EP1369569B1 - Method and apparatus for driving starters of internal combustion engines - Google Patents

Description

Technical area

Starters for internal combustion engines can be designed both as thrust screwdriver starter without countershaft and as such with countershaft. For starters with Vorgelegen a planetary gear or the like is installed between pole housing and drive bearing. The planetary gear serves to transmit the torque of the armature of the starter motor to the drive pinion substantially free of transverse forces. The transmission elements of the intermediate gear are made of steel, while the sprocket of the planetary gear can consist of a high-quality polyamide compound or light metal alloys. This solution can achieve weight savings on starters of up to 35 to 40% compared to conventional starters.

State of the art

Starters for internal combustion engines usually include DC series motors, in which the field winding and the armature winding are connected in series. The speed of the high-speed electric motor is reduced by a planetary gear, which serves as a countershaft, and transmitted to the Einspurgetriebe the starter. The single sprocket drive essentially contains the drive sprocket, i. a retractable and disengageable gear, a freewheel (overrunning clutch), an engaging element and a Einspurfeder. In the starter assembly, the thrust movement of the engagement relay and the rotational movements of the electric starter motor are combined and transmitted to the drive pinion.

The engageable and disengageable pinion engages in a ring gear on the engine flywheel. A higher gear ratio, which is between 10: 1 and 15: 1, allows the higher resistance to spin to overcome the internal combustion engine. The pinion gearing is usually made with an involute profile favoring the meshing in which both the individual teeth of the drive pinion and the gear wheels of the ring gear opposite the drive pinion can be beveled on the front side.

As soon as the internal combustion engine starts and accelerates beyond the starting speed, the pinion must automatically engage in order to protect the starter or the connection between the starter shaft and the engine flywheel must be automatically canceled. This is usually done by means of a freewheel and a Einspur- and return mechanism. The freewheel causes the pinion is entrained with driving armature shaft and at faster running pinion, i. a start of the internal combustion engine, the connection between the drive pinion and armature shaft is released. The freewheel is arranged between the starter motor and drive pinion and prevents the armature shaft and thus the armature of the starter motor is accelerated at rapid startup (light-off the internal combustion engine) to impermissibly high speeds. The start request, i. the upcoming start of the internal combustion engine is usually transferred via an electric line from the ignition or from a control unit to the engagement relay. The push-in relay is used with push-screw starters to trigger the engagement stroke of the drive pinion in the ring gear and to switch the starting current to the starter motor of the starter. The lifting movement of the engagement relay is transmitted via an engaging lever on the displaceably mounted on the armature shaft of the starter motor drive pinion. After the start of the internal combustion engine, the engagement relay switches off the current for the starter motor by removing the start request and pulls the drive pinion out of the ring gear of the engine flywheel.

The known from the prior art, "Auto Electric Car Electronics", 3rd updated edition, Braunschweig, Wiesbaden, Vieweg 1998, ISBN 3-528-03872-1, pages 194-197 known solution summarizes the function "engaging drive pinion" and "starter current switch "in an assembly, namely the engagement relay together. In the design of this module compromises must therefore be made to realize both functions. Temperature compensation is usually not realized in previously used starter motors for internal combustion engines, but this would be highly desirable in short successive start attempts during which the internal combustion engine does not start.

By transmitting the request to start via electrical line from the ignition lock - apart from the ignition key - no safety functions can be integrated at the interface starter motor. Furthermore, the fact of disadvantage that due to the mechanical coupling elements and their interfaces no degrees of freedom of the installation and this is therefore quite inflexible. So far, due to the direct control of the starter by an electric line from the ignition, a bus connection or a diagnostic function of the starter is not given. For starting internal combustion engines different currents are needed to ensure the spinning of the internal combustion engine; especially when cold starting at low outside temperatures and viscous lube oil supply. Self-igniting, multi-cylinder internal combustion engines require due to the higher compression ratio s a higher torque, which is applied by the starter, compared to gasoline engines same displacement. The control of the starter with considerable currents requires large cable cross-sections and powerful switching elements in this upstream control units. This results in a disadvantage to be evaluated increased coordination effort between multiple system suppliers due to the increased number of interfaces. A redundant control of the starter is generally not given, because this is driven exclusively via the electrical line from the ignition. If ballast relays are used, there is sometimes a considerable additional outlay in terms of the required wiring requirement and the additionally loaded installation space.

The well-known from the prior art starter with engagement relay can also be used in the future used 42V electrical system, since the previously used relay with double contacts this higher voltage in conjunction with high currents can not safely shut off, unless the spark gaps are drastically enlarged. To safely disconnect an electrical contact, a certain minimum distance is required to ensure a safe shutdown. In general, the greater the voltage to be disconnected, the greater the distance required, which adversely affects the volume of the construction.

Presentation of the invention

The proposed solution according to the invention enables the control of the starter of an internal combustion engine via the programming of power output stages. By clocking these amplifiers almost any current value can be set between zero and the maximum current value, which on the one hand makes additional windings, series resistors and switching elements superfluous and on the other hand ensures integration of the starter with the inventive driving capability in a future 42V electrical system. Advantageously, the output block of the drive comprises power semiconductor bridges with low-resistance switching elements, such as field-effect transistors, bipolar transistors or IGBTs. In field effect transistors, the control takes place by means of the field effect by the control voltage. The voltage drop across the field effect transistor (FET) adjusts itself by the effective on-resistance. In bipolar transistors, the drive is controlled by the control current; In these electronic components, the voltage drop occurs through the PN junction.

In IGBT's (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), which represent a quasi combination of a field effect transistor and a bipolar transistor, the control is effected by a control voltage. The IGBT is a monolithic integration of a field effect transistor and a bipolar transistor. IGBTs are manufactured as modules, which can be integrated single switches and phase branches up to complete inverter circuits.

Further electronic switching elements used are MCT's (MOS Controlled Thyristor), GCT's (Gate Commutated Thyristor) or IGCT's (Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristor), the latter representing a combination of a MOSFET transistor and a GTO thyristor. By driving with a turn-off gain of "1", this device passes directly from thyristor to the transistor operating state when turned off. This allows its operation without providing additional circuitry. The IGCT essentially combines the very good on-state behavior of thyristors with the switching capacity of bipolar transistors.

By the use of power semiconductors, as exemplified above, a redundancy (if necessary) of the drive elements is very easy to implement compared to an arrangement of two series-connected electromechanical relays. If the electromechanical relays are replaced by power semiconductors, there are further advantages in that the disadvantages of electromechanical contacts, such as, for example, the bouncing behavior of contacts in switching operations, the wear associated with contact wear, contact welding and contact corrosion can be ruled out.

The control of the starter with the control according to the invention also offers the possibility to couple the starter with a already provided in the motor vehicle system bus (CAN bus), which was not possible with the previous control exclusively via the electrical line from the ignition. With the control of the starter according to the invention, the temperature development in the starter after several unsuccessful starting attempts of the internal combustion engine can be considered as well as the prevailing outside temperature. It can be safety functions, such as against a too long drive duration of the starter and a too long application of high voltage, which extend the life of the starter overall.

Advantageously, the controlled by the control according to the invention starter can be adapted by simply making changes to new applications, in particular by free programming of the power output stages for use in 12V, 24V or 42V vehicle electrical system.

It can be achieved a significant reduction in the number of mechanical components compared to electromechanical relays, as additional relays, contacts, series resistors and windings can be omitted. This also results in fewer and shorter tolerance chains. It is now possible to make a diagnosis of errors occurred, such as a diagnosis of defective power amplifiers and incorrect voltage levels, inappropriate conditions such as too long and too short Ansteuerdauer and too high temperatures. These statuses that have occurred can be recorded within a data protection block and later read out at the corresponding maintenance intervals via a diagnostic interface. This allows a faster fault diagnosis to be achieved.

