JP2923852B2 - Idling continuation device for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of an apparatus for maintaining an idling state for an appropriate period of time without immediately stopping the engine even if a key switch is manually operated to stop the running engine. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an engine equipped with a supercharger (turbocharger), a key switch is turned off (turned to an off position) immediately after a long time, particularly after a high-speed operation, so that the engine is immediately stopped. It has been reported that this may cause stress on the supercharger mechanism and shorten the life. Therefore, conventionally, as one of the electrical components that can be attached later to the purchased vehicle, an idling continuation device called a "turbo timer" etc. has been marketed, and when this is attached, even if the key switch is turned off, it is immediately The engine will not stop, and generally from one minute
The engine continues idling for a time fixedly set in advance within a range of about 10 minutes or a time set by the user, and then automatically stops.

FIG. 3 shows a typical example in which such a conventional idling device is incorporated in a wiring system from a vehicle-mounted battery 10 to each of electric load groups 14, 15, and 16 to be described later. Have been. In the figure, the elements denoted by reference numerals 10 and 20 are those originally mounted on general motor vehicles, and the elements denoted by reference numerals 30 and 60 are retrofitted to the vehicle. Of the conventional idling device.

First, a description will be given of a part already mounted on a commercially available vehicle. The hot output terminal of the battery 10 is connected to the input fixed contact of the key switch 11, and the cold output terminal is generally a chassis ground, that is, the vehicle. It is connected to a metal part such as a frame and grounded. However, as is very well known to the person driving the vehicle, the key switch 11 can be manually turned to select at least four positions: an off position, an accessory position, an on position, and a start position (engine start position). Can be adopted.

[0005] The OFF position corresponds to the OFF contact (OFF) shown in the figure as a contact position, and a case where some special electric load such as a clock which should always supply battery power may be connected. Except for the position where the supply of battery power to most electric loads is generally cut off, it is usually a simple open contact as shown in the figure.

The accessory position is a position which is first reached when the key switch 11 is generally rotated rightward from the on position. The battery power is supplied only to so-called accessory devices such as a radio, a stereo device, and a vehicle interior lighting device. In this position, only the accessory contact (ACC.) Is selected at this position, and the battery power is supplied to the above-described various accessory devices (accessory load group 14) via the accessory line 24 connected thereto. You.

When the key switch 11 is further turned clockwise from the accessory position, the key switch 11 is turned to the on position. In this position, the above-mentioned accessory contact ACC. Remains selected, but two new ON contacts ON1 and ON2 are selected.
The first on-contact ON1 is a contact for supplying battery power to the first main electric load group 16 via the first main power supply line 22, and this first main electric load group 16 is used when the engine is started. And a load group necessary for continuing the operation of the engine after startup, and include, for example, an ignition coil, an electric fan, an engine control microcomputer (hereinafter simply referred to as a microcomputer), and the like. On the other hand, the second ON contact ON2 is connected to the second main power line
A contact for supplying battery power to the second main electric load group 15 via the control unit 23. The second main electric load group 15 includes various electric loads necessary for driving or operating the vehicle, such as wipers. Motors and power window motors are included.

However, depending on the vehicle, when the key switch 11 is turned to the ON position, only one ON contact is newly selected in addition to the accessory contact ACC. In some vehicles, groups 16 and 15 are all connected to this single on-contact. However, such a vehicle cannot be a vehicle to which the idling continuation device according to the present invention is applied, as will be apparent from a place to be described later. The conventional device shown in FIG. 3 and described here can be mounted on such a vehicle, but not at least with the device contemplated by the present invention. However, in most recent vehicles, as shown, when the key switch 11 is turned to the ON position, the first and second ON contacts ON1 and ON2 which are independent from each other are both selected. The first and second main electric load groups 16 and 15 described above are connected to each of them independently.

