VEHICLE AND METHOD OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO STOP ENGINE MOUNTED IN VEHICLE

• US 20090012676A1
• Filed: 04/23/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kawasaki Motors
• Original Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Kawamura, Naoki, Ogino, Takahiro, Tamura, Junji, Kawasetsu, Shinta, Kai, Seiichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,170,753 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/38
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/14 responsive to accident or emergency, e.g. deceleration, tilt of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/16 Pitch
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/12 Motorcycles, Trikes; Quads; Scooters
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 17/04 rendering engines inoperative or idling, e.g. caused by abnormal conditions dependent on lubricating conditions F01M1/22; dependent on cooling F01P5/14
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/701 Information about vehicle position, e.g. from navigation system or GPS signal
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/042 for stopping the engine

Abstract

A vehicle including an engine, a tilting sensor configured to detect that a vehicle body of the vehicle has been tilted a predetermined angle or larger, a driving state sensor configured to detect a driving state of the vehicle using a component other than the tilting sensor, and a determiner configured to determine whether or not to stop the engine, based on a signal received from the tilting sensor, and a signal received from the driving state sensor.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

an engine;

a tilting sensor configured to detect that a body of the vehicle is tilted a predetermined angle or larger;

a driving state sensor configured to detect a driving state of the vehicle using a component other than the tilting sensor; and

a determiner configured to determine whether or not to stop the engine, based on a signal received from the tilting sensor, and a signal received from the driving state sensor.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driving state sensor is a throttle opening degree sensor configured to detect an opening degree of a throttle valve provided within an air-intake passage connected to the engine;

and

wherein the determiner is configured to determine that the engine should be stopped when the tilting sensor detects that the body is tilted the predetermined angle or larger and the opening degree of the throttle valve which is detected by the throttle opening degree sensor continues to be smaller than a predetermined value for a predetermined time period.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the opening degree of the throttle valve is smaller than the predetermined value in a state where an engine speed of the engine is an idling engine speed.

4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driving state sensor is selected from the group consisting of a throttle opening degree sensor configured to detect an opening degree of a throttle valve provided within an air-intake passage connected to the engine;

an engine speed sensor configured to detect an engine speed of the engine;

a clutch switch configured to detect an ON operation and an OFF operation of a clutch in the vehicle;

a brake switch configured to detect an ON operation and an OFF operation of a brake in the vehicle;

a gear position sensor configured to detect a gear position of a transmission gear in the vehicle;

an acceleration sensor configured to detect an acceleration of the vehicle;

a vehicle speed sensor configured to detect a vehicle speed of the vehicle;

a GPS sensor configured to detect a location of the vehicle;

a grip pressure-sensitive sensor configured to detect a pressure applied by a driver to grip a steering handle in the vehicle; and

a suspension stroke sensor configured to detect a suspension stroke amount of a suspension in the vehicle which is substantially vertically displaceable.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a fuel injector configured to inject a fuel to an interior of an air-intake passage connected to the engine; and

a fuel controller configured to control an operation of the fuel injector;

wherein the fuel controller is configured to cause the fuel injector to stop fuel injection to the interior of the air-intake passage when the determiner determines that the engine should be stopped.

6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle is substantially 70 degrees.

7. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a suspension stroke sensor configured to detect a suspension stroke amount of a suspension in the vehicle which is substantially vertically displaceable;

wherein the determiner is configured to determine that the engine should not be stopped when the suspension stroke amount detected by the suspension stroke sensor reaches a maximum value and becomes smaller than a predetermined value within a predetermined time period before a time point when the suspension stroke amount reaches the maximum value.

8. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a motorcycle.

9. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the vehicle is an off-road motorcycle.

10. A method of determining whether or not to stop an engine mounted in a vehicle, comprising:

detecting that a body of the vehicle is tilted a predetermined angle or larger;

detecting an opening degree of a throttle valve provided within an air-intake passage connected to the engine;

determining that the engine should be stopped when it is detected that the body of the vehicle is tilted the predetermined angle or larger and the opening degree of the throttle valve continues to be smaller than a predetermined value for a predetermined time period; and

stopping fuel injection to an interior of the air-intake passage connected to the engine, when it is determined that the engine should be stopped.