Flow quantity valve controller and manufacturing method for flow quantity valve

• US 5,501,201 A
• Filed: 03/21/1995
• Issued: 03/26/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Miyake, Toshihiko, Miyoshi, Sotsuo, Kawamura, Satoshi, Kako, Hajime, Okada, Hidetoshi, Ohuchi, Hirofumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wolfe, Willis R.
• Application Number:
  US08/407,705
• Time in Patent Office: 371 Days
• Field of Search: 123/339.23, 123/339.26, 123/571, 251/129.11, 251/129.12, 251/129.05, 318/600, 318/601, 318/602, 318/603, 318/626
• US Class Current: 123/568.24
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2250/16 End position calibration, i.e. calculation or measurement of actuator end positions, e.g. for throttle or its driving actuator
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/0077 Control of the EGR valve or actuator, e.g. duty cycle, closed loop control of position EGR valve position sensor F02M26/48
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/54 Rotary actuators, e.g. step motors
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/67 Pintles; Spindles; Springs; Bearings; Sealings; Connections to actuators
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/73 with means for heating or cooling the EGR valve
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 8/08 Determining position before starting
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 8/34 Monitoring operation H02P8/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

A flow quantity valve controller includes a unit for positioning so that a phase of a stepper motor becomes a predetermined phase when a motor shaft making a linear move with rotation of the stepper motor is pulled most into the stepper motor side. When the motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side, a flow quantity valve controller changes a stepper motor drive signal to a drive signal corresponding to a predetermined phase.

Claims

1. A flow quantity valve controller comprising:

a flow quantity valve of a stepper motor type for controlling a flow quantity of a fluid flowing through a flow path disposed in an internal combustion engine;

means for detecting a run condition of the internal combustion engine;

means for calculating a target position of said flow quantity valve based on a detection output of said run condition detection means;

means for calculating an assumed position of said flow quantity valve; and

flow quantity valve control means for generating a drive signal to control said flow quantity valve to the target position based on calculation results of said target position calculation means; and

said assumed position calculation means;

wherein said flow quantity valve control means includes specific target position detection means for detecting the target position being a predetermined specific target position and performing initialization when said specific target position detection means detects a specific target position.

2. A flow quantity valve controller comprising:

a flow quantity valve of a stepper motor type for controlling a flow quantity of a fluid flowing through a flow path disposed in an internal combustion engine;

means for detecting a run condition of the internal combustion engine;

means for calculating a target position of said flow quantity valve based on a detection output of said run condition detection means;

means for calculating an assumed position of said flow quantity valve;

flow quantity valve control means for generating a drive signal to control said flow quantity valve to the target position based on calculation results of said target position calculation means and said assumed position calculation means;

a motor case for housing the stepper motor;

a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls of said flow quantity valve in conjunction with said motor case;

a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor;

an energized valve shaft having a body of said flow quantity valve on one end and having the other end abutting against said motor shaft for being linearly moved;

a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said valve shaft; and

adjustment means for adjusting a position of said motor shaft;

wherein said flow quantity valve control means, when said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side, gives a predetermined drive signal to the stepper motor in sequence before initialization, while the position of said motor shaft after the drive signal is given in sequence is adjusted to the other end of said valve shaft by said second adjustment means.

3. A flow quantity valve controller comprising:

a flow quantity valve of a stepper motor type for controlling a flow quantity of a fluid flowing through a flow path disposed in an internal combustion engine;

means for detecting a run condition of the internal combustion engine;

means for calculating a target position of the stepper motor of said flow quantity valve based on a detection output of said run condition detection means;

means for calculating an assumed position of the stepper motor;

flow quantity valve control means for controlling the stepper motor to the target position based on calculation results of said target position calculation means and said assumed position calculation means;

a motor case for housing the stepper motor;

a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls of said flow quantity valve in conjunction with said motor case;

a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor;

an energized valve shaft having a body of said flow quantity valve on one end and having the other end abutting against said motor shaft for being linearly moved; and

a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said valve shaft;

wherein said flow quantity valve control means drives the stepper motor according to a drive signal of a frequency at which out-of-adjustment does not occur in a no-load condition and occurs when said motor shaft abuts against the other end of said valve shaft and executes initialization after the stepper motor moves out of adjustment.

4. A flow quantity valve controller comprising:

a flow quantity valve of a stepper motor type for controlling a flow quantity of a fluid flowing through a flow path disposed in an internal combustion engine;

means for detecting a run condition of the internal combustion engine;

means for calculating a target position of the stepper motor of said flow quantity valve based on a detection output of said run condition detection means;

means for calculating an assumed position of the stepper motor;

flow quantity valve control means for controlling the stepper motor to the target position based on calculation results of said target position calculation means and said assumed position calculation means;

a motor case for housing the stepper motor;

a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls of said flow quantity valve in conjunction with said motor case;

a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor;

an energized body linearly moved by said motor shaft; and

a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said body;

wherein said flow quantity valve control means drives the stepper motor according to a drive signal of a frequency more than a frequency that can be followed up by the stepper motor and executes initialization after said body abuts against said valve seat.

5. A method for manufacturing a flow quantity valve comprising a motor case for housing a stepper motor, a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls in conjunction with said motor case, a spacer member stacked between said motor case and said valve body, a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor, an energized valve shaft having a body on one end and having the other end abutting against said motor shaft for being linearly moved, and a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said valve shaft, said method comprising the step of:

adjusting an interval between a position of said motor shaft when said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side and the other end of said valve shaft at the fully closed position to a predetermined distance by means of said spacer member.

6. A method for manufacturing a flow quantity valve comprising a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of a stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor, an energized valve shaft having a body on one end and having the other end abutting against said motor shaft for being linearly moved, and a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said valve shaft, said motor shaft having a screw groove formed at a tip of one end on said valve shaft side and a screw member threadedly engaging said screw groove, said method comprising the step of:

adjusting an interval between a position of said motor shaft when said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side and the other end of said valve shaft at the fully closed position to a predetermined distance by means of said screw member.

7. A method for manufacturing a flow quantity valve comprising a motor case for housing a stepper motor, a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls in conjunction with said motor case, a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor, an energized body linearly moved integrally with said motor shaft, and a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said body, said method comprising the step of:

stacking a spacer member between said motor case and said valve body for adjusting so that a phase of the stepper motor becomes a predetermined phase when said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side or providing a plurality of motor shafts different in shaft length and selecting one motor shaft from among them for adjusting.

8. A method for manufacturing a flow quantity valve comprising a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of a stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor and positioning means being provided on said rotor and said motor shaft for positioning a position where said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of rotors or motor shafts different in position of said positioning means and selecting one rotor or motor shaft from among them so that a phase of the stepper motor becomes a predetermined phase when said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side.

9. A method for manufacturing a flow quantity valve comprising a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of a stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor, said method comprising the step of:

changing signal lines of drive signal of the stepper motor to set a phase of the stepper motor when said motor shaft is at a predetermined position to a predetermined phase.

10. A flow quantity valve controller comprising:

a flow quantity valve of a stepper motor type for controlling a flow quantity of a fluid flowing through a flow path disposed in an internal combustion engine;

means for detecting a run condition of the internal combustion engine;

means for calculating a target position of said flow quantity valve based on a detection output of said run condition detection means;

means for calculating an assumed position of said flow quantity valve;

flow quantity valve control means for generating a drive signal to control said flow quantity valve to the target position based on calculation results of said target position calculation means and said assumed position calculation means;

a motor case for housing the stepper motor;

a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls of said flow quantity valve in conjunction with said motor case;

a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor;

an energized valve shaft having a body of said flow quantity valve on one end and having the other end abutting against said motor shaft for being linearly moved;

a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said valve shaft; and

first adjustment means for adjusting an interval between a position of said motor shaft when it is pulled most into the stepper motor side and the other end of said valve shaft at the fully closed position to a predetermined distance.

11. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 10, wherein said first adjustment means comprises a spacer member stacked between said motor case and said valve body.

12. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 10, wherein said first adjustment means comprises a screw groove formed at a tip of one end of said motor shaft on the valve shaft side and a screw member threadedly engaging said screw groove.

13. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 10, wherein said first adjustment means adjusts the predetermined distance to less than a distance at which said motor shaft moves the number of steps twice the number of phases of the stepper motor.

14. A flow quantity valve controller comprising:

a flow quantity valve of a stepper motor type for controlling a flow quantity of a fluid flowing through a flow path disposed in an internal combustion engine;

means for detecting a run condition of the internal combustion engine;

means for calculating a target position of said flow quantity valve based on a detection output of said run condition detection means;

means for calculating an assumed position of said flow quantity valve;

flow quantity valve control means for generating a drive signal to control said flow quantity valve to the target position based on calculation results of said target position calculation means and said assumed position calculation means;

a motor case for housing the stepper motor;

a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls of said flow quantity valve in conjunction with said motor case;

a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor;

an energized body linearly moved by means of said motor shaft;

a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said body; and

means for positioning so that a phase of the stepper motor when said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side becomes a predetermined phase;

wherein said flow quantity valve control means changes a drive signal of the stepper motor to a drive signal corresponding to the predetermined phase when said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side.

15. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 14, wherein said body is formed integrally with said motor shaft, and wherein said positioning means comprises one of a spacer member stacked between said motor case and said valve body and a shaft length of said motor shaft.

16. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 14, wherein said body is provided on one end of a valve shaft abutting against said motor shaft for being linearly moved, and wherein said positioning means comprises lock members formed on the rotor and said motor shaft.

17. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 14, wherein said flow quantity valve control means includes means for detecting a specific run condition based on a detection output of said run condition detection means and performs initialization only once whenever said specific run condition detection means detects a specific run condition.

18. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 17, wherein said specific run condition detection means detects the time being within a predetermined time after the engine stops, being in an idling condition, or being at start completion at which a power supply voltage is a predetermined voltage or more.

19. A flow quantity valve controller comprising:

a flow quantity valve of a stepper motor type for controlling a flow quantity of a fluid flowing through a flow path disposed in an internal combustion engine;

means for detecting a run condition of the internal combustion engine;

means for calculating a target position of said flow quantity valve based on a detection output of said run condition detection means;

means for calculating an assumed position of said flow quantity valve;

flow quantity valve control means for generating a drive signal to control said flow quantity valve to the target position based on calculation results of said target position calculation means and said assumed position calculation means;

a motor case for housing the stepper motor;

a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls of said flow quantity valve in conjunction with said motor case;

a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor;

an energized body linearly moved by said motor shaft; and

a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said body;

wherein said flow quantity valve control means includes first drive method change means for changing a drive method of the stepper motor when initialization is executed at a position where said motor shaft is pulled most into the stepper motor side.

20. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 19, wherein said first drive method change means lessens a drive signal frequency as compared with normal control time.

21. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 19, wherein said first drive method change means lessens a driving force of the stepper motor as compared with normal control time.

22. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 19, wherein said first drive method change means lessens a travel distance of the stepper motor for each drive signal as compared with normal control time.

23. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 22, wherein said first drive method change means drives the stepper motor by a PWM signal.

24. A flow quantity valve controller comprising:

a flow quantity valve of a stepper motor type for controlling a flow quantity of a fluid flowing through a flow path disposed in an internal combustion engine;

means for detecting a run condition of the internal combustion engine;

means for calculating a target position of said flow quantity valve based on a detection output of said run condition detection means;

means for calculating an assumed position of said flow quantity valve;

flow quantity valve control means for generating a drive signal to control said flow quantity valve to the target position based on calculation results of said target position calculation means and said assumed position calculation means;

a motor case for housing the stepper motor;

a valve body being stacked with said motor case for forming outer walls of said flow quantity valve in conjunction with said motor case;

a motor shaft threadedly engaging a rotor of the stepper motor for making a linear move with rotation of the rotor;

an energized body linearly moved by means of said motor shaft; and

a valve seat abutting against said body for blocking said flow quantity valve and positioning a fully closed position of said body;

wherein said flow quantity valve control means includes second drive method change means for changing a drive method of the stepper motor when the driving direction of the stepper motor is changed.

25. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 24, wherein said second drive method change means lessens a drive signal frequency as compared with normal control time.

26. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 24, wherein said second drive method change means changes the drive direction after once holding the stepper motor.

27. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 24, wherein said second drive method change means lessens a travel distance of the stepper motor for each drive signal as compared with normal control time.

28. The flow quantity valve controller as claimed in claim 27, wherein said second drive method change means drives the stepper motor by a PWM signal.