When the key switch 11 is further turned to the right from the on position, the key switch 11 is set to the start position, at which the engine is started. In this position, a new starter contact ST
Is additionally selected, a battery power is supplied to an engine starting circuit, for example, a magnet switch 13 via a starter line 21 to drive a starter motor 12, and thereafter, a user who confirms that the engine has started is operated by a key switch 11
When the hand that has turned the knob to the start position is released, the key switch 11 generally returns to the on position automatically and settles down due to the spring force. However, some vehicles do not have a dedicated starting circuit 13 such as a magnet switch, and the starter line 21
In some cases, the starter motor 12 is directly connected to the gear selector lever. Also, in a so-called automatic vehicle or the like, if a gear selector lever (not shown) is not in the parking position or the neutral position, the engine is prevented from starting. A so-called inhibitor contact (not shown) configured to close only when the vehicle is in the parking position or the neutral position is interposed in the starter line 21 in series. The present invention can be applied to any of such vehicles.

The conventional idling continuity device which is retrofitted to the wiring system already mounted on the vehicle firstly includes a first main power supply line 22 which is a supply line of battery power to the first main electric load group 16. In general, there is provided a voltage drop detecting circuit 62 for monitoring the voltage drop through a suitable voltage dividing circuit 61 to a voltage range suitable for processing, and detecting the voltage drop. When the voltage drop detection circuit 62 detects the voltage drop, a timer circuit 63 is triggered by the detection output,
From that time on, for a certain period of time, the timer circuit 63 outputs a specific signal, for example, a high-level signal H, so that each of the timer circuits 63 outputs the electromagnetic signal via the driver circuits 31, 34, and 37 shown as pnp transistors in the figure. The relays 32, 35, 38 are turned on, and the normally open contacts 33, 36,
39 is closed. The normally open contact 33 is provided for the first ON contact ON1, the normally open contact 36 is provided for the second ON contact ON2, and the normally open contact 39 is provided for the accessory contact ACC. Irrespective of the position of the key switch 11,
Battery power is supplied to 5 and 16.

[0011] Because of this, the key switch 11 is used to stop the engine that the driver of the vehicle is driving.
Is turned from the ON position to the OFF position, or at least to the accessory position, the first ON contact ON1 is opened, and the voltage on the first main power supply line 22 begins to drop. When the voltage of the first main power supply line 22 falls below a preset threshold voltage during this transition period, the voltage drop detection circuit 62 issues a voltage drop detection output, which triggers the timer 63 to close the contact. Emits a signal.
In the case of the circuit shown, the contact closing signal is a signal having a relatively high level H, whereby the driver transistors 31, 34, 37 are turned on, and the corresponding relays 32, 35, The battery power is supplied to 38 and excited, and the corresponding contact means 33, 36 and 39 are closed.

Therefore, even though the key switch 11 is turned to the position for stopping the engine as described above, the key switch
Battery power continues to be supplied to each of the electric load groups 16, 15, and 14 via the contact means 33, 36, and 39 which are closed in a relationship of bypassing the battery 11. Continue until the time elapses, during which time the engine continues to run. Thereafter, when the contact closing signal is lost due to the time-up in the timer circuit 63 (in the case shown, the voltage drops below a significant voltage value), the relays 32, 35, and 38 are turned off. The engine automatically stops when 33, 36, and 39 return to the normally open state. The set time in the timer circuit 63 is generally set in the range of about 1 minute to 10 minutes in advance by the manufacturer and may be shipped.In recent years, however, the operation is generally still 1 minute to 10 minutes due to the operation of the equipment purchaser. Even within the range, there are many that can be set arbitrarily to some extent.

[0013]

However, in such a conventional circuit, the engine is stopped as it is when the key switch is turned off by the user, even though the device itself operates normally. there were. The cause is mainly the operation delay of the device. This has two factors, one of which is the operating time of the relays 32, 35, 38 constituting the contact device, that is, the respective contacts 33, 36, 39 after the respective relays 32, 35, 38 are energized. Is the delay due to the time until is closed. However, this operation time has been considerably improved recently, and has been reduced to about 10 mS or less. If this is the only case, the first main power supply line 22 can be closed by closing the contact means 33 before the voltage drops. The supply state of the battery power to the load group 16 can be maintained, and the rotation of the engine can be maintained. The problem is another factor, which is the voltage drop detection delay in the voltage drop detection circuit 62.

