vehicle

Abstract

A vehicle (1) comprising: a drive unit (P) having a plurality of cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4); Throttle valves (51) provided for the respective cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4); and an exhaust (30) which directs exhaust gas from the drive unit (P) to the outside, characterized in that the exhaust (30) comprises exhaust pipes (31) provided for the respective cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4), as well as manifolds (32) which join the exhaust pipes (31) at least once upstream of a silencer (34), the throttle valves (51) comprise a first group (G1) driven synchronously by a first actuator (A1) and a second group (G2) driven synchronously by a second actuator (A2), and an outlet valve (41) is provided which optionally changes a flow path area of ​​one of the manifolds (32), either on the manifold (32) of the first group (G1) or on the manifold (32) of the second group (G2).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the InventionThe present invention relates to a vehicle and, more particularly, to a vehicle having an exhaust which is adapted to exhaust the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine propulsion unit to the outside.Prior ArtIn a conventionally known configuration of a vehicle having an exhaust configured to exhaust exhaust gases from an engine-equipped drive unit to the outside, an exhaust valve that optionally changes the flow path area of an exhaust pipe is provided at an exhaust pipe that guides the exhaust gases to a muffler.Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-138828 discloses an exhaust attached to a power unit including a four-cylinder internal combustion engine, the exhaust having a configuration in which a manifold that merges four exhaust pipes is equipped with an exhaust valve that optionally changes the flow path area of the manifold to control the performance of the power unit.Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2002-138828SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONHowever, in the configuration of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-138828, since the exhaust valve is provided on the manifold that joins the four exhaust pipes, the movement of a single exhaust valve affects the vehicle behavior, so there is still room for innovations to perform control corresponding to finer changes in circumstances.The present invention aims to solve the above-described problem of the conventional technologies and to provide a vehicle capable of performing, through structural innovations on an exhaust valve provided in an exhaust, control of the performance in response to finer changes in circumstances.To achieve this object, a first feature of the present invention is that a vehicle (1) comprises: a power unit (P) having a plurality of cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4); throttle valves (51) provided for the respective cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4); and an exhaust pipe (30) that discharges exhaust gas from the drive unit (P) to the outside, the exhaust pipe (30) including exhaust pipes (31) provided for the respective cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4), and collecting pipes (32) that converge the exhaust pipes (31) at least once upstream of a muffler (34), wherein the throttle valves (51) include a first group (G1) synchronously driven by a first actuator (A1) and a second group (G2) synchronously driven by a second actuator (A2), and wherein an exhaust valve (41) that optionally changes a flow path area of one of the collecting pipes (32) is provided on either the collecting pipe (32) of the first group (G1) or the collecting pipe (32) of the second group (G2).A second feature of the present invention is that the vehicle (1) further includes: a controller (60) configured to drive and control the first actuator (A 1), the second actuator (A 2), the exhaust valve (41), and a fuel injection device (71); and a deceleration detection circuit (61) configured to detect when the vehicle (1) decelerates, wherein when the deceleration detection circuit (61) detects that the vehicle (1) decelerates, the controller (60) interrupts fuel injection by the fuel injection device (71), opens the throttle valves (51) of either the first group (G 1) or the second group (G 2) on which the exhaust valve (41) is provided, and closes the exhaust valve (41).A third feature of the present invention is that the exhaust valve (41) is provided on the manifold (32) of the second group (G2), the controller (60) includes a turn detection circuit (62) configured to detect when the vehicle (1) is turning, and when the turn detection circuit (62) detects that the vehicle (1) is turning, the controller (60) performs fuel injection into the cylinders (#1, #2) corresponding to the first group (G1) to enable idle operation.A fourth feature of the present invention is that, when accelerating the vehicle (1) after ending the turn, the controller (60) sets the opening degrees of the throttle valves (51) of the first group (G1) to be larger than the opening degrees of the throttle valves (51) of the second group (G2).A