EP1906007A2

EP1906007A2 - Electric generating system for vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP1906007A2
Application number: EP07115722A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Takeshi c/o Honda R&D Co. Ltd. Yanagisawa; Hiroyuki c/o Honda R&D Co. Ltd. Nakajima
Original assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2006-09-29
Filing date: 2007-09-05
Publication date: 2008-04-02
Anticipated expiration: 2027-09-05
Also published as: CN100593079C; BRPI0704041A; EP1906007A3; CN101153564A; BRPI0704041B1; PE20081074A1; EP1906007B1; JP2008086183A; JP4766563B2

Abstract

To allow a detector magnet for a crank angle sensor (51), and a detector magnet for a pulse sensor (52) to be shared.

A permanent magnet (49) for power generation arrayed on an outer rotor (32) is used as a detector magnet. A crank angle sensor (51) arranged opposing to the permanent magnet (49) and a pulse sensor (52) for detecting a leakage flux of the permanent magnet (49), the pulse sensor (52) being shifted from the crank angle sensor (51), are provided on a stator core (33) side. A part of a plurality of permanent magnets (49) is deviated from other part by a deviation amount δ, so that the pulse sensor (52) does not detect a leakage flux of this permanent magnet (49). Moreover, a leakage flux absorption plate (50) is arranged on the side face of the deviated permanent magnet (49). With a set of permanent magnets (49), the signals whose levels change at different timings can be outputted from the sensors (51 and 52), and on the basis of these signals, a three-phase synchronization signal and an ignition reference position signal can be formed.