In this connection, referring to FIG. 2 which will be used later for the operation of the present invention, a portion a indicated by a virtual line in FIG. 2 is a portion which may be a problem. That is,
When the key switch 11 is turned to the off position or at least to the accessory position, so that the first on contact ON1 is opened to the battery 10, the voltage value of the first main power supply line 22 immediately drops. Absent. Since the first main electric load group 16 connected to the first main power supply line 22 is generally expected to have a considerable capacity (capacitance), it will decrease according to a considerably long time constant.
Also, because of this, even if there is any operation time in the relay etc. as described above, this is allowed, and before the power supplied to the first main electric load group 16 decreases to such an extent that it becomes inoperable, The battery power can be supplied via the closed contact means 33.

However, depending on the type of vehicle, not only does the voltage of the first main power supply line 22 drop simply according to a fixed time constant, but at this time, as shown in part a in FIG. In this case, it may take a considerable time, for example, 30 ms or more, until the voltage of the first main power supply line 22 falls below the threshold value Vth, and as a result, the voltage drop detection circuit 62 Detection is delayed, during which time the first main load group 16
Power supply to the engine was shut down and the engine stopped.

Therefore, there has been an attempt to provide a transistor circuit (not shown) in parallel with the relay contact so as to compensate for at least the delay caused by the relay operation time by a relay contact short-circuit operation by a transistor circuit having a high operation speed. Dozens at most until the relay contacts close
Although for a short time of mS, the current supplied to the first electric load group 16 for generally maintaining the operation of the engine is, for example, 12
In some cases, the transistor circuit must have enough current capacity to withstand this, and it is difficult to use a small one. Had to be made larger and more expensive.

Under such circumstances, the present invention has been made to improve the detection delay of the voltage drop detection circuit, which is a problem rather than the operation time of the relay, and to provide a highly reliable idling continuation device. Things.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention generally has a higher rate of voltage drop at the first main power supply line 22 when the key switch is released from the ON position. The second main power supply line 23 connected to the second main electric load group 15 composed of a low-capacity load group
We noticed that it was faster. However, depending on the vehicle, the voltage of the first main power supply line 22 may drop faster than that of the second main power supply line 23. If any one of 23 falls below a predetermined threshold value, the timer circuit is activated at that point, and the contact means for bypassing the key switch is closed via a contact device including a relay or the like.

This can be summarized again as an apparatus configuration.
The present invention is a vehicle idling continuation device that does not immediately stop the engine even when a key switch is operated to stop the running engine, but automatically stops after a predetermined time has elapsed; (a) A clear state and a stored state can be selectively adopted, a starter contact is selected by operating a key switch, and a battery mounted on the vehicle is connected to a starter line that starts an engine starter motor via the starter contact. A storage circuit for detecting the fact that power is supplied, transitioning from the clear state to the storage state, and outputting a signal indicating that there is storage; and (b) mounting on the vehicle necessary for starting the engine and continuing the operation of the engine after the start. The voltage of the first main power supply line for supplying battery power when the key switch is in the ON position for the first group of electric loads Monitoring the voltage of the second main power supply line that supplies battery power to the second group of electric loads necessary for driving or operating the vehicle after the engine is started when the switch is in the ON position, and any one of them is monitored. A voltage drop detection circuit that issues a voltage drop detection output when at least one of them falls below a predetermined threshold voltage; and (c) a voltage drop detection circuit that outputs the above-mentioned storage presence signal when the storage circuit outputs the above-mentioned storage presence signal. A timer operation command circuit for issuing a timer operation command signal when a voltage drop detection output is generated; and (d) operating in response to the timer operation command signal and outputting a contact closing signal for a preset predetermined time. (E) providing battery power to at least the first main power line by closing the contact means bypassing the key switch while the timer circuit is outputting the contact closing signal; continue,
A contact device for opening the contact means when the timer circuit times out; and (f) a reset circuit for resetting the storage circuit to the previous clear state when the timer circuit times out;
An idling continuation device for a vehicle, comprising:

