TROUBLE-DECIDING DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC OIL PUMP TO BE USED IN TRANSMISSION OF VEHICLE HAVING ENGINE AUTOMATIC-STOP CONTROL DEVICE

• US 20110077828A1
• Filed: 05/27/2009
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Nihei, Hironori, Matsuda, Takashi, Koga, Masato
• Granted Patent: US 8,380,405 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/54
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 17/00 Controlling engines by cutting out individual cylinders; Rendering engines inoperative or idling controlling or rendering inoperative by varying inlet or exhaust valve operating characteristics F02D13/00
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 29/02 peculiar to engines driving vehicles; peculiar to engines driving variable pitch propellers
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0833 Vehicle conditions F02N11/0822, F02N11/0825 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/1208 with diagnostic check cycles; Monitoring of failures
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2312/14 Going to, or coming from standby operation, e.g. for engine start-stop operation at traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 57/0439 using multiple pumps with different power sources or a single pump with different power sources, e.g. one and the same pump may selectively be driven by either the engine or an electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/0031 using auxiliary pumps, e.g. pump driven by a different power source than the engine
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/12 Detecting malfunction or potential malfunction, e.g. fail safe in control of hydrostatic gearing F16H61/4192; Circumventing or fixing failures
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/66272 characterised by means for controlling the torque transmitting capability of the gearing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

At vehicle stop judgment time t1, a first engine automatic-stop control permission judgment, based on idle stop permission conditions by which an instant permission judgment can be possible, is carried out. If a result of the first engine automatic-stop control permission judgment at time t1 is “permitted”, the second engine automatic-stop control permission judgment, based on an idle stop permission condition which requires a certain time for the judgment, is initiated, and an electric oil pump ON (drive) command (the test drive command) is issued. At time t2 at which an actual drive of the electric oil pump in response to the test drive command is detected, it is judged that a failure of an electric system of the electric oil pump and a foreign matter-biting failure of the electric oil pump do not occur, then a failure judgment of the electric oil pump becomes “normal”. This judgment is completed before time t3 at which the second engine automatic-stop control permission judgment ends, and both of “permitted” of a result of the second engine automatic-stop control permission judgment and “normal” of the failure judgment of the electric oil pump, an idle stop ON command is not outputted.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. An engine automatic-stop control device with a failure judgment apparatus of an electric oil pump for a vehicle, the vehicle having a transmission which is controlled by hydraulic pressure from an engine-driven oil pump driven by an engine during engine operation, comprising:

an electric oil pump which is driven by a dedicated motor and by working fluid of which, the transmission is kept in a power transmission starting state that is a state just before starting to transmit power, upon an engine automatic-stop, instead of the engine-driven oil pump;

an engine automatic-stop controller which automatically stops the engine, upon a judgment of vehicle stop, when predetermined conditions are satisfied, and issues a pump test drive command to the dedicated motor before the engine stop by the engine automatic-stop control;

an engine automatic-stop control permission judging means that judges whether the predetermined conditions which permit the engine automatic-stop control are satisfied or not, the engine automatic-stop control permission judging means having

(a) a first engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section that judges the permission of the engine automatic-stop control by a judgment as to whether conditions by which an instant permission judgment can be possible, from among the predetermined conditions, are satisfied or not; and

(b) a second engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section that judges the permission of the engine automatic-stop control by a judgment as to whether conditions which require a certain time for the permission judgment, from among the predetermined conditions, are satisfied or not; and

an electric oil pump failure pre-judging means which judges failure of the electric oil pump by a judgment as to whether the electric oil pump is actually driven in response to the pump test drive command, and

the electric oil pump failure pre-judging means executing the test drive of the electric oil pump, during the progress of the permission judgment of the engine automatic-stop control by the second engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section after the first engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section permits the engine automatic-stop control.

12. The engine automatic-stop control device with the failure judgment apparatus of the electric oil pump for the vehicle, as claimed in claim 11, wherein:

when the first engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section permits the engine automatic-stop control by the conditions by which the instant permission judgment can be possible, the electric oil pump continues being driven from the test drive.

15. The engine automatic-stop control device with the failure judgment apparatus of the electric oil pump for the vehicle, as claimed in claim 11, wherein:

before judging the failure of the electric oil pump by the test drive of the electric oil pump, an electrical failure check of the electric oil pump and this judgment arc carried out, and

when at least either one of these judgment results is failure, the electric oil pump is judged to be failed.

16. The engine automatic-stop control device with the failure judgment apparatus of the electric oil pump for the vehicle, as claimed in claim 11, wherein:

the first engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section judges that the conditions by which the instant permission judgment can be possible are satisfied with the proviso that the conditions fall within their respective engine automatic-stop control permission ranges, and

the second engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section judges that the conditions which require the certain time for the permission judgment are satisfied with the proviso that the conditions fall within their respective engine automatic-stop control permission ranges after the vehicle settles down from a transient state to a steady state just after the vehicle stop.

17. The engine automatic-stop control device with the failure judgment apparatus of the electric oil pump for the vehicle, as claimed in claim 16, wherein:

the condition which requires the certain time for the permission judgment is a vehicle stop road surface inclination 0 that is determined from a longitudinal acceleration detection value detected by a longitudinal acceleration sensor which is provided in the vehicle.

13. The engine automatic-stop control device with the failure judgment apparatus of the electric oil pump for the vehicle, as claimed in claim H, wherein:

when the first engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section does not permit the engine automatic-stop control by the conditions by which the instant permission judgment can be possible, the test drive and a subsequent drive of the electric oil pump are not carried out.

14. The engine automatic-stop control device with the failure judgment apparatus of the electric oil pump for the vehicle, as claimed in claim H wherein:

when the first engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section does not permit the engine automatic-stop control by the conditions by which the instant permission judgment can be possible, the permission judgment of the engine automatic-stop control by the second engine automatic-stop control permission judgment section is not carried out.

18. A method for judging a failure of an electric oil pump used for a transmission in a vehicle having an engine automatic-stop control device by which, the vehicle can travel by power from an engine through the transmission, and during engine operation, the transmission is controlled by hydraulic pressure from an engine-driven oil pump driven by the engine, and upon a judgment of vehicle stop, when predetermined conditions are satisfied, an engine automatic-stop control that automatically stops the engine is performed, also the transmission is kept in a power transmission starting state that is a state just before starting to transmit the power by working fluid from the electric oil pump that is driven by a dedicated motor instead of the engine-driven oil pump, the method comprising:

issuing a pump test drive command to the dedicated motor before the engine stop by the engine automatic-stop control; and

judging the failure of the electric oil pump by a judgment as to whether the electric oil pump is actually driven in response to the pump test drive command.