JP2011111977A - Internal combustion engine and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an internal combustion engine capable of suppressing the engine failure at start, and to provide a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The electric drive type vehicle 1 determines the safety of the engine starting based on the stopping period of engine 111 at a request of starting the engine 111, and executes controlling to suppress the engine failure at start based on the determination result. Therefore, the generation of the engine failure, such as a seizure of a sliding part, is suppressed at start of the internal combustion engine mounted on especially a hybrid vehicle or the electric drive type vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an internal combustion engine and a vehicle.

  An internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle circulates a large amount of lubricating oil inside it for the purpose of reducing internal friction and suppressing seizure of the sliding part, and forms an oil film on the sliding part during engine operation. Yes. In such an internal combustion engine, the lubricating oil is not circulated when the engine is stopped, and the components such as the piston and the connecting rod also stop operating, so that the oil film formed on the sliding portion between the components flows down. End up. For this reason, in an internal combustion engine that has been stopped for a predetermined period of time, a sufficient amount of lubricating oil is not present in the sliding portions between the components, and therefore, seizure of the sliding portions may occur when the engine is started. is there.

  In recent years, in view of energy saving and environmental considerations, hybrid vehicles equipped with an internal combustion engine and a motor as drive sources, and electric drive vehicles driven only by the motor and equipped with a small internal combustion engine for battery charging have attracted much attention. Yes. Since these vehicles are controlled in a direction that reduces the frequency of use of the internal combustion engine as much as possible, the above-mentioned problems are manifested because the internal combustion engine frequently stops and starts repeatedly, or stops for a long period of time depending on the driving situation. Turn into.

  With respect to such a problem, by executing control for limiting the combustion of the internal combustion engine for a predetermined period after the start of the operation of the motor according to the combustion start request of the internal combustion engine, the sliding part is started by the start of combustion of the internal combustion engine. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for forming a sufficient oil film.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for forming an oil film on a sliding portion by driving a motor generator to crank an internal combustion engine when it is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed for the stop time of the internal combustion engine. Yes.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a technique related to an engine automatic stop device that determines an oil shortage state of an internal combustion engine based on a detection signal from an oil detection circuit and stops the operation of the internal combustion engine when it is determined that the oil level is insufficient. Has been.

JP 2004-028066 A JP 2007-216764 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 03-017214

  According to the techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 3, it is possible to suppress the seizure of the sliding portion to some extent when starting the internal combustion engine that has been stopped for a predetermined period, but it is not necessarily possible to eliminate the poor lubrication of the sliding portion. Do not mean. Therefore, in the techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 3, there is a problem that the durability of the internal combustion engine is deteriorated due to repeated starting of the engine with an insufficient amount of lubricating oil interposed in the sliding portion. is there. Moreover, although the maintenance of an internal combustion engine may be requested | required depending on the lubrication state of a sliding part, it is difficult for a user to recognize the maintenance request | requirement of such an internal combustion engine with the technique of patent documents 1-3. . Therefore, there is a problem that the use of the internal combustion engine may be continued even though the maintenance is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide an internal combustion engine and a vehicle that can suppress engine failure at the time of starting.

In order to achieve the above object, an internal combustion engine of the present invention is an internal combustion engine in which lubricating oil is interposed in a sliding portion during engine operation, and a notification means for notifying a user of the internal combustion engine, and the internal combustion engine A stop period detecting means for detecting a stop period of the internal combustion engine, a determination means for determining safety of starting of the internal combustion engine based on a detection result of the stop period detecting means at the time of the start request of the internal combustion engine, Requesting means for requesting the notification means of a warning based on the determination result.
With the above configuration, when the internal combustion engine is requested to start, it is possible to determine the safety of starting the engine based on the stop period of the internal combustion engine and to notify the user of a warning based on the determination result. Therefore, the engine failure at the time of starting can be suppressed.

In particular, the internal combustion engine of the present invention includes start prohibiting means for prohibiting start of the internal combustion engine, and the request means prohibits the start prohibiting means from starting the internal combustion engine based on a determination result of the determination means. It can be set as the structure which requires.
With the above configuration, when the internal combustion engine is requested to start, it is possible to determine the safety of starting the engine based on the stop period of the internal combustion engine, and to prohibit the internal combustion engine from starting based on the determination result. Therefore, the engine failure at the time of starting can be suppressed.

