JPH0364694B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a throttle valve control device using an electronically controlled actuator, and particularly relates to an improvement in high-speed response to accelerator operation.

[Conventional technology]

Recently, as part of engine control to improve exhaust purification and fuel efficiency, the mechanical connection between the throttle valve and the accelerator pedal has been eliminated, and a signal (accelerator depression amount signal) that converts the accelerator depression amount into an electric quantity and other engines. A signal indicating the operating state or vehicle running state (e.g. engine speed signal,
Development of a throttle valve control device using an electronically controlled actuator that controls the opening and closing of a throttle valve in response to a gear position signal, etc. is underway.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the case of the conventional throttle valve control device using an electronically controlled actuator as described above, the opening and closing of the throttle valve is performed by a drive motor that operates in response to commands from the arithmetic control unit, which is necessary for engine control. In order to achieve high-speed response and the driving force required to open and close the throttle valve, it consists of a drive motor with a drive torque exceeding a predetermined value and a transmission mechanism for this driving force, usually a reduction gear device. . Therefore, in order to have high-speed response and generate the driving force necessary to open and close the throttle valve, if the reduction ratio of the reduction gear device is set to be large, a high-speed motor or a small one is required. In this case, a large motor that generates high torque is required, and in any case, there is a problem that the motor is expensive, large, and heavy.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it responds quickly to the movement of the accelerator pedal pressed by the driver for acceleration, and also provides a system for optimally controlling the engine. The object of the present invention is to obtain a throttle valve control device that makes it possible to use a small and inexpensive drive motor for electronic opening/closing control.

[Means for solving problems]

The throttle valve control device according to the present invention includes:
A valve shaft that opens and closes a throttle valve that changes the output of the engine, a differential gear device that is installed to drive this valve shaft with its output shaft, and a first driving gear of the gear device when the accelerator pedal is depressed. an electronically controlled actuator including a mechanical coupling means for rotationally driving the second driving gear of the differential gear device, and a drive motor for rotationally driving the second driving gear of the differential gear; and detecting the opening degree of the throttle valve. It consists of an opening sensor and a calculation control unit that calculates and outputs a target opening of the throttle valve according to the operating state and sends a signal to an electronically controlled actuator so that the output value matches the output value of the opening sensor.

[Effect]

In the throttle valve control device according to the present invention, since the first driving gear of the differential gear device is directly rotationally driven by the connecting means from the accelerator pedal,
The throttle valve operates quickly even in response to rapid movement of the accelerator pedal. In addition, since opening/closing control to the target throttle opening instructed by the arithmetic control unit is performed via the second driving gear, the throttle valve is operated by a low-cost, low-torque drive motor with high-speed response. control can be achieved.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In Figure 1, 1 is an engine (not shown)
, 2 is a throttle valve, 3 is a valve shaft for opening and closing the throttle valve 2, and 4 is a valve shaft 3.
The gear coupled to the gear 5 is a differential gear device. 5
Reference numerals 1 and 52 denote bevel gears, which are rotatable on shafts 53, respectively, and first and second driving gears 6 and 7 mesh with the outer peripheries of the bevel gears 51 and 52, respectively. The shaft 53 is supported by a bearing 54, and a pinion shaft 55 is fixed to the shaft 53 so as to be orthogonal thereto. Small bevel gears 56, 57 are attached to the pinion shaft 55, and the small bevel gears 56, 57 mesh with the bevel gears 51, 52. Also, the pinion shaft 5
Both ends of 5 connect the valve shaft 3 of the throttle valve 2 to the gear 4.
It is fixed by a large gear 58 which is rotatably driven through. Reference numeral 9 denotes a rotating shaft fixed to the axis of the first driving gear 6, and an accelerator wire 1 is inserted into a groove of a segment-shaped disk 10 fixed to the rotating shaft 9 with bolts 11.
2 is applied, and this wire 12 is connected to an accelerator pedal 13. 14 is accelerator wire 1
This spring 14 is a spiral return spring placed on the rotating shaft 9 to apply tension to the spring 14.
A torque is applied to the rotating shaft 9 in the direction of returning the throttle valve 2 to the closed position. 15 is a return spring for the accelerator pedal 13, and 16 is a stopper for the accelerator pedal. Therefore, the first
The driving gear 6 is configured to be rotationally driven by a mechanical coupling means responsive to an accelerator pedal 13 operated by the driver.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an electronically controlled actuator, which is composed of a DC drive motor 81 and a current control circuit 82 that supplies current to the DC drive motor 81. Reference numeral 17 denotes an opening sensor made of, for example, a potentiometer, which detects the opening of the throttle valve 2, and its output signal is input to the current control circuit 82. 20 inputs output signals from a sensor 18 that detects the engine operating state (for example, rotational speed N) and the running state of the vehicle (for example, vehicle speed V), and a sensor 19 that detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 13 operated by the driver. It is an arithmetic control section that performs predetermined arithmetic processing on the values of these input signals and outputs the target opening degree t of the throttle valve 2. Throttle valve 2
A signal instructing the target opening degree t is input to the current control circuit 82, and a drive current is applied to operate the drive motor 81 that drives the second driving gear 7 so that the opening degree of the throttle valve becomes equal to t. is output by the current control circuit 82.

