JPH0217064B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a new vehicle measuring device, and in particular, it is highly accurate in determining the amount of remaining fuel, which is data necessary to calculate the distance that can be traveled with remaining fuel. When refueling, the remaining fuel amount can be accurately corrected according to the amount of refueling, and even if an error occurs in the correction operation, the value stored as the remaining fuel amount will be used to ensure that the fuel tank is full. The object of the present invention is to provide a new vehicle measuring device that prevents the amount from being exceeded.

BACKGROUND ART When driving a car, motorcycle, etc., it is important to always know not only the speed, but also the travel time, travel distance, and even the so-called remaining travel distance, that is, the distance that can be traveled with the remaining fuel. Preferably, it can be said that it is essential to accurately understand these things, especially in rallies.

Therefore, there is a demand not only in Japan but also in foreign countries for cars, motorcycles, etc. to be equipped with measuring devices that calculate not only speed but also travel time, travel distance, remaining travel distance, etc., and display the calculation results. There are also some products that meet this demand. Such measuring devices have a built-in microcomputer that processes data from internal timers, axle rotation speed sensors, remaining fuel amount sensors, etc. to calculate running time, mileage, remaining fuel, and fuel efficiency. , remaining travel distance, etc. are determined and displayed on a display.

By the way, in such a measuring device, the detection accuracy of the remaining fuel amount sensor that detects the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank is very low, and the measured value changes greatly due to vibrations while the vehicle is running. .
Therefore, there was a problem in that not only was there a large error in the displayed amount of remaining fuel, but also the reliability of the remaining drivable distance obtained by multiplying it by the fuel consumption was extremely low.

Therefore, the following attempts were made by the inventors of the present application. That is, a full tank sensor that detects whether or not the fuel tank is almost full is provided, and a fuel amount setting switch that changes the stored value of the remaining amount of fuel. If a push is made while a full tank detection signal indicating that the tank is almost full is being output, the memory value of the remaining fuel amount will be changed to the full tank amount, and if a push is made while a full tank detection signal is not being output, the fuel will be changed. The attempt is to provide a function to increase the stored value of the remaining amount by a predetermined amount, for example, 1 liter, each time it is pushed. In this case, when the fuel in the fuel tank becomes low and you refuel to fill the fuel tank, press the fuel amount setting switch after confirming that the fuel tank is full, and the memorized value of the remaining fuel amount will be reset. Switches to full tank level. In addition, if you have refilled the fuel tank in an amount that is less than full, check the refilled amount and press the fuel amount setting switch the number of times equivalent to the refilled amount. This value is approximately equal to the amount of fuel actually present in Therefore, the stored value of the remaining amount of fuel after refueling can be made accurate. If fuel is consumed by driving after refueling, the fuel consumption sensor detects the fuel consumption, and the detected fuel consumption is subtracted from the stored value of the remaining fuel amount. This allows the remaining amount of fuel to be calculated. Since the detection accuracy of the fuel consumption amount is high, the accuracy of the calculated remaining fuel amount is also high.

Therefore, when refueling, as long as you operate the fuel amount setting switch correctly according to the content of refueling, you can always accurately determine the remaining fuel amount, and by multiplying the remaining fuel amount by the fuel consumption. The remaining drivable distance obtained will also be accurate.

