JPH03151567A - Engine starting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent self-discharge at a condensor for driving a startermotor by means of electric charge so as to enhance the starting characteristic of an engine by monitoring the charged condition of the condensor when it is detected that a driver sits on a seat, and controlling charging of the condensor. CONSTITUTION:When a driver opens the door to ride in a car the contact 31 of a door switch is closed and electricity is transmitted from a battery 1 to a transistor TR34 via a relay 2 and a door switch 31, etc., so that the TR34 is turned on to start charging of the condensor 5 via a relay 6. When the charging voltage of the condensor 5 is heightened to more than a complete charge diagnosis voltage the output of a comparator 82 is reversed and the TR34 and 86 are turned off so that the start of the engine is possible. During running of the car, the NO contact of the relay 2 is kept closed via a seat switch 30 which is turned on when a driver sits on the seat, and the charged condition of the condensor 5 is continuously monitored and the condensor 5 is charged to fixed voltage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an engine starting device that starts an automobile engine in conjunction with a starter switch.

(Prior Art) In a typical automobile, a battery such as a lead-acid battery is charged by a generator (alternator) while the automobile is running in order to supply a large amount of electric power to a starter motor for starting the engine. However, as a lead-acid battery is used, its internal resistance increases and self-discharge increases, so its lifespan is said to be approximately one year. If such an old battery is used, a large current cannot be supplied to the starter motor when starting the engine, resulting in what is called a dead battery.

Therefore, the inventors adopted a large-capacity capacitor in the power supply circuit, and the charge stored in the battery is gradually stored in the capacitor regardless of the state of charge of the battery, and the charge stored in the capacitor is discharged when the engine is started. A patent application has already been filed for the invention of a power supply device that instantaneously controls discharge and drives a starter motor (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-32).
No. 9846), and in the invention according to this application, the capacitor and the battery are connected in parallel.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, even when the capacitor is fully charged, a small amount of leakage current flows through the capacitor. For this reason, in the above-mentioned prior invention device, the battery is always connected to the capacitor, so even if no other load is connected to the battery, battery drain occurs due to leakage current of the capacitor. There was a problem.

The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide an engine starting device that can reliably and quickly start or restart an engine by minimizing self-discharge in a large-capacity capacitor.

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to the present invention, in an engine starting device that uses electric power charged in a capacitor from an on-board battery to drive a starter motor, it is detected whether or not a driver is seated in a vehicle seat. An engine starting device is provided, characterized in that the engine starting device is equipped with a detection means for detecting a seating position, and a charging control means activated by the detection signal to monitor and control the state of charge of the capacitor, and further comprising a detection means for detecting seating from the detection means. It is possible to provide an engine starting device further comprising a detection means for detecting opening/closing of a vehicle door in the absence of a signal, and a charging means for charging the capacitor to a predetermined voltage based on the detection signal.

(Function) In the engine starting device of the present invention, the capacitor is connected to the power supply means and charged to a predetermined voltage immediately before starting the engine, and furthermore, the capacitor is constantly charged to the predetermined voltage even while the driver is seated. Then, the electric charge stored in the capacitor is discharged to the starter motor.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an engine starting device that causes a starter motor M to discharge the electric charge accumulated in a capacitor C to drive the starter motor.As shown in FIG. Switch S just before To
W2 is turned on to connect the capacitor C to the power supply means B, and when the rice is charged to a predetermined voltage Cs, the paddy (Tl) is turned on. Furthermore, the switch SWt is turned on to discharge the electric charge stored in the capacitor C to the starter motor. ing.

FIG. 3 shows an engine starting device having a structure in which the connection between the power supply means B and the capacitor C is kept open at all times by the switch SW=. In this case, switch SW3 is turned on at timing To to connect capacitor C to the power supply means, and when the capacitor C is charged to a predetermined voltage Cs (T1), switch SW3 is opened to separate power supply means B from capacitor C. Then, the switch SWi is turned on to discharge the charge stored in the capacitor C to the starter motor.

Further, in the engine starting device of the present invention, the switch sw2, the switch S
Not only does W3 etc. turn on and start charging at the timing of opening the door when the driver gets in the car, prior to turning on the key switch, but also changes the state of charge of the capacitor if the driver is seated. By monitoring and controlling charging, the waiting time for the driver to start the engine is shortened, and
The engine can be started repeatedly while the driver remains in the vehicle.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the engine starting device of the present invention, and shows the states of the switches and relays when the vehicle is parked, that is, before the driver gets into the vehicle.

