JP2002364402A - Engine control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically stop an engine without strongly operating a foot brake, and to prevent the wasting automatic engine stop by avoiding an automatic stop of the engine in response to the operating condition before the engine is automatically stopped, and to restart the engine to an idling rotation without operating a separate switch nor operating an acceleration pedal to race the engine when restarting the engine in the engine control for automatic stop. SOLUTION: An acceleration pedal range detector detects that a foot of a driver is not put on the acceleration pedal, and when a gear shift lever is positioned at a neutral position or a parking position, the engine is automatically stopped. After the engine is stopped, when the gear shift lever is positioned at the neutral position or the parking position, the engine is restarted to the idle rotation when the foot is put on the acceleration pedal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an engine control device for reducing the fuel consumption of an automobile engine by stopping the engine idling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, there have been proposed various types of technical proposals for idling stop of an automobile, and some of them are actually used. For example, JP-A-2000-212
In No. 9, the engine is automatically stopped when the foot brake is strongly depressed when the vehicle is stopped, and is controlled so that the engine is not automatically stopped when the foot brake is depressed loosely. The engine is restarted by stepping on a start switch provided near the left foot.

In this system, the engine is stopped by depressing the brake forcefully. However, the stop of the vehicle is suddenly performed, which causes discomfort to the driver and passengers such as buses. The driver had to be conscious of the brakes and continue to step on the brakes. In order to restart the engine after the vehicle's engine has stopped automatically, it is necessary to step on the switch on the left foot and restart the engine. However, this operation is troublesome and burdens the driver.

In another practical example, when the foot is released from the accelerator pedal and the shift lever is neutralized, the engine automatically stops after a certain time.

[0005] In this case, for example, the engine may stop automatically even immediately before the traffic light at the intersection changes from red to blue.
The driver has to perform the operation of restarting the engine in a hurry, and there is a problem that the fuel consumption is increased rather than saving the fuel. Similarly, when the road is congested, the idling stop is activated after the vehicle stops, and the engine stops automatically and often needs to be restarted immediately, which makes the operation complicated and energy saving. Didn't work.

As disclosed in JP-A-48-87526, if it is not desired to automatically stop the engine after the vehicle stops, the shift lever must be neutral and the accelerator pedal must be kept depressed even slightly. During this time, there is a problem that fuel is consumed a lot and the foot is easily fatigued because the accelerator pedal is continuously depressed.

In another embodiment, there is also provided a system in which the engine is restarted by depressing an accelerator pedal after the engine is automatically stopped. In this case, when the accelerator pedal is depressed, the engine blows up to an unnecessarily high rotational speed, and at this time, a large amount of fuel is consumed and the energy saving effect is reduced.

Similarly, after the turn signal is operated by operating the turn signal to turn right or left at the intersection, the vehicle is stopped and the automatic stop of the engine is activated, the turn signal (usually at the front and rear of the vehicle). The blinking lamp of the direction indicator lamp also goes out, and there is a problem that no signal is given to other vehicles.

