JPH01253548A - Engine output controlling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To maintain comfortable traveling performance by providing a correction content changing means for controlling the correction quantity of the specified control characteristic according to traveling condition when controlling the actuation of an engine output adjusting means electrically with the specified control characteristic and according to accelerator operating quantity. CONSTITUTION:A title device controls the actuation quantity of the engine output adjusting means A of a throttle valve and others electrically with the specified control characteristic according to the output of an accelerator operating quantity detecting means D for detecting the operating quantity of an accelerator C by an output control means B. In this case a control characteristic change means G is provided for changing the control characteristic of the engine output adjusting means A for accelerator operating quantity by means of the output control means B so that the accelerator operating quantity may become a set value. In addition a correction content changing means H is provided to control the correction quantity of the control characteristic by the changing means G according to traveling condition. This correction content changing means H is provided so as to change correction quantity according to the fluctuation of car speed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an engine output control method in which the operating amount of an engine output adjusting means such as a throttle valve is electrically controlled according to the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal. It is related to the device.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, output adjustment means such as a throttle valve of an engine generally installed in a vehicle are controlled via a mechanical interlocking mechanism I7 by depression of an accelerator pedal. 1981. According to Publication No. 126336, a device is provided with means for electrically opening and closing the throttle opening according to the depression of the accelerator pedal, and the throttle opening is controlled according to a predetermined characteristic with respect to the amount of accelerator depression. It is shown.

According to this, it is possible to make the engine output change characteristic in response to a change in the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal variable, and for example, when accelerating, the rate of change in the throttle opening degree with respect to the amount of depression of the accelerator can be increased to improve acceleration. During steady running, it is possible to reduce the rate of change to improve running stability.

In the first place, the driving performance of a vehicle is determined by the car's response characteristics to accelerator operation.When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to accelerate, the engine output increases in response. It is desirable to subtly control the vehicle speed during steady driving, so that when the accelerator pedal is operated, small changes in engine output occur in response.

As mentioned in 1., the driver's accelerator operation has the purpose of delicately controlling the vehicle speed during steady driving and the purpose of controlling the acceleration during acceleration.
There are conflicting demands between the engine output fluctuations corresponding to these two operations.

In other words, if acceleration response is improved by increasing the amount of change in throttle opening relative to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal and increasing the engine output increase characteristic, vehicle speed control will be controlled by a subtle output side zero. When doing this, even a small amount of accelerator operation will cause a large change in engine output and reduce vehicle speed controllability.Conversely, if you set the output change characteristics with respect to accelerator operation so that F speed controllability is optimal, This results in a decrease in acceleration response S properties.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in addition to conventional mechanical type engine output control devices, even in electrically controlled engine output control devices such as those described above, during steady driving, it is difficult to control the accelerator pedal depression depending on the throttle opening or vehicle speed. In this case, when driving steadily at high speeds, the accelerator pedal is held relatively depressed and the amount of pedal depression is held constant, and when driving steadily at very low speeds, the amount of pedal depression is held constant. The amount of depression of the accelerator pedal is maintained at a small constant amount.

However, in the former case, for example, the reaction force caused by the return spring becomes large, and the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal must be kept constant against this reaction force. It becomes difficult to maintain a constant amount of depression due to fatigue. In addition, in the latter case, for example, the reaction force from the return spring is small, so the amount of depression changes even with subtle changes in the force applied to the foot, so it is difficult to maintain the amount of accelerator pedal depression constant in this case. becomes difficult.

As a result, the throttle opening or vehicle speed becomes unstable both during high-speed steady driving, where the required accelerator depression is relatively large, and during very low-speed steady driving, where the required accelerator depression is small, and the vehicle speed during steady driving becomes unstable. Difficult to maintain.

In order to address the above points and achieve both acceleration response and vehicle speed controllability, the accelerator pedal position during steady driving at high speeds, e.g. around 80 to 100 km/h, is normally adjusted to a medium opening range, e.g. A method has been conventionally used in which the throttle link ratio (in electrical control, a countermeasure for the accelerator opening and the throttle gain as the control characteristic) is set to approximately 20%. However, the driving environment of the vehicle is not constant and changes in various ways, such as the road gradient and the altitude of the driving location. For this reason, the above-mentioned accelerator depression setting of about 20% during steady state breaks down due to the above-mentioned situations, and for example, the control characteristics (gain) decreases on a downhill slope, resulting in the problem that optimal driving performance cannot be obtained. occurs. Therefore, the present invention estimates the required engine output in the driving situation from the amount of accelerator depression, and corrects the control characteristics of the engine pressure with respect to the amount of accelerator depression so that this output is generated at the optimal amount of accelerator depression. Although it is intended to improve running performance,
Furthermore, it is intended to ensure good controllability in the following situations.

