JPH05231188A - Throttle controller for engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the fail-safe and self traveling performance by the simple mechanism when a throttle actuator (motor) and its control part are damaged. CONSTITUTION:A throttle shaft 2 is equipped with a torque one-way cltuch 10 for transmitting the torque of a motor 12 to the shaft 2 (not torque- transmitted from the shaft 2 to the motor 12 side) and a throttle lever 4. The throttle lever 4 is divided into the levers A and B, and the lever A is fitted in turnable manner on the shaft 2, connected with an accelerator 9 through a wire 8, and urged by a return spring 7. The lever B is connected with the lever A fixed on the shaft 2 by a spring 5. In the normal operation, a torque is transmitted from the motor side to the shaft 2, while if a motor or a control system is in trouble, the turning torque of the lever A due to the accelerator operation is transmitted to the lever B and the shaft 2 through the spring 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an engine throttle control device, and more particularly to a throttle control device having an electronically controlled throttle actuator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a throttle device for controlling the intake air amount of an engine, a throttle control signal (target set opening degree) suitable for operating conditions is based on data of various sensors in addition to a sensor signal related to an accelerator pedal depression amount. A so-called electronically controlled throttle control device has been put into practical use, in which a signal) is generated from an engine controller, and a throttle actuator (motor) is drive-controlled by this control signal to control the opening of a throttle valve.

This type of throttle control device is a fail-safe measure against a failure of the throttle actuator (for example, motor lock, etc.) and a failure of its control system (for example, inoperability, runaway, etc.), and is an emergency measure when the electronically controlled throttle system fails. It is required to have a self-driving function that can control the throttle valve by manual operation.

Therefore, in the past, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-14
By using a differential gear mechanism using several types of gears disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0436, it is possible to control the intake air amount to the engine by both drive systems of a throttle actuator and an accelerator pedal (self-driving). And a mechanism using a gear and a link together as disclosed in JP-A-2-27123 to achieve the same object, and JP-A-1-27123.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 96435, an operation plate that interlocks with an accelerator pedal and a wire is provided on a clutch shaft that interlocks with a throttle shaft through a torque one-way clutch, and a power transmission gear mechanism of a motor is provided.
It has been proposed that the power transmission gear mechanism and the operation plate are selectively connected (selectively switching between a throttle actuator and self-driving) by an electromagnetic clutch.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-102330, a throttle shaft interlocked with a motor has a simplified mechanism as compared with the above-mentioned prior art.
There is one in which a torque one-way clutch is added, the outer clutch of the torque one-way clutch is wire-connected to the accelerator pedal, and the inner clutch side is fixed to the throttle shaft. In the torque one-way clutch, power is transmitted only from the clutch outer side to the clutch inner side, and torque is not transmitted from the clutch inner side to the clutch outer side. In this system, the opening of the throttle valve is usually controlled by the motor, and when the electronic throttle control system fails and the motor stops, the power of the accelerator pedal is transmitted to the throttle shaft via the torque one-way clutch. Enables self-driving.

The above-mentioned various prior arts are provided with a circuit for judging a failure in the throttle electronic control system, which shuts off the power supply of the throttle actuator (fail safe), and thereafter. Consideration is given to switching to the self-driving function.

[0007]

As described above, various techniques for fail protection and self-propelled traveling have been proposed. Among them, when a plurality of gears such as an operating gear mechanism is used, the mechanism is complicated. In addition, since the reduction ratio becomes large, the control speed of the throttle valve tends to be delayed. This appears as a feeling of rattling when the vehicle is suddenly accelerated or decelerated. In addition, in addition, a mechanism using a gear or a link or a combination of a torque one-way clutch and an electromagnetic clutch mechanism has a complicated mechanism, which does not satisfy the downsizing of the device or increases the cost.

On the other hand, the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-102330 enables the vehicle to run by itself when the control system fails by a simple mechanism using only the torque one-way clutch without using the electromagnetic clutch mechanism. However, in this case, the control speed as described above does not slow down, but if the motor that controls the throttle valve is locked,
There is a problem that fail-safe that can safely drive the vehicle is not established.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is a simple structure, and even if a failure occurs in a throttle control system (including a motor), its fail-safe can be guaranteed, and An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic throttle control device which is excellent in operation responsiveness and guarantees a self-propelled traveling function over the entire throttle valve opening.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention basically proposes the following problem solving means. In order to facilitate understanding of the contents, reference will be made to the reference numerals of the embodiment shown in FIG.

