JPH09287994A - Residual fuel quantity detecting device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the residual fuel quantity detecting device of a vehicle which solves the defficiency that rapid decrease of a residual quantity is observed in a displaying device. SOLUTION: After the starting time of measurement by a residual quantity sensor (point C), even if it becomes possible for the residual quantity sensor to detect, a residual quantity detected by the signal from the residual quantity sensor is not immediately displayed on a displaying device. Instead, a residual quantity is calculated by subtracting a consumed quantity, which is detected from the input of a signal from the injector, from residual quantity set by detecting the consumed quantity from the input of the signal from the injector. The residual quantity calculated above is compared with a quantity detected by the residual quantity sensor. When the value of the former quantity is larger than that of the latter, the value of the former quantity calculated above multiplied by a coefficient K (<1.00) is obtained as the residual quantity and is displayed on the displaying device (range X).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for detecting the amount of remaining fuel in vehicles such as automobiles and motorcycles, and more particularly to a device for detecting the remaining amount of fuel applied to vehicles equipped with an electronically controlled fuel injection device. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the progress of computerization of vehicles, electronically controlled fuel injection devices have been used to supply fuel to engines.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an engine control system of a vehicle. Reference numeral 1 is an engine mounted on the vehicle. Intake air is supplied from an air cleaner to each cylinder through an intake pipe 2, and fuel described later is injected into an injector 3. Is injected by.
Then, the air-fuel mixture in the cylinder is ignited and exploded at a predetermined ignition timing by the discharge action of the spark plug whose tip is exposed to the combustion chamber, and is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 4. The injector (electronically controlled fuel injection device) 3 is connected to the fuel supply pipe 5
Is connected to the fuel tank 8 via the filter 6 and the pump 7, and the fuel tank 8 is equipped with a remaining amount sensor 10 including a float for measuring the remaining amount of the fuel 9 and a sliding resistance.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a control unit (ECU) including a microcomputer and the like, which is based on signals from the injector 3 and signals from various sensors such as the remaining amount sensor 10 installed in various parts of the vehicle. A control amount such as a pulse width for driving the injector 3 and an ignition timing of the spark plug is calculated according to a predetermined program, and signals from the injector 3 and the remaining amount sensor 10 are used to calculate the fuel tank 8
The remaining amount of the fuel 9 in the inside is calculated and displayed on the display device 12, information from various sensors such as the vehicle speed sensor 13 and the distance sensor 14 is input, and the driver inputs an arbitrary condition from the input device 15 such as a keyboard. When is set, the unit consumption amount (fuel consumption) of the fuel 9 and the travelable distance are calculated and displayed on the display device 12.

Such a vehicle fuel remaining amount detecting device is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-366729.

[0006]

A fuel tank 8 for a vehicle.
Is generally formed of metal or resin, and therefore has a slight difference between the actual capacity and the designed capacity. Further, the remaining amount sensor 10 cannot cover the entire fuel tank 9 (since the movement of the float is limited by the inner shape of the fuel tank 8), and the amount slightly smaller than the actual capacity is set as the maximum detection amount. There is. Specifically, when the design capacity is 60 liters, the actual capacity is 58 liters and the maximum detection amount is 57 liters. Furthermore, the actual capacity and the maximum detection amount are different for each vehicle even in the same vehicle type.

FIG. 2 is a graph for explaining changes in the fuel 9 in the fuel tank 8. When the control device 11 inputs a signal indicating that the float of the remaining amount sensor 10 has reached the maximum movement position during refueling (point a in FIG. 2), the control device 12 takes into account the variations due to individual vehicles as described above. , Recognize the remaining amount at that time as 60 liters of the design volume (line segment A in FIG. 2). However, the actual capacity is 58 liters (line segment B in FIG. 2), the maximum movement position of the float is 57 liters, and the remaining amount sensor 10 outputs a signal corresponding to 57 liters (FIG. 2). Line segment C) may occur, and such a case will be described below as an example.

When the fuel 9 is consumed after the engine is started (point b in FIG. 2), the control means 12 causes the injector 3
Signal is input to detect the consumption amount, the consumption amount is subtracted from the previously set remaining amount of 60 liters to calculate the remaining amount, and this is displayed on the display device 13 as indicated by the line segment A. . However, the actual remaining amount is, as in the line segment B, where the consumption amount is subtracted from the initial remaining amount of 58 liters, and as shown by the line segment C, the signal of the remaining amount sensor 10 is The float does not change its position while the remaining capacity is 57 liters or more, so it does not change.

After the remaining amount falls below 57 liters and the measurement of the remaining amount sensor 10 is started (point c in FIG. 2), the control device 11 detects the remaining amount from the signal from the remaining amount sensor 10. Then, the display device 12 displays.

Therefore, in the conventional example, the display of the remaining amount on the display device 12 shows a sudden change (decrease) at the point c in FIG. 2 as shown in FIG. May be given. Also, when the displayable distance is displayed on the display device 12, the distance is drastically shortened and displayed in units of several tens of kilometers, which has a large psychological effect on the driver and the like. It may also impair the sense of trust in such things.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a fuel residual quantity detecting device for a vehicle, which is provided with a fuel quantity by an injector and a residual quantity sensor for measuring the residual quantity of fuel. In, the remaining amount calculated by inputting a signal from the injector to detect the consumption amount,
The remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor is compared, and when the former value is larger than the latter value, a coefficient K (<1.
00) is multiplied and displayed as the remaining amount.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a fuel residual quantity detecting device for a vehicle, comprising a fuel quantity supplied to an engine by an injector and a residual quantity sensor for measuring the residual quantity of fuel. From the time of refueling until the start of the measurement of the remaining amount sensor, the signal from the injector is input to detect the consumption amount and the remaining amount is calculated and displayed. Then, the remaining amount calculated by detecting the consumption amount by inputting the signal from the injector is compared with the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor, and when the former value is larger than the latter value, The value multiplied by the coefficient K (<1.00) is displayed as the remaining amount,
After the switching when the value of the remaining amount obtained by multiplying the coefficient K becomes smaller than the value of the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor, the remaining amount is detected and displayed by the signal from the remaining amount sensor. Let

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION After the start of measurement of the remaining amount sensor 10 (point c in FIG. 2), even if detection by the remaining amount sensor 10 becomes possible, the remaining amount is immediately notified by a signal from the remaining amount sensor 10. Is not detected and displayed on the display device 12,
The remaining amount calculated by subtracting the consumption amount from the set remaining amount of 60 liters by inputting a signal from the injector 3 to detect the consumption amount is compared with the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor 10. If the former value is larger than the latter value, the former value is multiplied by a coefficient K (<1.00) to obtain the remaining amount, and the remaining amount is displayed on the display device 12 to display the remaining amount rapidly. It is possible to solve the problem of a large decrease.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the configuration thereof is the same as that of FIG. Further, the embodiment will be described by taking the case of FIG. 2 as an example.

Between the time of refueling the fuel 9 and the time when the measurement of the remaining amount sensor 10 is started (points a to c in FIG. 2), the control device 1
In the same manner as in the conventional example, the reference numeral 1 receives the signal from the injector 3 to detect the consumption amount, subtracts the consumption amount from the set remaining amount of 60 liters to calculate the remaining amount, and displays the remaining amount. To display.

However, after the measurement of the remaining amount sensor 10 is started (point c in FIG. 2), even if the remaining amount sensor 10 can detect it, the remaining amount is immediately detected by the signal from the remaining amount sensor 10. Instead of displaying on the display device 12,
The remaining amount calculated by subtracting the consumption amount from the set remaining amount of 60 liters by inputting a signal from the injector 3 to detect the consumption amount is compared with the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor 10. When the former value is larger than the latter value, the former value is multiplied by a coefficient K (<1.00) to obtain the remaining amount, which is displayed on the display device 12 (range X in FIG. 3).

Then, after the switching when the value of the remaining amount obtained by multiplying the coefficient K becomes smaller than the value of the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor 10 (point d in FIG. 3), the control device 11 The remaining amount is detected by the signal from the remaining amount sensor 10, and the display device 12 displays the remaining amount.

With such a configuration, at the start of measurement of the remaining amount sensor 10 (point c in FIG. 2), it is possible to eliminate the problem of the conventional example that the remaining amount display sharply decreases as shown in FIG. You can

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made. For example, the coefficient K used in the control device 11 is arbitrarily determined according to the vehicle type, but is not a fixed value, but a signal from the injector 3 is input to detect the consumption amount and the consumption amount is calculated from the set remaining amount. The remaining amount calculated by subtraction (the line segment A in FIG. 2) is compared with the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor 10 (the line segment C in FIG. 2), and the difference is calculated stepwise. It can be set to change instead.

Further, the value of the remaining amount obtained by such a configuration and the information from various sensors such as the vehicle speed sensor 13 or the distance sensor 14 are input by the control device 11, and the driver inputs it from the input device 15 such as a keyboard. By setting an arbitrary condition, it is possible to calculate the unit consumption amount (fuel consumption) of the fuel 9 and the travelable distance and display it on the display device 12.

[0021]

As described above, the present invention provides a fuel remaining amount detecting apparatus for a vehicle, which supplies fuel to an engine by an injector and has a remaining amount sensor for measuring the remaining amount of fuel, by inputting a signal from the injector. The remaining amount calculated by detecting the consumption amount is compared with the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor, and when the former value is larger than the latter value, a coefficient K (<1.00) is added to the former value. In order to solve the above problems, the present invention supplies fuel to an engine by an injector and also has a remaining amount sensor for measuring the remaining amount of fuel. In the remaining fuel amount detecting device, from the time when the fuel is refueled to the time when the measurement of the remaining amount sensor is started, the signal from the injector is input to detect the consumption amount and the remaining amount is calculated and displayed. , The remaining amount After the start of sensor measurement, the former value is compared to the latter value by comparing the remaining amount calculated by inputting the signal from the injector and detecting the consumption amount and the remaining amount sensor detected. If the value is larger, the former value multiplied by a coefficient K (<1.00) is displayed as the remaining amount,
After the switching when the value of the remaining amount obtained by multiplying the coefficient K becomes smaller than the value of the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor, the remaining amount is detected and displayed by the signal from the remaining amount sensor. It is possible to solve the problem of the conventional example that the display of the remaining amount sharply decreases at the start of the measurement of the remaining amount sensor, and the actual remaining amount can be adjusted without giving the driver a feeling of discomfort. It is possible to provide a remaining fuel amount detecting device for a vehicle that can display a near remaining amount of fuel and that does not cause a great inconvenience during use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an engine control system of a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating changes in fuel in a fuel tank.

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the display of the remaining amount in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the display of the remaining amount in the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Engine 3 Injector 8 Fuel Tank 9 Fuel 10 Fuel Level Sensor 11 Control Device 12 Display Device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A fuel remaining amount detecting apparatus for a vehicle, comprising an injector for supplying fuel to an engine and a remaining amount sensor for measuring a remaining amount of fuel, to detect a consumption amount by inputting a signal from the injector. And the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor is compared, and when the former value is larger than the latter value, a coefficient K is added to the former value.
A remaining fuel amount detecting device for a vehicle, wherein a product obtained by multiplying (<1.00) is displayed as a remaining amount. 2. A fuel residual quantity detecting device for a vehicle, comprising a fuel quantity supplied to an engine by an injector and a residual quantity sensor for measuring a residual quantity of fuel, wherein measurement of said residual quantity sensor is started from the time of refueling of said fuel. Until the time, the signal from the injector is input, the consumption is detected, the remaining amount is calculated and displayed, and after the measurement of the remaining amount sensor is started, the signal from the injector is input. The remaining amount calculated by detecting the consumption amount is compared with the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor, and when the former value is larger than the latter value, the former value is multiplied by a coefficient K (<1.00). After the changeover, when the value of the remaining amount obtained by multiplying the coefficient K by multiplication is displayed as the remaining amount becomes smaller than the value of the remaining amount detected by the remaining amount sensor, the signal from the remaining amount sensor is displayed. To detect and display the remaining amount, Fuel quantity detecting device for a vehicle, characterized and.