Generally speaking, if you compare the acceleration when accelerating by pressing the accelerator pedal and the deceleration when releasing it, the deceleration is smaller, so the probability that a larger amount of pedal depression will occur relative to the average accelerator position is When comparing the probability of occurrence of a small amount of depression in terms of time ratio, the latter is smaller. Therefore, if the control characteristics are corrected so that the amount of accelerator depression converges to the set value, the control characteristics will shift to a smaller value, and there will be a tendency to increase the amount of accelerator depression to obtain a small engine output. Even if the engine power is increased, the engine output will not increase and the problem may be that the driving performance deteriorates.

Furthermore, if the control characteristics are always changed at a constant rate, it will not be possible to respond immediately to the changes in areas with heavy traffic flow such as urban areas, whereas on freeways in the suburbs, the traffic flow will hardly change and will remain constant. In areas where high-speed driving is possible, drivers are sensitive to even small changes in control characteristics, so even when the amount of accelerator pedal depression remains unchanged, if the vehicle speed changes due to correction of control characteristics, the driver feels uncomfortable and the driving feeling deteriorates. may lead to

Furthermore, if the control characteristics are corrected based on the average value of the amount of accelerator depression, it is possible to drive at a constant speed in areas with heavy traffic flow such as urban areas and on freeways in the suburbs with almost no change in traffic flow. If the control characteristics are changed by calculating the average accelerator position at the same time interval in different regions, the former will not be able to respond immediately to changes in driving conditions, and the latter will change the control characteristics in short periods. This may lead to fluctuations in responsiveness, leading to a problem of poor driving feeling.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an engine output control device that corrects control characteristics so that the amount of accelerator depression becomes a predetermined value, and that allows good running performance to be obtained under various conditions. This is the purpose.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the output control device of the present invention includes an accelerator depression amount detection means for detecting the depression amount of the accelerator pedal, and an accelerator depression amount detection means for detecting the depression amount of the accelerator pedal. output control means for electrically controlling the operating amount of the engine output adjustment means with predetermined control characteristics in response to the engine output control means; a means for changing the control characteristics of the output adjusting means; and a means for changing the control characteristics of the output adjusting means; The system is configured to have a state.

The correction amount of the above correction contents is set to the average value when changing the correction amount according to the correction direction of the control characteristics or the vehicle speed fluctuation, or when correcting the control characteristics based on the average amount of depression of the accelerator pedal. The amount of correction of the control characteristics is controlled according to the driving state by changing the period for determining the period according to vehicle speed fluctuations.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for clearly showing the configuration of the present invention.

The output of the engine E of the vehicle is controlled by the operating amount of an engine output adjusting means A such as a throttle valve, and the output controlling means B electrically controls the operating amount of the engine output adjusting means A. establish. The output control means B receives a signal from an accelerator depression ff1tQ output means that detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal C, and outputs a target engine output or a signal determined based on predetermined control characteristics corresponding to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal C. The engine output adjusting means A is electrically driven so that the target operating amount is achieved, and the engine is controlled to a predetermined output state.

Further, the detection signal of the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal C by the accelerator depression amount detection means is also outputted to the driving state G as a correction amount of the control characteristics. In driving state G, the amount of correction of this control characteristic is set to 15 to 2, for example.
Changes the control characteristics between the two when the output control means B calculates and controls the operation amount of the engine output adjustment means A in response to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal C so that the set value is about 0%. It is.

Further, a correction signal from driving state H is outputted to the driving state G, and the correction amount of the control characteristics is outputted to the driving state H, and the correction amount of the control characteristics is changed to the driving state H. It controls the amount of correction of the control characteristics due to state G depending on the driving condition. Specifically, it changes the amount of correction depending on the direction of correction of the control characteristics or changes in vehicle speed, or changes the amount of correction based on the average of the accelerator pedal C. When correcting the control characteristics based on the amount of pedal depression, the amount of correction of the control characteristics is directly or indirectly controlled according to the driving condition by changing the period for calculating the average value according to vehicle speed fluctuations. .

