JP2018119516A - Idling stop controller of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an idling stop controller of a vehicle, capable of suppressing release of unnecessary idling stop resulting from slight reduction of a depression amount of a brake pedal, in a case where a vehicle is in an idling stop state in waiting for a traffic light.SOLUTION: An idling stop controller of a vehicle includes: signal lamp detection means 45 of detecting whether a signal lamp of a traffic light 43 positioned in front of a stopped vehicle indicates vehicle stop, after stop of a vehicle a with brake operation of a brake pedal 17; and engine stop continuation means 25 of prohibiting establishment of a start predetermined condition to continue stop of an engine 3, while the traffic light is indicating the vehicle stop, after stop of the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an idle stop control device for a vehicle that stops idling operation of an engine when the vehicle is stopped.

  Some vehicles are equipped with an idling stop (hereinafter referred to as IDS) control device that temporarily stops the engine when the vehicle is stopped, such as waiting for a signal, for the purpose of improving fuel consumption. In many of the devices, IDS is performed when the vehicle is stopped or in a low vehicle speed range and the depression of the brake pedal is equal to or higher than a specified value (see cited documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-2006-70242 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-37860

By the way, it is easy for the driver to keep stepping on the brake pedal while the vehicle is stopped.
For this reason, while the vehicle is stopped and the IDS (idling stop) is being executed while waiting for a signal (red light of the traffic light), the driver may loosen the depressing force of depressing the brake pedal due to fatigue of the foot or the like. . When the stepping force decreases, the amount of depression of the brake pedal decreases.

However, in the IDS control device, the amount of depression of the brake pedal may slightly decrease due to foot fatigue or the like, and the amount of depression may fall below a specified value defined in the IDS device. When such a behavior of decreasing the depression amount occurs, the IDS is released, the engine that should continue to stop is started, and the fuel efficiency improvement brought about by the IDS is impaired.
In the cited document 1 and the cited document 2, when the vehicle is stopped, the start of the engine is determined by the acceleration of the preceding vehicle, or the start of the engine of the stopped vehicle is determined by the green signal of the traffic light in front of the vehicle. Is disclosed. However, there is no technique for suppressing inadvertent IDS cancellation due to a slight decrease in brake pedal depression while the vehicle is waiting for a signal. For this reason, a technique for suppressing inadvertent IDS cancellation is desired.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an idle stop control device for a vehicle that can suppress inadvertent release of an idle stop due to a decrease in the amount of depression of a brake pedal when the vehicle waiting for a signal is an idling stop. There is.

  According to the aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined engine stop condition including a brake pedal brake operation is satisfied, the engine serving as a vehicle drive source is stopped, and after the vehicle stops, an engine start predetermined condition including a brake pedal brake release operation is satisfied. In the vehicle idle stop control device that starts the engine when the vehicle stops, the signal light detection that detects whether the signal light of the traffic light located immediately before the stopped vehicle instructs the vehicle stop after the vehicle is stopped by the brake operation of the brake pedal And an engine stop continuation means for prohibiting establishment of a predetermined start condition and continuing the engine stop when the signal lamp is instructed to stop the vehicle after the vehicle is stopped.

According to the present invention, while the engine of the stopped vehicle is stopped (idling stop) while waiting for the traffic light, even if the brake pedal depression amount slightly decreases due to foot fatigue, the predetermined engine start condition is satisfied. Since establishment is prohibited, engine stop (idling stop) continues as it is while the traffic signal is instructed to stop the vehicle.
Therefore, inadvertent release of the idle stop caused by a decrease in the amount of depression of the brake pedal can be suppressed, and the fuel efficiency improvement brought about by the idle stop can be maintained.

