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EP0353072A1 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Throttle control system for vehicular internal combustion engine

Assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
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Filing: 1989-07-27
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-07-27
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Abstract

Abstract Throttle control system for a vehicular internal combustion engine equipped with a stepper motor connected to a throttle valve provided at an engine air intake passage, wherein the position (the opening degree) of the throttle valve is controlled by the stepper motor in response to the vehicular engine operation. Various throttle positions are once determined including positions for engine idling (S18) and vehicle cruising (S24) and the largest of the positions is selected (S28) for optinally satisfying the whole operating condition. In a first embodiment, when the engine is idling, the throttle valve is controlled such that engine speed converges toward a target speed. In another embodiment, the stepper motor is varied its pulse rate and chopping duty for optimal control of the throttle position according to the vehicular engine operation.

Inventors

  • 👤 Yasuhisa Arai
  • 👤 Norio Suzuki
  • 👤 Ichiro Sakai
  • 👤 Koji Sasajima
  • 👤 Shusuke Akazaki
  • 👤 Yuji Kawaguchi

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-30 22:32
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60K; B60K31/00; B60K31/02; B60K31/04; B60K31/042; B60K31/045; B60K31/047; F; F02; F02D; F02D11/00; F02D11/06; F02D11/10; F02D11/105; F02D31/00; F02D31/001; F02D31/002; F02D31/003; B60W; B60W2710/00; B60W2710/06; B60W2710/0605; B60W2710/0644; B60W2710/065; F02D2011/101; F02D2011/102; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S188/00; Y10S188/01

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim 157 words
A system for controlling throttle position in a vehicular internal combustion engine, including: first means for detecting operating condition of the engine including the degree of depression of an accelerator pedal provided on the vehicle floor; second means for determining a target position of a throttle valve provided in an engine air intake passage in accordance with the detected degree of depression of the accelerator pedal; control means for determining a command value in accordance with the determined target position; and actuator means connected to the throttle valve for moving the valve in response to the command value; wherein the second means further determines an idle throttle position when the engine operation enters or is in an idle region and a cruise throttle position when the engine operation enters or is in a cruise control region; and the control means calculates the command value by selecting the largest among the throttle positions determined by the second means.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 157 words
A system for controlling throttle position in a vehicular internal combustion engine, including: first means for detecting operating condition of the engine including the degree of depression of an accelerator pedal provided on the vehicle floor; second means for determining a target position of a throttle valve provided in an engine air intake passage in accordance with the detected degree of depression of the accelerator pedal; control means for determining a command value in accordance with the determined target position; and actuator means connected to the throttle valve for moving the valve in response to the command value; wherein the second means further determines an idle throttle position when the engine operation enters or is in an idle region and a cruise throttle position when the engine operation enters or is in a cruise control region; and the control means calculates the command value by selecting the largest among the throttle positions determined by the second means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 37 words
A system according to claim 1, wherein said actuator is a stepper motor and said control means periodically calculates the command value and outputs the same to the actuator at the beginning of the next calculation period.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 26 words
A system according to claim 2, wherein said control means calculates the command value such that the command value can be output within the calculation period.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 31 words
A system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said control means calculates the command value such that the throttle valve is capable of moving in accordance with the command value.
Claim 6
Independent Claim 68 words
A system according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein said first means detects engine speed and said second means determines a target engine speed when the engine operation is found to enter the idle control region upon receipt of an output signal from said first means, said second means determining the target throttle position such that deviation between the target and detected engine speeds is decreased.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 20 words
A system according to claim 5, wherein said target engine speed is varied in accordance with a selected gear range.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 22 words
A system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said target engine speed is varied in accordance with a detected coolant temperature.
Claim 9
Independent Claim 54 words
A system according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein said actuator is a stepper motor and said control means calculates the command value such that the throttle valve moves by a distance corresponding to a fraction of the distance between motor step angles when the deviation decreases to within a predetermined range.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 35 words
A system according to claim 8, wherein said control means calculates the command value such that the throttle valve vibrates back and forth by switching the energization direction of the motor at predetermined time intervals.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 23 words
A system according to claim 9, wherein the length of the predetermined time interval is varied in accordance with the engine operating condition.
Claim 12
Independent Claim 41 words
A system according to any of claims 5 to 10, wherein said control means periodically calculates the command value in accordance with the determined target throttle position and the length of the calculation period is varied in accordance with the deviation.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 21 words
A system according to claim 11, wherein the length of said calculation period is varied in inverse proportion to the deviation.
Claim 14
Independent Claim 66 words
A system according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein said actuator is a stepper motor whose chopping duty can be varied and said control means receives the output signal of the first means and calculates the command value to change the pulse rate of signals to the stepper motor and the chopping duty, solely or in combination, in accordance with the engine operating condition.
Claim 15
Independent Claim 55 words
A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said actuator is a stepper motor and said first means detects engine cranking, and wherein said control means receives the output signals of the first means and calculates the command value for changing the pulse rate of signals to the stepper motor when engine cranking is detected.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 25 words
A system according to claim 14, wherein said control means continues to change the pulse rate for a predetermined interval after cranking has been completed.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 43 words
A system according to claim 14 or 15, wherein said chopping duty of said stepper motor can be varied and said control means calculates the command value such that the pulse rate and the chopping duty are varied when engine cranking is detected.
Claim 18
Independent Claim 25 words
A system according to any of claims 14 to 16, wherein said first means detects engine cranking based on activation of an engine starter motor.
Claim 19
Independent Claim 86 words
A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said actuator is a stepper motor and said control means receives the output signals of the first means, said control means determining whether the engine operation has entered a region where the stepper motor is to be slewed up and, when the result of the determination is affirmative, calculating the command value for slewing up the motor after confirming that the number of angular steps to the target position exceeds that for finishing slewing up and slewing down.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim 18 words
A system according to claim 18, wherein said region is the region of vehicle acceleration during cruise control.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim 18 words
A system according to claim 18 or 19, wherein said confirmation is assigned priority over all other confirmations.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

FR2356007A1 Cited
US4383506A Cited
DE3407805A1 Cited
US4640243A Cited
EP0179219A2 Cited
DE3743309A1 Cited

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