Air flow rate control apparatus

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/583,794, filed Jan. 16, 1996 abandoned.This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/495,659, filed Jul. 31, 2006, now abandoned which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/685,537, filed Oct. 16, 2003, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/779,710, filed Feb. 9, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. RE 39,257, which is a reissue of application Ser. No. 08/969,708, filed Nov. 24, 1997, now surrendered U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,114, which is continuation of application Ser. No. 08/583,794, filed Jan. 16, 1996 now abandoned.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a control apparatus for controlling the amount of air to be taken into an engine by electronically driving a control valve.

2. Description of the Related Art

Instead of the conventional method of directly controlling a control valve (throttle valve) by means of an operation of an accelerator pedal, a method is now used in an air flow rate control apparatus such that a position (opening degree) of the control valve is controlled by an actuator such as a motor in accordance with the operating status of an engine on a vehicle so that an optimal air intake can be obtained.

In such technology, an output associated with the operating status, for example an output from an accelerator sensor for detecting the extent of depression of the accelerator pedal is processed to set or determine a target (desired) opening degree of the control valve. A control signal is then sent to an actuator such as a motor to drive the throttle valve. Further, a throttle sensor for detecting the opening degree of the throttle valve is provided. Until its output value becomes equal to a value corresponding to the target opening degree of the control valve, a feedback control on the control valve is continued (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 61-8441).

In recent years, there is a trend of integrating and incorporating the types of control such as ISC (idle speed control), FICD (fast idle control) into an electric air flow rate control apparatus, which had conventionally been performed by separate component parts.

In order to achieve this, it is required to reduce mechanical hysteresis and electrical hysteresis possessed by the electric air flow rate control apparatus and to improve the resolution of a potentiometer or the like which serves as a throttle sensor for detecting the position of the control valve.

Further, connectors for electrical wiring are respectively provided for the actuator such as a motor provided to control the position (opening degree) of the control valve (throttle valve) and for the position detecting means therefor, resulting in a problem that the number of the connectors becomes large.

Accordingly, in view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the number of component parts in the position detection means such as a potentiometer serving as a throttle sensor so as to reduce the mechanical hysteresis and electrical hysteresis thereof. It is thereby possible to improve the accuracy in controlling the position of a throttle valve.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric control apparatus capable of aggregating its connectors.

To this end, according to the present invention, provided is an air flow rate control apparatus for controlling an amount of air to be taken into an engine, comprising: a control valve disposed within an air flow passage through which the air flows; a body defining a portion of the air flow passage and rotatably accommodating the control valve; cover means attached to the body; a motor driven means for driving the control valve to a predetermined opening degree; means for detecting an opening degree of the control valve; an interface portion for allowing an electrical data exchange between the detection means and the driven means, and the outside of the apparatus through the interface portion; and a space defined by the cover and the body, accommodating the driven means and the detection means.

In the opening degree detection means in which a brush slides on a resistor and generates an output in accordance with its contacting position, the component parts thereof may be reduced with using the above construction, as compared with the conventional externally attached type one, so that it may be constructed from only a base board portion including a resistor and a brush portion. Since, accordingly, such elements as O-rings and springs which cause hysteresis may be removed, it is possible to reduce the mechanical hysteresis and electrical hysteresis which the conventional position detection means inherently posses. Thereby, it becomes possible to improve the accuracy in detecting the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal and the accuracy in detecting the position of the control valve. In other words, the accuracy is improved of control in regulating the control valve position where a target opening degree of the control valve is set in accordance with the status of operation and the control valve is accordingly driven by an actuator such as a motor. That is, a delicate position control such as ISC (idle speed control) and FICD (fast idle control) may be accurately performed.

By containing the position detection means and the control valve driver means within the same space, their input-output (interface) portions may be integrated or combined in the space into an integrated one. Further, by providing control means for processing the control signals, the output of the position detection means, or the like within the space, a length of wiring may be reduced. It is thereby possible to reduce an erroneous operation of the actuator such as a motor due to noise applied to the control signal to be sent to the actuator.

Further, by providing an air vent hole through which air is exchanged between the space and the engine room and which is faced towards the ground when mounted, a dew condensation due to a temperature change in the engine room may be prevented, and the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the space may be removed to eliminate a sucking of water, dust or the like.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the control unit shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 5A is a side view taken along the line A—A of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 6 is a side view showing an end portion of the control valve shaft of the apparatus of FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 7 is a partially fragmentary sectional view showing the control valve opening degree detection means of the apparatus of FIG. 2 ; and

FIG. 8 is a partially fragmentary sectional view showing the acceleration sensor portion of the apparatus of FIG. 2 .

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3 , in an embodiment of the present invention, a control valve includes a valve element 1 fixedly mounted onto a valve shaft 3 which is pivotably mounted in a body 2 through a bearings 49 . The control valve element 1 is swingeably housed within a flow passage 2 a of the body 2 through which air flows to an engine. Dust seals 8 and 9 serving as sealing members are provided on opposite end portions of the valve shaft 3 . A gear cover 5 with an O-ring 4 and a spring cover 20 with an O-ring 7 are attached to the body 2 to define thereamong a sealed space S. Since the sealed space S is constructed so as to prevent the penetration of foreign matter, a throttle sensor 11 for detecting an actual opening degree of the control valve, which is to be disposed within such sealed space, may be constructed from only a board 11 a and a brush 11 b. The board 11 a is provided thereon with a resister on which the brush 11 b slides. The number of component parts of the throttle sensor 11 may be reduced as compared with the conventional throttle sensors that are externally attached to the body 2 . The mechanical hysteresis and electrical hysteresis thereof may thus be reduced. Accordingly, improved accuracy of control may be achieved in controlling the position of the control valve.

Further, a DC motor 10 for driving and controlling the control valve element 1 through a reducing gear means 21 and a gear 25 is disposed with the throttle sensor 11 within the sealed space S. Lead wires 10 a of the DC motor 10 and lead wires 11 c of the throttle sensor 11 are aggregated into a single connector 16 . Therefore, the number of connectors can be reduced, as compared with the conventional product.

Another embodiment will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4 .

In the case of this embodiment, a sealed space S is defined by the body 2 , dust seals 8 and 9 on opposite end portions of the valve shaft 3 supported in the body 2 , a gear cover 5 with an O-ring 4 attached to the body 2 , a control unit 17 attached the body 2 through a gasket 12 , and an accelerator cover 6 attached to the body 2 through an O-ring 7 , through a bottom of which cover 6 an accelerator shaft 23 extends outwards beyond a dust seal 22 . A throttle sensor 11 is mounted on the valve shaft 3 and held in a space portion defined by the body 2 , the gasket 12 and the control unit 17 through a ring 27 .

The valve shaft 3 is rotatably supported by a metal bearing 26 press-fitted to the body 2 made by aluminum alloy die casting. The valve shaft 3 includes a part thereof extended out of the metal bearing 26 , to which a sealing mechanism is applied. The sealing mechanism includes a metal (stainless) bushing 9 press-fitted at an outer periphery thereof to a recess portion of the body 2 . The metal bushing 9 is provided with a sleeve portion 9 b extending towards an end of the valve shaft 3 . A sealing rubber ring 9 a is disposed between an outer periphery of the valve shaft 3 and an inner periphery of the metal bushing 9 .

A metal bushing 11 c of the throttle (position) sensor 11 is fitted to the sleeve portion 9 b of the metal bushing 9 to support the position sensor 11 . A slider 11 b is rotatably mounted to an outer periphery of the metal bushing 11 c.

The slider 11 b is urged at an outer surface thereof by a spring lid to bring a slider element 11 g into contact with a conductive pattern 11 f printed on a substrate 11 a under a desired pressure (see FIG. 2 ).

The spring lid is fixed to an end portion of the valve shaft 3 c through a law washer 27 . An engagement 11 h prevents the spring lid from the rotational movement. As a result, rotation of the valve shaft 3 is transmitted to the slider 11 b.

The substrate 11 a is screw-mounted to the body 2 through screws 11 a (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ).

In this embodiment, the positioning of the substrate 11 a and the slider 11 b substantially depends on a relative position between the metal bearing 26 and the valve shaft 3 , and on a relative position between the metal bushing 9 and the metal bushing 11 c. The metal bushings 9 and 11 c which serve as primary factors are made of metal. Therefore, as compared with the bushings made of material other than metal, these metal bushings are excellent in the accuracy of machining and assembling, and in aged deterioration.

A recess portion of the body 2 for the metal bushing 9 is machined coaxially with the metal bearing 26 for the valve shaft 3 . The substrate 11 a is assembled to the body 2 by means of mounting the metal bushing 11 c onto the sleeve portion 9 b of the metal bushing 9 , which bushing 11 c is machined coaxially with the sleeve 9 b.

A lost motion mechanism M 1 , an accelerator sensor 15 , and a throttle lever returning mechanism M 2 are disposed within a space portion defined by the control unit 17 , the O-ring 7 and the cover 6 . The lost motion mechanism M 1 is mounted on the accelerator shaft 23 and includes lost motion springs 36 , 37 , a spring holder 35 , spring plates 33 , 34 . These space portions are communicated with each other through a annular gap between a bore formed in the control unit 17 and a part of the valve shaft 3 which extends through such bore. The valve shaft 3 engages with a throttle sector 19 through the lost motion mechanism M 1 .