It is a block diagram which shows the idle stop control apparatus of the vehicle used as the aspect which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the control which suppresses careless idle stop cancellation | release caused by the reduction | decrease of the brake pedal depression amount of the vehicle stopped by the idle stop.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle a to which an idle stop (hereinafter referred to as IDS) control device 41 according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing control of the IDS control device 41.
First, main parts of the vehicle a will be described. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle body on which an engine 3 and an automatic transmission (not shown) are mounted, for example, and 5 a and 5 b denote front parts of the vehicle body 1. , 7 indicates a dashboard for partitioning the engine room 9 and the cabin 11 at the front of the vehicle body, 10 indicates a steering handle disposed in front of the front seat 13, Reference numeral 17 denotes a brake pedal disposed in front of the front seat 13. Reference numerals 19a and 19b denote brake units (disc brakes, etc.) for applying a braking force to the front and rear wheels 5a and 5b. Reference numeral 21 denotes a brake pedal. 17 shows a master back unit that applies hydraulic pressure generated in conjunction with 17 to the brake units 19a and 19b, 23 denotes an accelerator pedal, and 25 denotes an engine 3 integrated. Please be ECU: shows (control unit consists a microcomputer). Reference numeral 27 denotes a 12V battery for supplying electric power to each electric device of the vehicle.

  That is, the vehicle a is steered left and right by the operation of the steering handle 10, accelerated by the depression of the accelerator pedal 23, braking force is applied by the depression of the brake pedal 17, and various sensor outputs are output by the ECU 25. Based on this, the engine 3 is controlled. Incidentally, the brake system uses a hydraulic brake that applies a braking force to the front and rear wheels 5a and 5b by a brake hydraulic pressure generated in response to depression of the brake pedal 17. A shift device for operating the automatic transmission is not shown.

The IDS control device 41 stops the engine 3 serving as the drive source of the vehicle a when the predetermined engine stop condition including the brake operation of the brake pedal 17 is satisfied (IDS), and performs the brake release operation of the brake pedal 17 after the vehicle stops. The engine 3 is started when predetermined engine start predetermined conditions are satisfied (IDS release).
Many of the IDS control devices 41 perform IDS when the vehicle a is stopped or in a low vehicle speed range and the depression of the brake pedal 17 is equal to or higher than a specified value, and the IDS is canceled when the vehicle a falls. In the present embodiment, the IDS is performed when the vehicle is stopped and the depression of the brake pedal 17 is equal to or higher than a specified value, and the IDS is canceled when the vehicle falls below the specified value.

  For example, the IDS control device 41 is configured using the ECU 25 as a control unit. The ECU 25 detects an ignition system and a fuel injection system of the engine 3 (both not shown), a hydraulic pressure sensor 29 that detects brake hydraulic pressure, an accelerator position sensor 31 that detects the opening degree of the accelerator pedal 23, and a voltage of the battery 27. A battery voltage sensor 33 for detecting the vehicle speed and a vehicle speed sensor 35 for detecting the vehicle speed are connected.

  Further, for example, as a predetermined engine stop condition, the ECU 25 stops the vehicle when the brake pedal 17 is depressed, the accelerator is turned off (accelerator opening: zero), the battery voltage is equal to or higher than a specified value (the power required for starting the engine is sufficiently satisfied). The function of executing IDS is set when the amount of depression of the brake pedal 17 is equal to or greater than a specified value (a state in which there is no problem with IDS), specifically, when the brake hydraulic pressure is equal to or greater than the specified value β. (Ignition system / fuel injection system: off). Of course, when the amount of depression of the brake pedal 17 falls below the prescribed value, that is, the brake hydraulic pressure falls below the prescribed value β and the accelerator is turned off (accelerator opening: increased) (engine start predetermined condition is satisfied), IDS is released. Thus, a function for starting the engine 3 is also set. The shift device (not shown) is in the D range.

Further, in addition to the normal control of IDS cancellation, the IDS control device 41 stops the vehicle a by an instruction of a red signal (lights red) of the signal lamp, for example, when the vehicle is stopped by the vehicle stop instruction of the traffic light 43. The device which suppresses cancellation | release of the unnecessary IDS which is easy to occur at the time of being added is added.
That is, unnecessary IDS cancellation occurs when the brake pedal 17 is slackened and the amount of depression of the brake pedal 17 is less than the specified value β while the vehicle a is stopped by the red signal of the traffic light 43.

