IDLING STOP APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISABLING IDLING STOP FUNCTION

• US 20120221229A1
• Filed: 09/17/2010
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Izumoto, Ryoh, Komiya, Motoki, Shimizu, Yuichiro, Shibachi, Yoshinori
• Granted Patent: US 8,887,684 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/113
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 29/02 peculiar to engines driving vehicles; peculiar to engines driving variable pitch propellers
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0825 related to prevention of engine restart failure, e.g. disabling automatic stop at low battery state
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0862 characterised by the electrical power supply means, e.g. battery
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2250/02 Battery voltage drop at start, e.g. drops causing ECU reset
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2300/30 characterised by the use of digital means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

An idling stop apparatus is provided which can prevent a voltage of a battery from being lowered even when a microcomputer is reset. In an idling stop apparatus when a reset condition is established, reset information indicating that the reset condition is established is stored in a latch circuit and a microcomputer disables an idling stop function when the reset information is stored. The reset information is stored in the latch circuit even when the microcomputer is being reset or even after the microcomputer is reset. Accordingly, the microcomputer after the reset can disable the idling stop function. As a result, it is possible to prevent the voltage of the battery from being lowered due to the idling stop function.

Claims

1. An idling stop apparatus to be mounted on a vehicle, comprising:

a microcomputer, having an idling stop function of automatically stopping an engine of the vehicle when a predetermined stop condition is established and of automatically starting the engine when a predetermined start condition is established during the engine is stopped;

a detector, that detects that a reset condition for resetting the microcomputer is established; and

a storage, that stores reset information which indicates that the reset condition is established when the detector detects that the reset condition is established even when the microcomputer is being reset,

wherein the microcomputer disables the idling stop function when the storage stores the reset information.

2. The idling stop apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the storage includes only one logic circuit capable of storing information of 1 bit.

3. The idling stop apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the storage deletes the reset information when detecting an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off.

4. The idling stop apparatus as set forth in claim 3,

wherein the storage starts operating in a state of storing the reset information when a voltage applied to the storage transits from a state below a minimum operating voltage of the storage to a state above the minimum operating voltage of the storage,

wherein the minimum operating voltage of the storage is higher than a reference voltage which is used for detecting the ignition switch is turned on.

5. The idling stop apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein a minimum operating voltage of the microcomputer is higher than a minimum operating voltage of the storage.

6. The idling stop apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the detector detects that the reset condition is established on the basis of a power-supply voltage of the microcomputer, which is obtained by decreasing a voltage of a battery of the vehicle.

7. The idling stop apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein the detector detects that the reset condition is established on the basis of both the power-supply voltage of the microcomputer and the voltage of the battery.

8. The idling stop apparatus as set forth in claim 6,

wherein the power-supply voltage of the microcomputer is obtained by decreasing the voltage of the battery by a plurality of decreasing units,

wherein the detector detects that that the reset condition is established on the basis of both the power-supply voltage of the microcomputer and a voltage between the decreasing units.

9. An idling stop apparatus to be mounted on a vehicle, comprising:

a microcomputer, having an idling stop function of automatically stopping an engine of the vehicle when a predetermined stop condition is established and of automatically starting the engine when a predetermined start condition is established during the engine is stopped;

a detector, that detects that a power-supply voltage of the microcomputer becomes below a minimum operating voltage of the microcomputer; and

a prohibiting unit, that prohibits the microcomputer from executing the idling stop function after the microcomputer is reset when the detector detects that the power-supply voltage of the microcomputer becomes below the minimum operating voltage of the microcomputer.

10. A method for disabling an idling stop function of automatically stopping an engine of a vehicle when a predetermined stop condition is established and of automatically starting the engine when a predetermined start condition is established during the engine is stopped,

detecting that a reset condition for resetting a microcomputer having the idling stop function is established;

storing reset information which indicates that the reset condition is established when detecting that the reset condition is established even when the microcomputer is being reset; and

disabling the idling stop function of the microcomputer when the reset information is stored.

11. A method for disabling an idling stop function of automatically stopping an engine of a vehicle when a predetermined stop condition is established and of automatically starting the engine when a predetermined start condition is established during the engine is stopped,

detecting that a power-supply voltage of a microcomputer having the idling stop function becomes below a minimum operating voltage of the microcomputer;

prohibiting the microcomputer from executing the idling stop function after the microcomputer is reset when detecting that the power-supply voltage of the microcomputer becomes below the minimum operating voltage of the microcomputer.