HK1182998B - Actuation device for controlling the power of an internal combustion engine and method for controlling the power of the internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a control device for controlling the power of an engine.

The present invention relates to an actuator for controlling the power of an engine and a method for controlling the power of an engine, in particular of a combustion engine for a motor vehicle, the speed of which can be controlled by means of a clutch and a brake with associated pedals and a tread pedal.

In modern vehicles, the power of a vehicle is usually controlled by means of the pedal, while in modern vehicles the connection between the pedal position and the engine load is generally no longer made by a direct mechanical coupling. Usually, an electronic engine controller controls the engine load taking into account various parameters, such as the pedal position. When the pedal is operated continuously from the zero position, the drive torque of an engine is increased accordingly continuously, which in many cases is achieved by turning on the unit responsible for the drive, e.g. the throttle valve in automobile engines.

A method is known from the German standard DE 199 22 338 A1 for establishing a prescribed relationship between the application of the pedal and the resulting braking torque of a vehicle, dividing the possible adjustment range of the pedal into at least two control ranges. A first control range is defined below a first prescribed pedal angle. In the first control range, control elements that can cause deceleration of the vehicle are regulated according to a second prescribed braking torque. Preferably, the second control range is defined above a second prescribed pedal angle. Between the first and second prescribed pedal angles, a third control range is defined in such a way that the braking torque or acceleration of the vehicle can be kept constant and the brake torque or acceleration of the vehicle can be regulated.

US Patent 7 188 546 B2 reveals a gas pedal unit for a vehicle that includes a gas pedal functionally connected to a vehicle propulsion device, where the vehicle also contains a separate brake pedal functionally connected to a vehicle brake device. Moving the gas pedal from a idle position to a driving position causes the vehicle to increase the power of an engine progressively. The gas pedal is designed to operate via a predetermined pedal table, which extends from a rest position to the brake pedal position to a driving position. Furthermore, the gas pedal is functionally connected to the brake connection device, whereby the vehicle's brake unit is driven through the brake pedal in a direction corresponding to the direction of the brake pedal, whereby the gas pedal is driven by a force increasing from the gas pedal to a brake position, which is proportional to the speed of the vehicle.

International patent application WO2009/023 916 A2 describes a vehicle accelerator and brake system in which the brake system responds to the forces applied to the accelerator, in which data corresponding to the force applied to the accelerator are fed to a control module and in which the brake force is affected by the force applied to the accelerator.

While all systems described in the present state of the art may be used in a gas pedal position where the engine does not apply any drive or braking torque to the vehicle, this gas pedal position changes with the changing speed of the vehicle, for example when the vehicle is being rolled out, so that the driver would have to adjust the gas pedal position continuously to obtain optimum energy utilization with the lowest possible fuel consumption.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a method for controlling the power of the engine to reduce fuel consumption.

The invention also concerns the specification of a control device for the execution of the process.

According to the invention, this task is solved by a process as claimed 1 and a control device to perform the process as claimed 4.

The invention relates to a method for controlling the power of an engine, in particular the power of an engine for a motor vehicle, which assists in finding a pre-defined operating state in which the engine, when the power train is closed, produces no more than a lower braking torque than is usual when the engine brake is applied, or no more than a driving torque which does not lead to an acceleration of the vehicle, and which, after activation of the method, by automatically controlling at least one of the parameters affecting the operating state of the engine, provides the optimum energy to achieve the engine's maximum operating state, in which, when the engine is closed, the driving torque is no less than the braking torque of the engine,The invention further provides for an engine power control device to perform the process, which provides for a first setup area in which the engine has a continuous braking torque which can cause a deceleration of the vehicle and which provides for a second setup area in which the engine has a continuous braking torque which can cause an acceleration of the vehicle, providing a third setup area for the actuation of a third setup area, with a setup area between the first setup area and the second setup area and a setup area in which the engine has a continuous braking torque which can cause an acceleration of the vehicle, provided that a setup area is not yet closed in the first setup area and that a setup area is not yet closed in the second setup area.

This includes the case where a braking torque and/or drive torque is applied where the braking torque is significantly less than the braking torque of an engine brake and the drive torque is significantly less than that required for acceleration of a vehicle.

This is preferably to prevent the engine electronics from switching between a light drive torque and a light braking torque when unfolding.

The invention exploits the well-known fact that the kinetic energy of the vehicle can be better utilized by a kind of free-run function. The driving state is characterized, among other things, by the fact that the drive unit does not transmit power to the wheels and therefore the vehicle neither drives nor brakes. This is achieved, for example, with a flywheel coupling, whereby the engine is automatically unwinded in a predefined pedal position and kept in idle. The vehicle can thus run a distance that does not have to be covered by the use of fuel.In the same way, another known method involves uncoupling the engine when the driver releases the pedal, whereby the driver can activate the engine's traction by pressing the brake pedal or a button on the steering wheel. This has the disadvantage of increasing wear in the brake area, since a brake application is necessary to activate the engine brake. Furthermore, there is a safety risk from a possible change in braking, which could result, for example, in the need to brake suddenly in curves, while the desired braking force of the wheel brakes requires the engine brake to be extended uncontrollably by the anti-coupling operation.The driver's concentration is affected.

