JP2587798Y2 - Throttle valve - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a throttle valve for an automobile engine, and more particularly to a throttle valve suitable for an automobile engine in which traction control and auto cruise control are performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an automatic cruise control that stores a set vehicle speed, compares a running vehicle speed with the set vehicle speed, controls engine output, and drives the vehicle at a constant speed has become widespread. In addition, traction control is also performed to limit engine output in order to prevent tire slip due to sudden start, slip during cornering, and the like.

In the control of the engine output by the auto cruise control, a throttle valve which is opened and closed by an accelerator pedal is opened by an actuator beyond the opening of the accelerator pedal when auto cruise is set. FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional mechanism for this purpose.

As shown in the figure, an accelerator lever of a throttle valve 1 is connected to an output link of an intermediate link 2 by wires, and two input links of the intermediate link 2 are respectively connected to an accelerator pedal 3 and an actuator 4 by wires.
It is connected to.

The actuator 4 is a negative pressure operated diaphragm actuator, and the negative pressure is provided by an electric negative pressure pump assembly 5 connected to a negative pressure chamber of the actuator by a hose. The electric negative pressure pump assembly 5 includes an electric negative pressure pump and a solenoid valve which is opened and closed by an engine control unit.
The negative pressure of the negative pressure chamber is controlled.

In controlling the engine output by traction control, an actuator is driven in a closing direction so that a throttle valve that is opened and closed by an accelerator pedal has an opening degree set by the accelerator pedal or less.
FIG. 4 shows an example of a conventional mechanism for that purpose.

As shown in the figure, an accelerator lever 10 of the throttle valve 1 is connected to an accelerator pedal by a wire 11, and the throttle valve 1 is opened and closed by the accelerator pedal.

The actuator 6 is mounted so that the throttle valve 1 can be driven in the closing direction so as to be less than the opening set by the accelerator pedal. A negative pressure operating diaphragm actuator is used as the actuator 6, and the negative pressure chamber is connected to a vacuum tank 7 via a vacuum solenoid valve 9. Further, a passage leading to the vacuum solenoid valve 9 is provided by a ventilation solenoid valve 8.
Open to the atmosphere via.

The vacuum tank 7 is connected to the downstream side of the throttle valve 1 of the engine intake pipe and is maintained at a negative pressure, and the opening and closing of the vacuum solenoid valve 9 and the ventilation solenoid valve 8 are controlled by an engine control unit. The engine output is controlled by the negative pressure.

In the traction control proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-157728, a throttle valve is provided upstream of a throttle valve of an engine intake pipe, and the throttle valve is opened and closed by a negative pressure operated diaphragm actuator. The negative pressure of the actuator is controlled by a solenoid valve opened and closed by an engine control unit.

When performing both traction control and auto cruise control, the accelerator lever 10 of the throttle valve 1 shown in FIG. 4 is connected to the output link of the intermediate link 2 shown in FIG. Two input links are respectively connected to the accelerator pedal 3 and the actuator 4 by wires.

Further, a drive-by-wire (DBW) for controlling both traction control and auto cruise control by opening and closing a throttle valve with a step motor is also known.

[0013]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When performing both traction control and auto cruise control, as described above, the negative pressure operated diaphragm actuator is disposed on the vehicle body away from the throttle valve, and the negative pressure operated diaphragm actuator and the throttle are arranged. According to the configuration in which the valve is connected by a wire via the intermediate link, an expensive mechanism such as the intermediate link is required, and extra crawling of the wire is required, resulting in a high manufacturing cost. Was.

In the case of the drive-by-wire method, an expensive step motor is used, and if the step motor fails, limp home and fail-safe cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a throttle valve capable of performing both traction control and automatic cruise control without performing extra crawl of a wire. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a throttle valve capable of performing limp home or fail-safe without using a step motor.