The internal combustion engine of the present invention further includes a counting unit that counts the number of times that the stop period of the internal combustion engine exceeds a predetermined stop period based on a detection result of the stop period detection unit, and the determination unit includes the counting unit. The safety of starting the internal combustion engine can be determined based on the count result of the means.
With the above configuration, the safety of starting the internal combustion engine can be determined based on the number of times that the stop period of the internal combustion engine exceeds the predetermined stop period. Therefore, the engine failure at the time of starting can be suppressed with higher accuracy.

And the internal combustion engine of this invention can be set as the structure which the said alerting | reporting means alert | reports to the user the maintenance request | requirement of the said internal combustion engine.
With the above configuration, it is possible to notify the user of a maintenance request for the internal combustion engine. Therefore, the engine failure at the time of starting can be suppressed more reliably.

Furthermore, the vehicle of the present invention can be configured to mount the internal combustion engine according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
With the above configuration, engine failure at the start of the internal combustion engine mounted on the vehicle can be suppressed.

The vehicle of the present invention can be configured such that the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle or an electrically driven vehicle.
With the above configuration, engine failure at the start of the internal combustion engine mounted on the hybrid vehicle or the electrically driven vehicle can be suppressed.

  According to the internal combustion engine and the vehicle of the present invention, when starting the internal combustion engine, it is possible to determine the safety of starting the engine based on the stop period of the internal combustion engine, and to suppress engine failure at the start based on the determination result. it can.

It is the figure which showed one structural example of the electrically driven vehicle of an Example. It is a figure which shows a power generator typically. It is a figure showing an engine typically. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of electric power generating apparatus side ECU.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an electrically driven vehicle 1 equipped with an internal combustion engine of the present invention.

  An electrically driven vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a power generator 11, a battery 12, and an electric motor 13. The electrically driven vehicle 1 is equipped with a power generator 11 so as to be detachable. The electrically driven vehicle 1 in which the power generation device 11 is detachably mounted can be operated even when the power generation device 11 is not mounted and the electrical connection with the power generation device 11 is disconnected. . On the other hand, as long as the power generation device 11 is electrically connected to the electrically driven vehicle 1, the battery 12 can be charged even if it is not mounted on the electrically driven vehicle 1.

  The power generation device 11 is an engine-driven power generation device. As shown in FIG. 2, the power generation device 11 includes an engine 111, a generator 112, and a power generation device side ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 113. The engine 111 drives a generator 112, and the driven generator 112 generates an alternating current. The generated alternating current is rectified to direct current by a rectifier circuit (not shown) before charging the battery 12. The power generator ECU 113 is provided mainly for controlling the engine 111.

The engine 111 is a multi-cylinder engine, and each cylinder includes a piston 122 that constitutes a combustion chamber 121 (see FIG. 3). The piston 122 of each combustion chamber is slidably fitted to a cylinder of the engine 111, and is connected to a crankshaft that is an output shaft member via a connecting rod.
The power generation device side ECU 113 determines the fuel injection timing based on the position of the piston 122 from the crank angle sensor and the information of the cam shaft rotation phase from the intake cam angle sensor, and sends a signal to the injector 124. The injector 124 injects fuel into the intake port 123 at the instructed injection timing in accordance with the signal from the power generator ECU 113. The fuel injected from the injector 124 atomizes and mixes with the intake air, and flows into the combustion chamber 121 from the intake port 123 as the intake valve opens. The mixture of the fuel and the intake air that has flowed into the combustion chamber 121 is compressed in the combustion chamber 121 by the upward movement of the piston 122 and ignited by the spark plug 125, and is expanded in the combustion chamber. 122 is lowered. The engine 111 obtains power by changing the downward movement to the shaft rotation of the crankshaft via the connecting rod.
In this case, the engine 111 may be configured such that the injector 124 is attached to the combustion chamber 121 and fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber 121. Further, the combustion chamber 121 may be provided with an in-cylinder injector, and the intake port 123 may be provided with a port injection injector. Further, the engine 111 is not limited to a gasoline engine using gasoline as fuel, and may be any of a diesel engine using light oil as a fuel and a flexible fuel engine using a fuel in which gasoline and alcohol are mixed in an arbitrary ratio. .
The engine 111 is a configuration example of the internal combustion engine of the present invention.

