JP5075226B2 - Engine starter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an engine starting device that automatically performs idle stop of an engine.

  Conventionally, for the purpose of improving the fuel efficiency of automobiles and reducing the environmental load, an automatic idle stop system that automatically performs idle stop when a predetermined condition is satisfied in an idling state and quickly restarts the engine as necessary. Has been developed. In this automatic idle stop system, various methods have been proposed for mitigating the impact when the starter is driven to engage the pinion with the ring gear in order to restart the engine.

For example, in the starter described in Patent Document 1, the state where the pinion is engaged with the ring gear is maintained by driving the magnet switch after the engine is stopped and further holding the plunger of the magnet switch by the plunger stopper. .
Further, in the starter described in Patent Document 2, in order to omit the plunger stopper, the pinion and the ring gear are kept engaged with each other when the engine is stopped by the movement resistance generated when the power transmission body moves. doing.
Furthermore, in the starter described in Patent Document 3, the starter motor is first shut off after the main engagement of the pinion gear and the ring gear is started, and after the engagement of the pinion gear and the ring gear with a sufficient depth, the starter motor is first driven with a partial load. Subsequently, the starter motor is driven at full load.

JP 2000-045920 A JP2008-163818 JP 2000-314364 A

However, in the engine starting device, the starting method, and the starter motor of Patent Document 1, a plunger stopper made of a solenoid is provided only to hold the plunger of the magnet switch. For this reason, there existed a problem that mounting property worsened.
In the starter of Patent Document 2, since it is determined that the engine has stopped and the pinion and the ring gear are engaged with each other, there is a waiting time until the engine stops, and it is determined that the pinion and the ring gear have been engaged. Although the electromagnetic drive mechanism is de-energized, power consumption increases because the starter motor is rotated to engage the pinion.

The electromagnetic drive mechanism is controlled so that the pinion and the ring gear mesh during inertial rotation before the engine stops completely, but the pinion and ring gear do not mesh because the engine is rotating. If the pinion and the ring gear are damaged, or if it is determined that the pinion and the ring gear are engaged, the pinion and the ring gear are turned off to shut off the electromagnetic drive mechanism even if the engine is not completely stopped. There was a possibility of disengagement.
Also, after the energization of the electromagnetic drive mechanism is turned off, the friction coefficient of both is important for maintaining the engagement of the pinion gear and the ring gear.If the friction coefficient changes depending on the use situation or the ring gear rotates in reverse. There was a possibility of disengagement.

  In addition, by installing a separate relay and resistor, the starter motor is driven with a torque that the engine cannot exceed the top dead center, so that the meshing is maintained by the reaction force from the ring gear at the time of idling stop. However, if the resistance value decreased due to environmental conditions and the torque exceeded the top dead center, idling could not be stopped and cranking could continue. In addition to this, the sensor for confirming that the pinion gear and the ring gear are meshed with each other and the above-described mechanism have disadvantages that the mounting property of the starting device is deteriorated, the cost is increased, and the power consumption is increased.

  Further, in the starter of Patent Document 3, a distance sensor is used to determine the meshing depth of the pinion, thereby sensing a magnetic film fixed to a component member that is pre-meshed and provided on the film. Further, since a signal proportional to the pinion distance is formed with respect to the magnetically opposed region, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to configure as a device and is expensive.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and the object thereof is to ensure that the pinion gear and the ring gear can be meshed during inertial rotation of the engine due to idle stop, and the friction coefficient changes due to wear of the pinion gear and ring gear. Engine start that can reduce power consumption at low cost without being affected by environmental changes and environment, and can achieve reliability and longer component life without requiring major changes from the existing structure A device is provided.

The engine control means according to the present invention includes a crank angle sensor for detecting a rotation angle or rotation speed of a crankshaft for transmitting the rotation of the engine, a ring gear connected to the crankshaft for transmitting the rotation of the engine, and for starting the engine. A starter motor, a pinion gear for transmitting the rotation of the starter motor to the ring gear, a pinion gear pushing means for pushing the pinion gear to connect with the ring gear, and a pinion gear pushing control means for controlling the drive timing of the pinion gear pushing means. The pinion gear push-out control means determines that the engine rotation speed during inertial operation is reduced when the ring gear rotation speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined setting speed at which rotation meshing restart control can be performed during engine inertia rotation after the idle stop condition is satisfied. , Pinion gear Wait for the drop to be possible had the ring gear meshed with energizing the pinion extrusion means, restarting by the time T1 from the start of the driving of the pinion gear extrusion means until the engine is completely stopped has elapsed If there is a request, the time T2 from when the pinion gear pushing means starts energization when the pinion gear is at a stationary position until the pinion gear comes into contact with the ring gear to ensure stable pressing has elapsed. The starter motor is energized.

  Pinion gear and ring gear can be reliably meshed during inertial rotation of the engine due to idling stop, and power consumption can be suppressed at low cost without being affected by friction coefficient change or environmental change due to pinion gear or ring gear wear. In addition, there is an effect that it is possible to achieve reliability and prolonging the life of parts without requiring a large change from the existing structure.

