JP2012233409A - Vehicle exterior environment control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect the concentration of gas component, which is changed before and after combustion of the gas flowing from the intake side to the exhaust side of an engine in vehicle exterior air with high precision.SOLUTION: In an engine 10, a gas sensor 39 in which the gas component whose concentration is changed before and after the combustion is an object for detection in the gas flowing from the intake side to the exhaust side, is arranged in the intake passage 11 of the engine 10. An ECU 40 detects the concentration of the gas component contained in the vehicle exterior air based on the detection signal of the gas sensor 39 during the combustion of the engine in a state that the vehicle does not run, and executes a treatment of controlling the vehicle exterior environmental degradation accompanied with the concentration change of the gas component when the detected concentration is within the predetermined range of abnormality.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle exterior environment control system, and more particularly to a technique for detecting a gas concentration in air outside a vehicle and optimizing the vehicle exterior environment based on the detected concentration.

  For example, in a vehicle in which the engine can be started by remote operation or a hybrid vehicle in which a battery is charged by driving a generator by the engine, the engine operating state (combustion state) remains for a long time with the vehicle stopped. May continue over time. At this time, for example, if the combustion state of the engine is continued in a space with poor ventilation (for example, a closed garage), the exhaust of the engine is discharged outside the vehicle, so that the gas components in the atmosphere around the vehicle It is conceivable that the concentration changes and the concentration of CO, NOx, etc. in the atmosphere increases.

  Therefore, conventionally, a technique has been proposed in which a gas sensor for detecting the exhaust gas concentration around the vehicle in the garage is provided, and the operation of the engine is stopped based on the gas concentration detected by the gas sensor during engine operation when the vehicle is stopped. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). Among these documents, Patent Document 2 discloses that an exhaust gas detection device (gas sensor) is disposed in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the exhaust gas concentration in the vicinity of the vehicle is detected by the exhaust gas detection device. Note that Patent Document 1 discloses providing a gas sensor that detects the exhaust gas concentration around the vehicle, but does not describe a specific position where the gas sensor is provided.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-1748 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-252519

  When a vehicle is parked in a closed space such as a garage and the engine is burned, the gas concentration may be biased in the space due to various factors. Therefore, when a gas sensor is provided in the vicinity of the vehicle as in Patent Document 2, it is conceivable that the gas concentration around the vehicle cannot be accurately detected due to the uneven gas concentration in the space. For example, when a gas sensor is provided in a place where exhaust tends to stay, combustion of the engine may be stopped although the concentration of exhaust in the air outside the vehicle is not so high for the entire garage. . Conversely, if the gas sensor is installed in a place where exhaust does not stay, the engine continues to burn despite the high exhaust concentration in the air outside the garage as a whole. It is conceivable that the concentration of CO, NOx, etc. in the inside is further increased or the O2 concentration is further decreased.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and can accurately detect the concentration in the air outside the vehicle of the gas component that changes in concentration before and after combustion in the gas flowing from the intake side to the exhaust side of the engine. The main purpose is to provide a vehicle exterior environment control system.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.

  The present invention relates to an outside environment control system applied to a vehicle including a gas sensor that detects a gas component whose concentration changes before and after combustion in a gas flowing from an intake side to an exhaust side of an engine. In the first aspect of the present invention, the gas sensor is disposed in the intake passage of the engine. During combustion of the engine in a state where the vehicle is not traveling, the gas sensor is installed outside the vehicle based on the detection signal of the gas sensor. Gas concentration detection means for detecting the concentration of the gas component contained in the air, and deterioration of the environment outside the vehicle due to a change in the concentration of the gas component when the concentration detected by the gas concentration detection means is within a predetermined abnormal range And a process control means for performing an environmental deterioration suppressing process, which is a process for suppressing the above-described problem.