Description

The present invention relates to an electric generating system for a vehicle, which is coupled to an output shaft of an engine to be driven, and in particular relates to an electric generating system for a vehicle that can simplify the structure of sensors for detecting the rotation angle of an output shaft of an engine and the ignition timing of the engine.
An internal combustion engine, i.e., an engine, is provided with a pulse pickup device (hereinafter, referred to as a "pulse sensor") for detecting an ignition reference position. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. Hei 7-103119 discloses an engine, wherein a pickup magnet is provided on a flywheel coupled to an engine crankshaft, while a pulse sensor is provided on a flywheel cover.
Moreover, there is known a so-called starter-cum-generator that combines an engine starter including a magnet rotor coupled to a crankshaft and a stator attached to the wall surface of an engine (on the external surface of the crankcase, or the like) and an electric generator driven by the engine. In the case where the starter-cum-generator is converted into a brushless type, a rotor angle sensor (hereinafter, referred to as a "crank angle sensor" in view of the fact that the rotor is coupled to the crankshaft) for determining the energizing timing for a stator winding is required.
The applicant has proposed a starter-cum-generator capable of achieving a small size by arranging a pulse sensor and a crank angle sensor intensively on one place (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2001-349228 ).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. Hei 7-103119
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2001-349228
Although the starter-cum-generator, which the applicant proposed earlier, promises reduction in the installation space of the pulse sensor and crank angle sensor, more simplification has been desired. Then, the present inventors have focused on magnets that are arranged opposing to the pulse sensor and crank angle sensor. Since the starter-cum-generator described in Patent Document 2 includes magnets dedicated for each of the pulse sensor and the crank angle sensor, the number of parts is high and thus more simplification and miniaturization have been desired.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric generating system for a vehicle that can achieve simplification and miniaturization by eliminating the sensor magnets provided that are dedicated for each of the pulse sensor and the crank angle sensor.
According to a first aspect of the present invention for attaining the above-described object, an electric generating system for a vehicle includes: an engine; a three-phase brushless generator driven by the engine; a crank angle sensor; a pulse sensor; a detector magnet for the crank angle sensor; a detector magnet for the pulse sensor; and a control unit, which outputs a three-phase synchronization signal of the electric generator based on a detection signal of the crank angle sensor, which outputs an ignition reference position signal based on the detection signal of the crank angle sensor and a detection signal of the pulse sensor, and which also outputs an ignition reference position signal of the engine on the basis of the detection signal of the crank angle sensor and the detection signal of the pulse sensor. According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the electric generating system for a vehicle, the detection orbits of the crank angle sensor and pulse sensor are set so as to deviate relative to each other in the extending direction of a crankshaft of the engine, and the detector magnet is a single magnet train composed of a plurality of magnets that are circularly arrayed along a region including both detection orbits of the crank angle sensor and the pulse sensor, wherein the adjacent magnets have mutually different polarities, and a part of the plurality of magnets are arranged deviating from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor in order to share this detector magnet as used or the crank angle sensor and used for the pulse sensor.
Moreover, according to a second aspect of the present invention, an electric generating system for a vehicle includes: an engine; a three-phase brushless generator driven by the engine; a crank angle sensor; a pulse sensor; a detector magnet for the crank angle sensor; a detector magnet for the pulse sensor; and a control unit, which outputs a three-phase synchronization signal of the electric generator based on a detection signal of the crank angle sensor, which outputs an ignition reference position signal based on the detection signal of the crank angle sensor and a detection signal of the pulse sensor, and which also outputs the ignition reference position signal of the engine on the basis of the detection signal of the crank angle sensor and the detection signal of the pulse sensor, the detection orbits of the crank angle sensor and pulse sensor are set so as to deviate relative to each other in the extending direction of a crankshaft of the engine. According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the electric generating system for a vehicle, the detector magnet is a single magnet train composed of a plurality of magnets that are circularly arrayed along a region including both detection orbits of the crank angle sensor and the pulse sensor, wherein the adjacent magnets have mutually different polarities, and in order to share the detector magnet as used for the crank angle sensor and used for the pulse sensor, this detector magnet is arranged deviating from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor and also a leakage flux absorber is provided in a part of the plurality of magnets so that a leakage flux of the detector magnet may be detected by the pulse sensor.
Moreover, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention having the first aspect, instead of deviating a part of the magnet train from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor, this part of the magnet train is reduced in size so as to deviate from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor.
Moreover, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention having the second aspect, the part of the magnet train, in which the leakage flux absorber is provided, is provided deviating from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor to the detection orbit side of the crank angle sensor, and the size thereof is set smaller in the deviating direction than other parts of the magnet train.
Moreover, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the crank angle sensor and the pulse sensor are arranged with a predetermined angle deviated in the array direction of each magnet of the magnet train.
Moreover, according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the output signal of the pulse sensor is delayed relative to the output signal of the crank angle sensor by a predetermined time.
Moreover, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, when an output signal of the pulse sensor is at a predefined one level of a high level and a low level, the control unit is configured so as to output an ignition reference position signal, whose ignition reference position is an edge when an output signal of the crank angle sensor changes to a level corresponding to the above-described one level of the output signal of the pulse sensor.
Moreover, according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the detector magnet is a magnet for power generation provided on a rotor of the electric generator, and the crank angle sensor and the pulse sensor are provided on a stator side of the electric generator.
Moreover, according to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the electric generator serves also as a starter motor of the engine.
According to the present invention having the first aspect, the crank angle sensor and the pulse sensor output mutually different pulse signals by deviating a part of the detector magnets from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor. Then, the control unit can output a three-phase synchronization signal for the electric generator and an ignition reference position signal for the engine on the basis of these different signals. As a result, the detector magnet for the crank angle and the detector magnet sensor for the pulse sensor can be shared between both sensors, thus allowing the number of detector magnets to be reduced by half.
According to the present invention having the second aspect, because the detection orbit of the pulse sensor is deviated from the detection orbit of the crank angle sensor so that the pulse sensor can detect a leakage flux from other parts except a part of the detector magnets, the crank angle sensor and the pulse sensor will output mutually different pulse signals. Accordingly, the detector magnet for the crank angle sensor and the detector magnet for the pulse sensor can be shared between both sensors, thus allowing the number of detector magnets to be reduced by half.
According to the present invention having the third aspect, a part of the detector magnets can be shifted from the orbit of the pulse sensor by making a part of the detector magnets small.
According to the present invention having the fourth aspect, by making a part of the detector magnets small, a leakage flux in this portion can be made less likely to act on the pulse sensor, and also by providing a leakage flux absorber, the leakage flux can be made further less likely to be detected by the pulse sensor.
According to the present invention having the fifth and sixth aspects, by making the difference clear between the output signals of the crank angle sensor and the pulse sensor, a reliable ignition reference position signal can be generated.
According to the present invention having the seventh aspect, the ignition reference position signal can be outputted at the rising edge of an output signal of the crank angle sensor when the output signal of the pulse sensor is at a high level, for example.
According to the present invention having the eighth aspect, because the magnet for power generation is caused to serve also as the detector magnet, it is possible to attain man-hour reduction and cost reduction due to a reduction in the number of parts.
According to the present invention having the ninth aspect, in an electric generating system to serve also as a starter motor of the engine, it is possible to simplify the generation mechanism of the three-phase synchronization signal as well as the ignition reference position signal for power generation and driving the electric generator as a motor.