It is a block diagram which shows the control schematic structure of the engine starting apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the starter structure of the engine starting apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the idle stop control in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the normal start control in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the electricity supply timing chart of the pinion drive solenoid (PDS) and motor drive relay (MDR) in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the electricity supply timing chart of the pinion drive solenoid (PDS) and motor drive relay (MDR) in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

Hereinafter, an engine starter according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings according to each embodiment.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic control configuration of an engine starter according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The engine ECU 10 determines whether or not an idle stop condition is satisfied, and inputs this to the engine starting device 19. Idle stop conditions include conditions depending on engine conditions, for example, whether the coolant temperature is appropriate and the battery voltage is higher than a predetermined value, and if the vehicle speed has not been increased since the previous idle stop, the vehicle is idle stopped. There are conditions depending on the driving operation status, such as not performing. The engine starter 19 includes a ring gear 11 that is connected to an engine crankshaft 21 and transmits engine rotation, a crank angle sensor 12 that detects the crank angle of the engine, a starter 18, and a controller 13 that controls idle stop. Has been.

The starter 18 energizes the motor drive relay 20, the starter motor 17 driven thereby, the pinion gear 14 that transmits the rotation of the starter motor 17, and the plunger 15 that pushes the pinion gear 14 and meshes with the ring gear 11. A pinion drive solenoid (PDS) 16 that can move the plunger 15 is provided.
The idle stop controller 13 performs energization control on the motor drive relay 20 that energizes the starter motor 17 and energization control on the pinion drive solenoid 16 that energizes the plunger 15 for driving the pinion gear.

  Although FIG. 1 shows the controller 13 and the engine ECU 10 as separate units, the engine ECU 10 may perform processing in a batch instead of providing the controller 13, and therefore the controller 13 of the engine starter 19 is the engine 13. The ECU 10 can be included. Plunger 15 and pinion drive solenoid (PDS) 16 constitute pinion gear pushing means, and controller 13 and / or engine ECU 10 constitute pinion gear pushing control means.

FIG. 2 shows an actual configuration example of the starter 18 of the engine starter 19 described above. The output shaft 1 of the starter motor 17 is supported by a bearing portion 2 a provided on the front bracket 2 and a bearing portion 3 a provided on the rear bracket 3. A pinion gear 14 is slidably supported on the output shaft 1, and the pinion gear 14 is transferred in the axial direction of the output shaft 1 via the shift lever 4 by the power of the pinion drive solenoid 16.

  On the other hand, when the ring gear 11 is arranged at a position opposite to the pinion gear 14 and the starter motor 17 rotates with the pinion gear 14 engaged therewith, an engine (not shown) is driven. The starter attachment part attached to an engine is shown. The pinion drive solenoid 16 has a plunger 15 inside, and when biased, the pinion drive solenoid 16 is attracted to the left side of the drawing and moves the pinion gear 14 to the ring gear 11 side via the shift lever 4. Further, when the pinion drive solenoid 16 is de-energized, the plunger 15 is moved to the right in the figure by the repulsive force of the spring 7 to release the engagement between the pinion gear 14 and the ring gear 11.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4 and the energization timing charts of the pinion drive solenoid (PDS) and the motor drive relay (MDR) of FIGS. To do. These operations are processed by the controller 13 and the engine ECU 10 constituting the pinion gear push-out control means. First, the idling stop control until the pinion gear 14 and the ring gear 11 are engaged will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, it is determined whether or not an idle stop condition is satisfied based on a signal input to the engine ECU 10 (S110). If not established, this state is maintained until established. If the idle stop condition is satisfied in step S110, the idle stop control is started (S111), and the fuel supply to the engine is stopped under the control of the engine ECU 10. While the rotational speed of the ring gear 11 decreases due to inertial rotation of the engine (see the ring gear rotational speed in FIG. 5), the engine rotational speed is monitored by the crank angle sensor 12, and the rotational speed of the ring gear 11 being monitored is Then, it is determined whether or not the rotational speed is higher than the rotational speed at which the rotational meshing restart control is possible by meshing with the pinion gear 14 (S112). When the rotation meshing restart control is possible, it is determined whether there is an engine restart request from the driver (for example, a foot is released from the brake pedal, etc.) based on a signal to the engine ECU 10 (S113). If YES, the process proceeds to step S114, and it is further determined whether or not the ring gear rotation speed Nr is equal to or higher than the engine self-recoverable rotation speed (for example, 500 rpm).

  Here, the ring gear rotation speed Nr is calculated by the controller 13 based on the sensor input period from the crank angle sensor 12, but instead, it is different from that by FV (frequency-voltage) conversion of the signal from the encoder or pulse generator. The ring gear rotation speed Nr may be detected using a means. Note that the engine self-recoverable rotation speed is a rotation speed that can be restarted by injecting and igniting fuel without performing cranking by the starter 18, for example, by injecting more fuel, There are controls such as facilitating combustion, but the details of the control of engine self-return are not within the scope of the present invention.

