Patent ID: 7443044

Claim:
An engine control device comprising a control portion that performs various types of control including ignition timing control of an engine using, as a starter motor, a brushless motor including a stator having polyphase armature coils, a rotor having a magnetic field with 2n poles (n is an integer equal to or larger than 1), a position detection device that outputs a rectangular wave position detection signal that represents a level change for each rotation of said rotor by a predetermined angle, and a motor driving portion that passes a driving current through said polyphase armature coils in an energization pattern determined according to said position detection signal so as to rotate said rotor, wherein said engine control device further comprises: a pickup coil that detects a change in magnetic flux at a predetermined crank angle position of said engine to output a pulse signal; and crank angle position detection means that detects a crank angle position of said engine corresponding to each level change represented by said position detection signal based on the pulse signal output by said pickup coil, said rotor is connected to a crankshaft so that a relationship between a rotational angle position of the rotor of said brushless motor and the crank angle position of said engine is uniquely determined, said pickup coil is provided to output said pulse signal in a crank angle section where a load applied to said brushless motor in cranking said engine is light, and said brushless motor is comprised so as to generate, in cranking said engine, output torque required for rotating said engine at a rotational speed required for said pulse signal generated by said pickup coil to be a threshold level or higher, and said control portion is comprised so as to obtain crank angle information of said engine from the level change of said position detection signal, the crank angle position corresponding to the level change being detected by the crank angle position detection means, and perform said various types of control.