JPS6257810B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for automatically starting and stopping an automobile engine. The present invention relates to a method for automatically starting and stopping an automobile engine, which maintains the rotation of the engine based on the fact that the automobile is in a running state, and stops the engine when the automobile stops.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, in this type of automatic start/stop method,
When starting a car engine, the starter of the engine is automatically energized and driven in response to the depression of the clutch pedal of the car, and as the rotation speed of the starter increases while the engine is at that rotation speed. When the starter rises and completes its starting, this is detected and the power supply to the starter is cut off to stop the starter.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

By the way, in such an automatic start/stop method, when the pinion provided on the output shaft of the starter cannot mesh with the ring gear provided on the flywheel of the engine when starting the engine, for example, if the slip condition occurs. In this case, the engine rotational speed cannot increase along with that of the starter and remains at a low rotational speed. Therefore, even if such a malfunction occurs, if the starter is kept energized by pressing the clutch pedal, there will be no noise such as gear noise or wear at the connection between the starter and the engine, such as the pinion or ring gear. In addition to causing damage such as the following, there is a problem in that power supply to the starter cannot be cut off once the engine has finished starting, resulting in unnecessary power consumption.

On the other hand, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 51-137042, when the pinion does not mesh with the ring gear, a predetermined time-limited operation time is set by the time-limited operation of the first time-limited relay in order to mesh both. If the pinion is not engaged with the ring gear when the timed operation of the first time relay ends, the power to the starter is cut off, and this energization cutoff state is transferred to the second time relay. It is also conceivable that the starter is maintained for a predetermined period of time by a timed operation, and when the timed operation of the second timed relay ends, the first timed relay is again timed operated to bring the pinion into mesh with the ring gear.

However, in such a configuration, depending on the degree of increase in the rotational speed of the engine while the starter is energized, the starter may continue to be energized even after the timed operation of the first time relay ends. Although the pinion may be able to complete its engagement with the ring gear without significant power consumption, unless the pinion completes its engagement with the ring gear by the end of the timed operation of the first timed relay, the second timed Maintaining energization to the starter by timed operation of the relay and the same No. 2
This results in a problem that the timed operation of the first timed relay always restarts when the timed operation of the timed relay ends.

Therefore, in order to deal with this problem, the present invention provides a method for automatically starting and stopping an automobile engine, in which when the starter cannot be connected to the engine when starting the engine by energizing the starter The aim is to appropriately control the energization of the starter by taking into consideration the degree of increase in the rotational speed of the starter.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve this problem, the structural feature of the present invention is to automatically energize and drive the starter provided in the engine of the automobile in response to the operation of the starting operation mechanism when starting the automobile. connecting it to an engine and automatically energizing an ignition circuit or a fuel injection amount control circuit provided in the engine to start the engine;
When the engine has finished starting, it is detected and power to the starter is cut off, and after the car has started, it is detected that the car is running and the ignition circuit or fuel injection is activated based on this detection result. In the method for automatically starting and stopping an engine, the engine is stopped by maintaining energization to the amount control circuit and, when the vehicle stops, cutting off the energization to the ignition circuit or the fuel injection amount control circuit, wherein the starter When a first predetermined time period necessary for completing the start of the engine has elapsed after the automatic energization of the engine has elapsed, it is determined whether the rotational speed of the engine is equal to or higher than a predetermined rotational speed, and it is determined that the rotational speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined rotational speed. , the automatic energization to the starter is continued; on the other hand, when it is determined that the rotation speed is lower than the predetermined rotation speed, the automatic energization to the previous starter is interrupted, and after this energization is cut off, the automatic energization to the starter is continued. 2. When a predetermined period of time has elapsed, automatic re-energization of the starter is permitted in response to re-operation of the start operation mechanism.

[Effect]

Therefore, in the present invention configured in this way, when starting the engine by automatically energizing the starter, the engine is started when the first predetermined time has elapsed after the start of the automatic energization to the starter. It is determined whether the rotational speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined rotational speed. Therefore, when it is determined that the rotation speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined rotation speed, the automatic energization to the starter is continued as it is. This means that if the predetermined rotational speed is properly selected, even if the first predetermined time has elapsed, if the engine rotational speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined rotational speed, unnecessary power consumption will occur. This means that the starting of the engine can be completed by continuing the automatic energization to the starter without any trouble.

On the other hand, when the starter cannot be connected to the engine in its automatically energized state and the rotational speed of the engine is determined to be less than the predetermined rotational speed due to insufficient increase, the starter's automatic Since electricity is cut off, the continuation of malfunctions such as slips that occur in the connection between the starter and the engine can be kept as short as possible, and noise or damage to the connection can be prevented, as well as unnecessary power consumption. can. Moreover, since automatic re-energization of the starter is permitted in response to the operation of the start operation mechanism when the second predetermined time has elapsed after the automatic energization of the starter has been interrupted, the second predetermined time has elapsed. When the starter stops over time, the starter will be reenergized. Therefore, a state in which the starter and the engine can be smoothly connected can be realized, and as a result, the engine can be started smoothly while preventing noise or damage as described above. In this case, since the first and second predetermined times are appropriately selected for stopping the starter and stopping the engine, as described above, the time required to complete starting the engine can be made as short as possible.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 11 and 12 respectively indicate a starter and an ignition circuit of an automobile engine (fueled by gasoline), and the starter 11 is an ignition circuit. Switch 1
It is connected to a DC power supply 10 via 3. When the ignition switch 13 is operated to temporarily connect its movable contact 13a to the fixed terminal 13c, the starter 11 is supplied with power from the DC power source 10 and starts, putting the engine in a cranking state. The ignition circuit 12 includes a control circuit 12a connected to a signal generator provided in a distributor of the engine, and an ignition coil 12c connected to the control circuit 12a via a transistor 12b. . Under the control of the control circuit 12a, the transistor 12b becomes conductive in response to the generation of a signal from the signal generator and becomes non-conductive in response to the disappearance of the signal from the signal generator. In other words, each time the transistor 12b becomes non-conductive, it generates a collector signal (having a high level), and the period of this collector signal is equal to the period of the signal from the signal generator,
That is, it corresponds to the rotational speed of the engine. The ignition coil 12c is energized in response to the conduction of the transistor 12b in a state where it can receive power from the DC power supply 10, and is cut off from the energized state in response to the non-conduction of the transistor 12b to generate a spark voltage, and the ignition coil 12c generates a spark voltage. Grant to triviewer.

The alternator 14 is connected between the DC power supply 10 and the regulator relay 15, and when driven by the engine, the alternator 14 generates an AC voltage at the neutral point N of its stator coil and also generates an AC voltage. It is converted into a DC voltage and supplied to the DC power supply 10. Regulator relay 15
The electromagnetic coil 15a is connected between the neutral point N of the stator coil of the alternator 14 and the ground terminal 15c, and the double-throw contact 15 is connected to the ground terminal 15c or the fixed terminal 15d connected to the DC power supply 10.
b. Therefore, the electromagnetic coil 15a
is in a demagnetized state, the double-headed contact 15b is connected to the ground terminal 15c and a low voltage Lo is applied from the output terminal L.
occurs. When the electromagnetic coil 15a is excited by the alternating current voltage generated at the neutral point N of the stator coil, the double-headed contact 15b is connected to the fixed terminal 15d and generates a high voltage Hi from the output terminal L.

The microcomputer 20 has a transistor 1
2b, regulator relay 15, speed sensor 1
6, connected to the set switch 17, the first clutch switch 18a, the second clutch switch 18b and the door switch 19. Speed sensor 16
is a disk 16a made of a permanent magnet, and this disk 1
6a and a reed switch 16b arranged so as to form a magnetic relationship, and the disc 16a is attached to a speedometer drive cable 16c connected to the output shaft of the power transmission device of the vehicle. It is being However, disk 16
When a rotates in conjunction with the drive cable 16c,
Reed switch 16b sequentially detects each protrusion on disk 16a and generates a series of speed pulses corresponding to the actual speed of the vehicle.