fifth feature of the present invention is that the vehicle ( 1) further includes an inclination sensor ( 69) configured to detect a roll angle (θ) of the vehicle ( 1), and the controller ( 60) changes an opening degree of the exhaust valve ( 41) according to the roll angle (θ).A sixth feature of the present invention is that the throttle valves (51) of the first group (G1) are opened when the wheel speed of a rear wheel (WR) of the vehicle (1) significantly decreases as compared with the wheel speed of a front wheel (WF) while the exhaust valve (41) is closed.According to the first feature, the vehicle (1) comprises: a power unit (P) having a plurality of cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4); throttle valves (51) provided for the respective cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4); and an exhaust pipe (30) that discharges exhaust gas from the power unit (P) to the outside, the exhaust pipe (30) including exhaust pipes (31) provided for the respective cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4), and the exhaust pipes (31) including manifolds (32) merging at least once upstream of a muffler (34), the throttle valves (51) including a first group (G1) synchronously driven by a first actuator (A1) and a second group (G2) synchronously driven by a second actuator (A2), and an exhaust valve (41) optionally changing a flow path area of one of the manifolds (32), which is provided on either the manifold (32) of the first group (G1) or the manifold (32) of the second group (G2), whereby it is possible to divide the plurality of cylinders of the internal combustion engine into the first group and the second group to execute output control with different characteristics, and also possible to execute engine brake control on only one of either the first group or the second group using the exhaust valve. Accordingly, for example, it is possible to control the output characteristic depending on finer changes in circumstances than a configuration in which a plurality of throttle valves are controlled with a single actuator and an exhaust valve is provided on the most downstream manifold of the exhaust pipes.According to the second feature, the vehicle ( 1) further includes: a controller ( 60) configured to drive and control the first actuator (A 1), the second actuator (A 2), the exhaust valve ( 41), and a fuel injection device ( 71); A deceleration detection circuit (61) configured to detect that the vehicle (1) decelerates, wherein when the deceleration detection circuit (61) detects that the vehicle (1) decelerates, the controller (60) interrupts fuel injection by the fuel injection device (71), opens the throttle valves (51) of either the first group (G1) or the second group (G2) on which the exhaust valve (41) is provided, and closes the exhaust valve (41), whereby it is possible to improve engine braking by generating suction loss in the cylinders of either the first group or the second group while the vehicle decelerates.According to the third feature, the exhaust valve (41) is provided on the manifold (32) of the second group (G2), wherein the controller (60) includes a turn detection circuit (62) configured to detect when the vehicle (1) is turning, wherein when the turn detection circuit (62) detects that the vehicle (1) is turning, the controller (60) to enable an idle operation performs fuel injection into the cylinders (#1, #2) of the first group (G1), thereby being able to enable an idle operation of the cylinders of the first group while the vehicle is turning, and to perform smooth acceleration when the throttle valve is opened after the end of the turning.According to the fourth feature, when the vehicle (1) accelerates after completion of the turning, the controller (60) sets the opening degrees of the throttle valves (51) of the first group (G 1) to be larger than the opening degrees of the throttle valves (51) of the second group (G 2), thereby making it possible to set the opening degrees of the throttle valves of the first group to be larger than those of the second group during the acceleration after completion of the turning, thereby generating a strong engine brake during the turning, thereby promptly increasing the output of the drive unit and performing smooth acceleration.According to the fifth feature, the vehicle (1) further includes an inclination sensor (69) configured to detect a roll angle (θ) of the vehicle (1), and the controller (60) changes the opening degree of the exhaust valve (41) according to the roll angle (θ) so that, for example, when the roll angle of the vehicle is larger than a predetermined value, it is possible to perform engine brake control according to the running conditions by reducing engine brake as compared with a small roll angle of the vehicle.According to the sixth feature, the throttle valves (51) of the first group (G1) are opened when the wheel speed of a rear wheel (WR) of the vehicle (1) significantly decreases as compared with the wheel speed of a front wheel (WF) while the exhaust valve (41) is closed, whereby it is possible to stabilize the ground contact load of the rear wheel when the rear wheel slips due to the engine braking during the throttle closed deceleration by generating a driving force.