JPH08261119A - Starting device for vehicle engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To surely detect the contact fusion of a relay switch and prevent the nonconformity attributable to the contact fusion by detecting the presence of contact fusion of a relay switch on the basis of the level of the voltage signal from a signal producing means, and also restraining the execution of starting control, when the contact-fusing condition has been detected. CONSTITUTION: When the contact fusion of a relay switch 18a is caused so as to be in a continuity condition, in a first detecting period a low-level signal is output from a connecting point C1 in a signal producing means 24 so as to be given to the input terminal Q2 of a control circuit 16. Further, in the control circuit 16, the presence of contact-fusion in the relay switches 18a to 20a is detected on the basis of the output signal from the signal producing means 24 or the signal level of the input terminal Q2 in the first detecting period in which a transistor 23 has been turned ON. When the input signal level to the input terminal Q2 in the first detecting period is a low-level signal, the control circuit 16 judges that there is any contact-fusion, and the starting control of an engine is restrained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle engine starting device capable of controlling the starting of a vehicle engine by an operation command signal from a remote control transmitter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been put into practical use a device in which an engine of an automobile stopped at a remote place is started by an operation terminal carried by a driver. In such a vehicle engine starting device, an ignition circuit,
A plurality of relay switches for forming the engine starter circuit and the accessory circuit in a system different from the ignition switch are provided, and the relay switches are turned on by a radio signal from the operation terminal to start the engine.

By the way, the relay switch used in the starting device for an automobile engine as described above cannot deny the possibility of contact welding, and when contact welding occurs, various problems occur. become.

Therefore, conventionally, it has been considered to detect the contact welding of the relay switch by adopting the circuit configuration as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 3, the relay switches 1 and 2 are provided to form the accessory circuit and the ignition circuit of the automobile engine, respectively, in the ON state. A starter relay switch (not shown) is provided for forming an engine starter circuit including. In this case, the relay switch 1 having one end connected to the accessory circuit has the other end connected to the power supply terminal AM1 via the auxiliary relay switch 3. The relay switch 2 having one end connected to the ignition circuit has the other end connected to the power supply terminal AM2 via the auxiliary relay switch 4.

The exciting coils 1a to 4a of the relay switches 1 to 4 are supplied with power from a power source terminal + B, and the on / off control of these is performed by a control circuit 5 including a CPU. It is supposed to be. Also,
The load-side terminals of the relay switches 1 and 2 are connected to the input terminal Q of the control circuit 5 via diodes 6 and 7 having the polarities shown in the figure.

In this case, when the control circuit 5 receives a radio signal for instructing engine start from the operating terminal through a receiving circuit (not shown), it is assumed that a predetermined engine start condition is satisfied. After turning on the relay switches 3 and 4, the relay switches 1 and 2 are turned on to form an accessory circuit and an ignition circuit, and in this state, a starter relay switch (not shown) is turned on to form an engine starter circuit. Has become. When stopping the engine in the starting state, the control circuit 5 first turns off the relay switches 1 and 2 to stop the engine, and then turns off the auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4. Due to
The auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4 eliminate the need for directly connecting and disconnecting the load current, so that there is no problem even if the contact capacities of the auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4 are set small.

The control circuit 5 inputs to the input terminal Q at the time when the auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4 are turned on as described above (at this time, the ON command is not given to the relay switches 1 and 2). Determine the voltage level. In this case, assuming that the relay switches 1 and 2 are in a normal state in which the contact welding has not occurred, since the relay switches 1 and 2 are in the off state, the input signal to the input terminal Q becomes a low level, When contact welding has occurred, the input signal to the input terminal Q becomes high level.

However, the control circuit 5 continuously turns on the relay switches 1 and 2 when the judgment level is low, that is, when the contact welding is not generated on the relay switches 1 and 2. The engine start control is performed such that the starter relay switch is turned on at the same time as switching is performed, and when the engine start is successful, an answer back signal to that effect is transmitted to the operation terminal. On the other hand, when the determination level of the level of the input voltage with respect to the input terminal Q is a high level at each time when the auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4 are turned on, the control circuit 5 contacts the relay switches 1 and 2. It is determined that welding has occurred, and the start of the engine start control as described above is postponed.

[0009]

However, in the above conventional configuration, when the contact welding occurs on the relay switch 1 or 2, when the auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4 are turned on, the contact welding state is set. A large current flows through one or both of the auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4 corresponding to a certain relay switch. Also, in this case,
Since the answer back signal indicating that the engine has been successfully started is not returned to the operation terminal, there is a possibility that a radio signal for instructing the engine to be started is repeatedly transmitted from the transmitter side. Therefore, as described above, there is a possibility that a state in which a large current flows through one or both of the auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4 in which the contact capacity is set small is repeated, and even these auxiliary relay switches 3 and 4 may have contact welding. However, the problem is that the normal relay switch is adversely affected by the contact welding detection function, which has been an unsolved problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to reliably detect contact welding of the relay switch when the relay switch is used for starting the engine by remote control, and to use the contact. (EN) Provided is a vehicle engine starting device which is capable of preventing the occurrence of a defect due to welding and preventing the situation in which the presence of the detection function adversely affects other switches. It is in.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of relay switches which respectively form an ignition circuit and an engine starter circuit in an ON state, and an operation command signal from a remote control transmitter. And a control means for performing control for starting the vehicle engine through the relay switch when the relay switch is received, the relay switch being interposed in a conduction path from a power supply terminal to the relay switch. An auxiliary switch that is turned on before starting control of the vehicle engine according to the turning on of the vehicle, a detection operation switching element that is connected in parallel with the auxiliary switch, and the auxiliary switch that is turned off and the detection operation switching element. Is provided so that it will be energized when it is turned on. A switch and a signal generating means for generating a voltage signal of a different level depending on the conduction / non-conduction state of the relay switch, and the control means controls the auxiliary switch before turning on the auxiliary switch. A detection operation of turning on the detection operation switching element is performed with the switch off, and at this time the presence or absence of contact welding of the relay switch is detected based on the level of the voltage signal output from the signal generating means. At the same time, when the contact welding state is detected, the execution of the starting control is suppressed.

[0012]

When the operation command signal from the remote control transmitter is received, the control means starts the vehicle engine through a plurality of relay switches for forming an ignition circuit and an engine starter circuit, respectively. Prior to executing the control, the auxiliary switch interposed in the energization path from the power supply terminal to the relay switch is turned on.

In addition, the control means turns on the detection operation switching element connected in parallel with the auxiliary switch in a state in which the auxiliary switch is turned off before the auxiliary switch is turned on. I do.
As described above, when the auxiliary switch is turned off and the detection operation switching element is turned on, the signal generating means is energized, and the signal generating means turns on and off the relay switch corresponding to the auxiliary switch. Voltage signals of different levels are generated according to the conduction state.

In this case, at the time when the control circuit performs the detection operation as described above, assuming that the relay switch is in the normal state in which the contact welding has not occurred, the relay switch is in the non-conductive state and the relay switch is in the non-conductive state. Since the relay switch is in the conductive state when the switch is in contact welding, whether the relay switch is in contact welding based on the level of the voltage signal output from the signal generating means as described above. It is possible to determine whether or not. The control means detects the presence or absence of contact welding of the relay switch on the basis of the level of the voltage signal output from the signal generating means during the detection operation. Execution of engine start control will be suppressed.

Therefore, when the engine is started by remote control, the contact welding of the relay switch provided for starting the engine can be surely detected, so that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the trouble caused by the contact welding. is there.
Further, at the time of such contact welding detection operation, a relatively small current for signal need only be passed through the signal generating means, and a large current need not be passed through the auxiliary switch. It becomes possible to prevent the situation where the existence of the detection function adversely affects other switches.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an electric configuration of a starting device for an automobile engine. In FIG. 1, a portable transmitter / receiver 11 (corresponding to a remote control transmitter in the present invention) of a specific low power type standard is carried by a driver of an automobile, and the engine is started according to the operation. While transmitting an operation command signal Sc of a predetermined code for instructing and a stop command signal Sz of a predetermined code for instructing the engine to stop as a radio wave signal through the antenna 11a,
It has a function of displaying the content received through the antenna 11a by a display device (not shown). The portable transceiver 11 may be added with a function of transmitting an operation command signal for instructing unlocking and locking of a door lock mechanism of an automobile, an operation command signal for instructing driving of an air conditioner, and the like. It is possible, but omitted here for the sake of simplicity.

The transmission / reception unit 12 of the specified low power type which is paired with the portable transmission / reception device 11 has an antenna 12a integrally and is installed in a place where radio wave reception is good in the passenger compartment of the automobile.

The transmitting / receiving unit 12 has an antenna 12
It is configured to transmit and receive a radio wave signal to and from the portable transceiver 11 through a, an operation of receiving the operation command signal Sc and the stop command signal Sz, and a start completion given from the control unit 13 described later. It has a function of transmitting the signal Sk to the portable transceiver 11 for feedback.

Now, in the following, the control unit 13
Will be described together with the configuration of related parts. That is, the control unit 13 is installed at an appropriate place in the vehicle interior of the automobile, and the power supply circuit 14 provided inside the control unit 13 is provided.
Is supplied from an on-vehicle battery (not shown), and power is supplied to the transmitting / receiving unit 12 in addition to the control unit 13.

The battery voltage monitoring circuit 15 includes the power supply circuit 1
4, the output voltage of the vehicle-mounted battery is monitored, and the undervoltage signal Sf is generated when the monitored voltage becomes lower than a predetermined lower limit voltage (voltage at which the starter motor of the vehicle engine can operate normally). Therefore, this voltage signal Sf is applied to the input terminal Q0 of the control circuit 16 (corresponding to the control means in the present invention) in the control unit 13.

The engine start detection circuit 17 detects whether or not the engine is normally started based on the engine speed and the state of the ignition device. When the normal start state is detected, a start signal Sa is generated. It is applied to the input terminal Q1 of the control circuit 16.

The ACC relay 18 is a relay switch 18
The accessory circuit of the automobile is formed in the ON state of a, and the IG
The relay 19 is provided to form an ignition circuit of an automobile engine when the relay switch 19a is turned on, and the starter relay 20 is provided to form an engine starter circuit including a power passage of the starter motor when the relay switch 20a is turned on. ing. In this case, each relay 18,
The power supply for the excitation coils 18b, 19b, 20b of the reference numerals 19 and 20 is supplied from the power supply terminal + B, and the on / off control thereof is performed by the control circuit 16.

The first auxiliary relay 21 and the second auxiliary relay 22 are provided separately from the relays 18, 19 and 20, and the control circuit 16 also controls the energization / disconnection of the exciting coils 21b and 22b. It is configured by.

In this case, the relay switch 1 of the relay 18
8a has one end connected to the power supply terminal AM1 via the relay switch 21a of the first auxiliary relay 21 and the other end connected to the accessory circuit. The relay switch 19a of the relay 19 has one end connected to the power supply terminal AM2 via the relay switch 22a of the second auxiliary relay 22 and the other end connected to the ignition circuit of the automobile. Further, one end of the relay switch 20a of the relay 20 is also the second
Is connected to the power supply terminal AM2 via the relay switch 22a of the relay 22, and the other end is connected to the engine starter circuit. That is, the first and second auxiliary relays 21 and 2
The two relay switches 21a and 22a (corresponding to the auxiliary switch in the present invention) are provided with a plurality of relays 18 from the power source
To 20 relay switches 18a to 20b are in a state of being interposed in a current path.

Therefore, the relay switch 21a of the first auxiliary relay 21 has a resistor 24a between the emitter and collector of the pnp-type transistor 23 (corresponding to the switching element for detecting operation in the present invention) and the resistor 24a in parallel with the relay switch 21a. It is connected. The transistor 23 is used in the control circuit 1
On / off control is performed by a signal from the output terminal P1 of No. 6. The resistor 24a constitutes the signal generating means 24 together with the resistor 24a and the resistor 24b connected between the common connection point of the relay switch 21a and the ground terminal, and the output terminal of the signal generating means 24. Common connection point C1 of the resistors 24a and 24b
Is connected to the input terminal Q of the control circuit 16 via the diode 25.
Connected to 2.

In this case, the resistance values of the resistors 24a and 24b are set to be sufficiently larger than the impedance of the accessory circuit. Therefore, when the transistor 23 is turned on and the relay switch 21a is turned off, the relay switch 18a is turned on. Is on (conducting), a low level signal is output from the connection point C1. When the relay switch 18a is off (non-conducting), a high level signal is output from the connection point C1. Will be output. That is, the signal generating means 24, when the relay switch 21a is turned on and the transistor 23 is turned on, generates voltage signals of different levels according to the conduction and non-conduction states of the relay switch 18a corresponding to the relay switch 21a. Like

The relay switch 22a of the second auxiliary relay 22 is connected in parallel with the emitter-collector of the pnp-type transistor 26 (corresponding to the switching element for detection operation in the present invention) and the resistor 27a. Has been done. The transistor 26 is controlled to be turned on / off by a signal from the output terminal P2 of the control circuit 16. Further, the resistor 27a is the resistor 27a.
a and the signal generating means 2 together with the resistor 27b connected between the common connection point of the relay switch 22a and the ground terminal.
7 and the common connection point C2 of the resistors 27a and 27b, which is the output terminal of the signal generating means 27, is
It is connected to the input terminal Q2 of the control circuit 16 via the diode 28.

In this case, the resistance values of the resistors 27a and 27b are set to be sufficiently larger than the impedances of the ignition circuit and the engine starter circuit. Therefore, when the transistor 26 is turned on and the relay switch 22a is turned off. , Relay switch 19
When either a or 20a is in the on (conducting) state, a low level signal is output from the connection point C2,
When either of the relay switches 19a and 20a is in the off (non-conducting) state, the high level signal is output from the connection point C2. That is, the signal generating means 2
In the state where the relay switch 22a is turned on and the transistor 26 is turned on, 7 generates a voltage signal of a different level depending on the conduction or non-conduction state of the relay switch 19a or 20a corresponding to the relay switch 22a. .

The control circuit 16 includes a parking brake switch 29, a shift position switch 30, a bonnet switch 31, which are provided outside the control unit 13.
Each signal from the door lock detection switch 32 is input.

In this case, the parking brake switch 2
The reference numeral 9 generates a brake operation signal S1 in a state where the parking brake of the automobile is in the operating position, and the shift position switch 30 indicates that the shift position of the transmission is the parking position (however, in the case of the automatic transmission, in the case of the manual transmission In the neutral position), the parking signal S2 is generated, the bonnet switch 32 generates the bonnet closing signal S3 when the hood of the automobile is closed, and the door lock detection switch 32 is
The door lock signal S4 is generated when the door lock mechanism of the automobile is all locked.

In the following, the control circuit 16 will be described.
The control contents of the above will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. However, FIG. 2 (a) corresponds to the control content in a normal state in which contact welding is not occurring in the relay switches 18a to 20a, and FIG. 2 (b) is one of the relay switches 18a to 20a. This corresponds to the control content when welding is occurring.

That is, the control circuit 16 includes the transmitting / receiving unit 1
2 when the operation command signal Sc is received (FIG. 2 (a),
At timing t1) in (b), the contact welding detection operation is performed. During this contact welding detection operation, the transistor 23
Is turned on for a predetermined detection period (timing t2 to t3) to read the input signal level to the input terminal Q2 during that detection period, and the transistor 23 is turned off, and then the transistor 24 is turned on for a predetermined detection period (timing). It is turned on only for t4 to t5) and the input signal level to the input terminal Q2 during the detection period is read.

In this case, assuming that the relay switch 18a is in a normal state in which contact welding has not occurred, the relay switch 18a is in a non-conducting state, so that the first detection period (timing t2 to t3). 2), a high level signal is output from the connection point C1 in the signal generating means 24 and applied to the input terminal Q2 of the control circuit 16.

On the other hand, when the relay switch 18a is in the conductive state by causing the contact welding, the low level signal is output from the connection point C1 in the signal generating means 24 in the first detection period. Control circuit 16
Input terminal Q2.

If the relay switches 19a and 20a are both in a normal state in which no contact welding occurs, the relay switches 19a and 20a are in a non-conducting state, so that the second detection period is exceeded. At (timing t4 to t5), a high level signal is output from the connection point C2 in the signal generating means 27 and applied to the input terminal Q2 of the control circuit 16.

On the other hand, when at least one of the relay switches 19a and 20a is in the conductive state due to contact welding, in the second detection period,
A low level signal is output from the connection point C1 in the signal generating means 27 and applied to the input terminal Q2 of the control circuit 16.

Therefore, in the control circuit 16, the first and second transistors 23 and 26 are turned on, respectively.
The presence or absence of contact welding at the relay switches 18a to 20a can be detected based on the output signals (signal level of the input terminal Q2) from the signal generating means 24 and 27 during the detection period.

As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the control circuit 16 controls the input terminal Q2 in the first and second detection periods.
When the level of the input signal to the signal is a high level signal, this state is determined as "no contact welding", and engine start control is executed.

That is, the control circuit 16 does not input the voltage shortage signal Sf and the start signal Sa during the engine start control, the brake operation signal S1, the parking position signal S2, the hood closing signal S3, and the door lock signal S4. First, provided that all are entered
And the relay switch 2 of the second auxiliary relays 21 and 22
1a and 22a are turned on (timing t6 in FIG. 2 (a)), and when a predetermined time elapses after this, relay switches 18a and 19a are turned on (timing t7 in FIG. 2 (a)). Further, when a predetermined time has elapsed, the state in which the relay switch 20a is turned on while the relay switch 18a is turned off is maintained for a predetermined cranking period (timing t8 to t9 in FIG. 2A).

As a result, during the cranking period, the ignition circuit is formed through the relay switch 19a and the engine starter circuit is formed through the relay switch 20a, so that the automobile engine is started. .

That is, when the operation command signal Sc is transmitted from the portable transceiver 11, the relays 18a to 20a are provided.
No contact welding occurred, the output voltage of the in-vehicle battery is in a state sufficient to start the engine,
The engine is not already started, the parking brake is activated, the car's shift position is in the parking position, the car's hood is closed, and the car's door locks are all locked. On that condition, the engine will be started.

The control circuit 16 relays the relay switch 20a when the start signal Sa is input from the engine start detection circuit 17 (when the engine is normally started) during the engine start control as described above. Is turned off to immediately stop the cranking period, and the relay switch 18a is turned on to form an accessory circuit. At the same time, a start completion signal Sk is transmitted through the transmission / reception unit 12.

Further, the control circuit 16 receives the stop command signal Sz from the portable transceiver 11 after the engine is started as described above (or when the engine warm-up operation is completed). , Relay switch 18
The relay switches 21a and 22a are turned off after a predetermined time has elapsed. This eliminates the need to directly interrupt the load current by the relay switches 21a and 22a of the first auxiliary relay 21 and the second auxiliary relay 22, thus reducing the contact capacity of the relay switches 21a and 22a. It is configured so that there is no problem even if it is set.

On the other hand, the control circuit 16 controls the above-mentioned first and second detection periods (timing t2 to t3, timing t).
When the input signal level to the input terminal Q2 at 4 to t5) also becomes a low level signal, this state is judged as "contact welding" and execution of the engine start control as described above is suppressed. To do. As shown in FIG. 2B, at least one of the relay switches 19a and 20a is in a state in which the input signal level to the input terminal Q2 becomes a low level signal during the second detection period (timing t4 to t5). This corresponds to the state in which the contact welding occurs at the relay switch 18a, and when the contact welding occurs at the relay switch 18a, the first detection period (timing t2 to t3).
), The input signal level to the input terminal Q2 exhibits a low level signal.

In short, according to the present embodiment described above, when the operation command signal Sc from the portable transceiver 11 is received, first, the contact welding detection operation of the relay switches 18a to 20a is performed, and this detection operation is performed. The engine start control is performed only when contact welding is not recognized. In this case, signal generating means 24 and 27 for generating voltage signals of different levels when contact welding occurs and when contact welding does not occur are provided, and contact welding detection operation is performed based on the outputs of such signal generating means 24 and 27. Since the contact welding of the relay switches 18a to 20a can be detected with certainty, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defects due to the contact welding.

Further, at the time of such contact welding detection operation, it is sufficient to flow a relatively small current for signal to the signal generating means 24 and 27, and the auxiliary relay 2
Since it is not necessary to apply a large current to the relay switches 21a and 22a of Nos. 1 and 22, the presence of the contact welding detection function described above is due to the presence of the welding detection target relay switches 18a to 20a.
It is possible to prevent the adverse effects such as contact welding on the relay switches 21a and 22a other than the above.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be expanded or modified as described below. In the above embodiment, the relay switch 22a as an auxiliary switch is interposed in the energization path reaching both the relay switches 19a and 20a, but separate relay switches are provided so as to correspond individually to the relay switches 19a and 20a. It may be configured as an auxiliary switch. A switching element other than the relay switch may be used as the auxiliary switch, and a switching element other than the transistor may be used as the detection operation switching element. When the contact welding is detected, an alarm may be generated to notify that fact, and the alarm may be issued through the portable transceiver 11.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electric circuit configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart for explaining control contents by a control circuit.

FIG. 3 is a partial electric circuit configuration diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 11 is a portable transceiver (transmitter for remote control), 1
2 is a transmission / reception unit, 13 is a control unit, 16 is a control circuit (control means), 18 is an ACC relay, 19 is an IG relay, 20 is a starter relay, 18a, 19a, 20a.
Is a relay switch, 21 is a first auxiliary relay, 22 is a second auxiliary relay, 21a and 22a are relay switches (auxiliary switches), 23 and 26 are transistors (switching elements for detection operation), and 24 and 27 are signal generators. The means is shown.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of relay switches that respectively form an ignition circuit and an engine starter circuit in an ON state, and a vehicle engine is started through the relay switches when an operation command signal from a remote control transmitter is received. In a starting device for a vehicle engine including control means for controlling the start of the vehicle engine prior to starting control of the vehicle engine in response to turning on of the relay switch, which is interposed in a power supply path from a power supply terminal to the relay switch. An auxiliary switch, a switching element for detection operation connected in parallel with the auxiliary switch, and a switching element for detection operation which is provided so as to be energized when the auxiliary switch is turned off and the switching element for detection operation is turned on. In the energized state, the relay switch corresponding to the auxiliary switch is electrically connected and Signal generating means for generating voltage signals of different levels according to a non-conducting state, the control means, before turning on the auxiliary switch, the auxiliary switch is turned off in the detection operation switching element. A detection operation of turning on is performed, and at this time, the presence or absence of contact welding of the relay switch is detected based on the level of the voltage signal output from the signal generating means, and when the contact welding state is detected, the start control of the start control is performed. A starting device for a vehicle engine, wherein the starting device is configured to inhibit execution.