Gait position error detection device

Abstract

Gear position fault detection device (1) that detects a fault of a gear position sensor (24) configured to detect a gear position of a drive force transmission device installed in a vehicle and containing a manual multi-stage gearshift mechanism, wherein the gear position fault detection device (1) comprises: a first gear position calculation unit (17d) that calculates a gear position from an output signal of the gear position sensor (24); a second gear position calculation unit (17e) that calculates an estimated gear position based on an output of a vehicle speed sensor (23) configured to detect a vehicle speed from a rotational speed of a drive wheel of the vehicle, and an output of an engine speed sensor (21) configured toto detect a rotational speed of a motor connected to the drive force transmission device; a fault assessment unit (17h) that assesses that the gear position sensor (24) has failed if the gear position calculated by the first gear position calculation unit (17d) and the estimated gear position calculated by the second gear position calculation unit (17e) do not match as a result of comparing the gear position and the estimated gear position; and a clutch state estimation unit (17g) that estimates whether a clutch mechanism (61) configured to disengage and engage the transmission of a drive force between the motor and the drive force transmission device is in a connected state, wherein the clutch state estimation unit (17g) includes a disengagement range value calculation unit (17i),which, based on the output signal of the engine speed sensor (21), calculates release range values ​​within a release range that are not less than a lower limit and not greater than an upper limit of a release range, which is a range defined by the engine speed and a valve opening degree of an intake control valve provided in the engine, and in which there is a possibility that the clutch mechanism (61) is in a disengaged state or in a half-engaged state, and if the valve opening degree, calculated based on an output from a valve opening degree sensor that detects the valve opening degree, differs from the release range, the clutch state estimation unit (17g) determines that the clutch mechanism (61) is in a engaged state, and enables the fault assessment unit (17h) to perform a fault assessment.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to a gear position error detection device, and more particularly to a gear position error detection device that detects failure of a gear position sensor configured to detect a gear position of a driving force transmission device mounted on a vehicle and including a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism.PRIOR ARTWith regard to the prior art, reference is first made to the documents WO 2016 / 175 238 A1, JP H05-96 978 A, JP 2011-21 702 A, JP 2018-123 893 A and JP 2019-19 773 A.WO 2016 / 175 238 A1 discloses a vehicle equipped with a device for detecting anomalies in a gear position sensor, with which the detection power for detecting an anomaly in the gear position sensor can be increased. The gear position sensor abnormality detection device includes a gear position estimation unit and a sensor abnormality detection unit. A gear position estimation unit estimates the gear position of a transmission from a gear ratio estimated based on an engine speed sensor signal and a vehicle speed sensor signal.JP H05-96 978 A describes a control device for an automatic transmission of an engine, which is connected to a built-in lock-up clutch for directly connecting the input shaft and the output shaft of the torque converter. The control device further comprises a deceleration operating state detection device for detecting a specific deceleration operating state of the engine, wherein a fuel supply device is configured for interrupting the supply of fuel to at least one partial cylinder of the engine during a deceleration operating state detected by the deceleration operating state detection device.JP 2011-021 702 A relates to an engine mounted on a vehicle and a clutch disposed between the engine and a transmission, which are controlled by a control unit. The control unit is configured to control the clutch when the engine is idling while the vehicle is running.JP 2018-123 893 A relates to an electronic control device capable of accurately determining a position of a gear. Specifically, in this document, the electronic control device includes the control unit configured to perform learning based on the change in the output voltage of the shift sensor and the change in the output voltage of the gear position sensor, wherein the conditions for the learning include the first condition that the output voltage value of the shift sensor is within the first predetermined width corresponding to the neutral position of the shift pedal and the output voltage value of the gear position sensor is within the second predetermined width corresponding to the predetermined shift stage of the dog gear,JP 2019-019 773 A provides a driving force control device capable of correcting an idle opening according to the atmospheric pressure and an engine speed. Specifically, it is disclosed in this document that, assuming that the driving force control device is mounted on a saddle-ridden vehicle to transmit the driving force of the engine to the driving wheel via a dog gear, in the driving force control device, the control part for controlling the throttle opening corrects and calculates an idle opening degree by controlling the motor driving circuit for driving the throttle motor to change the opening degree of the throttle valve of the engine. The idle opening degree is the throttle opening degree for generating the idle line. The idle line indicates the operating state of the engine that can disengage the pawls of the dog gears according to the atmospheric pressure of a surrounding of the saddle-riding vehicle. The control part calculates the idle opening degree corresponding to the atmospheric pressure existing between the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric pressure, based on the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric pressure different from the atmospheric pressure.In recent years, it is a common method that an operation state of an engine as an internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle such as a two-wheeled vehicle is electronically controlled based on outputs from various sensors such as an engine speed sensor that detects a rotational speed of the engine, an engine temperature sensor that detects a temperature of the engine, a valve opening degree sensor that detects a valve opening degree of an intake control valve provided in the engine, and an intake pressure sensor that detects an intake pressure in an intake pipe provided in the engine. As one of these various sensors, a gear position sensor that detects a gear position of a driving force transmission device including a multi-stage speed change mechanism between the engine and the driving wheels is increasingly used.A