JP2015190462A - On-vehicle start control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a fast convergence of idling of a pinion gear, shorten a time lag when an operation is transferred to a restarting operation, and improve responsiveness of the restarting operation, in a vehicle provided with an idle stop system in the case that an end surface slip due to a failure of engagement between the pinion gear and a ring gear of a starter is detected at a re-starting operation under a change-of-mind.SOLUTION: There is provided means for detecting an end surface slip state where a pinion gear is not engaged with a ring gear so that idling occurs when an engine restarting operation is required during the decrease in the engine speed, and there is provided a function for converging rapidly an idling of the pinion gear by performing a prescribed operation when the end surface slip state is detected.

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle control device, and more particularly to a vehicle control device having an idle stop system.

  In a vehicle equipped with an idle stop system, when the engine automatic stop condition is satisfied during the operation, the engine is stopped by shutting off the fuel supply, and the engine is restarted by the operation of the driver or the request of the vehicle. A technique for quickly starting and starting an engine when a start condition is satisfied has already been put into practical use.

  In a vehicle equipped with this idle stop system, it is determined whether to perform idle stop by various determination methods based on the driving state of the vehicle, and fuel efficiency is improved by increasing the time for executing idle stop. I am devised.

  As an example of a measure for improving the fuel efficiency of the idle stop, there is a method of stopping the engine by shutting off the fuel supply when the vehicle speed is reduced below a predetermined vehicle speed while decelerating while braking. By performing the above-described control, the fuel consumption can be further reduced and fuel consumption can be expected to be improved as compared with an idle stop system in which the fuel supply is stopped after the vehicle is completely stopped (vehicle speed 0 km / h). I can do it. In the present application, this is called a coast stop and is a kind of control included in the idle stop.

  When an idle stop is performed and then a restart request is received from the driver or the control system while the engine is completely stopped, the engine is cranked by driving with a starter as in a normal initial start. , Restart.

  However, immediately after the idling stop is performed and the fuel cut is performed, when the engine is rotating inertially and the restart is requested, the general pinion dive starter stops the engine completely. After that, cranking cannot be performed, so there is a time difference between the restart request and the restart execution timing, and the driver restarts at an intersection or the like, giving the driver a sense of discomfort and anxiety.

  In the present application, in the state where the engine immediately after the idling stop is executed and the fuel cut is performed as described above and the engine is rotating by inertia, the operation for giving a restart request is referred to as a change of mind.

  However, in order to eliminate the time difference between the above change of mind request and restart execution, if the starter is forcibly driven while the engine is rotating by inertia, the starter pinion gear is engaged with the ring gear. There is a risk that the end faces of the gear cannot be slipped and bitten, or the so-called end face slipping takes time to be bitten. When end face slip occurs, abnormal wear and abnormal noise of the gear occur, resulting in a problem that the durability and merchantability are significantly reduced.

  While the engine is rotating inertially, the starter pinion gear is engaged with the engine ring gear and restarted so as not to cause end face slipping. It is known that it becomes possible to cope with.

  As an example, as in Patent Document 1, the change of mind is configured such that two solenoids can be driven by two signals so that the starter pinion gear push-out operation and the starter motor can be driven independently. When a request is received, there is a method in which the pinion gear is rotated in advance to reduce the rotational difference from the rotating ring gear to create an easy-to-engage situation, and then the pinion gear is pushed out to be engaged.

  In the method of Patent Document 1, the starter motor is driven in advance before being engaged with the ring gear so that the two solenoids can be driven by two signals so that the starter pinion gear can be pushed out and the starter motor can be driven independently. Is used to rotate the pinion gear idly and use a starter that engages in a state where the rotational difference from the ring gear rotating by inertia is small, even while the engine is rotating by inertia, -The engine rotation range that can be restarted in response to a mind request can be expanded, which can reduce the driver's discomfort (time lag).

  Generally, Patent Document 2 discloses a starter structure that improves the biting performance by bending a spring when the pinion gear comes into contact with the ring gear.