In addition to such a basic configuration, the present invention also provides (g) operation of a key switch to select a starter contact and supply battery power to a starter line for starting an engine starter motor. Further comprising a detection prohibition circuit for prohibiting the detection operation of the voltage drop detection circuit when the starter contact is released by the operation of the key switch and for a certain period of time thereafter. Also suggest. This is advantageous for mounting on the following vehicles. That is, in some existing vehicles, when a starter contact is selected by operating a key switch and battery power is supplied to a starter line that starts an engine starter motor, a second main power source that is necessary after the engine is started is required. There is a case where a contact configuration of a key switch is adopted so as to cut off supply of battery power to an electric load group and further to an accessory load group. Even if this is not the case intentionally, when the battery voltage drops sharply and sharply due to the large current supplied to the starter line, the voltage of the second main power supply line is reduced due to the small load capacity of the second main electric load group. The descent may occur rapidly. Therefore, in such a case, if nothing is done, the voltage drop detection circuit may cause erroneous detection. In this regard, if the above configuration requirement (g) is satisfied, the voltage drop of the second main power supply line at the time of starting the engine is substantially ignored, so that the malfunction due to the erroneous detection of the voltage drop detection circuit is ensured. The voltage drop detection circuit works properly only after the key switch is turned off to stop the engine.

Further, in the present invention, (h) the contact device also has second contact means for bypassing the key switch, and the contact device is connected to the second contact device while the timer circuit outputs the contact closing signal. Closing the contact means so as to continue supplying battery power to the second main power supply line and opening the second contact means when the timer circuit times out. . Since the idling continuation device of the present invention basically only needs to be able to continue the operation of the engine, it can be sufficiently commercialized using only the above-mentioned basic constituent requirement groups (a) to (f). However, in general, when the engine is continuously operating, it is often convenient to use other electric components such as a power window and a wiper without feeling uncomfortable. Therefore, in order to satisfy such requirements, it is desirable to use an apparatus that also adopts the configuration requirement (h). In addition, the present invention is basically applicable to either of them. However, the same consideration may be applied to the accessory load group, and it is often desirable to do so.

In the above-mentioned basic components in the present invention, one or several of the storage circuit, the voltage drop detection circuit, the timer operation command circuit, the timer circuit, and the reset circuit are provided, or Of course, all of them can be constituted by hardware, and desirably, one or some or all of them can be constituted by a microcomputer.

[0023]

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an idling continuation device constructed in accordance with the present invention. In the figure, the same or similar components as those already described with reference to FIG.
Therefore, the above description is referred to for them, and the description in this section may be omitted.

Hereinafter, the operation of the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is attached to the corresponding OFF contact OFF in the OFF position (open contact in the figure, but a constantly operating device such as a watch may be connected to this contact instead of directly to the battery). When the key switch 11 that has been turned is generally turned clockwise by manual operation by the user, the accessory position is first reached, and the corresponding accessory contact is reached.
ACC. Is selected, the battery 10 is connected to the accessory line 24 connected thereto, and the previously described radio, etc.
Battery power is supplied to an accessory load group 14, which is a so-called accessory device group. In addition, as shown in FIG.
The fact that the lines 21, 22, 23, and 24 are "on" means that those lines 21, 22, 23, and 24 are connected to the hot-side output terminal of the battery 10, and the ground voltage (to the chassis voltage) is there. Means to occur.

When the user turns the key switch 11 further to the right, the key switch 11 is turned to the ON position, in which the first and second ON contacts ON1 and ON2 are both selected, and the first and second ON contacts ON1 and ON2 are respectively connected. The second main power supply lines 22 and 23 are turned on, so that battery power is supplied to the first and second main electric load groups 16 and 15. As described above, the first main electric load group 16 is a load group necessary for starting the engine and for continuing the operation of the engine after the start, and includes, for example, an ignition coil, an electric fan, and an engine control. Microcomputer and the like. On the other hand, the second main electric load group 15 includes various electric loads necessary for driving or operating the vehicle, such as a wiper motor and a power window motor.

However, in the device according to the present invention, the voltage drop detecting circuit 58 monitors the voltages of both the first and second main power supply lines 22 and 23, and this is a predetermined threshold value Vth (FIG. 2). When the voltage falls below the threshold, a voltage drop detection output of a specific form or a specific value is generated. However, in the above-mentioned state, that is, in the state where the ON position is selected by the key switch 11, a significant voltage (generally, substantially the battery voltage itself) is generated in each of the first and second main power supply lines 22, 23. The voltage drop detection circuit 58 does not generate a voltage drop detection output, but outputs a signal of another form or another value, for example.

