JP5269437B2 - Power generation control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly control power generation in detail with respect to the increase/decrease in load current caused when attaching or detaching an optional electric load, in a power generation control device mounted on a saddle type vehicle such as an automatic three-wheel vehicle and a motorcycle or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The power generation control device 10 includes a magnet generator 11, a power generation current control means 12, an electric load 14 and a battery 13. The power generation current control means 12 makes an output current Ix larger than usual when the load current Iy exceeds the upper limit value of an estimated range, and makes the output current Ix smaller than usual when the load current Iy falls below the lower limit value of the estimated range. Thus, the charging amount of the battery 13 can be secured even if an optional electric load 17 is mounted, deterioration in fuel economy even is prevented even if the optional electric load 17 is removed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power generation control device that is particularly suitable for being used in a motorcycle.

  FIG. 3 shows a conventional power generation control device.

  Conventionally, as this kind of power generation control device 10, as shown in FIG. 3, a three-phase magnet generator (magnet) 11 is used to utilize the rotational energy of a crankshaft (not shown) of an engine (internal combustion engine). A wide variety of devices are configured to generate an alternating current, rectify the three-phase alternating current into a direct current by the regulator 9, and supply the direct current to the battery 13 and the electrical load 14 as an output current Ix. Used (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In the regulator 9, the output current Ix is turned on / off according to the battery voltage Vbatt of the battery 13 in order to supply power to the battery 13 and the electrical load 14 while preventing overvoltage (overcharge) of the battery 13. Switching control is performed.

  That is, when the battery voltage Vbatt is equal to or lower than the overvoltage protection threshold (threshold) value, there is no possibility of overvoltage of the battery 13, so the regulator 9 is switched on to supply the output current Ix. Then, the output current Ix is supplied to the battery 13 as the charging current Iq, or is supplied to the electrical load 14 as the load current Iy.

Conversely, if the battery voltage Vbatt exceeds the overvoltage protection threshold, an overvoltage may occur in the battery 13, so that the supply of the output current Ix is stopped by short-circuiting the three-phase alternating current in the regulator 9 and switching it off. To do. Then, since the output current Ix is not output from the regulator 9, the battery 13 is not charged, and the discharge current Ir is supplied from the battery 13 to the electrical load 14. As a result, overvoltage of the battery 13 can be prevented beforehand.
JP-A-5-312029 No. 2003-65566

  However, in this case, since the battery 13 is charged through the regulator 9 that can only control the on / off switching of the output current Ix, it is caused by the installation / removal of the optional electrical load 17 or the replacement of the existing electrical load 14. There is an inconvenience that fine power generation control cannot be performed with respect to increase / decrease of the load current Iy.

  That is, when a motorcycle user installs an optional electrical load 17 or replaces an existing electrical load 14 with a large current consumption, as shown by a broken line in FIG. The load current Iy of the loads 14 and 17 increases. If the load current Iy exceeds the upper limit of the assumed range, the charging current Iq may be insufficient and the charge amount of the battery 13 may not be secured.

  In addition, when the user of the motorcycle removes the optional electrical load 17 once installed or replaces the existing electrical load 14 with one having a small current consumption, the load currents of these electrical loads 14 and 17 are reduced. Iy decreases. When the load current Iy falls below the lower limit value of the assumed range, an output current Ix that is more than necessary flows to the electrical load 14 and the battery 13, and compared with a case where the output current Ix is smaller than the magnetic power generation. Extra energy is required to rotate the machine 11. As a result, fuel consumption may be reduced.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a power generation control device capable of appropriately performing fine power generation control with respect to increase / decrease in load current caused by attachment / detachment of an optional electrical load. With the goal.

