JPH10299531A - Idling stop start system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stop/start an engine corresponding to a traffic condition in the surroundings when an automobile is stopped, thus to smoothly operate. SOLUTION: In this idling stop/start system, when an automobile 4 is stopped, whether a leading automobile 5 is provided or not, whether an inter-car distance X to the leading automobile 5 is shorter or not than a preset inter car distance A, whether the inter-car distance X to the leading automobile 5 in a condition X<A is continued or not for a preset time (setting time T) or more, based on a step in amount of a clutch pedal, whether an idle stop engine start condition is satisfied or not, are decided, based on this decision result, an engine is automatically stopped and started.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an idle stop start system for automatically stopping and starting an engine of a vehicle. It relates to an idle stop start system that stops and starts the engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, some vehicles such as route buses include:
Many have an idle stop start system. This idle stop start system detects when the vehicle is stopped due to traffic congestion and the engine is idle, detects this and automatically stops the engine, and detects when the clutch pedal is subsequently depressed. As a result, the engine is started automatically to reduce pollution and improve economic efficiency.

[0003]

However, in the conventional idle stop start system, when the vehicle stops and the gears are neutralized, when the foot is released from the clutch pedal and the clutch is engaged in this state, the engine is stopped. When the clutch pedal is depressed and the clutch is disengaged, the starter engine is started by turning the starter motor, so when the engine should not be turned off, for example, Stopped at a red light and stopped in response to this, but soon turned to a green light and when a car ahead was started,
There was a problem that the engine was stopped.

[0004] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is directed to claims 1 and 2.
In order to provide an idle stop start system that can stop and start the engine in response to the surrounding traffic conditions when the car is stopped, thereby allowing smoother driving It is an object.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is stopped at the head position at an intersection or the like, this is detected, and the engine is stopped and started in the same procedure as a normal idle start / stop system. It is an object of the present invention to provide an idle stop start system that can perform smoother operation.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an engine is stopped when an own vehicle stops and an engine stop condition is satisfied while the engine is running. In an idle stop start system that starts the engine when the engine start conditions are satisfied, the engine is stopped and started in consideration of the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle measured by the inter-vehicle distance meter. I have.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an idle stop for stopping the engine when an engine stop condition is met while the vehicle is stopped and the engine is running, and for starting the engine when the engine start condition is met. In the start system, an inter-vehicle distance meter that measures the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle and an engine when the inter-vehicle distance measured by the inter-vehicle distance meter is less than a set value and the host vehicle has been stopped for a predetermined time. And a control unit that starts the engine when the inter-vehicle distance measured by the inter-vehicle distance meter is equal to or greater than the set value or when the engine start conditions are satisfied in this engine stopped state. It is characterized by that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the idle stop start system according to the second aspect, the control unit precedes the own vehicle in a state where the own vehicle is stopped and the inter-vehicle distance meter. When another vehicle is not detected, an engine stop command and an engine start command are generated in the same procedure as in a normal idle stop start system to stop and start the engine.

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the inter-vehicle distance meter mounted on the own vehicle measures the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle and stops and starts the engine in consideration of the inter-vehicle distance. Therefore, when the vehicle is stopped, the engine is stopped and started in accordance with the surrounding traffic conditions, thereby performing smoother driving.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is stopped at the head position at an intersection or the like, this is detected and the engine is stopped and started in the same procedure as in a normal idle start / stop system. With this, a smoother driving is performed.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an idle stop / start system according to the present invention.

The idle stop start system 1 shown in FIG.
Is provided on the vehicle 4 (see FIG. 2) on which the vehicle 5 is mounted, and whether or not there is a preceding vehicle 5 (see FIG. 2);
Distance meter 2 for measuring the distance X between the vehicle and the vehicle, a vehicle speed signal output from a vehicle speed meter (not shown) provided in the vehicle 4 and a signal indicating the amount of depression of the clutch pedal. And a control unit 3 for performing a process of generating an engine stop command, an engine start command, and the like, and a process of transferring a measurement result of the following distance meter 2 to a rear-end collision prevention device (not shown). .

When the vehicle 4 is stopped and the engine is in an idling state, whether or not the preceding vehicle 5 is present, the inter-vehicle distance X to the preceding vehicle 5 is set to a predetermined inter-vehicle distance ( Whether the inter-vehicle distance X to the preceding vehicle is shorter than the set inter-vehicle distance A) is "X <
A preset time (set time T) in the state of A "
As described above, it is determined whether or not idle stop and engine start conditions are satisfied based on whether or not the engine is continued and the depression amount of the clutch pedal, and an engine stop command, an engine start command and the like are generated based on the determination result. This is supplied to an engine control unit (not shown), and the engine is automatically stopped or automatically started.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the inter-vehicle distance meter 4 is provided on a front bumper, a front grill, or the like of the automobile 4, and is provided with any one of a laser radar system, an image processing system, and an ultrasonic system. , Whether the preceding car 5 exists, and if there is the preceding car 5,
It is configured to measure the inter-vehicle distance X to the car 5, and measures the presence or absence of the preceding car 5, the inter-vehicle distance X to the car 5, and supplies the measurement result to the control unit 3.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, if the key of the vehicle 4 is set to a position equal to or higher than the ON state, the control unit 3 captures the inter-vehicle distance signal output from the inter-vehicle distance meter 2 and outputs the speed signal output from the vehicle speed meter. Then, it is checked whether the current speed V indicated by the speed signal is "0".

If the current speed V is not "0" (step ST1), the control unit 3 determines that the own vehicle (automobile 4) is currently running and outputs the current value from the inter-vehicle distance meter 2. Based on the inter-vehicle distance signal indicated by the present inter-vehicle distance signal, it is determined whether there is a preceding vehicle 5 and if there is a preceding vehicle 5, the inter-vehicle distance X is supplied to a rear-end collision prevention device, and a rear-end collision prevention process for the vehicle 5 Is done,
Speed control of the own vehicle (automobile 4) corresponding to the inter-vehicle distance is performed.

If the current speed V is "0" (step ST1), the control unit 3 determines that the own vehicle (automobile 4) is stopped at a red light or the like in front of the intersection. In this case, the inter-vehicle distance X indicated by the inter-vehicle distance signal output from the inter-vehicle distance meter 2 is compared with a preset inter-vehicle distance A, and if not "X <A" (step ST2). , There is no parked car ahead,
It is determined that the own vehicle (automobile 4) is stopped at the head.
Then, in the same procedure as in the normal idle stop start system, that is, when the gear is neutralized and the foot is released from the clutch pedal and the clutch is engaged in this state, an engine stop command is generated, and the engine control unit generates the engine stop command. Is stopped. Thereafter, when the clutch pedal is depressed to disengage the clutch, the control unit 3 generates an engine start command, and the engine control unit turns the starter motor to start the engine (step ST8).

If the current speed V is "0" and the inter-vehicle distance X to the preceding vehicle 5 is "X <A" (steps ST1 and ST2), the control unit 3 forwards the vehicle. While the vehicle 5 is stopped, it is determined that the own vehicle (the vehicle 4) is stopped, and the timing operation is started.

When the preset time T elapses (steps ST3 and ST4) while the speed V remains "0" from the start of the timing operation, the control unit 3 controls the vehicle (vehicle). It is determined that the idle stop condition of 4) is satisfied, an engine stop command is generated, and the engine is stopped by the engine control unit (step ST5).

Thereafter, the clutch pedal is depressed,
When the clutch is disengaged or the preceding vehicle 5 starts running, the inter-vehicle distance X to the preceding vehicle 5 becomes “X ≧
If A "(step ST6), the control unit 3 determines that the idling start condition of the own vehicle (vehicle 4) is satisfied, an engine start command is generated, the starter motor is turned by the engine control unit, and the engine is started. It is started (step ST7).

If the speed V does not become "0" between the time when the timing operation is started and the time T set in advance (step ST3), the control unit 3 controls the vehicle. It is determined that traveling of (automobile 4) has been started, and the above-described idle stop start processing is skipped.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the vehicle 4 is stopped and the engine is idling, whether or not the preceding vehicle 5 exists and the inter-vehicle distance X to the preceding vehicle 5 are determined. Whether the inter-vehicle distance X to the preceding vehicle 5 is longer than the set time T in the state of “X <A”, whether the inter-vehicle distance X is shorter than the preset inter-vehicle distance A, the amount of depression of the clutch pedal, etc. Based on this, it is determined whether or not the idle stop and engine start conditions are satisfied.Based on the determination result, an engine stop command, an engine start command, etc. are generated and supplied to the engine control unit to automatically start the engine. It stops automatically or starts automatically, so when the car is stopped, it responds to the surrounding traffic conditions, Engine stop, it is possible to perform the start, thereby, it is possible to perform a more smooth operation.

In this embodiment, when the vehicle is stopped at the head position at an intersection or the like, this is detected, and the engine is stopped and started in the same procedure as in a normal idle start / stop system. Therefore, when the vehicle is stopped at the head position, smooth driving can be performed as in the conventional procedure.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, according to the first and second aspects, when the vehicle is stopped, the engine can be stopped and started according to the surrounding traffic conditions. Thus, a smoother operation can be performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is stopped at the head position at an intersection or the like, this is detected, and the engine is stopped and started in the same procedure as in a normal idle start / stop system. It is possible to perform smoother driving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an idle stop start system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an operation example of the idle stop start system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the idle stop start system shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 idle stop start system 2 inter-vehicle distance meter 3 control unit 4 car (own car) 5 car (other car)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An idle stop start system that stops an engine when an engine stop condition is met while the vehicle is stopped and the engine is running, and starts the engine when an engine start condition is met. An idle stop / start system that stops and starts the engine in consideration of the inter-vehicle distance to a preceding vehicle measured by a distance meter. 2. An idle stop start system for stopping an engine when an engine stop condition is met while the vehicle is stopped and an engine is running and starting the engine when an engine start condition is met. An inter-vehicle distance meter that measures the inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle, and the inter-vehicle distance measured by the inter-vehicle distance meter is less than a set value.
And, when the stopped state of the own vehicle continues for a predetermined time, the engine is stopped, and in this engine stopped state, when the following distance measured by the following distance meter becomes equal to or more than the set value, or when the engine starting condition is satisfied. An idle stop start system comprising: a control unit that starts the engine when the engine is ready. 3. The idle stop start system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is in a state where the own vehicle is stopped, and the other vehicle ahead of the own vehicle is not detected by the inter-vehicle distance meter. In such a case, an idle stop start system generates an engine stop instruction and an engine start instruction in the same procedure as a normal idle stop start system to stop and start the engine.