Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – With indicator or control of power plant
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-23
2001-10-23
Dolinar, Andrew M. (Department: 3747)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
With indicator or control of power plant
C477S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308129
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to method and apparatus for automatically stopping engine idling of an automotive vehicle during a stop of the vehicle and, particularly relates to a technique for accurately detecting an operation of a brake pedal or brake manipulator.
b) Description of the Related Art
In order to improve a fuel consumption and to suppress an emission of exhaust gas, a, so-called, idle stop systems which stops automatically the vehicular engine (the engine idling) during the stop of the vehicle such as a situation of the vehicle to wait for a turn of a go signal has been proposed.
A Japanese Patent Application First Publication No. Heisel 8-291725 published on Nov. 5, 1996 exemplifies a previously proposed idle stop system in which the engine is automatically stopped in a case where a vehicle driver depresses a brake pedal during a zero vehicular velocity and the engine is automatically started in a case where the brake pedal depression is released to re-start the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, in the previously proposed engine idling stop system, when a manipulated variable (viz., a depression depth) of the brake pedal is in excess of a predetermined criterion regardless of a vehicular driving condition, a controller of the system determines a BRAKE PEDAL ON (the brake pedal is depressed). If the depression, depth is shallower than the predetermined criterion, the controller determines a BRAKE PEDAL OFF. Hence, a determination accuracy of the manipulation of the brake pedal is low.
That Is to say, since a brake force required to force the vehicle in a stopped state is different depending on the vehicular driving condition (e.g., a presence or absence of a creep) and is different depending on a gradient of a road surface on which the vehicle is held in the stopped state or depending on an individual driver, the previously proposed automatic engine idling stop system cannot take these requirements into consideration.
Hence, if the predetermined criterion is set toward a deeper depression depth side than an optimum depth value, the controller does not determine the BRAKE ON even if the driver depresses the brake pedal so that the engine cannot be executed to fall in the engine idling stop state. In addition, if the predetermined criterion is set toward a brake pedal release side shallower than the optimum depth value (in a unit of angle), the controller determines with a delay in time that the brake pedal is released even if the depression of the brake pedal is released so that the brake force is released before the re-start of the engine and an instantaneous reverse run (short-term) of the vehicle could occur when the vehicle stands on an up-hill (an ascending slope).
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide apparatus and method for automatically stopping the engine idling for the automotive vehicle in which a determination accuracy of the brake manipulation can be improved and the engine can be stopped and re-started at appropriate timings.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided with a method for automatically stopping an engine idling for an automotive vehicle, comprising: detecting a vehicular velocity; detecting a brake manipulated variable of a brake manipulator; comparing the brake manipulated variable with a predetermined criterion of the brake pedal manipulation to determine whether a brake manipulator is operated; stopping the engine when detecting that the vehicular velocity is zero and determining that the brake manipulator is operated; re-starting the engine when an operation of the brake manipulator is released; learning the brake manipulated variable after the vehicular velocity is zero and determining that the brake manipulator is operated; and updating the predetermined criterion on the basis of the learning value.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided with an apparatus for automatically stopping an engine idling for an automotive vehicle, comprising: a vehicular velocity sensor to detect a vehicular velocity; a brake sensor to detect a brake manipulated variable; a controller programmed to compare the brake manipulated variable with a predetermined criterion to determine whether a brake manipulator is operated, to stop the engine when the vehicular velocity is detected to be zero and determining that the brake manipulator is operated, the engine being re-started when an operation of the brake manipulator is released, to learn the brake manipulated variable after the vehicular velocity is zero and determining that the brake manipulator is operated, and to update the predetermined criterion on the basis of the learning value.
According to a still another object of the present inventions there is provided with an apparatus for automatically stopping an engine idling for an automotive vehicle, comprising: means for detecting a vehicular velocity; means for detecting a brake depression angle of a brake pedal; means for comparing the brake depression angle with a predetermined criterion of the brake pedal depression angle to determine whether the brake pedal is depressed; means for stopping the engine when detecting that the vehicular velocity is zero and the comparing means determines that the brake pedal is depressed; means for re-starting the engine when a depression of the brake pedal is released; means for learning the brake pedal depression angle after the vehicular velocity is zero and determining that the brake pedal is depressed; and means for updating the predetermined criterion on the basis of the learning value.
This summary of the invention does not necessarily describe all necessary features so that the invention may also be at sub-combination of these described features.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4286683 (1981-09-01), Zeigner et al.
patent: 5535123 (1996-07-01), Rump et al.
patent: 5615660 (1997-04-01), Iwano et al.
patent: 8-291725 (1996-11-01), None
patent: 11-324755 (1999-11-01), None
JPO abstract for JP 60-40742, Goto et al, Mar. 4, 1985.
Dolinar Andrew M.
Foley & Lardner
Nissan Motor Co,. Ltd.
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