JP2016166792A - Residual fuel quantity display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a residual fuel quantity display device capable of accurately displaying the residual quantity of liquid fuel.SOLUTION: A residual fuel quantity display device 1 of an embodiment of the present invention is mounted in a moving body (motor cycle) A and displays the residual quantity of the liquid fuel used as a driving source of the moving body A. The residual fuel quantity display device includes: displaying means 3 for displaying the residual quantity; a first sensor (float sensor) 22 that moves together with the liquid level of the liquid fuel and detects the liquid level of the liquid fuel in a predetermined range; a second sensor (thermistor) 23 for detecting the liquid level in the predetermined range or higher; and controlling means for determining the residual quantity using detection values D1 and D2 of the plurality of sensors 22 and 23.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a remaining fuel amount display device that displays a remaining amount of liquid fuel stored in a fuel tank mounted on a moving body such as an automobile or a motorcycle.

Conventionally, as a remaining fuel amount display device for displaying the remaining amount of liquid fuel stored in a fuel tank mounted on a moving body such as an automobile or a motorcycle, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1.
Even if the remaining amount of liquid fuel is not proportionally proportional to the floating height of the float sensor in the fuel tank and the remaining amount of liquid fuel due to flattening or complication of the shape of the fuel tank, Consumption information obtained by comparing the detected value of the float sensor that moves up and down with the liquid level of the liquid fuel and the injection amount of the injector that injects the liquid fuel from the fuel tank in order to accurately display the remaining fuel amount The remaining fuel amount obtained based on the above is displayed.

JP 2004-316491 A

  However, for example, in a bottomed saddle-shaped fuel tank having a wide width from the upper oil supply port to the bottom as shown in FIG. 2, it is difficult to attach a float sensor near the oil supply port. Since it cannot be measured, the remaining fuel amount cannot be accurately displayed during the period from when the liquid fuel is filled in the fuel tank to when the fuel tank is reduced to the measurement range of the float sensor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a remaining fuel amount display device capable of accurately displaying the remaining amount of liquid fuel.

The remaining fuel amount display device according to the present invention includes:
A remaining fuel amount display device mounted on a moving body and displaying a remaining amount of liquid fuel stored in a fuel tank of the moving body,
Display means for displaying the remaining amount;
A first sensor that has a float that moves with the liquid level of the liquid fuel and detects the liquid level within a predetermined range;
A second sensor for detecting the liquid level above the predetermined range;
Control means for determining the remaining amount using detection values of the first sensor and the second sensor;
The first feature is that

Further, the control means of the remaining fuel amount display device having the first feature executes a first procedure for applying electricity to the second sensor for a predetermined time when the liquid level is equal to or greater than a predetermined range. ,
Performing a second procedure for reading the detection value of the second sensor after the first procedure;
A second feature is that a third procedure for stopping the application of electricity to the second sensor is executed after the second procedure.

The third feature is that the control means of the remaining fuel amount display device having the second feature executes the first procedure to the third procedure at predetermined intervals.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the remaining fuel amount display apparatus which can display the residual amount of liquid fuel accurately can be provided.

Schematic which shows the remaining fuel amount display apparatus which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the fuel tank of the embodiment. F1 to F6 indicate the liquid level of the remaining fuel in the fuel tank. The figure which shows the remaining fuel amount display form of the embodiment. The figure corresponds to F1 to F6 in FIG. The figure which shows the electrical structure of the embodiment. The figure which shows the procedure which displays the remaining fuel amount of the embodiment. The figure which shows the control procedure to the 2nd sensor of the embodiment. The figure which shows the application to the 2nd sensor of the embodiment.

  A remaining fuel amount display device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

A remaining fuel amount display device 1 which is an embodiment to which the present invention is applied displays the remaining amount of liquid fuel stored in a fuel tank 2 mounted on the motorcycle A shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the display means 3 classifies the remaining amount (remaining fuel amount) of the liquid fuel stored in the fuel tank 2 into six stages F1 to F6, and (F1) to (F1) in FIG. As shown in F6), the display is performed according to the number of lighting of the plurality of segments 30 and the lighting state of the fuel supply mark 31.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel tank 2 is composed of a bottomed bowl-shaped tank that extends downward from an upper fuel filler opening 20. The fuel tank 2 accommodates a maximum of 10 L (liter) of liquid fuel poured from the fuel filler port 20 of the motorcycle 1 and supplies the liquid fuel to an injector 4 described later from a supply port 21 at the bottom of the fuel tank 2.