Similarly, when the rain is falling and the wiper is operating, there is a problem that when the automatic engine stop is activated, the operation of the wiper is also stopped, and it is difficult to secure the driver's view.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in the control for automatically stopping the engine, it is not necessary to depress the foot brake strongly, the engine is stopped automatically, and according to the driving condition before the engine is automatically stopped. It is an object of the present invention to avoid the automatic stop of the engine and prevent the useless automatic stop of the engine. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to restart the engine to idling without restarting the engine without having to operate another switch and without depressing the accelerator pedal to blow the engine. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide idling stop control ergonomically adapted to the driver's consciousness, realize smooth engine control without a sense of incongruity for the driver, and maximize the effect of energy saving. Things.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the absence of the driver's foot (here, a shoe worn from the ankle to the tip of the foot and the foot) on the accelerator pedal is determined in the accelerator pedal area. The engine automatically stops when the shift lever is in the neutral position or the parking position, as detected by the detector. After the engine is stopped, when the shift lever is in the neutral or parking position, place the foot on the accelerator pedal (in this case, there is no need to depress the accelerator pedal with the foot, just the foot must be located on the accelerator pedal) ), The accelerator pedal area sensor is turned on, and the engine is restarted to idle rotation. Therefore, when the signal is a red light and the vehicle is expected to stop for approximately 5 seconds or more, the shift lever is neutralized, the foot is released from above the accelerator pedal, and the engine is automatically stopped. If the engine is expected to restart within a short time of approximately 5 seconds after the vehicle stops, place the foot on the accelerator pedal (do not step on the accelerator pedal, Keep the shoe position a little distance away). In this state, the engine does not stop automatically, maintains idle rotation, and can immediately start the vehicle even if the signal turns green. In the case of a morning start or the like, the engine is started using the engine key SW so that the automatic stop control of the engine functions only after the vehicle has run. Therefore, when starting with the engine key, the engine is not automatically stopped.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is the lower floor of the vehicle cabin, 2 is the front floor,
Reference numeral 3 denotes a dashboard section. Numeral 4 denotes a foot, and in this drawing, a state in which shoes are worn is shown. Reference numeral 6 denotes an accelerator pedal, which is fixedly connected to the lever 7. The lever 7 can swing about a pin 9 on a bracket 8 provided on the front floor 2 as an axis, and is connected to a push-pull cable 10 at the tip of the lever 7. Push-pull cable 10
Is connected to a fuel controller (not shown) for controlling a fuel supply amount. The lever 7 receives a rotational force around the shaft 9 counterclockwise by a spring (not shown), and does not swing more counterclockwise than the illustration due to the stopper 5. When the accelerator pedal 6 is depressed with the foot 4, the lever 7 swings clockwise, pulls the push-pull cable 10 to the right, and changes the fuel supply from the minimum to the maximum. Reference numeral 11 denotes an ultrasonic sensor as an example of an accelerator pedal area sensor, which is installed on the lower surface of the dashboard section 3.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 12 is a brake pedal. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the relationship among each device, control device, and each sensor of an automobile. Here, the case of a gasoline engine will be described. The engine 13 is controlled by a key switch 14 and a control device 15. ON / OFF of the fuel supply to the engine 13 and adjustment of the fuel supply amount are controlled by a fuel adjustment valve 16. When the engine 13 is started, the ignition switch 32 is energized by the key switch 1 and the control device 15 to drive a starter motor (not shown) to start the engine. After starting the engine, turn off the starter motor. 17 is an air conditioner, 18 is a turn signal, 1
9 is a wiper.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an idling stop switch.
When the switch is turned on, the idling stop can be controlled, and when the switch is turned off, the control is not performed. Reference numeral 21 denotes a shift position sensor for detecting the position of the shift lever, which is turned off when the shift lever is in the neutral position or the parking position, and turned on when the shift lever is at any other position. 2
Reference numeral 2 denotes an accelerator pedal area sensor, which detects whether or not a foot is present above the accelerator pedal. FIG.
Here, an example in which the ultrasonic sensor 11 is used as an embodiment of the accelerator pedal area sensor 22 is shown. It turns on when there is a foot on the accelerator pedal, and turns off when there is no foot.

In FIG. 1, an ultrasonic wave is emitted from the ultrasonic sensor 11 and the time to return the reflected sound is measured to measure the distance to the target object. When the foot is in the posture (1), the distance between the ultrasonic sensor 11 and the foot is L1, and the measurement time is T1. In the posture (2) where the foot is removed from the accelerator pedal, the distance between the ultrasonic sensor 11 and the lower floor 1 is L
2 and the time becomes T2. Therefore, the measurement time is T2
If it is smaller to some extent (approximately 40%), it is determined that the foot is on the accelerator pedal, and the accelerator pedal area sensor is turned on. If the measurement time is close to T2, it is determined that there is no foot on the accelerator pedal, and the accelerator pedal area sensor is turned off.