In this embodiment, the voltage drop detection circuit
58 includes a two-input NAND (NAND) gate 43, one input receives the voltage of the first main power supply line 22 via the voltage dividing circuit 41, and the other input receives the voltage of the first main power supply line 22 via the voltage dividing circuit 42. The voltage of the second main power supply line 23 is applied. Each voltage divider 41, 42
The input voltage falls within a voltage range that can be handled by a NAND gate circuit generally provided as an integrated circuit. In any case, if a significant voltage is generated on the first and second main power supply lines 22 and 23, the NAND gate Since both inputs 43 are at a relatively high level H, the output thereof is a relatively low level L signal, which, as described above, has another form or other value different from the voltage drop detection output. Signal. In other words, in this embodiment, when a low level signal is output from the voltage drop detection circuit 58, the voltage drop detection circuit 58 has not detected the voltage drop.

The output of the voltage drop detection circuit 58 is
This is supplied to a timer operation command circuit 50 described later. In the timer operation command circuit 50, when one of the conditions is that the voltage drop detection circuit 58 does not generate a voltage drop detection output, Regardless of the configuration, at least the timer operation command signal is not generated. In this embodiment, the condition is that the timer operation command circuit 50 is connected to a two-input NAND gate (also denoted by reference numeral 50).
And the timer operation command signal is made a significant signal at a relatively low level L, that is, when the output signal from the timer operation command circuit 50 is at a relatively high level H, the timer circuit 55 operates. Instead, it is achieved by causing the output signal to be triggered when it falls to a low level L. That is, since the output of the NAND gate 43 forming the voltage drop detection circuit 58 is given to one input of the NAND gate forming the timer operation command circuit 50, the voltage drop detection circuit 58 does not detect the voltage drop, as described above. , The output of the NAND gate constituting the timer operation command circuit 50 is always at the high level H, and the timer operation command signal is output regardless of the level of other inputs. It does not emit, and of course, the timer circuit 55
Will not work.

Next, when the key switch 11 is further turned to the right from the ON position, the key switch 11 is brought to a start position (engine start position), and the engine is started at this position. In this position, a new start contact ST is additionally selected, and battery power is supplied to the engine start circuit, for example, the magnet switch 13 via the starter line 21, so that the starter motor 12 is driven and the start of the engine is confirmed. When the user releases the hand that turned the key switch 11, the key switch 11 returns to the ON position and calms down. As described above, the present invention can be applied to a vehicle in which the starter motor 12 is directly connected to the starter line 21 without the dedicated starting circuit 13 such as a magnet switch. As described above, an inhibitor contact such as that found in an automatic vehicle may be interposed in the starter line 21 in series.

However, in the apparatus of the present invention, the voltage state of the starter line 21 is also monitored, and the starter contact ST is selected by the key switch 11 as shown at the time in FIG. When this occurs, there is a storage circuit 51 that stores that fact. This storage circuit 51 can basically take a clear state and a storage state selectively, and when battery power is supplied to the starter line 21 from the battery 10 mounted on the vehicle, this is detected and cleared. It suffices if it is possible to shift from the state to the storage state and output a signal indicating that storage is present. In this embodiment, this is realized by the following circuit configuration.

That is, by short-circuiting the two inputs, the two-input NAND gates 52 and 53 each connected to an inverter are connected in cascade, and the output of the output-side NAND gate 53 is fed back to the input of the input-side NAND gate 52 via the feedback resistor 54. By doing so, a so-called latch circuit is formed, and the voltage of the starter line 21 is supplied to the input-side NAND gate 52 via a voltage dividing circuit 49 provided for keeping the input voltage within a voltage range suitable for processing. It is applied. Therefore, when the starter contact ST is selected by the key switch 11, the input of the input-side NAND gate 52 goes to a high level H and the output goes to a low level L.
Since the input of 53 is at a low level L and the output thereof is at a high level H, and this is fed back to the input of the NAND gate 52 on the input side, as shown in FIG. Is turned on (when a voltage is generated), the memory circuit 51 thereafter stores the relatively low level L
From the clear state in which the signal was output, and the memory state in which the relatively high-level “stored” signal is continuously output,
This stored signal is supplied to the timer operation command circuit 50. In this embodiment, as described above, the timer operation command circuit 50 is constituted by a two-input NAND gate that receives the output of the voltage drop detection circuit 58 on one side, so that the output signal from the storage circuit 51 is applied to the other input. To receive it.