The control preferably contains an input function block, which includes an electronic interface, which may be given for example by a CAN bus, a bit serial interface or a current interface, a differential signal or by a voltage input. A processing block downstream of the input function block preferably includes a flow control unit, a diagnostic unit for determining occurred errors of events occurring during normal operation of the starter, a safety function management for protecting the starter from stress, and a backup function in which the events occurring during the operation time can be stored ,

The processing block is advantageously followed by an output block which contains power semiconductor components in the form of low-resistance switching elements, which also offers a simple possibility for redundant triggering of the starter.

drawing

With reference to the drawing, the invention will be described below in more detail.

Figur 1

den Längsschnitt durch einen Starter mit Einrückrelais, Einspursystem und einem Vorgelege,

Figur 2

die bisherige Ansteuerung des Starters über eine elektrische Leitung,

Figur 3

die Grundstruktur der erfindungsgemäßen Ansteuerung mit Eingabefunktionsblock, Verarbeitungsblock und Ausgabeblock,

Figur 4

das elektronische Ansteuersystem mit implementierten Funktionsblöcken und

Figur 5

die Signalverläufe für Ansteuersignale des Startermotors und des Einrückrelais, jeweils aufgetragen als Blocksignale über die Zeitachse.

Figur 6

zeigt Halbleiterbauelemente, die innerhalb des Ausgabeblockes gemäß Figur 3 bzw. Figur 4 innerhalb der Leistungsendstufen eingesetzt werden können.

Figur 7

Ausgestaltungsmöglichkeiten der Schnittstellenauswertung.

It shows:

FIG. 1

the longitudinal section through a starter with engagement relay, Einspursystem and a countershaft,

FIG. 2

the previous control of the starter via an electrical line,

FIG. 3

the basic structure of the control according to the invention with input function block, processing block and output block,

FIG. 4

the electronic control system with implemented function blocks and

FIG. 5

the signal curves for control signals of the starter motor and the engagement relay, each plotted as block signals over the time axis.

FIG. 6

shows semiconductor components that can be used within the output block according to Figure 3 and Figure 4 within the power output stages.

FIG. 7

Design options of the interface evaluation.

variants

Figure 1 shows the longitudinal section through a starter with engagement relay, Einspursystem and countershaft.

The starter 1 shown in longitudinal section in Figure 1 comprises a housing 2, above which an engagement relay 3 is arranged. At the engagement relay 3 a marked with reference numeral 4 electrical connection is provided. The engagement relay 3 further comprises a switching axis 5, to which a magnet armature 6 is received. The armature 6 of the engagement relay 3 is enclosed by a magnetic winding 8. The switching axis 5 of the contactor 3 is acted upon by a return spring 10, the armature 6 performs when driving a designated by reference numeral 7 Axialhubbewegung within the housing of the contactor 3 from. The engagement relay 3 comprises at its end facing the electrical connection 4 a relay contact 9. The drawing shown in Figure 1 represents the contact with a tooth to tooth position. The reference numeral 7 designated Relaishub serves as a residual stroke to tension a contact pressure spring.

About the switching axis 5 of the engagement relay 3, for example, as a fork lever switched engagement lever 11 is actuated. The engagement lever 11 is articulated to a pivot point 12 within the housing 2 of the starter and acts on a driver 16 of a freewheel 14 such that it is displaceable on an armature shaft 13 in the axial direction in both directions. The armature shaft 13 of the starter motor of the starter 1, not shown here, comprises the already mentioned freewheel 14, which in the longitudinal sectional view according to Figure 1 includes idler rollers 15 which are enclosed by an enlarged diameter portion of the driver 16. At the driver 16 of the freewheel 14, the lower pivot point of the engagement lever 11 is articulated. The freewheel 14 encloses a rotatably on the armature shaft 13 relative to this drive pinion 18, which cooperates with a here only schematically indicated sprocket 20 of a flywheel of the internal combustion engine, which is also not shown here in detail. The armature shaft 13 of the starter motor of the starter 1 is received on a drive bearing 19.

