JPH0468469B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system in which a shift controller for an automobile and an electronic advance angle controller are organically combined. This invention relates to a vehicle running state control device that controls the following.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION One of the causes of worsening fuel efficiency of automobiles is so-called sluggish driving on congested roads. Driving like this is commonplace in urban areas, and simply reducing fuel consumption in these areas can significantly reduce heating costs.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve fuel efficiency on congested roads.

Structure of the Invention In order to improve the fuel efficiency of an automobile, it is sufficient to reduce the engine speed. To reduce engine speed at the same speed, simply shift up the transmission. However, there is a problem in that shifting up tends to cause knocking.

On the other hand, there is an electronic advance angle controller as a device for controlling the ignition timing of an engine. This controls the ignition in the engine, that is, the ignition timing of the spark plug. In order to increase the output of an engine, it is necessary to explode the fuel so that the pressure inside the cylinder is maximum at top dead center (the position where the piston is at its highest position: the volume created by the cylinder and piston is the smallest). good. Therefore, the ignition timing must be set before top dead center, and the control to ignite before top dead center is called advance control in ignition control. Indicates what will be done. In other words, ignition timing control means that top dead center can be detected by installing an angle sensor on a crank, etc. that moves in synchronization with the piston, and that the timing of the next top dead center can be determined based on the engine speed and the timing of the current top dead center. can be detected, so the ignition is performed at a point before the next top dead center by an advance amount calculated according to the engine condition. The closer the advance amount is to the optimal advance amount (the earlier the ignition timing is, the earlier the ignition occurs than the top dead center), the better the engine output will be. A large amount of pressure has previously been applied to the piston, and pressure is applied to the piston in a direction that opposes the rotation of the engine, making knocking more likely. Conversely, the smaller the advance amount (the more the ignition timing is delayed), the less likely knocking will occur, but because the pressure from the fuel explosion occurs after top dead center (after the volume created by the cylinder and piston becomes large), knocking becomes less likely to occur. ), the engine output becomes smaller.

The present invention takes these characteristics into account and focuses on the fact that engine output is not required when driving slowly on congested roads. When detected, the engine shifts up to suppress the engine speed, and this control also delays the ignition timing to prevent knocking, which is more likely to occur.

Embodiments of the Invention FIG. 1 is a block diagram of essential parts showing an example of the hardware configuration of a vehicle running state control device of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a control section of an electronic advance angle controller, and a microcomputer 11
and an input interface circuit 1 connected to the microcomputer 11 via the bus 12.
3. It consists of an output interface circuit 14, a ROM 15 for storing programs and the like, and a RAM 16 for temporarily storing calculation results and the like. Reference numeral 17 denotes a control section of an automobile speed change controller, which includes a microcomputer 18, an input interface circuit 20 connected to the microcomputer 18 via a bus 19, and an output interface circuit 2.
1. It consists of a ROM 22 for storing programs and the like, and a RAM 23 for temporarily storing calculation results and the like.

The ROM 15 of the control unit 10 stores the optimum advance angle value according to the engine condition, and the microcomputer 11 controls the crank angle sensor 2.
4. Determine the basic ignition timing from the engine speed and intake air amount obtained from the output of the intake pressure sensor 25.
A corrected ignition advance angle is selected from the ROM 15 and calculated based on signals from other sensors such as the water temperature sensor 26, and the initial set ignition timing is added to this to determine the ignition timing as shown in the following equation.

Ignition timing = initial set ignition timing + basic ignition advance angle + corrected ignition advance angle This determined ignition timing and crank angle sensor 2
According to the timing of the signal from 4, the ignition signal is
The igniter 30 determines the energization time for the primary current to flow through the ignition coil 31, generates a high voltage on the secondary side of the ignition coil 31, and generates a high voltage at the spark plug 32. ignite.

The control unit 17 also controls the vehicle speed sensor 2.
7. Throttle opening sensor 28 information and RAM
From the current shift position information stored in 23, the ROM
The shift pattern stored in 22 (a reference gear shift vehicle speed corresponding to the throttle opening degree is stored for each shift shift stage) is looked up to determine whether or not the shift is possible, and when the current vehicle speed reaches the shift shift threshold vehicle speed, Transmission 3 via output interface 21
The gear shift control solenoids 35 and 36 in the hydraulic circuit 34 for switching the gear ratio of 3 are controlled to shift up or down by one step. Note that 37 is a torque converter. The operations of the control sections 10, 17, etc. as described above are conventionally well known.