In order to improve this unnecessary IDS cancellation, the IDS control device 41 is added with a technology in which IDS is continued while the red light of the traffic light 43 is lit. a camera unit 45 (corresponding to the signal lamp detection means of the present application) for detecting whether or not the signal lamp of the traffic light 43 located immediately before a indicates a red signal (vehicle stop instruction), and an indication of a red signal of the signal lamp The inside is a combination of an engine stop continuation function (corresponding to the engine stop continuation means of the present application) that prohibits establishment of predetermined engine start conditions and continues engine stop.

For example, the camera unit 45 is provided at the front portion of the vehicle body 1 at a position where a red signal from the signal lamp can be easily detected.
For example, the engine stop continuation function causes the ECU 25 to determine whether the signal light is a red signal (vehicle stop instruction) from an image captured by the camera unit 45 while the vehicle is stopped with IDS. And an IDS continuation / cancellation determination unit 49 that determines whether to continue or cancel the IDS upon receiving the same determination, and an IDS continuation / cancellation control unit 51 that performs continuation and cancellation of the IDS upon receiving the determination. Configured.

  In the IDS continuation / cancellation determination unit 49, whether or not the IDS is released when there is no red signal is that the depression amount of the brake pedal 17 is equal to or greater than a predetermined depression amount value (corresponding to the first depression amount value) determined from the beginning The determination is made based on a value that defines whether or not, here, a brake hydraulic pressure value corresponding to the depression amount value, specifically, a predetermined value β (first brake hydraulic pressure value) that is normally used. In the case of a red light, the IDS release determination is made so that the IDS is continued, so that the stepping amount value (second stepping amount value) smaller than the stepping amount value (first stepping amount value), here a specified value β (first step) The determination is made with reference to a specified value α which is a second brake hydraulic pressure value smaller than the brake hydraulic pressure value. That is, when there is an instruction of a red signal, it is determined that the IDS is continued even if the brake pedal 17 is somewhat depressed due to the prohibition of the predetermined engine start condition by changing (switching) the specified value.

  The IDS continuation / release control unit 51 determines that the depression amount of the brake pedal 17 that is a request to release the engine stop is a predetermined depression amount value (first depression amount value), that is, a specified value β (first brake) when the red signal is not red. IDS is canceled when the oil pressure value is below. In the case of a red signal, IDS is canceled when the value falls below a prescribed value α (second brake hydraulic pressure value) determined by a value smaller than the prescribed value α (second brake hydraulic pressure value).

As a result, when the red signal is IDS, the IDS is continued during the red signal even if the brake pedal 17 is loosely depressed.
Next, the operation of the IDS control device 41 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.
This action performs IDS when the vehicle a stops. Of course, the same applies to those that perform IDS in the low vehicle speed range.

  Now, the driver M who is driving the vehicle a recognizes the red signal (vehicle stop instruction) of the signal lamp of the traffic light 43, depresses the brake pedal 17, and immediately before the traffic light 43 as shown in FIG. Is stopped. Then, the ECU 25 determines from the detection value from the vehicle speed sensor 35, that is, the detection value at which the vehicle speed is zero, that the vehicle a has stopped as in step S1, and proceeds to step S3.

  In step S3, it is determined whether an engine stop condition excluding depression of the brake pedal 17 is satisfied. For example, it is determined whether or not there is no problem even if the vehicle a is not in a moving state and the operation of the engine 3 is stopped. Here, the detected value from the accelerator position sensor 31 is off, that is, the opening degree of the accelerator pedal 23 is zero, and the detected value from the battery voltage sensor 33 indicates a sufficient voltage value. The engine stop condition excluding the quantity is satisfied.

In the next step S5, whether or not there is a traffic light 43 immediately before the vehicle a by image processing or image matching processing of an image captured by the camera unit 45 performed by the red signal determination unit 47, and further, the traffic light 43 It is determined whether or not the signal light indicates a vehicle stop instruction, and here the signal light indicates a red signal.
Here, when there is no traffic light 43, it progresses to step S7 from step S5, and IDS and IDS cancellation (engine start) performed normally are performed. Specifically, whether or not the brake hydraulic pressure value output from the hydraulic pressure sensor 29 indicating the depression amount of the brake pedal 17 is greater than or equal to the predetermined value β is determined based on the predetermined value β (normal) of the brake hydraulic pressure that makes the IDS determination. judge. If the brake hydraulic pressure value is equal to or greater than the specified value β, the predetermined engine stop condition is satisfied for the depression amount of the brake pedal 17 shown in step S9. As a result, as shown in the subsequent step S11, the operation of the engine 3 is stopped, that is, IDS (idle stop) is executed.

If the foot is released from the brake pedal 17 and the accelerator pedal 23 is operated to start the vehicle a, the brake hydraulic pressure value detected by the hydraulic sensor 29 falls below the specified value β, and the engine stops as shown in step S13. The predetermined condition is not satisfied (engine start condition is satisfied), and the IDS is canceled by the following step 15 to start the engine.
The explanation about the case where there is no traffic light 43 is control of IDS and IDS cancellation in normal times, but when there is a traffic light 43 just before the stopped vehicle and the signal light of the traffic light 43 shows a red signal, Different control is performed.

That is, in step S5, when it is determined that the signal light of the traffic light 43 located immediately before the stopped vehicle is a red signal (vehicle stop instruction), the process proceeds from step S5 to step S17, and the brake that specifies IDS or IDS cancellation is performed. The hydraulic pressure value is changed from “specified value β” to “specified value α” (switching). The magnitude relationship between the prescribed values α and β is “the prescribed value α <the prescribed value β”.
In step S17, it is determined whether or not the brake hydraulic pressure value output from the hydraulic pressure sensor 29 is greater than or equal to the predetermined value α with reference to the predetermined value α of the brake hydraulic pressure that makes the determination of IDS. If the brake hydraulic pressure value is equal to or greater than the specified value α, the predetermined engine stop condition is satisfied for the amount of depression of the brake pedal 17 shown in step S19, so that the operation of the engine 3 is stopped as shown in the subsequent step S21. IDS (idle stop) is executed.

While the vehicle is stopped waiting for the signal from the traffic light 43 and IDS is being performed, for example, the driver M's feet become tired, the depression of the brake pedal 17 is loosened, and the depression amount of the brake pedal 17 is reduced. To do.
If the specified value β of the brake hydraulic pressure is used at normal time, the IDS is released by the loosening of the brake pedal 17 and the engine 3 is started even though the IDS is to be continued (due to a signal waiting state). It will come.

However, when the signal light of the traffic light 43 is a red signal, the brake hydraulic pressure value (brake pedal) specified by the “specified value α” smaller than the brake hydraulic pressure value (the brake pedal depression amount) specified by the “specified value β”. Therefore, even if the depression of the brake pedal 17 is somewhat loosened, the IDS cancellation becomes difficult to be performed by changing (switching) the specified value.
For this reason, during the red signal, even if the brake pedal 17 is slightly slackened, the establishment of the engine start condition is prohibited. Thereby, IDS in the red signal of the traffic light 43 continues to be continued during the red signal as it is regardless of the looseness of the brake pedal 17.

Of course, if the foot is released from the brake pedal 17 and the operation with the accelerator pedal 23 is performed for starting, the brake hydraulic pressure value detected by the hydraulic sensor 29 falls below the specified value α, and the engine is stopped as shown in step S23. The predetermined condition is not satisfied (engine start condition is satisfied), and the IDS is canceled in the subsequent step S25 to start the engine.
As described above, the vehicle a that is IDS waiting for a signal is prohibited from satisfying the predetermined engine start condition during a red signal (when a vehicle stop instruction is being issued). Even if there is a slight decrease due to fatigue of the foot, IDS can be continued as it is during a red signal (during vehicle stop instruction).

