JPH0986219A - Remote starter for automobile engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a remote starter for an automobile engine usable also for a manual vehicle with a gear position changed manually by applying a current to an ignition coil when output from a gear position detecting sensor and a brake position detecting sensor is complete. SOLUTION: An ignition control device 12 is provided with a gear position detecting sensor using a light emitting element 45 and a light receiving element 46 for outputting to a post-stage when a shift lever 41 is in a neutral position and also using a reflecting film 47, and a brake position detecting sensor using a limit switch 49 outputting to a post-stage when a side brake 42 is in an effective position. When output from the gear position detecting sensor and the brake position detecting sensor is complete, a current is applied to an ignition coil 13 by a current control circuit 17. A remote starter for an automobile engine can thereby be used also for a manual vehicle with a gear position changed manually.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote starter device for starting an automobile engine from a remote location, and more particularly to a sensor technology for improving safety of operating conditions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automobile may require warm-up operation of an engine for charging a battery or in winter when the outside air temperature decreases. However, for those who live on the higher floors of condominiums and public housing, it is not always annoying to go to the parking lot when starting the engine, and for this reason, the starter device that conventionally starts the engine by remote control from inside the house Has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53-119527). As shown in FIG. 5, these devices basically include a portable remote controller 1 and an ignition device 2 controlled by the controller 1, and the ignition device 2 transmits a command signal transmitted from the controller 1. Based on S, the ignition coil 3 is energized, the starter motor 4 is driven, and the engine 5 is started.

The ignition device 2 mounted on a vehicle is, in principle, a receiving device for receiving a command S from the controller 1, a gate circuit for supplying power to the ignition coil 3 by an output from the receiving device, and a gate after the engine is started. A control unit for closing the circuit may be provided. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the device (2) around the ignition in advance at the time of manufacturing a new vehicle. In that case, the ignition device 2 does not need to be an individual independent part, and the vehicle-mounted I
By sharing C, the gate circuit and the control unit can be configured.

[0004]

By the way, in order to remotely operate such a starter device, it is extremely dangerous if the vehicle suddenly starts moving due to engine start. Automatic vehicles have a mechanism that can electrically detect the position of the shift lever, but manual vehicles that manually operate gear changes cannot detect the position of the shift lever. Therefore, the conventional remote starter device has been proposed on the premise of an automatic vehicle, and has not been applied to a manual vehicle that manually operates a gear change.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to propose a remote starter device that can be used even in a manual vehicle in which the gear position is manually changed.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object and achieve the object, a remote starter device for an automobile engine according to the present invention receives a portable remote controller and a command signal sent from the remote controller. As a technical premise, a device equipped with an on-vehicle ignition control device that starts the engine by

The ignition control device includes a gear position detection sensor that outputs to the rear stage when the shift lever is in the neutral position and a brake position detection sensor that outputs to the rear stage when the side brake is in the effective position. An energization control unit that energizes the ignition coil when outputs from the gear position detection sensor and the brake position detection sensor are uniform.

The gear position detecting sensor is provided with an electromagnetic wave emitting means for generating an electromagnetic wave beam and an electromagnetic wave inputting / outputting means for inputting the reflected electromagnetic wave and outputting it to the subsequent stage. There is a case where an electromagnetic wave reflection means for moving the position according to the movement of the shift lever is provided at the close position. Further, the brake position detection sensor may use a limit switch that is turned on or off when the side brake is pulled to an effective position. In addition, the electromagnetic wave emitting means may generate intermittent oscillation instead of monostable emission.

[0009]

The device according to the present invention detects the gear position and the braking state of the manual vehicle, and starts the engine only under the condition that the engine does not start even if the engine is started. The safety condition is confirmed by the gear position detection sensor and the brake position detection sensor.

The gear position detection sensor outputs to the rear stage when the shift lever is in the neutral position, and does not output when it is in another gear position. Further, the brake position detection sensor determines whether or not the side brake is located at the effective position, and does not output to the subsequent stage when the side brake is loosely pulled and the brake is loose.

The energization control means for energizing the ignition coil is arranged so that the outputs from the gear position detection sensor and the brake position detection sensor are uniform, that is, the shift lever is in the neutral position and the side brakes are sufficiently pulled. While the engine is running, energize the ignition coil to start the engine. The engine will not start under other conditions.

The gear position detection sensor can detect the position by utilizing the reflection of electromagnetic waves. Visible light,
Including infrared rays and ultrasonic waves, ordinary light emitting diodes and light receiving elements (phototransistors, etc.) can be used. The reflecting means is arranged at a position close to these sensor means and moved so as to move with the movement of the shift lever. As long as it can reflect electromagnetic waves,
The reflecting means may be a silver or gold film material having a predetermined size. Further, by intermittently oscillating the electromagnetic wave, it is possible to prevent malfunction due to vibration of the shift lever when the engine is started.

