Patent ID: 8397557
Filing Date: 2013-03-19
Classification: F04B

Abstract:
1. A method of identifying a component failure within a thermal regenerator system for a vehicle comprising the steps of: (a) providing a burner control unit to control a thermal regenerator system and to detect a plurality of system failures at a component level; (b) monitoring at least one of a fuel pump characteristic for a fuel pump in the thermal regenerator system and an ignition system characteristic for an ignition system in the thermal regenerator system, wherein the fuel pump is used to supply fuel to a fuel-fired burner and the ignition system is used to ignite fuel supplied to the fuel-fired burner; (c) communicating the fuel pump characteristic to the burner control unit and comparing the fuel pump characteristic to a predetermined fuel pump criteria when monitoring the fuel pump characteristic of step (b), wherein the fuel pump criteria comprises a fuel pressure threshold and including a fuel pressure sensor to measure a fuel pressure of the fuel pump; (d) communicating the ignition system characteristic to the burner control unit and comparing the ignition system characteristic to a predetermined ignition system criteria when monitoring the ignition system characteristic in step (b); (e) identifying a fuel pump failure when the fuel pump characteristic does not meet the fuel pump criteria, wherein the burner control unit compares the fuel pressure of the fuel pump to the fuel pressure threshold and identifies a fuel pump pressure sensor failure when the fuel pressure varies front the fuel pressure threshold, and wherein the fuel pressure threshold comprises any non-zero fuel pressure value and wherein the burner control unit generates a control signal to measure the fuel pressure with the fuel pump pressure sensor while the fuel pump is turned off, and wherein the burner control unit identifies the fuel pump pressure sensor failure when the fuel pressure sensor generates a non-zero fuel pressure value when the fuel pump is off; and identifying an ignition system failure when the ignition system characteristic does not meet the ignition system criteria.