Therefore, inadvertent release of IDS due to a decrease in the amount of depression of the brake pedal 17 can be suppressed, and fuel efficiency improvement brought about by IDS can be maintained.
In particular, prohibiting the establishment of a predetermined engine start condition during a red signal can be controlled by switching the brake pedal depression amount value or switching the brake hydraulic pressure value indicating the depression amount value. Control is enough.

  The IDS control device 41 also takes into consideration the case where the front vehicle b is located immediately before the stopped vehicle a, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. For example, a stop lamp detection camera unit 55 (corresponding to a stop lamp detection means) for detecting whether a stop lamp c at the rear of the front vehicle b is lit is provided at the front part of the vehicle body 1, and each part of the ECU 25 is provided. The functions (red signal determination unit 47, IDS continuation / cancellation determination unit 49, IDS continuation / cancellation control unit 51) are used not only for the red signal of the traffic light 43 but also during the lighting of the stop lamp c of the preceding vehicle b. The engine start predetermined condition is prohibited and IDS (engine stop) is continued.

Since the configuration and method of the control are the same as those in FIGS. 1 and 2, detailed description thereof is omitted.
When the control for continuing IDS (engine stop) is used in combination while the stop lamp c of the preceding vehicle b is lit, the fuel efficiency improved by the IDS can be further improved. Moreover, safety is improved.
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in one embodiment, the present invention is applied to an IDS control device in which IDS is performed when the depression of a brake pedal is equal to or higher than a predetermined value until the vehicle stops. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the vehicle is braked at a low vehicle speed range. The present invention may be applied to an IDS control device that performs IDS when the depression of the pedal is equal to or greater than a specified value. Further, in the embodiment, only the lighting of the red signal is given as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

3 Engine 17 Brake pedal 25 ECU (Engine stop continuation means)
43 traffic light 45 camera part (signal light detection means)
55 Camera unit (stop lamp detection means)
α Specified value (2nd depression amount value, 2nd brake hydraulic pressure value)
β Specified value (1st depression amount value, 1st brake hydraulic pressure value)
a Vehicle b Previous vehicle c Stop lamp

Claims (4)

When a predetermined engine stop condition including a brake pedal brake operation is satisfied, the engine serving as a vehicle drive source is stopped. After the vehicle stops, the engine is started when a predetermined engine start condition including a brake pedal brake release operation is satisfied. In the idle stop control device for the vehicle
A signal light detection means for detecting whether a signal light of a traffic light located immediately before the stopped vehicle is instructed to stop the vehicle after the vehicle is stopped by a brake operation of the brake pedal;
An engine stop continuation means for prohibiting establishment of the predetermined engine start condition and continuing the engine stop while the signal light is instructed to stop the vehicle after the vehicle stops. apparatus. Furthermore, the signal light detection means has stop lamp detection means for detecting whether a stop lamp at the rear of the front vehicle located immediately before the stopped vehicle is lit,
The engine stop continuation means prohibits establishment of the predetermined engine start condition and continues the engine stop while the stop lamp of the preceding vehicle is lit after the vehicle is stopped. The idle stop control device for a vehicle according to claim 1. The engine stop continuation means, when there is no vehicle stop instruction, starts the engine when the depression amount of the brake pedal, which is a request for releasing the engine stop as a normal control, falls below a predetermined first depression amount value. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when there is an instruction to stop the vehicle, the engine is started when the engine is less than a second depression amount value set with a value smaller than the first depression amount value. Idle stop control device. The vehicle is stopped by a braking force given by brake hydraulic pressure generated in response to depression of the brake pedal,
The normal first depression amount value in the engine stop continuation means is set by a release brake hydraulic pressure value for releasing the engine stop at the normal time when there is no vehicle stop instruction, and the second depression amount value is The vehicle idle stop control device according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle is set by a continuous brake hydraulic pressure value smaller than the release brake hydraulic pressure value for continuing the engine stop.

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