The starter for starting an internal combustion engine shown partially in longitudinal section in FIG. 1 comprises a countershaft designated by reference numeral 21, which in the illustration according to FIG. 1 is designed as a planetary gear. The starter 1 can be readily formed without such a countershaft 21, which essentially serves a transverse force introduction-free drive of the armature shaft 13 of the starter motor of the starter 1. In the embodiment variant of the starter shown in longitudinal section in FIG. 1, the countershaft 21 comprises a plurality of planetary gears 22 received on the circumference of a ring gear and enclosed by a ring gear 23 forming a sprocket wheel.

Decisive for the meshing is that the driver 16 of the freewheel are acted upon at its enlarged diameter portion via a trained example as a spiral spring spring element 24 in the direction of engagement with respect to the ring gear 20 on the flywheel of the internal combustion engine.

Figure 2 shows the previous control of the starter as shown in Figure 1 via an electrical line.

The circuit diagram according to FIG. 2 shows that a drive signal 30 is applied to a magnetic switch 31. The magnetic switch 31 causes by a here indicated by dashed line switching element the contact of a first contact piece 32 with another contact piece 33, whereby the starter motor of the starter 1, the voltage of an energy storage, not shown in Figure 2, for example, a vehicle battery is abandoned. The input signal denoted by reference numeral 53, representing a temperature value, is not considered in more detail in the triggering of the starter 1 shown in FIG. 2 via a simple electrical line and a magnetic switch 31.

The magnetic switch 31, which is controlled by the drive signal 30, in addition to establishing contact between the contact pieces 32 and 33, whereby the starter 1, a starting current is applied, a Einrückfunktion 36 indicated by reference numeral 3 engagement relay of the starter. On the one hand, the temperature is not taken into account in the schematic procedure of a previous activation of a starter 1 shown here - Be it the temperature of the starter motor of the starter 1, be it the outside temperature -, on the other hand, no feedback takes place to what effect the temperature of the starter motor or the starter relay of the starter 1 after several unsuccessful attempts to start the internal combustion engine, so that its dynamics is not detectable.

FIG. 3 shows the basic structure of the invented starter drive with input function block, processing block and hardware component containing output block.

The illustration according to FIG. 3 shows that the start request, symbolized by the rectangle designated by reference numeral 40, is given to an input function block 50. Output signals of the input function block 50 are transmitted to a processing block 60, the output signals of which are in turn applied to an output block 70. The output block 70, which comprises the power semiconductor components specified in more detail below, generates output signals 71 and 72, respectively, for triggering the starter motor of the starter 1 or for the engagement relay 3 (see illustration according to FIG.

The illustration according to FIG. 4 shows the electronic control system with implemented functional blocks in detail.

The electronic drive system essentially comprises the input function block 50 already mentioned in FIG. 4, the processing block 60 and an output block 70 connected downstream of the processing block 60.

The input function block 50 is a drive signal 30, a voltage signal 34 abandoned, abandoned and a temperature value representing a signal 53. The temperature signal designated by reference numeral 53 may be both the outside temperature, which is the starter 1 (see illustration according to Figure 1). is suspended. However, the temperature signal denoted by reference numeral 53 may also be the temperature which the interior has, for example, the engagement magnet winding of the starter 1 after several unsuccessful start attempts. The starting attempts of the internal combustion engine are connected due to the converted power with a significant increase in temperature within the starter 1, which significantly affects its dynamic behavior.

The information 34, which characterizes the state of charge of an energy store, not shown in FIG. 4, and the temperature information 53, are given to the input function block 50 supplied to a signal conditioning 52. In the signal conditioning 52, the signals can be filtered or amplified and processed for further processing within the processing block 60 of the electronic control of a starter suitable. The input function block 50 according to the schematic representation in FIG. 4 furthermore comprises an interface evaluation 51, which outputs the drive signal 30 representing a start request. The interface evaluation 51, referred to as a function module, according to the inventive solution represents an electronic interface which can be designed as a connection point to a CAN data bus or as a bit serial interface. In addition, the interface evaluation 51 can also be designed as a voltage input or a current input or as an input for receiving a differential signal.

