JP3081752B2 - Automotive waveform observation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a waveform observing apparatus, and more particularly, to an automobile waveform observing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a circuit tester has been used for observation and diagnosis of each part prior to repair of a failed car. However, the engines of currently sold cars are
More than 90% of them are electronically controlled, and their control contents are complicated and diverse. In addition, control signals, which have been mainly analog signals in the past, are digitized, and the speed is increased by repeating voltage changes several thousand times per second. ing. For this reason, the conventional circuit tester can only display the average voltage with respect to today's high-speed digital signals, which makes accurate diagnosis difficult. Therefore, in order to perform accurate observation and measurement, it is necessary to use a general-purpose waveform observation device typified by an oscilloscope, which is not designed exclusively for automobiles.

[0003]

However, the oscilloscope and other waveform observation devices mainly use electric,
The intended use of electronic engineers,
The operation is complicated except for those who are familiar with the fields of electricity and electronics, and it is difficult to use it accurately. In addition, setting operation according to the purpose is very troublesome. In addition, since such an oscilloscope is a general-purpose product,
It does not have observation and measurement means that can only be used for vehicle measurement and diagnosis.When performing this type of vehicle-specific observation and measurement at the same time as waveform observation, special measurement means must be provided separately from the oscilloscope. Had to be used together.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a waveform observing apparatus dedicated to automobiles, which can be easily and easily operated by persons other than those who are familiar with electricity and electronics. Another object of the present invention is to provide a waveform observation device dedicated to automobiles that can perform measurements required for automobile maintenance other than waveform observation.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage means for storing appropriate values concerning a voltage axis, a time axis, a trigger level, and the like which are predetermined according to various control signals of a vehicle to be observed. And a means for displaying a coordinate screen based on the appropriate value from the storage means on a monitor according to a control signal to be observed.

[0006]

According to the present invention, appropriate values such as a voltage axis, a time axis, and a trigger level are stored in the waveform observation device in advance according to various control signals of the vehicle to be observed.
It is possible to obtain a coordinate screen optimal for a control signal of a vehicle to be observed without an operation of setting these values for each observation.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, a display screen 1 of a monitor of a vehicle-specific waveform observation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is shown. Various items to be measured are displayed on the display screen 1. In this embodiment, "air flow meter",
Five measurement items of "crank angle sensor", "water temperature sensor", "injector drive", and "ignition instruction" are listed. The vehicle-specific waveform observation device according to the present embodiment includes:
In connection with these measurement items, respectively, a storage unit in which appropriate values regarding a voltage axis, a time axis, a trigger level, and the like with respect to a control signal of an automobile are stored in advance, and the storage unit according to the control signal to be observed is Means for displaying a coordinate screen based on an appropriate value on a monitor. Since the conventional technology can be used as it is for the storage means and the coordinate display means, they will not be described in detail here. Thus, for example, when "Crank Angle Sensor" is selected on the display screen 1, the display screen 1 of the waveform observation apparatus for exclusive use of an automobile is switched to the display screen 2 of FIG.
On the display screen 2, the item of the crank angle sensor corresponding to the type of the vehicle to be measured, that is, "photoelectric 1 °, 120
°, “pick-up type” and “Hall element type” are displayed. Here, for example, when the item “photoelectric 1 °” is selected, an appropriate value stored in advance in the vehicle-specific waveform observation device in connection with this item,
That is, here, the voltage axis is 1 graduation 2 volts (2 V / d
iv) The time axis is displayed on the monitor screen at 5 microseconds (5 μs / div) on one scale and the trigger level is 0.5 volt (0.5 V), and the observed waveform is displayed on the coordinates in relation to this set value. become.

[0008] In the vehicle-specific waveform observation device of the first embodiment, the peak-to-peak value (P-
It is possible to incorporate an automatic numerical display system configured to automatically display a numerical value on the screen without the operator setting the cursor to a predetermined coordinate position for the time width of the P value or the pulse signal. is there. The waveform monitoring apparatus for exclusive use in a vehicle according to the present embodiment includes a threshold value setting unit, a level determination unit for determining a signal level of an observation target, and a determination as to whether or not the level-determined signal is appropriate according to the set threshold value. Means, counting means for starting and ending counting according to the determination of the propriety determining means, converting means for converting the count of the counting means into a time value, and means for displaying the converted time value on a monitor. Have. Hereinafter, the automatic numerical value display method will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 in the case where the electromagnetic valve opening time t shown in FIG. 3 is numerically displayed in the observation of the drive waveform of the electromagnetic valve of the fuel injection device (injector). It will be described according to. For convenience of explanation, the explanation will be made assuming that the automatic numerical value display system of this example is incorporated in the vehicle-specific waveform observation device of the first embodiment.