  If it is determined in step S114 that the ring gear rotational speed is equal to or higher than the engine self-recovery rotational speed, the process proceeds to step S115 to perform engine self-recovery control and restart the engine. If there is no restart request from the driver in step S113, and if the ring gear rotation speed is less than or equal to the rotation speed at which rotation meshing restart control is possible in step S112, the routine proceeds to step S116 and normal restart is performed. Take control. If the ring gear rotational speed is equal to or lower than the engine self-recoverable rotational speed in step S114, the process proceeds to step S117, cranking by the starter 18 is performed, and rotational meshing restart control S117 is performed.

  Next, the operation of the normal restart control S116, which is the subject of the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. FIG. When the routine proceeds to the normal restart control S116, it waits for the pinion gear 14 to reach an engine speed at which the ring gear 11 can be engaged (S210). The engine speed at this time may be set to a low speed region of the engine and set to a stop state. When the engine rotation speed is equal to or lower than a preset pinion drive solenoid (PDS) energization start speed (for example, point A in FIG. 5) in step S210, energization is started for the pinion drive solenoid (PDS) (S211).

In this state, if there is a restart request from when the pinion pushing means (PDS) is energized until a predetermined time T1 elapses, the predetermined time T2 has elapsed since the energization of the pinion pushing means. If this is the case (S213), the starter motor (MDR) is energized (S214), and the pinion gear and the ring gear mesh. The predetermined time T2 is the time from when the pinion gear pushing means starts energization until the pinion gear comes into contact with the ring gear and stable pressing can be secured when the pinion gear is in the stationary position. Thereafter, the engine is cranked with a starter, and a complete explosion determination is made that the engine has been restarted (S215). When the complete explosion determination (S215) is made, energization to the pinion drive solenoid (PDS) and the motor drive relay (MDR) is stopped (S216), and the restart control is terminated. (See Figure 5)

  On the other hand, if there is no engine restart request in step S212, it is determined that the predetermined time T1 has elapsed (S217). If it is determined that the predetermined time T1 has not elapsed, the process returns to step S212, and then restarts. Make a request decision. The predetermined time T1 is a time from when the driving of the pinion gear pushing means including the plunger 15 and the pinion driving solenoid 16 is started until the engine is completely stopped. If the predetermined time T1 has elapsed without a restart request, the energization of the pinion drive solenoid (PDS) is stopped (S218), and the system waits for a restart request to remain as it is (S219). For example, if there is a restart request at point B in FIG. 6, the pinion drive solenoid (PDS) is energized again (S220), waits for a predetermined time T2 (S221), and then the motor drive relay (MDR) is energized. Is started (S214). Thereafter, the process proceeds to steps S215 and S216, and the restart control is terminated. (See Figure 6)

As described above, the engine starter according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention monitors only a decrease in the engine rotation speed during inertial rotation when it is determined that the rotation speed restart control is impossible. In response to a restart request, after securing a time T2 from when the pinion drive solenoid, that is, the pinion gear push-out means is energized until the pinion gear contacts the ring gear and stable pressing can be ensured, the motor drive relay, that is, the starter motor When the pinion gear and the ring gear are engaged, the pinion gear and the ring gear can be reliably engaged without being damaged, and a sensor for confirming that the engine has stopped, and the pinion and ring gear A sensor that confirms meshing with the product is not required, and it is configured with a long service life and low cost. Is possible.

10 engine ECU, 11 ring gear, 12 crank angle sensor, 13 controller, 14 pinion gear, 15 plunger,
16 solenoid, 17 starter motor, 18 starter,
19 engine starter, 20 motor drive relay, 21 crankshaft.

Claims (2)

A crank angle sensor for detecting the rotation angle or rotation speed of the crankshaft for transmitting the rotation of the engine, a ring gear connected to the crankshaft for transmitting the rotation of the engine, a starter motor for starting the engine, and the starter motor A pinion gear that transmits rotation to the ring gear; pinion gear push-out means that pushes the pinion gear into connection with the ring gear; and pinion gear push-out control means that controls drive timing of the pinion gear push-out means. When the ring gear rotation speed falls below a predetermined setting speed at which rotation meshing restart control can be performed during engine inertia rotation after the stop condition is satisfied , the engine rotation speed during inertial operation is such that the pinion gear can mesh with the ring gear. Until Wait for the lower and energizing the pinion extrusion means, if the time T1 from the start of the driving of the pinion gear extrusion means until the engine is completely stopped there was a restart request until after, the If the time T2 from when energization of the pinion gear pushing means starts when the pinion gear is at a stationary position until the pinion gear comes into contact with the ring gear and secures stable pressing has elapsed, the starter motor is energized. An engine starter characterized by that. If there is no restart request before the predetermined time T1 elapses, the energization to the pinion gear pushing means is turned OFF, and if there is a restart request thereafter, the energization to the pinion gear pushing means is turned ON. 2. The engine starter according to claim 1, wherein the starter motor is energized after elapse of the predetermined time T2.

Images