JP6645046B2 - Starter motor replacement judgment device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a starter motor replacement determination device that determines replacement of a starter motor used for starting an engine.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique using the cumulative number of ON or OFF of a key switch for estimating the life of a starter motor used for starting an engine is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 06-255428 A

  It can be said that a certain one starter motor tends to be deteriorated as the cumulative number of ON and OFF of the key switch increases. However, if the starter motor is different, even if the cumulative number is the same, the state of deterioration greatly differs depending on the use condition of the starter motor. Therefore, if the cumulative number is used as an index for estimating replacement of the starter motor, the necessity of replacement is required. There is a possibility that the estimation accuracy of the data may be lowered.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of appropriately determining the necessity of replacing a starter motor.

  In order to achieve the above object, a starter motor replacement determination device according to one aspect of the present invention is a starter motor replacement determination device that determines replacement of a starter motor that rotates a crankshaft to start an engine. Based on the number of rotations of the engine during operation of the motor, the operation-specific rotation number identification means for specifying the number of rotations of the starter motor for each operation of the starter motor, and from a predetermined time based on the number of rotations of the starter motor And an exchange determining means for determining whether or not the starter motor needs to be replaced based on the cumulative rotational speed.

  In the starter motor replacement determination device, the engine and the starter motor are connected so that the power of the starter motor is not transmitted to the engine crankshaft when the rotation speed of the engine crankshaft exceeds a predetermined reference rotation speed. When the rotation speed of the engine is equal to or less than the reference rotation speed, the rotation speed identification unit identifies the rotation speed of the starter motor based on the rotation speed of the engine during operation of the starter motor. If the rotation speed of the starter motor exceeds the reference rotation speed, the rotation speed of the starter motor may be specified based on the rotation speed of the starter motor when no load is applied.

  Further, in the starter motor replacement determination device, the operation-time rotation number specifying means may specify the rotation speed under no load based on a voltage value supplied to the starter motor.

  Further, in the starter motor replacement determination device, when the replacement determination unit determines that the starter motor needs to be replaced, the starter motor replacement determination unit further includes a notification unit that notifies that the starter motor needs to be replaced. Is also good.

  Further, in the starter motor replacement determination device, when the replacement determination unit determines that replacement of the starter motor is necessary, the idle stop control for stopping the engine when a predetermined condition is satisfied is not performed. You may make it further have execution restriction means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine the necessity of replacing the starter motor.

1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram illustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram showing an electronic control unit concerning one embodiment of the present invention, and a related composition. 6 is a flowchart of a starter motor replacement determination process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, a vehicle including a starter motor replacement determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and have the same names and functions. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram showing a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. An input shaft 12a of a transmission 12 is connected to a crankshaft 10a of the engine 10 via a clutch 11 so as to be connectable and disconnectable. Drive wheels (left and right rear wheels) 16L, 16R are connected to an output shaft (not shown) of the transmission 12 via a propeller shaft 13, a differential device 14, and a drive shaft 15.

  The alternator 20 is connected to the crankshaft 10 a via a belt, a pulley, and the like, and is driven to generate electric power by the rotational force of the engine 10. The electric power generated by the alternator 20 is stored in a vehicle-mounted battery 28 that is electrically connected.

  The shaft of the starter motor 21 is connected to the shaft of the pinion gear 22 via a one-way clutch 24. The one-way clutch 24 can transmit power only in the direction from the shaft of the starter motor 21 to the shaft of the pinion gear 22. The pinion gear 22 is movable in the shaft direction, and can be located at a position where it meshes with the ring gear 16 attached to the crankshaft 10a and a position where it does not mesh with the ring gear 16. The pinion gear 22 is moved in the shaft direction by a solenoid 23.

  The vehicle 1 includes an engine speed sensor 30, a voltage sensor 31, an engine start switch 32, an electronic control unit (hereinafter, referred to as an ECU) 40 as an example of a starter motor replacement determination device, and a display device 50.

  The engine speed sensor 30 detects the speed and speed of the crankshaft 10 a of the engine 10. The voltage sensor 31 detects the voltage of the vehicle battery 28. Engine start switch 32 receives a driver's instruction to start the engine. The sensor values of these various sensors 30 and 31 are transmitted to the ECU 40 that is electrically connected. Further, the engine start switch 32 is electrically connected to the ECU 40, so that the on / off state of the engine start switch 32 can be detected by the ECU 40. The display device 50 is arranged, for example, at a position where the driver can view the information, and displays various information.