In order to achieve such an object, the invention described in claim 1 is a power generation control device mounted on a saddle-ride type vehicle, and generates a three-phase alternating current using rotational energy of a crankshaft of an engine. A magnet generator and the three-phase AC current generated by the magnet generator are rectified and converted to a DC current, and the DC current is converted into an output current of an arbitrary current value by phase angle control to supply power. A generated current control means, an electrical load that consumes the output current from the generated current control means, and a battery that is charged by the output current from the generated current control means and discharged to the electrical load are provided. the generated current control means, when the load current of the electrical load exceeds the upper limit of the expected range, it is determined that the load current is increased as a whole with the attachment and detachment of the electrical load The serial output current so as to be larger than usual, the said load current of the electrical load when the lower limit value of the expected range, it is determined that the load current as a whole with the attachment and detachment of the electrical load is reduced When the output current is smaller than normal , and the load current of the electrical load is not less than the lower limit value of the assumed range and not more than the upper limit value, the output current is maintained as the normal current, and the generated current control means When the battery voltage increase rate of the battery is equal to or less than the normal minimum increase rate, it is determined that the load current of the electrical load exceeds the upper limit value of the assumed range, and the battery voltage increase rate of the battery is normally The power generation control device determines that the load current of the electrical load has fallen below a lower limit value of an assumed range when the hourly maximum increase rate is exceeded .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when the load current of the electrical load exceeds the upper limit of the assumed range, the amount of charge of the battery can be secured by increasing the output current. Further, even if the load current of the electrical load falls below the lower limit value of the assumed range, the energy for rotating the magnet generator is suppressed by the reduction of the output current, so that it is possible to avoid a reduction in fuel consumption. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately perform fine power generation control with respect to increase / decrease in load current caused by attachment / detachment of an optional electrical load. In addition, since the increase / decrease in the load current of the electrical load can be known from the battery voltage increase rate, it is possible to appropriately determine whether the load current increases / decreases, and thus fine power generation control.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
Embodiment 1 of the Invention

  1 and 2 show Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  First, the configuration will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the power generation control device 10 mounted on a motorcycle includes a magnet generator 11, a generated current control means 12, a battery 13, and an electrical load 14. As this electrical load 14, for example, an electrical device such as a headlamp or a brake lamp can be considered.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the magnet generator 11 has three stator coils 11a, 11b, and 11c, and a permanent magnet (not shown) attached to a rotor (not shown). Is configured to be able to generate a three-phase alternating current by rotating using rotational energy of an engine crankshaft (not shown).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the generated current control means 12 includes a rectifying unit 12a, a three-phase voltage detection circuit 12b, a control unit 12c such as a microcomputer, and a voltage sensor 12d. Thus, a direct current having an arbitrary current value is output as the output current Ix.

  That is, the rectification unit 12a is a circuit unit that converts a three-phase alternating current generated by the magnet generator 11 into a direct current, and a diode and a thyristor constitute a three-phase mixed bridge circuit. An alternating current induced in each stator coil 11a, 11b, 11c is input to the middle position of a diode and a thyristor, and the gate of each thyristor is turned on by a phase angle control current to variably output an output current Ix. Has been.

  In addition, the three-phase voltage detection circuit 12b receives the three-phase voltage of the rectifier 12a and converts it into a voltage waveform for detecting the phase angle reference timing of each phase. Specifically, the voltage of each phase is input and shaped into a voltage waveform that can be recognized by the control unit 12c, and the control unit 12c determines when the input voltage reaches a predetermined reference voltage when the input voltage starts to rise. Be able to set with timing.

  Further, the control unit 12c stores a power generation control program PRG shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, the control unit 12c stores a normal minimum increase rate A and a normal maximum increase rate B in a freely readable manner. Here, the normal minimum increase rate A is an increase rate of the battery voltage Vbatt of the battery 13 in a normal vehicle (a vehicle in which the optional electrical load 17 is not mounted or the existing electrical load 14 is not replaced). Means the minimum value. The normal maximum increase rate B means the maximum value of the increase rate of the battery voltage Vbatt of the battery 13 in a normal vehicle.

  The voltage sensor 12d is configured to detect the battery voltage Vbatt of the battery 13 and output the detection signal to the control unit 12c.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  In the power generation control apparatus 10 having the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, a three-phase alternating current is generated by the magnet generator 11, and this three-phase alternating current is rectified by the generated current control means 12. The direct current is converted into a direct current, and the direct current is converted into an output current Ix having an arbitrary current value by phase angle control, and is supplied to the battery 13 and the electrical load 14. At this time, the load current Iy of the electrical load 14 varies within an assumed range (between the upper limit value and the lower limit value).

  By the way, when the user of the motorcycle installs an optional electrical load 17 or replaces an existing electrical load 14 with a large current consumption, as shown by a broken line in FIG. The load current Iy of 14 and 17 increases. Here, as the optional electrical load 17, an emergency rotating light, a handle warmer, an anti-theft device and other electrical devices are assumed. In addition, when the user of the motorcycle removes the optional electrical load 17 once installed or replaces the existing electrical load 14 with one having a small current consumption, the load current Iy of the electrical loads 14 and 17 is reduced. Decrease. However, even in these cases, as described below, the control unit 12c of the generated current control means 12 reads the power generation control program PRG shown in FIG. 2 and executes the power generation control operation based on the power generation control program PRG. Detailed power generation control is appropriately performed with respect to increase / decrease in load current Iy.

  That is, first, in the battery voltage reading step (step S1 of the power generation control program PRG), the control unit 12c reads the battery voltage Vbatt of the battery 13 based on the detection signal of the voltage sensor 12d. At this time, the battery voltage Vbatt1 at a certain time T1 is read, and the battery voltage Vbatt2 at a time T2 (= T1 + ΔT) when a predetermined time ΔT (eg, ΔT = 5 s) has elapsed from the time T1 is read.

  Next, in the battery voltage increase rate calculation step (step S2 of the power generation control program PRG), the control unit 12c calculates the battery voltage increase rate Vup of the battery 13. For this purpose, the battery voltage Vbatt1 at time T2 is subtracted from the battery voltage Vbatt2 at time T2, the difference ΔVbatt (= Vbatt2−Vbatt1) is divided by a predetermined time ΔT, and this quotient is calculated as the battery voltage increase rate Vup (= ΔVbatt / ΔT). ).

  Thereafter, in the first battery voltage increase rate determination step (step S3 of the power generation control program PRG), the control unit 12c reads the normal minimum increase rate A, and the battery voltage increase rate Vup is equal to or less than the normal minimum increase rate A. It is determined whether or not.

  If the battery voltage increase rate Vup is equal to or lower than the normal minimum increase rate A as a result of this determination, the electrical loads 14 and 17 can be replaced by installing the optional electrical load 17 or replacing the existing electrical load 14. Since it is considered that the load current Iy exceeds the upper limit value of the assumed range, the process proceeds to an output current increasing step (step S4 of the power generation control program PRG), and the control unit 12c normally outputs the output current Ix by phase angle control. Make it bigger. Then, since a large current commensurate with the increase in the load current Iy of the electrical loads 14 and 17 is supplied from the generated current control means 12 to the battery 13, the charge amount of the battery 13 can be ensured.

  On the other hand, when the battery voltage increase rate Vup exceeds the normal minimum increase rate A, the process proceeds to the second battery voltage increase rate determination step (step S5 of the power generation control program PRG), and the control unit 12c The maximum increase rate B is read, and it is determined whether or not the battery voltage increase rate Vup is equal to or higher than the normal maximum increase rate B.

  If the battery voltage increase rate Vup is equal to or greater than the normal maximum increase rate B as a result of this determination, the electrical loads 14 and 17 can be removed by removing the optional electrical load 17 or replacing the existing electrical load 14. Since it is considered that the load current Iy is below the lower limit value of the assumed range, the process proceeds to the output current reduction process (step S6 of the power generation control program PRG), and the control unit 12c normally outputs the output current Ix by phase angle control. Make it smaller. Then, since the useless power generation operation is reduced by the generated current control means 12, it is possible to avoid a reduction in fuel consumption.

  On the other hand, when the battery voltage increase rate Vup is less than the normal maximum increase rate B, the optional electrical load 17 is not attached or removed, or the existing electrical load 14 is not replaced, or these Since the load current Iy of the electrical loads 14 and 17 does not increase or decrease significantly and the output current Ix does not need to be increased or decreased, the output current maintaining step (power generation control program PRG In step S7), the control unit 12c maintains the output current Ix as a normal current by the phase angle control.

  Thus, in the power generation control in the power generation control device 10, first, increase / decrease in the load current Iy of the electrical loads 14, 17 is determined. When the load current Iy of the electrical loads 14 and 17 exceeds the upper limit value of the assumed range, the charge amount of the battery 13 is ensured by increasing the output current Ix. Further, when the load current Iy of the electrical loads 14 and 17 falls below the lower limit value of the assumed range, the output current Ix is made smaller than usual, and the energy for rotating the magnet generator 11 is suppressed, thereby reducing the fuel consumption. Avoid degradation. As a result, even when the load current Iy increases or decreases due to the mounting / removal of the optional electrical load 17 or the replacement of the existing electrical load 14, fine power generation control can be appropriately performed.

In addition, since the increase / decrease in the load current Iy of the electrical loads 14, 17 is determined based on the battery voltage increase rate Vup, it is possible to appropriately perform the increase / decrease determination of the load current Iy, and thus fine power generation control.
[Other Embodiments of the Invention]

  In the first embodiment described above, the power generation control device 10 mounted on a motorcycle has been described. However, the power generation control device 10 is a straddle-type vehicle other than a motorcycle, such as a motor tricycle or a straddle-type four-wheel vehicle. Of course, it can also be mounted on an ATV (rough terrain vehicle).

  The present invention can be widely applied to motorcycles, motorcycles, straddle-type four-wheel vehicles, and other straddle-type vehicles.

It is a circuit diagram which shows the electric power generation control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. 3 is a flowchart showing a power generation control program according to the first embodiment. It is a circuit diagram which illustrates the conventional power generation control device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... Regulator 10 ... Electric power generation control apparatus 11 ... Magnet type generator 11a, 11b, 11c ... Stator coil 12 ... Electric power generation current control means 12a ... Rectification part 12b ... Three-phase voltage detection circuit 12c ... Control Section 12d …… Voltage sensor 13 …… Battery 14 …… Existing electrical load 17 …… Optional electrical load A …… Normal minimum increase rate B …… Normal maximum increase rate Iq …… Charging current Ir …… Discharge current Ix …… Output current Iy …… Load current PRG …… Power generation control program Vbatt …… Battery voltage Vup …… Battery voltage increase rate

Claims (1)

A power generation control device mounted on a saddle riding type vehicle,
A magnet generator that generates the three-phase alternating current using the rotational energy of the crankshaft of the engine;
A three-phase alternating current generated by the magnet generator is rectified and converted into a direct current, and the direct current is converted into an output current of an arbitrary current value by phase angle control, and a generated current control means for supplying power,
An electrical load that consumes the output current from the generated current control means;
A battery charged with an output current from the generated current control means and discharged to the electrical load is provided ,
When the load current of the electrical load exceeds the upper limit of the assumed range, the generated current control means determines that the load current has increased as a whole with the attachment / detachment of the electrical load, and determines the output current. When the load current of the electrical load falls below the lower limit of the assumed range, it is determined that the load current is reduced as a whole with the attachment / detachment of the electrical load, and the output current is When the load current of the electrical load is not less than the lower limit value of the assumed range and not more than the upper limit value, the output current is maintained as a normal current,
The generated current control means determines that the load current of the electrical load has exceeded an upper limit value of an assumed range when the battery voltage increase rate of the battery is equal to or less than a normal minimum increase rate, and A power generation control device , wherein when the battery voltage increase rate becomes equal to or higher than a normal maximum increase rate, it is determined that the load current of the electrical load is below a lower limit value of an assumed range .

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