JPH0156617B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention uses a digital computer to comprehensively control the load status of a power engine that drives a generator, battery status, etc. The present invention relates to a power generation control method for a vehicle generator that can optimally control the power generation state of the generator.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the power generation control method for generators for vehicles, mainly vehicles, has generally been a constant voltage control method that keeps the battery terminal voltage constant. The system determines this and intermittently drives the excitation coil of the generator.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in conventional general control methods, power generation is normally controlled without considering the load condition of the engine, which is the power engine, and as a result, when the vehicle accelerates suddenly or climbs a steep slope, the engine is forced to use extra power. Therefore, it cannot be said to be optimal for vehicle driving performance, fuel efficiency, etc. In this regard, it is known that in order to increase the engine braking effect of a vehicle, the regulated voltage is increased to increase the generator load only when the vehicle satisfies a predetermined deceleration condition that requires engine braking (in practical use). (Refer to specification No. 134607/1984), this only suggests that the generator is used as an engine load when the vehicle decelerates, and the known information for power generation control (battery terminal voltage, temperature, etc.) In addition, it is not possible to use the engine load state as information for power generation control and perform optimal power generation control according to a plurality of conditions including the charging state of the battery and various load states of the engine.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and inputs various information indicating at least the temperature state of the battery electrolyte and the operating state of the power engine that drives the vehicle-mounted generator to a digital computer. Determine the state of charge of the engine and various load conditions throughout the operating range of this power engine, calculate the optimal control value for each condition including the engine load condition, and control power generation based on the control value. The purpose is to provide a power generation control method for a vehicle generator that enables comprehensive generator control, performs optimal power generation control according to various load conditions, and simultaneously improves the driving performance of the vehicle. That is.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, in the present invention, a battery is charged by the output of a generator driven by a power engine mounted on a vehicle, and at least the electrolyte temperature of the battery or a temperature correlated to the electrolyte temperature and the power engine detecting a plurality of operating information including the operating state of the generator, a digital computer calculates a control value for the generator based on the operating information,
The method of controlling the generator based on this control value, wherein the digital computer calculates a first value according to the electrolyte temperature of the battery or a temperature correlated to the electrolyte temperature, and the power engine The load state of the power engine is divided in advance into a plurality of regions using at least two pieces of operating information indicating the operating state of the engine, and the digital computer is configured to: determining which of the divided regions the load state of the power engine is in, and obtaining a predetermined second value for each of the divided regions, and at least the first value and the second value. A target adjusted voltage value is calculated as the control value according to the above, and the power generation state of the generator is controlled according to the deviation between the calculated control value and the terminal voltage of the battery or the value of the generated voltage. This is how it was done.

[Effect]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the digital computer calculates the control value of the generator,
The controllability of the digital computer is improved by separately determining the first value based on the temperature state of the battery electrolyte and the second value based on the load state of the power engine. Moreover, in calculating this second value, the digital computer combines at least two pieces of operating information indicating the operating state of the power engine, thereby calculating the load state in the entire operating range of the power engine in a two-dimensional pattern, for example. It is now possible to effectively divide the area into the above multiple areas, accurately determine which of the divided areas it falls under, and furthermore, the second value is predetermined for each divided area. Therefore, the second
It is only necessary to read the value of , and the controllability is good. Then, a target adjusted voltage value is calculated as the control value according to these first and second values, and the digital computer controls power generation according to this control value.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. The present invention relates to the energization state of the excitation coil of an AC or DC generator mounted on a vehicle equipped with a power engine, such as an industrial vehicle, a general vehicle, or a ship such as a track vehicle, a motor boat, or a fishing boat. The power generation state of this generator is appropriately controlled by controlling according to various conditions such as applied load.

In the following explanation, an ordinary car will be used as an example of a vehicle. 1 is a Y-connection three-phase AC generator driven by an on-vehicle engine, which includes an armature coil 11, an excitation coil 12 for excitation of the generator, a rectifier 13 for full-wave rectification, and is attached to the generator body. The excitation coil 12 includes a drive section 14 that energizes and drives the excitation coil 12 in response to a signal from a control section, which will be described later. This drive section 14 is generally composed of a switching circuit including a power transistor. Reference numeral 2 denotes an on-vehicle battery, which supplies power to various on-vehicle electrical loads and is charged by the generated output of the generator 1, and is a 12V type in this example. 3 is a key switch located inside the vehicle, such as an accessory switch (ACC), an ignition switch (IG),
It consists of a starter switch (ST) and a starter switch (ST). Reference numeral 4 denotes an on-vehicle electrical load, which includes a load 42 such as a headlamp directly connected to the battery 2 and a power switch 41, a load 44 such as a wiper motor connected via the key switch 3, a power switch 43, and the like. 5 is a starter motor installed in the vehicle.

