Controller for vehicle

Abstract

To eliminate discomfort and uneasiness when executing catalyst warming-up control.SOLUTION: A control device 100 for a vehicle is for controlling a vehicle equipped with a catalyst (12) that purifies exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine 1, the control device comprising notification control means 104 that issues a predetermined notification to an occupant using a notification device 300 when vibration of the internal combustion engine 1 exceed a threshold during catalyst warming-up control that operates the internal combustion engine 1 to warm up the catalyst (12).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device. [Background technology]

[0002] Some vehicles equipped with a catalyst that purifies engine exhaust gas perform catalyst warm-up control, which operates the engine to warm up the catalyst. Patent Document 1 discloses that the catalyst is warmed up for a predetermined period after the internal combustion engine is started. Catalyst warm-up control involves, for example, retarding the ignition timing and advancing the variable valve timing mechanism. This operation warms up the catalyst and promotes its activation through the exhaust action caused by the rise in exhaust temperature and the increase in valve overlap. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-213056 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When catalyst warm-up control is performed, engine combustion can become unstable due to a decrease in torque caused by retarding the ignition timing and a decrease in filling efficiency caused by an increase in valve overlap due to an advance in the variable valve timing mechanism, which can cause the engine to vibrate irregularly. This vibration can be transmitted to the seats, causing discomfort to passengers and making them feel uneasy, as if the engine is not functioning properly.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to make it possible to eliminate the discomfort and anxiety felt when catalyst warm-up control is executed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle control device of the present invention is a vehicle control device that controls a vehicle equipped with a catalyst that purifies exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine, and is characterized in that it is equipped with an alarm control means that uses an alarm device to issue a predetermined alarm to an occupant if vibrations of the internal combustion engine exceed a threshold value during catalyst warm-up control that operates the internal combustion engine to warm up the catalyst. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the discomfort and anxiety felt when catalyst warm-up control is executed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of an engine and its peripheral structure mounted on an automobile, which is a vehicle according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an ECU according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by an ECU according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A vehicle control device (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle equipped with a catalyst (12) that purifies exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine (1), and is characterized by including a notification control means (104) that issues a predetermined notification to an occupant using an alarm device (300) when vibration of the internal combustion engine (1) exceeds a threshold value during catalyst warm-up control that operates the internal combustion engine (1) to warm up the catalyst (12). This makes it possible to eliminate any discomfort or anxiety felt when catalyst warm-up control is executed. [Example]

[0010] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of an engine 1 and its peripheral structure mounted on an automobile, which is a vehicle according to an embodiment. An automobile is equipped with an engine 1 and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 100.

[0011] Engine 1 is an internal combustion engine with multiple cylinders, and is connected to an intake manifold 4 that forms an intake passage and an exhaust manifold 5 that forms an exhaust passage. On the intake side, the amount of air drawn in through air cleaner 2 is adjusted by throttle valve 3, and the intake air that has passed through intake manifold 4 is mixed with fuel injected from injector 6. In engine 1, intake valve 7 is opened to introduce the air-fuel mixture into the combustion chamber, where it is compressed by piston 8 and ignited by spark plug 9, causing combustion. The burned air-fuel mixture expands, pushing piston 8 downward and rotating crankshaft 10. On the exhaust side, when exhaust valve 11 opens, the burned air-fuel mixture passes through exhaust manifold 5 and is purified by the catalyst in catalytic converter 12 before being exhausted.

[0012] The ECU 100 executes engine control such as the opening and closing operation of the throttle valve 3, fuel injection by the injector 6, the opening and closing timing of the intake valve 7 and the exhaust valve 11, and the ignition timing by the spark plug 9, in accordance with the detection results of various sensors. Note that, since well-known techniques can be applied to engine control, detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here. Furthermore, when the vehicle is cold started, the ECU 100 executes catalyst warm-up control, which operates the engine 1 to warm up the catalyst of the catalytic converter 12. As described above, the catalyst warm-up control includes, for example, retarding the ignition timing and advancing the variable valve timing mechanism. Note that known techniques may be applied to the catalyst warm-up control, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0013] Fig. 2 shows the functional configuration of the ECU 100. In this embodiment, the ECU 100 functions as a control device for a vehicle to which the present invention is applied. The ECU 100 also has functions as a control device other than the control device for a vehicle to which the present invention is applied, but Fig. 2 shows only the functional configuration as a control device for a vehicle to which the present invention is applied. Connected to the ECU 100 are a vehicle speed sensor 201, an accelerator opening sensor 202, and a vibration sensor 203. The vehicle speed sensor 201 measures the vehicle speed. The accelerator opening sensor 202 measures the accelerator opening according to the depression of an accelerator pedal (not shown). The vibration sensor 203 measures the vibration of the engine 1. Furthermore, an alarm device 300 that issues an alarm to a vehicle occupant is connected to the ECU 100. The alarm device 300 is configured, for example, by a lamp that is installed in a position that can be seen by the driver.

[0014] The ECU 100 includes a vehicle stop determination unit 101, a catalyst warm-up control state determination unit 102, an accelerator opening determination unit 103, and a notification control unit 104.

[0015] The vehicle stop determination unit 101 determines whether the vehicle is stopped or not based on the measurement result of the vehicle speed sensor 201.

[0016] The catalyst warm-up control state determination unit 102 determines whether or not the catalyst warm-up control is in progress. In this embodiment, the ECU 100 executes the catalyst warm-up control and the notification control, which will be described in detail below, but if, for example, the catalyst warm-up control and the notification control are executed by separate control devices, the control device that executes the notification control may acquire information related to the catalyst warm-up control from the control device that executes the catalyst warm-up control and determine whether or not the catalyst warm-up control is in progress.

[0017] The accelerator opening determination unit 103 determines whether the accelerator pedal is not being operated, based on the measurement result of the accelerator opening sensor 202, and in this embodiment, whether the accelerator opening is 0 or not.

[0018] The notification control unit 104 determines whether the vibration of the engine 1 is equal to or greater than a threshold value when the catalyst warm-up control is in progress, the vehicle is stopped, and the accelerator pedal is not being operated. If the vibration of the engine 1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the ECU 100 issues a predetermined notification to the occupant using the notification device 300. While the vibration of the engine 1 is mentioned, it is only necessary to measure, for example, the vibration acceleration level or vibration level of the engine 1 and compare it with the threshold value.

[0019] It is conceivable to attach a vibration sensor 203 to the engine 1 and directly measure the vibration of the engine 1, but this is not limiting. For example, it is also possible to measure the vibration level of a mount connecting the engine 1 to the chassis and estimate the vibration of the engine 1 from that vibration level. In this case, it is possible to cover the maximum value of the vibration level transmitted to the chassis. Furthermore, if a vibration sensor is already installed in the mount, using that vibration sensor makes it possible to reduce the number of sensors to be attached and prevent costs from increasing.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the ECU 100. In step S1, the vehicle stop determination unit 101 of the ECU 100 determines whether the vehicle is stopped or not based on the measurement result of the vehicle speed sensor 201. If the vehicle is stopped, the process proceeds to step S2, and if the vehicle is not stopped, the process exits this flowchart.

[0021] In step S2, the catalyst warm-up control state determination unit 102 of the ECU 100 determines whether or not catalyst warm-up control is being performed. If catalyst warm-up control is being performed, the process proceeds to step S3, and if catalyst warm-up control is not being performed, the process exits this flowchart.

[0022] In step S3, accelerator opening determination unit 103 of ECU 100 determines whether or not the accelerator opening is 0 based on the measurement result of accelerator opening sensor 202. If the accelerator opening is 0, the process proceeds to step S4, and if the accelerator opening is not 0, the process exits this flowchart.

[0023] In step S4, the ECU 100 acquires the vibration of the engine 1. The vibration of the engine 1 acquired here is measured or estimated in a state where catalyst warm-up control is being performed, the automobile is stopped, and the accelerator pedal is not being operated.

[0024] In step S5, the notification control unit 104 of the ECU 100 determines whether the vibration of the engine 1 acquired in step S4 is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the vibration of the engine 1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S6, and if the vibration of the engine 1 is not equal to or greater than the threshold value, the process exits this flowchart. In this manner, it is determined whether the vibration of the engine 1 is equal to or greater than a threshold value when the automobile is stopped and the accelerator pedal is not being operated, in a state in which the occupants are likely to feel vibration. This threshold value is preset based on whether the vibration is at a level that will cause discomfort or anxiety to the occupants, and is stored in the ECU 100.

[0025] In step S6, the notification control unit 104 of the ECU 100 uses the notification device 300 to issue a predetermined notification to the occupant. The predetermined notification informs the occupant that the vibrations currently occurring in the engine 1 are within expectations (caused by catalyst warm-up control) and that the engine 1 is normal (not caused by a defect or malfunction, and not likely to cause a malfunction). Therefore, when lighting a lamp, a color such as green-yellow is used instead of a warning color such as red. Note that the notification device 300 is not limited to a lamp, and may be an image display device or an audio generating device, and may issue a notification by displaying a message on a screen or by audio.

[0026] As described above, if the vibration of engine 1 exceeds a threshold value during catalyst warm-up control, the alarm device 300 is used to issue a predetermined alarm to the occupants, thereby eliminating any discomfort or anxiety felt when catalyst warm-up control is performed.

[0027] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, each embodiment merely shows a specific example of how the present invention can be implemented. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to each embodiment. Various modifications of the present invention are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention, and these modifications are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. A vehicle control device to which the present invention is applied is configured by a computer device equipped with, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and the functions of each means are realized by the CPU executing a predetermined program stored, for example, in the ROM. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1: engine, 12: catalytic converter, 100: ECU, 101: vehicle stop determination unit, 102: catalyst warm-up control state determination unit, 103: accelerator opening determination unit, 104: notification control unit, 300: notification device

Claims

1. A vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle equipped with a catalyst that purifies exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine, A vehicle control device characterized by comprising an alarm control means that uses an alarm device to issue a predetermined alarm to an occupant if vibration of the internal combustion engine exceeds a threshold during catalyst warm-up control that operates the internal combustion engine to warm up the catalyst.

2. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the notification control means determines whether vibration of the internal combustion engine is equal to or greater than the threshold value when catalyst warm-up control is being performed, the vehicle is stopped, and the accelerator pedal is not being operated.

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