The engine 111 has a configuration in which a large amount of lubricating oil circulates during operation. The lubricating oil stored in the oil pan is pumped up by a supply pump, and is pumped and supplied from the strainer to each part (crank journal, head / cam journal, etc.) of the engine 111 through an oil cooler and an oil filter through a distribution path. The lubricating oil that has circulated through each part of the engine 111 is returned to the oil pan through the return path, and is then pumped up again by the supply pump and circulates through each part of the engine 111.
The supply pump pumps up the lubricating oil stored in the oil pan and feeds it to each part of the engine 111 through a distribution path. The supply pump preferably has a configuration in which the pressure and amount of lubricating oil can be arbitrarily adjusted in accordance with instructions from the power generation device side ECU 113, but a mechanical type that is driven by synchronizing with the rotation of the engine 111, and the battery 12 Any of the electric type driven by the electric power from may be adopted.

  The battery 12 is a direct current battery, and is electrically and detachably connected to the power generation device 11 via a high voltage system wiring that is a power system wiring. And the electric power which the electric power generating apparatus 11 generated is charged to the battery 12 via a high voltage system wiring. As the battery 12, for example, a battery in which a plurality of batteries having a rated voltage of DC 12V are connected in series can be applied. The electric motor 13 is a traveling drive source and is a direct current motor. The electric motor 13 is supplied with electric power from the battery 12 and rotates the output shaft 14. Then, the rotation output is transmitted to the pair of left and right rear wheels 2 as drive wheels via the transmission 15, and as a result, the rear wheels 2 are driven. Thus, the electric drive type vehicle 1 is a series hybrid type electric drive type vehicle.

  The electrically driven vehicle 1 includes a pair of left and right rear wheels 2 as drive wheels, a pair of left and right front wheels 3 as steering wheels, a handle 4 for manually steering the front wheels 3, and a motor rotation speed of an electric motor 13. An accelerator pedal 5 for changing the vehicle, a brake pedal 6 and a brake unit 7 for applying braking to the vehicle, a wire connection to the brake pedal 6 and a connection to the brake unit 7, and each front wheel 3, each rear wheel 2 are provided with drum brakes 8 respectively. The accelerator pedal 5 is provided with an accelerator opening sensor 61 that detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 5, and the brake pedal 6 is provided with a brake switch 62 that detects whether or not the brake pedal 6 is depressed.

  The electrically driven vehicle 1 includes a key switch 71. The key switch 71 is a switch that can be selectively switched between ON and OFF. The key switch 71 is an operation means for making an operation request to the power generation device 11 and the electric motor 13. Specifically, when the key switch 71 is ON, an operation request is made. When the key switch 71 is OFF, there is no operation request. The key switch 71 is provided on an instrument panel (not shown).

The electrically driven vehicle 1 includes a warning lamp 31. The warning lamp 31 is provided on an instrument panel (not shown), lights up in response to a command from the vehicle-side ECU 50, and notifies the user of a maintenance request for the engine 111. In this case, instead of the warning lamp 31, a warning sound may be emitted from a speaker to notify the user of a maintenance request for the engine 111, or the warning may be notified by other means.
The warning lamp 31 is an example of the configuration of the notification means of the present invention.

  The electrically driven vehicle 1 further includes a vehicle-side ECU 50 that is a first control device. The vehicle-side ECU 50 includes a microcomputer (not shown) composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like and an input / output circuit. The power generation device side ECU 113 corresponding to the second control device has the same configuration. The power generation device 11 (more specifically, the power generation device side ECU 113) is electrically and detachably connected to the vehicle side ECU 50. In this regard, the vehicle-side ECU 50 and the power generation apparatus 11 are specifically connected via a low-voltage system wiring that is a control system wiring. In addition, various control objects such as the electric motor 13 are electrically connected to the vehicle-side ECU 50, and various sensors and switches such as an accelerator opening sensor 61, a brake switch 62, and a key switch 71 are electrically connected. Connected.

  When the key switch 71 is OFF, the vehicle-side ECU 50 is in a standby state in which various control operations can be appropriately executed as necessary. In the standby state, the vehicle-side ECU 50 can specifically detect, for example, the state of sensors and switches, control various control objects other than the electric motor 13, and output a driving request signal.

  The ROM is configured to store a program describing various processes executed by the CPU, map data, and the like. The CPU-side ECU 50 and the power generation device-side ECU 113 perform various control means, determination means, and detection means by executing processing while using a temporary storage area of the RAM as required based on a program stored in the ROM. And calculating means are functionally realized.

For example, the vehicle-side ECU 50 and the power generation device-side ECU 113 suppress the operation and stop of the engine 111 based on the charging rate of the battery 12.
The vehicle-side ECU 50 calculates the state of charge (SOC) of the battery 12 from the detection results of the voltmeter and ammeter provided in the battery 12. Then, the vehicle-side ECU 50 requests the power generation device-side ECU 113 to start the engine 111 when the SOC of the battery 12 is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Here, the predetermined value of the SOC means an arbitrary SOC value required for driving the electrically driven vehicle 1 satisfactorily. When the power generation device side ECU 113 receives a start request from the vehicle side ECU 50, the power generation device side ECU 113 instructs the generator 112 to crank the engine 111 and starts the operation of the engine 111 to start charging the battery 12.
When the SOC of battery 12 exceeds a predetermined value, vehicle-side ECU 50 requests power generation device-side ECU 113 to stop engine 111. When the power generation device side ECU 113 receives a stop request from the vehicle side ECU 50, the power generation device side ECU 113 instructs the engine 111 to stop and stops the operation, thereby terminating the charging of the battery 12.

  Further, when the engine 111 is requested to start, the vehicle-side ECU 50 and the power generation device-side ECU 113 determine the engine start safety based on the stop period of the engine 111, and suppress the engine failure at the start based on the determination result. Execute.

  The power generation device side ECU 113 detects a stop period from the stop of the operation of the engine 111 to the next start, and counts a case where the detected stop period exceeds a predetermined period. Here, the predetermined period is an arbitrary period during which the sliding portion can maintain a good lubrication state after the operation of the engine 111 is stopped, and is set to an appropriate period obtained by, for example, a bench test. , Stored in advance in the ROM of the power generation device side ECU 113.

  Then, when the number of counts exceeding the predetermined period exceeds the predetermined number, the power generation device side ECU 113 determines that the safety of starting the engine 111 is low, and requests the vehicle side ECU 50 to notify the user, Starting of the engine 111 is prohibited. Here, the predetermined number of counts is an arbitrary number that can maintain safety with a low risk of engine failure at the start of the engine 111, and is set to an appropriate number obtained by a bench test, for example. It is stored in advance in the ROM of the device side ECU 113.

  When the vehicle-side ECU 50 receives a notification request from the power generation device-side ECU 113, the vehicle-side ECU 50 instructs the warning lamp 31 to notify the user of the warning by turning on the warning lamp 31.

With such a configuration, when the engine 111 is requested to start, the engine start safety is determined based on the stop period of the engine 111, and the engine is informed of a warning when it is determined that the safety is low. 111 start-up can be prohibited. Therefore, engine failure at the start of the engine 111 can be suppressed.
In this case, the power generation device-side ECU 113 may determine the safety of starting the engine 111 based on the integrated value of the stop period from the stop of the operation of the engine 111 to the next start. Further, the vehicle-side ECU 50 may be in charge of detecting the stop period of the engine 111, counting it, judging the safety at the time of starting, and prohibiting the start of the engine 111, and requesting the warning lamp 31 to be informed. May be in charge.

Furthermore, the power generation device side ECU 113 can execute control that does not permit the ignition start of the engine 111 based on the current value when the engine 111 is cranked. For example, if the current value during cranking of the engine 111 is within an allowable range, it is determined that there is no abnormality in the internal friction or lubricating oil of the engine 111 and ignition of the engine 111 is started. On the other hand, if the current value during cranking of engine 111 is not within the allowable range, it is determined that there is an abnormality in internal friction or lubricating oil of engine 111, and ignition of engine 111 is not permitted. Thereby, the engine failure at the time of starting of the engine 111 can be suppressed more accurately.
The vehicle-side ECU 50 is a configuration example of request means of the present invention. The power generation device side ECU 113 is a configuration example of a stop period detection unit, a count unit, a determination unit, a request unit, and a start prohibiting unit of the present invention.

  Subsequently, the operation of the electrically driven vehicle 1 will be described along the flow of control of the power generation device side ECU 113. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the power generation device side ECU 113. The electrically driven vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment includes an informing unit, a start prohibiting unit, a stop period detecting unit, a counting unit, a determining unit, and a requesting unit. Based on the stop period of 111, the engine starting safety is determined, and based on the determination result, control for suppressing engine failure at the time of starting is executed.

The control of the power generation device side ECU 113 starts, for example, when the power generation device 11 is electrically connected to the electrically driven vehicle 1 and repeats the following control. First, in step S1, the power generation apparatus side ECU 113 detects a stop period from the stop of the operation of the engine 111 to the next start, and counts a case where the detected stop period exceeds a predetermined period. Here, since the predetermined period has been described above, the description thereof is omitted.
The power generation device side ECU 113 continues to detect the stop period not only during operation of the electrically driven vehicle 1 (that is, when the ignition switch is ON) but also when operation is stopped (that is, when the ignition switch is OFF). In this case, the power generation device side ECU 113 counts the count when the operation stop period of the electrically driven vehicle 1 exceeds a predetermined period in which engine failure such as seizure of the sliding portion of the engine 111 may occur. Regardless of the configuration, the control in step S3 described later may be executed.
After completing the process of step S1, the power generation device side ECU 113 proceeds to the next step S2.

