JP6025023B2 - Alternator operation control device and operation control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation control device and an operation control method for controlling an alternator used in a cooling system for cooling a vehicle space.

  The vehicle is equipped with a cooling system that cools the inside of the vehicle space in addition to the power train necessary for traveling. In general, various types of power sources have been devised for the vehicle cooling system. In this case, the power source from the alternator driven by the vehicle engine is used. And

  Conventionally, the timing for operating the alternator of the cooling system has been appropriately determined according to the necessity on the cooling system side, regardless of the operating state of the engine. However, the operation of the cooling system, ie the alternator, is a load on the engine. Therefore, a part of the output of the engine that is originally output for running is consumed for the operation of the alternator, resulting in a deterioration of the fuel consumption rate. On the other hand, the output of the engine changes every time depending on the running state of the vehicle, but the influence on the fuel consumption rate due to the operation of the alternator varies depending on the driving state.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when the engine is in a fuel cut region (FC region) that is a no-load region, a load region such as a feedback region (FB region) or an idle region (ID region) where fuel injection is performed is used. Focusing on the fact that the alternator operation has less adverse effects on the fuel consumption rate, the alternator operation is concentrated during no-load and no-load operation. Thus, the alternator can be efficiently operated at an appropriate timing while suppressing deterioration of the fuel consumption rate.

  Also, for example, in Patent Document 2, focusing on the fact that the fuel consumption rate decreases as the engine output increases, if the fuel consumption rate is larger than a predetermined value (that is, the fuel consumption is bad), the air conditioner The engine output is increased by lowering the output of the electric fan that supplies cooling air to the condenser for use and increasing the output of the compressor for the air conditioner. In such a case, although the output of the engine increases, the fuel consumption rate falls below a predetermined value, so that the fuel consumption can be improved.

JP-A-7-87680 JP 2006-218920 A

  In Patent Document 1, basically, the operation of the alternator is concentrated when the engine is in a no-load operation, and if the alternator is insufficient in the no-load operation alone, the alternator is operated even in a load-operated operation. Yes. However, the influence of the operation of the alternator on the fuel consumption rate varies depending on the operating state of the engine even during load operation. That is, in Patent Document 1, when the alternator is operated during a load operation, the operation condition of the alternator is not sufficiently optimized, and there is room for further improvement of the fuel consumption rate.

In Patent Document 2, instead of reducing the output of the electric fan, the output of the compressor is increased to improve the fuel efficiency while keeping the cooling capacity constant. However, since the fuel consumption of electric fans and compressors varies depending on the output size, it is not always possible to expect an improvement in fuel consumption by offsetting the fuel decrease due to the decrease in the output of the electric fan and the fuel increase due to the increase in the compressor output. .
Further, when the fuel consumption rate is larger than a predetermined value set in advance (that is, fuel consumption is poor), the compressor output is increased in order to increase the engine output even when the air conditioner is not required to operate. I.e., the air conditioner is activated. Therefore, it adversely affects the temperature controllability of the air conditioner, for example, overcooling.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and by controlling the operation of the alternator of the cooling system in accordance with the operating state of the engine, it is possible to obtain a good fuel consumption rate and at an efficient timing. It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation control device and an operation control method for an alternator that can operate the generator.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an alternator operation control device according to the present invention includes an alternator driven by a vehicle engine and a battery that stores electric power generated by the alternator, and uses electric power supplied from the battery. An operation control device for the alternator in a cooling system for cooling the vehicle space,
Engine parameter detecting means for detecting an operating parameter of the engine;
Alternator parameter detecting means for detecting a state parameter relating to the operation of the alternator;
Engine fuel efficiency map that defines the relationship between the operating parameter and the fuel consumption rate, and an operation priority that is defined by associating operation priorities with the priority of operation of the alternator as an index for each range of the fuel consumption rate information, and memory means for previously storing operating necessity information defined in association with the order of operation required degree as an index of the need for each range of state parameter relating to the operation of the alternator of operation of the alternator,
Based on the detection value by the alternator parameter detection means and the operation necessity information stored in the storage means, an operation necessity calculation means for calculating the operation necessity of the alternator,
A fuel consumption rate is calculated based on a detection value by the engine parameter detection unit and an engine fuel consumption map stored in the storage unit, and the calculated fuel consumption rate and the operation priority information stored in the storage unit are calculated. An operation priority calculating means for calculating an operation priority in the current operating state based on the
Alternator control means for operating the alternator when the operation necessity calculated by the operation necessity calculation means is equal to or higher than the operation priority calculated by the operation priority calculation means;
It is provided with.

