JP2013053633A - Engine starting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an engine starting device capable of starting an engine without causing malfunction of various electric equipment.SOLUTION: In this engine starting device in which a control module 100 including a semiconductor switch is integrated with a starter motor so as to be arranged, a first terminal 101 of the control module is connected to a terminal B connected to a battery by a bus bar so that a battery voltage VB is input from the first terminal of the control module via the terminal B connected to the battery, and the terminal M to which a second terminal 102 of the control module is connected is connected to the starter motor by another bus bar.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle engine starting device.

  The engine starter drives the starter motor with electric power supplied from a battery mounted on the vehicle, and transmits the rotation of the starter motor from the transmission device to the engine, thereby starting the engine. Here, since the value of the current passed through the starter motor directly affects the engine start time, several hundred amperes are required to start the engine within a predetermined time.

  At the start of the starter motor, since no counter electromotive force is generated due to rotation, an inrush current flows from the battery to the starter motor, the power consumption of the battery increases sharply, and the output voltage of the battery temporarily decreases. Therefore, when the engine is started, the operation of the control device constituted by the electronic circuit may become unstable, or the microcomputer used for the control device may be reset.

  Thus, as a starter motor starting method, a system is proposed that suppresses a decrease in battery output voltage when the starter motor is driven by a controller that is mounted on a vehicle and controls the starter motor (see Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, the drive of the starter motor is controlled by a controller of the engine power generation system, and the starter motor and the controller are connected by a harness. The starter motor power consumption is controlled by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) so that the duty value increases as time elapses from the duty value immediately after startup by a semiconductor switch connected in series between the starter motor and ground. Limiting the battery voltage drop.

JP 2002-031021 A

  According to Patent Document 1, the starter motor is controlled in a controller, and the semiconductor switch 45a (FET) is controlled by a CPU that calculates the ignition timing of the igniter based on the engine temperature and the engine rotation angle. Therefore, since the controller 4 of the engine power generation system including the voltage drop suppression means is disposed at a position away from the starter motor 8 in order to satisfy the operating temperature of the CPU whose operation guarantee temperature is lower than that of the FET, The starter motor 8 is connected by a harness that can satisfy energization of several hundred amperes.

  In other words, the harness from the controller is bundled with the controller itself and the input / output signals of the engine controller and other electrical components in the middle, and is affected by noise from the electromagnetic induction from the starter motor harness. Become. And there is a problem of inducing malfunction of the control circuit of the generator and the igniter, the engine control device and other electrical components.

  In order to solve such problems, it is possible to use low-inductance wiring such as coaxial cables. However, an engine layout that takes low-inductance wiring into consideration is required, and an idling stop function for a conventional engine must be added. There is a problem that cannot be easily done.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an engine starter that can start an engine without causing malfunction of various electrical components.

  In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted.

  The present application includes a plurality of means for solving the above-mentioned problems. For example, in a case where a control module including a semiconductor switch is integrated with a starter motor, a terminal B connected to a battery is used. The first terminal of the control module and the terminal B connected to the battery are connected by a bus bar so that the battery voltage is input from the first terminal of the control module, and the second terminal of the control module The engine starter is configured such that the terminal M to which the is connected is connected to the starter motor by a separate bus bar.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the engine starting apparatus which can start an engine can be provided, without inducing malfunction of various electrical components.

The circuit diagram of an engine starting device. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an engine starter. The operation | movement figure of an engine starting apparatus. The operation | movement figure of an engine starting apparatus. The circuit diagram of an engine starting device. The circuit diagram of an engine starting device. The circuit diagram of an engine starting device. The operation | movement figure of an engine starting apparatus. The circuit diagram of an engine starting device. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an engine starter. The operation | movement figure of an engine starting apparatus. 1 is an overall view of an engine starter.

Hereinafter, examples will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Example 1]

  1 is a circuit diagram of the engine starting device 10, FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of the engine starting device 10, and FIG. 3 is an operation diagram of FIG.

