Electronic control apparatus for vehicle and diagnosing method thereof
View Patent ↗An electronic control apparatus for a vehicle having an engine control unit 114 controlling an electronically-controlled throttle of an engine and a valve control unit 141 controlling a variable lift mechanism 112 that varies a lift amount of an intake valve are provided. Information of a target lift amount and an actual lift amount is transmitted/received between these control units. Each of the control units diagnoses a state of data transmission from the other control unit, transmits the diagnosis result to the other control unit and, when the diagnosis result of itself and/or the diagnosis result of the other control unit shows an abnormal state, moves to the mode of a fail-safe operation.
1. An electronic control apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
a first control unit for controlling an electronically-controlled throttle of an engine mounted on a vehicle;
a second control unit for controlling a variable valve mechanism that makes an open characteristic of an intake valve of the engine variable; and
a communication circuit that provides a connection for communication between the first and the second control units,
wherein the first control unit is configured to transmit a target value of the open characteristic of the intake valve to the second control unit,
wherein the second control unit is configured to transmit a detection value of the open characteristic of the intake valve to the first control unit,
wherein each of the first and the second control units is configured to diagnose a data reception abnormality, transmit a diagnosis result, and diagnose an abnormality in the communication circuit on a basis of the diagnosis result of the respective control unit and a diagnosis result of the other control unit,
wherein, when the abnormality in the communication circuit is determined, the second control unit is configured to control the variable valve mechanism to bring the open characteristic of the intake valve into a predetermined open characteristic, and
wherein, when the first control unit determines an occurrence of the abnormality in the communication circuit, the first control unit is configured to estimate that the open characteristic of the intake valve has become the predetermined open characteristic, to control the electronically-controlled throttle such that a target intake air amount in the predetermined open characteristic is obtained.
2. The electronic control apparatus for the vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the variable valve mechanism comprises a mechanism for continuously varying a lift amount and an operation angle of the intake valve.
3. An electronic control apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
a first control unit for controlling an electronically-controlled throttle of an engine mounted on a vehicle;
a second control unit for controlling a variable valve mechanism that makes an open characteristic of an intake valve of the engine variable; and
a communication circuit that provides a connection for communication between the first and the second control units,
wherein the first control unit is configured to transmit a target value of the open characteristic of the intake valve to the second control unit,
wherein the second control unit is configured to transmit a detection value of the open characteristic of the intake valve to the first control unit,
wherein each of the first and second control units is configured to diagnose a data reception abnormality, transmit a diagnosis result, and distinctively determine a degree of an abnormality in the communication circuit as a minor abnormality or a serious abnormality on a basis of the diagnosis result of the respective control unit and a diagnosis result of the other control unit;
wherein, when the minor abnormality is determined, the second control unit is configured to control the variable valve mechanism to bring the open characteristic of the intake valve into a predetermined open characteristic,
wherein, when the minor abnormality is determined, the first control unit is configured to estimate that the open characteristic of the intake valve has become the predetermined open characteristic to control the electronically-controlled throttle such that a target intake air amount in the predetermined open characteristic is obtained,
wherein, when the serious abnormality is determined, the second control unit is configured to control the variable valve mechanism to an off state, and
wherein, when the serious abnormality is determined, the first control unit is configured to control the variable valve mechanism to the off state, to thereby control the electronically-controlled throttle such that a target air-fuel ratio in the off state of the variable valve mechanism is obtained.
4. The electronic control apparatus for the vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein the variable valve mechanism comprises a mechanism for continuously varying a lift amount and an operation angle of the intake valve.
5. An electronic control apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
a first control means for controlling an electronically-controlled throttle of an engine mounted on a vehicle;
a second control means for controlling a variable valve mechanism that makes an open characteristic of an intake valve of the engine variable; and
a communication circuit that provides a connection for communication between the first and the second control means, and
wherein the first control means is configured to transmit a target value of the open characteristic of the intake valve to the second control means,
wherein the second control means is configured to transmit a detection value of the open characteristic of the intake valve to the first control means,
wherein each of the first and the second control means is configured to diagnose a data reception abnormality, transmit a diagnosis result, and diagnose an abnormality in the communication circuit on a basis of the diagnosis result of the respective control means and a diagnosis result of the other control means,
wherein, when the abnormality in the communication circuit is determined, the second control means is configured to control the variable valve mechanism to bring the open characteristic of the intake valve into a predetermined open characteristic, and
wherein, when the first control means determines an occurrence of the abnormality in the communication circuit, the first control means is configured to estimate that the open characteristic of the intake valve has become the predetermined open characteristic, to control the electronically-controlled throttle such that a target intake air amount in the predetermined open characteristic is obtained.
6. An electronic control apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
a first control means for controlling an electronically-controlled throttle of an engine mounted on a vehicle;
a second control means for controlling a variable valve mechanism that makes an open characteristic of an intake valve of the engine variable; and
a communication circuit that provides a connection for communication between the first and the second control means, and
wherein the first control means is configured to transmit a target value of the open characteristic of the intake valve to the second control means,
wherein the second control means is configured to transmit a detection value of the open characteristic of the intake valve to the first control means,
wherein each of the first and the second control means is configured to diagnose a data reception abnormality, transmit a diagnosis result, and distinctively determine a degree of an abnormality in the communication circuit as a minor abnormality or a serious abnormality on a basis of the diagnosis result of the respective control means and a diagnosis result of the other control means,
wherein, when the minor abnormality is determined, the second control means is configured to control the variable valve mechanism to bring the open characteristic of the intake valve into a predetermined open characteristic,
wherein, when the minor abnormality is determined, the first control means is configured to estimate that the open characteristic of the intake valve has become the predetermined open characteristic to control the electronically-controlled throttle such that a target intake air amount in the predetermined open characteristic is obtained,
wherein, when the serious abnormality is determined, the second control means is configured to control the variable valve mechanism to an off state, and
wherein, when the serious abnormality is determined, the first control means is configured to control the variable valve mechanism to the off state, to thereby control the electronically-controlled throttle such that a target air-fuel ratio in the off state of the variable valve mechanism is obtained.