That is, according to the present invention, the throttle device has a motor 12 driven by a throttle control signal 13a of a controller 13, and the output torque of the motor 12 is applied to the shaft (throttle shaft) 2 of the throttle valve 3. A torque one-way clutch 10 having a mechanism for transmitting the rotational torque from the throttle shaft 2 side to the motor 12 side is provided, and the throttle lever 4 is connected to the lever A and the lever B.
The lever A is connected to the accelerator pedal 9 and the wire 8 and fitted on the shaft 2 so as to rotate on the throttle shaft 2. The lever A is biased by the spring force of the return spring 7, while The lever B is fixed to the throttle shaft 2 and is coupled to the lever A via a spring 5, so that when the throttle shaft 2 is driven by a motor 12, a deviation of a rotation angle occurs between the lever A and the lever B. This is made possible by the rotation of the shaft 2 on the shaft 2 and the bending of the spring 5, and when the motor 12 becomes inoperable (stopped due to a control system or motor failure), the rotation torque of the lever A by the accelerator pedal operation is transmitted via the spring 5. The lever B is set so as to be transmitted to the throttle shaft 2.

[0012]

With the above structure, when the accelerator pedal 9 is depressed during normal operation, the throttle control signal (target set opening signal) 13a, which takes various electronic control elements into consideration in addition to the amount of depression, is transmitted to the controller (throttle control). unit)
The output torque of the motor 12 is transmitted to the throttle shaft 2 via the torque one-way clutch 10, which causes the throttle shaft 2 to rotate and the throttle valve 3 to be output. The opening (opening / closing) is controlled.

At this time, the lever A, which is connected to the accelerator pedal 9 by the wire 8, rotates on the throttle shaft 2 without being restrained by the shaft 2. It works in cooperation with 5 to maintain a good accelerator operation feeling for the driver. That is, the lever A rotates on the throttle shaft 2 by the pulling amount of the wire 8 by the accelerator operation, and between the lever A and the lever B, the rotation angle shifts (rotates on the shaft 2 when the motor is driven). Lever A and shaft 2
Since a bending angle of the spring 5 is allowed to occur due to independent rotation of the lever B which rotates integrally with the lever B, the throttle shaft 2 and the lever B fixed to the throttle shaft 2 output the output of the motor 12. Due to the torque, the lever A rotates without engaging with the lever A.

In this case, since the reduction ratio between the motor 12 and the torque one-way clutch 10 can be set small, the throttle opening control is guaranteed without sacrificing the control speed.

On the other hand, the motor 12 or the controller 1
If the power of the motor 12 is cut off (fail safe) in the case where a failure occurs in No. 3, the torque one-way clutch 10
The rollers function as bearings. As a result, the throttle shaft 2 can rotate without being restricted by the motor 12 side. Therefore, when the lever A is rotated via the wire 8 by an accelerator operation, the rotation torque is transmitted via the spring 5 to the lever B and thus to the throttle shaft 2. Transmitted to
The throttle valve opening can be controlled. At this time, there is no restriction on the throttle opening range, and the entire range can be covered by the accelerator wire drive, ensuring complete self-driving.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the throttle body 1 has
A throttle valve 3 for controlling the amount of intake air is installed while being supported by the throttle shaft 2.

A throttle lever 4 is provided at one end of the shaft 2. The throttle lever 4 is composed of a lever A, a lever B and a spring 5.

The lever A is fitted so as to be rotatable on the shaft 2, is connected to an accelerator pedal 9 via an accelerator wire 8, and is urged by a spring force of a return spring 7. Lever B is fixed to shaft 2 and lever A
Is connected via a spring 5. Further, in this embodiment, the locking piece b is integrally formed with the lever B, and when the throttle shaft 2 is not driven by the motor 12 described later, the locking piece b and one side a of the lever A (this side a is Is the side facing the closing side direction X of the throttle valve 3) due to the biasing force of the spring 5.

The motor 12 functions as a throttle actuator for driving and controlling the throttle valve 3 by a throttle control signal (target set opening signal) 13a output from the controller 13, and the output torque of the motor 12 is the other end of the throttle shaft 2 ( The torque is transmitted to the throttle shaft 2 via a torque one-way clutch 10 provided at the shaft end opposite to the throttle lever 4.

Motor 12 and torque one-way clutch 1
The detailed configuration of the relationship between 0 and the throttle shaft 2 will be described with reference to a sectional view of the torque one-way clutch portion in FIG. 2 and a front view of the torque one-way clutch in FIG.

The torque one-way clutch 10 comprises an inner clutch 10a, a ring spring 10b, a retainer 10c, an outer clutch 10d and a roller 10e.

The throttle shaft 2 projects toward the motor 12 via a ball bearing 14a provided on the body 1, and an inner clutch 10a is fixed to the projecting end thereof. A retainer 10c having a plurality of rollers 10e mounted thereon is fitted around the inner clutch 10a, and a ring spring 10b is fitted into a flange groove 10f of the retainer 10c.