[0017]

A throttle valve according to the present invention is provided with a valve shaft lever rotatably supported by a throttle body and fixed to a valve shaft which rotates integrally with the valve, and a valve shaft which is attached to the valve opening direction. A first spring that is energized, and is driven by an accelerator pedal, is coaxial with the valve shaft, and is not fixed to the valve shaft;
An accelerator lever rotatably supported, a free lever rotatably supported coaxially with the valve shaft and in a non-fixed state with the valve shaft lever and the accelerator lever,
A second spring for urging the free lever in the valve closing direction with a torque larger than that for urging the valve shaft lever by the first spring, and a third spring for urging the accelerator lever in the valve closing direction A spring, each protrusion provided on the valve shaft lever and the free lever, and each free lever acting to drive the valve shaft lever in the valve closing direction by abutting each other; and A projection provided on the throttle lever, wherein the projections act to drive the free lever in the valve opening direction by abutting each other; and A first diaphragm actuator for driving in a closing direction and a second diaphragm actuator mounted on the throttle body for driving the free lever in a valve opening direction; And an ear Fulham actuator, the valve shaft is driven by a conventional accelerator pedal,
It can be driven by the first and second diaphragm actuators as needed.

[0018]

The throttle valve in the throttle valve of the present invention is controlled by a solenoid valve opened and closed by an engine control unit to control the negative pressure in the negative pressure chamber of the diaphragm actuator which acts on the valve shaft lever in the valve closing direction. And the traction control can be performed. In this case, the projections provided on the valve shaft lever and the free lever are separated from each other, and the diaphragm actuator turns the valve shaft in the valve closing direction against the elastic force of a spring for urging the valve shaft in the valve opening direction.

Further, the free lever is controlled against the elasticity of the spring by controlling the negative pressure of the negative pressure chamber of the diaphragm actuator acting on the free lever in the valve opening direction by a solenoid valve opened and closed by the engine control unit. It can be driven in the valve opening direction. The valve shaft lever follows the free lever and drives the valve in the opening direction. In this way, the throttle valve can be opened more than the opening set by the accelerator pedal, and the automatic cruise control can be performed. In this case, the protrusion of the free lever is separated from the protrusion of the accelerator lever, the accelerator lever is not driven by the free lever, and the wire is prevented from coming off the groove of the accelerator lever due to looseness.

If the negative pressure chambers of the two diaphragm actuators provided in the throttle body are connected to a negative pressure source by a hose, the wire can be crawled extra without using an expensive mechanism such as an intermediate link. Both traction control and auto cruise control can be performed without the need. When both the traction control actuator and the auto cruise control actuator operate, the operation of the traction control actuator has priority.

Further, by closing the throttle valve using a diaphragm actuator acting on the valve shaft lever in the valve closing direction, a fail-safe against a failure of the accelerator pedal system can be executed.

Further, when the throttle valve cannot be opened due to a failure of the accelerator pedal system, the throttle valve is opened by using a diaphragm actuator which acts on the free lever in the valve opening direction, so that at least traveling limp home is performed. It is possible to perform

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a throttle valve according to an embodiment of the present invention. Although not shown, the throttle body has an intake passage 17 formed therein, and a valve 12 for opening and closing the intake passage 17 is fixed to a valve shaft 13.

The valve shaft 13 is rotatably supported by a bearing provided on the throttle body, and is urged by a coil spring 14 in the valve opening direction. A valve shaft lever 15 is fixed to the right end of the valve shaft 13, and the rotation shaft of a throttle position sensor 23 is connected to the left end.

A projection 15a is formed at one end of the valve shaft lever 15, and a pin 16 is provided upright at the other end. The actuator 6 is a negative pressure operated diaphragm actuator, and is supported by a throttle body. The rod of the actuator 6 is engaged with the pin 16 with play.
When a negative pressure is introduced into the negative pressure chamber of the actuator 6, the pin 1
6 is pulled in a direction to close the valve 12.

A shaft 18 is rotatably supported by a bearing provided on the throttle body coaxially with the valve shaft 13, and is urged by a coil spring 19 in a valve closing direction. Coil spring 1
The urging torque of No. 9 is larger than the urging torque of the coil spring.