  The engine starter 10 of FIG. 1 moves the shift mechanism 12 by the suction force by the operation of the coil 11 and moves the pinion 13 in the direction of the arrow to mesh with the ring gear 20 connected to the engine. Then, during or after meshing, the starter motor 14 is operated, and the rotation of the starter motor 14 is transmitted to the ring gear 20 via the pinion 13 to rotate the crankshaft of the engine 1. The engine is started by controlling the fuel and ignition.

  The starter motor 14 is controlled by a starter controller (hereinafter referred to as STM) 100, and terminals 101, 102, 103, and 104 are input / output terminals. The coil 11 has a terminal 15 as an input terminal.

  A control device (engine control unit: hereinafter referred to as ECU) 70 is connected to a battery 50 mounted on the vehicle via an ignition switch (hereinafter referred to as IGSW) 60.

  The ECU 70 performs engine start / stop determination, ignition control, fuel injection control, and the like. The input signal is an engine rotation signal, an air flow rate signal, and the like, and the output signal is a start signal (hereinafter referred to as ST) via the terminal 104 of the STM 100. ), A PWM signal for driving the starter motor 14 (hereinafter referred to as Mo-PWM), Mg-Ry via a relay 80, an injector injection signal, an ignition signal (not shown), and the like. The ECU 70 includes a microcomputer, an input / output interface circuit, a constant voltage generation circuit serving as a power source for these, and the like.

  Further, the output of the relay 80 for turning on / off the current of the coil 11 is connected to the terminal 15 and is controlled to be turned on / off by Mg-Ry.

  The STM 100 is a control module for the starter motor 14. The battery voltage VB is input from the terminal 101, ST and Mo-PWM are input from the ECU 70 to the interface circuit 110, and the Mo-PWM is boosted by a charge pump (not shown). Thus, a signal at the gate terminal G of the current conducting semiconductor switch 120 (hereinafter referred to as FET1) of the starter motor 14 is output.

  The drain terminal D of the FET 1 is connected to the battery 50 from the terminal 101, and the cathode of the freewheel diode 130 that circulates the current is connected to the terminal S, and is connected to the starter motor 14 from the terminal 102.

  The anode of the freewheel diode 130 is connected to the ground of the starter motor 14 via the terminal 103.

  FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of the engine starter 10 of FIG. 1, in which the coil 11, the starter motor 14, and the STM 100 are integrated, and the ring gear 20 of the engine 1 and the pinion 13 can be engaged with each other. Has been placed.

  In FIG. 2, the shift mechanism 12 and the pinion 13 are shown as an open portion 16 in the drawing so that the internal structure can be understood.

  That is, in the opening portion 16, the casing portion of the coil 11 and the casing portion of the starter motor 14 communicate with each other through a gap, and the shift mechanism 12 is disposed there, so that the coil 11 and the starter motor 14 are integrated.

  The STM 100 is a housing having the components and wiring board shown in FIG. 1 inside, and is integrated into a housing in which the coil 11 and the starter motor 14 are integrated.

  The box-type housing has terminals 101 for the battery 50, terminals 102 for the starter motor 14, and terminals 103 for the ECU 70 as terminals for external wiring, and these terminals are connected according to the wiring shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, the integrated structure of the coil 11 and the starter motor 14 has terminals B, M, and S, and the wiring is connected from the battery 50 to the terminal B with a harness as shown by the thick line, and from the terminal B to the STM 100. The harness connected to the terminal 101 of the terminal is connected to the terminal M from the starter motor 14 and connected to the terminal M from the terminal M to the terminal 102 of the STM 100, connected to the terminal S by the harness from the output of the relay 80, The terminal S is connected to the terminal 15 inside the coil 11.