A battery 1, which serves as a power supply means for accumulating electric charge in a capacitor, is connected to a generator (ACG: alternator) 11 driven by an engine, and is charged by converting the electric power generated there into direct current. It is also connected to other electrical loads of the vehicle via the switch 12. 2 is a relay that is activated when the seat switch 30 is turned on, and the movable piece 21 and the electromagnetic coil 22 are connected to the + side line 41 of the battery 1. This movable piece 21
has a No contact that is turned on by the electromagnetic force of the electromagnetic coil 22, and an NC contact that is normally turned on. Of these, the NC contact side has a door contact that detects when the driver enters the vehicle. A switch 31 is connected.

The seat switch 30 is configured, for example, as a relay having a normally open contact point in order to detect whether the driver is seated on the vehicle seat. Further, the door switch 31 is provided on the door so as to be turned on when the door of the vehicle is open. This door switch 31 is connected to a switching transistor 34 via a forward-connected diode 32 and a resistor 33.
The base is connected.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a large-capacity capacitor, which is, for example, a larger-sized electric multilayer capacitor used as a backup power source for electronic devices for vehicles. This capacitor 5 has one electrode connected to a child of the battery 1 via a relay contact 61 of a relay 6, and the other electrode connected to a ground line 42.
This relay 6, which corresponds to SW3 in FIG. 3, keeps the connection to the capacitor open at all times, and has a capacitance of, for example, 10F (Farad). A connection point between the capacitor 5 and the relay 6 is connected to a starter unit 7.

The movable piece 61 constituting the switch of this relay 6 is a normally open contact (N
, O,), and the capacitor 5 and the charging control circuit 8, which will be described later, are electrically cut off from the battery 1, and the two are electrically separated during times other than charging operations. One end of the electromagnetic coil 62 is grounded to the battery 1, and the other end is grounded via the collector and emitter of the switching transistor 34. Further, the starter unit 7 includes a starter relay 71, a starter motor 72, and a starter coil 73.
The capacitor 5 is connected via this starter relay 71.
is connected to the starter motor 72, and the intermediate terminal of the starter coil 73 is connected to the starter switch 13 which is operated by the driver in the same way as the key switch 21 described above.

8 is the + side line 41 of battery 1 and relay 2 or 6
This is the charging control circuit connected via the diode 8
0 prevents the charging current from constantly flowing from the relay 2 to the capacitor 5 while the seat switch 30 is on. This charging control circuit 8 includes a constant voltage power supply circuit 8
1 and a comparator 82, and monitors and controls the charging state of the capacitor 5, and charges the capacitor 5 to a predetermined voltage based on a detection signal output from the comparator 82. That is, this comparator 82 has the charging voltage Vc of the capacitor 5 on its negative side.
is supplied, and a reference voltage V ref formed by a series circuit of resistors 83 and 84 is supplied to its + side.

Further, the output terminal of this comparator 82 is connected to the base of a switching transistor 86 via a resistor 85, and is also connected to the base of a switching transistor 34 via a forward-connected diode 35 and the resistor 33. There is.

Note that 87 is a charging indicator lamp, and a transistor 86
is connected to the collector side of the This transistor 86
Since the on state is maintained until the capacitor 5 is charged to a predetermined set voltage, the charging indicator lamp 87 is lit while the transistor 86 is on, and is turned off when the charging is finished, so that the driver is not informed. It can notify you when charging is complete.

Next, the operation of the engine starting device having the above configuration will be explained.

When the driver opens the door to get into the vehicle, the contact 31 of the door switch is turned on. In this state, the driver has not yet sat in the vehicle seat, so the seat switch 30 is off. In other words, since the NC contact of relay 2 is in the on state, from battery 1 to relay 2 and door switch 3
1 flows to the transistor 34, which turns on, the relay 6 operates, and the relay contact 61 turns on. In this way, when the driver's entry is detected, charging of the capacitor 5 is started via the relay 6, and power is also supplied to the constant voltage power supply circuit 81.

While the capacitor 5 is not charged, the voltage Vc across the capacitor 5 is lower than the full charge determination voltage V ref of the comparator 82 . Therefore, the comparator 82 outputs a voltage that is approximately equal to the output voltage of the constant voltage power supply circuit 81.

