NEXO-TK”, which is part of the international group “NEXO” (www.transcontrol.ru, the newspaper “Automotive News”. August 2002. No. 14), which includes a mobile intelligent terminal installed on a vehicle to collect information about the state of the output signals of sensors placed on the car, to save data and transfer them via a communication channel defined by a modification of the system to service equipment. The main functions of the system are security, traffic control and determining the location of the vehicle. Other functions are monitoring fuel mileage, driving speed, counting hours, registering the fact of turning on / off any device in the car, registering the fact of an emergency condition of one of the car’s systems.

The disadvantage of this system is the large error in determining fuel consumption with an accuracy of 20%, the impossibility of establishing facts of unauthorized fuel selection, the low accuracy of determining the speed of movement compared to data taken from a standard car sensor. Due to the fact that all system blocks are functionally located in one device, the user cannot refuse the full service of the proposed system.

Closest to the claimed is the "FMS" system from the company "OmniCOMM" (www.omnicomm.ru, magazines "Fixed assets" No. 1, 4, 9 - 2004, No. 2, 7 - 2007). The FMS system includes three main components - the FMS device, the so-called “black box”, the high-precision capacitive fuel level sensor, which are installed in the kit on the vehicle, and the reader for the computer in the office. The advantage of the FMS system, which processes data received from a high-precision fuel level sensor, is that this device is a closed type - the information read from it is available only to the company's management. The system software allows you to obtain data on the operation of both a single machine and the entire fleet of equipment. The FMS equipment continuously records the amount of fuel in the tank, the vehicle mileage and monitors whether the engine is on or not. The source of information about the amount of fuel in the tank is a standard fuel level sensor in the tank or a high-precision liquid level sensor manufactured by OmniCOMM, and a standard speed sensor or speedometer is used to calculate mileage. The device accumulates data for 2 months of operation of the car. Upon arrival of the car in the park, the driver removes the device and transfers it to the office of the company. It is also possible to read from a vehicle using a laptop computer. Further processing takes place using software.

The disadvantage of this system is that to install a high-precision liquid level sensor in the fuel tank, it is necessary to drill an additional hole exactly in the center of the tank, as a result of which special factory processing of the inner surface of the fuel tank spoils, in addition, you have to completely remove the fuel tank from the car, spending a lot time. The disadvantage is that there is no temperature correction when measuring fuel consumption. With the engine turned off, fuel drain cannot be controlled. The disadvantage is that to remove the archive, you must remove the FMS device from the car and transfer it to the office or use a laptop at the location of the car. With a large number of cars in one fleet, this method of acquiring information becomes very difficult. A disadvantage of the system is the inconsistency of the fuel indicator in the driver's cab with the results of a high-precision liquid level sensor, since the standard float-type sensor has an error of more than 20%. The FMS system does not have the flexibility of architecture: it is impossible to connect additional units to expand functions. The principle of operation of the high-precision liquid level sensor manufactured by OmniCOMM is the conversion of capacitance to frequency. A frequency of at least 1 second is required to measure the frequency. To obtain an accurate measurement result during movement, it is necessary to average at least 8 measurements, therefore, at least 8 seconds are wasted using this sensor to obtain an accurate measurement.

The technical result of the claimed is to increase the accuracy and speed of measurements of fuel consumption, as well as simplifying the installation of the fuel tank sensor.

The advantages of the claimed system also include the transfer to a standard fuel level indicator located in the driver’s cabin of measurements of a high-precision capacitive sensor of the fuel tank, the inability to control fuel uncontrolled from the tank, the availability of backup power and the expansion of functionality due to the flexibility of the architecture of the remote control system for fuel consumption and modes vehicle operation.

The above technical result is achieved in a system for remote monitoring of fuel consumption and operating modes of a vehicle, comprising a unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and speed, a unit for processing and archiving coolant temperature and pressure in the lubrication system, a capacitive fuel tank sensor, and a data acquisition unit and wireless transmission to the center for receiving and processing information of the contents of the archives.

The unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and revolutions, and the unit for processing and archiving coolant temperature and pressure in the lubrication system are connected to the data acquisition and transmission unit wirelessly using the RS485 serial interface.

The unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and speed is connected to a capacitive sensor of a fuel tank, to a tachometer sensor, to a speedometer sensor and contains a microprocessor connected to non-volatile memory, a real-time clock, an analog signal generation unit for a standard fuel level indicator, and a signal converter pulse tachometer sensor, speedometer sensor signal converter, galvanically isolated serial interface RS232, serial interface RS485, p back-up power for the battery life and battery backup unit control. The processing and archiving unit for fuel consumption, engine speed and revolutions allows for the combined processing of the values of the fuel tank sensors, speedometer and tachometer, which makes it possible to determine whether the machine is in motion, the correspondence of the engine crankshaft speed to the fuel consumption rate, and also unambiguously determine what happens whether unauthorized fuel is taken or fuel level fluctuations in the fuel tank occur due to uneven road profile while the vehicle is in motion. Fuel drain from the gas tank is recorded regardless of whether the vehicle is turned off or not, as well as when the battery of the vehicle is removed due to the availability of backup power. To connect to a personal computer for automated fuel tank calibration, the processing and archiving unit for fuel consumption, engine speed and revolutions is equipped with a galvanically isolated RS232 interface. The processing and archiving unit for fuel consumption, engine speed and engine revolutions has an additional analog channel for outputting the measurement of the capacitive sensor of the fuel tank to the standard fuel level indicator installed in the driver's cab.

The unit for processing and archiving the coolant temperature and pressure in the lubrication system is connected to the coolant temperature sensor and the pressure sensor in the lubrication system and contains a microprocessor connected to non-volatile memory, a real-time clock and an RS485 serial interface.

The capacitive fuel sensor contains a variable capacitor made of two tubes inserted into each other, a converter of the value of the capacitance into a digital code, a temperature sensor and a node for determining the angle of inclination of the fuel tank, which contains a biaxial accelerometer. The unit for determining the angle of inclination of the fuel tank serves to achieve more accurate results of measuring the level of fuel in the fuel tank during parking and driving on an uneven road profile and to enable the installation of a capacitive fuel sensor in a regular place, not located in the center of the fuel tank.

The capacitive sensor of the fuel tank is equipped with a temperature sensor to compensate for the measurement results over a wide temperature range.

The data acquisition and transmission unit for wireless communication contains a microprocessor connected to a GSM / GPRS module and a radio module using a switch, galvanically isolated RS485 serial interface and an antenna for GSM / GPRS and radio.

Up to 32 units for processing and archiving information from various sensors can be connected to the data acquisition and transmission unit via wireless communication, thereby expanding the system’s functionality.

Sensors for accounting the flow of passengers equipped with the RS485 interface can be connected to the data collection and transmission unit via wireless communication, installed one above each metering station.

Reading of archives is carried out remotely at any time without the participation of the driver and conductor.

For remote control of fuel consumption and vehicle operating modes, a data center is used, which is a personal computer that is constantly connected to the Internet, or equipped with a GSM / GPRS modem or radio modem at the user's discretion. A personal computer is provided with at least one software product.

The system of remote control of fuel consumption and operating modes of a vehicle, having its own backup power supply, works around the clock, continuously recording information in its own archives with a depth of at least two months, as it contains a non-volatile memory of large volume. Each archive entry is accompanied by a date and time record due to the presence of real-time clocks in the processing and archiving unit of fuel consumption, engine speed and revolutions, and in the processing and archiving unit of coolant temperature and pressure in the lubrication system.

This system can be used in full or in truncated form at the request of the user. For example, you can use only one unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and revolutions, a capacitive sensor of the fuel tank and a data acquisition and transmission unit wirelessly for monitoring fuel consumption or sensors for metering passenger flow equipped with an RS485 interface, installed one above each metering station and wireless data collection and transmission unit to determine the number of passengers carried.

The main objective of the system is to control, save fuel and prevent theft of fuel. The main advantages of the system are great information content (in addition to fuel consumption, information is provided on the vehicle operating parameters); non-interference in the operation of fuel equipment (equipment cannot affect the fuel supply to the engine); universality of the device (installed on any equipment); ease of installation and operation, a wide range of operating temperatures from -40 ° to + 85 °; the impossibility of imperceptible interference with the operation of the device, anti-vandal protection (lack of settings and indicators on the equipment that could be changed and tightened).

Figure 1 shows a structural diagram of a system comprising a unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and speed (1), a unit for processing and archiving coolant temperature and pressure in the lubrication system (2), a capacitive fuel tank fuel sensor (3), and a unit collecting data and transmitting wirelessly (4) to the center for receiving and processing information on the contents of archives (5). Up to 32 processing and archiving units can be connected to the data acquisition and transmission unit via wireless communication, including sensors for recording passenger flow and the GPS / GLONASS navigation unit, in FIG. not numbered.

The main node for determining fuel consumption is a capacitive fuel sensor depicted in figure 2. The structural diagram of the fuel sensor is shown in Fig.3. A capacitive fuel sensor (3) consists of a variable capacitor (6) made of two stainless steel metal tubes coaxially inserted into each other, a converter of the capacitance value into a digital code (7), a unit for determining the angle of inclination of the fuel tank (8), which contains a biaxial accelerometer, a temperature sensor (9) and a temperature compensation unit (10). The dimensions of the tubes are selected in such a way as to provide a small intrinsic capacity of not more than 1000 femtofarads: the inner tube has a diameter of 3 mm, the outer one is 16 mm. The tubes are isolated from each other and pressed together at the ends with PTFE sealing rings. At the lower base of the outer tube, directly above the fluoroplastic ring, two holes 4 mm in diameter are drilled diagonally for the fuel to enter the tube according to the law of communicating vessels. At the top of the outer tube, directly under the fluoroplastic ring, one hole was drilled with a diameter of 4 mm to release air during the flow of fuel into the tube. The length of the tube corresponds to the depth of the fuel tank. The converter of the capacitance value into a digital code, a temperature sensor, an ambient temperature measuring unit, and an angle measuring unit are located on one board in the sealed housing of the capacitive sensor of the fuel tank strictly parallel to the upper surface of the fuel tank. The fuel sensor is connected to the unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, speed and engine speed via the I2C interface (11) through the connector (12). Due to the fact that during the movement the vehicle constantly changes its position relative to a flat surface, as a result of which the fuel tank also changes its position relative to a flat surface, the fuel level changes, therefore, the error in measuring the fuel level in the fuel tank increases. The greater the slope, the greater the error, since the fuel sensor, for ease of installation and to maintain the integrity of the special processing of the inner surface of the fuel tank, is mounted in the fuel tank in the hole of the standard sensor, which is not located in the center of the fuel tank by the manufacturer. To eliminate this error, a node for determining the angle of inclination of the fuel tank is added to the capacitive sensor. After measuring the temperature and level of the fuel in the fuel tank and converting it to a digital code and then to liters in the capacity converter into a digital code, the result is finally processed taking into account the data received from the unit for determining the angle of inclination of the fuel tank. Depending on the inclination of the fuel tank, the angle of inclination relative to a conditionally flat surface is calculated along two axes and the correction factor for the displacement of the fuel level in the sensor tube is determined: in the absence of a slope, the coefficient is 1, when tilted in one direction or another, the coefficient will be greater or less than 1 depending on the magnitude of the angle and depending on the geometric location of the mounting hole of the fuel sensor relative to the center of the fuel tank. This coefficient multiplies the resulting fuel level value. Since bursts and vibrations occur during movement in the fuel tank that significantly change the fuel level in the fuel tank, these surges and vibrations can be considered as fuel drains or refueling. Taking into account the speedometer sensor readings — determining whether the vehicle is moving or standing still — eliminates inappropriate definitions of draining or filling by analyzing short-term bursts and drops in fuel level while the vehicle is moving.