"Injector drive" is selected from the items on the display screen 1 of FIG. 1 (step S1). Then, the threshold value by the threshold value setting means in accordance with the vehicle to be measured, in this case, falling 5 volts, it is set to rise 5.5 volts (step S2). Then, the counting means, that is, the counter for measuring the valve opening time is reset (step S3), and the level of the input signal is determined. In this case, if the voltage drops by 5 volts (step S4), the counting means counts up (step S5). Next, the level of the input signal is judged by the propriety judging means. When it is judged that the voltage has risen to 5.5 volts (step S6), the counter value is read (step S7), and this counter value is converted by the converting means. The value is converted into the valve opening time, and the time value is displayed on the screen by means for displaying the time value on the monitor (step S8). Then, step S
Returning to No. 3, the above procedure is repeated.

In the above-described vehicle-specific waveform observation apparatus, the control unit is connected to a storage medium storing information such as data and programs of the system, in case a non-existent system relating to the vehicle mechanism is adopted. It is preferable to be able to
In this example, the vehicle-specific waveform observation device has interface means connected to the storage medium and the microcomputer. As shown in FIG. 5, the interface means preferably includes an interface circuit 50 and a storage means 52 connected to the interface circuit and the microcomputer 51. In the example shown in FIG. 5, information from the storage medium 53 is stored in the storage unit 52 via the interface circuit 50, and is used for subsequent operations. In the vehicle-specific waveform observation device of the first embodiment or the second embodiment, when one vehicle control signal to be observed has an impossible signal level, and two vehicle control signals to be observed When a certain relationship is established between the signals, it is possible to incorporate an alarm system configured to determine that an abnormality has occurred and issue an alarm when the relationship is broken. The display means for warning the abnormality, that is, the alarm itself may be visual or audible as long as it can be confirmed by human sense. Or a combination of both.

The alarm system shown in the block diagram of FIG. 6 has a first input circuit 61 for a first signal to be observed.
And a second input circuit 62 for a second signal to be observed,
The judging means 63 is connected at one end to these input circuits. The judging means 63 is provided with a threshold value setting section 64 for setting threshold values for the first signal and the second signal. The judging means 63 is also connected to a microcomputer 65 at the other end. The microcomputer 65 sets an appropriate time between the input signals and measures the time during which no input signal is input. It is connected to timer means 66 and counter means 67 for counting the number of input signals. The microcomputer 65 is connected to display means (not shown) for warning an abnormality.
The manner of operation of the alarm system will be described below with reference to an example of observing a top dead center position signal of a crank angle sensor and an ignition instruction signal of an ignition plug. FIG. 7 shows an input signal relating to the compression top dead center position of the piston and an input signal relating to the ignition instruction signal of the spark plug in a normal four-stroke engine, respectively, in the upper and lower stages. As is well known, in this case, the crank angle sensor and the ignition instruction signal are:
Therefore, the signal of the crank angle sensor is 2
It is impossible that the ignition instruction signal is input twice or not even once during the input.

Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, in such an impossible situation, an abnormal condition is determined and an alarm is issued. Hereinafter, a procedure for determining whether there is an abnormality between the selected signals according to the flowchart of the above example shown in FIG. 8 will be described. Also in this case, for convenience, the description will be made assuming that the alarm system according to the present embodiment is incorporated in the waveform monitoring device for exclusive use of the vehicle of the first embodiment. First, "crank angle sensor" is used as the first signal to be observed from the items on the display screen 1 in FIG. 1, and "ignition instruction" is used as the second signal.
Is selected (step S1). Next, the threshold value setting unit 64 sets the threshold value to 2.5 volts for the crank angle sensor and to 1.5 volts for the ignition instruction signal in this case according to the vehicle to be measured (step S2). Next, when a "timer value" as a time from the rising of the signal relating to the compression top dead center position of the crank angle sensor to the next rising is set according to the vehicle to be measured by the timer means 66 (step S3), the crank is set. Timer means 66 for measuring the time during which the signal of the angle sensor is not input, that is, “TIMER” is reset, and (Step S
4) Subsequently, when the "measurement start switch" is turned on at an arbitrary time (step S5), counting of "TIMER" starts (step S6).

Thereafter, it is judged by the judging means 63 whether or not the first signal has been inputted (step S7). When it is judged that the first signal has not been inputted, the counted value of "TIMER" is counted by the timer means 66. It is determined whether the timer value is larger than the set timer value, that is, the set value (step S8).
"IMER" is counted (step S6), and when it is large, that is, when the first signal is not input even if the set value is exceeded, an abnormality determination is made. On the other hand, when the determination means 63 determines that the first signal has been input after step 6 (step S7), the counter means 67 for counting the number of times the ignition instruction signal has been input, ie,
The “counter” is reset (step S9), and
"TIME" for the input counter of the crank angle sensor signal
R "is reset (step S10), and" TIME
R "is counted (step S11). Next, when the second signal is input, the "counter" performs counting (step S12). Subsequently, the determination means 63 determines whether or not the first signal has been input (step S13). When it is determined that the first signal has not been input, whether the counted value of “TIMER” is larger than the set value or not. It is determined whether or not it is not (step S14). If the value is not large, "TIMER" is counted again (step S11). If it is large, that is, if the first signal is not input even if the set value is exceeded, an abnormality determination is made. .