The signals processed in the input function block 50, whether they are from the drive signal 30, the information 34 about the state of charge of an energy store or are obtained from the temperature signal 53, are output to a processing block 60 as output signals 54 and 55, respectively, after appropriate processing or interface evaluation. The processing block 60 in turn is downstream of the input function block 50 on the one hand, but on the other hand precedes an output function block 70.

The output signal 55 resulting from the interface evaluation 51 of the input function block 50 is output to a sequencer 66 of the processing block 60. The sequencer 66 generates output signals 67 and 68, which are output from one another decoupled power output stages 69 of the output block 70 of the electronic control.

The output signal 54, which originates from the signal conditioning 52 of the input function block 50, is output to a diagnostic function module 61. Within the diagnostic function block 61 occurred errors are detected. Thus, for example, within the diagnostic function block 61, the voltage level is checked with respect to the signal 34 characterizing the battery voltage of an energy store. Furthermore, by means of the diagnostic function block 61, signals generated by a starter motor of the starter 1 associated with output stage 69 and fed back to the diagnostic function block 61 are detected and malfunctions of the output motor 69 associated with the starter motor of the starter 1 and the starter relay are diagnosed. The diagnostic function block 61 within the processing block 60 generates an output signal, which is transmitted to a diagnostic function block 61 subordinate safety function 62. Depending on detected malfunctions within the diagnostic function block 61, for example with regard to a faulty output stage 69, output signals 63 are generated by the safety function 62, which are connected to the sequence within the sequence control 66 engage, so that the output signals 67 and 68, for a recognized as faulty, the starter motor or the starter relay of the starter 1 associated power amplifier can be modified accordingly. In addition, the sequencer 66 is connected to a data backup 64 via a bidirectional signal connection 65. Via the data backup 64 within the processing block 60, the individual operating states that have occurred within the process control 66 and also other operating states can be detected and archived. The data block 64 within the processing block 60 can be read out, so that there recorded and detected, for example, unfavorable conditions during starter operation can be read as part of a cause of error and are taken into account by the sequencer 66, for example in the form of modified control signals of the power amplifier 69th Die designated with reference numeral 62 safety function can be implemented with relatively little additional effort and ensures temperature monitoring and voltage monitoring, depending on the input signals to the safety function 62 via the diagnostic function block 61 are fed. The diagnostic function block 61 is added within the processing block 60, a control function, as fed back via the diagnostic function block 61 of one or more of the power output stages 69 fed back signals and the diagnosis function block 61 hierarchically subordinate safety function 62 is controlled by this input side.

Depending on the output signals 67 generated in the sequence control 66 for a power output stage 69 for an engagement relay 3 or depending on the power output stage 69 for the control of the starter motor of the starter 1 generated output signal 68 are decoupled from each other in the power output stages 69 and already within the flow control 66 decoupled output signals 71, 72 generated. The power output stages 69 within the output block 70 of the electronic control for a starter are preferably designed as power semiconductors with low-resistance switching elements. As low-resistance switching elements, for example field effect transistors, bipolar transistors or IGBTs are used.

The integration of power semiconductors as power amplifiers 69 within the output block 60 of the electronic control has the advantage that their free programming the dynamic behavior of the starter is easier to influence. The power output stages 69, each of which is assigned to the engagement relay 3 and the starter motor of the starter 1 eliminates undesirable couplings resulting disadvantages in terms of design. Furthermore, by integrating the power output stage 69 in the form of half bridges into the output block 70, a redundancy can be achieved which effectively prevents unintentional activation of the starter by a defective power transistor. A realization of this redundancy function with conventional electromechanical relays would be much more complicated.