A free lever 20 is fixed to the shaft 18,
The rotation shaft of the accelerator position sensor 24 is connected to the right end. At one end of the free lever 20, a protrusion 20a is formed so as to protrude into the rotation path of the protrusion 15a.
At the other end of the free lever 20, a pin 21 is erected and a projection 20b is provided.

The actuator 4 is a negative pressure operated diaphragm actuator, and is supported by a throttle body. The rod of the actuator 4 is engaged with the pin 21 with play. When a negative pressure is introduced into the negative pressure chamber of the actuator 4, the pin 21 is pulled in a direction to open the valve 12. The accelerator lever 10 is loosely fitted on the shaft 18 and is rotatably supported, and is urged by a coil spring 22 in the valve closing direction. A projection 10a is formed on the accelerator lever 10 so as to project into the rotation path of the projection 20b. Further, a wire 11 connected to the accelerator pedal is wound around a peripheral arc portion of the accelerator lever 10.

In the above configuration, when no negative pressure is introduced into the negative pressure chambers of the actuators 4 and 6, the rods of the respective actuators do not retreat to the positions where the pins 16 and 21 are pulled, and the opening and closing of the valve 12 is performed. The pins 16 and 21 move within the slit of the rod to the extent that they do.

At this time, if the wire 11 is not pulled, the accelerator lever 10 rotates in the valve closing direction by the elastic force of the coil spring 22 and comes into contact with a stopper (not shown) to be in the idle position of the accelerator. .

The free lever 20 is a coil spring 19
With the resilience of this, the valve lever 15 rotates in the valve closing direction so as to follow the accelerator lever 10, and the projection 15a of the valve shaft lever 15 is pushed by the projection 20a and rotates in the valve closing direction, and the valve 12 closes the intake passage 17. Becomes

When the wire 11 is pulled by the accelerator pedal, the accelerator lever 10 turns in the valve opening direction against the elastic force of the coil springs 22 and 19, and the projection 2
0b is pushed by the projection 10a, the free lever 20 rotates in the valve opening direction, and the valve shaft 13 rotates in the valve opening direction by the elastic force of the coil spring 14 so that the projection 15a follows the projection 20a. be opened. Thus, the opening of the valve 12 can be adjusted by the accelerator pedal.

When a negative pressure is introduced into the negative pressure chamber of the actuator 6, the rod of the actuator 6 retreats to a position where the negative pressure acting on the diaphragm and the elasticity of the spring provided inside the actuator are balanced. Then, when the pin 16 is pulled, the valve 12 is rotated in the valve closing direction, and is closed to an opening degree or less set by the accelerator pedal.

When a negative pressure is introduced into the negative pressure chamber of the actuator 4, the rod of the actuator 4 retreats to a position where the negative pressure acting on the diaphragm and the elasticity of the spring provided inside the actuator are balanced. When the pin 21 is pulled, the free lever 20 is turned in the valve opening direction against the elasticity of the coil spring 19, and the valve shaft 13 is moved by the elasticity of the coil spring 14 so that the projection 15a follows the projection 20a. The valve 12 is opened by rotating in the valve opening direction. Thus, the valve 12
Is opened more than the opening degree set by the accelerator pedal. At this time, the projection 20b is separated from the projection 10a, and the accelerator lever 10 is not driven by the actuator 4.

FIG. 2 shows a case where the throttle valve is used in an automobile engine that performs both traction control and auto cruise control.

The negative pressure chamber of the actuator 6 is connected to a vacuum tank 7 via a vacuum solenoid valve 9. The vacuum tank 7 communicates with the inlet manifold and is kept in a negative pressure state. The passage between the vacuum solenoid valve 9 and the negative pressure chamber of the actuator 6 communicates with the atmosphere via the ventilation solenoid valve 8. Vacuum solenoid valve 9 and ventilation solenoid valve 8
The opening and closing are controlled by the engine control unit.

The negative pressure chamber of the actuator 4 is in communication with the electric negative pressure pump assembly 5. The electric negative pressure pump assembly 5 is composed of an electric negative pressure pump and a solenoid valve opened and closed by an engine control unit, and controls the negative pressure of the negative pressure chamber of the actuator 4.

The engine control unit includes a throttle position sensor, an accelerator position sensor,
Signals from a vehicle speed sensor, a wheel rotation speed sensor, a steering angle sensor and the like, and signals from an auto cruise setting switch and the like are input.

In the auto cruise state, the engine control unit compares the set speed with the vehicle speed, and controls the negative pressure of the actuator 4 so that the speed becomes constant. At this time, the ventilation solenoid valve 8 is opened and the negative pressure chamber of the actuator 6 is in the atmospheric pressure state.

When a slip condition is detected from the vehicle speed sensor and the wheel rotational speed sensor, or when the vehicle speed is excessive with respect to the steering angle, a traction control state is set, so that the slip is reduced to a certain level or less. The engine control unit controls the negative pressure of the actuator 6 so that the vehicle speed does not become excessive with respect to the angle. At this time, the actuator 6 can close the valve without being affected by the operation of the actuator 4 even when the auto cruise control is performed by the actuator 4.

As described above, both the traction control and the automatic cruise control can be performed by the two actuators provided on the throttle valve without running extra wires.

[0042]

As described above, according to the throttle valve of the present invention, the opening degree of the throttle valve is controlled to be greater than or less than the opening degree set by the accelerator pedal by the two actuators provided integrally with the throttle body. As a result, both traction control and auto cruise control can be achieved with a compact mechanism.

Since the accelerator lever is not moved by the actuator when the auto cruise control is performed, there is no uncomfortable feeling due to the accelerator pedal moving freely, and there is no possibility that the wire is loosened and comes off the accelerator lever.

Further, when both traction control and auto cruise control are performed, traction control takes precedence, which is safe.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a throttle valve according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing a case where the throttle valve is used for an automobile engine.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional auto cruise control mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional traction control mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Throttle valve 2 Intermediate link 3 Accelerator 4 Actuator 5 Electric vacuum pump assembly 6 Actuator 7 Vacuum tank 8 Ventilation solenoid valve 9 Vacuum solenoid valve 10 Accelerator lever 11 Wire 12 Valve 13 Valve shaft 14 Coil spring 15 Valve shaft lever 16 Pin 17 intake path 18 axis 19 coil spring 20 free lever 21 pin 22 coil spring 23 throttle position sensor 24 accelerator position sensor

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI F02D 11/04 F02D 11/04 J (72) Inventor Yasuo Sekida 2480 Hisano 2480 Hisano, Odawara-shi, Kanagawa Pref. Ichiwa 2480 Kuno, Odawara-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Mikuni Odawara Plant (72) Inventor Tohru Hashimoto 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Koichi Namiki Port of Tokyo 5-33-8 Shiba-ku, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Takuya Matsumoto 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (56) References JP-A-3-85338 ( JP, A) JP-A-61-157728 (JP, A) JP-A-3-32147 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F02D 9/00-11/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A valve shaft lever rotatably supported by a throttle body and fixed to a valve shaft that rotates integrally with a valve, a first spring for urging the valve shaft in a valve opening direction, and an accelerator pedal. An accelerator lever that is driven and is rotatably supported coaxially with the valve shaft and in a non-fixed state with the valve shaft; and is coaxial with the valve shaft and non-fixed with the valve shaft lever and the accelerator lever. A free lever rotatably supported in the state, a second spring for urging the free lever in a valve closing direction with a torque larger than a torque for the first spring to urge the valve shaft lever, A third spring for urging the accelerator lever in a valve closing direction, provided on the valve shaft lever and the free lever, respectively.
A projection provided on each of the free lever and the accelerator lever, wherein the protrusion acts on the free lever to drive the valve shaft lever in the valve closing direction by contacting each other; A first diaphragm actuator mounted on the throttle body for driving the free lever in the valve opening direction, a first diaphragm actuator mounted on the throttle body for driving the valve shaft lever in the valve closing direction, and mounted on the throttle body. A second diaphragm actuator for driving the free lever in a valve opening direction, wherein the valve shaft is normally driven by an accelerator pedal, and can be driven by the first and second diaphragm actuators as necessary. Configured throttle valve.