  In step S2, the power generation device side ECU 113 determines whether or not the number counted in step S1 exceeds a predetermined number. Here, since the predetermined number has been described above, the description thereof is omitted. When the counted number does not exceed the predetermined number (step S2 / NO), the power generation device side ECU 113 ends the control process. When the counted number exceeds the predetermined number (step S2 / YES), the power generator ECU 113 proceeds to the next step S3.

  In step S <b> 3, the power generation device side ECU 113 determines that the starting safety of the engine 111 is low, requests the vehicle side ECU 50 to notify the user, and notifies the user of the warning by turning on the warning lamp 31. At the same time, the power generator ECU 113 prohibits the engine 111 from starting. After completing the process of step S3, the power generation device side ECU 113 proceeds to the next step S4.

  In step S4, the power generator ECU 113 determines whether or not the maintenance of the engine 111 has been completed. Here, a method for determining whether or not the maintenance of the engine 111 has been completed will be described. For example, when a maintenance completion approval button (not shown) (not shown) is connected to the power generation device side ECU 113 and the operator presses the maintenance completion approval button at the end of the maintenance, the maintenance of the engine 111 is completed. It can be set as the structure to judge. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which is equipped with the sensor which can detect automatically the maintenance of the engine 111 with a maintenance, and detects the completion | finish of a maintenance automatically. When the maintenance of the engine 111 has not been completed (step S4 / NO), the power generator ECU 113 returns to step S3 and repeats the above control. When the maintenance of engine 111 has not ended (step S4 / YES), power generation device side ECU 113 proceeds to the next step S5.

In step S <b> 5, the power generation device side ECU 113 resets the number counted in step S <b> 1, requests the vehicle side ECU 50 to stop notification, turns off the warning lamp 31, and permits the engine 111 to start.
By executing this control, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an engine failure such as seizure of the sliding portion when the engine 111 is started.
When finishing the process of step S5, the power generation device side ECU 113 ends the control process.

  As described above, when the engine 111 is requested to start, the electrically driven vehicle according to the present embodiment determines the engine start safety based on the stop period of the engine 111, and determines the engine failure at the start based on the determination result. Control to suppress is executed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of engine failure such as seizure of the sliding portion particularly at the start of the internal combustion engine mounted on the hybrid vehicle or the electrically driven vehicle.

  The above embodiments are merely examples for carrying out the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

  For example, the electrically driven vehicle 1 may be a hybrid vehicle that uses the engine 111 and the electric motor 13 as a travel drive source. Further, the power generation device 11 may be mounted on the electrically driven vehicle 1 so as not to be removable. The power generation device 11 (or the engine 111) may be provided with notification means such as a warning lamp 31 so that the user can be warned even if the power generation device 11 is not mounted on the electrically driven vehicle 1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric drive type vehicle 11 Electric power generation apparatus 12 Battery 13 Electric motor 31 Warning lamp 50 Vehicle side ECU (request means)
111 engine 112 generator 113 power generation device side ECU (stop period detection means, count means, determination means, request means, start prohibition means)

Claims (6)

An internal combustion engine in which lubricating oil is interposed in the sliding part during engine operation,
An informing means for informing a user of the internal combustion engine of a warning;
A stop period detecting means for detecting a stop period of the internal combustion engine;
Determining means for determining safety of starting of the internal combustion engine based on a detection result of the stop period detecting means at the time of starting the internal combustion engine;
Based on the determination result of the determination means, request means for requesting the notification means of warning,
An internal combustion engine comprising: Starting prohibiting means for prohibiting starting of the internal combustion engine;
2. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the requesting unit requests the start prohibiting unit to prohibit starting of the internal combustion engine based on a determination result of the determining unit. Based on the detection result of the stop period detecting means, comprising a counting means for counting the number of times the stop period of the internal combustion engine exceeds a predetermined stop period;
The internal combustion engine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination means determines the safety of starting of the internal combustion engine based on a count result of the counting means.   The internal combustion engine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the notification means notifies the user of a maintenance request for the internal combustion engine.   A vehicle equipped with the internal combustion engine according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle or an electrically driven vehicle.

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