The process of measuring capacitance is carried out with very high accuracy, the discreteness of measurements is 10 femtofarads, and subject to temperature correction. 44 femtofarads correspond to 1 mm of fuel level. The maximum level in the tube corresponds to 17,000 femtofarads. Thus, the resolution is 0.23 mm. The error in calculating fuel consumption, taking into account all dynamic factors, is no more than +/- 1% with a fuel tank volume of 100 to 300 liters. With a smaller volume of the fuel tank due to the greater relative depth and smaller surface area of the fuel, the error will also not exceed +/- 1%.

Obtaining one measurement of the amount of fuel in the fuel tank occurs within 124 ms, since the value of the capacitance is directly converted to a digital code, therefore, to obtain a more accurate measurement while driving, it takes less than 1 second to average from 8 measurements.

The measurement results from the fuel sensor are transmitted to the processing unit and archiving the fuel consumption, engine speed and speed (1), the structural diagram of which is shown in figure 4.

The unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and engine speed is connected to a capacitive sensor of fuel of a gas tank through an I2C connector (12), to a tachometer sensor, to a speedometer sensor and contains a microprocessor (13) connected to non-volatile memory (14) with a real-time clock ( 15), RS485 serial interface (16), galvanically isolated RS232 serial interface (17), backup power for stand-alone operation (18), backup power control unit (19), analog signal generation unit for standard level indicator fuel (20), with a signal converter of the pulse sensor of the tachometer (21), with a signal converter of the speedometer sensor (22). Non-volatile memory (14), designed for two months, serves as an archive for recording the date and time, fuel volume in liters, speed and engine speed. Record in the archive is made in the form of a line, at the beginning of which the date and time are recorded with an accuracy of a second to restore the full picture of the round-the-clock functioning of the vehicle in time even with the engine turned off and the battery of the vehicle removed. Recording to the archive is performed only when the archived parameters are changed. To write to the archive, the date and time are read from the real-time clock (15).

The analog signal generator (20) is an additional channel for connecting a standard fuel level indicator located in the driver's cab and shows the fuel level in the fuel tank with great accuracy. The backup power for autonomous operation (18) is designed for ten days of operation without external power and is controlled by the backup power control unit (19) for the state of its charge after the appearance of external power. The galvanically isolated RS232 interface (17) is used to connect a laptop computer for use during installation and commissioning and calibration of the fuel tank before the final commissioning of the system. Re-calibration can also be done after dents occur during operation of the vehicle in the fuel tank. Calibration is performed using special software. The RS485 interface (16) is used to transmit the contents of the archive via a twisted pair to the data acquisition and transmission unit via wireless communication (3).

The processing and archiving unit of the coolant temperature and pressure in the lubrication system (2), the structural diagram of which is shown in Fig. 5, is connected to the standard coolant temperature sensor and pressure sensor and contains a microprocessor (23) connected to a real-time clock (24) non-volatile memory (25) and RS485 serial interface (26).

The data acquisition and transmission unit for wireless communication (4), the structural diagram of which is shown in Fig.6, contains a microprocessor (27) connected to a galvanically isolated RS485 interface (28). The microprocessor using the switch (29), with which the method of transmitting information to the information reception and processing center is selected, is connected to the GSM / GPRS module (30) and the radio module (31).

The wireless data acquisition and transmission unit has a flexible architecture that allows connecting up to 32 processing and archiving units from other informative sensors. Also in this block there is the possibility of transmitting information in two ways: via the GSM / GPRS channel and via the radio channel at the allowed frequency. Information begins to be transmitted via the radio channel upon the return of the vehicle to the park as it enters the sensitivity zone, the radius of which is no more than 300 meters. Information is transmitted to the information reception center automatically without the participation of the operator in the information reception and processing center, as well as at the request of the operator at any time. The driver and the conductor cannot physically unauthorized interfere with the operation of the remote control system for fuel consumption and operating modes of the vehicle.