The sealed space S houses therein the throttle sensor 11 for detecting the actual opening degree of the throttle (control) valve 1 , the DC motor 10 for driving and controlling the control valve shaft 3 with the valve element 1 fixedly mounted thereon through a reducing gear means 21 , an electromagnetic clutch 14 for selectively disconnecting the DC motor 10 from the reducing gear means 21 , the accelerator sensor 15 for detecting the position of the throttle sector 19 which is turned in accordance with the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, and the control unit 17 for processing the output signals from the throttle sensor 11 and the accelerator sensor 15 and the control command signals.

The assembly of the accelerator sensor 15 will be described hereinafter with referring to FIGS. 2 and 8 .

A metal bushing 48 is fitted to a resin cover 6 , which bushing 48 is arranged coaxially with the valve shaft 3 . The metal bushing 48 supports the accelerator shaft 23 . An accelerator lever 19 a is fixed to one end portion of the shaft 23 out of the cover 6 . A washer 23 a is disposed between the accelerator lever 19 and the cover 6 for closing a hole formed in the cover 6 , through which the shaft 23 extends. An annular rubber seal 22 is disposed axially between the washer 23 a and the metal bushing 48 , and is rested within an annular recess portion of the cover 6 so as to resiliently come into contact with an outer periphery of the accelerator shaft 23 .

The cover 6 is provided with a tubular sleeve portion 6 a extending along a longitudinal direction of the metal bushing 48 into the space S.

A metal bushing 15 c is provided in a center portion of a substrate 15 a of the accelerator sensor 15 . The metal bushing 15 c is fixed to an outer periphery of the sleeve portion 6 a of the cover 6 . The metal bushing 15 c is provided with a sleeve portion which projects along the accelerator shaft 23 from a surface of the substrate 15 a into the space S. A slider 15 b of the accelerator sensor 15 is embedded into such sleeve portion.

A washer 23 b, a spring 15 d, a connecting plate 40 and a washer 39 are fitted in order into a threaded portion 23 c of the other end of the accelerator shaft 23 . Finally, a nut 38 is fastened to the threaded portion 23 c to hold these element on the accelerator shaft 23 .

In this occasion, the spring 15 d applies a desired axial urging force to the slider 15 b. The spring 15 d is abutted against the engagement 15 h formed in the slider 15 b and then can be rotatable together with the slider 15 b. As a result, a rotation of the accelerator shaft 23 is transmitted to the slider 15 b, and then the slider 15 g ( FIG. 4 ) slides on the conductive pattern 15 f of the substrate 15 a.

The substrate 15 a is screw mounted onto an inner surface of the cover 6 facing the space S by screws 15 e.

The connecting plate 40 is connected to an end (throttle sensor 11 side) of the valve shaft 3 , which extends through a hole 17 a of the substrate 17 , through the lost motion mechanism M 1 .

Accordingly, the accelerator sensor 15 can be assembled coaxially to the accelerator shaft 23 with higher precision.

When the accelerator pedal is depressed to a predetermined position, the rotational force is transmitted from the accelerator shaft 23 to the valve shaft 3 through the lost motion mechanism M 1 . Accordingly, in case that the motor 10 is not work, when the accelerator pedal is depressed hardly or strongly, the throttle valve can be opened mechanically. Therefore, even though the motor is broken, it can be possible to maintain a running of the vehicle. This is a so-called fail-safe mechanism.

The throttle sensor 11 and accelerator sensor 15 may be constructed, as described above, from the base board 11 a, 15 a on which a resistor is printed or mounted, and the brush 11 b, 15 b ( FIGS. 7 and 8 ), so that they are constructed as having a smaller number of component parts and reduced mechanical hysteresis and electrical hysteresis.

Further, a lead wire 10 a of the DC motor 10 , a lead wire 14 a of the electromagnetic clutch 14 , a lead wire 11 c of the throttle sensor 11 and a lead wire 15 c of the accelerator sensor 15 are connected to the control unit 17 within the sealed space S ( FIGS. 5 and 5A ). The data exchange between these elements and the outside is conducted through a connector 18 . It is thereby possible to eliminate the respective connectors of these elements. Furthermore, since the wiring from the control unit 17 to the DC motor 10 , the throttle sensor 11 and the accelerator sensor 15 may be reduced in length, the apparatus has an improved reliability against an erroneous operation due to noise.

The control unit 17 is shown in detail in FIGS. 5 and 5A . The control unit 17 includes a micro computer with terminals 11 c′ and 15 c′ to which signal lines 11 c and 15 c from the throttle sensor 11 and the accelerator sensor 15 , and lines (not shown) to a clutch control circuit and a motor control circuit are connected. Lead lines 14 a of the clutch 14 and the lead lines 10 a of the motor 10 are connected to output terminals 10 a′ of the motor control circuit and output terminals 14 a′ of the clutch control circuit, respectively.

