Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Transmission control
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-18
2001-08-14
Zanelli, Michael J. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Transmission control
C290S034000, C123S179400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06275759
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automatic engine stop and restart system.
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. H8(1996)-291725 shows a conventional automatic engine stop and restart system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
When a vehicle is stopped with an automatic transmission in the drive range, this conventional stop and restart system restarts the engine by forcibly holding the automatic transmission in the neutral range, and shifts the automatic transmission from the neutral range to the drive range when the engine speed reaches an idle speed. Therefore, this system tends to arouse unnatural feeling in the driver by a delay in producing the creep force of the automatic transmission, and produces a torque shock unexpectedly by allowing a torque converter to transmit, to a drive shaft, a torque proportional to the square of the engine speed when the transmission is shifted from the neutral range to the drive range. The torque shock is increased when the vehicle is restarted with the accelerator pedal being depressed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide automatic engine stop and restart apparatus and method for reducing an undesired torque shock in an automatic engine restart operation, and for producing a driving force as demanded by a driver.
According to the present invention, a vehicle comprises: an engine; a motor for starting the engine; an automatic transmission; a sensing device for sensing a vehicle operating condition; and a controller for performing an automatic engine stop operation for automatically stopping the engine and an automatic engine restart operation for terminating the automatic engine stop operation and instead automatically restarting the engine in accordance with the vehicle operating condition. The controller produces an engine restart request signal to request a restart of the engine during the automatic engine stop operation, determines a target engine speed for the automatic engine restart operation, and performs the automatic engine restart operation, in response to the engine restart request signal, by driving the motor in accordance with the target speed while holding a transmission state of the automatic transmission unchanged.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an automatic engine stop and restart control apparatus comprises: first means for automatically stopping the engine in a predetermined vehicle situation; second means for producing an automatic restart request signal in accordance with a vehicle operating condition in the predetermined vehicle situation; third means for monitoring a driving condition of an automatic transmission connected with the engine; fourth means for determining a target engine speed for an automatic engine restart operation in accordance with the driving condition of the automatic transmission; and fifth means for restarting the engine in response to the automatic engine restart request signal, by controlling the starting motor in accordance with the target engine speed.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an automatic engine stop and restart control process comprises: putting the engine in an automatic stop state in a predetermined vehicle situation; producing an automatic restart request signal in accordance with a vehicle operating condition in the predetermined vehicle situation; detecting a driving condition of an automatic transmission connected with the engine; determining a target engine speed for an automatic engine restart operation in accordance with the driving condition of the automatic transmission; and initiating the automatic engine restart operation for restarting the engine in response to the automatic engine restart request signal, by controlling the starting motor in accordance with the target engine speed.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the controller sets the target engine speed for the automatic engine restart operation equal to an idle speed when the transmission is in a non-driving state (such as the N range and the P range) in which a driving torque is not transmitted through the transmission.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4286683 (1981-09-01), Zeigner et al.
patent: 4364343 (1982-12-01), Malik
patent: 4482812 (1984-11-01), Hori et al.
patent: 4630577 (1986-12-01), Cornacchia
patent: 5653659 (1997-08-01), Kunibe et al.
patent: 6093974 (2000-07-01), Tabata et al.
patent: 6149544 (2000-11-01), Masberg et al.
patent: 8-291725 (1996-11-01), None
Nakajima Yuki
Ogane Hiroaki
Uchida Masaaki
Yoshino Takahiro
Foley & Lardner
Nissan Motor Co,. Ltd.
Zanelli Michael J.
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