The power semiconductors preferably used as power output stage 69 with low-resistance switching elements also offer the advantage that can be set by a suitable timing of the power output 69 almost any current value between zero and a maximum current value, whereby the acted upon the inventive electronic control starter including contactor 3 by simplest Modifications can also be used on on-board systems with temporarily greater voltage (for example jump start with 42V). The power output stage 69 may comprise power semiconductor half-bridges for reasons of redundancy. Furthermore, by electronic control proposed according to the invention, a slight system adaptation of already existing starters to new applications can be realized by the simplest software modification. The proposed solution according to the invention by the use of power half-bridges avoids the use of two electromechanically connected in series relays and the total associated with electromechanical switch disadvantages in terms of contact bounce, contact corrosion, excessive contact wear due to erosion. Furthermore, by the output stages 69, which are preferably designed as power semiconductors with low drive power, an additional effort by the engagement relay 3 possibly upstream Vorschaltrelais be avoided. With the inventively proposed electronic control of a starter 1 including engagement relay 3 reactions of the engine can be excluded on the starting relay on the provided on the starter 1 mechanical single-track operation. The engagement relay 3 is mechanically coupled to the drive train of the starter motor. The oscillating movements of the drive pinion which occur when the internal combustion engine spins are partly transmitted to the armature in the engagement relay 3 and can in part have a lasting effect on the shutdown process, for example by bouncing the contacts.

FIG. 5 shows the schematic signal curves of two control signals for the starter motor and the engagement relay, in each case plotted as block signals over the time axis.

In the upper diagram of the illustration according to FIG. 5, the course of the output signal of the power output stage 69 for the starter motor of the starter 1, indicated by reference numeral 80, is reproduced. During a cranking phase 81, which lasts, for example, over a period of a few ms, voltage signals are generated in block form, these voltage signals having a first signal length 84. After expiration of the Andrehphase 81 of the drive pinion 18 this is moved within a subsequent toe or torsion phase 82 in a circumferential position in which a meshing of the drive pinion 18 in the tooth clearance of the ring gear 20 (see FIG. 1) of a flywheel of the internal combustion engine. After expiration of the toe / twist phase of the drive pinion 18 takes place within a Einspurphase 83 of a duration of a few ms, the meshing of the drive pinion 18 in the tooth clearance of said ring gear 20 of the flywheel of the internal combustion engine. The Einspurphase 83, during which the signals rest in a second signal length 95 analogous to the second signal length 85 during the toe-in / Verdrehphase, followed by a spin-through phase 86 of the internal combustion engine. During this spin-through phase, the drive of the internal combustion engine to be started is applied by the starter motor of the starter 1. To avoid overloading with respect to an excessively high temperature, the spin-through phase 86 can be limited to a maximum duration 87, which is stored within the safety function 62 shown in FIG. 4, which is arranged downstream of the diagnostic function block 61. When the maximum duration 87 of the spin-through phase can be intervened in the sequence control 66 via the safety function 62, so that the output signals 67 and 68 to the power output stages 69, which controls the starter motor of the starter 1 and the engagement relay is affected accordingly. Only after cooling in the event of a temperature exceeded or after reduction or increase in the voltage 34 to an allowable value is intervened in the opposite direction in the sequence control 66, so that a restart can be triggered. The length of the individual drive times can be varied or adjusted depending on the data within the diagnostic block 61 and the data protection block 64.

In the lower diagram shown in FIG. 5, the profile 90 of the output signal of the power output stage 69 for the engagement relay 3 is reproduced. During a parallel to Andrehphase 81 of the starter motor extending inactive phase 91 of the engagement relay 3, this remains completely passive. At the time 92, an engagement signal is generated which corresponds to the output signal 71 of the power output stage 69, which acts on the engagement relay 3. During the engagement phase 94, this output signal 71 remains pending until the end of the engagement phase 93, which is represented by reference numeral 93 on the time axis. After the engagement phase 94 are rectangular voltage signals identified by reference numeral 95, both during a time corresponding to Einspurphase 83 duration of the engagement relay 3, which also apply during the spin phase 86 of the internal combustion engine. During the spin-through phase 86, the internal combustion engine has not yet assumed the speed which makes it necessary to make a mark on the drive pinion 18 with the aid of the overrunning clutch 14 on the armature shaft 13 of the starter motor of the starter 1. With the solution according to the invention mechanical repercussions of the internal combustion engine on the engagement relay 3, via the mechanical single-track operation at of the embodiment variant shown in Figure 1 may occur according to the prior art, excluded.