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of a starter-cum-generator constituting an electric generating system concerning an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a side view of a motorcycle equipped with the electric generating system concerning the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a front view of a main portion of the starter-cum-generator.
Fig. 4 is a view showing changes in the output signals of a crank angle sensor and a pulse sensor relative to the arrangement of permanent magnets.
Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the starter-cum-generator.
Fig. 6 is a view showing changes in the output signals of a crank angle sensor and a pulse sensor relative to the arrangement of permanent magnets, concerning a second embodiment.
Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a permanent magnet dedicated for sensor detection.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 2 is a side perspective view of a motorcycle equipped with a starter-cum-generator that is an electric generating system for a vehicle concerning an embodiment of the present invention. In this view, a vehicle body front portion 3a and a vehicle body rear portion 3b are coupled to each other via a low floor part 4, and a vehicle body frame constituting a framework of the vehicle body includes a down tube 6 and a main pipe 7 as a main portion. A seat 8 is arranged above the main pipe 7. In addition, underneath the seat 8, a fuel tank and a storage box (neither illustrated) supported by the main pipe 7 are arranged.
A handlebar 11 and a front fork 12 for supporting a front wheel FW are pivotally supported rotatably on a head pipe 5 of the vehicle body front portion 3a. The handlebar 11 is covered by a handlebar cover 13. A bracket 15 is joined to the main pipe 7, a hanger bracket 18 is formed in the front portion of a power unit 2, and the bracket 15 and hanger bracket 18 are coupled to each other with a link member 16.
The power unit 2 is equipped with a single cylinder four stroke engine E, and a belt type continuously variable transmission 26 is provided in the rearward of the engine E. The belt type continuously variable transmission 26 is provided with a speed reducer 27 via a non-illustrated centrifugal clutch. A rear wheel RW is supported to an output shaft of the speed reducer 27. A carburetor 24 is connected to an intake pipe 23 of the engine E, and furthermore an air cleaner 25 is connected to the carburetor 24.
A rear cushion 22 is provided between an upper part of the speed reducer 27 and the main pipe 7. With this rear cushion 22, a rear portion of the power unit 2 is supported, which power unit 2 is pivotally supported on the main pipe 7 by the bracket 15, the hanger bracket 18, and the link member 16.
The starter-cum-generator provided in the engine E is described. Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of the starter-cum-generator provided in the engine E, and Fig. 3 is a front view of the main portion. In Fig. 1 and Fig. 3, a starter-cum-generator 28 includes a stator 30 fixed to an intermediate member 29 that is attached to the external surface of a crankcase (not shown) of the engine E, and an outer rotor 32 coupled to a crankshaft 31 that is caused to project from the engine E.
The stator 30 is composed of a stator core 33 formed by laminating a silicon steel plate, and a three-phase stator winding 34 wound around the stator core 33. Insulating plates 35, 36 are arranged at both sides (right and left in the view) of the stator core 33, and the stator winding 34 is wound around the stator core 33 via these insulating plates 35, 36. The stator core 33 is attached to a boss 38 formed in the intermediate member 29 with a bolt 37 that passes through in the laminating direction of the silicon steel plate. Moreover, to the side face of the stator core 33, a cable 39 connected to each phase of the stator winding 34 is attached with a bolt 41, while being held by a cable clip 40.
The outer rotor 32 is composed of an outer rotor body 42 and a hub 43 for attaching the outer rotor body 42 to the crankshaft 31. The outer rotor body 42 includes a circular outer wall part 44 and a disc-shaped side wall part 45 connected to one side of the outer wall part 44, thus generally forming a bowl shape with the side wall part 45 being the bottom. The outer wall part 44 and side wall part 45 can be integrally molded to each other. An opening 46 is provided in the center of the side wall part 45, and the outer periphery of the hub 43 is fitted into the inner perimeter of the opening 46, thereby integrally assembling the outer rotor body 42 and the hub 43.
The end portion of the outer periphery of the crankshaft 31 is tapered so as to have a narrower diameter toward the tip, and the hub 43 has an inner periphery shape conforming to the tapered shape of the crankshaft 31. The hub 43 and the crankshaft 31 are engaged via a key 47 and are designed as to be integral and rotatable with each other. A nut 48 is screwed onto a male screw portion formed at the tip of the crankshaft 31 to restrict a displacement of the outer rotor 32 in the axis direction of the crankshaft 31.