  The ECU 40 performs various controls of the engine 10, the starter motor 21, the solenoid 23, the clutch 11, the transmission 12, and the like, and includes a known CPU, ROM, RAM, input port, output port, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an electronic control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention and a related configuration.

  The ECU 40 includes an engine start control unit 41, an operation-time rotation number identification unit 42 as an example of an operation time rotation number identification unit, a cumulative rotation number calculation unit 43 as an example of an accumulation rotation number calculation unit, and an exchange determination. An exchange determining unit 44 as an example of a unit, a notifying unit, and an execution restricting unit, and a storage unit 45 are provided as some functional elements. In the present embodiment, each of these functional elements will be described as being included in the ECU 40 which is an integral piece of hardware, but any one of them may be provided in separate hardware.

  The storage unit 45 stores information such as settings used for control and processing in the vehicle 1.

  The engine start control unit 41 performs control (engine start control) for starting the engine 10 when predetermined conditions for starting the engine 10 are satisfied, and turns off the starter motor 21 after the start of the engine 10 is completed. (Starter motor off control).

  The conditions for starting the engine 10 include, for example, detecting that the engine start button 32 has been turned on by the driver and stopping the idle stop control when idle stop control for stopping the engine 10 is being executed. There is a case where the conditions for performing the operation (for example, the accelerator operation is performed) are satisfied.

  In the engine start control, the engine start control unit 41 operates the solenoid 23 to move the pinion gear 22 to a position where the pinion gear 22 meshes with the ring gear 16, supplies power to the starter motor 21, turns on the starter motor 21, and supplies fuel to the engine 10. Then, the start-up motor 21 is turned on, and the operation-time-period identification unit 42 is notified.

  In the starter motor off control, the engine start control unit 41 activates the solenoid 23 to move the pinion gear 22 to a position where the pinion gear 22 does not mesh with the ring gear 16, stops supplying power to the starter motor 21, and turns off the starter motor. The turning-off of the motor 21 is notified to the rotation speed specifying unit 42 at every operation.

  When operating the starter motor 21, the operation-time rotation number identification unit 42 basically determines the rotation number of the starter motor 21 during one operation based on the engine rotation number from the engine rotation number sensor 30. Identify.

  Here, the shaft of the starter motor 21 and the shaft of the pinion gear 22 are connected via the one-way clutch 24 as described above. Therefore, power is transmitted from the starter motor 21 to the crankshaft 10a via the pinion gear 22, but power is not transmitted from the crankshaft 10a to the starter motor 21 via the pinion gear 24. Therefore, when the actual rotation speed of the crankshaft 10a is higher than the rotation speed of the crankshaft 10a that can be realized by the starter motor 21 rotating the pinion gear 22, the rotation speed of the pinion gear 22 is reduced by the rotation speed of the starter motor 21. As a result, the power is not transmitted by the one-way clutch 24, and the starter motor 21 rotates under no load. Note that the upper limit engine rotation speed when the power of the starter motor 21 is transmitted is referred to as a reference rotation speed. As described above, when the starter motor 21 rotates under no load, the rotation speed of the starter motor 21 cannot be specified from the engine rotation speed detected by the engine rotation speed sensor 30.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the case where the power of the starter motor 21 rotates the crankshaft 10a (at the time of load) and the case where the starter motor 21 rotates at the time of no load (at the time of no load) are described. The method for specifying the rotation speed of the starter motor 21 is changed.

  Specifically, when the engine rotation speed is equal to or lower than the reference rotation speed (for example, 200 rpm), that is, at the time of load, the operating-time rotation number specifying unit 42 sets the total rotation speed of the starter motor 21 at the time of the load during the current operation. By multiplying the engine rotation speed by the gear ratio of the ring gear 16 to the pinion gear 22, the total rotation speed of the starter motor 21 at the time of the load during the current operation (total motor rotation speed at the time of this load) is specified.

  On the other hand, when the engine rotation speed exceeds the reference rotation speed, that is, when there is no load, the operating-time rotation number identification unit 42 determines the rotation speed of the starter motor 21 at no load (rotation speed at no load) and the starter motor speed. The total rotation speed of the starter motor 21 at the time of no load during the current operation of the starter motor 21 (the total motor rotation speed at the time of no load) by multiplying the operation time of the starter motor 21 at the time of no load during the current operation. To identify. The no-load rotation speed can be specified by the performance of the starter motor 21, the supplied voltage, and the like.

  Here, the no-load rotation speed may be used as a constant value. However, since the voltage value of the vehicle-mounted battery 28 supplied to the starter motor 21 changes, the no-load rotation speed may change. In order to cope with the above, the correspondence between the voltage value of the vehicle-mounted battery 28 and the rotation speed at no load is grasped in advance, and the operation-time-period-specification unit 42 determines, based on the voltage value of the vehicle-mounted battery 28, The no-load rotation speed to be used may be determined. By doing so, the rotation speed of the starter motor 21 can be specified with higher accuracy.

  The cumulative rotation number calculating unit 43 calculates the total number of rotations of the starter motor 21 at the time of the current operation (the total number of motor rotations at the time of no load and the total number of motor rotations at the time of current load) specified by the number-of-operations specifying unit 42. Is added to the cumulative number of rotations (cumulative rotation number) of the starter motor 21 from a predetermined time point (for example, immediately after the manufacture of the vehicle 1) stored in the storage unit 45, and the value after the addition is added to the new cumulative rotation number. And stored in the storage unit 45.

  The replacement determination unit 44 determines whether or not the cumulative rotation speed calculated by the cumulative rotation speed calculation unit 43 is equal to or greater than a reference rotation speed (life rotation speed) at which the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced. If it is determined that the rotation speed is equal to or longer than the life speed, it is considered that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced. Therefore, the setting that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced is stored in the storage unit 45, and the display device 50 Displays information indicating that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced. Here, if the setting that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced is set in the storage unit 45, the ECU 40 refers to the setting in the storage unit 45 and controls so as not to perform the idle stop control. Thus, it is possible to appropriately prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the idle stop control is performed during the movement of the vehicle 1 and the starter motor 21 does not operate and the engine 10 cannot be started thereafter.

  Next, a starter motor replacement determination process performed by the starter motor replacement determination device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a starter motor replacement determination process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

  This starter motor replacement determination processing is started at the same time as, for example, turning on the power of the vehicle 1 (turning on the key switch of the ignition switch).

  The operating-time rotation number specifying unit 42 determines whether or not a notification that the starter motor 21 has been turned on has been received from the engine start control unit 41 (S11). As a result, when the notification that the starter motor 21 has been turned on has not been received (S11: NO), the operating-time rotation number specifying unit 42 advances the process to step S11.

  On the other hand, when the notification that the starter motor 21 has been turned on is received (S11: YES), the operating-time rotation number specifying unit 42 determines that the engine rotation speed detected by the engine rotation speed sensor 30 is equal to the reference rotation speed. It is determined whether or not it exceeds (S12).

  If the engine rotation speed does not exceed the reference rotation speed (S12: NO), it means that the load is transmitting the driving force for rotating the crankshaft 10a by the starter motor 21. The hourly rotational speed identification unit 42 determines whether the total engine rotational speed under load during the current operation (the total engine rotational speed under current load) is the engine rotational speed detected by the engine rotational speed sensor 30 (the engine rotational speed under load). ) Is added (S13), and the process proceeds to step S15.

  On the other hand, when the engine rotation speed exceeds the reference rotation speed (S12: YES), it means that the starter motor 21 is operating at no load and is in a no-load state, and therefore, the rotation number is specified for each operation. The unit 42 adds the elapsed time (the no-load operation time) to the total no-load operation time during the current operation (the current no-load total operation time) (S14), and performs the process in step S15. Proceed to

  In step S <b> 15, the operation-time rotation-number specifying unit 42 determines whether or not a notification that the starter motor 21 has been turned off has been received from the engine start control unit 41. As a result, when the notification that the starter motor 21 has been turned off has not been received (S15: NO), the operation-time every-rotational-number specifying unit 42 advances the process to step S12. As a result, until the starter motor 21 is turned off, the processing of step S13 or step S14 is repeated, and the total engine speed at the time of the current load of the starter motor 21 during the current operation and the total engine speed at the time of the current no load The operation time is specified.

  On the other hand, when the notification that the starter motor 21 has been turned off is received (S15: YES), the operation-time per-rotational speed specifying unit 42 determines whether the ring gear 16 with respect to the pinion gear 22 By multiplying the gear ratio, the total rotation speed of the starter motor 21 at the time of the load during the current operation (total motor rotation speed at the time of the current load) is calculated (S16). Next, the operating-time-period identification unit 42 multiplies the current no-load total operating time by the no-load rotational speed to obtain the total rotating speed of the starter motor 21 during the current operation at no load. (This time no-load total motor speed) is calculated (S17).

  Next, the cumulative rotation speed calculating unit 43 calculates the total motor rotation speed at the time of no load and the total motor rotation speed at the time of current load specified by the operation-time-specific rotation speed specifying unit 42 by using the cumulative rotation speed stored in the storage unit 45. , And the value after the addition is stored in the storage unit 45 as a new cumulative rotational speed (S18).

