Throttle control apparatus
First Claim
1. A throttle control apparatus for controlling an opening of a throttle valve disposed in an internal combustion engine, in response to operation of an accelerator operating mechanism, comprising:
- throttle operating means for opening and closing said throttle valve in accordance with an amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism;
clutch means disposed between said throttle operating means and said throttle valve for selectively taking one of a first position of said throttle operating means engaged with said throttle valve and a second position of said throttle operating means disengaged from said throttle valve;
control means for controlling said clutch means to selectively take one of the first position and the second position, said control means controlling the operation of said throttle operating means at least in response to the operation of said accelerator operating mechanism;
first detection means for detecting the amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism to produce a first signal corresponding to the amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism;
second detection means for detecting an opening angle of said throttle valve to produce a second signal corresponding to the opening angle of said throttle valve;
determination means for determining if there is an abnormality, in which said throttle valve opens at an angle more than a predetermined opening angle when said accelerator operating mechanism is positioned substantially at an initial position thereof, in accordance with the first signal fed from said first detection means and the second signal fed from said second detection means; and
abnormality detecting means connected to said determination means for producing a signal indicative of the abnormality when the abnormality continues for a period of time more than a predetermined time period; and
means for causing said clutch means to take the second position for disengaging said throttle operating means from said throttle valve when the signal indicative of the abnormality is produced by said abnormality detecting means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to a throttle control apparatus for controlling an opening of a throttle valve in an internal combustion engine, in response to operation of an accelerator operating mechanism. The apparatus includes a motor, a clutch, and a control circuit which controls the clutch to selectively take one of a first position of the motor engaged with the throttle valve and a second position disengaged therefrom. There is provided a first detector for producing a first signal corresponding to an amount of operation of the accelerator operating mechanism. Also provided is a second detector for producing a second signal corresponding to an opening angle of the throttle valve. Independent of the control unit, it is determined in accordance with the first and second signals if there is an abnormality, in which the throttle valve opens at an angle more than a predetermined angle when the accelerator operating mechanism is positioned at its initial position. When the abnormality continues for more than a predetermined time period, a signal indicative of the abnormality will be produced, and the clutch will be caused to disengage the motor from the throttle valve. When the signal indicative of the abnormality is continuously produced after the clutch disengages the motor from the throttle valve, the supply of fuel to the engine will be cut off.
44 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A throttle control apparatus for controlling an opening of a throttle valve disposed in an internal combustion engine, in response to operation of an accelerator operating mechanism, comprising:
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throttle operating means for opening and closing said throttle valve in accordance with an amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism; clutch means disposed between said throttle operating means and said throttle valve for selectively taking one of a first position of said throttle operating means engaged with said throttle valve and a second position of said throttle operating means disengaged from said throttle valve; control means for controlling said clutch means to selectively take one of the first position and the second position, said control means controlling the operation of said throttle operating means at least in response to the operation of said accelerator operating mechanism; first detection means for detecting the amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism to produce a first signal corresponding to the amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism; second detection means for detecting an opening angle of said throttle valve to produce a second signal corresponding to the opening angle of said throttle valve; determination means for determining if there is an abnormality, in which said throttle valve opens at an angle more than a predetermined opening angle when said accelerator operating mechanism is positioned substantially at an initial position thereof, in accordance with the first signal fed from said first detection means and the second signal fed from said second detection means; and abnormality detecting means connected to said determination means for producing a signal indicative of the abnormality when the abnormality continues for a period of time more than a predetermined time period; and means for causing said clutch means to take the second position for disengaging said throttle operating means from said throttle valve when the signal indicative of the abnormality is produced by said abnormality detecting means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A throttle control apparatus for controlling an opening of a throttle valve disposed in an internal combustion engine, in response to operation of an accelerator operating mechanism, comprising:
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a motor for opening and closing said throttle valve in accordance with an amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism; an electromagnetic clutch mechanism disposed between said motor and said throttle valve for selectively taking one of a first position of said motor engaged with said throttle valve and a second position of said motor disengaged from said throttle valve; a control circuit for controlling said electromagnetic clutch mechanism to selectively take one of the first position and the second position, said control circuit controlling the operation of said motor at least in response to the operation of said accelerator operating mechanism; a first detector for detecting the amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism to produce a first signal corresponding to the amount of operation of said accelerator operating mechanism; a second detector for detecting an opening angle of said throttle valve to produce a second signal corresponding to the opening angle of said throttle valve; a fail monitoring circuit connected to said first detector and second detector, and connected to said motor and electromagnetic clutch mechanism in parallel with said control circuit, said fail monitoring circuit including an abnormality detecting circuit for determining if there is an abnormality, in which said throttle valve opens at an angle more than a predetermined opening angle when said accelerator operating mechanism is positioned substantially at an initial position thereof, in accordance with the first signal fed from said first detector and the second signal fed from said second detector, and producing a signal indicative of the abnormality when the abnormality continues for a period of time more than a predetermined time period, and said fail monitoring circuit causing said electromagnetic clutch mechanism to take the second position for disengaging said motor from said throttle valve when the signal indicative of the abnormality is produced by said abnormality detecting circuit. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification