Control device of automatic engine stop and start

• US 8,510,019 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2011
• Issued: 08/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Okumoto, Kazushige, Fujita, Tatsuya, Notani, Hideya
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwon, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOANG, JOHNNY H
• Application Number:
  US13/005,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20110178695A1
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• Field of Search: 701/102, 701/103, 701/110, 701112-114, 123/179.1, 123/179.3, 123/179.4, 123/179.25, 123/198.D, 123/198.DB, 731/145.9, 731/146.1, 290/30.R, 290/31, 290/36.A, 290/36.R, 290/38.B, 290/38.R, 290/48, 322/37
• US Class Current: 701/103
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0844 with means for restarting the engine directly after an engine stop request, e.g. caused by change of driver mind
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0855 during engine shutdown or after engine stop before start command, e.g. pre-engagement of pinion
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/101 for preventing engine starter actuation or engagement
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/022 Engine speed
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

In a control device, an engine self-restart means tries the engine restart when an engine restart request is issued while the engine rotation speed is within a first rotation speed range. A pre-gear synchronizing control means executes gear rotation speed synchronization between pinion and ring gears, and then retries the engine restart when the engine restart request is issued while the engine rotation-speed is within a second rotation speed range. A pre-gear meshing control means executes gear-meshing between the pinion and ring gears and then retries the engine restart when the engine restart request is issued while the engine rotation speed is within a third rotation speed range. On detecting the engine-restart failure of the engine self-restart control, the control device prohibits the execution of pre-gear synchronizing control until a predetermined time counted form the failure detection time is elapsed, and executes the pre-gear meshing control after the predetermined time period is elapsed.

Claims

1. A control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start comprising a starter, a detection means, and at least two control means, wherein

the starter is comprised of a starter motor for rotating a pinion gear and an actuator capable of meshing the pinion gear with a ring gear which is fixed to a crank shaft of an internal combustion engine, and the starter independently drives the starter motor and the actuator, respectively, and the control device is capable of stopping the internal combustion engine when an automatic engine stop request is issued, and restarting the internal combustion engine when an engine restart request is issued;

at least the two control means are selected from an engine self-restart control means, a pre-gear synchronizing control means, and a pre-gear meshing control means,

the engine self-restart control means executes an engine self-restart control of restarting the internal combustion engine by restarting a fuel injection without performing a cranking of the starter when the engine restart request is issued while a current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a first rotation speed range which is higher than a first rotation speed and the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop,

the pre-gear synchronizing control means executes a pre-gear synchronizing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking by the starter after driving the starter motor to synchronize a rotation speed of the pinion gear with a rotation speed of the ring gear, and then driving the actuator to mesh the pinion gear with the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a second rotation speed range which is not more than the first rotation speed and higher than a second rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop,

the pre-gear meshing control means executes a pre-gear meshing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking of the starter in which the pre-gear meshing control means drives the starter motor to rotate the pinion gear after or during a gear meshing between the pinion gear and the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a third rotation speed range which is not more than the second rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop, and

the detection means detects a failure of the engine restart control performed by one control means in the engine self-restart control means, the pre-gear synchronizing control means, and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

when the detection means detects the failure of the engine restart control, the control device instructs the control means of the engine restart failure to prohibit the execution of its engine restart control until a predetermined time period counted from the detection time of the engine restart failure is elapsed.

2. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 1, wherein the control device has at least the engine self-restart control means and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

the pre-gear meshing control means executes the pre-gear meshing control which restarts the internal combustion engine when the predetermined time period is elapsed after the detection means detects the failure of the engine restart control by the engine self-restart control means.

3. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 2, wherein the control device has the engine self-restart control means, the pre-gear synchronizing control means, and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

the control device drives the pre-gear meshing control means to prohibit the execution of the pre-gear meshing control which restarts the internal combustion engine until the predetermined time period is elapsed after the detection means detects the failure of the engine restart control by the engine self-restart control means.

4. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 1, wherein the more the temperature of the internal combustion engine decreases, the more the predetermined time period is decreased.

6. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 1, wherein the control device has at least the engine self-restart control means and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

the pre-gear meshing control means executes the pre-gear meshing control of restarting the internal combustion engine when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is decreased to the predetermined threshold value after the detection means detects the engine restart failure during the engine restart control executed by the engine self-restart control means.

7. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 6, wherein the control device has the engine self-restart control means, the pre-gear synchronizing control means, and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

the control device drives the pre-gear synchronizing control means to prohibit the execution of the pre-gear synchronizing control of restarting the internal combustion engine until the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is decreased to less than the predetermined threshold value which is less than the first rotation speed.

8. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined threshold value is higher than the second rotation speed.

9. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined threshold value is equal to the second rotation speed.

5. A control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start comprising a starter, a detection means, and at least two selected from a engine self-restart control means, a pre-gear synchronizing control means, a pre-gear meshing control means,

wherein the starter comprised of a starter motor for rotating a pinion gear and an actuator capable of meshing the pinion gear with a ring gear which is fixed to a crank shaft of an internal combustion engine, and the starter independently drives the starter motor and the actuator, respectively, and the control device is capable of stopping the internal combustion engine when an automatic engine stop request is issued, and restarting the internal combustion engine when an engine restart request is issued,

the engine self-restart control means executes an engine self-restart control of restarting the internal combustion engine by restarting a fuel injection without performing a cranking of the starter when the engine restart request is issued while a current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a first rotation speed range which is higher than a first rotation speed and the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop,

the pre-gear synchronizing control means executes a pre-gear synchronizing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking by the starter after driving the starter motor to synchronizing a rotation speed of the pinion gear with a rotation speed of the ring gear, and then driving the actuator to mesh the pinion gear with the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a second rotation speed range which is not more than the first rotation speed and higher than a second rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop,

the pre-gear meshing control means executes a pre-gear meshing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking of the starter in which the pre-gear meshing control means drives the starter motor to rotate the pinion gear after or during a gear meshing between the pinion gear and the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a third rotation speed range which is not more than the second rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop, and

the detection means detects a failure of the engine restart control performed by one of the engine self-restart control means, the pre-gear synchronizing control means, and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

when the detection means detects the engine restart failure, the control device instructs the control means which causes the engine restart failure to prohibit the execution of its engine restart control until the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is decreased to less than a predetermined threshold value after the detection time of the engine restart failure.

10. A control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start comprising a starter and a detection means,

wherein the starter is comprised of a starter motor for rotating a pinion gear and an actuator capable of meshing the pinion gear with a ring gear which is fixed to a crank shaft of an internal combustion engine, and the starter independently drives the starter motor and the actuator, respectively, and the control device is capable of stopping the internal combustion engine when an automatic engine stop request is issued, and restarts the internal combustion engine when an engine restart request is issued,

the detection means detects an engine restart failure,

when the detection means detects the engine restart failure, the control device prohibits the execution of the engine restart of the internal combustion engine while a time period counted from the time when the detection means detects the engine restart failure to the time when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches zero.

11. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 10, further comprising:

an engine self-restart control means executes an engine self-restart control of restarting the internal combustion engine by restarting a fuel injection without performing a cranking of the starter when the engine restart request is issued while a current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a first rotation speed range which is higher than a first rotation speed and the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop;

a pre-gear synchronizing control means executes a pre-gear synchronizing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking by the starter after driving the starter motor to synchronizing a rotation speed of the pinion gear with a rotation speed of the ring gear, and then driving the actuator to mesh the pinion gear with the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a second rotation speed range which is not more than the first rotation speed and higher than a second rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop; and

a pre-gear meshing control means executes a pre-gear meshing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking of the starter in which the pre-gear meshing control means drives the starter motor to rotate the pinion gear after or during a gear meshing between the pinion gear and the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a third rotation speed range which is not more than the first rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop,

wherein the detection means detects a failure of the engine restart control performed by one of the engine self-restart control means, the pre-gear synchronizing control means, and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

when the detection means detects the engine restart failure during the engine restart control, the control device prohibits the execution of the engine restart control performed by each of the engine self-restart control means, the pre-gear synchronizing control means, and the pre-gear meshing control means while the time period counted from the time when the detection means detects the engine restart failure to the time when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches zero.

12. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 10, further comprising:

an engine self-restart control means executes an engine self-restart control of restarting the internal combustion engine by restarting a fuel injection without performing a cranking of the starter when the engine restart request is issued while a current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a first rotation speed range which is higher than a first rotation speed and the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop; and

a pre-gear meshing control means executes a pre-gear meshing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking of the starter in which the pre-gear meshing control means drives the starter motor to rotate the pinion gear after or during a gear meshing between the pinion gear and the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a third rotation speed range which is not more than the first rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop,

wherein the detection means detects a failure of the engine restart control performed by one of the engine self-restart control means, and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

when the detection means detects the engine restart failure during the engine restart control, the control device prohibits the execution of the engine restart control performed by each of the engine self-restart control means, and the pre-gear meshing control means while the time period counted from the time when the detection means detects the engine restart failure to the time when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches zero.

13. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 10, further comprising:

a pre-gear synchronizing control means executes a pre-gear synchronizing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking by the starter after driving the starter motor to synchronizing a rotation speed of the pinion gear with a rotation speed of the ring gear, and then driving the actuator to mesh the pinion gear with the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a second rotation speed range which is more than a second rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop; and

a pre-gear meshing control means executes a pre-gear meshing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking of the starter in which the pre-gear meshing control means drives the starter motor to rotate the pinion gear after or during a gear meshing between the pinion gear and the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a third rotation speed range which is not more than the second rotation speed and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop,

wherein the detection means detects a failure of the engine restart control performed by one of the pre-gear synchronizing control means and the pre-gear meshing control means, and

when the detection means detects the engine restart failure by the engine restart control, the control device prohibits the execution of the engine restart control performed by each of the pre-gear synchronizing control means and the pre-gear meshing control means while the time period counted from the time when the detection means detects the engine restart failure to the time when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches zero.

14. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 10, further comprising:

a pre-gear meshing control means executes a pre-gear meshing control of restarting the internal combustion engine by performing the cranking of the starter in which the pre-gear meshing control means drives the starter motor to rotate the pinion gear after or during a gear meshing between the pinion gear and the ring gear when the engine restart request is issued while the current rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is within a third rotation speed range and while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop,

wherein the detection means detects a failure of the engine restart control performed by the pre-gear meshing control means, and

when the detection means detects the engine restart failure by the engine restart control, the control device prohibits the execution of the engine restart control performed by the pre-gear meshing control means while the time period counted from the time when the detection means detects the engine restart failure to the time when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches zero.

15. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 10, wherein the control device retries the engine restart when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches zero after the detection of the engine restart failure by the detection means.

16. The control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start according to claim 10, wherein the control device retries the engine restart when the driver of a vehicle performs the engine restart operation after the detection of the engine restart failure by the detection means

17. A control device for controlling automatic engine stop and start comprising a starter, a pre-set control means, and a detection means,

wherein the starter comprises a starter motor for rotating a pinion gear and an actuator capable of meshing the pinion gear with a ring gear which is fixed to a crank shaft of an internal combustion engine, and the starter independently driving the starter motor and the actuator, respectively, and the control device is capable of stopping the internal combustion engine when an automatic engine stop request is issued, and restarts the internal combustion engine when an engine restart request is issued,

the pre-set control means which executes a pre-set control which drives the electromagnetic actuator to mesh the pinion gear with the ring gear when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is decreased to a predetermined value which is close to zero before the engine restart request is issued while the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine is dropping due to the automatic engine stop, and

the detection means detects a failure of the gear engagement between the pinion gear and the ring gear by the preset control,

wherein when the detection means detects the engine restart failure, the control means drives the pre-set control means to execute the pre-set control during a time period counted form the detection time engine restart failure to the time when the rotation speed of the internal combustion engine reaches zero.