Next, on the control unit side, 6 is a microcomputer, which is a single chip type that receives signals from each sensor and executes digital calculation processing of software according to a predetermined control program. At the same time, the in-vehicle battery 2 receives a stabilized voltage of 5V through a stabilized power supply circuit (not shown), and becomes operational, and the set values according to the signals from each sensor are converted into binary form in this case. It is output as a signal. The microcomputer 6 is equipped with a read-only memory (ROM) that stores the control program that defines the procedures for various arithmetic operations to obtain set values for controlling power generation in an optimal state. ) and this ROM
The central processing unit (Central Processing Unit) sequentially reads out the control programs of the
A Processing Unit (CPU), a memory (Rendam Access Memory; RAM) that temporarily stores various data related to the arithmetic processing of the CPU and can read the data by the CPU, and a crystal oscillator 61 for various arithmetic operations. A clock generation section that generates a reference clock pulse, and an input/output circuit section (I/O circuit section) that partially has a latch function.
It is a one-chip type large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) product whose main components are:

In addition, 7 is an A/D conversion circuit that converts analog signals into digital signals, and is an engine rotation speed sensor.
Analog signals from S ₁ , throttle opening sensor S ₂ , battery temperature sensor S ₃ , engine coolant temperature sensor S ₄ , and starter operation detection sensor S ₅ are sequentially converted into digital signals and output to the microcomputer 6. It is something to do.

Here, each of the above-mentioned sensors S ₁ to _{S 5} will be explained. First, the engine rotation speed sensor _S1 is a known sensor that detects the engine rotation speed using, for example, an ignition signal of the engine. Of course, other detection means having various structures are known, and there is no limit to the selection thereof. In addition, the throttle opening sensor S ₂
is a known sensor that varies the voltage division ratio of the power supply voltage using a sliding type or non-contact type variable resistor that is linked to the depression of an accelerator pedal, for example. Also,
The battery temperature sensor _S3 detects the temperature of the battery electrolyte or the battery body or its surroundings, which has a correlation with the charging characteristics of the battery 2, and is composed of a temperature sensing element such as a thermistor or a temperature sensing transistor. Further, the engine coolant temperature sensor _S4 is the same as that used in electronic fuel injection amount control devices and the like, and has a temperature sensing element such as a thermistor arranged so as to be in contact with the engine coolant. In addition, starter operation detection sensor S ₅
The starter drive signal inputs a starter drive signal and generates a voltage signal at a predetermined level during the generation period of this signal.

Next, 8 is a D/A conversion circuit, which converts a set value in the form of a binary signal, which is the output of the microcomputer 6, into an analog signal. 9 is a differential width circuit which inputs the analog signal (setting value) from the D/A conversion circuit 8 and the battery terminal voltage signal from the battery 2, and outputs a detection signal according to the voltage difference value between the two signals. It is something. 10 is a pulse width modulation circuit that modulates the output pulse signal of a predetermined period inputted by the microcomputer 6 according to the magnitude of the detection signal from the differential width circuit 9, and variably controls the duty ratio of this output pulse signal. It is something to do. As a result, the switching circuit of the drive unit 14 operates according to the duty ratio of its output pulse signal.
The average value of the energizing current that drives the excitation coil 12 by turning it on and off is variably controlled.