Specifically, the amount of correction of the control characteristics described above is determined by the driving condition G, which is determined by changes in the engine output for driving at a predetermined vehicle speed depending on the driving environment of the vehicle, such as the road slope, the altitude of the driving location, and other factors. Accordingly, no matter which range the operating amount of engine output adjustment means A such as throttle opening is in,
For example, the average value of the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal C over a predetermined period or the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal C in a steady state and the operating amount of the engine output adjustment means A are adjusted so that the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal C converges to a predetermined range of depression. The correlation between the regulation means and the above control characteristics is changed. still,
Experimentally or empirically, the setting value for converging the accelerator depression amount is such that it is easy to maintain the accelerator pedal C at a constant depression amount against the reaction force of the return spring.
This is a relatively low depression range (for example, a range of about 15 to 20% of the total depression amount) in which delicate operations are easy to perform.

(Function) In the engine output control device as described above, the control characteristics are changed so that the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal becomes a set value while the vehicle is running, and the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal is changed according to the driving situation, for example. If the set value is exceeded, the control characteristic, that is, the ratio of the operating amount to the accelerator depression amount is increased, and if the accelerator depression amount is the same, the operating amount of the engine output adjustment means is increased to increase the engine output, As a result, a correction is made so that a smaller amount of accelerator depression is required to drive under the same driving conditions, and control is performed so that the amount of accelerator depression becomes the set value. Then, when moving to an uphill or downhill driving state, it is not possible to maintain the same vehicle speed with the same amount of accelerator depression.
Although the amount of accelerator depression increases or decreases, the control characteristics are corrected with good responsiveness in response to the change in the amount of accelerator depression.

In this way, when transitioning from an acceleration or deceleration state due to depressing or releasing the accelerator pedal to steady driving,
For example, if the steady driving is steady driving at high speed, the desired high vehicle speed can be obtained with a relatively small amount of accelerator depression due to the correction effect of the driving condition on the correction amount of the control characteristics, and conversely, the desired high vehicle speed can be obtained with a relatively small amount of accelerator depression. In the case of steady driving at , the desired low vehicle speed can be obtained with a relatively large amount of accelerator depression.

In that case, the range of setting values for converging the accelerator pedal depression is a range in which it is easy to keep the accelerator pedal depression constant. Of course, good vehicle speed maintenance can be achieved even during steady driving at high speeds or extremely low speeds.

Furthermore, it prevents the control characteristics from shifting to a value that is too small depending on the probability of occurrence of the amount of accelerator depression, ensuring quick response in areas where traffic flow changes rapidly and where the amount of accelerator depression changes greatly, and also on suburban freeways. In order to eliminate the discomfort caused by fluctuations in responsiveness, the amount of correction of the control characteristics is controlled depending on the driving condition to perform optimal correction.

(Example) The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a specific example. This example is for an engine used with an electronically controlled automatic transmission, and the engine output is controlled by throttle control that electrically controls the opening of the throttle valve according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal. At the same time, an example will be shown in which the gears of an automatic transmission are electrically switched and controlled according to the driving condition.

A throttle valve 3 for adjusting the amount of intake air is interposed in an intake passage 2 of the engine 1, and the throttle valve 3 is driven to open and close by a throttle actuator 4 such as a DC motor. The automatic transmission 5 also includes a plurality of shift solenoids 68.
~6C and a lock-up solenoid 7, and the hydraulic circuit is switched by a combination of turning on and off the shift solenoids 6a to 6C, and a plurality of hydraulic engagement elements are selectively engaged, so that a plurality of shift mechanisms can be operated. The gear is changed to the following gear position. Further, a lock-up clutch (not shown) in the torque converter is engaged or released by turning on or off the lock-up solenoid 7.

A controller 8 is provided for outputting a throttle control signal a, a shift control signal and a lock-up control signal C to the throttle actuator 4 and the solenoids 6a to 6C27 of the automatic transmission 5, respectively. The controller 8 includes a vehicle speed signal Vn from a vehicle speed sensor 9 that detects vehicle speed, an accelerator depression amount signal α from an accelerator sensor 11 that detects the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal 10, and a boost sensor 12 that detects intake negative pressure. and the throttle opening signal TH from the throttle sensor 13 that detects the opening of the throttle valve 3.
are input respectively.

Next, the processing of the controller 8 will be explained according to a flowchart.

FIG. 3 shows the main routine, in which the controller 8 performs a predetermined system initialization (step Sl) at the start of operation, reads detection signals from the various sensors, and inputs various information necessary for control from these ( S
2).

In step S3, throttle control is performed to set and control the throttle opening degree To according to predetermined control characteristics based on the depression amount α of the accelerator pedal 10. The throttle control signal a corresponding to the target throttle opening To set in step S3 is output to the throttle actuator 4 (S4), and the throttle valve 3 is controlled to the target throttle opening T.
o, and the vehicle speed Vn, throttle opening TH,
The gear stage is set according to the accelerator depression amount α, etc., and a control signal is sent to each solenoid 6a to 6C27 of the automatic transmission 5.
Shift control is performed to output c (S5). Then, the above routine is executed every predetermined time (for example, 30 m5ec).