The set switch 17 is a normally open switch with a self-resetting function, and is provided at a suitable location in the vehicle interior of the vehicle. Thus, this set switch 17 generates a set signal by its temporary closure. First and second clutch switch 18a
and 18b are both provided on the clutch pedal of the vehicle, and the first clutch switch 18a
is of the normally open type and generates the first clutch signal when the clutch pedal is fully depressed. The second clutch switch 18b is of a normally closed type, and
When the clutch pedal is depressed, a second clutch signal is generated, and when the clutch pedal is released, the second clutch signal is extinguished. The door switch 19 is a normally closed switch, which is installed on the door of the vehicle, generates a door signal when the door is opened, and extinguishes this door signal when the door is closed.

The microcomputer 20 is formed by an LSI, and is activated in response to the constant voltage (5V) generated from the constant voltage circuit 21 by power supply from the DC power supply 10 when the ignition switch 13 is closed. Become. The microcomputer 20 includes a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU), an input/output device (hereinafter referred to as L/O), a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM), and a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM). ) and a clock circuit are provided, and these CPU, 1/O, ROM,
The RAM and clock circuits are connected to each other via a bus line. l/o is the collector signal from the transistor 12b, the low voltage Lo (or high voltage Hi) from the regulator relay 15, each speed pulse from the speed sensor 16, and the set switch 17.
, the first and second clutch signals from the first and second clutch switches 18a and 18b, and the door signal from the door switch 19.
Grant to RAM. The clock circuit is connected to a crystal oscillator 22.
generates a series of clock signals.
The ROM stores in advance a main control program and an interrupt control program necessary for the CPU to execute the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively.

The CPU has an interrupt timer, which starts counting at the same time as the microcomputer 20 is started, and when its clock value reaches 1 msec, it is reset and starts counting again. The CPU then executes the main control program in response to a series of clock signals from the clock circuit, and stops executing the main control program every time the clock value of the interrupt timer reaches 1 msec. By executing both control programs alternately, various calculation processes are performed as described below, and the drive signal (or drive stop signal) necessary to drive (or stop) the starter 11 is generated. and ignition coil 12c
generates the energization signal (or energization stop signal) necessary for energization (or de-energization) of the In this case, the execution of the main control program by the CPU is repeatedly completed within 10 msec after its start.

A starter relay 32 and an ignition relay 34 are connected to the microcomputer 20 via transistors 31 and 33, respectively. The transistor 31 has its base connected to the l/o of the microcomputer 20, and its emitter connected to the ignition switch 13.
When the ignition switch 13 is closed, it becomes conductive when it receives a drive signal from the CPU, and becomes non-conductive when it receives a drive stop signal from the CPU. The transistor 33 is grounded at its emitter and connected to l/o at its base, becomes non-conductive upon receiving a energizing signal from the CPU, and becomes conductive upon receiving a energizing stop signal from the CPU.

The starter relay 32 includes an electromagnetic coil 32a and a normally open switch 32b.
a is grounded at one end and connected to the collector of the transistor 31 at the other end.
When the transistor 31 is turned on, it is excited by receiving power from the DC power supply 10, and is demagnetized in response to the non-conduction of the transistor 31. The normally open switch 32b of the starter relay 32 is connected between the DC power supply 10 and the starter 11, and closes in response to the excitation of the electromagnetic coil 32a, allowing power to be supplied from the DC power supply 10 to the starter 11. start. Further, the normally open switch 32b cuts off the power supply to the open starter 11 in response to the demagnetization of the electromagnetic coil 32a, thereby stopping the open starter 11. The ignition relay 34 consists of an electromagnetic coil 34a and a normally closed switch 34b.
The electromagnetic coil 34a is connected to the ignition switch 13
It is connected between the fixed terminal 13b of the transistor 33 and the collector of the transistor 33, and is demagnetized when the transistor 33 is non-conducting, and is excited by receiving power from the DC power supply 10 in response to the transistor 33 being conductive. The normally closed switch 34b is connected to the electromagnetic coil 3
When 4a is in the demagnetized state, it closes and the DC power supply 10
The ignition coil 12c is opened to allow power to be supplied to the ignition coil 12c, and opens in response to the excitation of the electromagnetic coil 34a to cut off the power supply to the ignition coil 12c.