  In other words, the housing (second housing) in which the STM 100 is housed is arranged so as to cover the housing (first housing) in which the coil 11 and the starter motor 14 are integrated, and the first housing. The body and the second housing are connected via a bus bar. The first housing includes a terminal M for connecting the starter motor and the STM 100, and a terminal B for connecting the battery and the STM 100. The bus bar is vertically connected to the second housing, the first and second terminals are arranged so as to protrude from the first housing, and the bus bar is connected so as to sandwich the terminal M and the terminal B.

  FIG. 12 shows an overall view of the engine starting device. As shown in FIG. 12, a second housing in which the STM 100 is housed is integrated with a first housing in which the coil 11 and the starter motor 14 are housed.

  In the configuration of FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation at the time of starting the engine will be described with reference to FIG. 3. Here, a case where the driver operates the IGSW 60 is taken as an example.

  When the IGSW 60 is turned on at the time point t0, the ECU 70 outputs the output signal ST at the time point t1 when the initialization is completed to start the interface circuit 110, and the operation of the STM 100 is started.

  The ECU 70 outputs Mg-Ry at the time t2 when the initialization of the engine start is completed, turns on the relay 80, moves the pinion 13 in the direction of the arrow, and meshes the ring gear 20. Thereafter, Mo-PWM is output and the rotation operation of the starter motor 14 is started.

  Note that the times t1 and t2 are times depending on the engine start control in the ECU 70, and the intervals between t0 to t1 and t1 to t2 are not necessarily the same as in FIG. 3, and the times t0, t1 and t2 are both at the same time. There may be.

  The Mo-PWM conduction rate Duty output from the ECU 70 is Duty1 at time t2, and is output so as to increase to Duty2 greater than Duty1 at time t4.

  The current Ism of the starter motor 14 starts to flow from the time point t2, and after the time point t2, the induced voltage Esm generated by the rotation of the starter motor 14 and the output voltage Vsm of the STM100 (the drain D terminal voltage of the FET1), that is, PWM controlled. It flows by the difference voltage (Vsm−Esm) from the output voltage (Vsm = VB × Duty).

  Since current Ism is supplied from battery 50, a voltage drop occurs due to the internal resistance of battery 50, and battery voltage VB decreases from initial voltage VB0 according to current Ism.

  In the process of increasing the duty from duty 1 at time t2 to duty 2 at time t2, the currents Ism and VB become substantially constant values Ism1 and VB1 from time t3 to time t4 when the output voltage Vsm and the induced voltage Esm are A state is shown in which the current value obtained by dividing the difference voltage (Vsm−Esm) by the internal resistance of the starter motor 14 is balanced. Such a balance state is an example, and the state varies depending on the battery 50, the starter motor 14, and the duty.

  Further, Duty2 is a duty in a state where the starter motor 14 is already rotating, and may be the maximum energization rate Dutym (= 100%) except that the current Ism is particularly limited.

  After time t4, Mo-PWM becomes constant at Duty2, and since the induced voltage Esm increases as the rotational speed of the starter motor 14 increases, the current Ism decreases and VB increases.

  The engine speed Ne increases from the start of the flow of the current Ism at the time point t2 due to the rotation of the ring gear 20 engaged with the pinion 13 due to the rotation of the starter motor 14, and the engine starts to be started at the time point t5.

  The engine start is detected by the ECU 70. Since ST and Mo-PWM are turned off at time t5, the current Ism of the starter motor 14 is turned off and the operation of the STM 100 is completed.

  By the way, as shown by the dotted line of Mo-PWM at the time point t2, when the starter motor 14 is operated with the duty as the duty, the battery voltage VB is directly applied to the starter motor 14, so that the starter motor 14 rotates and is induced. Until the voltage Esm is generated, a current Ism2 obtained by dividing the battery voltage VB by the internal resistance of the starter motor 14 flows. When the internal resistance is several tens of mΩ, the rush current exceeds 1000 A.