FIG. 4 shows a subroutine for measuring various information inputs in step S2 of the main routine. In this measurement, the vehicle speed Vn is input (5IO), the accelerator depression amount α, the boost pressure B', the throttle opening T
Input H (S11).

Subsequently, in step SL2, it is determined whether it is the average value calculation data collection timing t-C of the accelerator depression amount α, and when the data collection timing C, which is set in response to vehicle speed fluctuations described later, comes, the average value is calculated. Accelerator depression amount α
At the same time, calculate the cumulative total VO of the vehicle speed Vn and its square sum Vs in order to determine the amount of variation in vehicle speed (S13
). Then, it is determined whether it is the average value calculation timing when this cumulative number has reached a predetermined value (for example, 20 times) (514)
, when the calculation timing comes, the cumulative value A is calculated in step S15.
is divided by the cumulative number of times 20 to find the average value aα of the accelerator depression amount for a predetermined period C x 20, and the variation amount ΔV (standard deviation/average value) of the vehicle speed Vn is calculated, and for the next calculation, each Clear registers A, Vo, and Vs (S1B
).

Then, in step S17, a data collection period C is determined according to the vehicle speed fluctuation amount ΔV, and is set as a reference value for the determination in step S12. This data collection period C is set short when the vehicle speed fluctuation amount ΔV is large to improve the responsiveness of correction corresponding to vehicle speed fluctuation, but is set long when the vehicle speed fluctuation amount ΔV is small, resulting in an excessive I am trying to suppress the correction.

Further, in step S18, it is determined whether the ratio aα/at between the average depression Qaα and the target value at (for example, 20%) is greater than 1. If this determination is YES and the average depression amount aα is larger than the target value at, and the control characteristic, that is, the correction coefficient k is to be corrected in the increasing direction, the basic correction coefficient KO is added by a predetermined value (for example, 3/1000) in step S19. to correct. On the other hand, if the determination in step 31B is No, the average depression Qaα is smaller than the target value at, and the control characteristic, that is, the correction coefficient k is to be corrected in the decreasing direction, the basic correction coefficient KO is set to a predetermined value smaller than that in the case of increasing correction in step S20. (For example, 1/1000) is subtracted and corrected. This prevents the correction coefficient k from becoming too small based on the probability of occurrence of the amount of depression.

Subsequently, in step S21, the vehicle speed variation amount Δ■ is divided by a constant B to obtain a vehicle speed correction coefficient of 1. This vehicle speed correction coefficient kl increases the correction coefficient k when the vehicle speed fluctuation is large, and decreases the correction coefficient k when the vehicle speed fluctuation is small.

Then, in step S22, a correction coefficient k (throttle gain) as a control characteristic is updated by the product of the basic correction coefficient KO and the vehicle speed correction coefficient kl.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a detailed subroutine of the throttle control in step S3 of the main routine. In step S30, the accelerator depression amount α is input, and in step S3
1, the basic throttle opening degree map is searched, and based on this map, the basic throttle opening degree Tb is determined from the accelerator depression amount α (S32). This basic throttle opening map shows that the basic throttle opening Tb corresponding to the accelerator depression amount α is set corresponding to the gear position, and from this map, the basic throttle opening Tb corresponding to the detected accelerator depression amount α is Read the opening degree Tb.

Then, in step S33, the basic throttle opening Tb is multiplied by the correction coefficient k set in step S22 of the measurement subroutine to obtain a predetermined control characteristic, that is, a throttle gain (ratio of target throttle opening TO to accelerator depression amount α). ), the target throttle opening T
Set o. Target throttle opening T using this correction coefficient k.

By setting the above, the target throttle opening degree To is set so as to obtain the required output while maintaining the average accelerator depression ff1aα at the set value of 20%.

In the embodiments described above, high speed running, uphill running,
When transitioning to high-altitude driving, etc., the accelerator depression 2α is increased, and the average value exceeds the set value, and the correction coefficient k is gradually increased, which is required for the throttle opening corresponding to such driving. The amount of accelerator depression gradually decreases and finally reaches the set value. Conversely, when transitioning to low-speed driving, downhill driving, low-lying driving, etc., the accelerator depression amount α is reduced, the average value becomes lower than the set value, and the correction coefficient k is gradually reduced. The amount of accelerator depression required for the throttle opening corresponding to , gradually increases, and finally reaches the set value.

