JPH0367886B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a retarder for applying braking force to an automobile, and more particularly to an automobile retarder that can control the braking force.

<Prior Art> In order to make it easier to drive a car, especially to make it easier to drive at a constant speed on a highway, attempts have been made to attach a constant speed driving device to a car. This constant speed traveling device is an application of a microcomputer, which calculates the difference between the actual traveling speed and the set speed, and adjusts the amount of fuel supplied to the engine according to this calculated value. The amount is controlled. That is, the conventional constant speed traveling device is connected to a fuel supply device, and is configured to control the amount of fuel supplied according to the difference between the traveling vehicle speed and the set vehicle speed.

According to such a conventional constant speed traveling device, it is possible to sufficiently drive a vehicle at a constant speed on a flat road or an uphill road with a certain angle. However, on a downhill road that has an angle such that the acceleration applied to the vehicle is greater than the braking force of the engine brake, it has become impossible to drive at a constant speed. In other words, as the speed gradually increases on such roads, the driver takes actions such as changing the gear ratio of the transmission, using the exhaust brake, or stepping on the foot brake. The defect in the control of the constant speed traveling device was compensated for. That is, the conventional constant speed traveling device has the disadvantage that it cannot sufficiently achieve its purpose, especially on a downhill road.

〓Object of the Invention〓 The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it effectively utilizes a retarder that provides braking force to an automobile, thereby achieving a constant speed, especially when descending a slope. It is an object of the present invention to provide a retarder for an automobile that improves the controllability of a traveling device.

〓Structure of the Invention〓 The present invention provides a retarder for applying braking force to an automobile, in which the retarder is connected to a constant speed traveling device, and the vehicle speed is made constant by a computer of the constant speed traveling device. The amount of fuel supplied to the engine is controlled, and the current flowing through a coil that adjusts the braking force of the retarder is controlled by the computer, thereby controlling the braking force of the retarder during deceleration. controlled by the constant speed traveling device,
The constant speed traveling device has a control function on each of the speed increasing side and the decelerating side, and especially when the driving force is higher than the braking force of the engine brake, such as when going downhill, This ensures that the vehicle can run at a constant speed.

〓Examples〓 The present invention will be explained below with reference to illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an engine 1 equipped with a retarder according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and this engine 1 is constituted by, for example, a diesel engine for a truck. A flywheel housing 2 is provided on the rear side of the engine 1. A stator case 8 of an inductor type generator, which will be described later, is attached to the upper and lower sides of the housing 2. Further, a transmission 5 is disposed on the back side of the flywheel housing 2, and is configured to change the rotational speed of the engine 1 to an appropriate value and transmit it to the driving wheels via a propeller shaft 6.

Next, the structure of the retarder provided in this engine 1 will be described. As shown in FIG.
Inductor magnetic poles 7 are provided at predetermined pitches along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the flywheel 4 fixed to the end of the flywheel. The flywheel 4 provided with this magnetic pole 7 constitutes a rotor of an inductor type generator, and this generator constitutes a retarder of an automobile.

Cases 8 are provided on the upper and lower sides of the housing 2, and a stator of an inductor type generator is housed within these cases 8. As shown in FIG. 3, this stator includes a plurality of pole cores 9 arranged in the circumferential direction of the flywheel 4. The lower end of the pole core 9 faces the inductor magnetic pole 7 via a small air gap, and
Its upper end is connected to the case 8 via the stator yoke 10.
is fixed to the cover plate. An armature coil 11 and a field coil 12 are wound around the pole core 9, respectively. Note that the armature coil 11 is wound around two pole cores 9, whereas the field coil 12 is wound around each pole core 9 one at a time. and field coil 12
is connected to a battery 14 via a controller 13, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.
On the other hand, the armature coil 11 is connected to a load resistor 15 shown in FIG.

Next, a description will be given of a constant speed traveling device connected to a retarder of an automobile, which is constituted by an inductor type generator having the above configuration. This constant speed traveling device is shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. It consists of a microcomputer 16, and a control switch 17 for setting the speed is connected to the input side of the computer 16.
On the other hand, the output side of this microcomputer 16 is
As shown in FIG. 4, it is connected to the field coil 12 of the generator via a controller 13 that includes an amplifier circuit 18 and a transistor 25.

Further, the constant speed traveling device comprising the microcomputer 16 is adapted to control the amount of fuel supplied to the engine 1 shown in FIG. That is, the output side of the microcomputer 16 is connected to an actuator 19, and the actuator 19 is connected to a load lever 20. The load lever 20 is attached to a mechanical governor 22 that controls a control rack of a fuel injection pump 21 for supplying fuel to the engine 1. The fuel injection pump 21 is driven by the engine 1 via a timer 23.