As a result, ON signals are output to switching transistors 34 and 86. Therefore, after this,
Even if the door is closed, the door switch 31 is turned off,
The switching transistor 34 is maintained in the on state by the output signal of the comparator 82, and the operation of the relay 6 continues.

Note that the full charge determination voltage V ref can be changed manually or automatically by the driver depending on the external environment of the vehicle by configuring the resistor 83 or 84 as a variable resistor.

When charging of the capacitor 5 is completed, the charging voltage Vc of the capacitor 5 becomes higher than the full charge determination voltage V ref, and the output of the comparator 82 is inverted. This turns off switching transistors 34 and 86. As a result, relay 6 is deactivated and capacitor 5
Charging is completed, and power supply to the constant voltage power supply circuit 81 is also stopped. In addition, the switching transistor 86
When the battery is turned off, the charging indicator lamp 87 goes out, indicating that the battery is fully charged, and notifying the driver that preparations for starting the engine are complete. Therefore, when the driver turns on the starter switch 13, the electric charge accumulated in the capacitor 5 is discharged, causing the starter motor 72 to rotate and starting the engine.

After that, while the vehicle is running with the driver seated, the seat switch 30 detects that the driver is sitting on the vehicle seat, and the No contact of the relay 2 remains on, so the constant voltage power supply From circuit 81 to comparator 82
The state of charge of the capacitor 5 is continuously monitored.

In other words, it is possible to operate the relay 6 regardless of the state of the door switch 31 and charge the capacitor 5 to a constant voltage. As a result, even if the engine of a vehicle being driven is temporarily stopped and restarted due to traffic jams, etc., the driver remains seated, that is, without the driver getting out of the vehicle and activating the door switch 31. , the engine can be restarted by capacitor 5, or - once capacitor 5
By supplying the discharge current to the starter motor 72, even when the engine does not start, it is possible to smoothly restart the engine.

In this way, even when an electric double layer capacitor with a large self-discharge current is used as a power source for engine starting, the capacitance value does not increase that much, and therefore its volume
To quickly and reliably drive a starter motor to start an engine without increasing weight and regardless of whether a driver gets on or off.

In addition, when the driver is not seated, charging of the capacitor is started by opening the door, and the capacitor is recharged even when the driver does not get out of the vehicle, so the driver can easily turn on the starter to start the engine. When the switch is turned on, the capacitor is always fully charged, so
This makes it possible to quickly start or restart the engine.

Furthermore, when the car is parked, charging of the capacitor is started when the driver operates the door when getting out of the car, but after full charging, the charging control circuit including the capacitor must be disconnected from the battery. Also, battery drain due to leakage current or dark current is reliably prevented.

As above, this invention has been described in some detail with respect to its most preferred embodiment, but the description of the preferred embodiment does not include variations in detailed parts of the configuration or contrary to the spirit of the invention as described in the claims. It is clear that various modifications or combinations thereof may be made.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, even when an electric double layer capacitor with a large self-discharge current is used as a power source for starting an engine, the capacitance value can be maintained without increasing so much. without increasing volume or weight.
To provide an engine starting device that detects the seating of a driver on a vehicle seat, quickly drives a starter motor to start the engine, and does not become unable to start due to a dead battery.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an engine starting device, and FIG.
3 is a diagram illustrating its operation, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an engine starting device having a structure in which the connection between the power supply means and the capacitor is kept open at all times by an opening/closing means, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an engine starting device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the device. 1...Battery, 2.6...Relay 30...Seat switch, 31...Door switch, 5...Conductor 7...Starter unit, 72...Starter motor 82...Comparator, 7...Charging display run

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An engine starting device that drives a starter motor using electric power charged in a capacitor from an on-board battery includes a detection means for detecting whether or not a driver is seated in a vehicle seat, and a detection means that is activated by this detection signal. An engine starting device comprising: charge control means for monitoring and controlling the state of charge of the capacitor. (2) A claim characterized in that it comprises a detection means for detecting the opening and closing of a vehicle door in a state where there is no seating detection signal from the detection means, and a charging means for charging the capacitor to a predetermined voltage using this detection signal. The engine starting device according to item (1). (3) A cut-off means is provided for electrically cutting off the capacitor and the charging control means from the on-board battery, and the two are electrically separated during non-charging operations. 2) The engine starting device according to item 2).