  In short, when the combustion of the engine is continued with the vehicle parked in a garage or the like, the concentration of the gas component is not necessarily uniform around the vehicle, and the concentration may be uneven. Therefore, for example, when the gas sensor is provided on the garage side, it is conceivable that the gas concentration in the air outside the vehicle cannot be accurately detected due to the uneven gas concentration in the garage. In this regard, in this configuration, attention is paid to the fact that air outside the vehicle is sequentially taken into the intake passage of the engine during engine combustion, and since the gas sensor is provided in the intake passage, the gas concentration of the outside air is appropriately monitored. be able to. Further, by providing the gas sensor in the intake passage, the concentration of air around the vehicle can be monitored even if the gas sensor for monitoring the concentration of outside air is not provided at the parking place at the destination of the vehicle. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to accurately detect that the environment outside the vehicle has deteriorated, and as a result, a process for suppressing the deterioration of the environment outside the vehicle due to a change in the concentration of the gas component is appropriately performed according to the environment outside the vehicle. Can be implemented at any time.

  More specifically, the arrangement of the gas sensor includes a throttle valve that adjusts the intake air amount of the engine in the intake passage, as in the invention described in claim 2, Alternatively, the gas sensor may be arranged on the upstream side. According to this configuration, it is possible to minimize the detection error due to the influence of the fuel evaporative gas adhering to the wall of the intake passage or the intake valve, and as a result, the gas concentration in the air outside the vehicle can be accurately detected. Can do.

  Further, as in a third aspect of the present invention, an air cleaner that filters engine intake air is disposed at the most upstream portion of the intake passage, and the intake passage is further downstream than the air cleaner. The gas sensor may be arranged. According to the above configuration, since the gas concentration is detected for the intake air after the dust contained in the atmosphere is removed, the detection error of the sensor due to the influence of dust and the like can be reduced.

  As a process for suppressing deterioration of the environment outside the vehicle due to a change in the concentration of the gas component, a combustion stop process for stopping the combustion of the engine may be performed as in the invention described in claim 4. In this case, it is possible to avoid further increasing the concentration of CO or NOx or lowering the O2 concentration around the vehicle.

  In the configuration that suppresses the deterioration of the environment outside the vehicle by stopping the combustion of the engine, the concentration change of the gas component during the combustion of the engine is detected based on the detection signal of the gas sensor as in the invention of claim 5. Before performing the combustion stop process by the concentration change detection means to be detected and the process control means, the user is informed that the combustion stop process may be performed based on the concentration change detected by the concentration change detection means. And a pre-stop processing means for performing at least one of a process of notifying the engine and a process of reducing the engine output while continuing combustion of the engine.

  For example, it is possible to prompt the user to improve the environment around the vehicle (for example, ventilation) by notifying the engine stop in advance. In addition, by limiting the output of the engine in advance, the emission amount of CO, NOx, etc. can be reduced. Therefore, according to this configuration, the environment outside the vehicle can be improved or further deterioration can be suppressed before the engine combustion is stopped, and the execution of the engine combustion stop can be delayed.

  As a process for suppressing environmental deterioration, as in the invention described in claim 6, a notification means is provided for notifying the user that the environment outside the vehicle has deteriorated due to a change in the concentration of the gas component. It is good also as a structure which implements a notification to a user. According to this structure, the user who recognized the notification can avoid further environmental deterioration outside the vehicle, for example, by stopping the operation of the engine or performing ventilation around the vehicle.

  Alternatively, as in the invention according to claim 7, in the garage in which the vehicle is parked, ventilation means for ventilating the garage is provided, and the ventilation means is operated as the environmental deterioration suppressing process. It is good also as a structure which implements the ventilation in the said garage. According to this configuration, it is possible to positively improve the environment outside the vehicle that has deteriorated due to combustion of the engine.

1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle exterior environment control system. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of an environmental deterioration suppression process. The whole schematic block diagram of the vehicle exterior environment control system in other embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is embodied in a control system for a hybrid vehicle (range extender vehicle) that includes a motor as a power source and an engine dedicated to power generation. In the system, an entire vehicle system is controlled by controlling a motor and an engine with an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as ECU) as a center. FIG. 1 shows an overall schematic configuration diagram of this system.

  In the engine 10 shown in FIG. 1, an air cleaner 12 that filters air sucked into the engine 10 is provided at the most upstream portion of the intake passage 11, and a throttle actuator such as a DC motor is provided downstream of the air cleaner 12. A throttle valve 14 is provided as air amount adjusting means whose opening degree is adjusted by 13. The opening degree of the throttle valve 14 (throttle opening degree) is detected by a throttle opening degree sensor (not shown) built in the throttle actuator 13.