As a result, the amount of accelerator pedal depression is always converged within a predetermined range regardless of the vehicle speed, but this range is a range in which it is easy to maintain a constant amount of accelerator pedal depression, so the throttle opening or vehicle speed is stable. I decided to do it,
This improves vehicle speed maintenance.

At this time, the amount of correction is different depending on the correction direction of the correction coefficient (see 818 to 320), and the correction coefficient is made to change slowly in the direction of decreasing, and the correction coefficient is adjusted according to the probability of occurrence of large or small throttle depression amount. This prevents the output from shifting to a small value and ensures output responsiveness to accelerator operation. In addition, the larger the vehicle speed fluctuation, the larger the correction amount (see S21), and the larger the vehicle speed fluctuation, the shorter the averaging period (see S17) to improve control responsiveness in city driving and improve stability. This is intended to provide stability at high speeds.

In the above embodiment, the average value of the amount of accelerator depression for a predetermined period is calculated, and the correction coefficient k is controlled to converge to the set value of 20% based on the average value, and the correction coefficient is updated over a wide range. However, this correction coefficient may be updated only when the driving state is in a steady state, or it may be updated using other methods, such as correction so that the amount of accelerator depression during specific driving converges to the set value. The control characteristic (correction coefficient) may be changed by changing the coefficient to converge the accelerator depression amount to the set value.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the vehicle speed fluctuation amount ΔV is determined from the average value and the standard deviation, but it may be determined from the vehicle speed fluctuation rate, fluctuation speed, etc. Further, the setting of the average period C, the predetermined value to be added to or subtracted from the basic correction coefficient KO, etc. are appropriately set according to road conditions and the like.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention as described above, the operation amount of the engine output adjusting means is electrically controlled with a predetermined control characteristic according to the accelerator depression amount detected by the accelerator depression amount detection means. means for changing the control characteristic so that the accelerator depression becomes a set value, a correction amount of the control characteristic according to the driving condition, and a correction amount of the control characteristic depending on the driving condition. By including the correction amount of the correction content and the driving condition, it is possible to prevent the control characteristics from shifting to a value that is too small depending on the probability of occurrence of the amount of accelerator depression, and also to prevent traffic flows where the amount of accelerator depression changes significantly. In order to ensure quick response in areas where there are rapid changes in speed, and to eliminate the discomfort caused by fluctuations in response on suburban freeways, etc., the amount of correction of the control characteristics is controlled according to the driving condition, and the accelerator pedal is always optimally adjusted. Drivability in the operating area,
This makes it possible to maintain vehicle speed, avoid fluctuations in responsiveness and decrease in responsiveness, and perform optimal correction of control characteristics.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram for clearly showing the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control system diagram in one embodiment, FIG. 3 is a main flowchart diagram showing the entire control operation, and FIGS. 4 and 5 The figure is a flowchart of the main parts of each control section. E, 1...engine, A...engine output adjustment means, B...output control means, C1
10... Accelerator pedal, D... Accelerator depression amount detection means, G... Correction amount of control characteristics in driving condition, H... Correction of correction contents 3. Throttle valve, 4. Throttle actuator, 8. Controller.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] (1) Accelerator depression amount detection means for detecting the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, and an operating amount of the engine output adjustment means according to a predetermined control characteristic according to the accelerator depression amount detected by the detection means. In an engine output control device comprising an electrically controlled output control means, a control characteristic of the engine output adjustment means with respect to an accelerator pedal depression amount by the output control means is changed so that the accelerator depression amount becomes a set value. 1. An engine output control device comprising: a control characteristic changing means; and a correction content changing means for controlling the amount of correction of the control characteristic by the control characteristic changing means in accordance with a driving condition. (2) The engine output control device according to claim 1, wherein the correction content changing means changes the magnitude of the correction amount depending on the correction direction of the control characteristic. (3) The engine output control device according to claim 1, wherein the correction content changing means changes the magnitude of the correction amount in accordance with vehicle speed fluctuations. (4) Accelerator depression amount detection means for detecting the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, and an output that electrically controls the operating amount of the engine output adjustment means with predetermined control characteristics according to the accelerator depression amount detected by the detection means. An engine output control device comprising a control means, an average pedal depression amount calculation means for calculating an average value of the depression amount of an accelerator pedal every predetermined period, and a set value such that the average accelerator depression amount calculated by the calculation means is set as a set value. control characteristic changing means for changing the control characteristic of the engine output adjusting means with respect to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the output control means; and controlling the above-mentioned control indirectly by changing the average time by the average depression amount calculation means in accordance with vehicle speed fluctuations. 1. An engine output control device comprising: correction content changing means for controlling the amount of correction of control characteristics by the characteristic changing means according to driving conditions.