Next, the operation of the constant speed traveling device connected to the retarder as described above will be explained with reference to FIG. First, we will explain the operation when a vehicle equipped with this constant speed traveling device is running on a normal road, that is, a flat road or an uphill road.
The microcomputer 16 compares the set speed given by the control switch 17 with the actual running speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 24 of the transmission 5. Then, in accordance with this comparison, the fuel injection pump 21 controls the amount of fuel supplied to the engine 1.

If the actual vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 24 is lower than the set speed, the microcomputer 16 rotates the load lever 20 counterclockwise in FIG. 1 via the actuator 19. This increases the amount of fuel injected by the fuel injection pump 21 at one time. Conversely, if the actual vehicle speed is higher than the set speed, the microcomputer 16 rotates the load lever 20 to the idle side, that is, clockwise in FIG. decreases the amount of fuel supplied by In this way, a vehicle equipped with this device can automatically travel at a substantially constant speed.

Next, the operation of the constant speed traveling device on a downhill road will be explained. As mentioned above, when the actual running speed is higher than the set speed, the load lever 20 is rotated toward the idle side by the microcomputer 16 and the actuator 19. Even when the vehicle rotates to the return rotation position, that is, the idle position, if the vehicle speed is higher than the set vehicle speed, the retarder provided in the flywheel housing 2 is activated.

This operation will be explained based on FIGS. 5 and 6. The microcomputer 16 reads the actual vehicle speed through the sensor 24, and switches the switch 1
The set vehicle speed set by 7 and stored in the register is read. Then, the actual vehicle speed and the set vehicle speed are compared, and the rate of change in vehicle speed is calculated. The actual vehicle speed is higher than the set vehicle speed,
Furthermore, when the rate of change in vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value, the field current supplied to the field coil 12 of the inductor generator forming the retarder is increased. On the other hand, if the rate of change in vehicle speed is smaller than a predetermined value, the field current supplied to the field coil 12 is reduced. By controlling the braking force of the retarder in this manner, constant speed running is achieved when descending a slope.

Based on the instructions from the microcomputer 16, the fourth
The controller 1 via the amplifier circuit 18 shown in the figure
3, when a field current is supplied to the field coil 12, this field coil is excited.
As shown in FIG. 3, the field coil 12 magnetizes the pole cores 9 two by two in opposite directions, and
A pair of pole cores 9 around which a common armature coil 11 is wound are magnetized to have different polarities. Therefore, at a certain moment, a magnetic circuit 27 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 3 is formed, and when the flywheel 4 rotates and the inductor magnetic pole 7 moves by an angle corresponding to the pitch of the pole core 9,
A magnetic circuit 28 as shown by the chain line in FIG. 3 is formed.

The magnetic fluxes passing through these magnetic circuits 27 and 28 both interlink with the armature coil 11, and
The directions of the magnetic fluxes passing through the two magnetic circuits 27 and 28 are reversed. Therefore, due to this change in magnetic flux, an electromotive force is induced in the armature coil 11,
This inductor type generator will be used to generate electricity.
This means that the engine 1 or the vehicle drives the flywheel 4, and the work done from the outside at this time is absorbed as braking force. Therefore, the vehicle receives a braking force and is decelerated by the power generated by the inductor type generator. Note that the output of the generator at this time is consumed by the load resistor 15 shown in FIG.

As described above, the automobile retarder according to the present embodiment is connected to the constant speed traveling device, and is designed to improve the controllability of the constant speed traveling device during deceleration such as when descending a slope. Therefore, it is possible to achieve constant speed travel over a wider range than with conventional constant speed travel devices, and by operating the retarder during deceleration, it is possible to approach the set speed more quickly. As a result, the response during deceleration can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a constant speed traveling device that has a wide range of application and has excellent response.

Note that the retarder made of the above inductor type generator is
When this constant speed traveling device is not used, it can be used independently if necessary, and in this case, it is only necessary to manually operate the retarder switch installed in the driver's seat. This makes it possible for the driver to operate the retarder at will and obtain braking force.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In this second embodiment, parts corresponding to those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions of parts having the same configuration will be omitted. The feature of this second embodiment is that the automobile retarder is composed of an eddy current type retarder 31. Furthermore, this retarder 31 is attached to a propeller shaft 6 that transmits torque from the transmission 5 to the drive wheels.