Now, in this embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned configuration,
A switch 38 constituting a starting signal generator that generates a starting signal by turning on and off the operating switch is provided at an appropriate position that the driver can operate while driving.
The microcomputers 11 and 18 are arranged to be able to read the on/off state of this switch 38. When the switch 38 is off, the control sections 10 and 17 perform the normal operation described above, and when the switch 38 is on, the control section 10 forcibly retards the advance angle, and the control section 17 I try to shift up the gears.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the software configuration for realizing the speed change control function of the microcomputer 18, and the steps newly added in this embodiment are steps S8, S11, S15, and S16. First, the operation when the switch 38 is in the OFF state will be explained. As shown in the figure, the microcomputer 1
8 reads the output of the vehicle speed sensor 27 to detect the current vehicle speed, reads the output of the throttle opening sensor 28 to detect how much the throttle is opening (S1, S2), and detects the detected throttle opening. Then, the reference shift pattern stored in the internal ROM 22 is accessed and the reference shift change vehicle speed corresponding to the current throttle opening is looked up (S3). FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a standard shift pattern, where solid lines 1→2, 2→3, and 3→4 are 1st speed and 2nd speed, respectively.
The dashed lines 1←2, 2←3, 3 indicate the upper limit shift switching threshold vehicle speed for switching from speed, 3rd gear to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears.
← 4 is 2nd, 3rd, and 4th to 1st and 2 respectively
3 shows the lower limit shift switching threshold vehicle speed for switching to 5th and 3rd speeds. The microcomputer 18 looks up both the upper limit shift change threshold vehicle speed and the lower limit shift change threshold vehicle speed that should be referred to when shifting from the current shift position. For example, if the current shift position is 2nd gear, When the vehicle speed is changed from 2nd speed to 3rd speed, the upper limit speed change threshold vehicle speed and the lower limit speed change threshold vehicle speed for switching from 2nd speed to 1st speed are looked up. however,
When the current shift position is 1st speed, only the upper limit shift change threshold vehicle speed is referred to, and when the current shift position is 4th speed, only the lower limit shift change threshold vehicle speed is referred to. Next, when the current shift position is 1st gear, 2nd gear, or 3rd gear, the microcomputer 18 compares this upper shift switching threshold vehicle speed with the current vehicle speed (S6, S12), and determines the current vehicle speed. If the vehicle speed is higher than the upper limit speed change threshold vehicle speed, a signal for upshifting by one step is outputted to the speed change control solenoids 35 and 36 via the output interface circuit 21 to perform upshifting by one step (S13). Then, the current shift position information is updated (S14). Also, if the current shift position is 4th gear or if it is determined NO in step S6, it is determined whether the current vehicle speed is smaller than the lower limit shift switching threshold vehicle speed (S7), and if it is smaller, a one-step downshift is performed. (S9), and updates the current shift position information (S10).
Such operation is the same as the conventional one.

Next, when the switch 38 is in the on state, even if the shift condition is not satisfied, the step
In order to proceed to step S16 in S11 and S15, a one-step shift up is performed only when forced shift up control has not been performed (S13), and the current shift position information is updated (S17).
Note that since shift-up control is performed contrary to normal shift conditions, the current vehicle speed may become smaller than the lower limit shift switching threshold vehicle speed in subsequent shift condition determination.
This is done only when 8 is off (S8).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the advance angle calculation process performed by the microcomputer 11. When the switch 38 is off, the ignition timing is controlled based on the advance angle value determined by equation (2) above. S20,
S21), when the switch 38 is on, the ignition timing is controlled based on an advance angle value that is less than half of the advance angle value determined by equation (2) above. (S22). It is not possible to say in general what value the advance angle value should be, depending on the vehicle type, etc., but for example, if you are driving on a flat road at a speed of 30 km/h or less, turn on the switch 38 and force the advance angle value to be set. It is sufficient to set the advance angle within a range that provides a stable engine condition without knocking or the like even if the shift is performed one step up.In addition to using half of the advance angle value calculated as described above, It is also possible to adopt a configuration using a small advance angle value such as 1 degree.

According to this embodiment, when the driver is forced to drive slowly in a low speed range due to traffic jams, etc., if the driver turns on the switch 38, it becomes possible to drive in a higher gear than usual. It becomes possible to save fuel accordingly.

In the embodiments described above, forced shift up control and advance angle value control were performed manually, but instead of using the switch 38, the switch 38 was used when driving under conditions such as a congested road, where the throttle opening was small and the throttle opening was almost constant in the low speed range. If a driving condition detector is provided that automatically detects when the vehicle is traveling at a high speed for, for example, 10 seconds, or if such a driving condition detector and switch 38 are provided together, forced shift-up control and It is also possible to automatically perform lead angle value control.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of such a running state detector. The running state detector includes a starting signal generator that detects that the throttle opening degree and running speed meet predetermined conditions and generates a starting signal. In the figure, 50 is a vehicle speed sensor such as an electromagnetic pickup type, 51 is a frequency-voltage converter that converts the output pulse proportional to the vehicle speed of the vehicle speed sensor 50 into a voltage value, and 52 to 57 are 5, 10, 15,
Reference voltage corresponding to 20, 25, 30Km/h, 58~6
3 is a comparator, and these comparators 58 to 63 indicate that the current vehicle speed is 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 km/h, respectively.
The output becomes high level in the following cases. The outputs of the comparators 58 to 61 are input to AND circuits 68 to 71 via inverters 64 to 67. Therefore, the outputs of the AND circuits 68 to 71 indicate that the current vehicle speed is 5 to 15 km/h and 10 to 20 km/h, respectively. h, 15-25Km/h,
It becomes high level when it is between 20 and 30 km/h.
Also, when the throttle opening is less than 1/2 of the full opening, a signal 74 that becomes high level is output to the AND circuit 7.
2 to 76, and AND circuits 72 to 7
6 is the current vehicle speed of 0 to 10 km/h and 5 to 15, respectively.
Km/h, 10~20Km/h, 15~25Km/h, 20~30
Km/h and when the throttle opening is 1/5 or less, the output pulse of the oscillator 77 is input to the counters 78-82. These counters 78~
The counter 82 is configured to make its output high level when the counting operation continues for about 10 seconds, for example, the counter 78 is reset at the fall of the output of the comparator 58, and the counters 79 to 82 are configured as AND circuits. It is reset by the outputs from 68 to 71.
The outputs of the counters 78 to 82 are inputted to the set terminal S of a flip-flop 84 via an OR circuit 83, and this flip-flop 84 is set at the rising edge of the output of the OR circuit 83, so that the rising edge of the signal 74, that is, the throttle opening is 1/1/2. It will be reset when it reaches 5 or more. This flip-flop 84
The output Q of is input to the input inverter circuit 39 in FIG.

According to the driving condition detector shown in FIG. 5, when the throttle opening is small and the vehicle is traveling at a substantially constant speed in the low speed range for about 10 seconds, the flip-flop 84 is set to perform forced shift-up control and speed control. Angular value control is performed, and normal operation is restored when the throttle opening is increased by depressing the accelerator pedal. Note that such a running state detector can also be constructed using a microcomputer or the like.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided an automotive speed change controller that automatically changes the gear ratio of the transmission based on the current vehicle speed and throttle opening, and a system that senses the engine status using various sensors. an electronic advance controller that selects an ignition timing that matches the engine state at that time and controls the ignition timing; a shift-up control means that shifts up at least one step of the automotive transmission controller; and a shift-up control means that delays the selected ignition timing. ignition timing delay means; a start signal generator for starting the shift-up control means and the ignition timing delay means; Alternatively, the starting signal generator may be configured with a running state detector that detects that the throttle opening degree and the running speed meet predetermined conditions and generates the starting signal. Therefore, when the predetermined starting signal is issued from the starting signal generator, the automotive transmission controller shifts up by at least one step, and the electronic advance controller delays the ignition timing from the optimum ignition timing. Under certain conditions, the engine speed can be lowered without knocking or the like, and fuel consumption can be reduced. That is, when driving slowly on a congested road, etc., the activation signal is generated by the activation signal from the activation signal generator, for example, by manual operation of the operating switch.
Alternatively, an activation signal that is automatically generated when the throttle opening degree and traveling speed meet predetermined conditions causes the engine to be shifted to one or more higher gears, making it possible to reduce engine rotation and fuel consumption. In addition, since the ignition timing is delayed at this time, there is no risk of knocking or the like and stable running is possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of main parts showing an example of the hardware configuration of the vehicle running state control device of the present invention, FIG. The figure is a diagram showing an example of a standard shift pattern, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of advance angle calculation processing by the microcomputer 11, and FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of such a running state detector. be. 10 is a control section of an electronic advance angle controller, 17
24 is a crank angle sensor, 25 is an intake pressure sensor, 26 is a water temperature sensor, 27 is a vehicle speed sensor, 28 is a throttle opening sensor, and 38 is a switch.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An automobile transmission controller that automatically changes the gear ratio of a transmission based on the current vehicle speed and throttle opening, and detects the engine condition using various sensors and adjusts the engine condition to match the current engine condition. Select ignition timing,
an electronic advance controller for controlling ignition timing; a shift-up control means for shifting up at least one step of the automobile transmission; an ignition timing delay means for delaying the selected ignition timing; the shift-up control means and the ignition timing. An automobile running state control device comprising: a start signal generator for starting a timing delay means. 2. The activation signal generator is an operation switch,
2. The vehicle driving state control device according to claim 1, wherein a start signal is generated by turning on and off the operating switch. 3. The vehicle running according to claim 1, wherein the starting signal generator is a running state detector that detects that the throttle opening degree and the running speed meet predetermined conditions and generates the starting signal. State control device.