Japanese Patent No. 4214401 Japanese Patent No. 3749461

  However, in the methods of Patent Documents 1 and 2, when components such as a starter and a ring gear break down and the biting performance decreases, the pinion gear is bitten into the rotating ring gear as a response to the change of mind. When the operation is performed, there is a risk of falling into a so-called end face slipping state where the end faces of the gears cannot slide and bite. When end face slip occurs, the driving force from the starter is not transmitted, so the ring gear stops, the pinion gear is idled, and it is necessary to stop operation of the starter and crank it again, but stop energizing the starter. Even so, the pinion gear continues to rotate due to inertia, so even if you try to crank again when the pinion is idling, there is a large rotational difference with the ring gear that is stopped, so it falls into an end-slip state again, and the engine Cannot be cranked. For this reason, once the end face slip occurs, it is necessary to perform cranking after a certain period of time when the pinion gear idles to converge, and a blank time is generated before restarting, which causes anxiety to the driver.

  The present invention has been made in order to prevent the above-described malfunction phenomenon, and the object of the present invention is to quickly converge the pinion gear idling when a slippage between the end face of the starter pinion gear and the ring gear is detected at the start. Thus, there is a need to improve the responsiveness by shortening the time lag when shifting to the restart.

  In order to achieve the above object, an in-vehicle start control device according to the present invention drives a rotating shaft, a pinion gear that transmits the rotational force of the rotating shaft to an engine ring gear, and the rotating shaft and the pinion gear to the ring gear side. And controlling a starter comprising: a pinion shift mechanism that meshes the pinion gear and the ring gear; and a motor that operates independently of the pinion shift mechanism and rotates the rotating shaft; In the vehicle-mounted start control device that issues a meshing instruction to the pinion shift mechanism during the period, the engine rotation is based on the operating state of the engine when the motor is energized after the meshing instruction to the pinion shift mechanism. A determination unit that detects a state in which the number does not increase, and the mode based on the determination result of the determination unit. When the rotation of the motor is reduced to a predetermined value by the motor rotation speed reduction means and the motor rotation speed reduction means for reducing the rotation speed of the motor, or after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the reduction in the rotation speed of the motor, Motor rotational speed return means for increasing the rotational speed of the motor.

  The present invention temporarily stops the start operation when the starter pinion gear and the ring gear are not meshed with each other and slips between the end surfaces of the gears to detect slipping, so that the next restart operation can be promptly performed to the driver. Can be avoided as much as possible.

The structural example of the system in the starting control apparatus of the idle stop vehicle of this invention. The control system block diagram of the starting control apparatus of FIG. The flowchart with the pre-mesh function of the starting control apparatus of FIG. The flowchart without the pre-mesh function of the starting control apparatus of FIG. 2 is a chart when an end face slip occurs in the system of FIG. 1. The restart operation | movement chart at the time of the end surface slip generation | occurrence | production by this invention. The restart operation | movement flowchart at the time of the end surface slip generation by this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the starter structure which improves the biting performance to a ring gear.

  With reference to FIGS. 1-8, embodiment of the start control apparatus of the vehicle by this invention is described.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a vehicle equipped with a start control device for a vehicle according to the present invention, and shows an example in which a starter that can independently push out a pinion gear and drive a motor is mounted. In FIG. 1, the part relating to the description of the vehicle start control device according to the present invention is mainly described, and the other parts are omitted. This vehicle includes a multi-cylinder engine 1, an idle stop starter system 10, and an ECU (control unit, control device) 21.

  The engine 1 has a crankshaft 1a, to which an ignition coil 14a, a spark plug 14b, a fuel injection valve 15 and the like are attached.

  The idle stop starter system 10 includes a starter body 9 of a pinion gear extrusion type and a semiconductor switching module 13 and is controlled by the ECU 21. The semiconductor switching module 13 may be replaced with a mechanical magnet switch that operates in response to an ON / OFF signal.

  One of the crankshafts 1a of the engine body 1 has a crank angle signal plate 3 engraved with a predetermined pattern for detecting a crank angle signal, and the other is a ring gear integrated with a drive plate for transmitting driving force to the transmission. 2 is attached.

  In the vicinity of the crank angle signal plate 3, a crank angle sensor 36 for detecting the unevenness of the pattern and outputting a pulse signal is attached. Based on the pulse signal output from the crank angle sensor 36, the ECU 21 calculates the engine speed (engine speed).

  The idle stop starter system 10 includes a starter solenoid 5 driven by a semiconductor switching module 13, a pinion transfer lever 6, a pinion gear 4, a one-way clutch 4 a, a pinion gear sensor 38, and a starter motor 7.