The eddy current type retarder 31 includes a rotor shaft 32, and a pair of disks 33 are fixedly attached to both ends of the rotor shaft 32 so as to face each other. A stator core 34 is fixedly arranged between the pair of disks 33, and a stator coil 35 is wound around the stator core 34.
Note that the stator core 34 is connected to the rotor shaft 3 mentioned above.
A ball bearing 37 is disposed between the two so as to be rotatable relative to the two. Furthermore, fins 36 for heat radiation are provided on the outer end surface of the disk 33.

As shown in FIG. 8, the electromagnetic coil or stator coil 35 of this eddy current type retarder 31 is connected in series with the transistor 25 that constitutes the controller 13, and receives a control signal from the microcomputer 16. Accordingly, the current flowing through the amplifier circuit 18 is controlled.

Therefore, similarly to the above embodiment, when the actual vehicle speed is higher than the set vehicle speed and the rate of change in vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value, the current supplied to the stator coil 35 of the eddy current type retarder 31 is is increased by instructions from the microcomputer 16,
It is designed to generate higher braking force. In other words, when the current flowing through the stator coil 35 increases, the intensity of the magnetic flux of the magnetic field that rotates the disk 33 increases, and therefore a large eddy current flows through this disk 33, and a large braking torque is generated by interaction with the magnetic field. As a result, the car receives a large amount of braking force. Note that the heat generated by the eddy current is generated in the disk 33, but this heat is dissipated into the atmosphere by the fins 36 formed on the disk 33.

In this way, in the eddy current type retarder 31 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the current of the stator coil 35 for forming the magnetic field is controlled by the control signal from the microcomputer 16 constituting the constant speed traveling device. This retarder 31 generates a braking force, especially when descending a slope, and prevents the actual vehicle speed from becoming higher than the set vehicle speed. Therefore, according to such a configuration, it is possible to improve the controllability of the constant speed traveling device, especially on a downhill road.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the constant speed traveling device connected to the retarder maintains the vehicle speed at a constant speed by controlling the amount of fuel supplied to the engine on the speed increasing side. At the same time, on the deceleration side, the computer of the constant speed traveling device performs the control function by controlling the current flowing through the coil that constitutes the retarder, and the constant speed traveling device accelerates. The side and deceleration side each have control functions. Therefore, the control range of the constant speed traveling device becomes wider.

In particular, according to the present invention, a retarder is connected to a constant speed traveling device, and control is performed using the braking force of this retarder on the deceleration side. Therefore, this is very advantageous when a higher braking force than that of the engine brake is required, and for example, the vehicle can run at a constant speed even when going downhill, which improves the controllability of the constant speed running system. will be enhanced.

Moreover, since the speed increasing and decelerating sides are controlled by a common computer to keep the vehicle speed constant, it is not possible to perform unified control on the speed increasing and decelerating sides. This makes it possible to achieve a constant speed traveling device that can perform comprehensive control over a wide range of vehicle speeds.

Moreover, since the control on the deceleration side uses a computer to control the current flowing through the coil that adjusts the braking force of the retarder, the control on the deceleration side can be easily performed by the computer and the response is improved. This makes it possible to improve the controllability of the constant speed traveling device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view of essential parts of an engine equipped with a retarder according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an external perspective view showing the retarder installed in this engine, and Fig. 3 is a view of the retarder. Main parts enlarged front view,
Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram for controlling the field current of this retarder, Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the operation of the constant speed traveling device connected to this retarder, Fig. 6 is the same flowchart, and Fig. 7 is FIG. 8 is a side view of a main part of an engine equipped with a retarder according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a circuit diagram for controlling the current of the stator coil of this retarder. 4... Flywheel, 7... Inductor magnetic pole, 9
...Pole core, 11...Armature coil, 12...
...Field coil, 13...Controller, 15...
Load resistance, 16...Microcomputer, 19
... Actuator, 20 ... Load lever, 2
1...Fuel injection pump, 24...Vehicle speed sensor, 2
5...Transistor, 31...Eddy current retarder, 33...Disk, 35...Stator coil.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a retarder for applying braking force to an automobile, this retarder is connected to a constant speed traveling device, and a computer of the constant speed traveling device supplies fuel to the engine so that the vehicle speed is constant. In addition, the computer controls the current flowing through a coil that adjusts the braking force of the retarder, so that the braking force of the retarder during deceleration is controlled by the constant speed traveling device. A retarder for an automobile, characterized in that the constant speed traveling device has a control function on an acceleration side and a deceleration side, respectively.