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In a preferred embodiment, the actuator is a pedal and/or a lever or a swivel handle, whereby the assistance according to the invention is preferably provided by a signal, which may preferably be provided by acoustic, visual and/or tactile means, which is then given to the driver, for example by a low-pitched sound and/or by the lighting of a small LED in the cockpit area of the motor vehicle and/or by a perceptible pressure point in the actuator itself, which enables the driver to perceive the assistance easily without being distracted from driving the vehicle.

In a preferred embodiment, the assistance may be provided mechanically, hydraulically, electromagnetically and/or pneumatically, providing various ways of providing assistance.

A useful design of a control device according to the invention is to arrange a pressure point easily perceivable by the driver, where the energy supply is locked to such an extent that no engine braking is applied. For example, the pressure point can be operated by means of an additional spring, which has the advantage that the previous movement pattern is not changed and thus a driver who does not know the control device according to the invention can control the vehicle without difficulty.

According to the invention, the engine is an engine of the combustion engine, electric motor, steam engine, Stirling engine and/or turbocharger and/or an engine combination of the above, such as a hybrid drive. In this way, the present invention can be used to control the power of an engine, in particular the power of an engine for a motor vehicle. However, in general, the present invention can be applied to all engines that need to move masses, such as various industrial plants, ships and/or industrial vehicles, provided that it is advantageous to use the available power of movement accordingly.Err1:Expecting ',' delimiter: line 1 column 403 (char 402)The gear ratio shall be calculated as follows:

A preferred embodiment of the actuator is a pedal and/or a lever and/or a swivel handle, whereby the actuator must be easily identifiable and easy to operate. Preferably, an already known built-in element such as a steering pedal and/or a steering wheel controller may be used as the actuator, but it is also possible to use a newly installed actuator as the actuator. It is conceivable, for example, that the actuator may be a servo motor, for example, coupled with a navigation system. The inventive actuator may be used by means of a signal, such as a pressure or acoustic, and may be operated visually by the driver/driver without any prior perception. This signal can be easily produced in the form of a small LED/coil, which can be detected and detected by the driver/driver himself/herself, and which can be set up in the vehicle's control area.

A useful design of a control device according to the invention is to arrange a pressure point easily perceivable by the driver, where the energy supply is locked to such an extent that no engine braking is applied. For example, the pressure point can be operated by means of an additional spring, which has the advantage that the previous movement pattern is not changed and thus a driver who does not know the control device according to the invention can control the vehicle without difficulty.

The engine does not, according to the invention, generate any braking or driving torque at the pressure point or in the third defined range, regardless of the speed step, translation, speed and clutch position, so that, regardless of the parameters mentioned, the engine does not transfer any force to the vehicle's drive train at full power, and the available kinetic energy can be fully utilized and fuel saving can be achieved in any driving situation when the third range is reached. In principle, a combination of the invention's actuator with previously known systems, such as a speed limiter or a temp, is possible.

The method of the invention for controlling the power of an engine, and in particular for controlling the power of an engine for a motor vehicle, provides at least one assistance in finding a predefined operating state in which the engine does not generate a braking or driving torque when the drive train is closed, or at least one assistance in providing an engine power control device in an operating range in which the engine is in the predefined operating state.the vehicle is unloaded without the introduction of any drive or brake torque into the drive train. This avoids unnecessary energy loss by the engine brake and saves fuel without distracting the driver by pressing an additional button, lever or button. The method according to the invention does not require the driver to make any major changes to the original driving behaviour. The optimum use of the vehicle's kinetic energy in closed drive train is thus made without any additional mechanical work, which is expensive and therefore inefficient, inexpensive and efficient. Furthermore, the control area can be easily located and maintained by the driver via the control panel,where the third adjustment range is defined as large or small, respectively, to avoid pendulation between drive and deceleration during roll-out and to save fuel.

In a particularly favourable embodiment of the method, the pre-defined operating condition is detected by at least one sensor, so that a control system connected to the sensor provides at least some assistance in finding the pre-defined operating condition. Preferably, this at least one sensor provides the control system with all the important parameters, such as the gear input or the position of the automatic transmission, the speed available and/or the idle speed necessary to control the engine. This allows the driver to receive assistance from the control system whenever the engine reaches a pre-defined operating condition, in which the engine is not braking or braking at a closed engine power supply.when the control is in a third control area in which the engine is in a pre-defined operating state, the relevant parameters such as speed and/or engine speed are constantly monitored. The control system can thus provide assistance in accordance with the invention by means of a signal easily perceivable by the driver, preferably by sound, in the form of a low tone, and/or visually by illuminating a small LED in the cockpit area of the vehicle and/or tactile, for example by means of a perceptible pressure in the control, the advantage being that the said pressure point can be produced mechanically, hydraulically, pneumatically and/or electromagnetically.

It has proved particularly advantageous that the steering system has a number of control elements which can cause the vehicle to decelerate or accelerate, so that when the third control range is reached various parameters are regulated in such a way that the vehicle's kinetic energy can be used as long as possible. For example, the necessary fuel supply, which depends, inter alia, on the speed of the moving vehicle, is increased or decreased accordingly or the drive torque is reduced according to the respective driving situation and gear used as far as possible in order to maintain the vehicle's kinetic energy for as long as possible. The steering system is continuously adjusted so that the fuel supply is increased as far as possible when the second control range is reached and the drive torque is increased accordingly, depending on the respective gear and gear.

When leaving an expressway, e.g. a motorway, the state of rolling out is created by placing the engine in a state that essentially produces neither drive nor brake torque. This is preferably done by a targeted intervention in the engine electronics.

The engine may be controlled by means of control of the camshaft, adjustment of valve control times, control of the injection pressure or injection intervals for multiple injections, control of the ignition time or the ignition intervals for multiple ignitions or control of ignitions, e.g. with more than one spark plug per cylinder, the use of the control being dependent on the engine operating condition, e.g. engine or oil temperature.

In principle, a combination of the present invention with various methods already known is conceivable. For example, the method could be combined with a navigation system, so that, for example, the driver is given assistance in finding the third parking area whenever he approaches a traffic obstacle, such as a traffic light, an intersection, a motorway exit or a reported traffic jam, and the vehicle's kinetic energy would be just sufficient to reach the said obstacle without additional drive power or use of the engine brake or brake pressure. If the assistance is given, the decision remains with the driver whether to use the function to fuel and save fuel. In such a case, it is conceivable that the decision is made automatically in this direction without using the control system.

The invention can also be combined with a speed control system (tempomat) or, for example, a GPS-based autopilot. Thus, when the speed limit is exceeded, the shifting circuit can be used instead of the invention. A bandwidth can be set around the speed limit (for example, +/-5 km/h at a speed limit of 130 km/h), within which the speed can be regulated downwards only with the invention. If the defined range is exceeded, for example, within a large belt, the shifting circuit is activated. Alternatively or together with the speed limit, a bandwidth can also be set to a speed limit, for example, different acceleration caused by accidents, within the vehicle, or the invention can be defined to maintain the speed limit and the speed limit in different road conditions.

The invention can also be combined with the principle of cylinder shutdown. At the same time, the valves can be kept closed in the case of the cylinders turned off. Furthermore, if there is more than one valve per group of inlet or outlet valves, these can be regulated differently within the group.

The control may have different interfaces to the units to be controlled, either indirectly, for example via other controls or a central control, or directly, for example via a control instrument to increase or decrease the injection, the air mixture or the camshaft adjustment mechanism, the ignition or the electromechanical operation of valves.

In the control unit, signals from sensors (e.g. pedal position, speed or speed) can be detected and checked; where these values or the combination of values or the result of an electronic process of processing values or a combination of values correspond to a specification stored in a memory in the control unit or calculated from current values or a combination or the result of their linkage, a specific setting value is assigned to the unit to be controlled via the interface (e.g. a specific control time for a valve when the pedal is in the free-run range during a specific speed).

The values specified in the control unit memory may be permanently programmed or modified by special intervention (e.g. diagnostic device or special software via a service interface) or controlled by the driver (e.g. selection of driving modes or pedal position).

The stored values may also be influenced or assigned by sensors or as a result of various processed values of a software or fixed program.

In the free-run area, the engine is regulated so that at least one zero torque is applied, i.e. a small positive torque is allowed but no negative torque. For example, it may be provided that a minimum torque of, say, 5% of the maximum torque of the engine is delivered to the drive train. This prevents torque from swinging around the zero point with protrusions in both the negative and positive area. Such swinging of the torque could lead to unforeseen changes in the driving speed. To avoid this, the zero torque control can be interpreted as always starting from at least one positive torque against the zero torque of the engine.This means that zero torque also means a low positive torque. If the driver moves the steering pedal from the control area to the zero torque area, the torque is regulated by a negative torque from the zero torque area. Exceeding the minimum torque, for example by 0,5% of the maximum torque, during the zero torque control area must be avoided so that the engine does not continuously switch between light positive torque and a brake torque in the control area and back when the driver switches to the deceleration control between the control area and zero torque area or when the control area is not in the control area, the engine switches to the zero torque area and back.

It may also be provided that the control is activated at the individual choice of the driver.

The transition from the zero-moment to negative-moment controlled range to the shifting control may be designed to be dosable by the driver.

The system may also be construed as excluding it for certain speed, speed and gear ratios.

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The invention can also be performed when a pressure point in the accelerator pedal or another sign easily found by the driver to indicate the zero torque position is not practical or practicable. The pedal recognition can be conventionally divided into the two areas of the transition and drive without any sign of transition from one to the other. The zero torque control is activated in the drive area whenever the pedal is at a point where less torque is delivered than the zero torque. As soon as the pedal is at a point where the zero torque is again exceeded, the drive is activated.

The following is a detailed explanation of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings: further advantages and derivations are given by the claims. a schematic arrangement of a device of the invention

The adjustment device according to the invention shown in Figure 1 has a conventional pedal 10 used to control the power of an engine. The pedal 10 can be adjusted, by means of a first spring element 12, between a first end position 20 and a second end position 22. Between these two end positions 20, 22 there is a first adjustment area 24 in which the engine has a continuous braking torque, which can cause a deceleration of the vehicle, and a second adjustment area 26 in which the engine has a continuous drive torque, which can cause an acceleration of the vehicle. Between these two adjustment areas 24, 26 there is a third adjustment area 28.In order to facilitate the identification of the third adjustment area, the embodiment shown has a second auxiliary pedal 30 which is located below the first pedal 10. Unlike pedal 10, the auxiliary pedal 30 is only adjustable between the third adjustment area 28 and the second end position 22 using a second spring element 32 which has the effect that when pedal 10 is actuated in the first adjustment area 24, only the first spring element 12 exerts a force on the spring 10 when the pedal 10 is actuated.When the pedal 10 reaches the third adjustment area 28, the pedal 10 shall rest directly on the auxiliary pedal 30 so that the reserve of the second suspension element 32 is added to the reserve of the first suspension element 12 already present, providing an aid easily identifiable to the driver in the form of an easily perceptible pressure point to locate the third adjustment area 28.

The drawing shows and describes an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, other connecting mechanical arrangements are also possible.

The reference mark:

10 Pedal 12 first spring 20 first end position 22 second end position 24 first gear area 26 second gear area 28 third gear area 30 secondary pedal 32 second spring

Claims (10)

1. A method for controlling the power of an engine, especially for controlling the power of an internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle, in which assistance is provided for locating a previously defined operating state in which the engine, with the drive train closed, introduces a braking torque that, at the maximum, is less than the braking torque that is normally present when the engine brake is used, or else a drive torque that, at the maximum, does not lead to an acceleration of the vehicle, characterized in that after the method has been activated by the automatic regulation of at least one parameter that influences the operating state of the engine, the optimal energy supply to the engine - which is needed in order to achieve the operating state in which the engine, with the drive train closed, introduces a braking torque that, at the maximum, is less than the braking torque that is normally present when the engine brake is used, or else a drive torque that, at the maximum, does not lead to an acceleration of the vehicle or that would be needed to maintain the momentary speed of the vehicle - is automatically determined and maintained for each rotational speed over a rotational speed range that lies between previously defined limits.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the previously defined operating state is recognized by at least one sensor, after which a control system associated with the sensor provides the at least one type of assistance for locating the previously defined operating state.
3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the control system has a plurality of actuators that can effectuate a deceleration or an acceleration of the engine.
4. A control device for carrying out the method according to one of claims 1 to 3, having a first control range (24) in which the engine has a continuous braking torque, as a result of which the vehicle can be decelerated, and having a second control range (26) in which the engine has a continuous drive torque, as a result of which the vehicle can be accelerated, characterized in that assistance is provided for locating a third control range (28), whereby this third control range (28) is situated between the first control range (24) and the second control range (26), and, in the third control range (28), the engine - with the drive train closed - introduces neither a braking torque nor a drive torque, and in that the control device has a means to automatically determine and maintain the optimal energy supply to the engine in order to maintain the operating state of the third control range (28) for each rotational speed over a rotational speed range that lies between previously defined limits.
5. The control device according to claim 4, characterized in that the engine is an engine from the group of internal combustion engines, electric motors, steam engines, Stirling engines and/or Wankel engines and/or a combination of the listed engines such as, for instance, a hybrid drive.
6. The control device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the control device is a pedal (10) and/or a lever or a knob.
7. The control device according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the assistance is provided via a signal.
8. The control device according to one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the assistance is provided in a manner that is acoustic, visual and/or tactile.
9. The control device according to one of claims 4 to 8, characterized in that the assistance is provided mechanically, hydraulically, electromagnetically and/or pneumatically.
10. The control device according to one of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that the assistance is a previously defined pressure point.