Claims:We Claim

1. A method for determining failure of a component of a high pressure fuel pump (8) by an engine control unit (10), said method comprising:
receiving a vibration signal from at least one accelerometer (12) that is positioned on the component of the high pressure fuel pump (8) by the engine control unit (10);
performing a fast fourier transform (14) on the received vibration signal by the engine control unit (10) to generate a fourier transform signal by the engine control unit (10);
comparing (16) the generated fourier transform signal with a threshold fourier transform signal (22); and
generating a failure signal (18) indicating a failure of the component of the high pressure fuel pump (8) if the generated fourier transform signal is greater than the threshold fourier transform signal (22).

2. An engine control unit (10) in electronic communication with at least one accelerometer (12) that is positioned on a component of a high pressure fuel pump (8), said engine control unit (10) adapted to:
receive a vibration signal from at least one accelerometer (12) that is positioned on the component of the high pressure fuel pump (8) by the engine control unit (10);
perform a fast fourier transform (14) on the received vibration signal from the at least one accelerometer (12) to generate a fourier transform signal by the engine control unit (10);
compare (16) the generated fourier transform signal with a threshold fourier transform signal (22) by the engine control unit (10); and
generate a failure signal (18) indicating a failure of the component of the high pressure fuel pump (8) if the generated fourier transform signal is greater than the threshold fourier transform signal (22) by the engine control unit (10), thereby notifying a user to replace the component of the high pressure fuel pump (8).
, Description:Field of the invention
[0001] This invention relates to a high pressure fuel pump, and more specifically to a method for determining failure of a component of the high pressure fuel pump based on vibrations emitted by the component of the high pressure fuel pump.

Background of the invention
[0002] DE 10334817 A1 describes a pump failure detection unit that uses fourier analysis of pressure sensor measurements to determine if a characteristic frequency exceeds a reference amplitude. The pump failure detection unit has a pressure sensor with frequency analyzer and processor using a discrete fourier transform to compare the amplitude of a characteristic frequency with a reference amplitude to determine if it exceeds a threshold. Independent claims are included for the procedures used by the failure detection unit.

Brief description of the accompanying drawing
[0003] Figure 1 illustrates a flowchart illustrating an operation of one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments
[0004] Figure 1 illustrates a method for determining failure of a component of a high pressure fuel pump 8 by an engine control unit 10 is described. The method comprises receiving a vibration signal from at least one accelerometer 12 that is positioned on the component of the high pressure fuel pump 8 by the engine control unit 10 and performing a fast fourier transform 14 on the received vibration signal by the engine control unit 10 to generate a fourier transform signal by the engine control unit 10. The method further comprises comparing 16 the generated fourier transform signal with a threshold fourier transform signal 22, and generating a failure signal 18 indicating a failure of the component of the high pressure fuel pump 8 if the generated fourier transform signal is greater than the threshold fourier transform signal 22.

[0005] In addition, an engine control unit 10 in electronic communication with at least one accelerometer 12 that is positioned on a component of the high pressure fuel pump 8 is described. The engine control unit 10 is adapted to receive a vibration signal from at least one accelerometer 12 that is positioned on the component of the high pressure fuel pump 8 by the engine control unit 10, and perform a fast fourier transform 14 on the received vibration signal from the at least one accelerometer 12 to generate a fourier transform signal by the engine control unit 10. The engine control unit 10 is further adapted to compare 16 the generated fourier transform signal with a threshold fourier transform signal 22 by the engine control unit 10, and generate a failure signal indicating a failure of the component of the high pressure fuel pump if the generated fourier transform signal is greater than the threshold fourier transform signal 22 by the engine control unit 10, thereby notifying a user to replace the component of the high pressure fuel pump 8 after a prescribed duration of time exceeding the threshold fourier transform signal 22.

[0006] The method for determining failure of a component of a high pressure fuel pump 8 by the engine control unit 10 comprises positioning at least one accelerometer 12 on a component of a high pressure fuel pump 8. In an exemplary embodiment, the accelerometer 12 may be positioned on one of the inlet valve and the outlet valve of the high pressure fuel pump 8. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, the accelerometer 12 may be positioned on the cam shaft or any other vibrating / actuation component of the high pressure fuel pump 8. The accelerometer 12 receives a vibration signal from the vibrating / actuation component of the high pressure fuel pump 8. Therein, the accelerometer 12 transmits the vibration signal that is received to an engine control unit 10 for further processing.
[0007] The method for determining failure of a component of a high pressure fuel pump 8 by the engine control unit 10 further comprises performing a fast fourier transform 14 on the vibration signal that is received by the engine control unit 10. On performing the fast fourier transform 14 on the vibration signal that is received by the engine control unit 10, a fourier transform signal is generated by the engine control unit 10. The fourier transform signal that is generated by the engine control unit 10 is then compared with a threshold fourier transform signal 22, wherein the threshold fourier transform signal 22 is stored in a memory of the engine control unit 10. The comparison of the fourier transform signal with the threshold fourier transform signal 22 is performed in order to determine by the engine control unit 10 whether the fourier transform signal has exceeded the threshold fourier transform signal 22 that is preprogrammed and stored in the memory of the engine control unit 10. If the fourier transform signal is greater than the threshold fourier transform signal 22, a failure signal 18 is generated by the engine control unit 10 that notifies to a recipient a failure of the component of the high pressure fuel pump 8. More specifically, when the vibrations experienced by the accelerometer 12 that is secured to the component of the high pressure fuel pump 8 are high, the generated fourier transform signal is greater than the threshold fourier transform signal 22. The higher vibrations that are experienced by the accelerometer 12 and that translate to a fourier transform signal that is greater than the threshold fourier transform signal 22 indicates to a recipient that the component of the high pressure fuel pump 8 is faulty, and requires to be replaced after a prescribed duration of time of exceeding the threshold fourier transform signal 22.

[0008] The method for determining failure of a component of a high pressure fuel pump 8 is described. As the high pressure fuel pump 8 experiences vibrations, the vibrations are transmitted from the accelerometer 12 which is secured to a component of the high pressure fuel pump 12 to the engine control unit 10. The engine control unit 10 performs a fast fourier transform 14 on the vibrations that are transmitted from the accelerometer 12 to generate a fourier transform signal. The fourier transform signal that is generated by the engine control unit 10 is then compared with a threshold fourier transform signal 22, wherein the threshold fourier transform signal 22 is stored in a memory of the engine control unit 10. The comparison of the fourier transform signal with the threshold fourier transform signal 22 is performed in order to determine by the engine control unit 10 whether the fourier transform signal has exceeded the threshold fourier transform signal 22 that is preprogrammed and stored in the memory of the engine control unit 10. If the fourier transform signal is greater than the threshold fourier transform signal 22, a failure signal is generated by the engine control unit 10 that notifies to a recipient a failure of the component of the high pressure fuel pump 8.

[0009] It must be understood that the embodiments explained above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Many modifications in the embodiments with regard to dimensions of various components are envisaged and form a part of this invention. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.