When the foot 4 depresses the accelerator pedal 6, the distance from the ultrasonic sensor 11 to above the foot 4 is L3 as shown in FIG. L3 is smaller than L1 (about 30%
Small), the sensor remains on.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a vehicle speed sensor that outputs an ON signal when the vehicle is running and an OFF signal when the vehicle is stopped. A foot brake sensor 24 is turned on when the foot brake is depressed, and turned off when the foot brake is not depressed. A parking brake sensor 25 is turned on when the parking brake is applied, and turned off when the parking brake is released. 26
Is a water temperature sensor of the radiator, and a predetermined water temperature (approximately 6
It is on when the temperature is below 0 to 70 degrees C) and off when the temperature is above a predetermined water temperature. Reference numeral 27 denotes a timer 1, which is a timer for automatically stopping the engine after a set time t1 seconds from the completion of the automatic stop conditions in the automatic stop control of the engine. When the vehicle speed is zero or low speed (about 10 km / or less), Normally, it can be set variably from about 5 seconds to about 10 seconds. Reference numeral 28 denotes a timer 2, and when the vehicle speed is zero or more (about 10 km / or more), the timer setting time t2 can be variably set from about 1 second to 5 seconds. Reference numeral 29 denotes a timer. When an air conditioner is used, the timer can be set so that only the air blower fan of the air conditioner is driven for t3 seconds after the engine is automatically stopped.

Next, the control operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the vehicle decelerates from running and the signal stops in red, the shift lever is in the neutral or parking position (the shift position sensor is off), and the foot is removed from above the accelerator pedal, as shown in posture (2). The ultrasonic sensor 11 (accelerator pedal area sensor) is turned off. When the water temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (water temperature sensor is off) and the vehicle speed is stopped (vehicle speed sensor is off), the timer 1
(28) is activated, and after t1 seconds, the ignition 32 is de-energized, and the engine stops. The engine key S
When the engine is started with W, automatic stop is not performed even if the accelerator region sensor is off and the shift lever is in the neutral or parking position. When the air conditioner is operating, only the fan of the air conditioner is driven for t3 seconds (about one minute) after the engine stops, and the compressor of the air conditioner stops. After t3 seconds, the fan also stops. When the engine restarts, the operation of the air conditioner returns to its original state.

If the stop time of the vehicle can be predicted to be about 5 seconds or less even if the signal is a red light, it is energy saving to avoid the automatic stop of the engine, and nitrogen oxide (NOx)
And the amount of exhaust fine particles can be reduced. This is because, when the engine is restarted, it is necessary to inject more fuel into the engine, resulting in a large amount of NOx and exhaust particulates. In this case, if the shift lever is neutralized and the foot is left on the accelerator pedal (but the accelerator pedal is not depressed), the ultrasonic sensor 11 remains on, and the engine maintains the idling rotation. The automatic engine stop can be avoided. Therefore, the vehicle can be started as soon as the traffic light turns green. In the case of an automatic car, if the shift lever is in the D range, the foot is released from the accelerator pedal, and the foot brake is depressed, the vehicle can be stopped in the idling state. The fuel consumption increases, and the energy saving effect decreases. However,
When starting the vehicle immediately, it is convenient because the driver can release the foot from the foot brake and depress the accelerator pedal.

If the signal in front of the vehicle turns red while the vehicle is running and the vehicle is decelerating, the shift lever is set to neutral and the foot is released from above the accelerator pedal.
Operates, and after t2 seconds, the engine is stopped and coasting is performed. t
Since 2 is set to be shorter than t1, the engine is stopped early and energy can be saved for a relatively long time, and the energy saving effect is large even during deceleration driving. When the vehicle engine is not warm, the water temperature sensor 26 is on, the shift lever is in the parking position and the shift position sensor is off,
If there is no foot in the accelerator pedal area, the engine performs warm-up operation without automatic stop. When the water temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature, the engine automatically stops.

Depending on road traffic conditions, it may be desired to stop the engine immediately to increase the energy saving effect. In this case, after removing the foot from the assel pedal, return the foot to the accelerator pedal again without any time, and remove the foot from the accelerator pedal without any time, the engine stops. To do it. This gives
Since the engine can be stopped immediately, the effect of saving fuel can be increased.