According to the present invention, priority is given to the operation region that is advantageous for the fuel consumption rate when the alternator is operated according to the operation priority information, and the deterioration of the fuel consumption rate due to the operation of the alternator is suppressed, and the The alternator can be actuated at any time. In particular, when the foot brake or auxiliary brake is used and the driver deliberately decelerates the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as vehicle deceleration), or the driver does not operate the accelerator pedal or similar functions (such as auto cruise) In addition, the vehicle is running in inertia (hereinafter referred to as inertia running) and the engine is not injecting fuel (hereinafter referred to as no load), but the engine is injecting fuel (hereinafter referred to as being present). Even if the alternator is operated in the load), the alternator can be operated at an appropriate timing according to the necessity of the alternator operation, so that the efficient alternator operation while improving the fuel consumption rate Can be achieved.
In addition, the alternator generates electricity during operation and stores the electric power in a battery. For this reason, by operating the alternator when the required operation level is equal to or higher than the operation priority, the power generated by the alternator is efficiently controlled while suppressing the adverse effect on the fuel consumption rate of the load that occurs when the alternator is operated. Can be used in a cooling system. As a result, the fuel consumption rate of the vehicle can be further improved.
In the present specification, the term “inside the vehicle space” includes the interior of the vehicle, the inside of the loading platform mounted on the vehicle, and the like.

  The operation priority information is set highest when the vehicle is decelerated and the engine is in a no-load state, and is set next higher when coasting and the engine is in a no-load state. Further, when the engine is in a loaded state, the priority may be set so as to decrease as the fuel consumption rate increases.

  According to the research and development of the present inventor, the adverse effect on the fuel consumption rate due to the operation of the alternator is the least when the vehicle is decelerated and when the engine is unloaded compared to when it is loaded, and when the vehicle is coasting. It has been found that the number of no-load operation is less. In addition, it has been found that the alternator operation has less adverse effect on the fuel consumption rate as the engine output increases even during heavy load operation. Based on these findings, in this aspect, the operation priority is set to the highest when the vehicle is decelerated and the engine is unloaded, and when the inertial running and the engine is unloaded, the next highest is set. It is set so that the priority becomes higher as the load becomes higher, when a good fuel consumption rate is obtained when there is a load. As a result, even when the engine cannot cover the operation of the cooling system, which is required only by the operation of the alternator during no-load operation, the alternator can be used at a timing when a good fuel consumption rate can be obtained during load operation. Can be operated.

  The operating parameter may be an engine speed and a fuel injection amount.

  The fuel consumption rate when the engine is subjected to a predetermined load when the alternator is operated is affected by various operating parameters. According to the inventor's research and development, it has been found that the fuel consumption rate can be satisfactorily improved by the operation control device by selecting the engine speed and the fuel injection amount as operating parameters.

  The operation priority calculation means may set the operation priority separately from the fuel consumption rate when the drive wheel and the engine are not connected dynamically.

  According to this aspect, when the driving wheel and the engine are not dynamically connected, for example, when the gear stage of the transmission is in a neutral state or when the engine power is cut off by the clutch, the engine is blown idle. In this case, it is possible to effectively avoid the situation where the alternator is unnecessarily operated and the fuel is consumed unnecessarily.

  The operation necessity information may be set stepwise based on a charging rate of the battery that stores electric power generated by the alternator.

  The electric power generated by the alternator is stored in a battery. In general, an appropriate charging rate range is specified in advance for a battery. If the battery is charged outside this range, problems such as shortening the battery life may occur. In this aspect, by monitoring the battery charging rate, the alternator can be operated efficiently so that the adverse effect on the fuel consumption rate is reduced while considering that the charging rate of the battery falls within an appropriate range. it can.

The operation control device includes an engine control unit that controls the engine, and an alternator control unit that controls the alternator.
The alternator control unit has the operation necessity calculation means and the alternator control means,
The engine control unit has the operation priority calculation means.
The operation necessity calculated by the operation necessity calculation means is output to the engine control unit,
When the operation priority calculation unit determines that the operation necessity level input to the engine control unit is equal to or higher than the operation priority, the operation priority calculation unit outputs a permission signal for permitting the operation of the alternator. And the permission signal is output to the alternator control unit,
The alternator control means may operate the alternator based on the permission signal input to the alternator control unit.

  According to this aspect, since the engine control unit and the alternator control unit are provided separately, it is effective, for example, when a refrigerator is mounted on a truck or when a cooler is mounted on a vehicle. Specifically, the control according to the present invention can be executed by providing an engine control unit on the vehicle body side and incorporating the alternator control unit into a cooling control unit such as a refrigerator or a cooler.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an alternator operation control method according to the present invention includes an alternator driven by a vehicle engine and a battery that stores electric power generated by the alternator, and uses electric power supplied from the battery. An operation control method for the alternator in a cooling system for cooling the vehicle space,
An operation parameter detection step of detecting an operation parameter of the engine;
An alternator parameter detection step of detecting a state parameter relating to the operation of the alternator;
The detection value of the state parameter detected by the alternator parameter detection step and the necessity of operation using the necessity of operation of the alternator as an index are sequentially defined for each state parameter range related to the operation of the alternator. An operation necessity calculation step for calculating the operation necessity of the alternator based on the operation necessity information;
The fuel consumption rate is calculated based on the detected value of the operating parameter detected by the operating parameter detecting step and the engine fuel consumption map that predetermines the relationship between the fuel consumption rate of the engine and the operating parameter, and the calculated fuel The operation priority in the current operating state is determined based on the operation priority information defined in advance by associating the operation priority with the consumption rate and the priority of the alternator operation as an index for each range of the fuel consumption rate. An operation priority calculating step to calculate,
An alternator operating step for operating the alternator when the operation necessity calculated in the operation necessity calculating step is equal to or higher than the operation priority calculated in the operation priority calculating step. And

  This method can be preferably implemented by the vehicle control system described above.

  According to the present invention, when the alternator is operated according to the operation priority information, priority is given to the operation region that is advantageous for the fuel consumption rate, thereby suppressing deterioration of the fuel consumption rate associated with the operation of the alternator, The alternator can be operated at an appropriate timing. Especially when the alternator is activated not only when the vehicle is decelerating or coasting but also when the engine is under no load, or when the alternator is activated during load Since it can be operated, efficient alternator operation can be achieved while improving the fuel consumption rate.

It is a block diagram which shows the cooling system and operation control apparatus which concern on this embodiment. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the engine output torque and fuel injection quantity in a fixed engine speed. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the fuel injection quantity of an engine and a fuel consumption rate in a fixed engine speed. It is an example of the operation priority information which prescribes | regulates the relationship between an engine fuel consumption rate and an operation priority. It is an example of the operation necessity information which prescribes | regulates the relationship between the charging rate of a battery, and an operation necessity. It is an example of the engine fuel consumption map which shows the relationship between the engine speed and the fuel consumption rate calculated | required experimentally beforehand. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the action | operation control apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the component parts described in this example are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to specific examples unless otherwise specified. Only.

<Configuration of cooling system and operation control device>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a cooling system and an operation control device according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes an engine 2 mounted on the vehicle main body 1A and a cooling system 3 capable of freezing the inside of the freezer 1B mounted on the rear of the vehicle.

  Although the 6-cylinder reciprocating engine 2 is used as the engine 2 in the present embodiment, it is not limited to this. The engine 2 is provided with a rotation speed sensor 4 for detecting the engine rotation speed. The rotational speed measured by the rotational speed sensor 4 is output to an engine control unit (hereinafter referred to as engine ECU 10) described later.

The cooling system 3 includes an alternator 5, a battery 6, a compressor 7, and an operation control device 8.
The alternator 5 is connected to the output shaft of the engine 2 via a belt 9 (fan belt). The alternator 5 generates electric power by being driven using a part of the output of the engine 2. The electric power generated by the alternator 5 is stored in the battery 6.

  The battery 6 is provided with an SOC sensor 19 for detecting a charging rate (hereinafter referred to as SOC). The SOC detected by the SOC sensor 19 is output to an alternator control unit (hereinafter referred to as an alternator ECU 20) which will be described later.

The compressor 7 is driven by the electric power stored in the battery 6. The compressor 7 is connected to a capacitor or the like (not shown).
The alternator 5, the battery 6 and the compressor 7 are provided exclusively for the cooling system 3.

  The operation control device 8 includes an engine ECU 10 and an alternator ECU 20. The engine ECU 10 and the alternator ECU 20 will be described in detail below. First, the engine ECU 10 will be described, and then the alternator ECU 20 will be described.