The lead lines of the motor 10 and the clutch 14 are gathered in the control unit 17 , and then connected to an external power supply through the connector 18 . The signals from the throttle sensor 11 and the accelerator sensor 15 are delivered to the control unit 17 and outputted outside through the connector 18 .

A detailed description will now be given with respect to the lost motion (fail-safe) mechanism M 1 .

The valve shaft 3 and the accelerator shaft 23 are disposed coaxially and coupled with each other through the lost motion mechanism M 1 . The throttle sensor 11 is mounted on the valve shaft 3 while the accelerator sensor 15 is mounted on the accelerator shaft 23 . The lost motion mechanism M 1 is constructed by the lost motion springs 36 , 37 , the spring holder 35 for holding these springs, and the spring plates 33 , 34 cooperating to incorporate therein the springs 36 , 37 and the spring holder 35 . Further, the spring plates 33 , 34 are rigidly fixed to the accelerator shaft 23 through a connecting plate 40 . The spring holder 35 is rigidly connected to the valve shaft 3 . The spring holder 35 is connected to the spring plates 33 and 34 , respectively through the springs 36 and 37 .

In a normal operation, the throttle valve is driven by the motor 10 and an output of the throttle sensor 11 is sent to the control unit 17 . Further, at this time, since the forces respectively generated from the lost motion springs 36 and 37 are opposite in direction to each other, the torque generated by the motor is absorbed by those springs and then not directly transmitted to the operator through the throttle sector 19 .

In an abnormal operation, the motor 10 and the throttle shaft 3 are disconnected from each other by the electromagnetic clutch 14 . Upon the operator depresses the accelerator pedal, the throttle sector 19 is turned to rotate the connecting plate 40 and the spring plates 33 , 34 . As a result, the spring force of the lost motion spring 36 and the spring force of the lost motion spring 37 (which have been balanced in the normal operation) lose their balance. Such unbalance rotates the spring holder 35 whereby it is possible to mechanically move the throttle valve.

A return spring mechanism for imparting a returning force to the throttle sector 19 is constructed by a shaft 43 retained in the accelerator cover 6 , a spring cover 44 , a spring holder 46 and returning springs 45 , 45 held in the holder 46 . The spring holder 46 is rigidly fixed to the shaft 43 so as to make no rotation of the spring holder 46 . A torque generated by the spring 45 rotates the spring cover 44 and then is transmitted to the connecting plate 40 on the accelerator shaft 23 through the connecting lever 41 , thereby imparting a returning force to the throttle sector 19 .

An apparatus may be compact and the plating over the springs is not required, since the valve shaft 3 and the accelerator shaft 23 are coaxially arranged, and the throttle sensor 11 and the accelerator sensor 15 are mounted on the respective shafts 3 and 23 , and the shaft 43 of the return spring mechanism and the accelerator shaft 23 are juxtaposed with each other and are disposed within the accelerator cover 6 .

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , by providing a vent hole 13 for draining water and air, on the valve body 2 for supporting the valve shaft 3 , a dew condensation on the throttle sensor 11 or the accelerator sensor 15 may be prevented. In addition, a sucking of water into the sealed space S may be eliminated by removing the pressure difference between the interior and the exterior of the sealed space S due to the vent hole 13 .

A gear 23 is fixed to an end of a rotary shaft of the motor 10 . The gear 23 engages with an intermediate gear 25 fixed to a shaft 21 a supported by the body 2 and the cover 5 . The intermediate gear 25 is provided with a smaller gear 22 formed integrally therewith. The smaller gear 22 engages with a gear 21 fixed to the end of the valve shaft 3 . According this, a rotational speed of the motor 10 is reduced while a rotational torque thereof is increased, thereby obtaining a rotational speed and a rotational torque required for driving the throttle valve.

The gear 21 is shaped in a semi-circular. A straight edge of the gear 21 is adapted to abut against a stopper 47 when the valve element 1 is moved to be almost full close position.

Under an electric control, a full close position of the valve element 1 is so arranged that the gear 21 does not abut against the stopper 47 . When the electric control is released, the valve element 1 is further moved so that the gear 21 abuts against the stopper 47 . This is a mechanical full close position.

In case that the valve element 1 is swung to the mechanical full close position, a large inertia force is applied to the stopper 47 . In order to counteract such inertia force, the stopper 47 is firmly screw mounted to a seat 2 e of the body 2 , but. The stopper 47 includes a threaded portion to adjust the position thereof.

As has been described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an air flow rate control apparatus in which the mechanical hysteresis and the electrical hysteresis may be reduced based on an arrangement which is superior in cost performance, and the accuracy of the throttle position control in controlling the position of an actuator such as a motor is improved.

Incidentally, the covers 5 , 6 and 20 can be made of resin such as PBT (Polybutyleneterephthalate) with 30% glass fiber filler, as shown in FIG. 8 .