Here, the arithmetic processing by the microcomputer 6 is executed at predetermined regular intervals, but if the energization state of the excitation coil 12 is controlled each time according to the result of each arithmetic processing, the excitation coil 12 The setting of the calculation cycle becomes a problem because it is affected by the power generation capacity and response delay of the generator 1 including the battery capacity and response delay of the control circuit system. For example, set the calculation cycle relatively large (for example,
(25 msec or more), the fluctuation range of the ripple component in the adjustment voltage becomes large, and when an on-vehicle lamp load is driven with this adjustment voltage, the brightness will fluctuate slightly. On the other hand, if the calculation period is set too small, the fluctuation range of the ripple component will be reduced, but the average value of the excitation current will decrease due to the influence of the inductance of the excitation coil 12, which may lead to a lack of power generation capacity when the generator rotates at low speeds. become. Therefore, in this embodiment, the calculation cycle is set to 0.5 msec or more in consideration of the above points.
The arithmetic processing is executed at a time of about 5 msec.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained with reference to the calculation flowchart in FIG. 2 and the characteristic diagrams in FIGS. 3 to 5. Figure 2 is a calculation flowchart showing the calculation process for power generation control of the generator 1 by the control program of the microcomputer 6, and Figure 3 is a temperature-basic adjustment voltage for determining the basic adjustment voltage according to the battery electrolyte temperature. Figure 4 is an engine load characteristic diagram for determining the load state of the vehicle engine based on both engine speed and throttle opening information, and Figure 5A in Figure 5 is the engine load characteristic diagram. A characteristic diagram showing an example of temperature change of cooling water.
FIG. 5B is a characteristic diagram showing that the charging operation is strengthened for a time commensurate with the starter operating time from when the engine coolant temperature is saturated.

Here, the characteristics shown in Figure 3 are the characteristics that have been generally set in the past, and the temperature of semiconductor elements, etc. A gradual negative slope (e.g.
0.002 to 0.012V/℃).
Also, the engine load characteristics shown in FIG. 4 will be explained. Generally, when the engine speed N tends to decrease despite a large throttle opening θ, there is a correlation with heavy load conditions such as when driving uphill or accelerating. Regardless, when the engine speed N tends to increase, there is generally a correlation with light load conditions such as when traveling downhill or when decelerating. Therefore, in this embodiment, focusing on these points, the engine load condition is approximately displayed two-dimensionally using two parameters, the throttle opening θ and the engine speed N. As shown in Figure 4, the heavy load region and light load region are defined by a linear function θ selected in advance in this embodiment.
= C ₅ · N + C ₆ (however, C ₅ and C ₆ are constants), and the engine load state is distinguished into two stages.

Also, to explain the characteristics shown in Figure 5B, after the engine has been started, the amount of battery discharge consumed by the starter operation is effectively recovered when the engine body has been warmed up and has reached a stable operating state. Therefore, in this embodiment, the regulated voltage of the power generation control device is increased by a predetermined value during the time τ = C ₁ · Tu + C ₂ (where C ₁ and C ₂ are constants) corresponding to the starter operating time Ts, and the charging current is increased. It is designed to increase the .

Hereinafter, according to Fig. 2, the microcomputer 6
The arithmetic processing will be explained, and the overall operation of the power generation control device shown in FIG. 1 will be explained.
Now, when the key switch 3 is turned on, various stabilized voltages are applied to the microcomputer 6 and other peripheral circuit devices 7-10 by a stabilized power supply circuit (not shown), and each device 6-10 becomes operational. Then, arithmetic processing of the control program is started at a start step 101 in FIG. 2 at a predetermined period of approximately 0.5 to 5 msec, and at step 102, determination terms k and l are initialized, and the process proceeds to signal input step 103. In this step 103, the engine rotation speed signal N is sent from the engine rotation speed sensor _S1 , the throttle opening signal θ is sent from the throttle opening sensor _S2 , and the battery temperature sensor
The battery temperature signal TB from _S3 , the engine coolant temperature signal TC from engine coolant temperature sensor _S4 , and the starter operation signal from starter operation detection sensor _S5 are sequentially input and temporarily stored in RAM, and the process proceeds to starter operation determination step 104. move on.

Therefore, if the engine has not yet been started, the signal input step 103 is executed from the determination step 104 via the determination step 105 and the excitation stop signal generation step 109.
Return to and repeat this routine. Therefore, the microcomputer 6 temporarily stores the excitation stop signal in the output register and continues to generate the excitation stop signal to the differential amplifier circuit 9 through the D/A converter circuit 8. (For example, 12V) is input, but this circuit 9
This prohibits the pulse width modulation circuit 10 from generating a drive pulse signal and causes the generator to be initially excited.