  Next, the replacement determination unit 44 determines whether or not the cumulative rotation speed calculated by the cumulative rotation speed calculation unit 43 is equal to or greater than the life rotation speed at which it is assumed that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced (S19). ). As a result, if the cumulative rotation speed is not equal to or longer than the life rotation speed (S19: NO), it means that the starter motor 21 does not need to be replaced, and the replacement determination unit 44 advances the process to step S11.

  On the other hand, if the cumulative rotation speed is equal to or longer than the life rotation speed (S19: YES), it means that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced. The setting that the replacement of the N. 21 is necessary is stored (S20). Thus, the ECU 40 can change various controls in the vehicle 1 by referring to the setting stored in the storage unit 45 indicating that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced. For example, when the setting indicating that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced is stored in the storage unit 45, the ECU 40 may not execute the idle stop control.

  Next, the replacement determination unit 44 causes the display device 50 to display information indicating that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced (S21), and advances the process to step S11.

  As described above, according to the starter motor replacement determination device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately specify the cumulative rotation speed of the starter motor 21, and whether the replacement is necessary based on the cumulative rotation speed of the starter motor 21. Can be determined appropriately. Since the accumulated number of rotations of the starter motor 21 appropriately indicates the use state of the starter motor 21, it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether or not replacement is necessary.

  Further, when the starter motor 21 rotates with no load, the rotation speed of the starter motor 21 is specified based on the rotation speed of the starter motor 21 at no load. It can be specified with high accuracy.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the necessity of replacement of the starter motor 21 is determined based on only the cumulative number of rotations. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The necessity of replacement of the starter motor 21 may be determined based on the above. Specifically, the influence of the start number X and the cumulative rotation number Y on the replacement of the starter motor 21 is grasped by an experiment or the like, and the relational expression aX + bY> c (a and b are the start number X and the cumulative number Y Are constants indicating the weight of the influence of the starter motor 21 on the replacement, and c is a constant indicating a threshold value that is a reference for the replacement of the starter motor 21.) When this relational expression is satisfied, If it is determined that the starter motor 21 needs to be replaced, and if this relational expression is not satisfied, it may be determined that the starter motor 21 does not need to be replaced.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the voltage of the vehicle-mounted battery 28 is directly measured by the voltage sensor 31. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a portion (for example, the ECU 40) to which the voltage is applied by the vehicle-mounted battery 28 and the like May be measured at any point, as long as the voltage value corresponding to the voltage of the vehicle-mounted battery 28 can be measured.

Reference Signs List 1 vehicle 10 engine 10a crankshaft 11 clutch 12 transmission 13 propeller shaft 14 differential device 15 drive shaft 16L, R drive wheel 20 alternator 21 starter motor 22 pinion gear 23 solenoid 24 one-way clutch 28 in-vehicle battery 30 engine speed sensor 31 voltage sensor 32 engine start switch 40 ECU
41 Engine start control unit 42 Rotational speed specification unit at each operation 43 Cumulative rotation speed calculation unit 44 Exchange determination unit

Claims (3)

A starter motor replacement determination device that determines replacement of a starter motor that rotates a crankshaft to start an engine,
When the rotation speed of the crankshaft of the engine exceeds a predetermined reference rotation speed, the power of the starter motor is not transmitted to the crankshaft of the engine. Are connected to rotate with no load,
A sensor for measuring a voltage value supplied to the starter motor,
A storage unit that stores in advance a correspondence relationship between the voltage value and the rotation speed of the starter motor at the time of no load,
When the rotation speed of the engine exceeds the reference rotation speed, the rotation speed of the starter motor at the time of no load is determined based on the voltage value measured by the sensor and the storage means, and A rotation number specifying unit that specifies the rotation number of the starter motor at the time of no load by multiplying the operation time in a load state ,
Based on the rotation speed of the starter motor, a cumulative rotation speed calculation means for calculating the cumulative rotation speed of the starter motor from a predetermined time,
Replacement determining means for determining whether or not the starter motor needs to be replaced based on the accumulated rotation speed,
A starter motor replacement determination device having: When the replacement determination unit determines that the starter motor needs to be replaced, a notification unit that notifies that the starter motor needs to be replaced is provided.
The starter motor replacement determination device according to claim 1, further comprising: When the replacement determination unit determines that the starter motor needs to be replaced, the replacement determination unit further includes an execution restriction unit that does not execute the idle stop control that stops the engine when a predetermined condition is satisfied.
The starter motor replacement determination device according to claim 1 or 2 .

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