JP3099432B2 - Vehicle output limiting device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an engine output limiting device for preventing an unexpected acceleration due to a wrong operation of an accelerator of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When driving a vehicle, the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal may be erroneously depressed when the vehicle is running, and the vehicle may be accelerated when the vehicle is stopped.

[0003] As a countermeasure against such erroneous operation of the accelerator,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 61-190135 discloses that, when the transmission is operated at a large gear ratio, when the depression force or the depression speed of the accelerator pedal exceeds a set value, for example, the fuel supply amount cannot be increased. An apparatus adapted to reduce to a state is disclosed.

In the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-115734, the depression state of the accelerator pedal is
A case in which the operation is significantly different from the normal operation set in advance is determined to be an erroneous accelerator operation, and the power function of the vehicle is stopped or reduced.

[0005]

However, all of these devices determine the erroneous operation of the accelerator based on the depression force of the accelerator pedal based on the case where the accelerator pedal is depressed with an excessive force than usual. Therefore, if the sensor for detecting the depression force of the accelerator pedal has a failure or malfunction, it may be erroneously determined that the accelerator is erroneously operated, and the vehicle cannot travel.

It is a normal function to stop the vehicle at the time of unexpected acceleration due to an error in the operation of the accelerator pedal, and the original purpose is achieved. In this case, the erroneous operation is canceled. If this is done, the vehicle will return to the normal state, so that there is no hindrance in the subsequent running. However, when the vehicle stops due to a failure of the accelerator pedal force sensor or the like, the subsequent running is often disabled.

During normal operation, the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are not erroneously depressed, and the possibility of an erroneous accelerator operation is extremely low. Therefore, even if the vehicle is driven with the accelerator pedal force sensor malfunctioning, running safety is not particularly impaired. However, in the conventional example, when the vehicle is stopped due to a failure of the accelerator pedal force sensor or the like, it is often impossible to return thereafter, so that the traveling may be hindered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to correctly determine only an erroneous operation of the accelerator and to improve the operability by enabling the vehicle to travel without causing an erroneous operation of the accelerator when the accelerator pedal force sensor fails.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a method as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, an accelerator pedal force detecting means 1 for detecting that the pedal force of the accelerator pedal is equal to or greater than a set value, an accelerator operation amount detecting means 2 for detecting a stroke of the accelerator pedal, an accelerator pedal force equal to or greater than the set value Full of
And determining means 3 the accelerator erroneous operation upon detection of a stroke, a means 4 for reducing the occurrence output of the engine when the accelerator operation error determination, the detected accelerator depression force set value or more
It is not accelerator full stroke despite being above
Time, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the accelerator pedal force detection means.
Means 5 for giving a warning .

[0010]

[0011]

Therefore, it is determined that the accelerator is erroneously operated only when the accelerator pedal depression force is equal to or greater than the set value and the accelerator pedal is fully stroked. Otherwise, for example, only the accelerator pedal depression force is set. Even if the value is equal to or more than the value, when the accelerator pedal is not performing a full stroke , the accelerator output detection means is determined to be malfunctioning, and the output itself of the engine is not reduced.

When the accelerator pedal force detecting means is out of order,
The driver can be warned and repaired.

[0013]

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 0 denotes an accelerator pedal force switch that is turned on when the accelerator pedal pedal force is maximized (a set value or more). Reference numeral 11 denotes an accelerator stroke sensor that outputs a voltage in accordance with the amount of depression ( stroke amount) of the accelerator pedal. Each of these detection signals is input to 12.

The control unit 12 is, in principle, based on the signal of the accelerator stroke sensor 11
3, the opening of the throttle valve 14 is controlled.

In this embodiment, the throttle valve 1
Reference numeral 4 has no mechanical linkage with the accelerator pedal and is separated, and the opening is controlled only by the motor 13.

When the throttle valve 14 is opened, the amount of intake air of the engine increases, and the engine output increases. Conversely, when the throttle valve 14 is closed, the engine output decreases.

