WO2012114505A1

WO2012114505A1 - Control device of vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2012114505A1
Application number: PCT/JP2011/054279
Authority: WO
Inventors: 厚多嘉良; 俊介伏木
Original assignee: トヨタ自動車株式会社
Priority date: 2011-02-25
Filing date: 2011-02-25
Publication date: 2012-08-30

Abstract

An ECU (800) includes a pre-air conditioning control unit (810) and an engine start control unit (820). The pre-air conditioning control unit (810) operates an air conditioning unit and an electric fan to perform pre-air conditioning upon receipt of a pre-air conditioning request signal. When the engine start control unit (820) starts an engine, the engine start control unit (820) injects the basic quantity of fuel injection (Fbase) from an injector in the case where the history of pre-air conditioning performance does not exist, while injecting the corrective quantity of fuel injection obtained by increasing the basic quantity of fuel injection (Fbase) using a correction coefficient (K) from the injector for correction in the case where the history of pre-air conditioning performance exists.

Description

Vehicle control device

The present invention relates to control of a vehicle capable of executing pre-air-conditioning that pre-air-conditions the vehicle interior before starting the vehicle system.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-298326 (Patent Document 1) discloses a vehicle capable of executing pre-air-conditioning that pre-air-conditions the vehicle interior before starting the vehicle system in accordance with a user's remote operation.

JP 2006-298326 A

By the way, during execution of pre-air conditioning, an electric fan for cooling an air-conditioning condenser disposed in the engine compartment may be operated. Due to the operation of the electric fan, the temperature change in the engine compartment is different from that during natural standing (when the electric fan is not operated). Therefore, when the user gets on and starts the engine, if the same engine start control is performed when there is a pre-air conditioning execution history and when it is not, the engine startability may be deteriorated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to ensure engine startability in a vehicle capable of performing pre-air-conditioning that pre-air-conditions the vehicle interior before starting the vehicle system. That is.

The control device according to the present invention controls a vehicle capable of executing pre-air conditioning that air-conditions the vehicle interior before starting the vehicle system. The vehicle includes an engine, an air-conditioning condenser that is disposed inside a housing chamber that houses the engine, and an electric fan for cooling the condenser. The control device includes a fan operating unit that operates the electric fan during execution of pre-air conditioning, and a start control unit that executes start control for starting the engine. When starting the engine, the start control unit changes the start control mode in accordance with the pre-air-conditioning execution history.

Preferably, the engine includes a fuel supply pipe disposed at a position cooled by the operation of the electric fan, and an injection valve for injecting fuel supplied from the fuel supply pipe to the engine. When starting the engine, the start control unit changes the amount of fuel injected from the injection valve according to the execution history of pre-air conditioning.

Preferably, when the engine is started, the start control unit increases the amount of fuel injected from the injection valve when there is a pre-air conditioning execution history as compared to when there is no pre-air conditioning execution history.

Preferably, when starting the engine, the start control unit calculates a basic fuel amount based on the engine water temperature, and if there is no pre-air conditioning execution history, the basic fuel amount is injected from the injection valve, and the pre-air conditioning execution history If there is, a correction fuel amount larger than the basic fuel amount is injected from the injection valve.

Preferably, the start control unit changes the correction fuel amount based on the operation time of the electric fan during the pre-air conditioning execution period.

Preferably, the start control unit increases the corrected fuel amount as the operating time of the electric fan during the pre-air conditioning execution period is longer.

Preferably, the start control unit estimates the fuel temperature in the fuel supply pipe based on the operating time of the electric fan and the outside air temperature during the pre-air conditioning execution period, and increases the corrected fuel amount as the estimated fuel temperature is lower Let

Preferably, the start control unit estimates the fuel temperature to a lower value as the operating time of the electric fan is longer and the outside air temperature is lower.

According to the present invention, the startability of the engine can be ensured in a vehicle capable of executing pre-air-conditioning that air-conditions the vehicle interior before the vehicle system is started.

1 is an overall block diagram of a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the structure of an engine in detail. It is a functional block diagram of ECU. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of engine water temperature THw and basic fuel injection amount Fbase. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of fuel temperature THf and the correction coefficient K. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of ECU.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram of a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle 1 includes an engine 100, a radiator 200, a condenser 300, an electric fan 400, an air conditioning unit 500, an IG switch 600, a receiving device 700, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 800. The vehicle to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 as long as it is an engine vehicle capable of performing pre-air conditioning described later. For example, a vehicle (so-called hybrid) provided with a motor in addition to the engine. It may be a car or a plug-in hybrid vehicle. Further, the use of the engine is not necessarily limited to vehicle travel, and may be for power generation, for example.

The engine 100 is mounted inside an engine compartment 10 provided on the front side of the vehicle 1. Engine 100 is controlled by a control signal from ECU 800. The power of the engine 100 is transmitted to the wheels 11 via a speed reducer (not shown). As a result, the vehicle 1 is driven by the power of the engine 100.

In addition to the engine 100, the engine compartment 10 is mounted with a radiator 200, a condenser 300, an electric fan 400, and an air conditioning unit 500.

The radiator 200 is communicated with a water jacket (not shown) provided inside the engine 100 via

pipes

210 and 220. The radiator 200 is a radiator for releasing heat of engine cooling water to the atmosphere. When an electric water pump (not shown) is driven, engine coolant circulates between the radiator 200 and the engine 100 (see arrow A). More specifically, the engine coolant that has absorbed the heat of the engine 100 is sent to the radiator 200, cooled by the radiator 200, and then returned to the engine 100 again. Thereby, engine 100 is cooled.

The capacitor 300 is provided adjacent to the radiator 200 and communicates with the air conditioning unit 500 via the

pipes

310 and 320. The condenser 300 is a condenser for releasing the heat of air-conditioning refrigerant gas into the atmosphere and condensing it.

The air conditioning unit 500 is configured to include components (compressor, expansion valve, evaporator, etc.) necessary for realizing the refrigeration cycle in addition to the capacitor 300. When the air conditioning unit 500 is operated, the air conditioning refrigerant circulates between the condenser 300 and the air conditioning unit (see arrow B). More specifically, the refrigerant gas that has been pressurized and heated in the air conditioning unit 500 is sent to the condenser 300 to be condensed (liquefied), and then returned to the air conditioning unit 500 again. With such a refrigeration cycle, air conditioning (cooling) is performed in the passenger compartment.

The electric fan 400 is provided in the vicinity of the radiator 200 and the condenser 300 inside the engine compartment 10. Electric fan 400 is controlled by a control signal from ECU 800. When electric fan 400 is operated, outside air is taken into engine compartment 10 through radiator 200 and condenser 300 (see arrow C). Thereby, outside air acts as cooling air, radiator 200 and condenser 300 are cooled, the inside of engine compartment 10 is scavenged, and the internal temperature of engine compartment 10 is lowered. The electric fan 400 may be provided separately for the capacitor 300 and the radiator 200.

IG switch 600 is a switch for a user to input a vehicle system start request and stop request. The “vehicle system” is an electrical device that is necessary for travel control of the vehicle 1. When the user operates the IG switch 600 when the vehicle system is in a stopped state (Ready-OFF state), the vehicle system is switched to an activated state (Ready-ON state), and the engine 100 is started.

The receiving device 700 is a device for receiving a pre-air conditioning request signal transmitted from a remote control device (hereinafter also simply referred to as “remote controller”) 20. Here, “pre-air conditioning” refers to control for operating the air-conditioning unit 500 and the electric fan 400 in response to a user request to air-condition the vehicle interior in advance before starting the vehicle system. The time before starting the vehicle system is before the Ready-ON state is entered. That is, the pre-air conditioning that is not directly related to the travel control is not executed by the vehicle system, but is executed before the Ready-ON state is entered. When the user remotely operates the remote controller 20, a pre-air conditioning request signal is transmitted from the remote controller 20. When receiving the pre-air conditioning request signal from the remote controller 20, the receiving device 700 transmits the pre-air conditioning request signal to the ECU 800.

The ECU 800 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) and a memory, and is configured to execute a predetermined calculation process based on information stored in the memory and information from each sensor.

ECU800 will perform the pre-air conditioning by operating the air-conditioning unit 500 and the electric fan 400, if the pre-air-conditioning request signal is received from the receiving device 700.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the engine 100 in detail. Although one cylinder is illustrated in FIG. 2, the engine 100 is actually provided with a plurality of cylinders.

In the engine 100, air drawn from an air cleaner (not shown) is introduced into the combustion chamber 102 of the engine 100 through the intake pipe 110. The amount of air introduced into the combustion chamber 102 is adjusted by the operation amount (throttle opening) of the throttle valve 114. The throttle opening is controlled by a throttle motor 112 that operates based on a signal from the ECU 800.

The injector 104 is opened by a control signal from the ECU 800 and injects fuel in the delivery pipe 105 toward the combustion chamber 102. Note that fuel may be directly injected from the injector 104 into the combustion chamber 102.

An air-fuel mixture of air introduced from the intake pipe 110 and fuel injected from the injector 104 is ignited and burned using an ignition coil 106 controlled by a control signal from the ECU 800. The exhaust gas after the air-fuel mixture burns is exhausted to the atmosphere through the exhaust pipe 120.

The ECU 800 receives signals from the outside air temperature sensor 107, the water temperature sensor 108, the air flow meter 116, and the intake air temperature sensor 118. The outside air temperature sensor 107 detects the outside air temperature (the temperature of the air outside the vehicle 1) THout. The water temperature sensor 108 detects engine water temperature (engine cooling water temperature) THw. The air flow meter 116 detects an intake air amount (air amount per unit time taken into the engine 100) Ga. Intake air temperature sensor 118 detects intake air temperature (temperature of air taken into engine 100) THa. Each of these sensors transmits a signal representing the detection result to ECU 800.

The ECU 800 controls the throttle opening, ignition timing, and fuel injection amount by controlling the throttle motor 112, the ignition coil 106, and the injector 104 based on signals sent from the sensors.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the ECU 800 when the pre-air conditioning control and the engine start control are executed. Each functional block shown in FIG. 3 may be realized by hardware or software.

ECU 800 includes a pre-air conditioning control unit 810 and an engine start control unit 820.
As described above, when the pre-air conditioning control unit 810 receives the pre-air conditioning request signal from the receiving device 700, the pre-air conditioning unit 810 operates the air conditioning unit 500 to perform pre-air conditioning. At this time, the pre-air conditioning control unit 810 operates the electric fan 400 to cool the capacitor 300. The electric fan 400 does not necessarily have to be constantly operated, and may be operated intermittently.

Engine start control unit 820 executes engine start control in response to a user start request (operation of IG switch 600). Here, “engine start control” refers to control of throttle opening, ignition timing, fuel injection amount, etc. at the time of engine start. Hereinafter, fuel injection control at the time of engine start will be described as an example of engine start control.

The engine start control unit 820 includes a first determination unit 821, a correction coefficient calculation unit 822, a second determination unit 823, a basic injection amount calculation unit 824, and an injection amount determination unit 825.

The first determination unit 821 determines whether or not pre-air conditioning is being executed. Since pre-air conditioning is executed by a user's remote operation, it is usually determined whether or not pre-air conditioning is being performed in a READY-OFF state (engine stopped state).

The correction coefficient calculation unit 822 calculates the correction coefficient K when pre-air conditioning is being executed. Here, the correction coefficient K is a coefficient for correcting a later-described basic fuel injection amount Fbase. A method for calculating the correction coefficient K will be described in detail later.

Based on the IG signal (signal from IG switch 600), second determination unit 823 determines whether the READY-OFF state has been switched to the READY-ON state (whether the user has performed a starting operation on IG switch 600). Or not).

When the basic injection amount calculation unit 824 is switched to the READY-ON state, the basic injection amount calculation unit 824 calculates the basic fuel injection amount Fbase based on the engine water temperature THw (the detection value of the water temperature sensor 108).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the engine water temperature THw and the basic fuel injection amount Fbase. As shown in FIG. 4, in the region where the engine coolant temperature THw is low, the basic fuel injection amount Fbase increases as the engine coolant temperature THw decreases. This is to improve the startability of the engine 100 even when the engine coolant temperature THw is low. That is, when the engine coolant temperature THw is low, the engine friction torque is large, so that a larger amount of fuel injection is required. Further, when the engine water temperature THw is low, the temperature of the fuel in the delivery pipe 105 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “fuel temperature THf”) is predicted to be low. When the fuel temperature THf is low, the atomization of the fuel injected from the injector 104 is deteriorated, and the startability of the engine 100 is predicted to be deteriorated. Considering these problems, the basic fuel injection amount Fbase is increased as the engine coolant temperature THw is lower.

The injection amount determination unit 825 determines the fuel injection amount F at the time of starting the engine and causes the injector 104 to inject the determined fuel injection amount F. At this time, the injection amount determination unit 825 changes the fuel injection amount F according to the execution history of the pre-air conditioning. This is the most characteristic point of the present invention.

When there is no pre-air conditioning execution history, the injection amount determination unit 825 sets the basic fuel injection amount Fbase as the fuel injection amount F. When there is no pre-air-conditioning execution history, the electric fan 400 is maintained in a stopped state before the engine is started, and therefore it is estimated that the engine water temperature THw and the fuel temperature THf are substantially the same temperature. Therefore, the basic fuel injection amount Fbase obtained from the engine coolant temperature THw includes a fuel increase amount for eliminating the influence of the deterioration of atomization due to the low fuel temperature THf. Therefore, when there is no pre-air conditioning execution history, the injection amount determination unit 825 uses the basic fuel injection amount Fbase obtained from the engine water temperature THw as the fuel injection amount F as it is.

On the other hand, when there is an execution history of pre-air conditioning, the injection amount determination unit 825 increases the fuel injection amount F based on a value obtained by increasing the basic fuel injection amount Fbase using the correction coefficient K (hereinafter also referred to as “corrected fuel injection amount”). And When the pre-air conditioning is executed and the electric fan 400 is operated, the internal temperature of the engine compartment 10 is lowered as described above. Due to this influence, the temperature of the delivery pipe 105 is lowered, and the fuel temperature THf is also lowered. On the other hand, the engine cooling water is relatively large, and the engine water temperature THw hardly changes even when the electric fan 400 is operated. That is, when electric fan 400 is operated, a difference occurs between fuel temperature THf and engine water temperature THw. However, the basic fuel injection amount Fbase obtained from the engine coolant temperature THw does not include the fuel increase amount corresponding to the difference (a decrease amount of the fuel temperature THf). Therefore, the injection amount determination unit 825 sets the corrected fuel injection amount obtained by correcting the basic fuel injection amount Fbase using the correction coefficient K as the fuel injection amount F when there is an execution history of pre-air conditioning.

The judgment of the pre-air conditioning execution history may be made based on whether or not the pre-air conditioning is actually executed, or the pre-air conditioning execution conditions may be established or the vehicle state change state that occurs when the pre-air conditioning is executed. You may perform based on the parameter relevant to execution of an air conditioning.

Here, a method for calculating the correction coefficient K by the correction coefficient calculation unit 822 will be described in detail. The correction coefficient calculation unit 822 estimates the fuel temperature THf using the outside air temperature THout and the electric fan operation time T during the pre-air conditioning execution period as parameters. Here, the electric fan operating time T may be the cumulative operating time of the electric fan 400, or may be an operating time that takes into account the operating mode of the electric fan 400 (for example, operating power, intermittent stop time, etc.). . For example, the correction coefficient calculation unit 822 sets the fuel temperature THf to a lower value as the outside air temperature THout is lower and the electric fan operation time T is longer (that is, the correction coefficient K described later has a larger value). To estimate).

Then, the correction coefficient calculation unit 822 calculates the correction coefficient K using the estimated fuel temperature THf as a parameter.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the correspondence between the fuel temperature THf and the correction coefficient K. As shown in FIG. 5, when the fuel temperature THf matches the engine coolant temperature THw, the correction coefficient calculation unit 822 sets the correction coefficient K = 1.0. When the fuel temperature THf <the engine water temperature THw, the correction coefficient K is set to a value larger than 1.0 as the fuel temperature THf is lower. As described above, the corrected fuel injection amount is increased by setting the correction coefficient K to a larger value as the estimated fuel temperature THf is lower than the engine water temperature THw, thereby responding to the difference between the fuel temperature THf and the engine water temperature THw. An appropriate fuel injection amount F can be determined. Therefore, even when fuel atomization is deteriorated due to a decrease in fuel temperature THf, startability of engine 100 can be ensured.

Note that a relatively large amount of traveling wind is taken into the engine compartment 10 while the vehicle is traveling, so that there is almost no difference between the fuel temperature THf and the engine water temperature THw depending on whether the electric fan 400 is activated. Therefore, ECU 800 does not correct the fuel injection amount using correction coefficient K when starting engine 100 while the vehicle is traveling.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the ECU 800 for realizing the above-described function. The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle while the vehicle system is stopped (in a READY-OFF state).

In step (hereinafter, step is abbreviated as “S”) 10, ECU 800 determines whether or not pre-air conditioning is being executed.

If pre-air conditioning is not being executed (NO in S10), ECU 800 moves the process to S16 and determines whether or not it has been switched to the READY-ON state. When switched to the READY-ON state (YES in S16), ECU 800 determines that there is no pre-air-conditioning execution history, and calculates basic fuel injection amount Fbase from engine coolant temperature THw in S17 ( Further, in S18, the basic fuel injection amount Fbase is determined to be the fuel injection amount F as it is, and the fuel injection amount F is injected from the injector 104.

On the other hand, when pre-air conditioning is being executed (YES in S10), ECU 800 estimates fuel temperature THf from outside temperature THout and electric fan operating time T as described above in S11. Then, ECU 800 calculates correction coefficient K from fuel temperature THf in S12 (see FIG. 5).

Thereafter, ECU 800 determines in S13 whether or not it has been switched to the READY-ON state. When switched to the READY-ON state (YES in S13), ECU 800 determines that there is an execution history of pre-air conditioning, and ECU 800 calculates basic fuel injection amount Fbase from engine water temperature THw in S14 (FIG. 4). In step S15, the product of the basic fuel injection amount Fbase and the correction coefficient K (corrected fuel injection amount) is determined as the fuel injection amount F, and the fuel injection amount F is injected from the injector 104.

If the READY-OFF state is maintained (NO in S13, NO in S16), ECU 800 does not need to start engine 100, and ECU 800 ends the process without determining fuel injection amount F. Let

As described above, the control device according to the present embodiment performs the pre-air conditioning execution history (the operation history of the electric fan) when starting the engine in a vehicle capable of executing the pre-air conditioning that air-conditions the vehicle interior before starting the vehicle system. The fuel injection amount is changed according to Therefore, even if a difference between the fuel temperature THf and the engine water temperature THw occurs due to the execution of pre-air conditioning (operation of the electric fan), the fuel injection amount F is appropriately adjusted according to the difference, and the engine 100 Can be secured.

In the present embodiment, the case where the fuel injection amount, which is one of the targets for engine start control, is changed in accordance with the execution history of the pre-air conditioning has been described. The ignition timing, the opening / closing timing of the intake valve or the exhaust valve, the lift amount, the fuel pressure, etc.) may be changed according to the execution history of the pre-air conditioning.

The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

1 vehicle, 10 engine compartment, 11 wheels, 20 remote control, 100 engine, 102 combustion chamber, 104 injector, 105 delivery pipe, 106 ignition coil, 107 outside air temperature sensor, 108 water temperature sensor, 110 intake pipe, 112 throttle motor, 114 throttle Valve, 116 Air flow meter, 118 Intake air temperature sensor, 120 Exhaust pipe, 200 Radiator, 210, 220, 310, 320 Piping, 300 condenser, 400 Electric fan, 500 Air conditioning unit, 600 IG switch, 700 Receiver, 800 ECU, 810 Pre-air conditioning control unit, 820 engine start control unit, 821 first determination unit, 822 correction coefficient calculation unit, 823 second determination unit, 824 basic injection amount calculation Department, 825 injection amount determining unit.

Claims

A vehicle control device capable of performing pre-air conditioning that air-conditions the vehicle interior before starting the vehicle system,
The vehicle includes an engine (100), a condenser (300) for air conditioning disposed inside a storage chamber (10) for housing the engine, and an electric fan (400) for cooling the condenser,
The controller is
A fan operating unit (810) for operating the electric fan during the execution of the pre-air conditioning;
A start control unit (820) for executing start control for starting the engine,
When the engine is started, the start control unit changes a mode of the start control according to the execution history of the pre-air conditioning.
The engine includes a fuel supply pipe (105) disposed at a position cooled by the operation of the electric fan, and an injection valve (104) for injecting fuel supplied from the fuel supply pipe to the engine. Prepared,
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein when the engine is started, the start control unit changes a fuel amount injected from the injection valve in accordance with an execution history of the pre-air conditioning.
The start control unit, when starting the engine, increases the amount of fuel injected from the injection valve when there is an execution history of the pre-air conditioning compared to when there is no execution history of the pre-air conditioning. The vehicle control device according to 2.
When starting the engine, the start control unit calculates a basic fuel amount based on an engine water temperature, and when there is no execution history of the pre-air conditioning, the basic fuel amount is injected from the injection valve, and the pre-air conditioning The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein when there is an execution history of, a correction fuel amount larger than the basic fuel amount is injected from the injection valve.
The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein the start control unit changes the correction fuel amount based on an operation time of the electric fan during the pre-air conditioning execution period.
The vehicle control device according to claim 5, wherein the start control unit increases the correction fuel amount as the operating time of the electric fan is longer during the pre-air conditioning execution period.
The start control unit estimates a fuel temperature in the fuel supply pipe based on an operating time and an outside air temperature of the electric fan during the pre-air-conditioning execution period, and the corrected fuel decreases as the estimated fuel temperature decreases. The vehicle control device according to claim 5, wherein the amount is increased.
The vehicle control device according to claim 7, wherein the start control unit estimates the fuel temperature to be lower as the operating time of the electric fan is longer and the outside air temperature is lower.