  The pinion gear 4 is a gear that can mesh with the ring gear 2, and is provided on the shaft (pinion shaft) 8 of the starter motor 7 via the one-way clutch 4 a so as to be movable in the axial direction. The starter solenoid 5 is an electric actuator for moving the pinion gear 4 in the axial direction of the pinion shaft 8 via the pinion transfer lever 6. The starter motor 7 is a motor for cranking the engine 1 as will be described later. The pinion gear sensor 38 is a sensor for detecting the rotational speed of the pinion shaft 8.

  When the pinion transfer command of the ECU 21 is input to the gate terminal of the semiconductor switching element 13 a for driving the pinion transfer actuator, the power of the battery 12 is supplied to the starter solenoid 5. As a result, the starter solenoid 5 moves the pinion gear 4 to the right in the drawing via the pinion transfer lever 6 so that the pinion gear 4 meshes with the ring gear 2.

  When the motor drive command from the ECU 21 is input to the gate terminal of the starter motor driving semiconductor switching element 13b, the power of the battery 12 is supplied to the starter motor 7. As a result, the starter motor 7 rotates the crankshaft 1 a via the pinion gear 4 and the ring gear 2 to crank the engine 1.

  A transmission 16 is connected to the crankshaft 1a via a drive plate integrated with the ring gear 2. The transmission 16 transmits the rotational driving force generated in the engine body 1 to the road surface via the drive shaft 17 and the tire 18. In addition, a vehicle speed sensor 33 that detects a rotation pulse of the output shaft is attached to the transmission 16. The ECU 21 calculates a vehicle speed value by performing conversion using a predetermined coefficient based on an output signal from the vehicle speed sensor 33.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing various input signals such as sensors for inputting the system configuration of the ECU 21 and various output signals output from the ECU 21 to a control device or the like.

  An input circuit 224 of the ECU 21 includes an accelerator opening sensor 30 that detects a depression amount of an accelerator pedal (not shown) of the vehicle, a throttle opening sensor 31 that detects an opening amount of a throttle valve (not shown), and into the cylinder of the engine 1. An airflow sensor 32 that measures the amount of intake air that is taken in, a vehicle speed sensor 33 that detects the traveling speed of the vehicle, a brake switch 34 that detects the operation of a foot brake (not shown), ignition of the engine 1, calculation of injection timing, and cylinder determination A cam angle sensor 35 and a crank angle sensor 36 for detecting the cam angle signal and crank angle signal used for the above, and a pinion gear sensor 38 for detecting the rotational speed of the pinion shaft 8 are connected.

  The output circuit 226 is connected to the ignition coil 14a, the fuel injection valve 15, and the semiconductor switching module 13. When the ignition coil 14a receives an ignition signal output from the output circuit 226 based on the ignition timing calculated by the ECU 21 from the signals of the cam angle sensor 35 and the crank angle sensor 36, the ignition coil 14a ignites the air-fuel mixture in the cylinder. High voltage power is supplied to the spark plug 14b. When the fuel injection valve 15 receives a valve opening signal output for a predetermined time at a predetermined timing via the output circuit 226, the fuel injection valve 15 injects fuel. The ECU 21 calculates the amount of fuel injected by the fuel injection valve 15 from the amount of intake air measured by the airflow sensor 32 and determines the valve opening time.

  When the semiconductor switching module 13 receives the PWM drive signal output via the output circuit 226, the semiconductor switching module 13 drives the starter solenoid 5 and the starter motor 7, respectively. The semiconductor switching element 13 a drives the starter solenoid 5, and the semiconductor switching element 13 b drives the starter motor 7. The ECU 21 outputs a PWM drive signal via the output circuit 226 when receiving a drive request to the starter body 9.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for performing a rotational speed synchronous pre-mesh for stopping the engine 1 while the pinion gear 4 is engaged with the ring gear 2 by synchronizing the rotational speed of the engine 1 and the rotational speed of the pinion gear 4 during idle stop. It is. The processing of the operation shown in this control flowchart is repeatedly executed by the ECU 21.
The idle stop is a state where the vehicle is stopped (vehicle speed = 0 km / h), the throttle opening is fully closed, and the engine 1 is in a no-load operation. In step 101, input conditions such as the vehicle speed sensor 33 and the brake switch 34 are set. Is executed when the idle stop permission condition is satisfied.
The coast stop that performs an idle stop while the vehicle is decelerating is replaced with the “vehicle is stopped (vehicle speed = 0 km / h) state”, for example, “the vehicle speed condition is 13 km / h or less and a brake pedal (not shown) is depressed. "

  If the idle stop condition or the coast stop condition is satisfied, in step 102, the drive of the fuel injection valve 15 is stopped, and the fuel supply of the engine 1 is cut off (fuel cut).