On the other hand, when the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is turned on and the output of the accelerator stroke sensor 11 takes the maximum value, the control unit 12 determines that the accelerator operation is erroneous and prevents unexpected acceleration by the driver. The engine output is reduced by setting the opening of the throttle valve 14 to zero, that is, the throttle is fully closed, and at the same time, a driver is warned of an erroneous accelerator operation by an erroneous operation warning lamp or a buzzer 15.

However, if the output of the accelerator stroke sensor 11 does not reach the maximum value even when the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is on, it is determined that an abnormality such as a failure (switch on) has occurred in the accelerator pedal force sensor 10. Then, the opening of the throttle valve 14 is controlled according to the accelerator stroke amount, and an abnormality of the accelerator pedal force sensor 10 is warned by a display lamp 16.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing these control operations executed by the control unit 12. In steps 1 and 2, a signal from the accelerator pedal force switch 10 and
The signal from the accelerator stroke sensor 11 is read.
In step 3, it is determined whether or not the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is on. If not, the process proceeds to step 5, and the opening of the throttle valve 14 is controlled in accordance with the output of the accelerator stroke sensor 11.

On the other hand, when the switch is on, it is determined in step 4 whether the accelerator stroke is a full stroke. If the accelerator stroke is full, the accelerator pedal force switch 10 has already been turned on. It is determined that the accelerator is being operated incorrectly.
The throttle valve 14 is fully closed and an accelerator operation error signal is output to warn the driver (step 6,
7). The warning is provided by a lamp and buzzer 15 provided in the driver's seat.
And so on.

However, if it is not the full stroke in step 4, it is determined that an abnormality such as a failure has occurred in the accelerator pedal force switch 10, and the process proceeds to steps 8 and 9.
The opening of the throttle valve is controlled in accordance with the output of the accelerator stroke sensor 11, and a warning of an abnormality of the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is issued.

Therefore, when the accelerator is erroneously operated, the throttle valve 14 is closed to reduce the engine output. On the other hand, when the accelerator pedal depression switch 10 is out of order, the driver is warned of the malfunction or the like. Continues the normal control, so that the vehicle does not fall into a running state.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing another embodiment, which is a control including a fail-safe operation for performing throttle control using the output of the accelerator pedal depression force switch 10 when the failure of the accelerator stroke sensor 11 is determined.

Since the throttle valve 14 is not linked with the accelerator pedal, if the accelerator stroke sensor 11 fails, the throttle opening cannot be controlled. Therefore, in such a case, the minimum necessary throttle opening degree control is performed by a signal from the accelerator pedal depression switch 10, and the vehicle can run.

In steps 1 and 2, the accelerator pedal force switch 1
0 and a signal from the accelerator stroke sensor 11 are read, and it is determined in step 3 whether the output of the stroke sensor is normal based on a change in the output of the accelerator stroke sensor 11 within a predetermined time.

Accelerator stroke sensor 1 within a predetermined time
If the output of No. 1 does not change at all, it is determined that it is not operating normally, and the process proceeds to step 4 to determine whether or not the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is on. When it is on, it is determined that the driver is requesting a large throttle opening on an uphill road or acceleration, and the opening of the throttle valve 14 is switched to a constant medium opening, and when it is off, it is constant. (Steps 5 and 6).

Thus, even if the accelerator stroke sensor 11 is out of order, the minimum engine output control function is maintained, and the vehicle can run on its own.

At the same time, in step 7, a warning is given that an abnormality such as a failure has occurred in the accelerator stroke sensor 11.

If it is determined in step 3 that the accelerator stroke sensor 11 is functioning normally, it is determined in step 8 whether or not the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is ON. An erroneous accelerator operation is determined based on whether the pedal has a full stroke. If the accelerator operation is excessive, it is determined that the operation is erroneous, the throttle valve is fully closed, and a warning is issued (steps 10 and 11).