The system on a vehicle is installed as follows: instead of a standard fuel level sensor, a high-precision capacitive sensor is installed. Processing and archiving units are installed in the vehicle, to which the corresponding sensors are connected. Processing and archiving units via twisted pair are connected to the data acquisition and transmission unit wirelessly.

In the center for receiving and processing information, software is installed on a personal computer to which a GSM / GPRS modem or radio modem with an antenna is connected.

The system operates as follows. At the information reception and processing center, a method for remote information transmission and reception is selected: via GSM / GPRS or radio. When choosing GSM / GPRS, the polling mode is set: according to the schedule, once a day upon the vehicle’s return to the park or during the work shift at the operator’s request. When choosing radio information is read automatically upon the return of the vehicle to the park when the vehicle enters the sensitivity zone, the radius of which is not more than 300 meters.

On a motor vehicle, information from all sensors connected to the system enters the corresponding processing and archiving units and is recorded in its own archives in case of a change in the recorded parameter. Upon request from the reception and processing center, information stored in the archives of the processing and archiving units is transmitted through the data acquisition and transmission unit wirelessly to the information reception and processing center.

Claims (6)

1. A system for remote monitoring of fuel consumption and operating modes of a vehicle, comprising a unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and revolutions, a capacitive fuel tank fuel sensor and a data collection and transmission unit wirelessly to a data reception and processing center for archive content, the unit processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and speed is connected to the data acquisition and transmission unit wirelessly using the RS485 serial interface, moreover, the image processing unit bots and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and speed is connected with a capacitive sensor of the fuel tank, with a tachometer sensor, with a speedometer sensor and contains a microprocessor that processes the information received from the sensors, transfers information to a digital code, writes it to non-volatile memory for storage and prepares it for transmission via RS485 interface to a data acquisition and transmission unit wirelessly connected to non-volatile memory, a real-time clock, an analog signal generation unit for staff a fuel level indicator, galvanically isolated serial interface RS232 for connecting to a personal computer, serial interface RS485, backup power for stand-alone operation and a backup power monitoring unit, the capacitive fuel sensor contains a variable capacitor, a converter of the value of the capacitance to a digital code, a temperature sensor and a determination unit the angle of the fuel tank, which contains a biaxial accelerometer, the data acquisition and transmission unit wirelessly contains a microprocess OR designed to provide information exchange with all connected units and control the GSM / GPRS module and the radio module for transmitting information to the data reception and processing center, connected to the GSM / GPRS module and the radio module using a switch and galvanically isolated RS485 serial interface to receive information from all blocks connected to it via twisted pair cable and wireless transmission to the information reception and processing center, antenna for GSM / GPRS, antenna for radio. 2. The system for remote monitoring of fuel consumption and vehicle operating modes according to claim 1, characterized in that the data center is a personal computer that is constantly connected to the Internet or equipped with a GSM / GPRS modem or radio modem at the user's discretion. 3. The system for remote control of fuel consumption and vehicle operating modes according to claim 1, characterized in that the variable capacitor of the capacitive sensor of the fuel tank is made of two tubes inserted into each other. 4. The system for remote monitoring of fuel consumption and operating modes of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the unit for processing and archiving fuel consumption, engine speed and speed has an additional analog channel for a standard fuel level indicator installed in the driver's cab. 5. The system for remote monitoring of fuel consumption and operating modes of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that up to 32 units for processing and archiving information from various sensors, including sensors for recording flow, can be connected to the data acquisition and transmission unit via wireless communication passengers equipped with an RS485 interface, installed one above each metering station. 6. The system of remote control of fuel consumption and operating modes of a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the archives are read remotely at any time without the participation of a driver and a conductor on command from a data reception and processing center through a data collection and transmission unit via wireless .

Images