Onboard controller

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9856846-B2
Application number	US-201414779177-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 7, 2014
Priority date	Mar 26, 2013
Publication date	Jan 2, 2018
Grant date	Jan 2, 2018

Abstract

Provided is a system of carrying out engagement of a pinion and a ring gear at optimal timing and suppressing a bite-in sound, in a vehicle including an idle stop system. In a vehicle control device including an automatic stop unit which automatically stops an engine on the basis of an operating state of a vehicle; an automatic start unit which controls a starter during a period until the engine completely stops after the automatic stop unit executes the automatic stop of the engine, and restarts the engine; and an engine rotation detection unit which detects or operates a crank phase or a rotation number of the engine, the automatic start unit determines a control command of the starter at an interval shorter than an update interval of a signal of the engine rotation detection unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle control device, comprising:
an automatic stop unit which automatically stops an engine on the basis of an operating state of a vehicle;
an automatic start unit which controls a starter during a period until the engine completely stops after the automatic stop unit executes an automatic stop of the engine, and restarts the engine; and
an engine rotation detection unit which detects or calculates a crank phase of a crankshaft of the engine or a rotation number of the engine,
wherein the automatic start unit determines whether controlling the starter is prohibited at an interval shorter than an update interval of a signal of the engine rotation detection unit and outputs a control command based on a determination result.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , comprising:
an engine rotation detection signal complement unit which complements at least one of the rotation number and the crank phase of the engine at a point of time when the signal of the engine rotation detection unit is not updated, on the basis of at least one of the rotation number and the crank phase of the engine; and
a rotation number/phase change calculation unit which obtains a rotation number/phase change of the engine until a predetermined time passes, on the basis of a calculation result of the rotation detection signal complement unit,
wherein the automatic start unit controls the starter on the basis of the rotation number/phase change.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2 , comprising:
a rotation number steady change calculation unit which obtains a rotation number steady change of the engine until the predetermined time passes, on the basis of the signal of the engine rotation detection unit or the calculation result of the engine rotation detection signal complement unit; and
a future rotation number prediction unit which predicts the rotation number of the engine after the predetermined time passes, on the basis of a calculation result of the rotation number/phase change calculation unit and a calculation result of the rotation number steady change calculation unit,
wherein the automatic start unit controls the starter, on the basis of a prediction result of the future rotation number prediction unit.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the engine rotation detection signal complement unit complements both the engine rotation number and the crank phase at a point of time when the signal of the engine rotation detection unit is not updated.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein
a control timing of the starter is calculated on the basis of a prediction result of the future rotation number prediction unit and
confirmation whether the signal of the engine rotation detection unit is updated is made in a period until the calculated control timing of the starter.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the engine rotation detection signal complement unit uses a previous calculation result of the future rotation number prediction unit to complement the signal of the engine rotation detection unit.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the engine rotation detection signal complement unit determines whether or not to complement at least one of the rotation number and the crank phase of the engine, on the basis of the rotation number of the engine or a signal interval of the engine rotation detection unit.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the future rotation number prediction unit predicts the rotation number of the engine taking into consideration a delay time period during which a pinion gear of the starter is moved to a ring gear side of the engine.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein a control timing of the starter is calculated a plurality of times, on the basis of a prediction result of the future rotation number prediction unit.

10. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the automatic start unit controls the starter, on the basis of a detection result of backward rotation of the engine.

11. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the future rotation number prediction unit refers to a table based on axes of the rotation number and the crank phase calculated in advance, and predicts the rotation number of the engine after a predetermined time passes.

12. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 ,
wherein, when the rotation number of the engine is equal to or less than a predetermined rotation number, the vehicle control device complements at least one of the rotation number and the crank phase of the engine at a point of time when the signal of the engine rotation detection unit is not updated, on the basis of at least one of the rotation number and the crank phase of the engine.

13. A starter for restarting an engine, the starter being controlled by a vehicle control device according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd

Inventors

• Matsufuji Koji
• Hori Toshio
• Onishi Koji
• Nagasawa Yoshiaki
• Nakazato Shigenori

Classifications

• F02D41/0097

  using means for generating speed signals · CPC title

• F02N11/0818 Primary

  Conditions for starting or stopping the engine or for deactivating the idle-start-stop mode · CPC title

• F02D29/02 Primary

  peculiar to engines driving vehicles; peculiar to engines driving variable pitch propellers · CPC title

• F02B2075/125

  Direct injection in the combustion chamber for spark ignition engines, i.e. not in pre-combustion chamber · CPC title

• F02N2200/022

  Engine speed · CPC title