METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING ENGINE IN ENGINE CHARACTERISTICS TEST

Abstract: A method and an apparatus is described for controlling an engine in an engine characteristics test capable of performing the controlling operations highly accurately by taking mutual interference between more than one control systems into account. At least one controlled variable is optimally controlled by utilizing proportional, integral, and derivative factors, where a controlled parameter is calculated from measured values for controlled variables; integral terms are calculated from differences between prescribed reference values and measured values for the controlled variables, and the controlled parameter; proportional terms are calculated from the controlled parameter and the measured values for the controlled variables; and the controlled variables are obtained from the integral terms and the proportional terms.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling the operation of an engine in an engine characteristics test to be performed in an experimental room. Description of the Background Art A test of engine characteristics such as an engine noise or an amount of exhaust is usually conducted inside an experimental room, because of the difficulty of collecting data on a running car, which is carrying an engine. In such a test, an engine axial torque and a number of revolutions are controlled at prescribed values by adjusting throttle valve opening of the engine and motor meter current of a motor meter associated with the engine. An example of a conventional apparatus for performing such an engine test is shown in Fig. 1. In this apparatus, an operator enters reference values for the axial torque and the number of revolutions at operation command generator 1, and reference signals indicating these reference values are subsequently given to subtractors 4a and 4b. Meanwhile, an engine 2 to be tested is equipped with a number of revolutions detector 3 from which a measured value for the number of revolutions is fed back to the subtractor 4a, so that the subtractor 4a calculates a difference between the measured value and the reference value for the number of revolutions. This difference obtained by the subtractor 4a is then fed to an engine controller 5 which performs a control operation to nullify the difference by generating a throttle valve opening control signal to appropriately adjust a throttle opening controller 6 connected to a throttle valve (not shown) of the engine 2. On the other hand, the engine 2 is also equipped with an axial torque detector 7 from which a measured value for the axial torque is fed back to the subtractor 4b, so that the subtractor 4b calculates a difference between the measured value and the reference value for the axial torque. This difference obtained by the subtractor 4b is then fed to a motor meter controller 8 which performs a control operation to nullify the difference by generating a motor meter current control signal to appropriately adjust a motor meter current controller 9 connected to a motor meter 10. In this manner, the number of revolutions and the axial torque of the engine 2 are adjusted in correspondence with various driving conditions, such that the data concerning characteristics of the engine 2 under various driving conditions can be obtained. However, in such a conventional apparatus for performing engine test, a system for controlling the number of revolutions by the adjustment of the throttle valve opening, and a system for controlling the axial torque by adjusting the motor meter current are completely independent of each other. In other words, each system is operating as a single-input single-output system, so that it has been impossible to control these systems with mutual interference between these systems taken into account. For this reason, it has been difficult to stabilize the number of revolutions and the axial torque simultaneously, so that a highly accurate test of an engine characteristics has been impossible. PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN, vol. 3, no. 151 (M-84), 12th December 1979; & JP-A-54 129 274 (MITSUBISHI) 06-10-1979 discloses a forecasting control process employing a PID controller, and a feed-back loop which modifies an original desired value setting means. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for controlling an engine in an engine characteristics test capable of performing the controlling operations highly accurately by taking mutual interference between more than one control systems into account. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for controlling an engine system in an engine characteristics test by optimally controlling at least one controlled variables, by utilizing proportional, integral, and derivative factors, comprising: means for specifying prescribed reference values for the controlled variables; means for sampling measured values for the controlled variables at predetermined sampling timings; means for calculating a controlled parameter from the measured values for the controlled variables; means for calculating controlled variable differences between the measured values of the controlled variables and the prescribed reference values for the controlled variables; means for calculating integral terms from the controlled variable differences and the controlled parameter; means for calculating proportional terms from the controlled parameter and the measured values for the controlled variables; means for obtaining the controlled variables from the integral terms and the proportional terms; and means for controlling the engine in accordance with the obtained controlled variables. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling an engine system in an engine characteristics test by optimally controlling at least one controlled variables, by utilizing proportional, integral, and derivative factors, comprising the steps of: specifying prescribed reference values for the controlled variables; sampling measured values for the controlled variables at predetermined sampling timings; calculating a controlled parameter from the measured values for the controlled variables; calculating controlled variable differences between the measured values of the controlled variables and the prescribed reference values for the controlled variables; calculating integral terms from the controlled variable differences and the controlled parameter; calculating proportional terms from the controlled parameter and the measured values for the controlled variables; obtaining the controlled variables from the integral terms and the proportional terms; and controlling the engine in accordance with the obtained controlled variables. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram for a conventional apparatus for testing an engine. Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram for one embodiment of an apparatus for testing an engine according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a flow chart for a part of a control operation to be performed by the apparatus of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a flow chart for another part of a control operation to be performed by the apparatus of Fig. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown one embodiment of an apparatus for testing an engine according to the present invention. In this embodiment, an engine 2 to be tested is equipped with a number of revolutions detector 3a to measure a number of revolutions N E of the engine 2, an axial torque detector 7 for measuring an axial torque T F , a throttle opening controller 6 for adjusting an opening of a throttle valve (not shown) of the engine 2, and a throttle opening detector 12 for measuring an opening of the throttle valve S F . On the other hand, a motor meter 10 connected with the engine 2 is equipped with a number of revolutions detector 3b for measuring a number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10, and a motor meter current controller 9 for adjusting a motor meter current to be supplied to the motor meter 10. The number of revolutions N E of the engine 2, the axial torque T F , the opening of the throttle valve S F , and the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10 are fed to a test control unit 11, while the throttle opening controller 6 and the motor meter current controller 9 are controlled by a throttle valve opening control value S R and a motor meter current control value I R from the test control unit 11, respectively, which are obtained such that the opening of the throttle valve and the motor meter current are adjusted appropriately to be equal to reference values T R and N R for the opening of the throttle valve and the motor meter current entered by an operator at an operation command generator 1. The test control unit 11 comprises a controlled variable difference calculator 13 for calculating controlled variable differences between the measured values and the reference values for controlled variables, which in this case are the opening of the throttle valve and the motor meter current; a controlled parameter calculator 14 for calculating a controlled parameter from the measured values of the number of revolutions N E of the engine 2, the opening of the throttle valve S F , and the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10 in accordance with a prescribed mathematical model; an integral term calculator 15 for calculating an integral term for PID (proportional-integral-derivative) type control from the controlled parameter obtained by the controlled parameter calculator 14 and the controlled variable differences obtained by the controlled variable difference calculator 13; a proportional term calculator 16 for calculating a proportional term for PID type control from the controlled parameter obtained by the controlled parameter calculator 14, the measured values of the number of revolutions N E of the engine 2, the opening of the throttle valve S F , and the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10; and a controlled variable calculator 17 for calculating the throttle valve opening control value S R and a motor meter current control value I R from the integral term and the proportional term. Now, the mathematical model to be use in this embodiment will be described in detail. In this embodiment, a system of the engine 2 and the motor meter 10 is expressed by a model given by the following equations (1) to (8): dX/dt = A·X + B·U Y = C·X X = ( T SH N E N D ) T U = ( S R I R ) T Y = ( T SH N D ) T where T SH is the axial torque of the engine 2, N E is the measured number of revolutions of the engine 2, N D is the measured number of revolutions of the motor meter 10, S R is the throttle valve opening control value, I R is the motor meter current control value, K SH is a torsional rigidity coefficient of a connecting axle, J E is a moment of inertia of the engine 2, K N is a coefficient indicating a variation of generated engine torque corresponding to a variation of the number of revolutions of the engine 2, K E is a coefficient indicating a variation of generated engine torque corresponding to a variation of the throttle valve opening,  is a back electromotive force coefficient of the motor meter 10, and J D is a moment of inertia of the motor meter 10. Here, a vector U given by the equation (7) above can also be expressed by using the controlled parameter K D as follows: d U /dt = - K D · X D where X D = ( d X T /dt( Y - R ) T ) T in which R represents a prescribed reference value for the controlled parameter K D . Now, an inverse problem of a linear optimal control is to obtain a state feedback which minimizes a function for evaluating a response of the engine 2, which is explained in detail in T. Fujii, "New approach to the LQ design from the viewpoint of the inverse regulator problem", IEEE transactions on automatic control, Vol. AC-32, No. 11, November 1987. According to this reference, the controlled parameter K D appearing in the equation (9) above can be expressed in terms of an appropriate regular matrix V , a regular constant diagonal Σ = diag( σ ₁, σ ₂), and an appropriate matrix F as follows: K D = V ⁻¹· Σ·V· ( F I ) ·Γ ⁻¹ where When this theory is applied to the model described by the equations (1) and (2) above, the controlled parameter K D can be expressed as follows: K₁₁ = f₁₁ (J E , K SH , K E , W C.TC ) K₁₂ = f₁₂ (J E , K E ) K₁₄ = f₁₄ (J E , K SH , K E , W C.TC ) K₁₅ = f₁₅ (J E , K E , W C.SC ) K₂₃ = f₂₃ (J D , ) K₂₅ = f₂₅ (J E , , W C.SC ) where W C.TC is a target response of the torque control, W C.SC is a target response of the number of revolutions control, and f( ) designates an appropriate function of the arguments inside the bracket. The controlled parameter K D so obtained, however, is applicable only to an object to be controlled which possesses a linear characteristic, so that it is not directly applicable to the engine 2, whose response characteristic is known to be nonlinear. Nevertheless, by specifying a coefficient K E , which is a coefficient indicating a variation of generated engine torque corresponding to a variation of the throttle valve opening, and a coefficient  , which is a back electromotive force coefficient of the motor meter 10, both of which vary in accordance with the nonlinear characteristic of the engine 2, the controlled parameter K D can be determined. In this embodiment, the coefficient K E is determined from a static characteristic of the engine 2 as follows. Namely, the generated engine torque T E can be given as a function of the throttle valve opening S F and the number of revolutions N E of the engine 2 by the following expression: T E = f(N E , S F ) which can be determined from the designed values or the measured values. Then, the coefficient K E can be obtained from this generated engine torque T E by using the following expression: K E = {f(N E , S F +a) - f(N E , S F -a)}/(2 · a) where a is a constant. Thus, the coefficient K E indicating a variation of generated engine torque corresponding to a variation of the throttle valve opening can be determined from the throttle valve opening S F and the number of revolutions N E of the engine 2. As for the back electromotive force coefficient  of the motor meter 10, this can be determined from the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10 as follows. Namely, the back electromotive force coefficient  can be given by:  = f(N D , P, I B ) where N D is the number of revolutions of the motor meter 10, P is a rated capacity of the motor meter 10, and I B is a rated current of the motor meter 10. Since the rated capacity P and the rated current I B are constant values, the back electromotive force coefficient  can be determined once the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10 is known. Thus, putting these together, the controlled parameter K D can be determined from the throttle valve opening S F , the number of revolutions N E of the engine 2, and the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10. In accordance with this model, the apparatus of Fig. 2 operates as follows. First, as the operation begins, the number of revolutions N E of the engine 2 detected by the number of revolutions detector 3a, the axial torque T F detected by the axial torque detector 7, the opening of the throttle valve S F detected by the throttle opening detector 12, and the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10 detected by the number of revolutions detector 3b are fed to a test control unit 11, which are taken into the test control unit 11 at predetermined sampling timings. Then, in the test control unit 11, the controlled parameter calculator 14 calculates the controlled parameter K D ,i for the i-th sampling timing according to the flow chart of Fig. 3, as follows. First, at the step 21, the number of revolutions N E ,i of the engine 2, the opening of the throttle valve S F , i , and the number of revolutions N D ,i of the motor meter 10 at the i-th sampling timing are taken in. Then, at the steps 22 and 23, these values for N E. i , S F, i , and N D, i are substituted into the equations (16) and (17), respectively, so as to obtain the coefficient K E, i indicating a variation of generated engine torque corresponding to a variation of the throttle valve opening, and the back electromotive force coefficient  i of the motor meter 10, respectively. Then, at the step 24, the obtained coefficients K E,i and  i are substituted into the equations (14a) to (14f), so as to obtain the elements K 11, i , K 12, i , K 14, i , K 15, i , K 23, i , and K 25, i of the controlled parameter K D, i . The controlled parameter K D, i so obtained is subsequently fed to the integral term calculator 15 and the proportional term calculator 16. From this controlled parameter K D, i , the throttle valve opening control value S R, i and the motor meter current control value I R, i are obtained by the test control unit 11, according to the flow chart of Fig. 4, as follows. First, if it is determined to be the first sampling timing at the step 31, then at the step 32, various data to be used are initialized to initial values as follows: where X₁₄, X₂₂, X₁₅, X₁₆, and X₂₃ are parameters to be utilized in a course of the subsequent calculations. If it is not the first sampling timing, this initialization at the step 32 is skipped. Next, at the step 33, a torque difference ΔT i and a number of revolutions difference ΔN i are calculated by the controlled variable difference calculator 13 from the reference values N R,i and T R,i for the number of revolutions and the axial torque entered from the operation command generator 1 and the measured values of the number of revolutions N D,i of the motor meter 10 and the axial torque T F,i , as follows: ΔT i = T R.i - T F.i ΔN i = N R.i - N D.i These differences obtained are then fed to the integral term calculator 15, at which the parameters X 11,i , X 12,i , X 13,i , and X 21,i are calculated at the step 34 as follows: X 11.i = K 14.i ·ΔT i X 12.i = K 15.i ·ΔN i X 13.i = X 11.i +X 12.i X 21.i = K 25.i ·ΔN i from which the parameters X 14,i and X 22,i are also obtained by the integral term calculator 15 at the step 35 as follows: X 14.i = X 14.i-1 +X 13.i ·Δt X 22.i = X 22.i-1 +X 21.i ·Δt where Δt is a control period. The parameter X 14,i obtained by the equation (24) and the parameter X 22,i obtained by the equation (25) are then fed to the controlled variable calculator 17 as the integral terms for the throttle valve opening control value S R,i and the motor meter current control value I R,i , respectively. On the other hand, at the step 36, the proportional term calculator 16 calculates the parameters X 15,i , X 16,i , and X 23,i from the measured values of the number of revolutions N E,i of the engine 2, the axial torque T F,i , and the number of revolutions N D,i of the motor meter 10 as follows: X 15.i = X 15.i-1 +K 11.i ·(T F.i -T F.i-1 ) X 16.i = X 16.i-1 +K 12.i ·(N E.i -N E.i-1 ) X 23.i = X 23.i-1 +K 23.i ·(N D.i -N D.i-1 ) The parameters X 15,i and X 16,i obtained by the equations (26) and (27), and the parameter X 23,i obtained by the equation (28) are then fed to the controlled variable calculator 17 as the proportional terms for the throttle valve opening control value S R,i and the motor meter current control value I R,i , respectively. It is noted that in the equations (26) to (28), the proportional terms are obtained from the difference between the current sampling data and the previous sampling data, so that the nonlinearity of the engine 2 can be taken into account. Next, at the step 37, the controlled variable calculator 17 calculates the throttle valve opening control value S R,i and the motor meter current control value I R,i from the integral terms from the integral term calculator 15 and the proportional terms from the proportional term calculator 16 as follows: S R.i = X 14.i -X 15.i -X 16.i I R.i = X 22.i -X 23.i The throttle valve opening control value S R, i and the motor meter current control value I R,i so obtained are then fed to the throttle opening controller 6 and the motor meter current controller 9, respectively, at the step 38, and the value of a suffix i labelling the sampling timing is increased by one at the step 39 in order to prepare for the next sampling timing. As a result, the throttle of the engine 2 is controlled by the throttle opening controller 6 in accordance with the throttle valve opening control value S R,i , while the motor meter 10 is controlled by the motor meter current controller 9 in accordance with the motor meter current control value I R,i , such that the number of revolution and the axial torque of the engine 2 is controlled to be equal to the reference values specified at the operation command generator 1. Thus, in this embodiment, the system of the engine 2 and the motor meter 10 is controlled as a two-inputs two-outputs system, using the number of revolutions of the motor meter 10 and the axial torque of the engine 2 as two of the inputs, and the throttle valve opening and the motor meter current as two of the outputs. Consequently, a mutual interference between two controlled variables of the throttle valve opening and motor meter current can be avoided, so that a stable control operation becomes possible. Moreover, because the controlled variables are calculated with the nonlinearity of the engine 2 fully taken into account, the number of revolutions and the axial torque can be controlled at the sufficiently high accuracy required by the engine test. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the controlled parameter can be determined from the characteristics of the engine 2 and the motor meter 10, so that the manual operation such as an initial adjustment associated with the replacement of the engine 2 to be tested can be reduced. Now, in the above embodiment, the number of revolutions of the engine 2 is measured. However, this may be replaced by an estimated number of revolutions N E.E of the engine 2 which can be obtained from the measured values for the axial torque T F and the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10, and the torsional rigidity coefficient K SH of the connecting axle, as follows: N E.E = (dT F /dt)·(1/K SH )+N D Thus, the above embodiment may be simplified by using this estimated number of revolutions N E.E of the engine 2 instead of the measured value of the number of revolution N E of the engine 2. Here, because the torsional rigidity coefficient K SH of the connecting axle is usually vary large, so that the measured value of the number of revolutions N D of the motor meter 10 may be taken as the estimated number of revolutions N E.E of the engine 2 by simply ignoring the first term in the equation (31), without sacrificing the accuracy too much. It is to be noted that by increasing the number of inputs and outputs, the above embodiment can readily be extended to multi-inputs multi-outputs system. Besides these, many modifications and variations of the above embodiments may be made without departing from the novel and advantageous features of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: An apparatus for controlling an engine system in an engine characteristics test by optimally controlling at least one controlled variables, by utilizing proportional, integral, and derivative factors, comprising: means for specifying prescribed reference values for the controlled variables; means for sampling measured values for the controlled variables at predetermined sampling timings; means for calculating a controlled parameter from the measured values for the controlled variables; means for calculating controlled variable differences between the measured values of the controlled variables and the prescribed reference values for the controlled variables; means for calculating integral terms from the controlled variable differences and the controlled parameter; means for calculating proportional terms from the controlled parameter and the measured values for the controlled variables; means for obtaining the controlled variables from the integral terms and the proportional terms; and means for controlling the engine in accordance with the obtained controlled variables. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the engine system comprises an engine having a throttle valve and a motor meter; the prescribed reference values are specified for a number of revolutions of the motor meter and an axial torque of the engine; the measured values are taken for a number of revolutions of the engine, the axial torque of the engine, the number of revolutions of the motor meter, and the throttle valve opening; the controlled parameter is calculated from the measured values for the throttle valve opening and the number of revolutions of the engine; the controlled variable differences are calculated between the measured values and the prescribed reference values for the axial torque and the number of revolutions of the motor meter; and the proportional terms are calculated from the measured values for the axial torque, number of revolutions of the engine, and number of revolutions of the motor meter. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for calculating integral terms calculates the integral terms by first multiplying the controlled variable differences and the controlled parameter, and then integrating; the means for calculating proportional terms calculates the proportional terms by multiplying the controlled parameter and differences of the measured values for the controlled variables between current sampling and previous sampling; and the means for obtaining the controlled variables obtains the controlled variables by adding the integral terms and the proportional terms. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the engine system comprises an engine having a throttle valve and a motor meter; the prescribed reference values are specified for a number of revolutions of the motor meter and an axial torque of the engine; the measured values are taken for the axial torque of the engine, the number of revolutions of the motor meter, and the throttle valve opening; a number of revolutions of the engine is estimated from the measured values of the axial torque and the number of revolutions of the motor meter, the controlled parameter is calculated from the measured value for the throttle valve opening and the estimated value of the number of revolutions of the engine; the controlled variable differences are calculated between the measured values and the prescribed reference values for the axial torque and the number of revolutions of the motor meter; and the proportional terms are calculated from the measured values for the axial torque and the number of revolutions of the motor meter, and the estimated value of the number of revolutions of the engine. A method of controlling an engine system in an engine characteristics test by optimally controlling at least one controlled variables, by utilizing proportional, integral, and derivative factors, comprising the steps of: specifying prescribed reference values for the controlled variables; sampling measured values for the controlled variables at predetermined sampling timings; calculating a controlled parameter from the measured values for the controlled variables; calculating controlled variable differences between the measured values of the controlled variables and the prescribed reference values for the controlled variables; calculating integral terms from the controlled variable differences and the controlled parameter; calculating proportional terms from the controlled parameter and the measured values for the controlled variables; obtaining the controlled variables from the integral terms and the proportional terms; and controlling the engine in accordance with the obtained controlled variables. The method of claim 5, wherein the engine system comprises an engine having a throttle valve and a motor meter; the prescribed reference values are specified for a number of revolutions of the motor meter and an axial torque of the engine; the measured values are taken for a number of revolutions of the engine, the axial torque of the engine, the number of revolutions of the motor meter, and the throttle valve opening; the controlled parameter is calculated from the measured values for the throttle valve opening and the number of revolutions of the engine; the controlled variable differences are calculated between the measured values and the prescribed reference values for the axial torque and the number of revolutions of the motor meter; and the proportional terms are calculated from the measured values for the axial torque, number of revolutions of the engine, and number of revolutions of the motor meter. The method of claim 5, wherein the integral terms are calculated by first multiplying the controlled variable differences and the controlled parameter, and then integrating; the proportional terms are calculated by multiplying the controlled parameter and differences of the measured values for the controlled variables between current sampling and previous sampling; and the controlled variables are obtained by adding the integral terms and the proportional terms. The method of claim 5, wherein the engine system comprises an engine having a throttle valve and a motor meter; the prescribed reference values are specified for a number of revolutions of the motor meter and an axial torque of the engine; the measured values are taken for the axial torque of the engine, the number of revolutions of the motor meter, and the throttle valve opening; a number of revolutions of the engine is estimated from the measured values of the axial torque and the number of revolutions of the motor meter, the controlled parameter is calculated from the measured value for the throttle valve opening and the estimated value of the number of revolutions of the engine; the controlled variable differences are calculated between the measured values and the prescribed reference values for the axial torque and the number of revolutions of the motor meter; and the proportional terms are calculated from the measured values for the axial torque and the number of revolutions of the motor meter, and the estimated value of the number of revolutions of the engine.

Inventors: SEKI, YOSHIRO
Applicants: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
Application year: 1990
Main classification: G01M15
IPC codes: F02D45, G05B11, F02D41, G05B13, G01M15