Next, if the starter is activated when starting the engine, the starter operation determination step is activated.
104 becomes YES and the process proceeds to step 107 via step 106. In this step 107, the starter operation time Ts is calculated from the judgment term l, the calculated value is temporarily stored in the RAM, and then the step
In step 108, using the calculated value Ts obtained in step 107, a charging reinforcement time index τ for comparison with the judgment term k is calculated based on the calculation formula τ= _C1・Ts+ _C2 , and is temporarily stored in the RAM. Then, the process returns to signal input step 103 via step 109, and this routine is repeated thereafter. As a result, the microcomputer 6 determines the starter operating time while the starter is operating.
While continuing to calculate Ts and charging reinforcement time τ,
In order to continue to generate an excitation stop signal to the differential amplifier circuit 9 through the D/A conversion circuit 8, initial excitation of the generator is not performed in the same manner as when the key switch is turned on. Here, if the starter is activated multiple times with the ignition switch turned on, l is not initialized again during that time, so the criterion l becomes a value proportional to the total starter activation time.

Next, a case will be described in which the engine starts and the starter operation is stopped. In that case, the process proceeds from signal input step 103 to calculation step 110 via determination steps 104 and 105. In this step 110, the battery temperature signal TB is read out, and the calculation formula VT stored in the ROM is read as shown in the characteristic diagram of FIG.
The basic adjustment voltage value VT is calculated according to =C ₃ · TB + C ₄ (C ₃ and C ₄ are constants) and temporarily stored in RAM. Then, the process advances to step 111, in which the engine rotational speed signal Nx is read out and the calculation formula θ= _C5・N+
According to C ₆ (however, C ₅ and C ₆ are constants), the boundary value of the heavy-light load region θ (Nx) = when the engine speed is Nx
Calculate _C5・Nx+ _C6 and temporarily store it in ROM. Then, in the load condition determination step 112, the throttle opening signal θx is read out, and the magnitude relationship between the throttle opening θx and the boundary value θ(Nx) calculated in the calculation step 111 is determined.

Therefore, when the determination step 112 is NO, that is, when the engine load is in a light load state, the load correction voltage value VL=V ₁ is selected as the correction amount according to the engine load for the basic adjustment voltage value VT. is temporarily stored in RAM. Next, the process proceeds to engine coolant temperature determination step 114, and in this determination step 114, the engine coolant temperature signal Tc
is read out, and the level relationship between this engine coolant temperature Tc and a preset temperature To is determined. Therefore, if the engine coolant temperature Tc is not very high immediately after the engine is started, determination step 114 is
If NO, proceed to calculation step 119. This step 119 reads out the basic adjustment voltage value VT and the load correction voltage value V ₁ temporarily stored in the RAM in steps 110 and 113, adds both voltage values to obtain the adjustment voltage value _VREG = VT + V ₁ , and calculates this. It is temporarily stored in the output register of the microcomputer 6. Therefore, the D/A conversion circuit 8 converts the binary signal output of the microcomputer 6 indicating the regulated voltage V _REG into an analog signal, and the differential amplifier circuit 9 converts the analog regulated voltage V _REG and the battery terminal voltage. The duty ratio of the output pulse signal generated by the pulse width modulation circuit 10 is changed according to the signal level of this voltage signal. For example, in this embodiment, when the battery terminal voltage VB is lower than the regulated voltage V _REG determined by calculation, the battery terminal voltage VB is set to a duty ratio (of the output pulse signal) proportional to the regulated voltage V _REG −VB. The pulse width modulation circuit 10 is configured to output a pulse signal for driving the excitation coil having a ratio of one period to the pulse width of the output pulse signal for driving the excitation coil 12.

By the way, after the engine starts, the engine coolant temperature Tc gradually rises as shown in Figure 5A and reaches the set temperature.
When To is reached, in temperature determination step 114
The result is YES, and the process proceeds to judgment step 115. The determination term k is the charging reinforcement time index T obtained in step 108.
During the smaller period, the routine from judgment step 115, through steps 116, 117, and calculation step 118, and returning to signal input step 103 is repeated;
Thereafter, when the determination term k becomes larger than the charge enhancement time index τ, the determination step 115 becomes NO, and the routine is changed to return to the signal input step 103 via the calculation step 119.