  The engine ECU 10 includes an engine parameter detection unit 11, an engine storage unit 12, and an operation priority calculation unit 13.

  The engine parameter detection means 11 detects the engine speed, which is an operation parameter of the engine 2, based on a detection signal from the speed sensor 4.

  The engine storage means 12 includes engine fuel consumption map required for control in the engine ECU 10 and operation priority information defined by associating the operation priority with the priority of the operation of the alternator 5 as an index with the fuel consumption rate. It is stored in advance, and is configured to be readable by appropriate access. A detailed description of the operation priority and the operation priority information will be described later.

The operation priority calculation means 13 calculates the fuel consumption rate based on the detection value of the engine parameter detection means 11 and the engine fuel consumption map stored in the engine storage means 12.
Subsequently, the operating priority in the current operating state is calculated based on the calculated fuel consumption rate and the operating priority information stored in the engine storage unit 12.

Further, the operation priority calculation means 13 determines whether or not the operation necessity level (details will be described later) output from the alternator ECU 20 and input to the engine ECU 10 is equal to or higher than the operation priority in the current operating state. That is, it is determined whether or not the alternator 5 is operated.
When the operation necessity level is equal to or higher than the operation priority (when it is determined that the alternator 5 is to be operated), a permission signal is generated. The permission signal generated by the operation priority calculation means 13 is output to the alternator ECU 20.

  The vehicle 1 is provided with an accelerator opening sensor for detecting the driver's intention to accelerate on an accelerator pedal that is depressed by the driver. The accelerator opening measured by the accelerator opening sensor is output to the engine ECU 10.

  Further, a foot brake switch and an auxiliary brake switch for detecting the driver's intention to decelerate are provided on a foot brake pedal (not shown) that the driver steps on and an auxiliary brake lever (not shown) that the driver operates. A foot brake signal indicating whether or not the foot brake is operating and an auxiliary brake signal indicating whether or not the auxiliary brake is operating are output to the engine ECU 10.

  Further, a transmission (not shown) and a clutch (not shown) are provided on a power transmission path for transmitting output power from the engine 2 to the drive wheel side. A neutral signal indicating whether or not the transmission is in a neutral state and a clutch signal indicating whether or not the clutch is in a connected state are output from the transmission to the engine ECU 10.

Next, the alternator ECU 20 will be described.
The alternator ECU 20 includes an alternator parameter detection means 21, an alternator storage means 22, an operation necessity calculation means 23, and an alternator control means 24.

  The alternator parameter detection means 21 detects the SOC of the battery 6 in which the electric power generated by the alternator 5 is stored based on the detection signal of the SOC sensor 19.

  In the alternator storage means 22, operation necessity information defined by associating the necessity of operation of the alternator 5 with the SOC of the battery 6 as an index is stored in advance. It is configured to be readable. A detailed description of the operation necessity level and the operation necessity level information will be described later.

The operation necessity degree calculation means 23 is based on the detection value by the alternator parameter detection means 21 and the operation necessity information stored in the alternator storage means 22, and the operation necessity degree of the alternator 5 in the current SOC state of the battery 6. Is calculated.
Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the operation of the alternator 5 is necessary according to the calculated operation necessity.
When it is determined that the operation of the alternator 5 is necessary, the calculated degree of necessary operation is output to the engine ECU 10.

Then, the operation necessity level input to the engine ECU 10 is determined by the operation priority calculation means 13 as described above, whether or not the operation necessity level is equal to or higher than the operation priority. After the determination, a permission signal generated when the operation necessity level is equal to or higher than the operation priority is output to the alternator ECU 20.
The alternator control means 24 performs operation control of the alternator 5 based on the permission signal input to the alternator ECU 20.

  FIG. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between the output torque of the engine 2 and the fuel injection amount at a certain engine speed. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the fuel injection amount of the engine 2 and the fuel consumption rate. 2 and 3, the state in which the alternator 5 is operated is indicated by a solid line, and the state in which the alternator 5 is not operated is indicated by a broken line.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, as the fuel injection amount increases, the output torque of the engine 2 also increases. This tendency is common regardless of whether or not the alternator 5 is operated, but the output torque of the engine 2 is smaller when the alternator 5 is operated. This is a result reflecting that a part of the output torque of the engine 2 is consumed by the operation of the alternator 5.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, as the fuel injection amount (substantially equivalent to the load of the engine 2) increases, the fuel consumption rate decreases, and on the high fuel injection amount side, the fuel consumption rate gradually approaches a predetermined value. It behaves like Here, comparing the fuel consumption rates when the alternator 5 is operating and when it is not operating, the difference is large on the low fuel injection amount side, but is small on the high fuel injection amount side. This indicates that the adverse effect on the fuel consumption rate due to the operation of the alternator 5 becomes relatively smaller as the engine 2 becomes a higher load side.
For example, when the alternator 5 requires an output of 3 kW while the vehicle 1 is traveling, when the engine 2 is operated at 10 kW and 100 kW, the rate of loss by the alternator 5 is 100 kW. The case is smaller.