gear position detected by such a gear position sensor is used, for example, to control the amount of fuel to be supplied to the engine based on the gear position so that the gear position is one of important parameters for electronically controlling an operating state of the engine, and in order to determine whether this gear position sensor is operating normally, accurate detection of failure of the gear position sensor has become important for controlling the operating state of the engine.In such circumstances, Patent Literature 1 relates to a gear position judgment method for judging a gear position based on a gear ratio obtained from the engine speed and a vehicle speed at the time of deceleration, and discloses a configuration in which an average value of the amount of time change of the gear ratio is measured and a gear position is judged based on whether an absolute value of this average value is not less than a threshold value set in advance.Patent Literature 2 relates to a fuel injection control device of an internal combustion engine, and discloses a configuration including a gear position sensor, a vehicle speed pulse sensor, an engine speed sensor, a first gear position calculation unit that judges a gear position from data of the gear position sensor, a second gear position calculation unit that determines a gear position based on data of the vehicle speed pulse sensor and data of the engine speed sensor, and a gear position selection unit that determines a gear position based on a logical product of the gear position determined by the first gear position calculation unit and the gear position determined by the second gear position calculation unit.DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE PRIOR ARTPATENT DOCUMENTSPatent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H 04-171352Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-316665SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOBJECTIVE TO BE ACHIEVED BY THE INVENTIONAccording to the present inventor's studies, although in the configuration disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a gear position is judged based on a gear ratio obtained from the engine speed and the vehicle speed, when a gear position of a driving force transmission device including a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism is detected, for example, in a case where a driver disengages the clutch and descends a slope, there is a possibility that a correlation between the engine speed and the vehicle speed is broken, resulting in a situation where an accurate judgment cannot be made based on a gear ratio calculated from the engine speed and the vehicle speed. There is therefore a need for improvement here.According to the present inventor's studies, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Literature 2, a first gear position calculation unit that judges a gear position from data of a gear position sensor and a second gear position calculation unit that judges a gear position on the basis of data of a vehicle speed pulse sensor and data of an engine speed sensor are used, and this configuration is suitable not only for determining a gear position but also for detecting a failure of the gear position sensor. However, in this configuration as well, the situation described in Patent Document 1 may occur, and there is a need for improvement in the determination of the gear position and the detection of a failure of the gear position sensor.According to the present inventors' further studies, in a case where an erroneous judgment occurs in determination of a gear position and detection of an error of the gear position sensor when a driver disengages the clutch and descends a slope, it is conceivable to use an output of a clutch switch capable of detecting disengagement and engagement of the clutch. However, an output of a general clutch switch is a simple on / off signal, and a so-called half clutch state cannot be recognized, and it is assumed that the use of a clutch switch does not constitute a sufficient measure in this case.The present invention has been achieved through the above studies, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gear position error detection device that accurately detects an error of a gear position sensor configured to detect a gear position of a driving force transmission device that is mounted on a vehicle and includes a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism.MEANS FOR ACHIEVING THE OBJECTIn order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a gear position error detection device that detects an error of a gear position sensor configured to detect a gear position of a driving force transmission device mounted on a vehicle and including a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism, the gear position error detection device including: a first gear position calculation unit that calculates a gear position from an output of the gear position sensor; a second gear position calculation unit that calculates an estimated gear position based on an output of a vehicle speed sensor configured to detect a vehicle speed from a rotational speed of a driving wheel of the vehicle and an output of an engine speed sensor configured to detect a rotational speed of an engine connected to the driving force transmission device; an error judging unit that judges that the gear position sensor has failed when the gear position calculated by the first gear position calculating unit and the estimated gear position calculated by the second gear position calculating unit do not match as a result of comparison of the gear position and the estimated gear position; and a clutch state estimating unit that estimates whether a clutch mechanism configured to disengage and engage transmission of a driving force between the motor and the driving force transmitting device is in a connected state, wherein the clutch state estimating unit includes a disengagement range value calculating unit that calculates, based on the output of the engine speed sensor, disengagement range values in a disengagement range that are not less than a lower limit and not more than an upper limit of a disengagement range that is a range, which is defined by the rotational speed of the engine and a valve opening degree of an intake control valve provided in the engine and in which there is a possibility that the clutch mechanism is in a disconnected state or in a half clutch state, and when the valve opening degree calculated based on an output signal of a valve opening degree sensor detecting the valve opening degree deviates from the disengagement range, the clutch state estimating unit determines that the clutch mechanism is in a connected state and allows the failure judging unit to make a judgment of a failure.According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, the disengagement range value calculation unit calculates the disengagement range according to the rotational speed of the engine such that the disengagement range includes a non-transmission valve opening degree as the valve