If the full stroke has not been made in step 9, the accelerator pedal force switch 10 has already been turned on. Therefore, in this case, an abnormality such as a failure occurs in the accelerator pedal force switch 10 as described above. It is determined that the error has occurred, and the occurrence of an abnormality is warned in step 12. However, since the accelerator stroke sensor is normal,
Moving to step 13, the opening degree of the throttle valve is controlled in accordance with the output of the stroke sensor, and the traveling function of the vehicle is ensured.

If the accelerator pedal depression switch is off at step 8, this is a normal case, and the routine proceeds to step 14 where the opening of the throttle valve is controlled in accordance with the output of the accelerator stroke sensor.

Next, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 will be described. This is to determine the occurrence of abnormality from the signal of the accelerator pedal depression switch 10 when the engine key switch is turned on.

In steps 1 to 3, the accelerator pedal force switch 1
It reads 0, the signal from the accelerator stroke sensor 11, and the fact that the engine key switch has been turned on, and proceeds to step 5 only once the engine key switch is turned on, otherwise proceeds to step 7. In this step 5, it is determined whether or not the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is on.
(Step 6). Normally, when the engine key switch is turned on and the engine is started, the accelerator pedal depression force does not become maximum, and in this case, a fail flag indicating an abnormality is set to “1” . After this, it is again checked in step 7 whether the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is on. When the switch is turned on, it is checked whether the fail flag = 1, and if not, it is determined that the accelerator pedal is depressed more than necessary even though the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is functioning normally. It is determined that the pedal is erroneously operated, the throttle valve 14 is fully closed, and an erroneous accelerator operation is warned, while the fail flag is set to 0 (steps 8 to 11).

On the other hand, if the fail flag is set to 1 in step 8, it is determined that the accelerator pedal force switch 10 is still on and it is determined that a failure or the like has occurred, and an abnormality is warned. However, the control of the opening of the throttle valve 14 is continued based on the output of the accelerator stroke sensor 11 to maintain the traveling function of the vehicle (steps 12 and 13).

If the accelerator pedal depression switch 10 is off at step 7, it is determined that the abnormality has been resolved, and the fail flag is set to 0 (step 14), and the routine proceeds to step 15, where throttle opening control is performed. In the case of recovery from a failure, it is dangerous if the throttle opening suddenly changes suddenly, so that the normal state is gradually approached.

Although the above embodiment has been described on the assumption that the throttle valve 14 is controlled by a motor independently of the accelerator pedal in order to reduce the engine output in the event of an abnormality, the throttle valve 14 is mechanically linked with the accelerator pedal. The present invention can be similarly applied to the type by controlling the fuel injection amount (supply amount) instead of controlling the throttle opening.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, the malfunction of the accelerator is determined by combining the signal of the means for detecting that the accelerator pedal effort has exceeded the set value and the signal of the accelerator operation amount detecting means. Unexpected acceleration based on an erroneous accelerator operation such as depressing the accelerator pedal by mistake is reliably prevented, but when the accelerator pedal force detection means fails, etc., it is not determined that the accelerator is an erroneous operation, so it will not be impossible to run. Operability and practicality are improved.

Further, when such a failure occurs, the driver can be warned to urge the driver to make an improvement.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control operation of still another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 Accelerator pedal force switch 11 Accelerator stroke sensor 12 Control unit 14 Throttle valve

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An accelerator pedal force detecting means for detecting that the accelerator pedal force is equal to or greater than a set value, an accelerator operation amount detecting means for detecting the accelerator pedal stroke , an accelerator full force equal to or greater than the set value.
Means for determining the accelerator erroneous operation upon detection of a stroke, and means to reduce the generation output of the engine when the accelerator operation error determination, the detected accelerator depression force is higher than the set value der
When the accelerator is not full stroke
It is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the accelerator pedal force detection means and a warning is issued.
Means for limiting the output of a vehicle.