JPH11301305A - Automatic stopping and starting device for engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic stopping and starting device for an engine which senses a driver's will to start as an engine starting condition without adding any special parts to hold down rising manufacturing costs. SOLUTION: After an engine has been stopped automatically, a determination to start the engine is made when a transmission lever position is shifted from an N position to an adjacent D position or R position, thereafter switched again to the N position. Accordingly, the determination to start can be made by using an information of a transmission lever position being used to shift control of a transmission, as a result any special parts are no longer needed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic stop / start apparatus for an engine, and more particularly to an automatic stop / start apparatus for temporarily stopping an engine when a vehicle is temporarily stopped.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an automatic stop and start device for automatically stopping an engine for the purpose of saving fuel consumption and reducing emission when a vehicle is stopped at a traffic light or the like has been practically used. Has been In general, engine stop conditions are set such as zero vehicle speed, idling, and the like, so that there is no problem with stopping the engine. Must be set as a condition.

[0003] Therefore, in a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission, a depression operation of a clutch pedal is set as a condition, and when the depression operation is detected, the stopped engine is restarted. However, since there is no clutch pedal in a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission, it is necessary to take another measure. For example, in the vehicle disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 2-21301, a driver of a start switch provided in the driver's seat of the vehicle is required. The operation is set as the engine start condition.

[0004]

However, in the automatic stop / start device described in the prior art, a dedicated start switch is provided in the driver's seat of the vehicle. And the production cost is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic engine stop / start apparatus capable of detecting a driver's intention to start as an engine start condition without adding a special part, thereby suppressing a rise in manufacturing cost. Is to do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, when an engine automatic stop condition is satisfied, the engine is stopped by the engine stop means based on the stop determination of the stop determination means. The engine is started by the engine starting means based on the start determination of the start determining means when the switch operation is switched to the neutral position again after switching to a different shift lever position. In this way, since the driver determines that the specific shift lever operation is the driver's intention to start and makes the engine start determination, it is possible to make a start determination using the shift lever position information used for the shift control of the transmission. It is not necessary to add special parts.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an automatic stop / start device for a diesel engine will be described below.

An automatic transmission is combined with a diesel engine mounted on a vehicle.
Neutral detected by shift lever switch (N)
The actual gear position of the automatic transmission is switched by an A / TECU (transmission control unit) (not shown) in accordance with a shift lever position such as a position, a drive (D) position, a reverse (R) position, and the running state of the vehicle. It is being operated.

An input / output device (not shown), storage devices (ROM, RAM, BURAM, etc.) for storing control programs and control maps, and a central processing unit (C)
An ECU 1 (engine control unit) including a PU, a timer counter, and the like is provided. As shown in FIG.
On the input side of the ECU 1, a main switch 2 of the automatic stop / start device, a shift lever switch 3 for detecting a shift lever position selected by the driver, and a neutral for detecting that the gear position of the automatic transmission is at the N position. A switch 4, a speed sensor 5 for detecting the speed of the engine, a speed sensor 6 for detecting the running speed of the vehicle, and various other switches and sensors are connected. Here, the shift lever switch 3 is an existing switch originally provided in the vehicle for detecting shift lever position information required for the shift control of the A / TECU.

An output of the ECU 1 is connected to an engine stop device 7 for shutting off fuel supply to the engine, a starter relay 8 for starting the engine, and various other warning lights and devices. The ECU 1 performs various controls for operating the engine, including fuel injection control, based on the detected information, and executes automatic stop / start control when the vehicle is temporarily stopped, as described below.

Next, the automatic stop / start processing of the diesel engine performed by the automatic stop / start apparatus configured as described above will be described.

The ECU 1 executes an automatic stop / start routine shown in FIG. 2 at a predetermined control interval (for example, 10 ms). First, in step S2, the ECU 1 determines whether or not the main switch 2 is ON. If the determination is NO (No), the ECU 1 ends this routine. If the determination in step S2 is YES (affirmative), the current vehicle and engine conditions are changed in step S4 based on the preset engine stop condition shown in FIG. Zero, that the engine is running based on the detection of the rotation speed sensor 5, that the shift lever position is held at the N position for a predetermined time based on the detection of the shift lever switch 3, and that the neutral switch 4 It is determined whether the gear position satisfies the N position based on the detection. In the condition of FIG. 3, the shift lever position N
These conditions reflect the driver's intention to stop the engine automatically. That is, when the vehicle stops at a position other than the shift lever position N, it is possible to predict that the driver does not want to automatically stop the engine, for example, due to a short signal waiting time, and not to automatically stop the engine. ing.

If the determination in step S2 is NO, it is determined that the engine is not in a condition to be stopped, and this routine is temporarily terminated. If the determination is YES, automatic stop processing is executed in step S6. Specifically, the ECU 1 outputs a command to the engine stop device 7 to shut off the fuel supply and stop the engine.

Next, based on the engine starting conditions shown in FIG. 4 preset in step S8, that is, the gear position is the N position based on the detection of the neutral switch 4, and based on the detection of the shift lever switch 3, The shift lever position held at the N position in the step S4 is switched to the adjacent D position or R position within a predetermined time and then switched to the N position again (N-DN or N-D-N).
-RN) is determined. If the determination in step S8 is YES, an automatic start process is executed in step S10, and this routine ends. Specifically, the ECU 1 energizes the starter relay 8, cranks and starts the engine with a starter (not shown), and the driving by the driver is restarted.

Here, in the present embodiment, the ECU 1 when executing the processing of step S4 functions as a stop determining means, and the ECU 1 when executing the processing of step S8 functions as a start determining means. The ECU 1 and the engine stop device 7 when executing the processing function as engine stopping means, and the ECU 1 and the starter relay 8 when performing the processing in step S10 function as engine starting means.

As described above, in the automatic stop / start apparatus according to the present embodiment, a specific shift lever operation (N-D-N-
Or, NRN) is regarded as the driver's intention to start and the engine start is determined. The shift lever switch 3 for detecting the shift lever position is an A / TEC
Since this automatic stop / start device is implemented because it is provided for shifting control on the U side, FIG.
Can be easily realized by only minor changes in the system circuit such as inputting the control software relating to the routine and the output of the shift lever switch 3 to the ECU 1 side. It is possible to save the trouble of installation in the driver's seat and the like, and to suppress a rise in manufacturing cost.

Further, in this embodiment, the position of the shift lever N for the automatic stop operation of the engine and the position of the shift lever N for the start position of the automatic start operation of the engine can be made the same, so that the operability of the driver can be improved. Another advantage is that the driver can easily understand that the automatic stop and automatic start of the engine are a series of functions.

Further, in the prior art described in the publication, the engine is restarted at the gear position of the third speed or higher, so that it is inevitable that the feeling deteriorates due to the back-and-forth swinging of the vehicle. Since the engine is restarted at the N position, there is no such problem, and a good driving feeling can always be provided.

The description of the embodiment has been completed above, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this embodiment. For example,
In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied as an automatic stop / start device for a diesel engine combined with an automatic transmission. However, the types of the engine and the transmission are not limited to this, and a gasoline engine combined with a manual transmission with an automated clutch mechanism is used. May be applied. That is, also in this case, since there is no clutch pedal, it is necessary to determine the start of the engine from a specific shift lever operation as in the present embodiment, instead of the depression operation.

In the above embodiment, the conditions shown in FIG. 3 are used as engine stop conditions, and the conditions shown in FIG.
However, when the engine was stopped, the shift lever position was held at the N position, and after switching from the N position to a different shift lever position, the shift lever was switched to the N position again. The condition may be set so that the engine is restarted. Therefore, it is needless to say that the other conditions can be arbitrarily changed according to the use of the vehicle, the type of the transmission, and the like. It may be set that the operation has been switched to another position after passing the R position, and then the operation has been switched again to the N position.

[0021]

As described above, according to the automatic stop / start system for an engine of the present invention, since the engine start determination is made based on a specific shift lever operation, it is used for shift control of a transmission. The start determination can be performed by using the shift lever position information that is present, and as a result, it is possible to detect the driver's intention to start as an engine start condition without adding a special part, thereby suppressing a rise in manufacturing costs. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of an automatic stop / start device for an engine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic stop / start routine executed by an ECU.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an engine stop condition.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing engine start conditions.

[Description of Signs] 1 ECU (stop determination means) (engine stop means)
(Start determination means) (Engine start means) 7 Engine stop device (Engine stop means) 8 Starter relay (Engine start means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A stop determining means for determining a stop when an automatic stop condition of the engine is satisfied; an engine stop means for stopping an engine of the vehicle when the stop determining means determines a stop; After the engine is stopped by the engine stop means, the start lever is switched from the neutral position to a different position and then switched to the neutral position again, and the start determination is made by the start determination means. The start determination is made by the start determination means. And an engine starting means for starting the engine.