  When such an inrush current Ism2 flows from the battery 50, the voltage drops to VB2, which is smaller than VB1, as indicated by the dotted line VB in FIG.

  The ECU 70 connected to the battery 50 as a power source, other control devices, navigation devices, and the like set the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs of the battery voltage VB that does not cause initialization (reset). The operation of the device will not be guaranteed.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which the current Ism and the battery voltage VB of the starter motor 14 are measured by varying the duty with the time interval from the time t2 to the time t4 in FIG. 3 being a constant value and Duty2 = Dutym (100%). .

  Therefore, the duty 1 shown in the Mo-PWM in FIG. 3 may be set to a value smaller than the duty 2 (100%) so that the decrease in VB is equal to or higher than the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs.

  By the way, the engine start time from time t2 to t5 in FIG. 3 becomes shorter as the rotation of the starter motor 14 increases faster, and it can be said that the engine start performance is good.

  The rotation speed of the starter motor 14 is lower as the duty 1 is smaller because the output voltage Vsm (VB × Duty 1) of the FET 1 is smaller, and the increase in the rotation speed is slower and the engine start time is longer as the time from the time point t2 to t4 is longer. .

  That is, it is necessary to set the time between Duty 1 and time t2 to t4 so that the decrease in VB is equal to or greater than the allowable value and the engine start time is equal to or less than the allowable value.

In one of the verification examples by the inventors, Duty2 = 100%, Duty1 = 70% or less, or the engine starting time can be 400 ms or less at time t2 to t4 = 100 ms or less, and the battery voltage can be reduced. It was found that the voltage could be maintained at 8V or higher.

  As described above, the inrush current can be made smaller than Ism2 of Duty = Duty2 (Dutym) by PWM control in which the Duty is limited to Duty1 when the starter motor 14 is started up. However, with this Duty1 set in relation to the engine start time. Even when activated, the inrush current Ism1 is several hundred amperes.

  When a current of several hundred amperes is flowed by PWM control, the current is turned on / off by switching of the FET 1 and the recovery current (equivalent to the short-circuit current of the battery voltage VB) generated when the FET 1 is turned on while the free wheel diode 130 is energized. If inductive noise is generated from the wiring of the terminal 102 and the terminal M, the wiring of the terminal 102 and the terminal M is long and bundled together with the wiring of the ECU 70 and other control devices, it may cause malfunction of these devices. There is a problem that the voltage drop of the wiring is large and the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs shown in FIG. 4 cannot be maintained.

  However, since the STM 100 is arranged integrally with the starter motor 14, the wiring of the terminal 102 and the terminal M is not bundled with the wiring of the ECU 70 or other control devices, so that the malfunction of these devices is not induced. obtain.

  In particular, by separating the ECU 70 that generates and transmits Mo-PWM from the STM 100 that controls using a semiconductor switch, the EUC 70 whose operation guarantee temperature is lower than that of the semiconductor switch is affected by the heat generated by the semiconductor switch. There is no. In other words, the parts that are not affected even if integrated with the starter motor 14 are integrated, and if the parts are integrated, only the affected parts are arranged apart to solve not only the problem of heat generation but also the problem that the number of harnesses increases. ing.

  Further, in the operation of the starter motor 14 in the engine start control, the current Ism of the starter motor 14 is limited by performing PWM control of the FET 1 from a predetermined duty in the initial stage of driving, so that a decrease in the battery voltage VB can be suppressed. A voltage equal to or higher than the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs of the battery voltage VB determined by the control device can be secured.

  Further, since the duty is continuously changed from duty 1 to duty 2, the output voltage Vsm and current Ism of the FET 1 driving the starter motor 14 are continuously changed, and the rotation fluctuation and torque fluctuation of the starter motor 14 are eliminated, so that smoothness is achieved. This has the effect of starting the engine.

  Moreover, since the voltage drop of the wiring can be reduced and the drop of the battery voltage can be reduced, the output characteristics of the starter motor can be utilized to the maximum and the engine startability can be improved.

Furthermore, in the operation of the starter motor 14 in the engine start control, by controlling the FET 1 from a predetermined duty by PWM control in the initial stage of driving, the inrush current of the starter motor 14 can be limited and the excessive current consumption of the battery can be suppressed. There is an effect of suppressing deterioration.
[Example 2]

  5 and FIG. 6 show an embodiment in which the control of the STM 100 is different, and the same parts and the same signals as those in FIG. 1 are indicated by the same symbols.

  In the first embodiment, Mo-PWM is configured to change from Duty 1 to Duty 2 (Dutym) in the time from time t2 to t4, so that the current Ism of the starter motor 14 is controlled by MO-PWM, It is also affected by the battery voltage VB.

  This is because the battery voltage VB varies depending on the charge / discharge state of the battery and the deterioration state of the battery. Therefore, when the battery is not sufficiently charged, the battery voltage VB is low and becomes a voltage close to the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs. If the motor 14 is energized, the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs cannot be secured, or the engine start time may be delayed due to the shortage of the current Ism.

  Therefore, in FIG. 5, the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs is used as the voltage command value VBsp, so that the battery voltage VB does not become lower than this, and in FIG. 6, the current command value Ismp is set and the feedback control is performed so that the current Ism does not become lower than this. To do.

  First, in FIG. 5, the battery voltage control circuit 200 outputs Mo-PWM from the compensation element and the PWM conversion circuit 201 for the voltage deviation between the battery voltage VB and the voltage command value VBsp that is larger than the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs, and the FET 1 Duty control.

  When the starter motor 14 is operated at time t2, the voltage deviation between VB and VBsp is large, so the duty increases. When the voltage Is decreases as the current Ism increases, the duty changes.

  When VB decreases to VBsp, the duty increases so that VB = VBsp is almost satisfied, and voltage control becomes impossible after the duty reaches 100%.

  Next, in FIG. 6, the starter motor current control circuit 300 detects the current Ism of the starter motor 14 with the current sensor 310, and detects the current deviation between the current command value Ismp and the current Ism from the compensation element and the PWM conversion circuit 301 to Mo−. PWM is output and the FET 1 is duty controlled.

  Here, the current command value Ismp is a value at which the battery voltage VB does not fall below the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs, and the current command value Ismp can be varied by the battery voltage VB as necessary.

  When the starter motor 14 is operated at time t2, the current deviation between Ismp and Ism is large, so the duty increases toward 100%, and when the current Ism becomes Ismp, the duty changes in a small direction.

  Then, the duty is increased so that the current Ism becomes substantially equal to Ismp. After the duty becomes 100%, the current control cannot be performed.

  It is possible to suppress a decrease in the battery voltage VB in the initial drive of the starter motor 14 and at the same time maintain an effect of suppressing the decrease in the battery voltage VB even if the battery voltage VB and the electrical specifications of the starter motor 14 are different.

Note that the battery voltage control circuit 200 of FIG. 5 and the starter motor current control circuit 300 of FIG. 6 have the same functions and effects regardless of whether they are included in the STM 100 or the ECU 70 shown in FIG.
[Example 3]

  FIG. 7 is a wiring diagram of the engine starting device 10 showing another embodiment, FIG. 8 is an operation diagram of FIG. 7, and the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the first embodiment, the duty of the FET 1 is 100%, and the conduction is made until the time t5 when the engine start is started. However, when the FET 1 is in the on state, heat is generated due to the power consumption caused by the resistance value at the time of turning on. When FET1 is in the on state (conducting), power loss occurs due to the resistance component (on resistance) when FET1 is on, and heat is generated, so it is necessary to take measures for heat dissipation or cooling so as not to exceed the allowable junction temperature of FET1. Become.

  The FET 1 uses an FET with a very low resistance value of about 2 mΩ to minimize heat generation. However, since the power loss of the FET 1 is proportional to the square of the current Ism, the heat generation is the current Ism. The influence of is great.

  Therefore, heat generation cannot be sufficiently suppressed only by using an FET having a very low on-resistance.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, a short-circuit relay 140 is connected in parallel with the FET 1 to take a heat dissipation measure.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the FET 1 is PWM-operated from the duty 1 to duty 2 (dutym = 100%) when the starter motor 14 at the time point t2 is started up, but at the time t4 when the duty 2 is reached. The short-circuit relay 140 is turned on.

Since the FET 1 is in the ON state only during the period from the time point t2 to the time point t4, there is an effect that the amount of heat generation can be greatly reduced and the heat radiation countermeasure can be easily made.
[Example 4]

  FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of an engine starting device 10 showing another embodiment, FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of the engine starting device 10, and FIG. 11 is an operation diagram of FIG. Are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 1, the output signal Mg-Ry is output at time t1, the relay 80 is turned on, a current is passed through the coil 11, and the pinion 13 is moved in the arrow direction by the attractive force to Mesh.

  At this time, the current Img flowing through the coil 11 is limited to the coil resistance that operates the coil 11, but the coil resistance is small during cold air, so that a large inrush current occurs, and the coil resistance increases as the coil temperature rises due to the flowing current. Operates to increase and decrease current.

  Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, the current Img that flows at the initial stage of operation when the coil resistance is small is limited so that the effect of suppressing the decrease in the battery voltage VB can be obtained.

  In the STM 100 of FIG. 9, the control circuit of the starter motor 14 has the same circuit configuration as that of FIG. 1, the control circuit of the coil 11 is the battery 50 for the drain terminal D of the semiconductor switch 150 (hereinafter referred to as FET 2), and the coil for the terminal S. 11 and the free wheel diode 160 are connected to the terminal 104.

  The PWM signal for driving the coil 11 of the FET 2 (hereinafter referred to as Mg-PWM) is output from the ECU 70 as in the case of Mo-PWM.

  The engine starter 10 shown in FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 2 in that the STM 100 is a box-type housing fixed to the integrated structure of the coil 11 and the starter motor 14, and the components and wiring shown in FIG. It has a substrate.

  The difference from FIG. 2 is that the STM 100 has a terminal 105, is connected to the terminal S by a bus bar, and is not connected to the relay. Other terminal connections are the same as those in FIG. That is, the first housing includes a terminal S for connecting the coil and the STM 100.

  In FIG. 11, the IGSW 60 is turned on at time t0, the start signal ST, Mo-PWM, and Mg-PWM are output at time t6, and the operation of the STM 100 is started.

  FIG. 11 shows an example in which the starter motor 14 and the coil 11 are simultaneously started to operate at time t6. The operation of the starter motor 14 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  The duty of Mg-PWM output from the ECU 70 at the time t6 is Duty3, and the current Img starts to flow through the coil 11, and the current Img is continuously flowed as the maximum Duty as Duty4 at the time t7.

  Unlike the drive of the starter motor 14, the current Img does not have an induced voltage Esm. Therefore, assuming that the resistance of the coil 11 is Rmg, the output voltage Vmg of the FET 2 is Vmg (= VB × Duty) / Rmg. It increases in proportion to the value.

  However, when the current Img flows through the coil 11, the temperature rises and the resistance Rmg increases, so it is not necessarily proportional.

  Assuming that the temperature of the coil 11 is substantially constant after time t7, when the Mg-PWM becomes constant at Duty4, the current Img becomes constant at Img1.

  When the engine starts starting at time t5, ST, Mo-PWM, and Mg-PWM are turned off, and the STM operation ends.

  As described above, the inrush current can be made smaller than Img2 of Duty = Duty4 (Dutym) by PWM control in which the duty is limited to Duty3 when the coil 11 is started up, but is started at this Duty3 set in relation to the engine start time. Even in this case, the inrush current is several tens of A.

  Therefore, in the same way as when the starter motor 14 is started, inductive noise is generated by PWM control, the wiring between the terminal 105 and the terminal S is long, and these are bundled together with the wiring of the ECU 70 and other control devices. There may be a problem that the malfunction of the device is induced or the voltage drop of the wiring is large and the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs shown in FIG. 4 cannot be maintained.

  However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the STM 100 is arranged integrally with the starter motor 14, and the bus bar to which the terminal 105 and the terminal S are wired is not bundled with the wiring of the ECU 70 or other control devices. The effect of not inducing the malfunction of the apparatus can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the current Img in the case of the maximum Dutym at the time point t6 is larger than Img1 as shown by the dotted line, which is larger than Img2, and the battery voltage VB is greatly decreased. However, since the duty 3 is smaller than the Dutym, the current is limited. There is an effect that the decrease in the battery voltage VB can be suppressed.

  FIG. 11 is an example in which the starter motor 14 and the coil 11 are started to operate simultaneously at time t6. Since the currents Ism and Img start to flow simultaneously, the decrease in the battery voltage VB increases.

  Therefore, providing a time difference and starting to flow the currents Ism and Img has an effect of suppressing a decrease in the battery voltage VB.

  Before starting the engine, the ring gear 40 is in a stopped state, the pinion 13 is not engaged, and the starter motor 14 is in an unloaded state.

  When the current Ism shown at the time t6 in FIG. 11 is supplied, the starter motor 14 rotates rapidly, and then the current Img of the coil 11 is supplied to move the pinion 13 to engage the ring gear 40, making synchronization difficult. .

  Therefore, when the currents Ism and Img are started to flow with a time difference, first, Img is flowed to bring the pinion 13 into contact with the ring gear 40, and then Ism is flown to cause the pinion 13 to move to the ring gear 40 at the beginning of the rotation of the starter motor. Engagement makes it easy to synchronize the meshes and allows smooth meshing.

  In FIG. 9, when the operation periods of the PWM control of the starter motor 14 and the coil 11 are equal, in the switching of the FET1 and the FET2, there is a state in which the switching between the FET1 and the FET2 is simultaneous. Occurrence increases.

  Therefore, when the PWM control operation cycle is different, or when OFF or ON is simultaneous, noise can be reduced by delaying either OFF or ON temporally.

  In the above-described embodiment, the PWM control of the starter motor 14 and the coil 11 causes the current flowing through the battery 50 to have a rectangular waveform, and the time change of the current is abrupt and causes noise generation. In such a case, a capacitor may be connected between the terminal 101 of the STM 100 and the ground so that a circuit configuration including a measure for smoothing the time change of the current can be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the drain terminal D of the FET1 or FET2 is connected to the terminal 101 of the STM100 and directly connected to the battery 50. However, the starter motor 14 or the coil 11 is caused by a short circuit failure of the FET1 or FET2. In order to prevent a current from flowing constantly, a circuit configuration including measures such as connecting a switch from the drain terminal D to the path of the battery 50 and opening the switch upon detection of a short-circuit fault may be adopted.

In the above-described embodiment, the driving PWM signals (Mo-PWM and Mg-PWM) and the start signal ST of the FET1 and FET2 are connected from the ECU 70 via the terminal 103. By using serial communication or a local area network to increase the amount of information received and transmitted and finely controlling the starter motor 14 and the coil 11, the function of the STM 100 can be improved. The drive PWM signals (Mo-PWM and Mg-PWM) may be output from the STM 100 without being output from the ECU 70.

  Thereby, even if it is engine starting control from which ECU70, the starter motor 14, the coil 11, and a meshing mechanism differ, since STM100 can be used in common, it can be made into a standardized product group and can obtain a mass-production effect.

