Vehicle Control Apparatus Hood State Engine Restart
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles equipped with both idling stop and push start systems, the engine restarts unintentionally when the hood is open during maintenance, disrupting user convenience as the system does not account for the hood's open/closed state when restarting the engine.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control apparatus that detects the open/closed state of the engine room hood and controls the power supply and engine start/stop based on this state, preventing engine restarts when the hood is open and the engine is stopped, thereby improving user convenience during maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the engine restarts automatically when the hood is open during maintenance, then the battery can be charged, but the user convenience deteriorates due to unexpected engine restarts disrupting maintenance work
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by detecting the hood open state before allowing engine restart. When the hood is detected to be open, the control unit prevents the engine from restarting even if battery charging is needed, thereby avoiding the harmful effect of unexpected engine restarts during maintenance while still maintaining the capability to charge the battery when appropriate
Solution Approach 2:
The hood open/closed state detection acts as an intermediary condition between the battery charging need and engine restart execution. The control unit uses this intermediate detection to mediate whether engine restart should occur, balancing the need for battery charging with user convenience during maintenance operations
2Loss of energy
If the engine restarts automatically to charge the battery, then energy loss is reduced, but the device complexity increases due to additional hood state detection and control logic
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs multiple functions: it manages the idling stop system, monitors hood open/closed state, determines battery charging needs, and controls engine restart. By integrating these functions into a single control unit, the system reduces overall device complexity while maintaining the capability to charge the battery efficiently when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The hood state detection function is combined with the existing engine control and battery management functions in the control unit. This merging of functions eliminates the need for separate dedicated systems, thereby reducing device complexity while still achieving effective battery charging management
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control apparatus includes: detecting means (3) for detecting an open state or closed state of a hood of an engine room of a vehicle; control means (1) for controlling a power supply to an onboard device each time an input operation is performed on a switch (2); and drive control means (4) for starting or stopping an engine of the vehicle in accordance with whether or not a state of the vehicle satisfies a predetermined condition. The control means stops the power supply to the onboard device if the input operation is performed on the switch when the detecting means detects that the hood is open in a state where the engine has been stopped by the drive control means.