Further, in this embodiment, the starter line
Also provided is a detection inhibition circuit 59 that inhibits the detection operation of the voltage drop detection circuit 58 when a voltage is generated at 21, and the detection is inhibited by the voltage drop detection circuit substantially in the case of this embodiment in particular. This is done by disabling 58 outputs. This is for the following reasons.

As shown after the point in FIG. 2, the key switch 11 is attached to the position for selecting the starter contact ST,
When a large current is supplied from the battery 10 to the starter line 21, the second contact ON2 and the accessory contact ACC. Are opened as shown by the arrow c, and the second main electric load group 15 and , And more generally accessories load group 14
There are vehicles configured to temporarily cut off power supply to the vehicle. Even if not intentionally, the load capacity of the second main electric load group 15 is small, so that the voltage drop of the second main power supply line 23 occurs rapidly with the supply of a large current to the starter line 21. In some cases. On the other hand, in the device of the present invention, the voltage drop detection circuit 58 monitors not only the first main power supply line 22 but also the voltage state of the second main power supply line 23. When a voltage drop lower than the above occurs, a voltage drop detection output is generated.

Therefore, when the present apparatus is mounted on a vehicle as described above, if no countermeasures are taken, the storage circuit 51 is activated when a voltage is generated in the starter line 21 as described above.
In this case, the timer operation command circuit 50 to which the significant memory presence signal is supplied at the high level H is supplied to the second main power supply line 23 at the timing when the voltage is generated on the starter line 21 (part c). Upon receiving a high level H signal which is a voltage drop detection output from the voltage drop detection circuit 58 which has detected that the voltage drop has occurred, both inputs of the NAND gate constituting the timer operation command circuit 50 become high level H. In this state, the output of the NAND gate 50 transits to a low level L, which is a significant level in the subsequent timer circuit 55, and the timer circuit 55 malfunctions. The timer circuit 55 is supposed to be operated when the key switch 11 is operated to stop the engine, as can be easily understood from the above-mentioned points and will be described in detail later. It is bad to work when the engine starts.

Therefore, in this preferred embodiment, the detection inhibition circuit 59 is provided, and the key switch 11
Operation, the starter contact ST is selected, and battery power is supplied to the starter line 21 that starts the starter motor 12 of the engine.
In order to further increase the certainty, even if the selection of the starter contact ST is released, the detection operation of the voltage drop detection circuit 58 is still performed for a while. Is prohibited, and there is an illustrated configuration as an example of a specific circuit configuration.

First, a key switch is used to start the engine.
When the starter line 21 is connected to the battery 10 by operating the starter contact ST and the starter contact ST is selected, the switching means 45 configured as a pnp transistor is turned on at this time via the diode 44 which becomes a forward direction. Become. The transistor 45 has an open collector configuration often referred to in a so-called logic circuit configuration, and is connected to one input of a NAND gate configuring the timer operation command circuit 50 because the collector is connected to the output of the voltage drop detection circuit 58. It is connected. On the other hand, the battery current from starter line 21 charges capacitor 47 via resistor 46, which is also connected to the base of transistor 45 via resistor 48.

Therefore, the transistor 45 is turned on from the moment when a voltage is generated on the starter line 21, and one input of the timer operation command circuit 50 is fixed to the low level L. Even if a voltage drop of the power supply line 23 is detected, and in this case, a significant voltage drop detection output is generated at a high level H, it is forcibly pulled down to a low level L via a transistor 45 which is turned on. As a result, the timer operation command circuit 50 maintains its output at the high level H, which is an insignificant level, and the timer circuit 55 is not erroneously triggered.