  Thus, by the research and development of the present inventor, the deterioration of the fuel consumption rate can be suppressed by operating the alternator 5 when the engine 2 is on the high load side during the load operation. In the control system according to the present embodiment, the operation priority of the alternator 5 is defined for each range of the fuel consumption rate of the engine 2 in view of the characteristics shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 4 is an example of the operation priority information 31 that defines the relationship between the fuel consumption rate of the engine 2 and the operation priority, and is stored in the engine storage unit 12 in advance.
As shown in FIG. 4, the fuel consumption rate is “when the vehicle 1 is decelerated and the engine 2 is no load”, “when coasting and the engine 2 is no load”, “ab”, “bc” “C−d”... “Hi” is divided for each predetermined range, and the operation priorities are ranked in order.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ranking is “the vehicle 1 is decelerated and the engine 2 is unloaded” at the top, and “the inertial driving and the engine 2 is unloaded” is the next rank. In addition, the engine 2 is set in the order in which the fuel consumption rate in the loaded operation is favorable. In the present embodiment, the number of operation priority rankings is set to 10 so that the operation of the alternator 5 can be finely adjusted according to the fuel consumption rate. However, the number of operation priorities is not limited to this number. As appropriate. In order to finely adjust the fuel consumption rate, the number of ranks is increased. On the other hand, if it is not necessary to finely adjust the fuel consumption rate, the number of ranks is reduced.
By providing the operation priority of the alternator 5 in this way, the alternator 5 can be preferentially operated in a state where the fuel consumption rate is good, so that the deterioration of the fuel consumption rate is suppressed and at an efficient timing. The alternator 5 can be activated.

Further, in the operation control device 8 according to the present embodiment, the necessity of operation is defined in order to consider the necessity of the operation of the alternator 5.
FIG. 5 is an example of the operation necessity information 32 that defines the relationship between the SOC of the battery 6 and the operation necessity, and is stored in the alternator storage unit 22 in advance.
As shown in FIG. 5, the necessity of operation of the alternator 5 is defined based on the SOC of the battery 6 in which the electric power generated by the alternator 5 is stored. For example, when the SOC of the battery 6 is small, the necessity of operation is set to be high because it is highly necessary to operate the alternator 5 to recover the SOC. On the other hand, when the SOC of the battery 6 is high, the necessity of operation is set low so that the operation of the alternator 5 is low so that the life of the battery 6 is not shortened by overcharging the battery 6. Yes. In the present embodiment, the number of operation necessity rankings (excluding operation necessity zero) is set to 10 which is the same as the number of operation priority rankings, but is not limited to this. It can be determined as appropriate according to design and the like. When adjusting the SOC more finely, the number of ranks is increased. On the other hand, if it is not necessary to finely adjust the SOC temperature, the number of ranks is reduced.

FIG. 6 is an example of an engine fuel consumption map 33 showing the relationship between the engine speed and the fuel consumption rate obtained in advance on a trial basis. Here, the engine speed and the fuel injection amount are adopted as the operation parameters of the engine 2.
When the alternator 5 is operated, the fuel consumption rate when the engine 2 receives a predetermined load is affected by various operating parameters. According to the inventor's research and development, it has been found that the fuel consumption rate can be satisfactorily improved by the control system by selecting the engine speed and the fuel injection amount as operating parameters.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the fuel consumption rate distribution of the engine 2 is shown on the assumption that the output of the engine 2 consumed when the alternator 5 is operated is constant. In FIG. 6, the lines with the same fuel consumption rate are shown in contour lines. Here, in particular, the operation priority defined for each range of the fuel consumption rate based on the operation priority information 31 shown in FIG. 4 is also shown.