  Due to the fuel cut operation described above, the engine speed gradually decreases, and in step 103, when the judgment condition is below a predetermined value A (for example, the engine speed is 600 r / min), the routine proceeds to step 104, where the pinion pre- The rotation operation, that is, the starter motor 7 is energized, the pinion gear rotation number calculated from the pinion gear sensor 38 is increased to a predetermined value, and the energization is stopped.

  In this case, since the pinion pre-rotation operation rotates without load, the pinion gear rotation speed gradually decreases with time due to inertia. On the other hand, since the engine speed decreases while pulsating by repeating suction → compression → expansion → exhaust, the engine speed calculated from the crank angle sensor 36 and the pinion gear speed that gradually decreases due to the pinion pre-rotation operation. When the pre-mesh condition is satisfied in step 105, the process advances to step 106 to execute the pinion gear transfer, that is, the energization of the starter solenoid 5 is started, and the rotating pinion gear 4 is pinned to the ring gear 2. A so-called pre-mesh state is established in which the transfer lever 6 is engaged. As the pre-mesh condition, for example, “the difference between the engine speed 30 ms predicted from the engine speed and the actual speed of the pinion gear 4 is within ± 100 r / min” can be mentioned.

  If it is determined in step 107 that there is no so-called change-of-mind request from the driver, for example, that his / her foot is released from a brake pedal (not shown), the process proceeds to step 108 and the pre-mesh state is maintained. Then, the engine main body 1 is completely stopped, and the process proceeds to Step 109 and waits until a restart request is received.

  In the standby state of step 109, when a restart request is received due to the driver's operation or the like, the routine proceeds to step 111 where the starter motor 7 is energized, fuel injection is restarted and the engine 1 is restarted.

  If it is determined in step 107 that there is a change of mind request from the driver, the process proceeds to step 110 to determine whether or not the predicted engine speed is in the normal rotation range. If the predicted engine speed is in the normal rotation range, the process proceeds to step 111, and a drive command is issued to the starter. When the predicted engine speed is in the reverse rotation range, the process waits until the predicted engine speed enters the normal rotation range. As a result of the determination in step 110, it is possible to prevent the engine from being cranked in the region where the engine does not exceed the compression top dead center and is reversely rotated, so that the semiconductor switching module 13 and the starter motor 7 are overloaded and damaged. It is possible to avoid doing this.

  Thereafter, the routine proceeds to step 112, where it is determined whether or not the engine speed is a predetermined value C (for example, the engine speed is 600 r / min) or more. Turn off the drive.

  As described above, by performing the rotational speed synchronous pre-mesh operation of the pinion gear 4 and the ring gear 2, the operation of causing the pinion gear 4 to be engaged with the ring gear 2 is not required at the next restart, so a restart request is issued. The starting time from when the engine 1 is received until the complete explosion of the engine 1 can be shortened, and the noise when the gear is engaged can be reduced.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart when the pre-mesh operation is simplified in the above process. If it is determined in step 203 that there is a change of mind request from the driver, and if the engine speed at that time is greater than or equal to a predetermined value A (for example, the engine speed is 500 r / min), the inertia is In order to make the differential rotation with the rotating ring gear 2 small, in step 208, only the motor is energized in advance to cause the pinion gear 4 to idle. After that, if the predicted rotational speed of the engine 1 that is a guide for the jumpable range of the pinion gear 4 is within a predetermined range B3 to B4 (for example, the engine rotational speed after 30 ms is 0 to 300 r / min) in step 209, in step 210 The starter drive is turned on, the pinion gear 4 is jumped into the ring gear 2 to drive the motor, and the engine 1 is cranked.
Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 211, where it is determined whether or not the engine speed is a predetermined value C (for example, the engine speed is 600 r / min) or more. Turn off the drive.

  The above is the operation from the idle stop to the restart without the pre-mesh operation in the idle stop system of FIG.

  3 and 4 are both a starter pinion gear push-out operation and a motor drive operation that can be independently controlled by two drive signals, respectively, and a system including a control device. It is possible to make the pinion gear bite into the ring gear that rotates by inertia, and it corresponds to the change of mind that restarts from that state.

  FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment for improving the biting performance into the ring gear by the structure of the starter. In the starter shown in FIG. 1, the pinion gear 4 and the one-way clutch 4a are integrally structured and pushed out to the ring gear 2 by the pinion transfer lever 6. However, the starter in FIG. 8 has a separate structure. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), a vertical groove spline shaft 43 is fixed to the one-way clutch 4a, and a pinion gear 4 provided with a vertical groove spline on the inner side for securing a certain clearance with the spline is described above. The shaft 43 is movable in the axial direction.

  The pinion gear 4 is pressed by the spring 44 in the right direction in the drawing, that is, in the ring gear 2 side, and stopped while being pressed against the stopper 45.

  Further, as an alternative to the structure of FIG. 8A, as shown in FIG. 8B, a damper mechanism is connected to the link 42a via a spring 44 between the movable iron core 42 and the pinion transfer lever 6. And may be connected to the pinion transfer lever 6.

  In the system configured as described above, when a starter drive command is issued from the ECU 21 in response to a restart request from the change of mind, the starter relay 41 is closed and power is supplied to the starter solenoid 5. The starter solenoid 5 is an electromagnetic solenoid. When a current flows through the coil, an electromagnetic force acts on the movable iron core 42 to attract the pinion transfer lever 6 to the left side in the figure and close the motor contact 11 when a certain stroke is reached. To power the motor and rotate the pinion gear.

  8A, when the pinion transfer lever 6 is sucked, the pinion gear unit 4b shown in FIG. 1 is pushed out to the ring gear 2 side, and the spring 44 is bent for a moment when the pinion gear 4 comes into contact with the ring gear 2. Using the repulsive force, the biting can be completed quickly. That is, the moving speed of the pinion gear 4 due to the repulsive force of the spring 44 is faster than the moving speed of the pinion transfer lever 6, and the phase of the pinion gear 4 and the ring gear 2 can be engaged with each other by using the repulsive force of the spring 44. When it becomes, you can bite instantly.

  Similarly, in the configuration shown in FIG. 8B, the spring 44 is bent to produce a similar effect. In addition, as long as the pinion gear 4 can be moved faster than the moving speed of the pinion transfer lever 6, other elastic bodies such as a rubber material or other structures that generate a repulsive force may be employed instead of the spring.

  However, in a system that employs the idle stop system shown in FIG. 1 or the starter shown in FIG. 8, in a situation where the pinion gear is engaged with the rotating ring gear by the change of mind operation, the starter If an abnormality occurs and the meshing capacity of the ring gear is reduced, the gears slip when the pinion gear and the ring gear come into contact with each other, and the time until the meshing is completed becomes longer. If a trouble phenomenon such as abnormal wear occurs and further deteriorates, the ring gear stops without the pinion gear being engaged with the ring gear, and the gears continue to slip and cannot be permanently engaged.

  In order to restart from the above state, the pinion gear continues to rotate with inertia even when the starter drive (pinion push-out operation and motor drive operation) is stopped. Therefore, the rotation difference from the ring gear continues to be large. Even if the starter is driven again in this state, since the rotation difference is large, the pinion gear does not get caught, continues to idle while hitting the end face of the ring gear, and cannot be cranked again.

  In order to reliably perform cranking in the state as described above, after stopping the starter drive, the rotation speed of the pinion gear becomes equal to or less than the rotation speed (for example, 50 r / min) that can be engaged with the ring gear, If the starter is driven, the pinion gear can be engaged with the ring gear, and can be cranked and restarted.

  However, after stopping the starter drive, it may take about 1000 ms to reduce the rotation speed that allows the pinion gear to engage with the ring gear. Doing so will give the driver a sense of insecurity because of the blank time.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when an end face slip state in which the pinion gear continues to idle without being engaged with the ring gear is detected, a predetermined process is performed to reduce the rotational speed of the pinion gear to a rotational speed that can be engaged with the ring gear. It is intended to improve the start-up response from a state where end face slip occurs.

  FIG. 5 shows a starter when a restart request (change of mind) is received while the fuel cut is performed by the idle stop in the system of FIG. 1 and the engine speed Ne is decreasing while rotating due to inertia. The chart when driving and restarting is shown.