When a limit switch (proximity switch) is used as the brake position detecting sensor, the limit switch is fixed at the effective position of the side brake, and when the side brake is pulled to that position, it is turned on by contact ( It can be turned off and a signal can be output.

In the conventional automobile, the wire for the side brake is routed to the outside of the vehicle. Therefore, it is customary not to pull the side brake during the severe winter due to fear of wire freeze. Since the brake wire is routed inside the passenger compartment, even if the side brake is pulled to the maximum, there is no problem when starting. In the past, it was customary to put the shift lever in the low or back position, but this was because it was premised that the side brakes were not applied. Then, the shift lever can be put in neutral as in summer.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 4 show an example of a sensor unit of a remote starter device according to the present invention. This remote starter device 10 includes a portable remote controller 11 and an on-vehicle ignition device 12, like the conventional device, and the ignition device 12 receives a signal from the receiving device 16 and the ignition coil 1 according to a signal from the receiving device 16.
An energization control circuit 17 for supplying power to the circuit 3 is provided.

Further, in order to prevent a non-operation in winter, the main body control portion of the ignition device 12 is made of a resin or the like.
The temperature sensor 31 and the heating resistor 32 are provided inside the case 30. It is desirable to use a general-purpose transistor or a general-purpose integrated circuit for the electronic circuit that constitutes the ignition device 12 in order to prevent cost increase due to excessive quality, but a normal electronic circuit may malfunction if the ambient temperature drops to about 0 ° C. It is likely to cause it. Therefore, when the temperature inside the case is lowered to, for example, 2 ° C. by the temperature sensor 31, the heating resistor 32 is energized to ensure the normal operation of the control unit main body. As the temperature sensor 31, it is preferable to use a reed switch or the like that can detect ON / OFF of the set temperature by itself and drive the heating resistor 32. This is because the temperature control can be controlled by another circuit configuration, for example, an IC, but it is difficult to increase the cost.

The energization control circuit 17 controls engine start based on the positions of the shift lever 41 and the side brake 42 of the manual vehicle. The conditions for starting the engine by remote control are the shift lever 4 of the manual car.
1 is in neutral, and the side brake 42 is sufficiently pulled to the effective position. Therefore, the position of each lever is detected. In this embodiment, the light emitting element 45, the light receiving element 46, and the reflection film 47 are used to detect the position of the shift lever 41.

The reflection film 47 is, for example, a thin paper whose surface is made of silver, and is attached to the cover cover 48 of the shift lever 41. Since the position of the cover 48 is slightly changed according to the movement of the shift lever 41, the gear position of the shift lever 41 can be reliably detected by disposing the reflection film 47 on the cover 48. However, if the reflection film 47 is located above the covering cover 48, there is a possibility that the detection error may occur especially in the case of a large vehicle. In the case of a large-sized vehicle, the shift lever vibrates greatly to the left and right when the engine is started. Therefore, the higher the position where the reflection film 47 is arranged, the larger the vibration width becomes. This is because the light receiving element 46 cannot receive the reflected wave due to the displacement of the reflective film 47. Therefore, it is desirable that the reflection film 47 is disposed at the bottom of the cover 48 as much as possible so that it is not affected by the vibration of the shift lever 41. Although the influence of vibration of the shift lever 41 differs depending on the vehicle model, it cannot be generally stated, but if the shift lever 41 is located below the middle portion, almost no malfunction occurs.

On the other hand, whether or not the side brake 42 is in the effective position can be determined by a mechanical switch without using optical means. Therefore, in this embodiment, the limit switch 49 is used as the position detecting means of the side brake 42. When the side brake 42 is pulled more than the preset position, the side brake 42 may be turned on (or off) and signal processing may be performed in the subsequent circuit. Since the sensor part of the limit switch 49 can be configured by mechanical movement, it is advantageous in terms of cost and there are few malfunctions. Since the effective position of the brake differs depending on the vehicle type and usage condition, it is desirable to determine and position the brake individually.

According to such a remote starter device, the shift lever 41 and the side brake 4 can be used even in a manual vehicle.
Since the engine start can be controlled based on the position 2, the accident such as an unexpected start due to the engine start can be surely prevented, and the remote starter device can be mounted on the manual vehicle. In addition, it is not only pre-installed at the time of manufacturing a new car, but it is easy to install it on an existing car at a later date, so it is possible to easily eliminate the trouble of warm-up operation in a severe winter even for people of any vehicle type. I can.

Further, by providing the temperature sensor 31 and the heat generating resistor 32 in the case 30, the ignition device 12 can be reliably operated even when the outside air temperature is lower than -30 ° C as in the severe winter season in Hokkaido. Therefore, a low-cost and highly reliable device can be easily realized.

The ignition device according to the present invention is not limited to the shift lever and side brake detecting means. Although it has been explained that a light emitting and receiving element is arranged for detection of the shift lever, it is sufficient if position detection can be performed by reflected electromagnetic waves, and it is not limited to visible light and infrared light transmitting and receiving means such as light emitting diodes and phototransistors. It is possible to realize the function of emitting / receiving the beam by using ultrasonic waves or magnetic lines of force. Further, the position detection of the side brake is not limited to the mechanical proximity switch, and electromagnetic wave transmitting / receiving means may be used as in the shift lever. The reflecting means may be any one that can perform the mirror function without the film. Even if irregular reflection occurs using a thin film, there is no problem in light reception (reception) accuracy as long as the separation distance is sufficiently short. The distance to be brought close is, for example, 10 cm or less.

The starter device according to the present invention can be used not only for a 12-volt power source vehicle but also for a 24-volt power source such as a large vehicle. Particularly when the heating resistor is mounted on the control unit case, the same function can be realized with the same circuit configuration by using a power supply circuit such as a three-terminal regulator.

Further, as described above, in a large vehicle in which the shift lever vibrates greatly when the engine is started, there is still a possibility of malfunction in the position detection of the shift lever. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, the reflection film 47 is attached to the shift lever 4
Although it has been described that it is preferable to dispose the shift lever on the lower side of 1, the large lever that is used for a long time may give a large vibration to the shift lever that cannot be predicted depending on the engine condition. At this time, if the sensor that detects the position of the shift lever performs light emission (oscillation) monostable, the reflection lever causes a position shift due to the vibration even though the shift lever is positioned in the neutral position, and the shift lever moves to another gear. A situation may occur in which it is determined that the vehicle is in the position and the power to the ignition is cut off.

In order to prevent such misidentification malfunction, the remote starter device according to the present invention makes the electromagnetic wave emission timing of the light emitting element (oscillation element) including ultrasonic waves discontinuous, and intermittently emits light (oscillation) to cause the shift lever. It may prevent malfunction due to misalignment. For example, if the oscillation timing (on / off timing) of light or ultrasonic waves is set to 1 sec, reception (vibration reception) is blocked for 1 second after 1 second oscillation, so the shift lever may be displaced during that period. Also, the energization control circuit 17 does not detect the shift of the shift lever, and continues energizing the ignition coil. Although the setting value of this intermittent timing differs depending on the vehicle type, it was possible to almost completely prevent malfunctions by the intermittent setting of 1 second on average, except for cars that are almost like scrapped vehicles. Therefore, by intermittently oscillating the light emitting diode or the ultrasonic wave generator with a pulse of, for example, 1 second, it is possible to further reduce the possibility of malfunction due to misrecognition of the position.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the remote starter device for the automobile engine by the remote controller can be installed in a manual vehicle in which the gear position is manually changed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a remote starter device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a mounting example of a reflective seal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a mounting position of the reflection seal shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of mounting a limit switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional remote starter device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Remote Starter Device 11 Remote Controller 12 Ignition Device 16 Receiving Device 13 Ignition Coil 17 Energization Control Circuit 30 Case 31 Temperature Sensor 32 Heating Resistance 41 Shift Lever 42 Side Brake 45 Light Emitting Element 46 Light Receiving Element 47 Reflective Film 48 Covering Cover 49 Limit Switch

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A remote starter device for an automobile engine, comprising: a portable remote controller; and an on-vehicle ignition control device that receives a command signal sent from the remote controller to start an engine, the ignition control device comprising: , Equipped with a gear position detection sensor that outputs to the rear stage when the shift lever is in the neutral position and a brake position detection sensor that outputs to the rear stage when the side brake is in the effective position, and also detects the gear position detection sensor and the brake position A remote starter device for an automobile engine, comprising: energization control means for energizing an ignition coil when outputs from the sensor are uniform. 2. The gear position detecting sensor includes an electromagnetic wave emitting means for emitting an electromagnetic wave and an electromagnetic wave inputting / outputting means for inputting the reflected electromagnetic wave and outputting the electromagnetic wave to the subsequent stage. 2. The remote starter device for an automobile engine according to claim 1, further comprising an electromagnetic wave reflecting means for moving the position in accordance with the movement of the shift lever at the close position. 3. The remote starter device for an automobile engine according to claim 1, wherein the brake position detection sensor is a limit switch that is turned on or off when the side brake is pulled to an effective position. . 4. The remote starter device for an automobile engine according to claim 1, wherein said electromagnetic wave emitting means intermittently emits an electromagnetic wave at a predetermined timing.