opening degree at which it is assumed that no driving force is transmitted from the engine to the driving force transmission means via the clutch mechanism, the disengagement range is set to a range between a first estimated threshold value and a second estimated threshold value with respect to the rotational speed of the engine, the first estimated threshold value is set to a value obtained by adding a positive predetermined value to the non-transmission valve opening degree, and the second estimated threshold value is set to a value obtained by adding a negative predetermined value to the non-transmission valve opening degree.According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the second aspect, the disengagement range value calculation unit calculates the disengagement range in accordance with the rotational speed of the engine and based on a plurality of atmospheric pressure correction reference opening degrees respectively set in advance according to a plurality of reference atmospheric pressures, the non-transmission valve opening degree being a value obtained by interpolation as a value between the plurality of atmospheric pressure correction reference opening degrees based on an atmospheric pressure detected by an in-vehicle atmospheric pressure sensor.EFFECT OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the gear position error detection device of the first aspect of the present invention, a clutch state estimation unit includes a disengagement range value calculation unit that calculates, based on an output signal of an engine speed sensor, disengagement range values in a disengagement range that is not less than a lower limit and not more than an upper limit of a disengagement range that is a range defined by an engine speed and a valve opening degree of an intake control valve provided in the engine, and that is allowed for a clutch mechanism to be in a disconnected state or in a half clutch state, wherein when the valve opening degree calculated based on an output signal of a valve opening degree sensor that detects the valve opening degree deviates from the disengagement range, the clutch state estimation unit determines, allowing the clutch mechanism to be in a connected state and a failure judging unit to make a failure judgment. Therefore, only when the clutch mechanism is in an engaged state can a judgment of failure detection of the gear position sensor be made reliably. Accordingly, erroneous judgment of the gear position sensor that detects a gear position of a driving force transmission device with a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism can be prevented.According to the gear position error detection device of the second aspect of the present invention, the disengagement range value calculation unit calculates the disengagement range according to the rotational speed of the engine such that the disengagement range includes a non-transmission valve opening degree as a valve opening degree at which it is assumed that no driving force is transmitted from the engine to the driving force transmission device via the clutch mechanism, the disengagement range is set to a range between a first estimated threshold value and a second estimated threshold value with respect to the rotational speed of the engine, the first estimated threshold value is set to a value obtained by adding a positive predetermined value to the non-transmission valve opening degree, and the second estimated threshold value is set to a value obtained by adding a negative predetermined value to the non-transmission valve opening degree. Therefore, a disengagement range for determining that the clutch mechanism is in an engaged state can be calculated so that the calculation amount is not increased.According to the gear position error detection device of the third aspect of the present invention, the disengagement range value calculation unit calculates the disengagement range according to the rotational speed of the engine and based on a plurality of atmospheric pressure correction reference opening degrees respectively set in advance according to a plurality of reference atmospheric pressures, the non-transmission valve opening degree being a value obtained by interpolation as a value between the plurality of atmospheric pressure correction reference opening degrees based on an atmospheric pressure detected by an atmospheric pressure sensor provided in a vehicle, and therefore, the accuracy of calculation of a non-transmission valve opening degree for defining the disengagement range for determining that the clutch mechanism is in a connected state can be improved. Accordingly, the accuracy of the failure detection for detecting a failure of the gear position sensor can be improved.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES[FIG. 1 ] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a gear position error detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.[FIG. 2A ] FIG. 2A is a schematic sectional view showing a driving force transmission device including a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism to which the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment is applied.[FIG. 2B ] FIG. 2B is a schematic view in which a disengagement range of a clutch mechanism to be applied to the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment is defined by the engine speed and a throttle opening degree.[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 is a time chart showing the operation of the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment.[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing, with respect to each reference atmospheric pressure, a non-transmission line in the disengagement region of a master clutch applied to the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment.EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTIONA gear position error detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail below, as appropriate, with reference to the accompanying drawings.[Configuration]First, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, a configuration of a gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment will be described.FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a schematic sectional view showing a driving force transmission device including a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism to which the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment is applied, and FIG. 2B is a schematic view in which a disengagement range of a clutch mechanism to be applied to the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment is defined by the engine speed (engine speed) and a throttle opening degree.As shown in FIG. 1, a gear position error detection device 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle such as a two-wheeled vehicle and configured by an electronic control device such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The gear position error detection device 1 includes a waveform shaping circuit 11, an A / D converter (analog-to-digital converter) 12, a waveform shaping circuit 13, an A / D converter 14, an A / D converter 15, a memory 16, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 17.The waveform shaping circuit 11 shapes a waveform of an electric signal detected by a crank angle sensor 21 and indicative of a crank angle of an engine (internal combustion engine) of the vehicle, and inputs the thus shaped electric signal to the CPU 17.The A / D converter 12 converts an electric signal detected by a throttle opening degree sensor 22 and indicative of a valve opening degree (throttle opening degree) of an intake control valve provided in the engine of the vehicle into an A / D signal, and inputs the thus converted electric signal to the CPU 17.The waveform shaping circuit 13 shapes a waveform of an electric signal detected by a drive wheel speed sensor 23 and indicative of a rotational speed of drive wheels of the vehicle (drive wheel speed), and inputs the thus shaped electric signal to the CPU 17.The A / D converter 14 converts an electric signal detected by a gear position sensor 24 and indicating a gear position of a driving force transmission device that includes a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism and is connected to the engine of the vehicle, and inputs the thus A / D converted electric signal to the CPU 17.In this case, the driving force transmission device including the manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism means a manual transmission having a clutch mechanism of a wet multi-plate friction type or the like, and is, for example, a dog gear (dog-type gear) shown in FIG. 2A.In a dog gear T illustrated in FIG. 2A, the shift pedal 31 is rotated according to a shift operation by a driver on a shift pedal 31 serving as a shift operating member, and a shift shaft 32 on a vehicle serving as a rotation shaft of the shift pedal rotates. The rotation of the shift pedal 31 accompanying a shift operation performed by the driver is transmitted to a shift arm 33 fixed with respect to the shift shaft 32 used as a rotation shaft.At an end portion of the shift arm 33, a gear portion (not shown) is provided so that the rotation of the shift pedal 31 accompanying a shift operation performed by the driver is transmitted via the gear portion of the shift arm 33 to a shift transmission 34 fixed to a drum shaft 42 serving as a rotating shaft of the shift drum 41, and at this time, the drum shaft 42, i.e., the shift drum 41, rotates. The shift position sensor 24 outputs an electric signal indicative of a rotation angle of the drum shaft 42 corresponding to a shift stage (gear position) of the dog gear T. As the gear position sensor 24, a sensor that outputs an output signal having linear characteristics may be preferably used, and a potentiometer or the like may be used as well as a Hall sensor.In this dog gear T, assuming a typical configuration in which a fixed shift gear 51 is fixed to an input shaft 56 and a free shift gear 52 and a slidable shift gear 53 are fixed to a drive shaft 57, rotation of the shift drum 41 is transmitted to shift forks 44 provided in cam grooves 43 formed in the shift drum 41 and moving along the cam grooves 43, and in response thereto, the shift forks 44 move. When the shift slidable gear 53 is moved toward the shift free gear 52 and these gears are close to each other, the dog teeth of these gears may mesh with each other.That is, when a main clutch 61 as a clutch mechanism having friction clutch plates of the multi-plate type that disengages and engages transmission of a driving force between the engine and the driving force transmission device is in a connected state in which the clutch plates are in contact with each other, and the dog teeth are in an engaged state in which the dog teeth are in contact with each other and the dog tooth of one gear (one dog tooth) presses the dog tooth (the other dog tooth) of the other gear, a torque (driving force) of a crankshaft 71 passes through the main clutch 61, the input shaft 56, the fixed shift gear 51, the free shift gear 52, the sliding shift gear 53, and the drive shaft 57 in order, and is finally transmitted to the driving wheels. When the main clutch 61 is in a coupled state and the dog teeth are in a meshing state in which the dog teeth are in contact with each other and the dog teeth of one gear slide the dog teeth of the other gear, shifting to another gear position can be facilitated by controlling the operating state of the engine, so that the shift forks 44 allow the sliding shift gear 53 to easily separate from the free shift gear 52.Besides the configuration in which the dog teeth of both gears are protruding teeth, the dog teeth may also be configured such that the dog tooth of one gear is a recessed tooth to receive the protruding tooth of the other gear, or general synchronizing members may be used instead of the dog teeth. As the main clutch 61, a wet friction multi-plate type clutch including wet friction multi-plate type clutch plates may be preferably used, but a dry clutch may be used as needed. A series of components from the shift pedal 31 to the shift forks 44 constitute a shift mechanism S corresponding to the manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism.Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the A / D converter 15 converts an electric signal indicative of an atmospheric pressure in the vicinity of the vehicle detected by the atmospheric pressure sensor 25, and inputs the thus A / D converted electric signal to the CPU 17.The memory 16 is constituted by a nonvolatile memory device and stores therein various control programs and control data such as map data for controlling the operation of the gear position failure detection device 1.The CPU 17 executes the control programs stored in the memory 16 to function as an engine speed calculating unit 17a, a throttle opening degree calculating unit 17b, a vehicle speed calculating unit 17c, a gear position calculating unit 17d, an estimated gear position calculating unit 17e, a clutch switch detecting unit 17f, a clutch state estimating unit 17g, and a failure judging unit 17h.The engine speed calculation unit 17 acalculates the engine speed (the rotational speed of the engine) of the vehicle using an electric signal input from the waveform shaping circuit 11, and the engine speed calculated in this manner is used in the estimated gear position calculation unit 17 eand the clutch state estimation unit 17 g.The throttle opening degree calculation unit 17 bcalculates a throttle opening degree of the vehicle using an electric signal input from the A / D converter 12, and the throttle opening degree calculated in this manner is used in the clutch state estimation unit 17 g.The vehicle speed calculation unit 17 ccalculates a vehicle speed of the vehicle using an electric signal input from the waveform shaping circuit 13, and the vehicle speed (drive wheel speed) calculated in this manner is used in the estimated gear position calculation unit 17 e.The gear position calculation unit 17 dcalculates a gear position of the vehicle using an electric signal input from the A / D converter 14, and the gear position calculated in this manner is used in the failure judgment unit 17 h.The estimated gear position calculation unit 17 ecalculates an estimated gear position based on the engine speed calculated by the engine speed calculation unit 17 aand the vehicle speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 17 c, typically by calculating a ratio between the engine speed and the vehicle speed and by determining which gear position the ratio corresponds by referring to the map data or the like. The estimated gear position calculated in this manner is used in the failure judgment unit 17h.The clutch switch detecting unit 17f detects an operating position of a clutch lever using an electric signal input from a clutch switch 26 which is turned on only when the clutch lever as a clutch operating member (not shown) is in an operating position typically corresponding to the full grip (an operating position in which the clutch lever is fully gripped) of the clutch lever. The operating position of the clutch lever thus detected by the clutch switch detecting unit 17f generally indicates the disengagement and connection, i.e., the disengagement and engagement (disengagement and contact between the clutch plates) of the main clutch 61 corresponding to the clutch mechanism, and therefore the clutch switch detecting unit 17f can detect the disengagement and engagement of the main clutch 61 using an electric signal input from the clutch switch 26. However, in the present embodiment, in order to take into account a half clutch state (half clutch state) in which the clutch plates of the main clutch 61 come into contact with each other while rotating relative to each other in the judgment of a failure, the clutch state estimating unit 17 gis provided separately from the clutch switch detecting unit 17 f.The clutch state estimation unit 17 gincludes a disengagement range value calculation unit 17 ithat calculates, using the engine speed calculated by the engine speed calculation unit 17 a, disengagement range values indicating a disengagement range of the main clutch 61 that corresponds to a range in which there is a possibility that the main clutch 61 is in a separated state or a half clutch state, that is, a range in which there is a possibility that a state of the main clutch 61 corresponds to a state in which the clutch plates of the main clutch 61 are completely separated and not in contact with each other, or a half clutch state in which the clutch plates of the main clutch 61 are in contact with each other while rotating relative to each other. When a throttle opening calculated by the throttle opening calculating unit 17 bdiffers from the range (disengagement range) indicated by the values of the disengagement range, the clutch state estimating unit 17 gdetermines that the master clutch 61 is in a connected state (a state in which the clutch plates are in contact with each other and do not rotate relative to each other), and allows the failure judging unit 17 hto make a judgment of a failure of the gear position sensor 24. The disengagement range value calculation unit 17 imay be provided as an external function block separately from the clutch state estimation unit 17 g.The disengagement range value calculation unit 17 icalculates, according to the engine speed, disengagement range values indicating a disengagement range in which there is a possibility that the main clutch 61 is in a disengaged state or a half clutch state, so that the disengagement range values include a non-transmission throttle opening degree that is a throttle opening degree at which the main clutch 61 is in a disengaged state so as not to transmit a driving force between the engine and the driving force transmission device, and it is assumed that no driving force is transmitted between the engine and the driving force transmission device via the main clutch 61. Specifically, from map data including a disengagement range R 3 of the main clutch 61 as illustrated in FIG. 2B and defined by an engine speed NE and a throttle opening degree TH constituting a two-axis orthogonal coordinate system, for example, on the premise that an arbitrary engine speed NE 1 is, the disengagement range value calculation unit 17 icalculates disengagement range values according to the engine speed NE 1, specifically, calculates a lower limit TH 3 and an upper limit TH 2 of the disengagement range (TH 3≤throttle opening degree TH≤TH 2). As for this non-transmission throttle opening degree TH 1, an idle throttle opening degree corresponding to an engine operation state in which a driving force of the engine coincides with its resistance (mechanical friction force and viscoelastic force of the lubricant) and is not transmitted between the engine and the driving wheels is regarded as corresponding to the non-transmission throttle opening degree TH 1, and the idle throttle opening degree is set to the non-transmission throttle opening degree TH 1. This is because the idle throttle opening degree is set to the non-transmission throttle opening degree TH from the viewpoint that, when a shift operation is performed in conjunction with a clutch operation by a driver, the throttle opening degree is highly likely to be a value in a range of the idle throttle opening degree and the throttle opening degrees that are higher or lower than and close to the idle throttle opening degree. In other words, in a range deviating from the range of the idle throttle opening degree and the throttle opening degrees that are higher or lower than the idle throttle opening degree and are close to the idle throttle opening degree, there is no possibility that a shift accompanied by clutch operation is not performed by a driver.Here, in the map data shown in FIG. 2B, a line L 1 is a non-transmission line indicating a line connecting values of a plurality of non-transmission throttle opening degrees provided according to the engine speed NE, a line L 2 is an upper limit line of the half clutch state indicating a line connecting a plurality of values obtained by adding a positive predetermined value ΔTH 1 to the non-transmission throttle opening degrees, and a line L 3 is a lower limit line of the half clutch state indicating a line connecting a plurality of values obtained by adding a negative predetermined value ΔTH 2 to the non-transmission throttle opening degrees. A region R 1 illustrated in FIG. 2B is continuously arranged to the region R 3 on the side having a larger value of the throttle opening degree TH than the region R 3, and indicates a positive torque zone in which the engine drives the driving wheels, and a region R 2 is continuously arranged to the region R 3 on the side having a smaller value of the throttle opening degree TH than the region R 3, and indicates a negative torque zone in which the engine is driven by the driving wheels. Note that the range R 2 is not set in a range in which the engine speed NE is not greater than the average speed because the range R 2 does not occur in this range. The disengagement range R 3, which is a range in which there is a possibility that the main clutch 61 is in a disengaged state so as not to transmit driving force between the engine and the driving force transmission device, or in a half clutch state, is set as a range including the non-transmission line L 1 and interposed between the upper limit line L 2 of the half clutch state and the lower limit line L 3 of the half clutch state. The non-transmission line L1 indicates a linear characteristic which increases as the engine speed NE increases, and is set as a line having an inflection point at which the inclination of the line increases when the engine speed NE is the low or medium speed. The positive predetermined value ΔTH 1 and the negative predetermined value ΔTH 2 are respectively regarded as ranges of throttle opening degrees near the non-transmission throttle opening degree, i.e., ranges of throttle opening degrees in the half clutch state, and are values set according to specifications or the like of the vehicle, and are typically predetermined fixed values, and need only be set equal to each other in magnitude. Such map data corresponds to a general driving pattern in which stopping, accelerating, decelerating, and coasting are combined.The failure judgment unit 17 hcompares a gear position calculated by the gear position calculation unit with an estimated gear position calculated by the estimated gear position calculation unit 17 e, and when the gear position and the estimated gear position do not match, it is determined that the gear position sensor 24 has failed.[Operations]Next, the operation of the gear position error detection device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3.FIG. 3 is a time chart showing the operation of the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment.In the gear position error detection device 1 according to the present embodiment, while an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on, the disengagement range value calculation unit 17 icalculates disengagement range values indicating a disengagement range of the main clutch 61 corresponding to the engine speed NE in each predetermined control period. The clutch state estimation unit 17 gthen determines that the main clutch 61 is in a connected state (a state in which the clutch plates are in contact with each other and do not rotate relative to each other) when the throttle opening degree TH deviates from the range (disengagement range) of the disengagement range values. In this case, the clutch state estimation unit 17 gallows the failure judgment unit 17 hto make judgment of failure of the gear position sensor 24 as shown in the period before time t=t 1, the period after time t=t 7 and before time t=t 8, and the period after time t=t 9, as shown in FIG. 3.Here, in the example illustrated in FIG. 3, in the period before time t=t 1, the throttle opening degree TH calculated by the throttle opening degree calculation unit 17 bshown in FIG. 3( b) is smaller than the non-transmission throttle opening degree on the non-transmission line L 1 shown in FIG. 3( a) by a smaller value than the magnitude of the negative predetermined value ΔTH 2, so that the driving relationship between the engine and the driving wheels falls within the negative torque zone R 2 in which the engine is driven by the driving wheels as shown in FIG. 2B, wherein a value of a negative torque zone flag FN shown in FIG. 3(f) is 1 in response thereto (in other periods, the value of the positive torque zone flag FP is 0). In the period after time t=t 6, the throttle opening TH calculated by the throttle opening calculation unit 17 bshown in FIG. 3( b) is larger than the positive predetermined value ΔTH 1 by a larger value than the non-transmission throttle opening on the non-transmission line L 1, the non-transmission throttle opening on the non-transmission line L 1 shown in FIG. 3( a) is shown in FIG. 3( a), so that the driving relationship between the engine and the driving wheels is within the positive torque range R 1 in which the engine drives the driving wheels as shown in FIG. 2B, wherein, in response thereto, the value of the positive torque zone flag FP shown in FIG. 3(e) is 1 (in other periods, the value of the positive torque zone flag FP is 0). On the other hand, in the period from time t=t 1 to time t=t 6, the throttle opening TH calculated by the throttle opening calculation unit 17 bshown in FIG. 3( b) is matched with the non-transmission throttle opening on the non-transmission line L 1 shown in FIG. 3( a), or falls within the range between an upper limit obtained by adding the positive predetermined value ΔTH 1 to the non-transmission throttle opening and a lower limit obtained by adding the negative predetermined value ΔTH 2 to the non-transmission throttle opening, so that the driving relationship between the engine and the driving wheels is in the disengagement range R 3 in which there is a possibility, In addition, the transmission of a driving force between the engine and the driving wheels is in a clutch-off state or in a half clutch state, as illustrated in FIG. 2B. A temporal change of the engine speed NE is shown in FIG. 3(c), and a temporal change of the drive wheel speed VSP is shown in FIG. 3(d).In the period before time t=t 1 and the period after time t=t 4, a clutch switch signal CS detected by the clutch switch detection unit 17 fshown in FIG. 3( g) is an off signal (e.g., the output voltage is zero), indicating that the clutch lever has been released. On the other hand, the clutch switch signal CS detected by the clutch switch detection unit 17 fis an on signal (e.g., the output voltage is a positive predetermined value) in the period from t=t 3 to t=t 5, indicating that the clutch lever has been substantially fully engaged. Here, it is determined that the main clutch 61 is in a state in which the clutch plates are completely separated from each other and no driving force is transmitted between the engine and the driving force transmission device in the period from time t=t 3 to time t=t 5; however, in other periods, it is not possible to know whether the main clutch 61 is in a half clutch state or in a connected state (the clutch plates are in contact with and do not rotate relative to each other). Here, a gear position signal GS of the gear position sensor 24 shown in FIG. 3( h) indicates that the gear position has shifted at time t=t 8, and in the period before time t=t 8, the gear position calculated by the gear position calculation unit 17 dindicates the second speed, and in the period after time t=t 8, the gear position calculated by the gear position calculation unit 17 dindicates the third speed.As for the estimated gear position (currently estimated gear position value) calculated by the estimated gear position calculation unit 17 e, a ratio of the engine speed calculated by the engine speed calculation unit 17 aand a vehicle speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 17 cis within a predetermined range of the second gear gear position (normal range of the second gear), the second gear position (normal range of the second gear) shown in FIG. 3( i) in the period before a time t=t 2, and the period from the time t=t 6 to the time t=t 8, respectively, and a ratio of the engine speed calculated by the engine speed calculation unit 17 aand a vehicle speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 17 cfalls within the predetermined range of the third speed position (third speed normal range) shown in FIG. 3( i) in the period from the time t=t 3 to the time t=t 5 and the period after the time t=t 8. On the other hand, in the period from time t=t 2 to time t=t 3 and in the period from time t=t 5 to time t=t 6, a ratio of the engine speed calculated by the engine speed calculation unit 17 aand a vehicle speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 17 cis outside the predetermined range of the second speed position (second speed normal range) and outside the predetermined range of the third speed position (third speed normal range), and the ratio is different from these ranges and is in transition from one of these ranges to the other range. In response thereto, in the period before the time t=t 2, the period from the time t=t 3 to the time t=t 5, and the period after the time t=t 6, a value of a gear normal range judgment flag FD shown in FIG. 3( k) is 1 (in other periods, the value of the gear normal range judgment flag FD is 0).Here, a gear position stability timer TM shown as a subtraction timer in FIG. 3(I) starts counting when a ratio between the engine speed calculated by the engine speed calculation unit 17 aand a vehicle speed calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 17 cis inside or outside the predetermined range of the second speed gear position (second speed normal range) or the predetermined range of the third speed gear position (third speed normal range) shown in FIG. 3(i) (in the figure, a case of decrementing the subtraction timer is exemplarily shown), and the time has elapsed (the remaining count is zero) at time t=t4, time t=t7, and time t=t9, and the time counted by the gear position stability timer TM has also elapsed (the remaining count is zero) in the period before the time t=t 2. In response, a stable estimated gear position value ES shown in FIG. 3(m) switches from the second speed position to the third speed position at time t=t4, from the third speed position to the second speed position at time t=t7, and from the second speed position to the third speed position at time t=t9. In the period before time t=t 2, the period from time t=t 4 to time t=t 5, the period from time t=t 7 to time t=t 8, and the period after time t=t 9, a value of an estimated gear position updateability flag FE shown in FIG. 3( n) is 1 (in other periods, the value of the estimated gear position updateability flag FE is 0).Taking into account the degree of stability of the gear position signal GS (the consistency of an output voltage) in addition to the value of the estimated gear position updateability flag FE shown in FIG. 3( n), a value of a gear position end determination permission updateability flag FA shown in FIG. 3( o) is 1 in the period before the time t=t 1, in the period from the time t=t 7 to the time t=t 8, and in the period after the time t=t 9 (in other periods, the value of the gear position end determination permission updateability flag FA is 0). That is, in the period before time t=t 1, the period from time t=t 7 to time t=t 8, and the period after time t=t 9, the failure judgment unit 17 his allowed to make a judgment of a failure of the gear position sensor 24, in which periods the failure judgment unit 17 hcompares a gear position calculated by the gear position calculation unit 17 dand an estimated gear position calculated by the gear position estimation unit 17 e, and when the gear position and the estimated gear position do not coincide, judges that the gear position sensor 24 has failed.As is apparent from the above descriptions, the clutch state estimation unit 17 gin the gear position error detection device 1 according to the present embodiment includes the disengagement range value calculation unit 17 iconfigured to calculate, on the basis of an output signal of the crank angle sensor 21, disengagement range values in a disengagement range that is not less than a lower limit and not more than an upper limit of a disengagement range that is a range defined by a rotational speed of the engine and a valve opening degree of an intake control valve provided in the engine and is a range in which there is a possibility that the main clutch 61 is in a separated state or a half clutch state, when a throttle opening degree is determined, which is calculated by the clutch state estimating unit 17g on the basis of an output of the throttle opening degree sensor 22 deviating from the disengagement range, the clutch state estimating unit 17g determines that the master clutch 61 is in a coupled state, and allows the failure judging unit 17h to make a failure judgment so that judgment of failure detection of the gear position sensor 24 can be made reliably only when the master clutch 61 is in a coupled state. Accordingly, erroneous judgment of the gear position sensor 24 can be prevented.In the gear position error detection device 1 according to the present embodiment, the disengagement range value calculation unit 17 icalculates a disengagement range corresponding to the engine speed so that the range includes the non-transmission throttle opening degree. The disengagement range is set to a range between the upper limit value TH 2 and the lower limit value TH 3 with respect to an arbitrary engine speed NE 1, the upper limit value TH 2 is set to a value obtained by adding the positive predetermined value ΔTH 1 to the non-transmission throttle opening degree TH 1, and the lower limit value TH 3 is set to a value obtained by adding the negative predetermined value ΔTH 2 to the non-transmission throttle opening degree TH 1. Therefore, a disengagement range for determining that the main clutch 61 is in an engaged state can be calculated so that the calculation amount is not increased.[Modification]FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing, with respect to each reference atmospheric pressure, a non-transmission line in the disengagement region of the main clutch 61 applied to the gear position error detection device according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, a line L 4 shows a non-transmission line at a reference atmospheric pressure A corresponding to an atmospheric pressure in a highland, and a line L 5 shows a non-transmission line at a reference atmospheric pressure B corresponding to an atmospheric pressure in a lowland that is higher than the reference atmospheric pressure A.In the present modification, the disengagement range value calculation unit 17 icalculates a range of disengagement range values according to the engine speed and based on a plurality of reference atmospheric pressure correction opening degrees (in the example shown in FIG. 4, the throttle opening degrees TH=THH and THL) set in advance according to each of the plurality of reference atmospheric pressures. In this case, the non-transmission throttle opening degree is a value calculated by interpolation as a value between the plurality of reference atmospheric pressure correction openings shown in FIG. 4 based on an atmospheric pressure detected by the atmospheric pressure sensor 25. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 4, when the engine speed is NE1 and the atmospheric pressure detected by the atmospheric pressure sensor 25 is an atmospheric pressure C, a value of the non-transmission throttle opening degree at the atmospheric pressure C is obtained as a calculated value calculated by a mathematical formula of (THH - THL)*(B - C) / (B - A) + THL.As is apparent from the above descriptions, in the gear position error detection device 1 according to the present modification, the accuracy of calculating the non-transmission throttle opening degree for defining the disengagement region for determining that the main clutch 61 is in an engaged state can be improved, and the accuracy of detecting an error of the gear position sensor 24 can be improved.In the present invention, the types, shapes, arrangements, and numbers of the constituent elements are not limited to those described in the above embodiment, and needless to say, changes may be made appropriately without departing from the scope of the invention, such as replacing these constituent elements with other elements having equivalent operational effects.INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITYAs described above, the present invention can provide a gear position error detection device that accurately detects failure of a gear position sensor configured to detect a gear position of a driving force transmission device mounted on a vehicle and including a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism. Moreover, due to their general purposes and universal characteristics, applications of the present invention can be expected over a wide range in a vehicle.List of reference characters1 Gear position error detecting device 11 Waveform shaping circuit 12 A / D converter (analog-to-digital converter) 13 Waveform shaping circuit 14 A / D converter 15 A / D converter 16 Memory 17 CPU (central processing unit) 17 a Motordrehzahl engine speed calculating unit 17 bThrottle opening degree calculating unit 17 cVehicular speed calculating unit 17 dGear position calculating unit 17 e Geschätzte gear position calculating unit 17 f Kupplungs switch detecting unit 17 g Kupplungs state estimating unit 17 hError judging unit 17 i Range value calculating unit 17 i 21 Crank angle sensor 22Throttle opening degree sensor 23 Drive wheel speed sensor 24 Gear position sensor 25 Atmospheric pressure sensor 26 Clutch switch 31 Shift pedal 32 shift shaft 33 shift arm 34 shift transmission 41 shift drum 42 drum shaft 43 cam groove 44 shift fork 51 fixed shift gear 52 free shift gear 53 slidable shift gear 56 input shaft 57 drive shaft 61 main clutch 71 crankshaft S shift mechanism T dog gear

Claims

A gear position error detection device (1) detecting an error of a gear position sensor (24) configured to detect a gear position of a driving force transmission device mounted on a vehicle and including a manual multi-stage gear shift mechanism, the gear position error detection device (1) comprising: a first gear position calculation unit (17d) calculating a gear position from an output signal of the gear position sensor (24); a second gear position calculation unit (17e) calculating an estimated gear position based on an output of a vehicle speed sensor (23) configured to detect a vehicle speed from a rotational speed of a driving wheel of the vehicle and an output of an engine speed sensor (21) configured to detect a rotational speed of an engine connected to the driving force transmission device; a failure judgment unit (17h) that judges that the gear position sensor (24) has failed when the gear position calculated by the first gear position calculation unit (17d) and the estimated gear position calculated by the second gear position calculation unit (17e) do not match each other as a result of the comparison of the gear position and the estimated gear position; and a clutch state estimation unit (17g) that estimates whether a clutch mechanism (61) configured to disengage and engage transmission of a driving force between the motor and the driving force transmission device is in a connected state, wherein the clutch state estimation unit (17g) includes a disengagement range value calculation unit (17i), calculating, based on the output signal of the engine speed sensor (21), disengagement range values in a disengagement range that are not less than a lower limit and not more than an upper limit of a disengagement range that is a range defined by the speed of the engine and a valve opening degree of an intake control valve provided in the engine and in which there is a possibility that the clutch mechanism (61) is in a disengaged state or in a half clutch state, and when the valve opening degree calculated based on an output of a valve opening degree sensor that detects the valve opening degree deviates from the disengagement range, the clutch state estimating unit (17g) determines that the clutch mechanism (61) is in a connected state, and enables the failure judging unit (17h), Make a fault judgement.The gear position error detection device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the disengagement range value calculation unit (17i) calculates the disengagement range according to the rotational speed of the engine such that the disengagement range includes a non-transmission valve opening degree as the valve opening degree at which it is assumed that no driving force is transmitted from the engine to the driving force transmission device via the clutch mechanism (61), and the disengagement range is set to a range between a first estimated threshold value and a second estimated threshold value with respect to the engine rotational speed, the first estimated threshold value is set to a value obtained by adding a positive predetermined value to the non-transmission valve opening degree, and the second estimated threshold value is set to a value obtained by adding a negative predetermined value to the non-transmission valve opening degree.The gear position error detection device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the disengagement range value calculation unit (17i) calculates the disengagement range according to the rotational speed of the engine and based on a plurality of atmospheric pressure correction reference opening degrees respectively set in advance according to a plurality of reference atmospheric pressures, and the non-transmission valve opening degree is a value obtained by interpolation as a value between the plurality of atmospheric pressure correction reference opening degrees based on an atmospheric pressure detected by an atmospheric pressure sensor (25) provided in the vehicle.

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