Problems with the Background Art However, the above-mentioned attempt by the inventor of the present application also had problems. It is easy to mistake the number of times the fuel amount setting switch is operated when refueling the fuel tank in an amount less than full, and if the number of operations is too large, the memorized value of the remaining fuel amount will be filled. The problem is that there is a risk of exceeding the amount of tan. In other words, if you refuel the fuel tank less than full, unless you operate the fuel amount setting switch a number of times according to the refueling amount, the stored value of the remaining fuel amount will not actually exist in the fuel tank. does not match the amount of fuel being used. On that point, refueling to fill up the fuel tank allows you to match the memorized value of the remaining fuel amount to the amount of fuel actually present in the fuel tank by simply operating the fuel amount setting switch once. This is very different from what you would do if you did it, and there is a possibility that you could make a mistake. Therefore, it is quite possible that the stored value of the remaining amount of fuel will be corrected to a value different from the amount of fuel actually remaining in the fuel tank due to an error in the number of times the fuel amount setting switch is set to refuel. If you accidentally operate the fuel amount setting switch too many times, the stored value of the remaining fuel amount may exceed the full amount of the fuel tank. A value obtained by multiplying the amount of remaining fuel exceeding the value by the fuel consumption may be displayed as the remaining drivable distance. As a result, there is a possibility that the remaining drivable distance may be displayed as a considerably longer distance than the actual distance that can be traveled with the remaining fuel, and there is a concern that the reliability of the displayed remaining drivable distance will be lowered. It was hot.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has a high accuracy of the remaining amount of fuel, which is the data necessary to calculate the distance that can be traveled with the remaining fuel, and moreover, when refueling. The remaining fuel amount can be accurately corrected according to the replenishment amount, and even if an error occurs in the correction operation, there is no risk that the value stored as the remaining fuel amount will exceed the full tank amount. The purpose of this invention is to provide a new vehicle measuring device that improves the reliability of remaining fuel amount data.

Summary of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle measuring device of the present invention includes a mileage sensor that detects the mileage, a fuel consumption sensor that detects the amount of fuel consumed, and a sensor that detects when the fuel tank is almost full. a full tank sensor that generates a tank detection signal, a fuel amount setting switch, and a remaining fuel amount storage section that subtracts the fuel consumption amount detected by the fuel consumption amount sensor from the stored value when the fuel is consumed; a measurement calculation unit that performs various calculations including calculations of the remaining fuel amount and the distance that can be traveled with the remaining fuel by processing signals from the sensors, the fuel amount setting switch, and the remaining fuel storage unit; A vehicle measuring device comprising a display section that displays the results of calculations by the measurement calculation section, and a display mode changeover switch that switches the type of calculation results displayed by the display section, wherein the display mode changeover switch A fuel that can switch the type of measurement calculation result displayed on the display section by operating the display section, and can arbitrarily increase the value of the remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage section by a predetermined fuel amount unit. An additional correction mode can be realized, and when the fuel amount setting switch is pressed while a full tank detection signal is being generated from a full tank sensor in a mode in which the remaining fuel amount is displayed, It has the function of setting the remaining fuel amount storage unit to a full tank storage state, and in the fuel addition correction mode, the function of increasing the remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage unit by a predetermined amount each time it is pushed. At the same time, it compares the amount of fuel consumed from the time the fuel tank was filled up to the present with the amount that was to be increased by operating the fuel amount setting switch of the stored value of the remaining amount of fuel. If the amount to be increased exceeds the fuel consumption amount, the increase in the memory value of the remaining fuel amount is prohibited for the excess amount, and the fuel amount setting switch in the fuel addition correction mode is The present invention is characterized in that the remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage section does not exceed the full amount of the fuel tank no matter how many times the operation is performed.

Embodiments Below, the vehicle measuring device of the present invention will be described in detail according to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

