JPH0942126A - Engine starter of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a starter motor from starting during the running of an engine. SOLUTION: When an engine starting command is given by means of remote control, a relay switch 17 of a starting relay 13 is turned on for a specified time, and a starter 7 gets starting. When an engine runs with the starter going on, a high level signal is inputted into an H active input terminal of an AND circuit 39, and simultaneously with the relay switch 17 turned off, a low level signal is inputted into an L-active terminal. Therefore, the high level signal is given to a delay circuit 40 from the AND circuit 39, so this delay circuit 40 makes a relay switch 28 of a manual start prohibiting relay 27 into being turned off after the elapse of the specified time. In this state (during engine running), even if a start switch of an ignition switch unit 1 is turned to (ON, the starter motor 7 is not energized with current.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle engine starter having a function of preventing a starter motor from starting while the engine is operating.

[0002]

An ignition switch device for an automobile is a key type switch, which is generally switched among four stages of OFF, accessory, ON and start by rotation of a rotor of a key cylinder. Further, the ignition switch device is usually integrated with a steering lock mechanism, and when the key is inserted into the key cylinder and the rotor is turned from the off position to the accessory position, the steering lock is released.

On the other hand, some recent automobiles have a transmitter incorporated in a key for operating an ignition switch device so that a weak radio wave can be transmitted to automatically start an engine by remote control. . In a car equipped with this automatic engine starter, after starting the engine by remote control, insert the key into the key cylinder of the ignition switch device and rotate the rotor to drive the car. However, at this time, the rotor may be forced to rotate to the start position.

Then, the start switch of the ignition switch device is turned on to start the starter motor. At this time, since the engine is already operating, the pinion gear for transmitting the rotation of the starter motor to the engine may be damaged. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an engine starting device for an automobile capable of preventing the starter motor from starting while the engine is operating.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ignition switch device operated by a key and a motor circuit for energizing a starter motor by turning on a start switch of the ignition switch device. Switch means provided in the engine, engine operation detection means for detecting that the engine is operating,
When the engine operation detecting means detects the operation of the engine, the engine operation detecting means is provided with a start operation inhibiting means for activating the switch means to open the motor circuit.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The ignition switch device 1 is
Although it is configured as a key type switch, although not shown, it is provided with a key cylinder and a rotor rotatably arranged in the key cylinder, and is configured to perform switching operation in accordance with the rotational operation of the rotor by the key. Has been done.

That is, the ignition switch device 1
Is connected to a rotary contact piece 2 connected to the positive terminal (+ B) of the automobile battery, an ACC fixed contact piece 3 connected to accessories such as a car air conditioner and a car radio, and a charge lamp 4 described later. IG1 fixed contact piece 5,
IG2 fixed contact piece 6 connected to the engine ignition device, ST fixed contact piece 8 connected to the engine starter motor 7
It has. The rotary contact piece 2 can be switched to four positions of OFF, accessory, ON, and start by the rotation of the rotor. The rotary contact piece 2 contacts the ACC fixed contact piece 3 at the accessory position and the ACC fixed contact piece at the ON position. 3, IG1 fixed contact piece 5 and IG2 fixed contact piece 6 in contact, ACC, IG1, IG2 and ST at the start position
All fixed contact pieces 3, 4, 6 and 8 of. In addition,
In the off position, the rotary armature 2 does not contact any fixed armature.

Such an ignition switch device 1 is
It is integrated with the steering lock mechanism. When the rotor is in the off position and the key is removed, the steering is locked, and when the key is inserted into the rotor and turned to the accessory position, the steering lock is released.

On the other hand, the automatic engine starting device 9 is
Relay 10, IG1 relay 11, IG2 relay 1
2, ST relay 13 is provided. These relays 1
In the relay switches 14 to 17 of 0 to 13, one of the contact pieces 14a to 17a is connected to the plus terminal (+ B) of the battery via the B terminal 18, and
The other contact pieces 14b to 17b are connected to accessories in the ACC relay 10 via the ACC terminal 19,
In the 1 relay 11, the charge lamp 4 is connected through the IG1 terminal 20, the IG2 relay 12 is connected to the engine ignition device through the IG2 terminal 21, and the ST relay 13 is connected to the starter motor 7 through the ST terminal 22. There is.