More specifically, for example, in FIG. 6, the frequency of the region where the operation priority having the least adverse effect on the fuel consumption rate is “1” (that is, when the vehicle 1 is decelerated and the engine 2 is in the no-load state) is low. If the vehicle cannot operate sufficiently, the fuel priority is “2” (ie, the engine brake is operating but the accelerator pedal is This is a case where the engine 2 is not stepped on and is not in a neutral state or when the power of the engine 2 is interrupted by a clutch)) and is used during running and the engine 2 is in a no-load state.
Further, if the alternator 5 cannot operate sufficiently even when the region with the operation priority “2” is used, the region with the operation priority “3” with the next best fuel consumption rate is used. In this way, by operating the alternator 5 preferentially in the operation region where the fuel consumption rate is good, the alternator 5 can be operated efficiently while suppressing the deterioration of the fuel consumption rate.

  For supplementary explanation, since fuel is not injected in the no-load region where the operation priority is “1” or “2”, the fuel consumption rate cannot be defined strictly. Further, the idling state is a state in which the engine 2 is operating autonomously and does not correspond to the no-load region because the fuel is injected. Examples of no-load areas include when the foot brake or auxiliary brake (excluding engine brake) is operating, or when the engine 2 is rotating but not rotating, such as during inertial running. is there. At this time, the fuel of the engine 2 is cut and is in a no-load state.

<Control flow by operation control device>
Next, a control flow by the operation control device 8 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the operation control device 8 according to the present embodiment.
First, the engine ECU 10 reads the engine fuel consumption map 33 stored in advance by accessing the engine storage unit 12 (step S1).
As shown in FIG. 6, the engine fuel consumption map 33 is a map showing engine characteristics that define the fuel consumption rate with respect to the engine speed and the fuel injection amount, which are operating parameters. The engine fuel consumption map 33 may be created in advance on a trial basis, may be created on a simulation basis, or may be created logically.

Next, the engine ECU 10 accesses the engine storage unit 12 again to acquire the operation priority information 31, and reads the threshold value of the fuel consumption rate with respect to the operation priority (step S2).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, an upper limit threshold and a lower limit threshold that define the range of the fuel consumption rate corresponding to each operation priority are read. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 6, the contour line for each threshold is specified in the engine fuel consumption map 33, and the operation priority is set for each region partitioned by the contour lines.

Next, the engine ECU 10 detects the engine rotational speed from the rotational speed sensor 4 in the engine parameter detection means 11. Further, an accelerator opening, a foot brake signal, an auxiliary brake signal, a clutch signal, and a neutral signal are also acquired (step S3).
Subsequently, the engine ECU 10 calculates the fuel injection amount based on the accelerator opening and the engine speed acquired from the speed sensor 4.

  Next, the alternator ECU 20 detects the SOC from the SOC sensor 19 in the alternator parameter detection means 21 (step S4).

Next, the operation necessity degree calculation means 23 obtains the operation necessity information 32 by accessing the alternator storage means 22, and based on the SOC obtained from the SOC sensor 19 by the alternator parameter detection means 21, the alternator 5 is calculated (step S5).
The relationship between the SOC and the necessity of operation of the alternator 5 is defined as shown in FIG. 5, and the corresponding degree of operation required is calculated based on the acquired SOC.

Next, the operation necessity degree calculation means 23 determines whether or not the operation of the alternator 5 is necessary by determining whether or not the operation necessity degree calculated in step S5 is zero (step S6). .
Then, when the operation necessity is zero (step S6: YES), that is, when the SOC of the battery 6 does not need to be charged sufficiently high, the alternator ECU 20 determines that the operation of the alternator 5 is unnecessary (step S11). End processing (END).
On the other hand, when the operation necessity level is not zero (step S6: NO), that is, when the SOC of the battery 6 is not small enough and needs to be charged, it is determined that the alternator 5 needs to be operated, and is calculated in step S5. The required operation degree is output to the engine ECU 10.

Next, the operation priority calculation means 13 calculates the fuel consumption rate based on the engine fuel consumption map 33 in which the operation priorities are partitioned in steps S1 and S2, and the engine speed and various signals acquired in step S3. (Step S7).
Subsequently, the operation priority in the current operating state is calculated based on the fuel consumption rate calculated in step S7 and the operation priority information 31 preliminarily defining the relationship between the operation priority of the alternator 5 and the fuel consumption rate. (Step S8).