After the input of the second signal (step 12), the first signal
When the determination unit 63 determines that a signal has been input (step S13), the “timer value” is automatically set again (step S15), “TIMER” is reset (step S16), and the “TIMER” is counted. Starts (step S17). Thereafter, the determination means 63 determines whether or not the value of the “counter”, which is the number of times of input of the ignition instruction signal, is “1” (step S18).
When it is determined that the value is other than “1”, the abnormality determination is performed in any case. On the other hand, the value of the “counter” is “1”
If it is determined that the value is “1”, the “counter” is reset (step S19), the process returns to step S12, and the above procedure is repeated. In addition to the above system, the vehicle-specific waveform observation apparatus of the invention described above also includes a storage medium storing a program for performing communication with various on-vehicle control units of each company, and a control unit of a vehicle to be measured to communicate from the storage medium. And means for performing serial communication with a corresponding control unit of the measured vehicle based on the loaded program. The conventional waveform observation device cannot capture data from the in-vehicle control unit and numerically display the transition of the input voltage from the sensor, and in order to do so, a checker dedicated to each company must be used.

According to this embodiment, the operation status data is collected from various on-vehicle control units of each company without preparing checkers dedicated to each company, and the transition of the input voltage to each actuator is displayed by a numerical value. Can be. In addition to the means described in the device of the fourth embodiment of the present invention,
It is possible to incorporate a pseudo signal generator for outputting a pseudo operation signal to the corresponding actuator of the measured vehicle based on the loaded program. Conventionally, the operation of each actuator as a single unit also had to be performed by a checker dedicated to each company, but according to the present embodiment, a single checker dedicated to each company is not required, and a single checker for each actuator is used. It is possible to perform the operation and observe the single operation. The vehicle-specific waveform observation device of the invention described above can also incorporate a means for measuring the engine speed and a means for displaying the measured value on a monitor. Since the conventional waveform observation device did not limit its use, none had a function of displaying the engine speed. Therefore, according to the waveform observation device of this embodiment, it is not necessary to use a separate engine speed measurement device.

A so-called help function for explaining a method of operating the waveform observing apparatus to be used can be further incorporated into the waveform observing apparatus dedicated to automobiles of the invention described above. In this example, the operation method is displayed on the screen, starting from the function selected immediately before the help function is activated. It is preferable that the operation description can be scrolled up and down, and the operation method of other functions can be checked. According to the present invention, various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims without being limited to the above embodiments, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say, there is. For example, in the first embodiment, in addition to the items listed on the display screen 1,
Various objects such as the throttle opening and the distribution of driving force to the front and rear driving wheels can be targeted for the optimal coordinate screen. In the second embodiment, in addition to the injector waveform, various values such as the time from the rise to the fall of the ignition instruction signal (corresponding to the energization time of the ignition coil), the energization time of the solenoid for duty control, and the like are numerically represented. It can be displayed.

Similarly, in the third embodiment, the number of input signals that can be set as the object of the alarm system is not limited to two, and a plurality of input signals, that is, three or more input signals can be set. It is.

[0018]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a waveform observing apparatus dedicated to automobiles, which can be easily and easily operated by persons other than those familiar with electricity and electronics. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a waveform observation device dedicated to automobiles, which can perform measurements required for automobile maintenance other than waveform observation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a display screen 1 of a waveform observation apparatus for exclusive use of a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a display screen 2 of the vehicle-specific waveform observation device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system for accommodating a non-existent system related to an automobile mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a measurement operation in the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a drive waveform of an electromagnetic valve.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an input signal relating to a piston top dead center position in an upper part and an input signal relating to an ignition instruction signal of a spark plug in a lower part.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a system according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display screen 2 Display screen 50 Interface circuit 51 Microcomputer 52 Storage means 53 Storage medium 61 First input circuit 62 Second input circuit 63 Judgment means 64 Threshold value setting unit 65 Microcomputer 66 Timer means 67 Counter means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Naoshi Hanagata 370-13 Kitaiso, Sayama-shi, Saitama (56) References JP 4-68579 (JP, B2) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01M 17/00-17/007 G01R 13/20-13/22

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A storage means for storing appropriate values concerning a coordinate screen display such as a voltage axis, a time axis, and a trigger level which are predetermined according to various control signals of a vehicle to be observed, and a control signal to be observed. And a means for displaying a coordinate screen based on the appropriate value from the storage means on a monitor according to the following. 2. In case that a non-existent system related to an automobile mechanism is adopted, it can be connected to a storage medium storing information such as data and programs of the system. The waveform observation device according to claim 1.