Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Takahide Kawamura

Takao Akatsuka

Shigekatsu Uchida

Susumu Akiyama

Kenzo Ito

Yuji Hirabayashi

Hiroyasu Fukaya

Haruhiko Ogiso

Norihiko Nakamura

Hideo Miyagi

Masaomi Nagase

Koichi Taniguchi

Muneki Yoshino

Electric current supply to an actuator is ON-OFF controlled in such a manner that fuel supply quantity is made to be zero on condition that an engine rotation speed reaches a rotation speed less than a predetermined one in a low rotation region and a starter switch is turned OFF, whereby overrun of an engine and reckless run of a vehicle are prevented when a rotation sensor is in an abnormal condition.

Method of controlling diesel engine

An engine control method and apparatus generally applicable to those control systems of the engine such as an ignition system, fuel injection system, etc., which are controlled to optimum operation in accordance with the engine operating conditions. A plurality of angular pulses are generated during each rotation of the engine and these pulses are counted. In response to each pulse, an angular interrupt request is generated and the interrupt is performed in response thereto. The angular interrupt routines are of the highest priority and are executed irrespective of the execution status of the central processing unit to control an electric device associated with the engine in accordance with control data calculated by the central processing unit. Program interrupt requests are generated during selected angular interrupt routines when the counted number of angular pulses reaches a predetermined value. Program interrupt routines of lower priority than the angular interrupt routines are then executed to calculate the control data for the electric device.

Computer based engine control with lower priority interrupt requests

Clutch operation signal issued in operational association with depression of a clutch pedal are taken as answer-back signals into an electronic control unit (ECU), a starter start command signal is issued in response to one of these answer-back signals. Additionally, a clutch upper switch and a clutch lower switch, which constitute a clutch sensor and are connected in series to each other, are inserted into a starter relay driving system, so that start due to mistaken operation and the like of ECU can be avoided.

Automatic engine stop and start system

An engine control method generally applicable to those control systems of the engine such as an ignition system, fuel injection system, etc., which are controlled to optimum operation in accordance with engine operating conditions. Angular pulses are generated each time the output shaft of the engine rotates a predetermined angular amount. These angular pulses are counted from the occurrence of a position pulse which is generated at a predetermined angular position of the output shaft of the engine. A central processor is employed to calculate a first angular position at which an electric device for the engine is to be controlled. The central processor also calculates a time interval between the first angular position and a second angular position at which one of the angular pulses is to be provided just before the first angular position. When the angular pulse counting reaches a value corresponding to the second angular position, fixed frequency clock pulses are then counted. When the calculated required time interval has passed as determined by counting the fixed frequency clock pulses, the electric device is controlled.

Engine control event timing employing both crank angle rotation and time

An engine of a motor vehicle is automatically stopped under predetermined conditions and automatically restarted under other predetermined conditions. The engine is restarted by a starter which is driven in response to an engine start signal. In automatically restarting the engine, the engine start signal is generated when restart conditions are fulfilled and a starter command is generated in a microcomputer. An operation of a clutch pedal is one of the restart conditions. The clutch pedal is provided therearound with a lower switch and an upper switch to detect an amount of a depression of the clutch pedal. The starter command is masked for a predetermined period of time starting from the time when the upper switch is turned OFF from the upper switch has been ON.

Method of controlling automatic stop and restart of an engine

In automatically stopping or restarting an engine on a basis of detecting an operational state of each component of a vehicle with the engine mounted thereon, judgement as to whether first condition of setting the function of allowing the engine to automatically stop and restart, second condition of automatically stopping the engine after the function is set and third condition of automatically restarting the engine after the function is set are fulfilled or not, respectively, is made by 'and' of a plurality of signals including at least two or more signals out of a signal indicating an engine rotational speed, a signal indicating the generating condition of an alternator and a third signal indicating readiness or unreadiness for starting of the vehicle.

Automatic engine stop-restart system

An engine is automatically stopped under predetermined conditions, thereafter, automatically restarted under other predetermined conditions, and a primary check indicating device for indicating abnormal conditions in various components of a vehicle is forcedly turned OFF at least when the engine is automatically stopped. The primary check indicating device includes, for example, a charge warning lamp for indicating abnormality in the generating condition, an oil pressure lamp for indicating abnormality in the pressure of lubricating oil and an exhaust gas temperature lamp for indicating abnormality in the temperature of exhaust gas.

An engine control method generally applicable to those control systems of the engine such as an ignition system, fuel injection system, etc., which are controlled to optimum operation in accordance with the engine operating conditions. In this method, an operation starting timing and an operation ending timing of the control system, e.g., in the case of the ignition system, an ignition coil energization starting timing and an ignition timing (an energization ending timing) are computed at each of predetermined computing cycles, and the latest computed ignition timing, for example, which is computed after the coil energization has been started further taking into consideration of the actual coil energization timing and a minimum required energization period is compared with an ignition timing computed in the preceding computing cycle, and a corrective computation of the latest computed ignition timing is carried out depending on the result of the comparison to obtain an optimum ignition timing. Also the history of the ON-OFF state of a bleed valve in an engine air supply system is monitored. The actual duty cycle of the valve is compared with a desired duty cycle to determine whether or not to open the valve for a succeeding time period.

Method and apparatus for controlling the duty cycle of an off-on type

In automatically stopping and restarting an engine on the basis of the operating conditions of various parts in a vehicle, the automatic engine stop and restart are effected by cutting off a fuel system, but not cutting off an iginition system. More specifically, a fuel control valve is provided in a path for feeding fuel to a slow port, and this control valve is closed on condition that at least the vehicle speed is in the state of zero and other conditions of allowing the automatic engine stop and restart are not met. An ignition signal taken from the energized ignition system is used to ensure that the engine is not started when it is already running.

Determination as to whether the condition of automatically stopping an engine is formed or not is made based on outputs from pluralities of sensors and switches for detecting the operating conditions of various portions of a vehicle. Even if the result of determination satisfies the conditions of automatic stop, automatic stop is not effected when the temperature of the engine cooling water exceeds predetermined temperature limits.

The actual rotational speed of an internal combustion engine is detected, and the detected rotational speed is compared with upper and lower limit speed values to generate a control signal indicative of the change in the idle air flow to the engine to maintain the actual rotational speed within a desired range. The idle air flow to the engine is adjusted in response to the generated control signal. The above detection of the actual rotational speed or the adjusting is started after a predetermined period of time is passed from the moment when the engine falls into a predetermined idling condition.

Method and apparatus for controlling the idling rotational speed of an

An engine control method and apparatus generally applicable to those control systems of the engine such as an ignition system, fuel injection system, etc., which are controlled to optimum operation in accordance with the engine operating conditions. In this method, an operation starting timing and an operation ending timing of the control system, e.g., in the case of the ignition system, an ignition coil energization starting timing and an ignition timing (an energization ending timing) are computed at each of predetermined computing cycles, and the latest computed ignition timing, for example, which is computed after the coil energization has been started, further taking into consideration the actual coil energization timing and a minimum required energization period is compared with an ignition timing computed in the preceding computing cycle, and a corrective computation of the latest computed ignition timing is carried out depending on the result of the comparison to obtain an optimum ignition timing.

Method and apparatus for controlling ignition coil energization

An apparatus for preventing afterburning in an internal combustion engine having an ignition circuit, an ignition switch and a battery, and including an engine rotation detecting circuit for detecting the rotational speed of the engine above a predetermined level, a switching circuit actuated in response to the engine rotation detecting circuit which continues to energize the ignition circuit from the battery even after the ignition switch is turned off as long as the engine rotates at a speed above the predetermined level, and a timer circuit which cuts off the ignition circuit from the battery regardless of the condition of the switching circuit a predetermined time after the ignition switch is turned off.

Apparatus for preventing afterburning in an internal combustion engine

There is provided an automatic seat belt locking system for a vehicle, e.g., an automobile whereby while in the normal condition the vehicle occupants are not restrained by their seat belts, the seat belts are automatically locked to secure and protect the occupants in the case of an emergency such as a collision. The system comprises a pair of acceleration/deceleration detectors which are composed for example of two different types of mercury switches and which are also adapted to respectively generate a first and second output signal when the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle exceeds a first and second predetermined value, and absorbing means whereby transient accelerations greater than the first predetermined value and caused by disturbances are absorbed to render both of the detectors inoperative while the vehicle is running on an incomplete, rough road surface.

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Aichi, Japan

Takahide Kawamura