The retainer 10c is made of a material having a small friction coefficient such as a resin material, and the ring spring 1
It is designed to keep the sliding resistance with 0b at a specified value. The retainer 10c is the inner clutch 10
Although it can rotate on a, the ring spring 10b
The pin 11 fixed to the throttle body 1 does not rotate so that it cannot rotate. Therefore, during operation, a relative speed is generated between the retainer 10c and the ring spring 10b to generate sliding resistance. An outer clutch 10d having a wedge shape 15 on the inside is incorporated in the outer periphery of the retainer 10c with the roller 10e. The outer clutch 10d includes a ball bearing 14
It has a structure of rotating on the throttle shaft 2 via b.

On the outer circumference of the outer clutch 10d, a gear 16 corresponding to the total rotation of the throttle valve 3 is formed. The gear 16 meshes with the shaft tip gear 12a of the motor 12, which is a drive source, and the torque to the shaft 2 side. Transmission and reduction ratio are set.

The operation and characteristics of the throttle control device of this embodiment will be described below.

From the throttle control unit 13, a target set opening signal 13a is given to the motor 12. The target set opening signal 13a is, for example, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 9 as well as other electronic control elements (for example, traction control, automatic cruise control, etc.) that match operating conditions.
Of the motor 1 based on various sensor signals.
2 produces an output torque corresponding to the signal 13a. The torque is transmitted by meshing between the shaft tip gear 12a and the outer clutch outer peripheral gear 16, and the outer clutch 10d rotates. The wedge shape 15 formed on the inner side by the rotation of the outer clutch 10d pushes the roller 10e inward in the direction of the throttle shaft 2 and the wedge effect formed between the inner clutch 10a and the plurality of rollers 10e causes the inner clutch to move. The throttle shaft 2 can be rotated by eating 10a.

At this time, the sliding resistance generated between the retainer 10c and the ring spring 10b is a main factor that determines the magnitude of the wedge effect, and the force with which the roller 10e can eat the inner clutch 10a is determined.

On the other hand, the lever A of the throttle lever 4 is
By operating the accelerator pedal 9, the throttle shaft 2
Turn up. However, when the motor 12 is driven, the throttle shaft 2 is restricted by the output torque transmitted from the motor 12 side.

Here, the rotation characteristic of the lever A with respect to the accelerator stroke and the throttle valve opening characteristic by motor control will be described with reference to FIG.

The throttle valve opening controlled by the motor can basically have a linear characteristic such as proportional to the accelerator stroke, and the throttle control signal value (target opening signal value) is independent of the accelerator stroke. ) Can be changed, it is possible to set various throttle opening control regions under the conditions described below.

For example, with respect to the lever A, by changing the length from the fulcrum of rotation of the lever A to the wire knot, it is possible to provide the rotation characteristic in conformity with the above, and to open the characteristic faster than the characteristic such as (The early opening characteristic here refers to the degree of advancement when the lever A rotates in a direction in which the rotation angle increases. When the valve is controlled by a motor, the lever A is irrelevant. It does not mean the actual valve opening, but it can be provided with the actual valve opening when the lever A, the spring 5 and the lever B are used for self-propelled driving by manual operation, which will be described later. ..

On the premise of this condition, if the rotation characteristic of the lever A is matched with the characteristic of, when the motor 12 is drive-controlled in proportion to the accelerator wire stroke (accelerator depression amount), the motor 12 is controlled by the motor 12. The rotation angle of the driven slot shaft 2 matches the rotation angle of the lever A driven by the accelerator wire 8.

In this case, the lever B has its locking piece b in contact with one side a of the lever A [state of FIG. 5 (a)].
Is held, so that the rotation angle of the throttle shaft 2 becomes larger than that of the lever A (Y direction) by motor control.
Even if an attempt is made to rotate the lever, it will hit the lever A and its movement will be restricted. However, from the positional relationship between the locking piece b of the lever B and the one side a of the lever A, it is possible to rotate the throttle shaft 2 in a direction smaller than the lever A (X direction) by motor control. is there.
That is, when the characteristic of the lever A is set to, the throttle opening controllable region (hereinafter, abbreviated as motor control region) obtained by motor control is a region closer to the closing side than the characteristic independent of the accelerator stroke. It becomes possible by [the portion shown by the diagonal lines in FIG. 4A). When the throttle control is performed in the closing side region in this case, a deviation of the rotation angle occurs between the lever A and the lever B, but the deviation of the rotation angle is allowed by the bending of the spring 5.

By setting the motor control area as described in (a) above, for example, traction control of the vehicle becomes possible.