In this embodiment configured as described above, when the ignition switch 13 is operated to connect the movable contact 13a to the fixed terminal 13b while the vehicle is stopped, the constant voltage circuit 21 Power is supplied from the power supply 10 to generate a constant voltage, and in response to this, the microcomputer 20 becomes operational. At the same time, the interrupt timer of the CPU starts counting time, and the CPU starts executing the main control program in step 40 according to the flowchart of FIG. Next, ignition switch 13
When the starter 11 is operated to temporarily connect the movable contact 13a to the fixed terminal 13c, the starter 11 receives power from the DC power supply 10 and starts the engine in cooperation with the ignition circuit 12. At this time, the regulator relay 15 is connected to the alternator 14
Generates high voltage Hi under the control of It is assumed that the reed switch 16b is closed due to the magnetic relationship with the disc 16a when the vehicle is stopped.

When the main control program proceeds to step 41 in such a state, the CPU switches to microcomputer 2.
Initialize the contents of 0, reset the flag Fs,
Set the flag _F1 to the actual level of the speed pulse from the speed sensor 16 (at this stage, the reed switch 1
6b is closed, this reed switch 1
It is assumed that the velocity pulse to be generated from 6b is at a low level, that is, zero. ), advance the main control program to step 42, and set the flag Fs.
It is determined whether or not the is in the reset state.
In this case, setting (or resetting) flag Fs
indicates that the set condition for setting the engine under automatic start/stop control is met (or not met), and this set condition is set by regulator relay 1.
5 is generating a high voltage Hi, the door signal from the de-switch 19 has disappeared, and the set switch 17 is generating a set signal.

In this state, the CPU responds to the clock value from the interrupt timer, stops execution of the main control program, and resumes execution of the interrupt control program in step 60.
(see Figure 3), the speed sensor 16
The velocity pulse from (currently a low level signal) is stored in the RAM in the next step 61. When the interrupt control program proceeds to step 62, the CPU determines whether the storage pulse in step 61 is at a high level. Therefore, the CPU determines "NO" and advances the interrupt control program to step 63, where it is determined whether the flag _F1 is set to a low level, that is, 0.

Then, based on the set level of flag _F1 in step 41 of the main control program, the CPU
If it is determined to be ``YES'', in the next step 68, ``1'' is added to the count value C by the RAM counter, and this addition result is set as a new C, and the interrupt control program proceeds to step 69, and the count value C is It is determined whether the time is 2 seconds or more. In this case, the RAM counter counts the time during which the level of the speed pulse stored in the RAM does not change in response to the clock signal from the clock circuit, and the added value "1" by the RAM counter is controlled by the interrupt control. The time required to execute the program (corresponds to 1 msec.However, since the count value C has not reached 2 seconds or more yet,
The CPU determines "NO" in step 69, and ends the execution of the interrupt control program in step 71.

However, when the execution of the interrupt control program ends and the execution of the main control program starts, the CPU
However, in step 42, the flag in step 41 is
Based on the reset state of Fs, it is determined as ``YES'', and the main control program proceeds to step 43, where it is determined whether or not the set condition is satisfied. However, at this stage, at least the set switch 17 is not operated, so the CPU determines "NO" in step 43 and returns the main control program to step 42.
Note that while the main control program described above is being executed, the CPU will
Every time sec is reached, execution of the main control program is stopped and the interrupt control program as described above is executed.

During the execution of each of these control programs, the door switch 19 responds to the closing of the door of the vehicle by extinguishing the door signal, and while the set switch 17 generates the set signal by its temporary operation, the main When the control program reaches step 43, the CPU generates a high voltage Hi from the regulator relay 15 and a set signal from the set switch 17, and generates the door switch 19.
Based on the disappearance of the door signal from the
A flag Fs is set in step 45, and it is determined in step 45 whether or not the engine is stopped.
Then, the CPU determines "NO" based on the high voltage Hi from the regulator relay 15, and then determines in step 55 whether or not the engine stop condition is satisfied. In this case, the engine stop condition is the second clutch switch 18b.
This is established when two conditions are met: the clutch signal disappears, and the count value C of the RAM counter is 2 seconds (the time required for the vehicle to stop once the brake pedal is operated). However, at this stage,
If the counted value C by the RAM counter is not greater than 2 seconds, the CPU determines "NO" in step 55 and returns the main control program to step 42.

As mentioned above, the main control program
Returning to step 42, the CPU determines "NO" based on the result of setting the flag Fs in step 44, and proceeds to step 54, which determines whether the cancellation condition for canceling the engine from automatic start/stop control is met. Proceed with the control program. in this case,
The cancel condition is established by the fulfillment of the requirements that a door signal is generated from the door switch 19 or a set signal is generated from the set switch 17 while the flag Fs is set. Based on the fact that the door signal from the door switch 19 has disappeared and the set signal has not been generated from the set switch 17, the CPU determines "NO" in step 54, and executes the main control program in steps 45 and 55. through it and return to step 42.

In such a state, when the vehicle starts by operating its starting operation mechanism, the traveling speed of the vehicle is detected as a speed pulse by the speed sensor 16 and provided to the microcomputer 20 . At this stage, the CPU responds to the clock value from the interrupt timer, stops execution of the main control program, and resumes execution of the interrupt control program in step 60.
(see Figure 3), the speed sensor 16
The velocity pulse from is stored in the RAM in the next step 61. When the interrupt control program proceeds to step 62, the CPU determines whether the speed pulse stored in step 61 is at a high level.

If the speed pulse stored in step 61 is at a high level, the CPU advances the interrupt control program to step 64, and determines whether the flag _F1 is at a high level, that is, 1. However, the CPU
However, based on the level of flag F ₁ in step 41 of the main control program, it is determined as "NO", and the interrupt control program advances to step 66 to set flag F ₁ =
Set to 1. Interrupt control program steps
Proceeding to step 67, the CPU resets the count value C of the counter provided in the RAM, and ends the interrupt control program at step 71. When the main control program proceeds to step 55, the CPU determines "NO" based on the reset result in step 67 of the interrupt control program, and returns the main control program to step 42.

Thereafter, when the execution of the main control program shifts to the execution of the interrupt control program in the same way as in the case described above, the speed pulse from the speed sensor 16 is stored in the RAM in step 61. If the speed pulse stored in this RAM is at a low level, that is, zero, the CPU determines "NO" in step 62, advances the interrupt control program to step 63, and checks if the flag F ₁ =0. It is determined whether or not.
Then, the CPU determines "NO" based on the set result F ₁ =1 in step 66, sets F ₁ =0 in step 65, resets the counted value C by the RAM counter in step 67, Terminates execution of the interrupt control program. Then, when the main control program reaches step 55, the CPU determines "NO" in the same way as in the case described above, and returns the main control program to step 42.

In this driving state of the vehicle, if the brake pedal is operated to temporarily stop the vehicle at an intersection, etc., step 65 (or 66) is executed.
Interrupt control program and steps through and 67
The car is decelerated while the CPU repeats each execution of the main control program through steps 42, 54, 45, and 55.
When the clutch pedal is depressed, the second clutch signal is generated from the second clutch switch 18b and is stopped, and thereafter, when the clutch pedal is released, the second clutch signal disappears. At this time, the speed pulse generated from the speed sensor 16 also disappears.

Therefore, while the CPU is repeating the addition operation in step 68 of the interrupt control program, the determination as "NO" in step 69, and the determination as "NO" in step 55 of the main control program, the addition in step 68 is repeated. When the result reaches 2 seconds or more, the CPU determines "YES" in step 69, and sets the counted value C by the RAM counter to 2 seconds in step 70. Then, when the main control program proceeds to step 55, the CPU determines "YES" based on the disappearance of the second clutch signal from the second clutch switch 18b and the set result in step 70, and causes the main control program to proceed to step 56. Proceed to generate a energization stop signal. Then, the transistor 33 becomes conductive in response to the energization stop signal from the CPU, and the ignition relay 34 turns on the normally closed switch 3 by excitation of the electromagnetic coil 34a.
4b to stop power supply to the ignition coil 12c. As a result, the engine stops and the regulator relay 15 generates a low voltage Lo.

The main control program returns to step 42 and continues to step 42.
When the CPU reaches 45, the regulator relay 45
The determination is ``YES'' based on the low voltage Lo from , and the main control program proceeds to step 46 in which it is determined whether the starter 11 is stopped. Then, the CPU determines "YES" since no drive signal has been generated yet, and in the next step 51, determines whether the drive delay time D _OFF of the starter 11 is 0. Therefore, the CPU determines "YES" in relation to the initialization in step 41, and advances the main control program to step 52, where it is determined whether the engine starting conditions are satisfied. In this case, the engine starting condition is established by simultaneously satisfying two requirements: the regulator relay 15 is generating low voltage Lo, and the first clutch switch 18a is generating the first clutch signal. do. Then, based on the disappearance of the first clutch signal, the CPU determines "NO" in step 52, resets the drive time D _ON of the starter 11 in step 53, and returns the main control program to step 42.

When the vehicle and engine are temporarily stopped, the clutch pedal is operated to set the first clutch signal to the first clutch signal in order to start the vehicle again.
If generated from clutch switch 18a, when the main control program advances to step 52, the CPU
is determined to be ``YES'', and a drive signal is generated in step 52a. Then, the transistor 31
In response to a drive signal from the CPU, the starter relay 32 becomes conductive and closes the normally closed switch 32b by energizing the electromagnetic coil 32a, and in response, the starter 11 is energized and begins to drive the engine. When the main control program proceeds to step 53, the CPU resets the starter drive time D _ON and returns the main control program to step 42.

By the way, at the time when the starter 11 starts driving the engine as described above, the starter 11
If the pinion installed on the output shaft of the starter cannot mesh smoothly with the ring gear installed on the flywheel of the engine, and the pinion slips, then
Even though the rotational speed of the engine 1 increases, the rotational speed of the engine hardly increases, and the regulator 15 maintains generation of the low voltage Lo. When the main control program reaches step 45 in this state, the CPU determines "YES" based on the low voltage value Lo from the regulator relay 15, and proceeds to the next step.
At step 46, a determination of "NO" is made based on the generation of the drive signal at step 52a, and at the next step 47, it is determined whether or not a condition for stopping the starter 11 is satisfied. In this case, the condition for stopping the starter 11 is satisfied by the requirement that the regulator relay 15 generates a high voltage Hi.

However, at this stage, as mentioned above, there is a slip in the connection between the starter 11 and the engine, and the engine has not yet finished starting. It has occurred. Therefore, the CPU determines "NO" in step 47, and advances the main control program to step 48, where it determines whether the starter drive time D _ON =1 sec. In this case, the value of the starter drive time D _ON (1 sec) corresponds to the time expected to be required to complete starting of the engine. However,
Starter drive time D _O at step 53 when the CPU
Determined as “NO” in relation to the reset result of _N ,
At the next step 48a, 10 msec is added to the reset result at step 53, and then the main control program returns to step 42.

Step through the main control program as described above.
After returning to step 42, while repeating the determination as "NO" in step 48 and the addition operation in step 48a, the addition result in step 48a is
When the time reaches 1sec, the CPU determines "YES" in step 48 and steps the main control program.
Proceed to step 49, the engine speed is 100r, p,
It is determined whether or not the value is greater than or equal to m. However, at this stage, since a slip condition has occurred at the connection between the starter 11 and the engine, the CPU determines "NO" in step 49 based on the collector signal from the transistor 12b, and proceeds to the next step 49a. Then, the drive delay time D _OFF is set to 1 sec, and the main control program proceeds to step 50 to generate a drive stop signal. This causes transistor 31 to become non-conductive, opening the normally open switch of starter relay 32, and in response, starter 1
1 is de-energized and its rotational speed gradually decreases. In addition, in this example,
The drive delay time D _OFF =1 sec means the time required for the starter 11 to stop after being de-energized.

After that, when the main control program reaches step 46, the CPU determines "YES" based on the generation of the drive stop signal in step 50, and determines "NO" in step 51 based on the set result in step 49a.
Then, in the next step 51a, step 49a is executed.
10 msec is subtracted from the set result at , this subtraction result is set as a new D _OFF , and the main control program returns to step 42 through step 53. From then on,
The determination as "NO" in step 51 and the subtraction in step 51a are repeated, and when the subtraction result in step 51a becomes D _OFF =0, the CPU
is determined to be ``YES'' in step 51, and the main control program advances to step 52.

If the clutch pedal is not depressed at this stage, the CPU determines "NO" at step 52, and returns the main control program to step 42 through step 53. In addition, the first clutch switch 18
If the first clutch signal is generated by depressing the clutch pedal, the CPU determines "YES" in step 52, and generates a drive signal in the next step 52a. Then, under the control of the transistor 31 and the starter relay 32, the starter 11 is energized in response to a drive signal from the CPU and begins to drive the engine. In this case, starter 11
It is assumed that the pinion provided on the output shaft of the engine meshes smoothly with the ring gear provided on the flywheel of the engine. When the main control program proceeds to step 53, the CPU resets the starter drive time D _ON and returns the main control program to step 42. In addition,
At this stage, it is assumed that the engine has finished starting and the regulator relay 15 is generating high voltage Hi.

When the main control program reaches step 46,
The CPU determines "NO" based on the generation of the drive signal in step 52a, and in the next step 47 determines "YES" in relation to the high voltage Hi from the regulator relay 15, and proceeds to step 50. and generates a drive stop signal. As a result, transistor 31 becomes non-conductive, opening normally open switch 32b of starter relay 32, and stopping starter 11. Note that after the engine has been started, the vehicle starts by operating its starting operation mechanism. Further, in the above explanation of the operation, if the determination in step 49 is ``YES'', the CPU prohibits the main control program from proceeding to step 49a and returns the main control program to step 42. This means that even if the starter drive time D _ON (=1 sec) has elapsed, if the engine rotational speed is 100 rpm or more, the engine can be started without unnecessary power consumption. This means that, based on the premise, the generation of the drive stop signal in step 50 is prohibited and the engine continues to be driven by the starter 11.

As can be understood from the above explanation, even if the starter 11 is energized and driven by depressing the clutch pedal when the vehicle is started, the pinion provided on the output shaft of the starter 11 is not connected to the pinion provided on the flywheel of the engine. As a result, when the set value (1 sec) of the starter drive time D _ON has elapsed after the start of energization to the starter 11, the engine rotational speed does not match the rotational speed of the starter 11. not rising
If it is less than 100r, p, m, the energization to the starter 11 is cut off in response to the elapse of the starter driving time D _ON = 1 sec, and the starter driving time D _ON =
After 1 sec has elapsed, the power to the starter 11 is kept cut off until the drive delay time D _OFF = 1 sec has elapsed, and when the drive delay time D _OFF = 1 sec has elapsed, the starter 11 starts to drive the engine by the energization, and this If the pinion of the starter 11 smoothly meshes with the ring gear of the engine in step 1, the engine will rise at that rotational speed as the rotational speed of the starter 11 increases and completes its starting, and responds to the completion of this starting. The starter 11 is de-energized and stopped.

In other words, the starter drive time D _ON = 1 sec due to a situation where the starter 11 and the engine cannot be connected, such as a slip condition.
Even if the rotational speed of the starter 11 increases with the passage of time, if the engine rotational speed remains less than 100r, p, m, when the starter drive time D _ON has elapsed after the starter 11 is energized. Starter 11
Since the electricity is cut off, the continuation of the above-mentioned slip condition and other troublesome situations can be kept as short as possible, and noise such as gear noise or damage such as abrasion can be prevented from occurring in the connection part, and unnecessary electric power can be saved. Consumption can be prevented. Furthermore, as the rotation speed of the starter 11 decreases as the drive delay time D _OFF elapses after the starter drive time D _ON has elapsed, and when it becomes almost equal to that of the engine, the starter 11 is reenergized, so that the starter 11 and the engine can operate smoothly. Therefore, the engine start can be completed smoothly while preventing the above-mentioned noise or damage.

Furthermore, when the door of the vehicle is opened while the vehicle and engine are temporarily stopped, the door switch 19 generates a door signal.
When the main control program proceeds to step 54 in this state, the CPU determines "YES" based on the generation of the door signal, and proceeds to step 57 to reset the flag Fs.
Thereafter, the CPU generates a drive stop signal in step 58, and generates an energization signal in step 59. As a result, the transistor 31 becomes non-conductive in response to the drive stop signal, maintains the normally open switch 32b of the starter relay 32 in an open state, and disables automatic drive of the starter 11, and the transistor 33 responds to the energization signal. The normally closed switch 34b of the ignition relay 34 is kept closed, and the ignition coil 12c is enabled to be energized. Note that in a state where the automatic engine start/stop control is canceled in this way, the engine will not start unless the ignition switch 13 is operated.

In the above embodiment, the maximum value of the starter drive time D _ON and the set value of the drive delay time D _OFF were each set to 1 sec, but they are not limited to this and may be changed as appropriate.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the engine rotational speed determination standard in step 49 is 100r, p, m.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be modified and implemented as necessary.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to an automobile gasoline engine has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to an automobile diesel engine. However,
In this case, the ignition circuit 12 is replaced by a fuel injection amount control circuit that controls the amount of fuel injected into the diesel engine. What is necessary is to stop fuel injection when the valve is opened.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example was explained in which the engine is automatically stopped when the vehicle is stopped, but instead of this, for example, a one-touch manual operation switch may be adopted to detect this when the vehicle is stopped. At the same time, the engine may be stopped by manually operating the one-touch manual operation switch.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention;
2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the operation of the microcomputer shown in FIG. 1, respectively. Explanation of symbols, 11... Starter, 12... Ignition circuit, 13... Ignition switch, 16... Speed sensor, 17... Set switch, 18a... First clutch switch, 18b...
...Second clutch switch, 20...Microcomputer, 31, 33...Transistor, 32...
...Starter relay, 34...Ignition relay.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ignition circuit or fuel connected to the engine and connected to the engine by automatically energizing and driving a starter provided in the engine of the automobile in response to the operation of the starting operation mechanism when starting the automobile. Automatically energizes the injection amount control circuit to start the engine, detects when the engine has finished starting, and cuts off the energization to the starter, and after the vehicle starts, the vehicle is in a running state. Detecting that something has happened, and maintaining the energization to the ignition circuit or the fuel injection amount control circuit based on the detection result, and cutting off the energization to the ignition circuit or the fuel injection amount control circuit when the vehicle stops, and then In the method for automatically starting and stopping an engine in which the engine is stopped, when a first predetermined period of time required to complete starting of the engine has elapsed after the start of the automatic energization to the starter, the rotational speed of the engine is set to a predetermined rotation speed. It is determined whether or not the rotational speed is higher than the predetermined rotational speed, and when it is determined that the rotational speed is higher than the predetermined rotational speed, the automatic energization to the starter is continued, and on the other hand, when it is determined that the rotational speed is lower than the predetermined rotational speed, the automatic energization to the previous starter is continued. The energization is cut off, and when a second predetermined time necessary for stopping the starter has elapsed after the energization is cut off, automatic re-energization of the starter is allowed in response to re-operation of the start operation mechanism. A method for automatically starting and stopping an automobile engine, characterized in that: