Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – With indicator or control of power plant
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-02
2004-03-09
Yuen, Henry C. (Department: 3747)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
With indicator or control of power plant
C123S350000, C123S090150, C180S197000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06704641
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an easy-to-construct structure of an integrated control system for automotive vehicles which is designed to control a plurality of controlled elements such as an engine and an automatic transmission installed in a vehicle.
2. Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,776 to Keller et al. teaches an automotive control system which works to control a plurality of controlled elements installed in the vehicle and is designed to have a structure easy to develop for a decreased period of time.
The control system defines the controlled elements such as an engine power control, a transmission control, a braking control, and a steering control arranged in a plurality of hierarchial levels and provides controlled performance required from the higher hierarchial level. The classification of the controlled elements into the hierarchial levels results in a decrease in number of the controlled elements to be changed in design when the specification of the system is to be changed, thus decreasing the time required for the change in system specification and permitting some of the controlled elements to be developed in parallel within decreased terms.
The control system, however, has a drawback in that the controlled elements should be so designed as to handle common controlled variables, which requires all the controlled elements to be redesigned.
Usually, control tasks to be carried out in typical engine control and transmission control systems are designed for every vehicle. Controlled variables used in carrying out the control tasks are also set for every vehicle. Thus, in a case where typical engine power control and transmission control devices are defined as the controlled elements of lower hierarchial levels in construction of the above control system, it may become impossible to operate the engine power control and transmission control devices using commands issued from the controlled elements of higher hierarchial levels. It, thus, becomes necessary to redesign the control tasks to be executed in the engine power control and transmission control devices or to change controlled variables to be used in the control tasks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is another object of the invention to provide an integrated control system for a vehicle which is easy to construct without redesigning control tasks to be executed in typical controlled elements and/or changing controlled variables to be used in the control tasks.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an integrated control system for a vehicle designed to have a structure which is easy to construct without redesigning a plurality of controlled elements such as components of a power train of the vehicle. The control system comprises: (a) a manager circuit providing a plurality of target values of given controlled variables; (b) a plurality of control circuits designed to perform given control tasks of controlling operations of a plurality of controlled elements installed in the vehicle for bringing the controlled variables into agreement with the target values provided by the manager circuit; and (c) a translating circuit translating the target value of at least one of the controlled variables into a target value of a second controlled variable which is predefined as being used in performing at least one of the control tasks in the control circuits to bring the one of the controlled variables into agreement with the target value.
In the preferred mode of the invention, a condition comparing means is further provided which compares a given controlled variable-related condition associated with the controlled element which is controlled in operation using the second controlled variable with a reference controlled variable-related condition to determine a difference therebetween. A translation correcting means is provided which corrects a translation scheme of the translating circuit so as to compensate for an error between the target value of the one of the controlled variables and an actual one arising from the difference between the controlled variable-related condition and the reference controlled variable-related condition.
A correcting means may alternatively be provided which corrects the target value of the one of the controlled variables so as to compensate for an error between the target value and an actual one arising from the difference between the controlled variable-related condition and the reference controlled variable-related condition.
At least one of the control circuits may alternatively produce a target value of a third controlled variable as a control request to another of the controlled circuits which is different from the controlled variable provided by the manager circuit to the another of the control circuits. A controlled variable translating circuit is provided which is designed to translate the target value of the third controlled variable into a target value of the controlled variable provided by the manager circuit to the another of the control circuits.
The translating circuit translates the target value of the controlled variable provided by the manager circuit to the another of the control circuits plus the target value translated by the control variable translating circuit into a target value of the second controlled variable which is predefined as being used in performing the control task in the another of the control circuits.
The control circuits may be designed to control operations of controlled elements of a power trains of the vehicle including an engine. The manager circuit determines the target values of the controlled variables so that a drive force of the vehicle reaches a target one. The translating circuit translates the target value of the controlled variable into the target value of the second controlled variable as a function of speed of the engine.
One of the control circuits designed to control the engine may be an engine control circuit. In this case, at least one of the control circuits except the engine control circuit provides a control request signal indicative of a target retard ignition angle to the engine control circuit. The controlled variable translating circuit is designed to translate the target retard ignition angle into a target value of the controlled variable provided by the manager circuit to the engine control circuit. The translating circuit adds the target value of the controlled variable provided by the manager circuit to the engine control circuit to the target value translated by the controlled variable translating circuit to provide an ultimate target value of the controlled variable to the engine control circuit.
The manager circuit may provide a controlled parameter indicative of either of a target engine torque and a target engine output power as the target value of the controlled variables to the engine control circuit. The translating circuit translates the controlled parameter into a second controlled parameter indicative of a target position of a throttle valve of the engine. The engine control circuit performs a throttle control task to actuate the throttle valve so that the target position of the throttle valve is reached.
The translating circuit works to translate the controlled parameter into the second controlled parameter based on a response characteristic of the engine to a change in position of the throttle valve for compensating for a response lag between a change in engine torque and a change in position of the throttle valve.
At least one of the control circuits except the engine control circuit may provide a control request signal indicative of a target retard ignition angle to the engine control circuit. In this case the controlled variable translating circuit is designed to translate the target retard ignition angle into a correction parameter which indicates an amount of engine torque or engine output power to be changed and is equ
Fujii Takehito
Kataoka Motoaki
Kato Yoshifumi
Miyamoto Noboru
Tashiro Tsutomu
Denso Corporation
Hoang Johnny H.
Yuen Henry C.
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