  The fuel tank 2 includes a float sensor (first sensor) 22 disposed in the center of the fuel tank 2, a thermistor (second sensor) 23 disposed near the fuel filler 20, and a bottom portion of the fuel tank 2. And a thermistor (third sensor) 24 disposed near the supply port 21. Each sensor (float sensor 22, thermistor 23, thermistor 24) is electrically connected to the control means 5, which will be described later, and detection values D 1, D 2, D 3 of each sensor are input to the control means 5.

  The float sensor 22 is a liquid level sensor that converts the inclination of the contact arm 22b connected to the float 22a that moves up and down together with the liquid level of the liquid fuel into a resistance value by a sensor unit 22c having sliding resistance. As shown in FIG. 2, the float sensor 22 has a predetermined range from the upper end of the section F2 to the lower end of the section F3 (the liquid fuel stored in the fuel tank 2 with the fuel tank 2 kept horizontal is 8L to 1L). The change in the liquid level of the liquid fuel in the range (1) is input to the control means 5 as the detection value D1.

  The thermistors 23 and 24 use the fact that the heat dissipation constants in gas and liquid due to self-heating when electricity is applied are different, so that the liquid fuel level is above the thermistors 23 and 24 vertically. Whether the thermistors 23 and 24 are immersed in the liquid fuel, or whether the level of the liquid fuel is vertically below the thermistors 23 and 24 and the thermistors 23 and 24 are not immersed in the liquid fuel. To detect.

  The thermistor 23 is disposed at a position where the thermistor 23 is not immersed by the liquid fuel when the liquid fuel stored in the fuel tank 2 is less than 9 L with the fuel tank 2 kept horizontal. The thermistor 23 is stored in the fuel tank 2 when the liquid fuel stored in the fuel tank 2 is 8L or more and the liquid fuel level is in the section F1 and the thermistor 23 is immersed in the liquid fuel. The state in which the liquid fuel is less than 8 L, the liquid fuel level is below the section F1, and the thermistor 23 is exposed is output to the control means 5 as a detection value D2.

  The thermistor 24 is disposed at a position where the thermistor 24 is not immersed in the liquid fuel when the liquid fuel stored in the fuel tank 2 is less than 1 L with the fuel tank 2 kept horizontal. The thermistor 24 is stored in the fuel tank 2 in a state where the liquid fuel stored in the fuel tank 2 is 1 L or more and the liquid fuel level is above the section F6 and the thermistor 24 is immersed in the liquid fuel. The state where the liquid fuel is less than 1 L and the liquid fuel level is in the section F6 and the thermistor 23 is exposed is output to the control means 5 as a detection value D3.

The display means 3 includes a liquid crystal display and an organic EL display that display various vehicle information such as the traveling speed of the vehicle and the amount of remaining fuel as images.
The display means 3 is controlled by the control means 5 described later, and as shown in FIG. While displaying the stage digitally and displaying that it is in the section F6, the fact that the remaining fuel amount is reduced by the flashing of the fuel supply mark 31 is highlighted.

  The injector 4 is a fuel supply device that injects liquid fuel from the supply port 21 at the bottom of the fuel tank 2 to the engine of the motorcycle A. The injector 4 measures the injection amount C of the liquid fuel to the engine of the motorcycle A and outputs it to the control means 5 described later.

  The control means 5 is a circuit board that controls the overall operation of the remaining fuel amount display device 1 and is electrically connected to the sensors 22, 23, 24, the injector 4, and the display means 3 as shown in FIG. ing. The control means 5 uses the detection values D1, D2, D3 input from the sensors 22, 23, 24 and the injection amount C of the liquid fuel input from the injector 4, and the remaining fuel amount is any of the sections F1 to F6. The remaining fuel amount is displayed on the display means 3 as an image.

  Next, the control means 5 uses the detection values D1, D2, D3 input from the sensors 22, 23, 24 and the injection amount C of the liquid fuel input from the injector 4, so that the remaining fuel amount is in the sections F1 to F6. A procedure for estimating which one of the two is present and displaying the image on the display means 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

(Step S1)
First, the control means 5 obtains the current measurement value Mn of the remaining fuel amount from the liquid fuel amount S calculated corresponding to the detection value D1 of the float sensor 22 and the injection amount C of the liquid fuel input from the injector 4. calculate.
As shown in FIG. 6, the control means 5 calculates a change amount ΔS of the liquid fuel amount S per unit time (for example, 0.1 milliseconds), and the injection amount C is reflected as the change amount ΔS is smaller. A coefficient R is determined. The coefficient R is, for example, 1 divided by ΔS (when ΔS is approximately 0, the coefficient R is 1). The control means 5 subtracts a value obtained by multiplying the injection amount C by a coefficient R from the previous measurement value Mp of the remaining fuel amount to calculate the current measurement value Mn of the remaining fuel amount.

(Step S2)
The control means 5 selects the next processing procedure according to the current measurement value Mn of the remaining fuel amount calculated in step S1. When the measured value Mn of the current remaining fuel amount is larger than the predetermined range that can be detected by the float sensor 22, the control means 5 selects step S30 as the next processing procedure. If the current measurement value Mn of the remaining fuel amount is within a predetermined range that can be detected by the float sensor 22, step S31 is selected as the next processing procedure. If the current measured value Mn of the remaining fuel amount is smaller than the predetermined range that can be detected by the float sensor 22, step S32 is selected as the next processing procedure.

(Step S30)
The control means 5 determines whether the remaining fuel amount is in the section F1 or the section F2 based on the detection value D2 of the thermistor 23, and determines the result as the remaining fuel amount.

(Step S31)
The control means 5 determines the sections F3 to F4 corresponding to the current measurement value Mn of the remaining fuel amount as the remaining fuel amount.

(Step S32)
The control means 5 determines whether the remaining fuel amount is in the section F5 or the section F6 based on the detection value D3 of the thermistor 24, and determines the result as the remaining fuel amount.

(Step S4)
The control means 5 displays the remaining fuel amount on the display means 3.

  By executing the above processing procedure every predetermined time, the remaining fuel amount display device 1 displays the remaining fuel amount accommodated in the fuel tank 2 mounted on the motorcycle A on the display means 3.

  For example, the remaining fuel amount display device 1 is required to guarantee that it operates normally during a period of use of 3 years or a total travel distance of 60,000 km or less. However, the thermistors 23 and 24 have a shorter total application time during which electricity that is guaranteed to be able to operate normally is applied, such as 500 hours, for example. Therefore, when the remaining fuel amount display device 1 is activated, if it is constantly applied to the thermistors 24, 25, the thermistors 23, 24 may fail within the warranty period described above, and the remaining fuel amount may not be displayed accurately. Therefore, the control means 5 performs control so that electricity is applied to the thermistors 23 and 24 in as short a time as possible.

  Hereinafter, the application control of electricity to the thermistor 23 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the execution condition of step S30 is satisfied, the control means 5 first starts application to the thermistor 23 as a first procedure.

  After executing the first procedure, the control means 5 acquires the detection value as the second procedure when the application time to the thermistor 23 reaches 40 milliseconds.

  After executing the second procedure, the control means 5 immediately stops the application of electricity to the thermistor 23 as the third procedure.

  The control means 5 repeats the first to third procedures a predetermined number of times (for example, 5 times), and then determines the detection value D2 used for the determination in step S30 using the plurality of acquired detection values. The detection value D2 is determined as appropriate according to the characteristics of the thermistor 23, for example, by determining the average of a plurality of detection values or by determining that the plurality of detection values have become the same value a plurality of times in succession.

  After executing the sampling process in which the first to third procedures are repeated a predetermined number of times, the control means 5 provides a waiting time of 120 seconds as the fourth procedure.