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a right side view of a two-wheel automated vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exhaust pipe; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the exhaust and its peripheral configuration; FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a controller and its peripheral configuration; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the travel trajectory L when the automated two-wheel vehicle is turning; FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example control aspect of throttle valves during turning; and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a roll angle θ when an automated two-wheel vehicle 1 is turning.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONA preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a right side view of a two-wheel automated vehicle 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The automated two-wheel vehicle 1 is a saddle-type vehicle that travels by transmitting the driving force of a drive unit P, in which a parallel four-cylinder internal combustion engine and a transmission are integrated, to a rear wheel WR via a drive chain 18.A head pipe F1 rotatably and pivotally supporting a not-shown handle body is provided at front end portions of a pair of right and left main frames F2 constituting a vehicle body frame F. At upper and lower end portions of the front arm supporting a pair of right and left front forks 2, respectively, there are fixed an upper bridge 8 and a lower bridge 5.At the lower end portions of the front forks 2, a front wheel WF is rotatably and swingably supported. A front fender 3 covering an upper part of the front wheel WF is fixed to the front forks 2. To an upper part of the upper bridge 8 is attached a handle 10 carrying a pair of right and left rearview mirrors 9. On the front side of the head pipe F 1, a headlamp 4 and a gauge 7 are disposed.Above the main frames F2, a fuel tank 11 is disposed. A pivot frame F3 carrying a pivot pin 22 pivotally supporting a pivot arm 17 is connected to rear end portions of the main frames F2 extending rearward and downward from the head pipe F1. Mounted at the lower positions of the pivot frame F3 are step holders 20 which support step rods 19 on which a rider can support his feet. The power unit P to which an exhaust 30 is attached is suspended from the lower side of the main frames F2 and the front side of the swivel frame F3.The swing arm 17 on which the rear wheel WR is rotatably and swingably supported is suspended from the main frame F2 via a rear cushion 24 in its front position. To rear end parts of the main frames F 2, a rear frame F 4 supporting a seat 12 on which the driver sits and a rear hood 13 in which a tail lamp device 15 is embedded are connected. Below the tail lamp device 15, a rear fender 16 covering an upper part of the rear wheel WR is disposed. The exhaust pipe 30 includes an exhaust pipe 31 connected to an exhaust port of the internal combustion engine and a muffler 34 that suppresses and discharges the exhaust gases to the outside. Inside the back door 13, a controller 60 configured to drive and control a fuel injection nozzle, an ignition device, and the like of the internal combustion engine is disposed.FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exhaust 30, and FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the exhaust 30 and its peripheral configuration. The exhaust pipe 30 mounted on the parallel four-cylinder internal combustion engine includes four exhaust pipes 31, two collecting pipes 32 each formed by merging two exhaust pipes 31, a second collecting pipe 33 formed by merging the two collecting pipes 32, and the muffler 34. Upstream of the intake ports 45, a throttle body 50 having four throttle valves 51 corresponding to the respective cylinders is connected.In the present embodiment, a first rotary shaft S 1 coupling the throttle valves 51 of the first cylinder #1 and the second cylinder #2 and a second rotary shaft S 2 coupling the throttle valves 51 of the third cylinder #3 and the fourth cylinder #4 are independently driven by separate actuators. On the manifold 32 of the third cylinder #3 and the fourth cylinder #4, an exhaust valve 41 is provided, which optionally changes the flow path area of one of the manifolds 32. A rotary shaft 42 supporting the exhaust valve 41 is driven by an exhaust valve actuator.In the present embodiment, the exhaust pipe 30 includes: the exhaust pipes 31 provided for the respective cylinders; and the manifolds 32 merging the exhaust pipes 31 at least once upstream of the muffler 34, the throttle valves 51 include a first group G 1 synchronously driven by a first actuator A 1 and a second group G 2 synchronously driven by a second actuator A 2, an exhaust valve 41 optionally changing the flow path area of one of the manifolds 32 being provided on the manifold 32 of the second group G 2, whereby it is possible to divide a plurality of cylinders of an internal combustion engine into the first group G 1 and the second group G 2 to perform power control with different characteristics, and also possible to perform engine brake control using the exhaust valve 41 only for the second group G 2. Accordingly, for example, it is possible to perform performance control according to finer changes in circumstances, as compared with a configuration in which a plurality of throttle valves are controlled with a single actuator and an exhaust valve is provided on a downstream manifold of the exhaust pipes.FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the controller 60 and its peripheral configuration. Input to the controller 60 are output signals of an acceleration sensor 67 configured to detect acceleration of the two-wheel automated vehicle 1, a throttle valve opening degree sensor 68, an inclination sensor 69 configured to detect a roll angle θ of the two-wheel automated vehicle 1, and a brake sensor 70 configured to detect operation of a brake device of the two-wheel automated vehicle 1.The controller 60 includes a deceleration detection circuit 61 configured to detect deceleration of the two-wheel automated vehicle 1 based on the output signals of the acceleration sensor 67 and the brake sensor 70, a turn detection circuit 62 configured to detect a turn of the two-wheel automated vehicle 1 based on the output signals of the acceleration sensor 67 and the inclination sensor 69, an exhaust valve controller 63 configured to drive and control the exhaust valve 41, an ignition controller 64 configured to drive and control the ignition devices 72 corresponding to the respective cylinders, a fuel injection controller 65 configured to drive and control the fuel injectors 71 mounted on the throttle body 50, and an actuator controller 66 configured to control the deceleration of the two-wheel automated vehicle 1, driving and controlling the first actuator A 1 coupled to the first rotation shaft S 1 of the throttle valves 51 and the second actuator A 2 coupled to the second rotation shaft S 2 of the throttle valves 51.FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the travel trajectory L when the automated two-wheel vehicle 1 is traveling in a turning manner. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary control aspect during turning driving.In traveling along a curve R, during turning, the two-wheel automated vehicle 1 generally follows the following steps: (1) decelerating before the curve by using both the brake device and the engine brake (fuel cut), (2) gradually increasing the roll angle (inclination angle) of the vehicle body while reducing the braking (throttle valves are opened at #3 and #4), (3) starting preparations for the acceleration after the curve from full inclination before the clipping point (exhaust valves are closed at #3 and #4), and (4) opening the throttle valve and accelerating toward the curve output (exhaust valves are opened at #3 and #4).When the deceleration detection circuit 61 detects that the automated two-wheel vehicle 1 decelerates during turning, the controller 60 interrupts fuel injection by the fuel injectors 71, opens the throttle valves 51 of the second group G 2, and closes the exhaust valve 41.When it is detected that the automated two-wheel vehicle 1 is turning, the controller 60, to enable an idle operation, performs fuel injection in the cylinders #1 and #2 of the first group G1. Accordingly, by enabling the idling operation of the cylinders of the first group G 1 while the automated two-wheel drive vehicle 1 is turning, it is possible to perform smooth acceleration when the throttle valve is opened after the end of the turning operation.When the automated two-wheel vehicle 1 accelerates after ending the turn, the controller 60 sets the opening degrees of the throttle valves 51 of the first group G 1 to be larger than the opening degrees of the throttle valves 51 of the second group G 2. Accordingly, the opening degrees of the throttle valves of the first group G1 during acceleration after the completion of the turning are set to be larger than that of the second group G2, resulting in a strong engine brake during the turning, and the output of the drive unit P is immediately increased, thereby performing smooth acceleration. Moreover, the controller 60 performs control to open the throttle valves 51 of the first group G 1 when the wheel speed of the rear wheel WR of the automated two-wheel vehicle 1 decreases significantly compared to the wheel speed of the front wheel WF while the exhaust valve 41 is closed during deceleration. Accordingly, by generating a driving force, it is possible to stabilize the ground contact load of the rear wheel WR when the rear wheel WR slips due to the engine brake during the throttle closed deceleration.FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the roll angle θ when the automated two-wheel vehicle 1 is turning. As described above, in order to improve engine braking by closing the exhaust valve 41 during deceleration, the controller 60 performs control of slightly decreasing engine braking at a large roll angle θ of the two-wheel drive automated vehicle 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the opening degree of the exhaust valve 41 is changed according to the roll angle θ, whereby it is