  When the engine speed decreases and reaches a predetermined speed, only the motor drive signal of the starter is turned on and the pinion gear is pre-rotated. The pinion gear pre-rotation decreases while the motor drive signal is turned OFF when the pinion rotation speed Npi is equal to or greater than a predetermined value or a predetermined time has elapsed, and then rotates with inertia. When the change of mind is received, a differential rotation between the pinion rotation speed Npi and the engine rotation speed Ne is detected, and the pinion transfer signal is turned ON. When a certain time (for example, 30 ms) elapses after the pinion transfer signal is turned on, it is determined that the engagement with the ring gear is completed, and the starter motor drive signal is turned on to start cranking. After cranking, when the engine is completely detonated and the engine speed Ne exceeds a predetermined value, the starter pinion transfer signal and the motor drive signal are turned off, and the restart is completed as shown by the dotted line in the figure.

  The above is a series of operations by the change of mind, but if some trouble occurs before the motor drive signal is turned on and the meshing of the pinion gear and the ring gear cannot be completed, the engine speed Ne decreases even if the motor is turned on. Then, the pinion gear is idled while hitting the end face of the ring gear, and the differential rotation between Ne and Npi increases so that the gear cannot be engaged, and cranking is performed as shown by the solid line in the figure to restart the engine. I can't. Such a phenomenon that the end surfaces of the gears slip and run idle is called end surface slip.

  The method of detecting the end face slip can be detected by comparing the operation state of the starter and the behavior of the engine speed Ne. That is, when the starter motor drive signal is ON, if the engine speed Ne is equal to or less than a predetermined value (for example, 50 r / min) and continues for a predetermined time (for example, 100 ms), it is determined that the end face slips, and a restart sequence is performed when end face slip occurs. To do.

  FIG. 6 shows a restart sequence when end face slip occurs.

  When the end face slip is detected, first, only the motor drive is turned off to stop the rotational drive of the pinion gear. By turning off the motor drive while the pinion transfer signal remains on, the pinion gear is decelerated while being pressed against the ring gear, so the pinion rotation speed is faster than when the pinion transfer signal is also decelerated. It is possible to reduce Npi.

  Since the pinion gear is pressed against the ring gear, the pinion gear automatically engages with the ring gear when the pinion rotation speed Npi drops below a difference in rotation speed (for example, 50 r / min) that can be engaged with the ring gear. If the motor drive is turned on in this state, the driving force can be transmitted to the ring gear, so that cranking can be performed.

  It should be noted that the timing for turning on the motor drive may be after a predetermined time has elapsed in addition to the above-described pinion rotation speed. That is, when the end face slip is reproduced by a desktop test or the like in advance, the pinion gear is pressed against the ring gear, and when the motor drive is turned off, the time during which the pinion rotation speed is reduced to a rotation speed difference (for example, 50 r / min) or less that can be engaged with the ring gear. It is good also as a sequence which measures this and turns on motor drive, after the time passes.

  After the start of cranking, when the engine speed Ne becomes a predetermined value (for example, 600 r / min) or more, it is determined that the explosion is complete and the drive signal for the starter is turned off.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a restart sequence when an end face slip occurs from the restart command by the change of mind described above.
Note that the start shown in this figure is a state in which fuel cut by idle stop is executed and pinion pre-rotation is executed. When a restart request by the change of mind is received in step 301, it is determined in step 302 whether the pinion gear is within the rotation speed range that can be engaged with the ring gear, and if it is within the rotation speed range, the process proceeds to step 303 and the pinion is transferred. Then, the ring gear is engaged. Thereafter, after a predetermined time has elapsed in step 304, the motor drive of the starter is turned on in step 305, and the pinion gear is driven.

  In the next step 306, it is determined whether or not end face slip has occurred.

  As an example of the determination method, if the state where the engine speed Ne is equal to or lower than a predetermined value (for example, 50 r / min) from the timing when the starter motor is driven in step 305 continues for a predetermined time (for example, 100 ms), it is determined that the end face slips. To do. The rotation speed condition can be replaced with a differential rotation. That is, a method may be adopted in which end face slip is determined when a state in which the difference between the pinion speed Npi and the engine speed Ne is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 200 r / min) continues for a predetermined time (for example, 100 ms).

  If it is determined in step 306 that no end face slip has occurred, the process proceeds from step 307 to step 311, where it is determined that a complete explosion has occurred when the engine speed Ne exceeds a predetermined value F (for example, 600 r / min). The process proceeds to step 312 to stop the starter drive (pinion transfer, motor drive) and complete the restart.

  If it is determined in step 306 that the end face slip has occurred, the process proceeds to step 308, where only the motor drive is turned OFF and the rotational drive of the pinion gear is stopped. Here, only turning the motor drive off is compared with the case where the pinion gear is decelerated while being pressed against the end face of the ring gear, so that the brake is physically applied, and the pinion transfer is also turned off simultaneously to stop the rotation drive of the pinion gear. This is because the pinion rotational speed can be quickly reduced. By this operation, it is possible to shorten the time until the next cranking becomes possible and to improve the responsiveness of restart.

  Next, when it is determined in step 309 that the pinion rotation speed Npi has become equal to or less than a predetermined value E (for example, 50 r / min), the process proceeds to step 310 and the motor drive is turned on to restart the rotation of the pinion. Here, the predetermined value E sets a rotational speed difference at which the pinion gear and the ring gear can be surely engaged.

  After starting cranking in step 310, it is determined that the explosion has been completed when the engine speed Ne exceeds a predetermined value F (for example, 600 r / min) in step 311, and the process proceeds to step 312 to drive the starter (pinion transfer). Motor drive).

As mentioned above, according to this embodiment explained in full detail, the following outstanding effects are acquired.
In a vehicle equipped with an idle stop system, even if the pinion gear and ring gear fail to engage during a change-of-mind operation, the system will immediately proceed to the next restart. Therefore, the restart responsiveness can be improved.

1 Engine 1a Crankshaft 2 Ring gear 3 Crank angle signal plate 4 Pinion gear 4a One-way clutch 4b Pinion gear unit 5 Starter solenoid 6 Pinion transfer lever 7 Starter motor 8 Pinion shaft 9 Starter body 10 Idle stop starter system 12 Battery 13 Semiconductor switching module 13a Semiconductor switching Element (for driving pinion transfer actuator)
13b Semiconductor switching element (for starter motor drive)
14a ignition coil 14b spark plug 15 fuel injection valve 16 transmission 17 drive shaft 18 tire
21 ECU (control unit, control device)
33 Vehicle speed sensor 36 Crank angle sensor 38 Pinion gear sensor

Claims (6)

A rotation axis;
A pinion gear for transmitting the rotational force of the rotary shaft to the ring gear of the engine;
Driving the rotating shaft and the pinion gear to the ring gear side,
A pinion shift mechanism for meshing the pinion gear and the ring gear;
A motor that operates independently of the pinion shift mechanism and rotates the rotating shaft;
Control the starter with
In the vehicle-mounted start control device that issues a meshing instruction to the pinion shift mechanism during the engine speed reduction period,
Based on the operating state of the engine when the motor is energized after the meshing instruction to the pinion shift mechanism,
Determination means for detecting a state in which the engine speed does not increase;
When the rotation of the motor is reduced to a predetermined value by the motor rotation speed reduction means and the motor rotation speed reduction means for reducing the rotation speed of the motor based on the determination result of the determination means, or the rotation speed reduction of the motor And a motor rotational speed return means for increasing the rotational speed of the motor again after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the operation. In the vehicle start control device according to claim 1,
The on-vehicle start control device according to claim 1, wherein the starter includes an elastic body that bends when the pinion gear and the ring gear come into contact with each other and moves the pinion gear relative to each other and biases the pinion gear toward the ring gear. In the vehicle-mounted start control device according to claim 2,
The on-vehicle start control device is characterized in that the determination unit determines that an abnormality occurs when the engine speed does not increase to a predetermined value or more even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of energization of the motor. 4. The on-vehicle start control device according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit includes a difference between the rotation speed of the motor and the rotation speed of the engine even if a predetermined time has elapsed after starting to energize the motor. A vehicle-mounted start control device characterized in that an abnormality is determined when the value does not fall below a predetermined value. In the vehicle-mounted start control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The on-vehicle start control device characterized in that the motor rotation speed reduction means stops only the rotation of the motor in a state where the meshing instruction to the pinion shift mechanism is continued. In the vehicle-mounted start control device according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The said predetermined time is based on the result of having previously measured the time which the rotation speed of the said motor falls to a predetermined rotation speed at the time of the end surface slip of the said ring gear and the said pinion gear. The vehicle-mounted start control device described in 1.