  A surge tank 15 is provided downstream of the throttle valve 14, and an intake pressure sensor 16 for detecting the intake pipe pressure is provided in the surge tank 15. An intake manifold 17 that introduces air into each cylinder of the engine 10 is connected to the surge tank 15. In the intake manifold 17, an injector 18 that injects fuel is attached near the intake port of each cylinder. Yes. In FIG. 1, the injector 18 is provided in the vicinity of the intake port of the engine 10, but instead, it may be configured to be provided in a cylinder head or the like of each cylinder.

  An intake valve 21 and an exhaust valve 22 are provided at an intake port and an exhaust port of the engine 10, respectively. The air-fuel mixture is introduced into the combustion chamber 23 by the opening operation of the intake valve 21, and the exhaust gas after combustion is discharged into the exhaust passage 24 by the opening operation of the exhaust valve 22. The intake passage 11 is constructed by a passage from the air intake port on the upstream side of the air cleaner 12 to the intake port.

  A spark plug 25 is attached to the cylinder head of the engine 10 for each cylinder. A high voltage is applied to the ignition plug 25 at a desired ignition timing through an ignition device including an ignition coil. By applying this high voltage, a spark discharge is generated between the opposing electrodes of each spark plug 25, and the air-fuel mixture introduced into the combustion chamber 23 is ignited and used for combustion.

  The exhaust passage 24 of the engine 10 is provided with a catalyst 26 for purifying CO, HC, NOx and the like in the exhaust gas. In this embodiment, a three-way catalyst is used as the catalyst 26. In addition, an air-fuel ratio sensor 27 that detects the air-fuel ratio (oxygen concentration) of the air-fuel mixture is provided upstream of the catalyst 26.

  A motor MG <b> 1 is connected to a crankshaft 28 that is an output shaft of the engine 10. The motor MG1 is a well-known synchronous generator motor that functions as both a generator and a motor. Specifically, the motor MG1 generates power by being driven by the rotational energy of the crankshaft 28 and charges the battery 29 with the generated power. The motor MG1 functions as an electric motor when the engine is started, and is driven by receiving electric power supplied from the battery 29, thereby giving initial rotation (motoring) to the crankshaft 28. The battery 29 can be charged by an external power supply via the plug PG. The battery 29 is connected to a low-voltage battery (for example, a 12V auxiliary battery, not shown) via a DC-DC converter, and the low-voltage battery is charged by electric power from the battery 29.

  A motor MG2 is connected to the battery 29. The motor MG <b> 2 is a well-known synchronous generator motor that functions as both a generator and an electric motor, and is driven by power supplied from the battery 29. Wheels (drive wheels) 32 are connected to the motor MG2 via a speed reduction mechanism 31 and the like, and the power of the motor MG2 is transmitted to the drive wheels 32. The motor MG2 has a function of generating regenerative power when the vehicle decelerates, and charges the battery 29 with the generated power.

  In addition, the present system includes an air flow meter 33 that detects the intake air amount of the engine, an intake air temperature sensor 34 that detects the temperature of the intake air, and a crank angle sensor 35 that outputs a crank angle signal for each predetermined crank angle of the engine 10. A cooling water temperature sensor 36 for detecting the cooling water temperature of the engine 10, a battery sensor 37 for detecting the charge / discharge current of the battery 29, a vehicle speed sensor 38 for detecting the vehicle speed, and the like are provided.

  As is well known, the ECU 40 is mainly composed of a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer 41) composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like, and executes various control programs stored in the ROM, thereby performing various controls of the engine 10. The drive control of the motor MG1 and the motor MG2 is performed. Note that each of the motors MG1, MG2 and the engine 10 is actually controlled by a separate electronic control unit, but these electronic control units are represented as an ECU 40 here.

  For engine control, the microcomputer 41 of the ECU 40 receives various detection signals from the various sensors described above, calculates the fuel injection amount, ignition timing, and the like based on the various detection signals, and based on the calculation results. The injector 18 and the ignition device are controlled. Specifically, the microcomputer 41 calculates the remaining capacity (SOC) of the battery 29 based on the detection value of the battery sensor 37, drives the motor MG1 based on the calculated SOC, and applies initial rotation to the engine 10. Moreover, combustion of the engine 10 is started by controlling fuel injection and ignition. Thereby, the engine 10 is started, and the battery 29 is charged by driving the motor MG1 as the engine starts. When the SOC of the battery 29 reaches the target value due to this charging, the fuel injection and ignition are stopped and the combustion of the engine 10 is stopped. The charging of the battery 29 is performed, for example, when there is a charging request from the user or when it is determined that the battery 29 needs to be charged based on the calculated SOC.

  By the way, in a vehicle that uses the engine 10 as a power source for driving the vehicle but does not use the engine 10 exclusively for power generation as in the present system, the battery 29 is often charged in the parking state of the vehicle, for example, in preparation for the next vehicle driving. Become. That is, the frequency with which combustion of the engine 10 is continued while the vehicle is not running increases. On the other hand, the exhaust gas discharged from the engine 10 into the atmosphere via the exhaust passage 24 may contain CO, NOx, HC, etc. that are not purified by the catalyst 26 although they are in a very small amount. In particular, in the operation mode in which the battery 29 is charged, operation at a higher load is performed than in idle operation, and CO and NOx tend to increase in the exhaust. Therefore, if the combustion of the engine 10 in a vehicle stop state is continued in a space with poor ventilation, for example, CO or NOx in the exhaust gas stays in the space, and the concentration of CO or NOx increases around the vehicle. It is possible. Further, it is conceivable that the O2 concentration around the vehicle becomes lower due to the consumption of O2 by the combustion of the engine 10.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, a gas sensor that detects a gas component (specific gas component) whose concentration changes before and after combustion in the gas flowing from the intake side to the exhaust side of the engine 10 is provided so that the vehicle is not running. During engine operation, the gas sensor detects the concentration of a specific gas component contained in the air outside the vehicle. And when the density | concentration of the specific gas component computed based on the detection signal of a gas sensor exists in the predetermined | prescribed abnormal range, an environmental deterioration suppression process is implemented in order to suppress the environmental deterioration outside a vehicle accompanying the density | concentration change of a specific gas component. In this embodiment, the process which stops combustion of the engine 10 is implemented as an environmental deterioration suppression process. Thus, it is avoided that the concentration of CO or NOx is further increased or the O2 concentration is further decreased around the vehicle.

  Here, the gas component whose concentration changes before and after the combustion of the engine 10 includes a first gas component (for example, CO, CO 2, NOx, HC, etc.) that increases with the combustion of the engine 10 and a decrease with the combustion of the engine 10. And a second gas component (for example, O2). In this embodiment, the gas sensor includes a CO sensor that detects the CO concentration, an HC sensor that detects the HC concentration, a NOx sensor that detects the NOx concentration, and an oxygen sensor that detects the O2 concentration (detected in a wide area including the atmosphere). Possible sensor). Thereby, the density | concentration of the specific gas component in the air outside a vehicle can be detected now for every component. However, as the gas sensor, any one of a CO sensor, an HC sensor, and a NOx sensor, for example, a CO sensor alone may be provided.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, when the engine 10 is in a combustion state, attention is paid to the fact that air outside the vehicle is sequentially taken into the intake passage 11, and the gas sensor 39 is disposed in the intake passage 11 (see FIG. 1). ). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a gas sensor 39 is disposed between the air cleaner 12 and the throttle valve 14 in the intake passage 11.

  The reason why the gas sensor 39 is arranged in the intake passage 11 is as follows. That is, when the combustion of the engine 10 is continued while the vehicle is parked in a closed space such as a garage, the concentration of the specific gas component may be biased around the vehicle due to various factors. Therefore, for example, when the gas sensor 39 is provided on the garage side, it is conceivable that the concentration of the specific gas component around the vehicle cannot be accurately detected due to the uneven gas concentration in the garage. Especially in the garage, depending on the shape of the space, the stop position of the vehicle, the direction of the vehicle, etc., the location where the specific gas component tends to stagnate or the location where it is difficult to stagnate is different each time, and the detection accuracy of the specific gas concentration is also different each time. It can be changed.

  More specifically, when the gas sensor 39 is disposed at a position where the specific gas component is likely to stay, the entire interior of the garage has a specific gas component concentration in the air outside the vehicle that is not so high. Combustion is stopped, and as a result, charging of the battery 29 may be interrupted even though the environment outside the vehicle is good. On the other hand, when the gas sensor 39 is disposed at a position where the specific gas component is less likely to stay and is more likely to become leaner than the other, the engine 10 actually has a high concentration of the specific gas component in the air outside the vehicle. As a result, it is conceivable that CO and NOx in the air outside the vehicle are further increased in concentration or O2 is further decreased in concentration. Therefore, in this embodiment, the gas sensor 39 is arranged in the intake passage 11 where air always flows during engine combustion. In addition, by providing the gas sensor 39 on the vehicle side, the air concentration around the vehicle is monitored at any time even if a gas sensor for detecting the concentration of a specific gas component in the air is not disposed at the parking location at the destination of the vehicle. It is possible.

  Further, during engine combustion, a gas flow is always generated in the exhaust passage 24 as in the intake passage 11, and it can be said that there is little gas retention. However, when the gas sensor 39 is disposed in the exhaust passage 24, the concentration of the specific gas component increases around the gas sensor due to the exhaust of the engine 10, and as a result, the concentration of air outside the vehicle cannot be appropriately monitored. It is done. On the other hand, in the intake passage 11, air outside the vehicle is sequentially taken in during engine combustion, so that it is less affected by the concentration deviation. Therefore, the air concentration around the vehicle can be monitored with high accuracy.

  Next, the environmental deterioration suppression process of this embodiment is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed at predetermined intervals by the microcomputer 41 of the ECU 40.

  In FIG. 2, in step S <b> 11, it is determined whether or not the engine 10 is in combustion when the vehicle is stopped. When step S11 is YES, it progresses to step S12, the detection value of the gas sensor 39 is acquired, and the gas concentration of each component in inhalation is calculated based on the detection value. In step S13, the calculated value of the gas concentration is corrected based on the intake air temperature detected by the intake air temperature sensor 34 and the intake air amount detected by the air flow meter 33. The parameters used for gas concentration correction may include the intake pipe pressure detected based on the intake pressure sensor 16, the intake air humidity, and the like in addition to the intake air temperature and the intake air amount.

  In subsequent step S14, it is determined whether or not the corrected gas concentration (concentration of the specific gas component outside the vehicle) is within a predetermined abnormal range. In the present embodiment, an abnormal range is predetermined for each gas component, and the gas concentration of each component calculated based on the detection value of the gas sensor 39 is compared with the abnormal range corresponding to the gas component. Specifically, the first gas component (for example, CO, CO 2, NOx, HC, etc.) that increases with combustion of the engine 10 has a predetermined abnormality when the concentration is higher than a threshold value determined for each gas component. Determined to be in range. Further, the second gas component (for example, O 2) that decreases with combustion of the engine 10 is determined to be within a predetermined abnormal range when the concentration is lower than the threshold value determined for each gas component.

  If at least one of the gas components to be detected is within the abnormal range, step S14 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S15 to perform the environmental deterioration suppressing process. In the present embodiment, the fuel supply to the engine 10 is stopped and the ignition by the spark plug 25 is stopped.

  According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

  Since the gas sensor 39 is provided in the intake passage 11 of the engine 10, there is little deviation of the gas concentration around the gas sensor during engine combustion, and therefore the gas concentration of the air outside the vehicle can be appropriately monitored. Further, by providing the gas sensor 39 in the intake passage 11, the concentration of air around the vehicle can be monitored even if a gas sensor for monitoring the concentration of outside air is not provided at the parking place at the destination of the vehicle. . Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to accurately detect that the environment outside the vehicle has deteriorated, and as a result, appropriately carry out when it is necessary to suppress the deterioration of the environment outside the vehicle accompanying a change in the concentration of the gas component. it can.

  Regarding the arrangement position of the gas sensor 39, in particular, since the gas sensor 39 is arranged upstream of the throttle valve 14 in the intake passage 11, detection error due to the influence of fuel evaporative gas adhering to the wall surface of the intake passage 11, the intake valve 21, and the like. Can be made as small as possible. As a result, the gas concentration in the air outside the vehicle can be detected with high accuracy.