Next, similarly to the above, the throttle valve opening by motor control can basically have a linear characteristic such as being proportional to the accelerator stroke, and the throttle control signal value ( It is also possible to change the target opening signal value). On the other hand, for lever A that is linked to the accelerator wire,
When the quick opening characteristic is provided, the rotation of the lever A precedes the rotation of the shaft 2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the locking piece b of the lever B and one side a of the lever A are connected. A gap (shift in rotation angle) occurs between the two. As a result, shaft 2
Can be rotated not only in the X direction (valve closing direction) but also in the Y direction (valve opening direction) within the range of the gap between the locking piece b and the side a.

Therefore, when the turning characteristic of the lever A is set, the motor control area is based on the linear line of, and in addition to the closing side area of (a), the opening side area surrounded by the line of and. (B) It becomes the open side area (c) surrounded by the line with or. Therefore, in this case, the electronic throttle control can be applied not only to the traction control but also to the case where the air is increased and corrected, and the control target can be expanded.

The above is the operation during normal control, but an emergency operation in the event that the motor 12 or the throttle control unit 13 fails will be described.

When the motor 12 and the controller 13 are out of order or malfunction, a separately set judgment circuit detects this and turns off the power to make the output torque of the motor 12 zero (fail safe). When the motor 12 is locked, the outer clutch 10d does not rotate without turning off the power source.

Therefore, since the wedge effect does not occur, the roller 10e does not eat the inner clutch 10a.
At this time, the throttle lever 4 serves as a self-propelled traveling means.

That is, in this case, the roller of the torque one-way clutch 10 functions as a bearing. As a result, the throttle shaft 2 can rotate without being restrained by the motor 12 side, so that the wire 8 can be operated by the accelerator operation.
When the lever A is rotated via the lever, the rotation torque is transmitted to the lever B and the throttle shaft 2 via the spring 5, and the throttle valve opening can be controlled.

At this time, the throttle opening range is not limited, and the throttle valve 3 opening can be controlled by normal accelerator operation.

Further, irrespective of the lock position of the motor 12, the accelerator is operated to exhibit the fail-safe which can cover the control of the entire throttle valve opening.

In the above embodiment, the locking piece b of the lever B is used.
However, it is also possible to omit the locking piece b.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, a simple mechanism including only a torque one-way clutch and a throttle lever element is used to throttle the self-driving by fail-safe and normal accelerator pedal operation against a failure such as a motor lock. It is guaranteed over the entire valve, and the power transmission between the torque one-way clutch and the motor can be configured with a pair of gear rings, so the reduction ratio can be set small and the control speed is not sacrificed. It is possible to improve the performance of this type of throttle control device, downsize the device, and reduce costs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a torque one-way clutch portion used in the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the torque one-way clutch.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a throttle lever opening characteristic with respect to an accelerator stroke and a throttle valve control region (motor control region) by a throttle actuator in the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship during normal operation of the throttle lever constituent elements used in the above-described embodiment (during throttle control by an actuator).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Slottle body, 2 ... Throttle shaft, 3 ...
Throttle valve, 4 ... Throttle lever (lever A,
Lever B), 5 ... spring, 7 ... return spring, 8 ... accelerator wire, 9 ... accelerator pedal, 10 ...
Torque one-way clutch, 10a ... Inner clutch, 10b ... Ring spring, 10c ... Retainer, 1
0d ... Outer clutch, 10e ... Roller, 10f ... Retainer flange groove, 11 ... Pin, 12 ... Motor, 1
3 ... Throttle control controller, 13a ... Target setting opening signal (throttle control signal), a ... One side of lever A, b ... Locking piece.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A throttle control device for an engine for controlling an intake air amount by opening / closing a throttle valve in accordance with a depression amount of an accelerator pedal, comprising a motor driven by a throttle control signal of a controller, and a shaft of the throttle valve. The (throttle shaft) is provided with a torque one-way clutch having a mechanism that transmits the output torque of the motor to the throttle shaft and does not transmit the rotational torque from the throttle shaft side to the motor side. And lever B. The lever A is wire-connected to an accelerator pedal and is fitted to the throttle shaft so as to rotate on the throttle shaft. The lever A is biased by the spring force of a return spring. , The lever B is the throttle shuff Is fixed to the lever A through a spring, and when the throttle shaft is driven by the motor, a deviation of the rotation angle occurs between the lever A and the lever B. It is set by turning and bending of the spring, and when the motor becomes inoperable, the turning torque of the lever A by the operation of the accelerator pedal is set to be transmitted to the lever B and the throttle shaft through the spring. An engine throttle control device comprising: 2. The lever B according to claim 1, wherein a locking piece is provided on the lever B, and the locking piece is provided on one side of the lever A by the spring (the one side is a side directed toward a closing side of the throttle valve). The throttle control device for the engine is characterized in that the throttle control device is urged toward (a). 3. The throttle control device for an engine according to claim 2, wherein the rotation of the lever A by operating the accelerator pedal is opened earlier than the control opening of the slot valve driven by the motor. ..