  Further, the starter motor 14 is described as an example of a DC motor in which field magnetic flux is generated by a permanent magnet or a series-wound field magnet, and the PWM control is performed by connecting the FET 1 in series with the armature winding. However, the present invention is not limited to a DC motor, and even an AC motor in which an armature winding is PWM controlled by a plurality of semiconductor switches for current application can be integrated with the coil 11 and the STM 100. By controlling the current at the start of the motor to be limited by Duty, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  In a multi-phase AC motor, the connection terminal with the STM 100 has a motor terminal for a plurality of phases in addition to one terminal 102.

  In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made on the engine start in which the driver operates the ignition switch. However, for example, in the idling stop control that is being adopted in the environment-friendly engine control in the hybrid vehicle, the decrease in the battery voltage VB is suppressed. It becomes more effective.

  That is, the idle stop stops the engine by waiting for a signal in the middle of running and starts the engine when starting, but when the battery voltage VB drops below the minimum guaranteed voltage VBs at the start of the engine, for example, navigation stored at the start of operation The occurrence of problems such as the resetting of the route, the target point, and the use of backup data in the engine control device and the transmission control device can be solved.

  According to the above embodiment, since the control module including the semiconductor switch is integrated with the starter motor, it is not affected by noise due to electromagnetic induction on other control circuits, and is compatible with mounting on conventional engines. Therefore, an idling stop system that can suppress a decrease in battery voltage when starting the starter motor can be easily applied to conventional vehicles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Engine starter 11 Coil 12 Shift mechanism 13 Pinion 14 Starter motor 16 Opening part (Communication part of a coil and a starter motor)
20 Ring gear 50 Battery 60 IGSW
70 ECU
80 Relay 100 STM
101, 102, 103, 104, B, S, M Terminal 110 Interface circuit 120, 150 FET
130, 160 Freewheel diode 200 Battery voltage control circuit 300 Starter motor current control circuit 310 Starter motor current sensor

Claims (9)

In the control module including a semiconductor switch integrated with the starter motor,
The bus bar connects the first terminal of the control module and the terminal B connected to the battery so that the battery voltage is input from the first terminal of the control module via the terminal B connected to the battery. And
An engine starter in which a terminal M to which a second terminal of the control module is connected and the starter motor are connected by another bus bar. A pinion meshing with a ring gear connected to the engine;
A coil that moves the pinion toward the ring gear by energization from a battery;
A starter motor that rotates the pinion by energization from the battery;
A control module for controlling the starter motor,
A first housing in which the starter motor and the coil are integrated;
The control module is housed in a second housing;
An engine starter in which the first casing and the second casing are connected via a bus bar. The engine starting device according to claim 2,
The control module has a first terminal connected to the battery and a second terminal connected to the starter motor;
An engine starter in which the bus bar is connected to the second terminal. The engine starter according to claim 3,
The first housing includes a terminal M for connecting the starter motor and the control module, and a terminal B for connecting the battery and the control module.
An engine starter in which the bus bar connects the second terminal and the terminal M. The engine starting device according to claim 3 or 4,
A switch that cuts off the power supply from the battery to the coil;
An engine starter in which the first housing includes a terminal S connected to the switch. The engine starting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The control module includes a first semiconductor switch that controls energization to the starter motor, and a short-circuit relay,
An engine starter in which the first semiconductor switch and the short-circuit relay are connected in parallel between the first terminal and the second terminal. The engine starting device according to claim 3 or 4,
The control module has a third terminal connected to the coil;
The first housing includes a terminal S for connecting the coil and the control module,
An engine starter in which the third terminal and the terminal S are connected. The engine starter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, or 7,
The control module has a first semiconductor switch for controlling energization to the starter motor, and a second semiconductor switch for controlling energization to the coil,
An engine starter in which each of a drain terminal of the first semiconductor switch and a drain terminal of the second semiconductor switch is connected to the first terminal. The engine starting device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The engine starting device, wherein the control module includes a capacitor connected between the first terminal and a ground.