  In addition, since the gas sensor 39 is arranged in the intake passage 11 downstream of the air cleaner 12, the gas concentration can be detected for the intake air after the dust contained in the atmosphere is removed, and is affected by the influence of dust and the like. The detection error of the sensor can be reduced.

  In this embodiment, as the environmental deterioration suppressing process, the combustion stop process for stopping the combustion of the engine is performed, so that the concentration of CO and NOx is further increased around the vehicle, or the O2 concentration is further decreased. Can be avoided.

  The present invention is not limited to the description of the above embodiment, and may be implemented as follows, for example.

  In the above embodiment, the gas sensor 39 is disposed between the air cleaner 12 and the throttle valve 14 in the intake passage 11. However, in the intake passage 11, the gas sensor 39 may be disposed in addition to the above, for example, the throttle The gas sensor 39 may be disposed on the exhaust downstream side of the valve 14. Specifically, the gas sensor 39 may be disposed between the throttle valve 14 and the surge tank 15 or may be disposed in the surge tank 15. Alternatively, it may be arranged in the intake manifold 17.

  In the above embodiment, when the concentration of the specific gas component calculated based on the detection value of the gas sensor 39 is within a predetermined abnormal range, the process of stopping the combustion of the engine 10 is performed as the environmental deterioration suppression process. The suppression process is not limited to the above. For example, a notification unit that notifies the user that the environment outside the vehicle has deteriorated due to a change in the concentration of the specific gas component may be provided, and the notification to the user by the notification unit may be performed as the environmental deterioration suppression process.

  FIG. 3 shows a system configuration diagram of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, this system includes a communication device 51 as the notification means. The communication device 51 is a display device (for example, a mobile phone or a monitor) that can display a message by wireless communication, for example, “please ventilate the garage”, “stop the engine”, and the like. By displaying the message, it is possible to notify the user that the environment outside the vehicle has deteriorated. Note that the communication device 51 may notify the user by sound or light in addition to characters.

  When the microcomputer 41 of the ECU 40 determines that the concentration of the specific gas component in the air outside the vehicle is within a predetermined abnormal range based on the detection signal of the gas sensor 39, the microcomputer 41 outputs a notification command signal to the communication device 51. The communication device 51 notifies the user by the communication device 51 based on the input notification command signal. At this time, the microcomputer 41 of the ECU 40 may automatically stop the combustion of the engine 10 in accordance with the notification to the user by the communication device 51. In addition, as a notification means, the alarm device etc. which were provided in the garage, the living room, etc. other than the communication apparatus 51 may be sufficient.

  -In the garage which parks a vehicle, it is good also as a structure which provides the ventilation means (ventilator 52 of FIG. 3) which ventilates the inside of this garage, and implements ventilation in the garage by the ventilator 52 as an environmental deterioration suppression process. Specifically, the ventilation device 52 includes, for example, a ventilation port provided on the garage side and an opening / closing member that opens and closes the ventilation port. Note that the ventilation device 52 may further include an electric fan disposed in the ventilation port. When the microcomputer 41 of the ECU 40 determines that the concentration of the specific gas component in the air outside the vehicle is within a predetermined abnormal range based on the detection signal of the gas sensor 39, the microcomputer 41 outputs a ventilation drive signal to the ventilation device 52 by wireless communication. . In the ventilator 52, based on the input ventilation drive signal, the ventilator opens by the operation of the opening and closing member, and the electric fan operates. At this time, the microcomputer 41 of the ECU 40 may ventilate the garage by the ventilation device 52 and automatically stop the combustion of the engine 10.

  In FIG. 3, when detecting the concentration of the specific gas component in the air outside the vehicle based on the detection signal of the gas sensor 39, the electric fan 53 (for example, a radiator fan or a condenser fan) attached to the vehicle is operated. . By carrying out like this, the air in a garage is stirred and it can suppress that the bias | inclination of the density | concentration of a specific gas component arises in a garage.

  The gas sensor 39 and one or more of the sensors other than the gas sensor 39 disposed in the intake passage 11 are integrated into the intake passage 11. Examples of the latter sensor include an air flow meter 33, an intake air temperature sensor 34, and an intake pressure sensor 16. By arranging the existing sensor and the gas sensor 39 in the intake passage 11 in an integrated manner, the power source and the ground line can be shared, and the system can be simplified.

  In the above embodiment, the combustion of the engine 10 is stopped when the concentration of the specific gas component detected by the gas sensor 39 is within a predetermined abnormal range, but the specific gas component of the specific gas component is detected based on the detection signal of the gas sensor 39 during engine combustion. Whether a change in concentration is detected and, based on the detected concentration change, is notified in advance before the combustion of the engine 10 is stopped, or whether the output of the engine 10 is reduced while the combustion of the engine 10 continues It is good also as a structure which implements at least any one process (process before a stop). In this case, by notifying in advance that the engine is to be stopped, it is possible to prompt the user to improve the environment around the vehicle, such as ventilation, before stopping the combustion of the engine. In addition, since the engine output is limited in advance, the amount of CO, NOx, and the like discharged outside the vehicle can be reduced before the combustion of the engine is stopped. Therefore, according to this structure, before stopping combustion of an engine, the environment outside a vehicle can be improved or further deterioration can be suppressed, and the execution of engine combustion stop can be delayed.

  In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the present invention is embodied in a hybrid vehicle (range extender vehicle) that includes the motor MG2 as a power source for vehicle travel and includes the engine 10 dedicated to power generation. For example, the present invention may be applied to a vehicle including a motor and an engine as a power source for driving the vehicle. Further, the present invention is not limited to a hybrid vehicle, and the present invention may be applied to, for example, a vehicle in which the power source for vehicle travel is only an engine.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Engine, 11 ... Intake passage, 12 ... Air cleaner, 14 ... Throttle valve, 24 ... Exhaust passage, 26 ... Catalyst, 29 ... Battery, 39 ... Gas sensor, 40 ... ECU, 41 ... Microcomputer (gas concentration detection means, process control) Means, density change detection means, stop preprocessing means, notification means), MG1, MG2,... Motor.

Claims (7)

Applied to a vehicle equipped with a gas sensor that detects a gas component whose concentration changes before and after combustion in the gas flowing from the intake side to the exhaust side of the engine,
The gas sensor is disposed in an intake passage of the engine;
A gas concentration detecting means for detecting the concentration of the gas component contained in the air outside the vehicle based on a detection signal of the gas sensor during combustion of the engine when the vehicle is not running;
A process control means for performing an environmental deterioration suppression process that is a process for suppressing environmental deterioration outside the vehicle due to a change in the concentration of the gas component when the concentration detected by the gas concentration detection means is within a predetermined abnormal range;
A vehicle exterior environment control system comprising: A throttle valve for adjusting the intake air amount of the engine is arranged in the intake passage,
The vehicle exterior environment control system according to claim 1, wherein the gas sensor is disposed upstream of the throttle valve in the intake passage. An air cleaner that filters the intake air of the engine is disposed at the most upstream part of the intake passage,
The vehicle exterior environment control system according to claim 1, wherein the gas sensor is disposed downstream of the air cleaner in the intake passage.   The vehicle exterior environment control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the process control unit performs a combustion stop process for stopping combustion of the engine as the environment deterioration suppression process. A concentration change detecting means for detecting a change in concentration of the gas component during engine combustion based on a detection signal of the gas sensor;
Before performing the combustion stop process by the process control means, based on the concentration change detected by the concentration change detection means, a process for notifying the user that the combustion stop process may be performed and combustion of the engine Pre-stop processing means for performing at least one of the processes of reducing the engine output while continuing
A vehicle exterior environment control system according to claim 4. A notification means for notifying the user that the environment outside the vehicle has deteriorated due to the concentration change of the gas component;
The vehicle environment control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the processing control unit performs notification to the user by the notification unit as the environmental deterioration suppressing process. In the garage for parking the vehicle, ventilation means for ventilating the garage is provided,
The vehicle exterior environment control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the processing control unit operates the ventilation unit to perform ventilation in the garage as the environmental deterioration suppressing process.

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