With the proposed solution according to the invention can be achieved in particular by the implementation of the protective function 62 within the processing block 60 that the starter motor of the starter 1 is preserved from too long drive. In addition, inadmissibly high temperatures can lead to effects on the dynamics of the starter. The temperature of the engagement relay 3 of the starter 1 or a malfunction of the associated output stages 69 can be detected by the diagnostic function block 61, which accordingly engages the sequence control 66 within the processing block 60 via the safety function 62.

FIG. 6 shows semiconductor components which can be used within the output block according to FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 within the power output stages.

The power output stages 69 (as shown in FIG. 4) can also contain bipolar transistors 102 in addition to field-effect transistors 101, whose control is effected by means of the "field effect" by the control voltage and whose voltage drop is given by the effective forward resistance. The bipolar transistors 102 are driven by a control current and are characterized by a good on-state behavior. Reference numeral 103 in FIG. 6 shows IGBTs (integrated gate bipolar transistor), which represent a combination of field-effect transistors 101 and bipolar transistor 102. The IGBTs 103 are driven by a control voltage. These electronic components are characterized in particular by an almost power-free control, which takes place almost without power only by the voltage. Reference numeral 104 denotes MCT's (MOS controlled thyristor); while reference numeral 105 denotes IGCT's semiconductor devices which constitute a combination of a MOS-FET transistor and a GTO thyristor. This electronic component, designated by reference numeral 105, substantially combines the very good on-state behavior of a thyristor with the switching capability of bipolar transistors 102.

FIG. 7 shows the design possibilities of the interface evaluation 51 according to the representation in FIG. 4 within the input function block. The interface evaluation 51 in the input function block 50 can convert a drive signal in the form of a current value into an output signal 55 and can be embodied as a current / voltage interface 106. In addition, the interface evaluation 51 can also convert a voltage difference .DELTA.U, which is present at the input side, into an output signal 55 which corresponds to a voltage (refer to reference numeral 107) in FIG. 7. In addition, it is also possible to use the interface evaluation 51 as voltage interface evaluation 108, as well as to realize a configuration of the interface evaluation 51 according to FIG. 4 in the input function block 50 by a bit / voltage conversion, for example by bit serial evaluation on a CAN data bus of given signals.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

starter

2

casing

3

Engaging relay / engagement magnet

4

electrical connection

5

switching axis

6

armature

7

armature stroke

8th

magnet winding

9

relay contact

10

Return spring

11

Engaging lever

12

articulation

13

armature shaft

14

freewheel

15

Idlers

16

takeaway

17

Coupling point freewheel sleeve

18

pinion

19

drive bearing

20

sprocket

21

Countershaft (planetary gear)

22

planet

23

Ring gear (sprocket)

24

feather

30

control signal

31

magnetic switches

32

first contact piece

33

second contact piece

34

battery voltage

35

Control current starter motor starter 1

36

Engagement function of the engagement relay 3

40

HomeWish

50

Input function block

51

Interface evaluation

52

signal conditioning

53

temperature signal

54

Output signal conditioning

55

Output signal interface evaluation

60

processing block

61

Diagnostic function block

62

safety function

63

Output signal safety function

64

Backup module

65

Output / input data protection module

66

flow control

67

Output signal for power output stage Contact relay 3

68

Output signal for power output stage starter motor starter 1

69

power amplifiers

70

output block

71

Output signal for engagement relay 3

72

Output signal for starter motor starter 1

80

Course output signal power output stage starter motor

81

Andrehphase

82

Toe-in / Twist Phase Drive Pinion

83

Einspurphase

84

first signal length

85

second signal length

86

Spin-through internal combustion engine

87

Maximum duration of spin-through

90

History Output signal Power output stage Contact relay 3

91

inactive phase

92

Beginning engagement phase

93

End of the induction phase

94

starting phase

95

block signal

101

FET

102

bipolar transistor

103

IGBT

104

MCT

105

IGCT

106

Current / voltage interface

107

.DELTA.U / U interface

108

U / U interface

109

Bit / voltage interface

Claims (20)

1. Method for driving a starter (1) for internal combustion engines, the starter (1) comprising a starter motor and an engagement relay (3) and driving signals (71, 72) for the starter motor and engagement relay (3) are generated after the following method steps have been run through:

   - the transfer of a starting request (40) to an input function block (50),

   - the processing of signals (54, 55) of the input function block (50) in a processing block (60) containing a diagnostic function module (61), a safety function (62) and a sequencing controller (66), and

   - the generation of driving signals (71, 72) which are decoupled from one another, by means of an output block (70) with clockable power output stages (69) .
2. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that signals which are relevant to driving are input inside the input function block (50) by means of an interface evaluation (51) using an electronic interface which is embodied as a CAN data bus or bit serial interface.
3. Method according to Claim 2, characterized in that the interface evaluation (51) is carried out by means of an electronic interface which is configured as a voltage input or as a current input.
4. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that a temperature signal (53) is fed to the input function block (50) as an input signal.
5. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that the temperature signal (53) represents the temperature of the engagement magnet of the starter (1).
6. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that the temperature signal (53) represents the external temperature.
7. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that the temperature signal (53) represents the temperature of an internal combustion engine (cooling water temperature or oil temperature).
8. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that malfunctions of the power output stages (69), upward transgression of an admissible temperature and the duration (87) of the racing phase (86) of the internal combustion engine are sensed within the diagnostic function module (61).
9. Method according to Claim 8, characterized in that malfunctions which are sensed by means of the diagnostic function module (61) are archived in a way which can be read out in a data backup (64) of the processing block (60).
10. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the safety function (62) for protecting against overloading of the starter motor of the starter (1) is hierarchically subordinate to the diagnostic function module (61).
11. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the sequencing controller (66) receives signals (63) of the safety function (62) and generates output signals (67, 68) for power semiconductor components which form power output stages (69).
12. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the driving signals (71, 72) for the "engagement" function for the engagement relay (3) and the "switch current" function for the starter motor of the starter (1) are provided decoupled from one another within the output block (70).
13. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the driving signal (72) for the starter motor of the starter (1) which is generated in the power semiconductor component (69) which is assigned thereto is output into the starter (1) as a driving signal (72) and is simultaneously transmitted to the diagnostic function module (61).
14. Device for carrying out the method according to one or more of the preceding claims, having a starter (1) which has an engagement magnet (3), characterized in that an electronic driving system, which comprises an input function block (50), a processing block (60) and an output block (70), is assigned to the starter (1), the output block (70) comprising output stages (69) which are embodied as power semiconductor components (69) and are of freely programmable design and can be clocked in a freely preselectable fashion, means for carrying out the steps according to Claim 1 being provided.
15. Device according to Claim 14, characterized in that the power output stages (69) are embodied as power semiconductors with low-impedance switching elements.
16. Device according to Claim 14, characterized in that the power semiconductors (69) are embodied as field-effect transistors.
17. Device according to Claim 14, characterized in that the power semiconductors (69) are embodied as bipolar transistors.
18. Device according to Claim 14, characterized in that the power semiconductors (69) are embodied as IGBT components.
19. Device according to Claim 14, characterized in that the power semiconductors (69) are embodied as MCT (Mos Controlled Thyristor) components.
20. Device according to Claim 14, characterized in that the power semiconductors (69) are embodied as IGCTs (Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristors).

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