The drawing is a circuit block diagram showing an example of the implementation of the vehicle measuring device of the present invention, and in the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a microcomputer that performs measurement calculations according to a predetermined program. 2 is a central processing unit (CPU) that executes each process necessary for measurement calculation and display of measurement calculation results according to a predetermined program;
A read-only memory (ROM) stores programs executed by the CPU 2 and other necessary basic storage items, and 4 receives signals from various sensors and various switches, which will be described later, as well as intermediate data obtained from the signals and measurement calculations. Random access memory (RAM) to store results etc. as needed
It has a fuel remaining storage area as one area for storing the remaining amount of fuel. Reference numeral 5 denotes an input circuit that takes in signals from sensors and switches, which will be described later, and sends them to the CPU 2 and RAM 4 as appropriate. Reference numeral 6 denotes an output circuit that stores a signal indicating a measurement calculation result to be displayed on the display device 7 and sends the signal to the display device 7. The display device 7 is, for example, a liquid crystal type device, and displays the measurement calculation results stored in the output circuit 6. 8 is the above CPU2, ROM3,
Address bus 9 connects RAM 4, input circuit 5, and output circuit 6 to each other, and 9 is also a data bus.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a mileage sensor, which sends a one-pulse axle rotation detection signal to the input circuit 5 of the microcomputer 1 every time the axle of the vehicle rotates once. The microcomputer 1 can calculate the traveling distance by multiplying the number of pulses of the axle circuit detection signal by the traveling distance per one revolution of the axle. Reference numeral 11 denotes a fuel consumption sensor installed in the oil passage from the fuel tank to the engine, which sends a one-pulse fuel consumption signal to the input circuit 5 every time a certain minute amount of oil is fed. Therefore, the amount of fuel consumed can be determined by the microcomputer 1 by multiplying the number of pulses of the fuel consumption signal by the amount of oil fed per pulse. Reference numeral 12 denotes a full tank sensor installed in the fuel tank, which outputs a full tank signal when the fuel tank is full, that is, the tank is full, or when there is an amount relatively close to full remaining in the fuel tank, that is, when it can be said that the tank is almost full. is sent to the input circuit 5. It is difficult to make the detection accuracy of the full tank sensor 12 sufficiently high, and therefore, even if only about 95% of the tank capacity remains, the full tank sensor 12 cannot be detected by vibrations of the vehicle to indicate that the tank is full. A signal may be generated.

SW1 to SW5 are switches connected to the microcomputer 1, and SW1 is an ignition switch. When this switch is turned on, the transistor Q inside the microcomputer 1 is turned on, and a ground level signal is input to the input circuit 5. Thereby, the microcomputer 1 is brought into a predetermined initial state. R, R, and R are resistors forming a transistor circuit. When the microcomputer 1 enters its initial state, it sends a signal indicating the measurement calculation result of one type stored in the random access memory (RAM) 4 to the output circuit 6, and displays the measurement calculation result on the display device 7. Perform processing such as displaying. SW2 is a start/step switch that utilizes the stopwatch function of the microcomputer 1 to start or stop time measurement. This start/step switch SW2 functions to stop the measurement calculation when the stop watch is performing measurement calculation and is pressed while it is displayed, and restarts the measurement calculation when it is pushed while the stop watch is in the stopped state. It works to make things happen. SW3 is a mode changeover switch, and when pushed, the type of measurement calculation results displayed on the display device 7 can be changed in a fixed order. The modes that can be realized by operating this mode changeover switch SW3 include driving time display mode, mileage display mode, average fuel consumption display mode, average vehicle speed display mode,
In addition to the remaining fuel display mode, there is a fuel addition correction mode. SW4 is a reset switch, and when pushed, it resets the contents of measurement calculation results for travel distance, travel time, average fuel consumption, average vehicle speed, etc. to ``0'' and starts measurement calculations for those items again. . What is reset by the operation of the reset switch SW4 is the measurement calculation result of the type selected and displayed by the operation of the mode changeover switch SW3. Therefore, if you want to reset the mileage, for example, and a type of measurement calculation result other than the mileage is being displayed, you can reset it after switching to the state where the mileage is displayed by operating the mode changeover switch SW3. It is necessary to push switch SW4. In addition, reset switch SW
What can be reset by the operation in step 4 is limited to certain types of measurement and calculation results such as mileage, travel time, average fuel consumption, average vehicle speed, etc., and the memory of fuel consumption, remaining fuel amount, etc. The contents cannot be reset by operating the reset switch SW4.

SW5 is a fuel amount setting switch, which performs different functions depending on the content of the detection signal from the full tank sensor 12. That is, first, when a full tank detection signal is output from the full tank sensor 12 (this means that the fuel tank is full of fuel or an amount relatively close to it, for example, 95% of the tank capacity). % or more remaining), it functions to rewrite the value of the remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage area of the random access memory (RAM) 4 to the full amount. Note that the fuel amount setting switch SW5 performs this function only when the measuring device is in a mode for displaying fuel consumption.