Next, the operation priority calculation means 13 has an operation necessity calculated in step S5 (output from the operation necessity calculation means 23 and input to the engine ECU 10) equal to or higher than the operation priority calculated in step S8. It is determined whether or not there is (step S9).
When the operation necessity level is equal to or higher than the operation priority (step S9: YES), the operation priority calculation means 13 generates a permission signal. The permission signal generated by the operation priority calculation means 13 is output to the alternator ECU 20.
Subsequently, the alternator control unit 24 operates the alternator 5 based on the permission signal output from the operation priority calculation unit 13 and input to the alternator ECU 20 (step S10).
On the other hand, when the operation necessity level is less than the operation priority (step S9: NO), it is determined that the alternator 5 is not operated (step S11), and the process is ended (end).

In the calculation of the operation priority in step S8, not only the engine speed and fuel injection amount of the engine 2 but also a foot brake signal and an auxiliary brake signal are considered. Thereby, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 1 is decelerated and the engine 2 is in a no-load state, or during inertial running and the engine 2 is in a no-load state.
When the vehicle 1 decelerates and the engine 2 is in a no-load state, as described above, the highest operation priority is set to “1”, and when the vehicle is coasting and the engine 2 is in a no-load state Is set to “2”, which has the next highest operation priority.
The highest operation priority when the engine 2 is in a loaded operation is “3”, and the priority is specified based on the information acquired in step S1 and step S2 in accordance with the fuel consumption rate of the engine 2 thereafter. The Therefore, even if the alternator 5 is operated, the adverse effect on the fuel consumption rate can be minimized.

  Furthermore, in step S8, a clutch signal and a neutral signal are also considered. Thereby, when the driving wheel and the engine 2 are not connected dynamically, for example, when the gear stage of the transmission is in a neutral state or when the power of the engine 2 is cut off by the clutch, the engine 2 is blown idle. In this case, it is possible to effectively avoid the operation of the alternator 5 unnecessarily.

<Effect>
According to the operation control device 8 of the cooling system 3 described above, the fuel consumption is achieved by operating the alternator 5 when the operation necessity is equal to or higher than the operation priority specified in consideration of the operation state of the vehicle 1 or the engine 2. The alternator 5 can be operated at a timing that takes into consideration the operating conditions of the vehicle 1 and the engine 2 that are advantageous to the rate. Thus, it is necessary to operate the alternator 5 not only when the vehicle 1 is decelerated or coasting and the engine 2 is operated not only during no-load operation but also when the engine 2 is operated under load. Since the alternator 5 can be operated at an appropriate timing according to the degree, a good fuel consumption rate can be achieved.

  In particular, the priority of operation is highest when the vehicle 1 is decelerated and the engine 2 is in a no-load state, and is set to the next highest when coasting and the engine 2 is in a no-load state. When 2 is in a loaded state, the priority is set to increase as the load increases. As described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the adverse effect on the relative fuel consumption rate due to the operation of the alternator 5 is less as the load of the engine 2 becomes larger during the load operation. Therefore, when the engine 2 is in a loaded state, the priority of the cooling system 3 is set so that the priority becomes higher as the load increases, so that the operation of the cooling system 3 that is required only by the operation of the alternator 5 during the no-load operation of the engine 2 is performed. Even if it is not possible to cover, the alternator 5 can be operated at a timing at which a good fuel consumption rate can be obtained during a load operation.

  Further, since the engine ECU 10 and the alternator ECU 20 are provided separately, this is effective, for example, when a refrigerator is mounted on a truck or when a cooler is mounted on the vehicle 1. Specifically, the control according to the present invention can be executed by providing the engine ECU 10 on the vehicle body side and incorporating the alternator ECU 20 in a cooling control unit such as a refrigerator or a cooler.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the SOC of the battery 6 is detected as the state parameter related to the operation of the alternator 5 has been described. However, the temperature in the freezer 1B and the pressure of the refrigerant supplied from the compressor 7 may be detected. .

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where there is only one alternator 5 has been described as an example. However, when there are a plurality of alternators 5, the above-described control may be performed individually for each alternator 5.

  And in this embodiment, although the case where the inside of the freezer 1B was frozen was demonstrated as the cooling system 3, it says that it can apply also to the air-conditioner etc. which cool the inside of the vehicles 1, such as a bus and a truck, and the inside of a loading platform. Not too long.

  The present invention can be used for an operation control device and an operation control method for performing operation control of an alternator operated by power of an engine mounted on a vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 1A Vehicle main body 1B Freezer 2 Engine 3 Cooling system 4 Rotation speed sensor 5 Alternator 6 Battery 7 Compressor 8 Operation control device 9 Belt 10 Engine ECU (engine control unit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Engine parameter detection means 12 Engine memory | storage means 13 Operation | movement priority calculation means 19 SOC sensor 20 Alternator ECU (compressor control unit)
21 Alternator parameter detection means 22 Alternator storage means 23 Operation necessity calculation means 24 Alternator control means 31 Operation priority information 32 Operation necessity information 33 Engine fuel consumption map

Claims (7)

An operation control device for the alternator in a cooling system, comprising: an alternator driven by a vehicle engine; and a battery for storing electric power generated by the alternator, wherein the vehicle space is cooled by electric power supplied from the battery. And
Engine parameter detecting means for detecting an operating parameter of the engine;
Alternator parameter detecting means for detecting a state parameter relating to the operation of the alternator;
Engine fuel efficiency map that defines the relationship between the operating parameter and the fuel consumption rate, and an operation priority that is defined by associating operation priorities with the priority of operation of the alternator as an index for each range of the fuel consumption rate information, and memory means for previously storing operating necessity information defined in association with the order of operation required degree as an index of the need for each range of state parameter relating to the operation of the alternator of operation of the alternator,
Based on the detection value by the alternator parameter detection means and the operation necessity information stored in the storage means, an operation necessity calculation means for calculating the operation necessity of the alternator,
A fuel consumption rate is calculated based on a detection value by the engine parameter detection unit and an engine fuel consumption map stored in the storage unit, and the calculated fuel consumption rate and the operation priority information stored in the storage unit are calculated. An operation priority calculating means for calculating an operation priority in the current operating state based on the
Alternator control means for operating the alternator when the operation necessity calculated by the operation necessity calculation means is equal to or higher than the operation priority calculated by the operation priority calculation means;
An alternator operation control device comprising:   The operation priority information is the highest when the vehicle is decelerated and the engine is in a no-load state, and is set to the next highest value when coasting and the engine is in a no-load state. 2. The alternator operation control device according to claim 1, wherein when the engine is in a loaded state, the priority is set to decrease as the fuel consumption rate increases.   The alternator operation control device according to claim 1, wherein the operation parameters are an engine speed and a fuel injection amount.   The operation priority calculation means can set an operation priority separately from the fuel consumption rate when the drive wheel and the engine are not dynamically connected. The alternator operation control device according to any one of the preceding claims.   5. The operation necessity information is set in a stepwise manner based on a charging rate of the battery that stores electric power generated by the alternator. 6. Alternator operation control device. The operation control device includes an engine control unit that controls the engine, and an alternator control unit that controls the alternator.
The alternator control unit has the operation necessity calculation means and the alternator control means,
The engine control unit has the operation priority calculation means.
The operation necessity calculated by the operation necessity calculation means is output to the engine control unit,
When the operation priority calculation unit determines that the operation necessity level input to the engine control unit is equal to or higher than the operation priority, the operation priority calculation unit outputs a permission signal for permitting the operation of the alternator. And the permission signal is output to the alternator control unit,
The alternator operation control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the alternator control means operates the alternator based on the permission signal input to the alternator control unit. A method for controlling the operation of the alternator in a cooling system comprising an alternator driven by a vehicle engine and a battery for storing electric power generated by the alternator, wherein the vehicle space is cooled by electric power supplied from the battery. And
An operation parameter detection step of detecting an operation parameter of the engine;
An alternator parameter detection step of detecting a state parameter relating to the operation of the alternator;
The detection value of the state parameter detected by the alternator parameter detection step and the necessity of operation using the necessity of operation of the alternator as an index are sequentially defined for each state parameter range related to the operation of the alternator. An operation necessity calculation step for calculating the operation necessity of the alternator based on the operation necessity information;
The fuel consumption rate is calculated based on the detected value of the operating parameter detected by the operating parameter detecting step and the engine fuel consumption map that predetermines the relationship between the fuel consumption rate of the engine and the operating parameter, and the calculated fuel The operation priority in the current operating state is determined based on the operation priority information defined in advance by associating the operation priority with the consumption rate and the priority of the alternator operation as an index for each range of the fuel consumption rate. An operation priority calculating step to calculate,
An alternator operating step for operating the alternator when the operation necessity calculated in the operation necessity calculating step is equal to or higher than the operation priority calculated in the operation priority calculating step. An alternator operation control method.