possible to set an engine brake gain when the roll angle θ is equal to or less than a predetermined value θ 1, decrease the engine brake gain degree when the roll angle θ is equal to or less than θ 2 beyond the predetermined value θ 1, and not execute engine brake gain control when the roll angle θ exceeds the predetermined value θ 2. Accordingly, it is possible to perform the engine brake control according to the running conditions.For example, the shape of the two-wheel automated vehicle, the shape and number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, the shape and structure of the exhaust, the shape and structure of the exhaust valve, the shapes and structures of the throttle body and the throttle valves, the control aspect of the throttle valves and the exhaust valve during traveling, and the aspect of fuel injection during traveling are not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be changed in various ways. For example, a sensor sensing the attitude of the vehicle body may be a six-axis sensor configured to sense pitch, roll, and yaw angle velocities and accelerations. Moreover, the number of cylinders of the internal combustion engine may be any number, such as two, three, five, or six. In two cylinders, the exhaust valve may be mounted to one of the two exhaust pipes. An intake and exhaust system according to the present invention is not limited to an automated two-wheeled vehicle, but is also applicable to various types of vehicles driven by an engine-equipped drive unit, such as three-wheeled vehicles and four-wheeled vehicles.LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS1... Automated two-wheel vehicle (vehicle), 30... Exhaust, 31... Exhaust pipe, 32... Collecting pipe, 34... Silencer, 41... Exhaust valve, 51... Throttle valve, 60... Control, 61... Delay Detection Circuit, 62... Turn Detection Circuit, 69... Inclination sensor, 71... Fuel Injector, P... Driving unit #1... first cylinder, #2... second cylinder, #3... third cylinder, #4... fourth cylinder, A1... first actuator, A2... second actuator, G1... first group, G2... second group, θ... Roll angleReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedJP 2002-138828 [0003, 0004, 0005]

Claims

A vehicle (1) comprising: a power unit (P) having a plurality of cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4); throttle valves (51) provided for the respective cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4); and an exhaust pipe (30) that discharges exhaust gas from the power unit (P) to the outside, characterized in that the exhaust pipe (30) includes exhaust pipes (31) provided for the respective cylinders (#1, #2, #3, #4), and collecting pipes (32) that converge the exhaust pipes (31) at least once upstream of a muffler (34), the throttle valves (51) include a first group (G1) synchronously driven by a first actuator (A1) and a second group (G2) synchronously driven by a second actuator (A2), and an exhaust valve (41) that optionally changes a flow path area of one of the collecting pipes (32), either at the collecting pipe (32) of the first group (G1) or at the collecting pipe (32) of the second group (G2).The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: a controller (60) configured to drive and control the first actuator (A1), the second actuator (A2), the exhaust valve (41), and a fuel injection device (71); and a deceleration detection circuit (61) configured to detect when the vehicle (1) is decelerated, wherein when the deceleration detection circuit (61) detects that the vehicle (1) is decelerated, the controller (60) interrupts the fuel injection by the fuel injection device (71), opens the throttle valves (51) of either the first group (G1) or the second group (G2) on which the exhaust valve (41) is provided, and closes the exhaust valve (41).The vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the exhaust valve (41) is provided on the manifold (32) of the second group (G2), the controller (60) includes a turn detection circuit (62) configured to detect when the vehicle (1) is turning, and the controller (60) to enable an idle operation performs fuel injection into the cylinders (#1, #2) of the first group (G1) when the turn detection circuit (62) detects that the vehicle (1) is turning.The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein when the vehicle (1) accelerates after completion of the turning, the controller (60) sets the opening degrees of the throttle valves (51) of the first group (G1) to be larger than the opening degrees of the throttle valves (51) of the second group (G2).The vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the throttle valves (51) of the first group (G1) are opened when the wheel speed of a rear wheel (WR) of the vehicle (1) significantly decreases as compared to the wheel speed of a front wheel (WF) while the exhaust valve (41) is closed.The vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising an inclination sensor (69) configured to detect a roll angle (θ) of the vehicle (1), wherein the controller (60) changes an opening degree of the exhaust valve (41) according to the roll angle (θ).

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