Second, when the full tank detection signal is not output from the full tank sensor 12 (this means that the amount remaining in the fuel tank is less than the amount that can be said to be approximately full), the fuel amount setting switch SW5 Each time it is pushed, the value of the stored content of the remaining fuel amount storage area is increased by a predetermined amount of fuel, for example, 1 liter. In addition, switch SW5
This function is limited to when the measuring device is in fuel addition correction mode. In the fuel addition correction mode, when the switch SW5 is pressed, the number of times is displayed on the display device 7.

However, when refilling to fill the fuel tank, the fuel amount setting switch SW5 will be pressed once after confirming that the tank is full. By pressing the fuel amount setting switch SW5 a number of times according to the amount of replenishment, the amount of fuel actually remaining in the tank is always stored extremely accurately in the remaining fuel amount storage area of the random access memory (RAM) 4. You can do it like this.

This vehicle measurement device always stores the fuel consumption amount from the time the fuel tank was filled until the present time, and when in the fuel addition correction mode, the fuel amount setting switch
When SW5 is operated, the above fuel consumption and
Fuel amount setting switch SW5 for memory value of remaining fuel amount
A comparison is made with the amount of fuel that was to be increased by the operation. When the amount of fuel to be increased exceeds the fuel consumption amount, the stored value of the remaining fuel amount is increased within a range that does not exceed the fuel consumption amount. This is done in order to prevent the stored value of the remaining fuel amount from exceeding the full amount of the fuel tank due to an incorrect operation of the fuel amount setting switch SW5.

That is, after refueling the fuel tank so that it is not full, operate the mode changeover switch SW3 to set the fuel addition correction mode, and operate the fuel amount setting switch SW5 to change the memory value of the remaining fuel amount (RAM).
When attempting to increase the value of the remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage area (No. 4) by the amount of refueling, the number of operations may be incorrect. If the number of operations is incorrect, there is a possibility that the stored value of the remaining amount of fuel may exceed the full amount of the fuel tank.
In such a case, the value of the remaining travelable distance calculated by multiplying the remaining amount of fuel by the fuel consumption may be significantly larger than the distance that can actually be traveled with the remaining fuel. Therefore, as described above, the stored value of the remaining amount of fuel is prevented from exceeding the full amount of the fuel tank.

Function (1) When the ignition switch SW1 is turned on to start the engine, the microcomputer 1 enters a predetermined initial state, and selects a predetermined value among various measurement calculation results stored in the random access memory (RAM) 4. The measurement calculation results of the types are loaded to the output circuit 6. The loaded measurement calculation results are then displayed on the display device 7. At the same time, specific measurement calculations for determining fuel consumption, remaining fuel amount, etc. are started.

Then, each time the mode changeover switch SW3 is pressed, different types of measurement calculation results are loaded from the random access memory (RAM) 4 to the output circuit 6, and the types of measurement calculation results displayed on the display device 7 are changed. Switching occurs according to a predetermined order.

Incidentally, fuel is consumed even during idling, and each time a predetermined minute amount is consumed, a fuel consumption signal is sent one pulse at a time from the fuel consumption sensor 11 to the input circuit 5 of the microcomputer 1.
Input circuit 5 in microcomputer 1
The number of pulses of the fuel consumption signal input to is counted. And mode change switch SW3
When the fuel consumption display mode is set by pressing the button, the display device 7 displays the fuel consumption amount obtained by multiplying the count number by the fuel consumption amount per one pulse of the fuel consumption signal. . Further, when the fuel is consumed, the fuel consumption amount is subtracted from the value of the remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage area of the random access memory (RAM) 4.

(2) When the vehicle finishes idling and starts running, an axle rotation detection signal is input from the mileage sensor 11 to the microcomputer 1. When the axle rotation detection signal is input, the number of input pulses of the axle rotation detection signal is counted in the microcomputer 1, and the mode changeover switch is activated.
When the SW 3 is operated to set the travel distance display mode, the display device 7 displays a value obtained by multiplying the count number by the travel distance per one revolution of the axle. Incidentally, fuel efficiency is calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the amount of fuel consumed, and the remaining travel distance is calculated based on the remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage area of random access memory (RAM) 4. Calculated by multiplying fuel consumption.

(3) When measuring time with a stopwatch, operate the mode changeover switch SW3 to display the stopwatch, and then press the start/step switch SW2. Then, the stopwatch starts measuring time. And that switch
Push SW2 again to stop time measurement. After that, when the switch SW2 is further pushed, time measurement is restarted.

In addition, by pushing the reset switch SW4, the contents of the measurement calculation results regarding travel distance, travel time, average vehicle speed, etc. are cleared.
Measurement calculations can be started again for these items.

(4) When the amount of remaining fuel is low and you refuel at a gas station, it is normal to stop the engine. Then, when the ignition switch SW1 is turned off to stop the engine, the microcomputer 1 stops measurement calculations. However, the microcomputer 1 always has a power supply voltage E
The various measurement calculation results stored in the random access memory (RAM) 4 are held without being cleared. However, no display is performed on the display device 7.

After refueling, turn on ignition switch SW1. If the refueling is to fill up the fuel tank, the full tank sensor 11 generates a full tank detection signal. When the fuel tank is refilled in this way, the value of the remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage area of the random access memory (RAM) 4 is used to fill up the fuel tank. You need to change the amount. To change the stored value of the remaining fuel amount to the full tank amount, press the mode changeover switch SW3 to switch to the remaining fuel amount display mode, and then press the fuel amount setting switch.
Push SW5 once. Then, the full amount of the fuel tank previously stored in, for example, the read-only memory ROM3 is loaded into the remaining fuel amount storage area of the random access memory (RAM4). Therefore, the stored value of the remaining fuel amount is switched to the full tank amount.

Furthermore, if the fuel replenishment is insufficient to fill the fuel tank, no full tank detection signal is generated. In this way, if you replenish the tank less than the full tank, press the mode selector switch SW.
3 to enter the fuel addition correction mode, and push the fuel amount setting switch SW5 a number of times according to the amount of refueling. Then, when the fuel amount setting switch SW5 is in the state where the full tank detection signal is not generated and the fuel addition correction mode is set, each time it is pushed, the stored value of the remaining fuel amount is changed by a predetermined amount, for example, 1 liter. For example, when refilling 10 liters of fuel, push the fuel amount setting switch SW5 the number of times corresponding to the replenishment amount, e.g. 10 times, and the memorized value of the remaining fuel amount will be equal to the full tank amount, e.g. 10. The amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank is increased by 1 liter to a value that approximately matches the amount actually remaining in the fuel tank.

By the way, if you accidentally push the fuel amount setting switch SW5 more times than the number of times corresponding to the replenishment amount at this time, an amount greater than the actual remaining fuel amount will be displayed as the remaining fuel amount in the random access memory (RAM) 4. It will be stored in the volume storage area. However, as mentioned above, if the fuel amount setting switch SW5 is pushed during the fuel addition correction mode, the amount of fuel consumed from the time the fuel tank was filled up to the present, and the amount of remaining fuel will be calculated. The stored value is compared with the amount to be increased by operating the fuel amount setting switch SW5, and if the amount to be increased exceeds the above fuel consumption amount, the remaining amount of fuel is It is prohibited to increase the memory value of . Therefore, no matter how many times the fuel amount setting switch SW5 is operated, there is no risk that the remaining fuel amount stored value will exceed the full amount of the fuel tank. Therefore, even if an erroneous operation is performed, the situation where the stored value of the remaining fuel amount becomes abnormally large and the value of the remaining drivable distance obtained by multiplying it by the fuel consumption becomes an abnormally large value can be avoided. be able to.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the vehicle measuring device of the present invention includes a mileage sensor that detects the mileage, a fuel consumption sensor that detects the amount of fuel consumed, and a sensor that detects when the fuel tank is almost full. a full tank sensor that generates a tank detection signal, a fuel amount setting switch, and a remaining fuel amount storage section that subtracts the fuel consumption amount detected by the fuel consumption amount sensor from the stored value when the fuel is consumed; a measurement calculation unit that performs various calculations including calculations of the remaining fuel amount and the distance that can be traveled with the remaining fuel by processing signals from the sensors, the fuel amount setting switch, and the remaining fuel storage unit; a display section that displays the results of calculations by the measurement calculation section; a display mode changeover switch that switches the type of calculation results displayed by the display section;
A measuring device for a vehicle comprising: a type of measurement calculation result to be displayed on the display section by operating the display mode changeover switch; It is possible to realize a fuel addition correction mode in which the value of the remaining amount can be arbitrarily increased by a predetermined fuel amount unit, and the fuel amount setting switch is set to the full tank sensor when in the mode in which the remaining amount of fuel is displayed. When a push is made while a full tank detection signal is being generated, the remaining fuel amount storage section functions to set the remaining fuel amount storage section to a full tank storage state, and in the fuel addition correction mode, each time a push is made, the remaining fuel amount is changed. It functions to increase the remaining fuel amount stored in the storage unit by a predetermined amount, and also sets the fuel amount for the stored values of fuel consumption and remaining fuel amount from the time the fuel tank was filled to the present. Compare the amount to be increased by operating the switch, and if the amount to be increased exceeds the fuel consumption amount, the memory value of the remaining fuel amount will be prohibited from increasing by the excess amount. The remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage section does not exceed the full amount of the fuel tank, no matter how many times the fuel amount setting switch is operated in the fuel addition correction mode. It is characterized by