Also, when the engine has been started successfully, the user loosens his hand holding the key switch 11 at the start position (starter contact ST), whereby the key switch 11 returns to the ON position. Even if the power supply is cut off, the transistor 45 remains on until the electric charge charged in the capacitor 47 is completely discharged toward the base of the transistor 45 via the resistor 48.In other words, the detection inhibition circuit 59 The detection operation of the voltage drop detection circuit 58 is further prohibited for a while. This is because even if the key switch 11 is returned to the on position, a slight delay may be expected to recover the voltage of the second main power supply line 23 to the threshold value Vth or more. During that time, the voltage drop detection circuit 58
Is to surely prevent erroneous detection. Of course, this time is of course arbitrary, but usually
A few tens of ms should be expected.

When the engine has been started successfully, the key switch 11
Is returned to the ON position, and the above-described detection inhibition circuit 59
When the detection prohibition time has elapsed, the voltage drop detection circuit 58
Continuously monitors whether there is a voltage drop in the first and second main power supply lines 22 and 23. Then, after driving the vehicle, the user operates the key switch 11 and turns the key switch 11 to at least the accessory position in the process of turning the key switch 11 to the off position in order to stop the engine, as shown at the time in FIG. , The first and second ON contacts ON1 and ON2 selected in the ON position are opened, and the voltage drop of the first and second main power supply lines 22 and 23 starts from that point. Here, the first main power supply line 22 exhibits a gradual decrease in voltage while causing fluttering and the like in accordance with the transient state shown by the imaginary line portion a, as already described for the defect in the conventional example. Even if you do, generally the second main power line
Since the capacity of the second main electric load group 15 connected to 23 is small, the voltage of the second main power supply line 23 tends to decrease more rapidly.

Therefore, in the voltage drop detection output 58,
At least the fact that the voltage of the input connected to the second main power supply line 23 has fallen below the detection threshold value Vth can be quickly detected, and a significant voltage drop detection output is generated at a high level H there. On the other hand, since the storage circuit 51 has already output the significant storage presence signal at the high level H, at this time, the NAND logic at both inputs of the timer operation command circuit 50 or its NAND gate 50 is obtained, and the output is promptly obtained. To the low level L. As described above, since the falling edge of the low-level signal output from the timer operation command circuit 50 is a valid timer operation command signal that triggers the timer circuit 55, the timer circuit 55 is set in advance from that point. The output is set to the high level H during the time ts.

For this reason, in this embodiment, the pnp transistors 31, 34, and 37 constituting the respective driver circuits of the relays 32, 35, and 38 constituting the contact device are turned on, and the respective relays 32, 35, and 38 are turned on. The relay contacts 33, 36 and 39, which are the contact means in this embodiment according to the present invention, are turned on, and the first and second main power lines 22 and 23 and the accessory line 24 The state of power supply from the battery 10 to the electric load groups 16, 15 and the accessory load group 14 continues, and the engine continues idling.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the time ts set in the timer circuit 55 has expired, the output of the timer circuit 55 returns to a low level L, so that each of the driver transistors 31 and 34, 37 are turned off, which causes the relay contacts 3 of each relay 32, 35, 38
3, 36, and 39 are turned off, and the first and second main power supply lines 22, 23 and the accessory line 24 are turned off, as indicated by the associated lines in FIG. 2, and the engine automatically stops.

At the same time, when the timer circuit 55 times up, the reset circuit 56 is operated.
Switching means composed of np transistors
57 is once turned on, thereby forcibly setting the input of the storage circuit 51 to the low level L once, so that the storage circuit 51 is reset to an initial state before the starter line 21 is detected to be on. Therefore, after that, as the operation for starting the engine is performed by re-operating the key switch 11, the operation of the present apparatus described above is repeated again.

It should be noted that the device of the present invention, as described above, operates at least for a time after the key switch 11 is turned off.
Since it is only necessary to secure the idling of the engine during ts, the contact means 36 and 39 that bypass the second ON contact ON2 and the accessory contact ACC. In this case, at least the second main electric load group 15, and preferably the accessory group load group 14 can be used without a sense of incongruity for the user, and it is also convenient. Is preferable. However, the contact device or the contact means opened and closed by the contact device may be replaced with a semiconductor switch or the like according to the switching circuit technology in this field. Of course, each of the circuits 50, 51, 58, and 59 showing the circuit configuration example is not limited to the specific circuit configuration shown in the drawings, and may be any configuration that satisfies the functions required for each of the circuits described above. However, as it is very easy to actually belong to this type of technical field, one or several of these may be formed by forming an appropriate program including the timer circuit 55 and the reset circuit 56, or All can be constituted by a microcomputer.