After the engine is automatically stopped, if the shift lever is in the neutral or parking position and the foot is lifted over the accelerator pedal, the ignition 32 is energized, the starter motor is started, and the engine is restarted. In this case, it is only necessary to bring the foot part on the accelerator pedal, and the accelerator pedal is not depressed. Therefore, the engine is restarted until idling and the engine is not blown. Therefore,
The vehicle is ready to start with the engine idling, and the vehicle can be started as soon as the traffic light turns green. In the automatic restart, when the cell motor rotates and the engine starts, the voltage generated by the alternator increases.Therefore, control is performed to cut off the power supply to the cell motor with this voltage signal. Stop automatically.

In FIG. 1, a camera may be used instead of the ultrasonic sensor 11 as the accelerator pedal area sensor. For example, when an infrared camera is used as the accelerator pedal area sensor, when the infrared camera detects a heat generating body such as a foot near the upper part of the accelerator pedal, the accelerator pedal area sensor is turned on and the posture (2) is changed. When the foot is released from the accelerator pedal, the heat generator is not sensed and the sensor is turned off. Further, image data captured by an infrared camera may be subjected to image recognition processing to determine whether or not a foot is present near the accelerator pedal. That is, as a result of the image recognition processing, if there is an image of the foot 4 other than the accelerator pedal 6 as shown in an image 33 of FIG. 6, it is determined that the foot is on the accelerator pedal, and the accelerator pedal area sensor is turned on. . When the entire accelerator pedal 6 is in the image as in the image 34, it is determined that there is no foot on the accelerator pedal, and the sensor is turned off. This camera may be a normal digital camera instead of an infrared camera. In this case, it is difficult to obtain an image at night, so take a picture with a camera using the auxiliary light and process the image data by image recognition processing to determine whether the foot is on the accelerator pedal. Can be done.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which a photoelectric sensor is used as means for recognizing the presence or absence of a foot. FIG. 8 shows a view AA in FIG. 7. That is, the light emitting section 30 is provided on the dashboard section 3 and the light receiving sensor 31 is provided on the lower floor section 1. When the foot 4 is in the vicinity of the accelerator pedal 6, the light from the light emitting unit 30 is blocked by the foot 4 and does not reach the light receiving sensor 31,
1 turns on. When the foot 4 is not near the accelerator pedal 6 as in the posture (2), the light receiving sensor 31 is turned off by receiving the light from the light emitting unit 30.

As means for recognizing whether or not a foot is on the accelerator pedal 6, in addition to the above, for example, a limit switch or a touch sensor is provided in the vicinity of the accelerator pedal, and the foot is provided on the limit switch or the touch sensor. The presence or absence of the foot may be detected by contact. As another example, a magnetic sensor or an infrared sensor may be provided near the accelerator pedal, and the presence or absence of the foot may be detected by the magnetic sensor or the infrared sensor.

The automatic stop control of the engine and the restart control of the engine described above are not limited to an automatic vehicle as a transmission, but can be applied to a manual transmission vehicle. In addition, the engine is not limited to gasoline engines, but can also be applied to diesel engines. In this case, the start control of the engine is performed by starting the cell motor and supplying fuel because there is no ignition, and the stop control of the engine is performed by cutting off the fuel.

When the vehicle enters the intersection, the direction indicator 18 is turned off at the intersection to turn left or right, and the vehicle stops. When the shift lever is neutral and the foot is released from the accelerator, the engine is automatically stopped after time t1. At this time, if the operation of the direction indicator 18 is stopped, it will disturb the traffic of other vehicles. Therefore, even when the engine is automatically stopped, the direction indicator 18 is stopped.
Operation is controlled to be maintained continuously. In other words, the ignition circuit and the fuel adjustment valve in the engine control circuit are cut in order to automatically stop the engine when the automatic stop conditions are met.In this case, the power supply to the ignition and the fuel adjustment valve is cut, and other electric devices are cut off. Do not cut the energization to. Thus, even when the engine is stopped, electric devices such as a turn signal indicator, a wiper air conditioner fan, a CD player, and a car navigation system can be used while maintaining their functions.

With the engine control device constructed as described above, when the foot is removed from the vicinity of the accelerator pedal and the shift lever is set to the neutral or parking position, the engine automatically stops, saving fuel and reducing exhaust gas emissions. Can be reduced. If you want to avoid the automatic stop of the engine according to the driving situation of the vehicle, you can avoid the automatic stop of the engine by holding the foot on the accelerator pedal, and avoid unnecessary automatic stop of the engine. , The vehicle can be started immediately.

When the engine is restarted, if the shift lever moves the foot above the accelerator pedal in the neutral or parking position, the engine restarts up to the idling speed. Therefore, there is no need to operate another switch when the engine is restarted, and there is no need to depress the accelerator pedal to restart the engine, so that the operation is simple and wasteful fuel consumption can be prevented.

When the vehicle stops with the turn signal,
Since the turn signal is kept operating even when the engine is automatically stopped, the operation of the vehicle can be made safe. If the wiper is used during rainfall, the operation of the wiper is maintained even when the engine is automatically stopped, so that the vehicle can be made more secure.

[0031]

As described above, the engine control device of the present invention is provided with the accelerator pedal area sensor for detecting whether the foot is above the accelerator pedal, and when the shift lever is in the neutral or parking position, When the accelerator pedal area sensor is turned off, the engine automatically stops,
The effect of saving fuel and reducing exhaust gas emissions can be maximized. If it is desired to avoid the automatic stop of the engine, by holding the foot on the accelerator pedal, the engine can be held in an idling rotation state, and unnecessary engine stop can be avoided. To restart the engine, put the gearshift lever in the neutral or parking position, and put the foot on the accelerator pedal to restart the engine until idling. As described above, the engine control device of the present invention provides idling stop control that is ergonomically adapted to the driver's consciousness, realizes smooth engine control without a sense of incongruity for the driver, and maximizes the energy saving effect. Can be demonstrated in.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a positional relationship among an accelerator pedal, a foot, and an accelerator pedal area sensor.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along a line AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in which an accelerator pedal is depressed with a foot.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the relationship between each device, each sensor, and a control device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a control operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an image obtained by a camera.

FIG. 7 is a diagram when a photoelectric sensor is used as an accelerator pedal area sensor.

FIG. 8 is a view taken in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower floor part 2 Front floor part 3 Dashboard part 4 Foot part 5 Stopper 6 Accelerator pedal 7 Lever 8 Stopper 9 Shaft 10 Push-pull cable 11 Ultrasonic sensor 12 Foot brake pedal 13 Engine 14 Key switch 15 Control device 16 Fuel adjustment valve 17 air conditioner 18 turn signal 19 wiper 20 idling stop SW 21 shift position sensor 22 accelerator pedal area sensor 23 vehicle speed sensor 24 foot brake sensor 25 parking brake sensor 26 water temperature sensor 27 timer 1 28 timer 2 29 timer 3 30 light emitting unit 31 light receiving sensor 32 ignition 33 images 34 images

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An automobile provided with an engine, an accelerator device, and a transmission, provided with an accelerator pedal area sensor for detecting whether or not a foot is above an accelerator pedal, wherein the accelerator pedal area sensor is off, and When the shift lever is in the neutral or parking position, the engine is automatically stopped. After the engine is stopped, when the shift lever is in the neutral or parking position and the accelerator pedal area sensor is on,
An engine control device for restarting an engine. 2. The engine control device according to claim 1, wherein a detection device such as an ultrasonic sensor, a photoelectric sensor, an infrared sensor, a limit switch, a touch sensor, and a magnetic sensor is used as the accelerator pedal area sensor. 3. A camera is used as an accelerator pedal area sensor, and an image captured by the camera is subjected to image recognition processing.
2. The engine control device according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the foot is on the accelerator pedal is detected. 4. When the shift lever is in a neutral or parking position and the accelerator pedal area sensor is turned off, the delay time of the automatic engine stop differs between when the vehicle is running and when the vehicle is stopped. The engine control device according to claim 1. 5. An engine control device for automatically starting and stopping an engine.
An engine control device capable of operating a function of an electric device. 6. The electric device includes a wiper, a radio, a C
6. The engine control device according to claim 5, wherein functions such as D, cassette, and navigation can be operated.