  The control means 5 executes the first to fourth procedures again from the first procedure if the execution condition of step S30 is satisfied.

  The application control of electricity to the thermistor 23 shown in the first to fourth procedures is similarly applied to the thermistor 24.

(Operations and effects in the above-described embodiment)
A remaining fuel amount display device 1 according to an embodiment to which the present invention having the above-described configuration is applied is mounted on a mobile body (motorcycle) A, and a remaining fuel amount display device that displays the remaining amount of liquid fuel serving as a drive source for the mobile body A 1st sensor (float sensor) which is a fuel amount display device and has a display means 3 for displaying the remaining amount and a float 22a which moves together with the liquid level of the liquid fuel and detects the liquid level of the liquid fuel within a predetermined range. 22, a second sensor (thermistor) 23 that detects the liquid level above a predetermined range, and a control unit that determines the remaining amount using the detection values D1 and D2 of the plurality of sensors 22 and 23.
According to this, for example, even in the case of a bottomed saddle-shaped fuel tank 2 that widens from the upper fuel filler port to the bottom as shown in FIG. 2, the range that cannot be detected by the float sensor 22 (liquid in the fuel tank The remaining fuel amount can be measured by the thermistor 23 in the range from when the fuel is full to when the fuel sensor 22 is reduced to the measurement range of the float sensor 22, so that the remaining fuel amount can be accurately displayed on the display means 3. .

Further, the control means 5 of the remaining fuel amount display device 1 of the same embodiment starts the application of electricity to the second sensor (thermistor) 23 when the liquid level reaches or exceeds a predetermined range, After executing the first procedure for applying electricity over time, the second procedure for reading the detection value D2 of the second sensor 23 is executed, and the third procedure for stopping the application of electricity to the second sensor 23 is executed. To do.
According to this, since the control means 5 controls the application of electricity to the thermistor 23 in as short a time as possible when obtaining the detection value D2 from the thermistor (second sensor) 23, the thermistor 23 may break down. Can be reduced.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, modifications (including deletion of components) can be made to the embodiment and the drawings without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to a remaining fuel amount display device that displays the remaining fuel amount of a bottomed saddle-shaped fuel tank mounted on a motorcycle. In recent vehicles, in order to increase the indoor space in the vehicle and lower the center of gravity of the vehicle to improve running stability, the shape of the fuel tank is complicated, and the fuel amount can be accurately measured only with the float sensor. It has become difficult to measure, and the present invention can be applied to various vehicles equipped with such a fuel tank.

  The present invention is suitable for a remaining fuel amount display device mounted on a moving body driven by liquid fuel.

1: Fuel amount display device 2: Fuel tank 20: Refueling port 21: Supply port 22: Float sensor (first sensor)
22a: Float 22b: Contact arm 22c: Sensor unit 23: Thermistor (second sensor)
24: Thermistor (third sensor)
3: Display means 4: Injector 5: Control means A: Motorcycle (moving body)
D1: Detection value (detection value of the first sensor)
D2: Detection value (detection value of the second sensor)
D3: Detection value (detection value of the third sensor)

Claims (3)

A remaining fuel amount display device mounted on a moving body and displaying a remaining amount of liquid fuel stored in a fuel tank of the moving body,
Display means for displaying the remaining amount;
A first sensor that has a float that moves with the liquid level of the liquid fuel and detects the liquid level within a predetermined range;
A second sensor for detecting the liquid level above the predetermined range;
Control means for determining the remaining amount using detection values of the first sensor and the second sensor;
A remaining fuel amount display device comprising: When the liquid level is equal to or greater than the predetermined range, the control means
Performing a first procedure of applying electricity to the second sensor for a predetermined time;
Performing a second procedure for reading the detection value of the second sensor after the first procedure;
The remaining fuel amount display device according to claim 1, wherein a third procedure for stopping application of electricity to the second sensor is executed after the second procedure. The remaining fuel amount display device according to claim 2, wherein the control means executes the first procedure to the third procedure at predetermined intervals.

Images