Although not shown in detail, the set time ts in the timer circuit 55 is generally set stepwise within a range of, for example, about 1 minute to 10 minutes by the operation of the user, as described above. Alternatively, it is preferable that the variable setting can be made continuously.

Further, in the above description, when the key switch 11 is returned to the off position while the engine is running, or when the key switch 11 is returned to at least the accessory position in the process, the second main power supply line 23 Has been described taking a general example in which the voltage drops earlier than the first main power supply line 22. However, in the apparatus of the present invention, as described above, the first and second main power supply lines 22 and 23 If any one of them falls below the predetermined threshold value Vth earlier, the voltage drop detection output 58 detects that fact, so the present invention device has no problem even in a vehicle in which the voltage of the first main power supply line 22 drops earlier. Can be mounted.

[0047]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an idling continuation device having higher reliability than the conventional one and having a relatively simple circuit configuration as an engine idling continuation device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of an embodiment of an idling continuation device configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of a typical example of a conventional idling continuation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Vehicle-mounted battery 11 Key switch 12 Starter motor 14 Accessories load group 15 Second main electric load group 16 First main electric load group 21 Starter line 22 First main power line 23 Second main power line 24 Accessory line 32, 35, 38 Relay which forms part of contact device 33, 36, 39 Relay contact 43, 50, 52, 53 NAND gate 50 Timer operation command circuit 51 Storage circuit 55 Timer circuit 56 Reset circuit 58 Voltage drop detection circuit 59 Detection prohibition circuit of voltage drop detection circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ identification symbol FI F02P 9/00 303 F02P 9/00 303B (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F02D 17/04 F02D 17 / 00 F02D 45/00 395

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An idling continuation device for a vehicle which does not immediately stop an engine even if a key switch is operated to stop a running engine and automatically stops after a predetermined time has elapsed. A starter contact is selected by operating the key switch, and the starter motor of the engine is started via the starter contact. When power is supplied, a memory circuit that detects the power, shifts from the clear state to the memory state, and outputs a signal indicating that there is a memory; and a vehicle mounted for starting the engine and continuing the operation of the engine after the start. A first main power supply line for supplying the battery power to the first group of electric loads when the key switch is in the ON position. And a second main power supply line for supplying the battery power to a second group of electric loads necessary for driving or operating the vehicle after the engine is started when the key switch is in the ON position. And a voltage drop detection circuit that issues a voltage drop detection output when one of them falls below a predetermined threshold voltage; and a state in which the storage circuit outputs the storage presence signal. A timer operation command circuit for issuing a timer operation command signal when the voltage drop detection circuit generates the voltage drop detection output; and a contact closing circuit which operates by the timer operation command signal and closes a contact for a predetermined time. A timer circuit for outputting a contact signal; and closing the contact means for bypassing the key switch while the timer circuit outputs the contact closing signal. A contact device for continuously supplying the battery power to the source line and opening the contact means when the timer circuit times out; a reset circuit for resetting the storage circuit to the clear state when the timer circuit times out; An idling continuation device for a vehicle comprising: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the starter contact is selected by operating the key switch, and the battery power is supplied to the starter line that starts the starter motor of the engine. And a detection prohibition circuit for prohibiting the detection operation of the voltage drop detection circuit for a predetermined time after the starter contact is deselected by operating the key switch. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein:
The contact device also has second contact means for bypassing the key switch; while the timer circuit outputs the contact closing signal, the contact device also closes the second contact means. Continuously supplying the battery power to the second main power supply line, and opening the second contact means when the timer circuit times out. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory circuit, said voltage drop detection circuit, said timer operation command circuit, said timer circuit, and said reset circuit are one or more. Or all comprised of a microcomputer;