Therefore, during the period of the charging reinforcement time index τ when the engine load is light and the engine coolant temperature Tc reaches a steady state, the determination step
From step 112, the routine through steps 113 to 118 is repeated. In particular, in this routine, in step 117, a heavy electrical load called a starter (for example, 1kw~
In order to compensate for the power consumption of
Read from ROM, and in calculation step 118,
Read out the basic adjustment voltage value VT and load correction voltage value V ₁ temporarily stored in RAM, and add both voltage values and the charging enhancement correction value Vs to obtain the adjustment voltage value V _REG = VT
+V ₁ +Vs is determined and temporarily stored in the output register of the microcomputer 6. Therefore, the adjusted voltage value V _REG becomes larger than normal, and the difference with the battery terminal voltage VB becomes larger, and the duty ratio of the pulse signal generated from the pulse width modulation circuit 10 becomes larger, and therefore the excitation coil 12 is excited. The current is increased to increase the generated voltage and to strengthen the charging of the battery 2.

On the other hand, after the period determined by the charging reinforcement time index τ, the determination step 112 causes steps 113, 114,
The routine via 115 and 119 will be repeated,
The adjusted voltage value is V _REG = VT + V ₁ , and the adjusted voltage value V _REG is smaller than when charging is strengthened, but even in this case, the adjusted voltage value is sufficiently large compared to when the engine load is heavy. .

By the way, when the engine load changes from the above-mentioned light load state to a heavy load state, for example, when the car enters an acceleration state from an idling state (this is a no-load state, but is included in the light load state), In the state of charge determination step 112, a YES determination is made and the process proceeds to step 120. Therefore, in this step 120, a load correction voltage value is used as the correction amount of the adjustment voltage according to the engine load.
Select VL=V ₂ and temporarily store it in RAM. This load correction voltage value V ₂ is the load correction voltage value at light load.
It is a much smaller value than V ₁ , and may be a negative value in some cases.

If the engine cooling temperature Tc has not yet reached the steady state (To), a negative determination is made in the engine cooling temperature determination step 121 and the process proceeds to a calculation step 126, where the basic adjustment voltage value VT and the above-mentioned The adjusted voltage value V _REG =VT+V ₂ is obtained by adding the load correction voltage value V ₂ of , and is temporarily stored in the output register of the microcomputer 6. Therefore, this adjusted voltage value V _REG is almost equal to, or in some cases slightly lower than, the normal battery terminal voltage VB, so that almost no excitation current flows through the excitation coils 1 and 2, and power generation for the engine is achieved. We are trying to sufficiently reduce the load on the machine.

On the other hand, when the engine load is in a heavy load state and the engine coolant temperature Tc has reached a steady state, the temperature judgment step 121 makes a YES judgment and proceeds to judgment step 122.
In step 122, if the judgment term k determined in the light load state is still smaller than the charging permission time index τ, a YES judgment is made, and step 123,
124, and the routine via calculation step 125 will be repeated. Therefore, even when the engine load is heavy, the regulated voltage value V _REG =V _T +V ₂ +Vs is set as shown in calculation step 125 only during the period determined by the charging reinforcement time index τ, and compared to when the engine load is light. Although the adjusted voltage value is somewhat low, this increases the excitation current and increases the generated voltage,
Charging of Battery 2 has been strengthened.

Once the period determined by the charging reinforcement time index τ has elapsed, the determination term k becomes larger than the charging reinforcement time index τ in the determination step 122, so a NO determination is made and the calculation step 126 is performed.
Therefore, the regulated voltage V _REG is made sufficiently low so that almost no excitation current flows through the excitation coil 12, and the generator load on the engine is sufficiently reduced.

By the way, after the engine coolant temperature Tc reaches a steady state and the period determined by the charging reinforcement time index τ has elapsed, the microcomputer 6 uses information on both the engine speed N and the throttle opening θ. The adjustment value V _REG =V _T +V ₁ or V _T =V ₂ is calculated in accordance with the determined engine load state, and the peripheral devices 9 and 10 operate the generator according to the calculated adjustment voltage value V _REG . This will control the power generation state of No. 1.

When the load is heavy, the adjusted voltage value V _REG =V _T +V ₂ is determined in calculation step 126 as described above, and the power generation operation is suppressed as much as possible in consideration of the battery terminal voltage, thereby reducing the generator load on the engine. However, when a heavy electrical load such as a headlamp is connected at night, the power consumption increases rapidly, so the battery terminal voltage VB is lower than normal and the setting is calculated. may be sufficiently lower than the adjusted regulation voltage V _REG . As a result, a voltage difference occurs between the two voltages, and despite the heavy load state, the peripheral devices 9 and 1
0, the excitation current is passed through the excitation coil 12 to perform power generation control, and the battery terminal voltage can be controlled so as not to fall below the calculated and set adjustment voltage V _REG . An example of the magnitude relationship of each adjustment voltage value V _REG calculated as described above is shown below.
At the specified battery temperature TB, VT+V ₁ +Vs
>VT+Vs, VT+V ₂ +Vs>VT+V ₂ .

Next, other embodiments of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration, and FIG. 7 is a calculation flowchart showing its operation. This embodiment differs from the above-described embodiments in that the microcomputer 6 performs a level comparison operation between the regulated voltage V _REG determined by each parameter and the battery terminal voltage VB, and the generator 1 The excitation control is performed by normal ON/OFF control instead of the duty ratio control of the output pulse signal, and an electric load sensor S ₇ is newly installed. When a width lamp, etc.) is lit, this is detected and an electrical load signal is sent to the microcomputer 6, prohibiting addition/subtraction correction of the adjustment voltage value V _REG according to the engine load condition, and causing other calculation corrections to be performed. The point is that Note that other points are almost the same as the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Hereinafter, operations that are different from those of the above-described embodiment will be explained using the calculation flowchart shown in FIG. 7. First, a case will be described in which the headlamp or small lamp is not turned on during the daytime or the like. At this time, a NO determination is made in the electrical load determination step 130. Therefore, once the engine has started, the electrical load determination step 130 determines whether the engine load or the engine cooling water temperature, etc. , the adjustment voltage V _REG is calculated in each calculation step 118, 119, 125, or 126, and this is stored in the RAM.
The information will be temporarily stored in the memory, and then the process will proceed to judgment step 127. In this judgment step 127, the battery terminal voltage value VB read in advance from the battery voltage sensor _S6 and the calculated adjustment voltage value are
Read V _REG from RAM and set the magnitude relationship between both voltage values. Therefore, when the battery terminal voltage value VB is smaller than the adjustment voltage value V _REG , the determination step 127 makes a NO determination and proceeds to step 129.
Eventually, the microcomputer 6 will give a signal instructing excitation to the output circuit 20. As a result, the switching circuit of the drive unit 14 is driven by the output of the output circuit 20 to cause an excitation current to flow through the excitation coil 12, thereby increasing the generated voltage. On the other hand, if the battery terminal voltage value VB becomes larger than the calculated adjustment voltage value V _REG due to battery charging operation, a YES determination is made in determination step 127 and the step is continued.
The process proceeds to step 128, and the microcomputer 6 ends up giving a signal instructing de-excitation to the output circuit. As a result, the output of the output circuit 20 causes the drive unit 14 to stop supplying the excitation current and lower the generated voltage. In this way, the battery terminal voltage
VB is controlled to match the adjusted voltage value V _REG calculated each time according to a predetermined calculation cycle.

Therefore, this battery terminal voltage VB changes over a relatively wide range, particularly depending on the engine load condition.

Next, a case where a headlamp or small lamp is turned on at night will be explained. At this time, the electrical load determination step 130 makes a YES determination, and therefore, once the engine has started, the determination step 105 leads to step 110,
130 to proceed to calculation step 131,
Each calculation step 111 to 126 for correcting the adjusted voltage value according to the engine load condition is not performed. Therefore,
In this calculation step 131, the basic adjustment voltage value VT calculated in calculation step 110 is read from the RAM,
Increased correction voltage value V ₃ for this value VT and electrical load
(This value V ₃ is a value that can prevent over-discharging of the battery even when the engine is running at low speeds.) The adjustment voltage value V _REG is determined by adding. As a result, voltage determination step 127 and control step 128,
129, the excitation control of the generator is performed according to the magnitude relationship between the adjusted voltage value V _REG and the battery terminal voltage value VB, and the battery terminal voltage
VB is regulated to the regulated voltage value that is hardly affected by the engine load condition, unlike the case described above. This makes it possible to reliably prevent flickering of headlamps, small lamps, instrument lighting lamps, etc. that are directly driven by the battery terminal voltage.

In the above example, a linear relationship with a negative slope was used as the temperature-reference adjustment voltage characteristic, but this relationship may vary depending on the usage conditions and environment of each region, the battery charging characteristics, the allowable voltage range of the on-board electrical equipment, etc. Therefore, it can be changed arbitrarily and is not necessarily limited to such a linear relationship.