When the receiving device receives the radio wave from the transmitter provided in the key of the ignition switch device 1, the automatic engine starting device 9 receives the ACC relay 10, the IG1 relay 11, the IG2 relay 12, ST
Is configured to drive the relay coils 23 to 26 of the relay 13 for turning on the relay switches 14 to 17.

Now, the ignition switch device 1
In the energization path (motor energization path) of the starter motor 7 formed by the rotary contact piece 2 and the ST fixed contact piece 8 that form the start switch of FIG. 1, for example, the ST fixed contact piece 8 to the starter motor 7 and the ST terminal 22 are connected. A relay switch 28 of the manual start prohibiting relay 27 as a switch means is connected in the energization path to the common connection point of. The relay switch 28 of the manual start prohibiting relay 27 is of a normally closed type and is turned off when the relay coil 29 is driven. And the relay coil 29 is
It is connected to the PO terminal 30 of the automatic engine starting device 9.

The automatic engine starting device 9 includes a relay coil 29 of a relay 27 for prohibiting manual start during engine operation.
To turn off the relay switch 28. The means for fulfilling the function will be described below. First, the other terminal of the charge lamp 4 whose one terminal is connected to the IG1 fixed contact piece 5 of the ignition switch device 1 is NP as engine operation detecting means.
It is connected to the collector of N-type transistor 31,
The emitter of the transistor 31 is connected to the ground line, and the base is connected to, for example, a power generation detector that detects the power generation of the alternator.

Here, the alternator is driven by the engine and exhibits a power generating action to supply electric power to the electric load and charge the battery. Then, when the rotary armature 2 of the ignition switch device 1 is in contact with the IG1 armature 5, the base of the transistor 31 is set to a high level state while the alternator is stopped, and when the alternator rotates to exhibit a power generation action, a low level is generated. Is configured to be. Therefore, the transistor 31 is turned on to turn on the charge lamp 4 while the alternator is stopped (engine is stopped), and turned off to turn off the charge lamp 4 while the alternator is operating (engine is operating).

The common connection point between the charge lamp 4 and the collector of the transistor 31 is connected to the PI1 terminal 32 of the automatic engine starting device 9. Therefore, as understood from the above description, the PI1 terminal 32 is set to the low level state while the engine is stopped (the transistor 31 is on), and the engine is operating (the transistor 31 is off).
Then, it becomes a high level state.

Further, the PI2 terminal 33 of the automatic engine starting device 9 is supplied with a pulse signal from the engine rotation detector 34 according to the number of revolutions of the engine. In this case, a rotary encoder connected to the rotation of the shaft of the engine may be provided, and this rotary encoder may be used as the engine rotation detector 34. However, in an automobile, a pulse corresponding to the rotation speed of the engine is applied to the minus terminal of the ignition coil of the engine. Since the ignition coil is generated, the ignition coil may be used as the engine rotation detector 34. In the present embodiment, the latter ignition coil is used as the engine rotation detector 34.

As described above, in this embodiment, as the engine operation detecting means, the transistor 31 for turning on / off the charge lamp 4 according to the stop / operation of the engine is used, or the pulse is generated in accordance with the operation of the engine. By using the ignition coil, it is not necessary to provide a new detection sensor.

The pulse signal input to the PI2 terminal 33 is converted to a voltage corresponding to the engine speed by F / F.
It is given to the V conversion circuit 35, and the voltage output of the F / V conversion circuit 35 is given to the inverting input terminal of the comparator 36. A reference voltage is applied to a non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 36 by a reference voltage generating circuit 37 including a resistance voltage dividing circuit. The reference voltage of the reference voltage generating circuit 37 is set to 0V, for example, and therefore the comparator 36
When the engine starts operating, the output voltage of the F / V conversion circuit 35 exceeds the reference voltage, so that a low level signal is output.

The output signal of the comparator 36 is inverted by the inverter 38, and is inputted through the PI1 terminal 32 together with the signal from the charge lamp 4 side and the AND circuit 3.
9 H active input terminal. This AND circuit 39
L active input terminal of is connected to the ST terminal 22,
Therefore, the AND circuit 39 outputs a high level signal (prohibition signal) when the signal applied from the ST terminal 22 to the L active input terminal is in the low rail state and the signal applied to the H active input terminal is in the high level state. A high level signal is applied to the L active input terminal of the AND circuit 39 when the starter motor 7 is energized, and a low level signal is applied when the starter motor 7 is cut off.

The inhibit signal of the AND circuit 39 is given to the delay circuit 40 as a delay means. When the delay circuit 40 receives the high level inhibit signal from the AND circuit 39, it goes high for a predetermined time from that point. Output drive signal. The output terminal of the delay circuit 40 is
It is connected to the PO terminal 30 to which the relay coil 29 of the manual start prohibiting relay 27 is connected. Therefore, when a drive signal is output from the delay circuit 40, the relay coil 29 is driven and the relay switch 28 is turned off. To operate.

The F / V conversion circuit 35, the comparator 36, the AND circuit 39, and the delay circuit 40 as described above, when the operation of the engine is detected, start operation prohibiting means 41 for turning off the manual start prohibiting relay 27. Make up. Of these, the F / V conversion circuit 35 and the comparator 36
Serves as a signal processing means for processing a pulse signal from the engine rotation detector 34 and outputting an engine operating signal which falls in a stepwise manner. Also, the AND circuit 39
Functions as a start operation end detecting means for detecting that the starter motor 7 is cut off.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. Now, it is assumed that a key transmitter is operated to emit a radio wave (starting signal) in order to start the engine by remote control. Then, the receiving device receives the radio wave, and the automatic engine starting device 9 drives the relay coils 23 to 26 of the ACC, IG1, IG2, and ST relays 10 to 13, and the relay switches 14 to 17 thereof. Turn on.

Since the base of the transistor 31 becomes high level when the relay switch 15 of the IG1 relay 11 is turned on, the transistor 31 is turned on and the charge lamp 4 is turned on. Further, when the relay switch 17 of the ST relay 13 is turned on, the starter motor is activated to operate the engine, and the alternator is driven by this engine operation to generate electricity. Then, the base of the transistor 31 becomes low level and the transistor 31 is turned off. Therefore, the charge lamp 4 is turned off, and a high level signal is input to the H active input terminal of the AND circuit 39 via the PI1 terminal 32. .

When the engine is started, the F / V conversion circuit 35 is connected to the PI2 terminal 3 from the ignition coil.
Since a pulse signal having a frequency according to the engine speed is input via 3, the F / V conversion circuit 35 gives a voltage according to the input frequency to the inverting input terminal of the comparator 36. Then, the comparator 36 outputs a low level signal which falls stepwise in synchronization with the voltage input from the F / V conversion circuit 35, and the output thereof is inverted by the inverter 38 and becomes the high level signal of the H level of the AND circuit 39. This is given to the active input terminal.

On the other hand, when the relay switch 17 of the ST relay 13 is on, the battery voltage (high level signal) is input to the L active input terminal of the AND circuit 39. Therefore, the AND circuit 39 is connected to the ST relay 1
When the relay switch 17 of No. 3 is in the ON state, the high level signal is not output even if the high level signal is input to the H active input terminal.

When the automatic engine starting device 9 receives a starting signal from the key transmitter and a certain period of time elapses, S
The relay coil 26 of the T relay 13 is cut off to turn off the relay switch 17. Then, H of AND circuit 39
Since the active input terminal is in the high level state and the L active input terminal is in the low level state, the AND circuit 39 gives a high level drive signal to the delay circuit 40. And
The delay circuit 40 outputs the drive signal after a predetermined time elapses after the drive signal is given from the AND circuit 39, whereby the relay coil 29 of the manual start inhibition relay 27 is driven and the relay switch 28 is turned off.

After operating the engine in this way, the driver inserts a key into the key cylinder of the ignition switch device 1 to turn the rotor from the off position to the on position in order to drive the automobile. Then, the steering lock is released. At this time, the rotor may be forced to rotate to the start position. However, at this time, since the relay switch 28 of the manual start prohibiting relay 27 is in the off state, even if the rotary contact piece 2 comes into contact with the ST fixed contact piece 8 (the start switch is turned on), the starter motor is started. There is no.

When the rotor is turned to the ON position, the ACC, IG1 and IG2 relays 14 to
The 16 relay coils 23 to 25 are cut off (the relay switches 14 to 16 are turned off).

By the way, when the engine is started by a key operation rather than a remote operation, the relay switch 28 of the manual start prohibiting relay 27 is in an ON state. In this state, the rotor is turned to the start position by a key operation, and when the start switch of the ignition switch device 1 is turned on, the starter motor is activated to start the engine. Then, when the engine is started, a high level signal is input to the H active input terminal of the AND circuit 39 in the same manner as described above.

When the rotor is returned to the ON position (the start switch is turned off), a low level signal is input to the L active input terminal of the AND circuit 39, so that the AND circuit 39 outputs the inhibit signal to the delay circuit. Give to 40. After that, when a certain time elapses, the delay circuit 38
Outputs a drive signal and turns off the relay switch 28 of the manual start inhibition relay 27. Therefore, even if the engine is operating thereafter, the starter motor will not start even if the start switch of the ignition switch device 1 is turned on.

As described above, the relay switch 28 of the manual start prohibiting relay 27 is turned off after a certain period of time from the turning off of the start switch due to the delayed output of the delay circuit 40. Therefore, the relay switch 28 is turned off not after the start switch is turned off but after the start switch is turned off and the starter motor is cut off.
Therefore, since the current flowing through the starter motor is not interrupted by the relay switch 28, the current flowing through the starter motor is not opened or closed by the contact of the relay switch 28, and the electromotive voltage at the time of OFF is also applied between the contacts. Therefore, the relay switch 28 can be made small in size with a small current capacity.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and the following expansions and modifications are possible. The engine operation detecting means is an electronically controlled fuel injection device (E
The operation may be detected by a check engine lamp signal output from FI).

If the manual start prohibiting relay 27 is made of a large capacity one, it may be turned off at the same time as the start switch is turned off. Therefore, the AND circuit 39 and the delay circuit 40 are omitted, and the high level signal of the comparator 36 is output. A drive circuit configuration for driving the relay coil 29 of the manual start inhibition relay 27 in synchronization may be adopted.

Further, the rotation speed detection function of the F / V conversion circuit 35, the functions of the comparator 36, the AND circuit 39 and the gary circuit 40 may be configured to be performed by the CPU.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the start switch of the ignition switch device is mistakenly turned on while the engine is operating, the motor energizing path is opened, so the starter is opened. The motor never starts.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 1 is an ignition switch device, 4 is a charge lamp, 7 is a starter motor, 9 is an automatic engine starting device, 27 is a manual start inhibiting relay (switch means), 3
Reference numeral 1 is a transistor (engine operation detecting means), 40 is a delay circuit (delaying means), and 41 is a starting operation inhibiting means.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ignition switch device operated by a key, a switch means provided in a motor energizing path for energizing a starter motor by turning on a start switch of the ignition switch device, and an engine operating. Engine starting of an automobile comprising engine operation detecting means for detecting, and start operation prohibiting means for operating the switch means to open the motor energization path when the engine operation detecting means detects engine operation. apparatus. 2. The engine starting device for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the starting operation prohibiting means includes a delaying means for actuating the switch means after the starter motor is cut off.