A permanent magnet 49 is provided in the inner peripheral face of the outer wall part 44 of the outer rotor body 42. The permanent magnet 49 is fixed to the outer rotor 32 by being fitted into a plurality of magnet storage portions, respectively, the plurality of magnet storage portions being formed in a circular rotor yoke that is placed along the inner circumference of the outer rotor body 41. In order to form a magnetic flux passing through the stator core 33 and the rotor yoke, the permanent magnets 49 are set so that N and S poles each are set at both ends in the radial direction of the stator core 33 and the poles of the adjacent permanent magnets 49 differ from each other. For example, next to the permanent magnet 49 in which N pole is positioned at the inner peripheral side and S pole is set at the outer peripheral side, the permanent magnet 49 in which S pole is positioned at the inner peripheral side and N pole is set at the outer peripheral side is arranged. The arrangement of the permanent magnets 49 will be further described later.
Twelve permanent magnets 49 are arranged at intervals of 30 degrees in the circumferential direction along the inner circumference of the outer wall part 44, for example. Two among these 12 permanent magnets 49 are arranged deviating relative to other 10 permanent magnets 49, along the axis direction of the crankshaft 31. In Fig. 1, the permanent magnet 49 illustrated at the top and a non-illustrated permanent magnet adjacent to this permanent magnet 49 are deviated to the side wall part 45 side of the outer rotor 32 relative to other ten permanent magnets 49 (represented by one permanent magnet 49 illustrated at the bottom in the view). The symbol 5 represents a deviation amount. Then, to the side (right side portion in Fig. 1) of two permanent magnets 49 that are deviated relative to other ten permanent magnets 49, a magnetic plate (e.g., an iron plate) 50 as a leakage flux absorber for connecting these two permanent magnets 49 are secured.
A crank angle sensor 51 and a pulse sensor 52 are attached to the outer periphery of the stator core 33. The crank angle sensor 51 is arranged so as to oppose to all the 12 permanent magnets 49, while the pulse sensor 52 does not oppose to the permanent magnets 49 but is arranged proximate to the permanent magnets 49 so as to be able to detect a leakage flux of the permanent magnets 49.
Fig. 4 shows changes in the output signals of the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52 and at the same time shows a development view of main portions of the permanent magnets 49 and the stator 30. As shown in Fig. 4 (a), two permanent magnets 49 (here, permanent magnets 49-1, 49-2) among a plurality of permanent magnets 49 deviate relative to other permanent magnets 49 (here, permanent magnets 49-3, 49-4, 49-5,·····49-11, 49-12) by a deviation amount δ. The magnetic plate 50 is arranged from a side face mid-position of the permanent magnet 49-1 to around the whole side face of the permanent magnet 49-2. With the plate 50, the leakage flux of the permanent magnets 49-1, 49-2 is absorbed. The crank angle sensor 51 is arranged on an orbit LC that passes through a position opposing to all the permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12, while the pulse sensor 52 does not oppose to the permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12 but is arranged on an orbit LP that is proximate to these permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12.
As shown in Fig. 4 (b), the crank angle sensor 51 is arranged between a U phase stator winding 34U and a V phase stator winding 34V that are wound around salient poles 33U and 33V of the stator core 33, while the pulse sensor 52 is arranged adjacent to the V phase stator winding 34V on the side face of the stator core 33. The interval between each salient pole in the rotational direction of the outer rotor 32 is set to 20 degrees, and the interval between the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52 is set to 10 degrees.
With such arrangement of the permanent magnets 49, crank angle sensor 51, and pulse sensor 52, the crank angle sensor 51 sequentially detects a leakage flux from each of the permanent magnets 49-3 to 49-12 as the outer rotor 32 rotates. Because the leakage flux of the permanent magnets 49-1 and 49-2 is absorbed by the plate 50, the leakage flux will not be detected by the crank angle sensor 51. The pulse sensor 52 sequentially detects the magnetic flux due to all the permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12 as the outer rotor 32 rotates.
As shown in Fig. 4 (c), the detection output signals by the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52 will vary. As the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52, the so-called latch type switching hole IC is used, which maintains its output signal at one state (e.g., an on state) until the direction of the magnetic flux changes, and the output signal will change to other state (e.g., an off state) when the direction of the magnetic flux changes. Because the phases of the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52 differ by 10 degrees, the timings of rising and falling of the detection signal differ by 10 degrees. Then, the output signal of the crank angle sensor 51 turns on and off (rises and falls) at equal intervals corresponding to the arrangement space of the permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12, while the output signal level of the pulse sensor 52 will not change when passing through the arrangement position of the plate 50 because the pulse sensor 52 does not detect the magnetic flux of the permanent magnets 49-1 and 49-2 that are connected to each other by the plate 50.
In other words, according to the example shown in Fig. 4, the crank angle sensor 51 outputs a detection signal whose level changes, such as to a "high level" or a "low level", whenever each permanent magnet passes, In contrast, in the pulse sensor 52, the level change occurs in the detection signal when the permanent magnets 49-11, 49-12 pass, but when the permanent magnets 49-1 and 49-2 pass, the pulse sensor 52 does not detect a magnetic force of the permanent magnet 49, and therefore the level change will not occur in the detection signal, unlike the crank angle sensor 51.
In this way, based on the different changes in the output signals of the pulse sensor 52 and the crank sensor 51, a rising edge Pe of the crank angle sensor 51 when the output of the pulse sensor 52 is on (high level) is set to the reference position for the ignition timing calculation of the engine E. In other words, on the basis of this ignition reference position, for example, by advancing or delaying the angle of the ignition timing in response to the traveling speed of a motorcycle, the optimum ignition timing is established.
On the other hand, the output signal of the crank angle sensor 51 serves as a three-phase synchronization signal corresponding to the phase angle of the stator winding 34, and is used for power output control when causing the starter-cum-generator 28 to operate as the electric generator, and is also used for the rotation control when causing the starter-cum-generator 28 to operate as the starter.
Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the starter-cum-generator 28. A control unit 55 includes a DC-DC converter 58 that converts an output voltage BATT of a battery 56 into a logic voltage VDD to supply this to a CPU 57, an ignition control unit 61 that controls the power supply to an ignition coil 59 to ignite an ignition plug 60, and a three-phase driver 62 that converts the battery voltage BATT into three-phase alternating current voltage to supply this to the stator winding 34.
When the detection output signals of the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52 are inputted to the CPU 57, the CPU 57 determines the ignition reference position in accordance with a logic, which sets a rising edge of the crank angle sensor 51 when the pulse sensor 52 is on to the reference position for the ignition timing calculation of the engine E, and the CPU 57 also calculates the ignition timing that is determined by other parameters such as the vehicle speed. The calculated ignition timing is supplied to the ignition control unit 61.
A throttle sensor 63 detects a throttle opening θth and informs this to the CPU 57. The crank angle sensor 51 informs the detection output signal to the CPU 57. A regulator 64 controls an induced electromotive force generated in the stator winding 34 in response to the rotation of the outer rotor 32 into the predetermined battery voltage BATT, and outputs this to a power source line L.
When using the starter-cum-generator 28 for the engine start as a starter, the CPU 57 determines the magnetization timing of the stator winding 34 based on the detection output of the crank angle sensor 51, and controls the switching timing of power FETs constituting the three-phase driver 62 to supply power to each phase (U, V, W phases) of the stator winding 34. The power FETs (Tr1 to Tr6) are PWM controlled by the CPU 57, the on/off duty ratio of the power FET is controlled based on the throttle opening θth detected in the throttle sensor 63, thus changing the driving torque.
On the other hand, when the engine E reached the complete explosion state to start running autonomously, the power supply to the stator winding 34 is stopped, and the starter-cum-generator 28 is driven dependently on the engine E to thereby operate as the electric generator. In other words, the stator winding 34 will generate an electromotive force in response to the rotating speed of the crankshaft 31. This generated power is controlled into the battery voltage BATT by the regulator 64, and is supplied to the electric load and at the same time the surplus power charges the battery 56.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention is described. Fig. 6 shows changes in the output signals of the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52, and at the same time shows a development view of a main portion of the permanent magnets 49. In Fig. 6, the same reference numerals as those of Fig. 4 designate the same or equivalent portions. In Fig. 6 (a), only permanent magnet 49-2 among the permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12 is deviated relative to other 11 permanent magnets 49-1, 49-3 to 49-12 by a deviation amount δ2. Then, the crank angle sensor 51 is arranges on an orbit LC 2 passing through a position that opposes to all the permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12, while the pulse sensor 52 is arranges on an orbit LP 2 that does not oppose to the permanent magnet 49-2 but passes through a position opposing to other 11 permanent magnets 49-1, 49-3 to 49-12.
In the second embodiment, the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52 are arranged in the same position without shifting in the rotational direction of the outer rotor 32, and a rising of the output signal of the pulse sensor 52 is delayed by a predetermined time to thus serve as a second output signal of the pulse sensor 52, as shown by the arrow without a reference numeral in Fig. 6 (b).
As shown in Fig. 6 (b), after turning on by a magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 49-1, the output signal of the pulse sensor 52 and the output signal of the crank angle sensor 51 will be held at a high level until they turn off by a magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 49-3. After turning on after a time delay Td after detecting a magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 49-1, the delayed second output signal will be held at a high level until it turns off by a magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 49-3. On the other hand, the output signal of the crank angle sensor 51 alternately switches on and off in accordance with the arrangement space of the permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12. Then, the rising edge Pe of the output signal of the crank angle sensor 51 when the output signal of the pulse sensor 52 is maintained at a high level is set to the ignition reference position.
The detection signals by the crank angle sensor 51 and the pulse sensor 52 are used for a switching control of the power FETs and for the ignition timing control in the same way as the first embodiment.
In this embodiment, although the permanent magnet for generating an electromotive force, which permanent magnet is fixed to the outer rotor body, is also used as for the sensor detection, a permanent magnet dedicated for sensor detection may be provided. Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a permanent magnet dedicated for sensor detection. A permanent magnet ring 66 is a magnet train having 12 permanent magnets 65-1 to 65-12, N pole and S pole of which are alternately arranged at predetermined intervals (e.g., 30 degree interval), and for example, this permanent magnet ring 66 can be arranged in the hub 43 of the outer rotor 32 or in the outer periphery of the crankshaft 31. Then, a set of permanent magnets 65-1, 65-2 are shifted from other permanent magnets, along the axis direction of the hub 43, in the same way as the above-described embodiment (Fig. 4), and are connected to each other by a leakage flux absorption plate (not shown) similar to the plate 50. Then, the crank angle sensor 51 is arranged on the stator core 33 opposing to the permanent magnet ring 66 or on crankcase side, while by deviating the pulse sensor 52 from the crank angle sensor 51 to the axis direction of the crankshaft 31, the pulse sensor 52 is arranged so as to be able to detect a leakage flux of the permanent magnet ring without opposing to the permanent magnet ring.
Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiments a rising edge of the output signal of the crank angle sensor 51 when the output signal of the pulse sensor 52 is at a high level is set to the ignition reference position, but by arranging the plate 50 so as to connect the permanent magnet 49-2 and the permanent magnet 49-3, the output signal of the pulse sensor 52 is maintained at a low level for a predetermined period. Accordingly, when configured in this manner, a similar effect can be obtained by setting a falling edge of the output signal of the crank angle sensor 51 when the output signal of the pulse sensor 52 is at a low level, to the ignition reference position.
Moreover, instead of deviating a part of the permanent magnets 49-1 to 49-12 (in Fig. 6, the permanent magnet 49-2), the size of the permanent magnet 49-2 may be reduced so as to deviate from the orbit LP 2.
Moreover, the electric generating system for a vehicle of the present invention is not limited to the starter-cum-generator but just needs to include an electric generator driven by an engine, and therefore a control unit for permitting this electric generator to function as an engine starter is not required.

2: POWER UNIT
28: STARTER-CUM-GENERATOR
31: CRANKSHAFT
32: OUTER ROTOR
33: STATOR CORE
34: STATOR WINDING
42: OUTER ROTOR BODY
43: HUB
49, 65-1 TO 65-12: PERMANENT MAGNET
50: LEAKAGE FLUX ABSORPTION PLATE
51: CRANK ANGLE SENSOR
52: PULSE SENSOR
55: CONTROL UNIT
62: THREE-PHASE DRIVER
66: PERMANENT MAGNET RING
E: ENGINE
LP, LP 2: DETECTION ORBIT OF THE PULSE SENSOR
LC, LC2: DETECTION ORBIT OF THE CRANK ANGLE SENSOR

Claims

An electric generating system for a vehicle, comprising:
an engine (E);

a three-phase brushless generator driven by the engine (E);

a crank angle sensor (51);

a pulse sensor (52);

a detector magnet for the crank angle sensor (51);

a detector magnet for the pulse sensor (52,); and

a control unit (55), which outputs a three-phase synchronization signal of the electric generator based on a detection signal of the crank angle sensor (51), which outputs an ignition reference position signal based on the detection signal of the crank angle sensor (51) and a detection signal of the pulse sensor (52), and which also outputs an ignition reference position signal of the engine (E) on the basis of the detection signal of the crank angle sensor (51) and the detection signal of the pulse sensor (52),
wherein detection orbits of the crank angle sensor (LC, LC2) and the pulse sensor (52) are set so as to deviate relative to each other in the extending direction of a crankshaft (31) of the engine (E),
the detector magnet is a single magnet train comprised of a plurality of magnets that are circularly arrayed along a region including both detection orbits of the crank angle sensor (LC, LC2) and the pulse sensor (52), and
adjacent magnets have mutually different polarities, and a part of the plurality of magnets are arranged deviating from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor (LP, LP 2) in order to share this detector magnet as used for the crank angle sensor (51) and used for the pulse sensor (52).
An electric generating system for a vehicle, comprising:
an engine (E);

a three-phase brushless generator driven by the engine (E) ;

a crank angle sensor (51); a pulse sensor (52);

a detector magnet for the crank angle sensor (51);

a detector magnet for the pulse sensor (52); and

a control unit (55), which outputs a three-phase synchronization signal of the electric generator based on a detection signal of the crank angle sensor (51), which outputs an ignition reference position signal based on the detection signal of the crank angle sensor (51) and a detection signal of the pulse sensor (52), and which also outputs an ignition reference position signal of the engine (E) based on the detection signal of the crank angle sensor (51) and the detection signal of the pulse sensor (52),
wherein detection orbits of the crank angle sensor (LC, LC2) and the pulse sensor (52) are set so as to deviate relative to each other in the extending direction of a crankshaft (31) of the engine (E), the detector magnet is a single magnet train comprised of a plurality of magnets that are circularly arrayed along a region including both detection orbits of the crank angle sensor (LC, LC2) and the pulse sensor (52), wherein adjacent magnets have mutually different polarities, and
in order to share this detector magnet as used for the crank angle sensor (51) and used for the pulse sensor (52), the detector magnet is arranged deviating from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor (LP, LP 2) so that a leakage flux of the detector magnet may be detected by the pulse sensor (52), and also a leakage flux absorber is provided in a part of the plurality of magnets.
The electric generating system for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein instead of deviating a part of the magnet train from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor (LP, LP 2), the part of the magnet train is reduced in size so as to deviate from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor (LP, LP 2).
The electric generating system for a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a part of the magnet train, in which the leakage flux absorber is provided, is provided deviating from the detection orbit of the pulse sensor (LP, LP 2) to the detection orbit side of the crank angle sensor (LC, 1C2), and the size of the part of the magnet train is set smaller in the deviating direction than other parts of the magnet train.
The electric generating system for a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the crank angle sensor (51) and the pulse sensor (52) are arranged with a predetermined angle deviated in the array direction of each of the magnets of the magnet train.
The electric generating system for a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a mechanism for delaying an output signal of the pulse sensor (52) relative to an output signal of the crank angle sensor (51) by a predetermined time.
The electric generating system for a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein when an output signal of the pulse sensor (52) is at a predefined one of a high level and a low level, the control unit (55) is configured so as to output an ignition reference position signal, whose ignition reference position is an edge when an output signal of the crank angle sensor (51) changes to a level corresponding to the above-described one level of the output signal of the pulse sensor (52).
The electric generating system for a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims,
wherein the detector magnet is a magnet for power generation provided on a rotor of the electric generator, and
the crank angle sensor (51) and the pulse sensor (52) are provided on a stator side of the electric generator.
The electric generating system for a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the electric generator serves also as a starter motor of the engine (E).