Next, the operation of this invention will be explained. The rotational driving force of the electronically controlled actuator 8 is transmitted through the second driving gear 7, the bevel gear 52, the small bevel gears 56, 57,
Valve shaft 3 via pinion shaft 55 and large gear 58
is transmitted to gear 4. At this time, if the bevel gear 51 does not rotate, that is, if the accelerator pedal 13 is kept constant, two signals input to the electronically controlled actuator 8 and t
Accordingly, the opening and closing of the throttle valve 2 is electronically controlled by the above transmission path so that the target throttle opening degree t is achieved. This movement of the throttle valve 2 follows the instruction of the target opening degree t with some response time delay. On the other hand, when the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal 13 changes, the differential gear device 5
A driving force is applied to one of the bevel gears 51. This rotational force acts on the small bevel gears 56 and 57, and is superimposed on the rotation of the bevel gear 52, which is being rotated by the electronic control actuator 8, so that the pinion shaft 55 is rotated by half the angle of the bevel gear 51. are rotated in the same direction by an angle of , and the throttle valve 2 is opened and closed via the large gear 58 and the gear 4 in the same manner as described above. The movement of the throttle valve 2 in response to the depression of the accelerator pedal 13 is superimposed on the movement of the electronically controlled actuator 8, but the speed of response is similar to the movement of the accelerator pedal 13, excluding slack and play in the accelerator wire 12. Respond immediately.

In order to make it easier to understand the movement of the throttle valve 2 according to the above explanation, the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal A, the rotation angle θ by the electronically controlled actuator,
FIG. 2 shows an example of temporal changes in the actual opening degree of the throttle valve 2 and the target opening degree t of the throttle valve. Figures 2a and b show A, θ, and t on the same time axis, and the second
In FIG. 2b, the opening degree of the throttle valve 2 changes in a manner corresponding to the overlapping angle of A and θ shown in FIG. 2b. The instruction for the target throttle opening t is output after inputting the accelerator depression degree A and the signal from the sensor 18 and performing calculation processing, but the processing speed of the microcomputer normally used as the calculation control section 20 is sufficient. quickly,
This is faster than the mechanical operating speed of the throttle valve 2. As described above, the present invention has the ability to follow the instruction of the target throttle opening degree t, which changes rapidly, due to the slow speed of change in the rotation angle of the input shaft that is rotationally driven by the electronically controlled actuator (the change in θ in Figure 2a). (see). Therefore, as an electronically controlled actuator, if a mechanism with a sufficient reduction ratio is provided on the output side of the drive motor, a very low torque motor can be used, and the drive control circuit also handles a small current, making the device Overall, a small and highly safe product can be obtained.
Further, if a known harmonic drive mechanism is used as a mechanism for obtaining a large reduction ratio, the size can be further reduced and control accuracy can be improved.

In the embodiment, a bevel gear is used as the differential gear device 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, we have shown an example in which the movement of the slave motion relative to the original motion of the differential gear is equal for the two original motions, but if you use a differential gear that changes this ratio, you can emphasize high-speed response to accelerator operation. Alternatively, it becomes possible to increase the weight of throttle controllability by electronic control from the electronically controlled actuator side.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the valve shaft driven by the throttle valve is driven via the differential gear device, and the first driving gear of the differential gear device can be rotated by pressing the accelerator pedal. The second driving gear is electronically controlled by an electronically controlled actuator that includes a drive motor while detecting the opening of the throttle valve. Therefore, electronic control and mechanical control are performed at the same time and in a superimposed manner, making it possible to achieve low cost and A throttle valve control device with high precision and excellent high-speed response can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a throttle valve control device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in operation over time. 2... Throttle valve, 3... Valve stem, 4...
Gear, 5... Differential gear device, 6... First driving gear, 7... Second driving gear, 8... Electronic control actuator, 9... Rotating shaft, 12... Accelerator wire, 13... Accelerator pedal, 17... Throttle opening sensor, 20... Arithmetic control unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A valve shaft that opens and closes a throttle valve that varies the output of the engine, a differential gear device that drives this valve shaft with its output shaft, and a first driving gear of this differential gear device that operates when the accelerator pedal is depressed. a mechanical coupling means that rotates in response to the engine speed, an opening sensor that detects the opening degree of the throttle valve, and a calculation control unit that sequentially calculates and outputs the target opening degree of the throttle valve according to the driving state of the vehicle. A throttle valve comprising: an electronically controlled actuator that rotates a second driving gear of the differential gear device using a drive motor so that the target opening matches the output value of the opening sensor. Control device.