Furthermore, the battery electrolyte temperature in the present invention is not necessarily limited to the temperature of the electrolyte itself;
It is also possible to detect the temperature of the electrode plate, the battery body, the surrounding area, etc., which has a correlation with the battery electrolyte temperature, and indirectly consider it as the electrolyte temperature.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the degree of engine load is determined by a predetermined linear function θ in the engine load characteristic diagram.
Judgments are made in two stages (i.e., heavy load state and light load state) based on the values bounded by (N) = C ₅ / N + C ₆ , but the boundary line is determined by the engine's unique output characteristics and the engine's specific output characteristics. It changes variously depending on the output characteristics due to connection with auxiliary equipment, and in some cases, it can become a polygonal line or a curve.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the engine load state is divided into two states, a heavy load state and a light load state, as shown in FIG.
The adjustment voltage value V _REG is changed according to each state, but the load state is classified into two.
Adjust voltage for each category, not limited to 3 or more.
Changing V _REG can be achieved relatively easily by just slightly changing the calculation program.

Also, as a method to detect engine load,
Various methods can be considered in addition to using information on both the engine speed and the throttle opening, and in the present invention, any achieving means may be used as long as the degree of engine load can be determined.

Further, in the above-described embodiments, the method of the present invention is implemented using a microcomputer, but the method of the present invention may be implemented using an ordinary electronic circuit other than the microcomputer.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the battery terminal voltage is configured to match the calculated adjusted voltage, but instead of this, the generated voltage may be controlled to match the adjusted voltage.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the present invention, various information indicating at least the temperature state of the battery electrolyte and the operating state of the power engine that drives the vehicle-mounted generator is inputted to the digital computer. calculates the first value based on the temperature state of the battery electrolyte and the second value based on the load state of the power engine separately, calculates the control value of the generator according to these two values, and controls the power generation. As a result, optimal control values can be obtained with good response to the charging state of the battery and various engine states, and therefore, a power generation output that fully matches the charging characteristics of the battery can be obtained, and the control value can be adjusted according to the various load states of the power engine. power generation operation. Furthermore, in calculating the second value, the digital computer combines at least two pieces of operating information indicating the operating state of the power engine, thereby calculating the load state in the entire operating range of the power engine in a two-dimensional pattern, for example. It is now possible to effectively divide the image into the multiple areas above, and to accurately determine which of the divided areas it falls under, and the second value is predetermined for each divided area. Therefore, it is only necessary to read out the second value, and the controllability is good. Therefore, optimal power generation control can be performed according to each load state, and the generator load on the power engine can be appropriately adjusted to improve the driving performance of the vehicle at the same time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a calculation flowchart showing the calculation processing procedure of the microcomputer in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a characteristic diagram showing temperature-basic adjustment voltage characteristics, Figure 4 is a characteristic diagram showing engine load characteristics, and Figure 5. A is a characteristic diagram showing changes in engine cooling water temperature, FIG. 5B is a characteristic diagram for explaining the charging reinforcement time index τ, FIG. The figure is number 6
It is a calculation flowchart which shows the calculation processing procedure of the microcomputer in a figure. 1...Onboard generator, 2...Battery, 3...
Key switch, 6...Microcomputer, 7
...A/D conversion circuit, _S1 ...engine speed sensor, _S2 ...throttle opening sensor, _S3 ...battery temperature sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A battery is charged by the output of a generator driven by a power engine mounted on a vehicle, and
A plurality of operating information including at least the electrolyte temperature of the battery or a temperature correlated to the electrolyte temperature and the operating state of the power engine are detected, and a digital computer calculates a control value for the generator based on the operating information. and a method for controlling the generator based on this control value, wherein the digital computer calculates the first value according to the electrolyte temperature of the battery or a temperature correlated to the electrolyte temperature; The load state of the power engine is divided in advance into a plurality of regions using at least two pieces of operating information indicating the operating state of the power engine, and the digital computer is configured to calculate the values of the at least two pieces of operating information. Determine which of the divided regions the load state of the power engine is in based on the divided region, obtain a predetermined second value for each divided region, and calculate at least the first value and the second value. A target adjusted voltage value is calculated as the control value according to the value, and the power generation state of the generator is controlled according to the deviation between the calculated control value and the terminal voltage of the battery or the value of the generated voltage. A power generation control method for a vehicle generator, characterized in that: