DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to monitoring of an internal combustion engine operation and more particularly on engine exhaust gas temperature assessment by a specially programmed ECU (Electronic Control Unit) with apparatus (Sensors) is a method for monitoring the individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature of an internal combustion engine to improve the engine life.

BACKGROUND
The deteriorating of engine health is mainly due to the improper combustion by the poor air system, malfunctioning of fuel system and improper wear of piston rings. Identifying these major problems is a bigger challenge in an internal combustion engine field. One of the best optimum method is to monitor the exhaust gas temperature from all the engine cylinders. To monitor the operation of a diesel or gas engine or engine health, it is desirable to monitor the exhaust gas temperature of each cylinder. The exhaust gas temperature on a diesel engine will indicate the overloading or under loading of an individual cylinder by causing a high temperature or a low temperature respectively; however, an abnormal operating temperature may also indicate such other faults as inadequate engine cooling, excessive friction in the cylinder, partial piston seizures or an inadequate air supply to the cylinder. To identify the temperature difference between the engine cylinders, electronic controller shall be used and it is loaded with the required logics (Patentable). If the exhaust gas temperature between the cylinder is beyond the pre-defined value (for ex: 50º C), Electronic controller will detect this and provide alarm to the operator with the particular cylinder number. Due to this, we can make to maintain all the cylinders are running at equal contribution of power and thus by reducing the vibration of the engine and by which health of the engine will be improved.

Existing technologies such as temperature drift method utilized in CRDI system adjust the fuel quantity of the injectors during the initial performance optimization in test bed only. This technology is used only to correct the fuelling of CRDI injectors in the test bed.
During the malfunction of injector like dribbling/ mis-fire, liner & piston ring wear, water entry into the cylinder and other in cylinder related issues, exhaust temperature of the particular cylinder will vary from other cylinders, hence there is a need to continuously measure the individual cylinder exhaust temperature, so that corrective action can be taken before major breakdown.
Furthermore, an accurate monitoring system of the entire engine operation allows the engine to be operated more efficiently and balancing each cylinder to the overall average may result in a fuel savings as well as a more efficient operation of the engine. The present invention solves the afore-mentioned problems and can be deployed for mechanical engine with low cost ECU, display unit and alarm indicator; also for the electronic engine and the logics can be embedded in the electronic engine ECU itself.

SUMMARY
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus and method for continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust temperature. The present invention monitors the individual cylinder exhaust temperature to reduce the break-down of multi cylinder direct fuel injection system engine in the field. Whenever the temperature difference between the cylinders is beyond the pre defined value for example: 50º C, ECU (engine control unit) detects and provides alarm to the operator with the particular cylinder number. It determines the cylinder which is malfunctioning and prevents the breakdown. As a result, all the cylinders runs at equal contribution and thus by reducing the vibration of the engine, the life of the engine improves.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the apparatus of the present invention

DESCRIPTION
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawing which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that the embodiments may be combined, or that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural and logical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Various modifications will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure). Also, the terminology and phraseology used is for the purpose of describing exemplary embodiments and should not be considered limiting. Thus, the present invention is to be accorded the widest scope encompassing numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents consistent with the principles and features disclosed. For purpose of clarity, details relating to technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.
Various terms as used herein are shown below. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition and persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.
According to Fig. 1 of the present invention, the apparatus and method monitors the exhaust gas temperature of individual cylinders of multi-cylinder engine(s). The present invention continuously monitors the exhaust temperature drift between the cylinders of combustion engine. Referring to Fig. 1 Engine Electronic control unit (ECU) is connected to exhaust gas manifold temperature sensor which collects the exhaust gas temperature from all the cylinders of engine. It is a internal pre-programmmed and programmable chips. The ECU is further connected to thermocouple which is a high temperature-measuring device like engine exhaust gas. It converts temperature into the electric charge. It produces voltage and in turn sends the signal in the form of electric current to the ECU. Thermocouple act as a temperature sensor and ECU receives the temperature signal from the thermocouple and displays the reading on the monitor or the display device.
As per embodiment of the invention, temperature sensors i.e. thermocouples are mounted on individual exhaust channel of each cylinder and ECU is pre programmed with logic to determine the temperature drift between individual cylinders. If the temperature drift goes beyond pre-defined limit for example 50 °C and is displayed on the display device, an alarm gets activated and signal is sent to the operator with particular cylinder number to take necessary action. As a result, the cylinder which is malfunctioning is determined and repaired or replaced with a new component. This reduces the vibration of the engine and the life of the engine improves. The alarm is audio or visual or both. As an optional, the apparatus of the present invention makes use of temperature sensor calibration kit with thermocouples to accurately measure or sense the temperature. As an exemplary mode, the engine maintenance time is approximately calculated for 250 hours so the thermocouples are calibrated to sense the temperature drift for said short period of time which may vary depending upon the engine maintenance time. However, temperature calibration unit is not limited to thermocouples and thermistors, Platinum resistance thermometers etc. may also be used with ECU.
According to another embodiment, injector life is determined by the apparatus.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. An engine health monitoring system by continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature wherein said system comprises of Electronic control unit (ECU) (1) which is connected to exhaust gas manifold temperature sensor (Thermocouple) (2) which collects the exhaust gas temperature from all the cylinders of engine (3); calibration unit (4) in order to calibrate the thermocouple periodically.

2. An engine health monitoring system by continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature as claimed in claim 1 wherein ECU comprises of internal pre-programmed and programmable chips.

3. An engine health monitoring system by continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature as claimed in claim 2 wherein any one of the following problems in the particular cylinder can be addressed before major break-down like Injector dribbling, improper valve functioning or valve struck, piston rings wear, liner crack or water entry in to the cylinder.

4. An engine health monitoring system by continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature as claimed in claim 3 wherein ECU operates the engine by using input sensors and output components to control all engine functions through fuel system; the ECU program uses the inputted sensor information to compute the needed output like amount of fuel injected
5. An engine health monitoring system by continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature as claimed in claim 2 wherein thermocouple act as a temperature sensor and ECU receives the temperature signal from the thermocouple and displays the reading on the monitor or the display device.

6. An engine health monitoring system by continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature as claimed in claim 5 wherein temperature sensors i.e. thermocouples are mounted on individual exhaust channel of each cylinder and ECU is pre programmed with logic to determine the temperature drift between individual cylinders, If the temperature drift goes beyond pre-defined limit , it is displayed on the display device, an alarm (6) gets activated and signal is sent to the operator with particular cylinder number.

7. An engine health monitoring system by continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature as claimed in claim 5 wherein the alarm is audio or visual or both.

8. An engine health monitoring system by continuously monitoring individual cylinder exhaust gas temperature as claimed in claim 5 wherein the thermocouple is calibrated by the temperature calibration unit and if any variation identified, particular thermocouple will be replaced.