Therefore, according to the vehicle measuring device of the present invention, the accuracy of the remaining amount of fuel, which is the data necessary to calculate the distance that can be traveled with the remaining fuel, is extremely high, and when refueling is performed, the amount of refueling is very high. The remaining amount of fuel can be accurately corrected according to the amount of fuel remaining, and even if an error occurs in the correcting operation, there is no risk that the value stored as the remaining amount of fuel will exceed the full amount of the fuel tank. This makes it possible to increase the reliability of the displayed values of the remaining amount of fuel and remaining travel distance.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawing is a circuit block diagram showing an example of the implementation of the vehicle measuring device of the present invention. Explanation of symbols, 2, 3, 4...Measurement calculation section, 7...
... Display section, 10 ... Mileage sensor, 11 ... Fuel consumption sensor, 12 ... Full tank sensor, SW3
...Display mode changeover switch, SW5 ...Fuel amount setting switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mileage sensor that detects mileage, a fuel consumption sensor that detects fuel consumption, a full tank sensor that generates a full tank detection signal when the fuel tank is almost full, a fuel amount setting switch, and a fuel amount sensor that detects fuel consumption. a remaining fuel amount storage unit that subtracts the fuel consumption amount detected by the fuel consumption amount sensor from the stored value when the amount of fuel consumption is consumed; a measurement calculation unit that performs various calculations, including calculations for calculating the remaining amount of fuel and the distance that can be traveled with the remaining fuel by processing the signal; a display unit that displays the results of calculations by the measurement calculation unit; and the display unit. a display mode switch for switching the type of calculation results displayed by the section;
A measuring device for a vehicle comprising: a type of measurement calculation result to be displayed on the display section by operating the display mode changeover switch; It is possible to realize a fuel addition correction mode in which the value of the remaining amount can be arbitrarily increased by a predetermined fuel amount unit, and the fuel amount setting switch is set to the full tank sensor when in the mode in which the remaining amount of fuel is displayed. When a push is made while a full tank detection signal is being generated, the remaining fuel amount storage section functions to set the remaining fuel amount storage section to a full tank storage state, and in the fuel addition correction mode, each time a push is made, the remaining fuel amount is changed. It functions to increase the remaining fuel amount stored in the storage unit by a predetermined amount, and also sets the fuel amount for the stored values of fuel consumption and remaining fuel amount from the time the fuel tank was filled to the present. Compare the amount to be increased by operating the switch, and if the amount to be increased exceeds the fuel consumption amount, the memory value of the remaining fuel amount will be prohibited from increasing by the excess amount. The remaining fuel amount stored in the remaining fuel amount storage section does not exceed the full amount of the fuel tank, no matter how many times the fuel amount setting switch is operated in the fuel addition correction mode. A vehicle measuring device featuring: