JP2002004909A - Idle stop control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the degradation of driveability due to the starting lag of an engine at starting. SOLUTION: When a steering angle θ detected by a steering angle sensor 13 exceeds a preset value, a vehicle speed V detected by a vehicle speed sensor 10 is zero. Even when the on-state B of a brake is detected by a brake switch 11, the stop of the engine 3 due to the operation of a controller 9 is prohibited.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an idle stop control device for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such an idle stop control device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-122008, and stops an engine when a vehicle speed is zero and a brake depression state is detected. Then, when the brake is released, the engine is started. This improves fuel economy.

[0003]

However, when it is necessary to make a sudden start between stoppages, such as when making a right or left turn at an intersection or making a U-turn on a straight road, an idle stop is required. It is easy to start suddenly from the state,
Drivability may be deteriorated due to a delay in starting the engine at the time of starting.

[0004] In some cases, it is necessary to restart the vehicle immediately after the idle stop. For example, if the vehicle stops immediately after the traffic light shows red, the effect of the idle stop function can be obtained for a relatively long time. The engine is stopped and started, and the influence of the deterioration of drivability is greater than the improvement of fuel efficiency.

[0005] In addition to such idle stop control, it is preferable that the transmission be properly controlled in accordance with the state of the traffic signal.

An object of the present invention is to prevent the drivability from being deteriorated due to a delay in starting the engine at the time of starting.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent the drivability from deteriorating even when a restart is required immediately after the idle stop.

The idle stop control device according to the fourth and fifth aspects is intended to perform good control of the transmission according to the state of the traffic signal in addition to the idle stop control.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an idle stop control device comprising: a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed;
Brake depression detecting means for detecting depression of a brake, steering and / or steering amount detection means for detecting a steering amount and / or a steering amount of the vehicle, the vehicle speed is zero, and the brake depression An engine control means for stopping the engine when the state is detected, and thereafter starting the engine when the brake is released, wherein the steering amount and / or the steering amount is equal to or more than a first value. In this case, the engine control means is configured to prohibit the stop of the engine by the engine control means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the idle stop control device, the engine is stopped by the engine control means when the vehicle speed is zero and the brake is continuously depressed for a predetermined period. It is assumed that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the idle stop control device, the predetermined period is determined according to a state of a traffic signal.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the idle stop control device, further comprising transmission control means for controlling the transmission according to the state of the traffic signal.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the idle stop control device, wherein the transmission control means selects a normal pattern or a lower speed range than the normal pattern in a shift control map of the transmission in accordance with the state of the traffic signal. It is characterized by switching to a pattern.

[0014]

According to the idle stop control device of the first aspect, when the steering amount and / or the turning amount is equal to or more than the first value, the stop of the engine by the engine control means is prohibited. This allows the engine to be started sufficiently before the start in a situation where sudden start tends to be required, so that the start can be performed smoothly. As a result, it is possible to prevent the drivability from being deteriorated due to the delay in starting the engine at the time of starting.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle speed is zero and the brake is continuously depressed for a predetermined period, the engine is stopped by the engine control means. As a result, even when the vehicle needs to be restarted immediately after the idle stop, it is possible to prevent the drivability from deteriorating.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the predetermined period is determined according to the state of the traffic signal. As a result, it is possible to appropriately determine whether restart is necessary immediately after the idle stop.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the transmission control means controls the transmission according to the state of the traffic signal. Thereby, in addition to the idle stop control, it is possible to favorably perform the control of the transmission according to the traffic condition.

According to the idle stop control device, the transmission control means switches the transmission control map of the transmission to the normal pattern or the power pattern according to the state of the traffic signal. This makes it possible to make the power pattern easy to select the low-speed gear and make the engine brake more effective, so that the transmission can be more appropriately controlled according to the traffic condition.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an idle stop control device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the power of an engine 3 is input to an automatic transmission 1 via a torque converter 2, the input rotation is shifted at a gear ratio according to a selected shift speed, and transmitted to an output shaft 4.

Further, the automatic transmission 1 is configured such that the shift solenoids 6 and 7 in the control valve 5 are turned on and off.
The selected gear stage is determined by the combination of..., And the torque converter 2 is brought into the converter state or the lockup state by turning on and off the lockup solenoid 8 in the control valve 5.

The ON / OFF of the shift solenoids 6 and 7 and the ON / OFF of the lock-up solenoid 8 are controlled by a controller 9. The controller 9 includes a signal from a vehicle speed sensor 10 for detecting a vehicle speed V corresponding to the rotation speed of the output shaft 4, a signal from a brake switch 11 for detecting a brake depression state B, and a shift map as a power pattern P. Signal from the power pattern switch 12 for detecting that the vehicle is running, a signal from the steering sensor 13 for detecting the steering angle θ of the steering, the engine 1
The signal from the throttle opening sensor 14 for detecting the throttle opening TVO and the signal from the traffic signal recognition device 15 for recognizing the traffic signal T are input.

The controller 9 performs shift control based on signals from these sensors. That is, the optimum gear position for the current driving condition is obtained from the throttle opening TVO and the vehicle speed V by, for example, a table look-up method, and the shift solenoids 6, 7 are turned on and off so that the optimum gear position is selected. To perform a predetermined shift.

The controller 9 also performs an idle stop control of the engine, which will be described later, based on signals from these sensors.

In the present embodiment, a receiver receives a radio signal from a transmitting device attached to a traffic signal.

The operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG.
It is a flowchart of a first idle stop determination,
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining this.

In this routine, it is determined whether or not to perform idle stop according to the steering angle θ. First, in step S1, the steering angle sensor 13 detects the steering angle θ as a steering amount.

Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the absolute value of the steering angle θ is equal to or less than a predetermined value as a first value. If it is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the controller 9 permits the idle stop of the engine 3 (step S3), and terminates this routine. Steps S1 to S1
The flow of S3, as shown in FIG. 3A, corresponds to a situation in which idle stop is permitted when the steering of the vehicle 21 is located near neutral within a certain angle.

If the absolute value of the steering angle θ exceeds the predetermined value, it is determined in a step S4 whether or not the engine 3 is in idle stop. If the idle stop is being performed, the idle step is stopped (step S
5), this routine ends. Steps S1 and S
The flows of S2, S4, and S5 correspond to a situation in which the front wheels 23 of the vehicle 22 have been turned by a predetermined angle or more from the idle stop state, as shown in FIG. 3B.

On the other hand, if the idle stop is not being performed, the idle stop is prohibited (step S6), and this routine ends. Steps S1, S2, S
4 and S6 correspond to a situation where the front wheels 25 of the vehicle 24 are steered by a predetermined angle or more, as shown in FIG. 3A.

According to the present routine, the engine 3 can be started sufficiently before the start in a situation where sudden start is likely to be required, so that the start can be performed smoothly, and as a result, It is possible to prevent the drivability from being deteriorated due to the delay in engine start.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the idle stop control. This routine determines whether restart is necessary immediately after the idle stop. First, in step S11, the controller 3
The signal from the vehicle speed sensor 10 and the brake switch 11
And an idle stop permission signal.

Thereafter, in step S12, the vehicle speed V
It is determined whether or not SP is zero, that is, whether or not the vehicle is stopped. If the vehicle speed VSP is not zero, the flag F is set to 0.
(Step S13), the engine 3 is maintained in the operating state (step S14), and this routine ends.

If the vehicle speed VSP is zero, step S1
In 5, it is determined whether or not the brake switch 11 is on, that is, whether or not the brake depression state B is detected. If the brake depression state B is not detected, the routine ends through steps S13 and S14.

If the brake depression state B is detected, it is determined in step S16 whether or not idle stop has been permitted, that is, whether or not step S3 has been executed in the control routine of FIG. If the idle stop is not permitted, steps S13 and S1
After step 4, this routine ends.

When the idle stop is permitted, it is determined whether or not the flag F is zero. If the flag F is zero, in step S18, the flag F is set (F =
1) and a counter (not shown) is reset (T =
0), the process proceeds to step S19 for incrementing the counter by one. On the other hand, if the flag F is not zero, step S18
a is skipped and the process proceeds to step S19.

Thereafter, in step S20, it is determined whether or not the count value T of the counter has exceeded a predetermined period T1. If it does not exceed the predetermined period T1, step S
After the routine 14, the routine ends. On the other hand, if the predetermined period T1 has been exceeded, the engine 3 is stopped (step S21), and this routine ends.

According to this routine, it is possible to prevent the drivability from deteriorating even when restarting is required immediately after the idle stop.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the second idling stop determination, and FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining this. The routine of FIG. 5 corresponds to step S20 of FIG.
The predetermined period T1 used in the above is determined according to the display of the traffic signal as the traffic condition.

First, in step S31, the vehicle 31
That is, the traffic signal recognition device 15 receives, from the transmission device 33 attached to the traffic light 32, a signal having information on switching of the display of the traffic light 32.

Next, in step S32, it is determined whether or not the display of the traffic light 32 is just before switching from red to blue. If it is immediately before switching from red to blue, in step S33, it is determined whether or not the engine 3 is in the idle stop state. If the engine is not in the idle stop state, the present routine is terminated as it is, whereas if the engine is in the idle stop state, the engine 3 is started (step S34), and then the present routine is terminated.

If the display of the traffic light 32 is not immediately before switching from red to blue, in step S35, the traffic light 32
Is determined immediately after the display is switched from blue to yellow or from yellow to red. If it is immediately after switching from blue to yellow or from yellow to red, the predetermined period T1, which is the set value of the idle stop start time, is set relatively short (step S36), and this routine ends. On the other hand, if it is not immediately after switching from blue to yellow or from yellow to red, the predetermined period T1 is set relatively long (step S37),
This routine ends.

According to the present routine, the display of the traffic light 32 is switched from red to blue by predicting the switching of the traffic light 32 and determining whether or not to perform idle stop according to the content of the signal received from the starting device 33. The engine 3 can be started immediately before, and as a result, restart from the idle stop can be performed smoothly.

When it is determined that the idle stop time can be sufficiently secured, for example, immediately after the display of the traffic light 32 is switched from blue to yellow or from yellow to red, the idle stop start is started so that the idle stop can be started immediately. If the time setting value can be shortened and it is not possible to determine whether the idle stop time can be sufficiently secured, set the idle stop start time to avoid frequent idle stops as much as possible. The value can be lengthened.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the shift control. In this routine, the shift control map of the transmission is switched to the normal pattern or the power pattern according to the traffic condition. First, in step S41, the controller 9 sends a signal from the vehicle speed sensor 10 and a signal from the power pattern switch 12 to the controller 9. A signal, a signal from the throttle opening sensor 14 and a signal from the traffic signal recognition device 15 are input.

Next, in step S42, it is determined whether or not the power pattern switch 12 is on, that is, whether or not the shift map is detected as the power pattern P. If the power pattern switch 12 is in the ON state, the automatic transmission 1 is controlled based on the power pattern (step S43), and this routine ends.

If the power pattern switch 12 is not on, it is determined in step S44 whether the display of the traffic light 32 is red or yellow. If it is red or yellow, the routine ends through step S43, whereas if it is not red or yellow, the automatic transmission 1 is controlled based on the normal pattern (step S45), and this routine ends. .

According to this routine, when the display of the traffic light 32 is red or yellow, the power pattern can be selected so that the low-speed gear can be easily selected, and the engine brake can be easily applied. The transmission can be controlled more favorably.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and many modifications and variations are possible. For example, although the stepped automatic transmission is used in the above-described embodiment, a continuously variable transmission such as a V-belt type or a toroidal type and a manual transmission are used for the control routines of FIGS. The control routine of FIG. 7 can also be applied to the case where a continuously variable transmission is used.

In determining whether or not to perform the idle stop, the steering angle is used as the steering amount. However, a steering amount such as the steering angle may be used.
Further, although a receiver for receiving a signal from a transmitter is used as a traffic signal recognition device, a camera for photographing a traffic signal may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an idle stop control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a first idle stop determination.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the flowchart of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of idle stop control.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a second idle stop determination.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the flowchart of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a shift control.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic transmission 2 Torque converter 3 Engine 4 Output shaft 5 Control valve 6, 7 Shift solenoid 8 Lockup solenoid 9 Controller 10 Vehicle speed sensor 11 Brake switch 12 Power pattern switch 13 Steering angle sensor 14 Throttle opening sensor 15 Traffic signal recognition device 21, 22, 24, 31 Vehicle 23, 25 Front wheel 32 Traffic light 33 Transmitting device B Brake depressed state P Power pattern T Traffic signal TVO Throttle opening V Vehicle speed θ Steering angle

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed, a brake depression detecting means for detecting a depression of a brake, a steering amount and / or a steering amount for detecting a steering amount and / or a turning amount of a vehicle.
An engine for stopping the engine when the vehicle speed is zero and detecting the depressed state of the brake, and thereafter starting the engine when the depressed brake is released; An idle stop control device, comprising: a control unit, wherein when the steering amount and / or the steering amount is equal to or more than a first value, the engine stop by the engine control unit is prohibited. 2. The idle stop according to claim 1, wherein the engine control means stops the engine when the vehicle speed is zero and the brake depression state continues for a predetermined period. Control device. 3. The idle stop control device according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined period is determined according to a state of a traffic signal. 4. The idle stop control device according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission control unit that controls the transmission according to a state of a traffic signal. 5. The transmission control means, wherein the transmission control map of the transmission is switched to a normal pattern or a power pattern in which a lower gear is easier to select than a normal pattern, according to a state of the traffic signal. The idle stop control device according to claim 4, wherein: