# US 2010/0168992 A1 · Idle stop controller

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- Number: US 2010/0168992 A1
- Document ID: US20100168992A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 12/600,626
- Filed: 2008-04-02
- Published: 2010-07-01
- Earliest claimed: 2007-07-05
- Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
- Inventors: Kazuhiro Nakata
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20100168992A1

## CPC

- F02D 29/02: peculiar to engines driving vehicles; peculiar to engines driving variable pitch propellers
- F02N 11/0837: {Environmental conditions thereof, e.g. traffic, weather or road conditions}
- F02N 2200/123: Information about vehicle position, e.g. from navigation systems or GPS signals
- G07B 15/063: {using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station (identification of vehicles G08G)}
- Y02T 10/40: Engine management systems
- F02D: CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES (vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed B60K31/00; conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function, road vehicle drive control systems for purposes other than the control of a single sub-unit B60W)
- F02N: STARTING OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; STARTING AIDS FOR SUCH ENGINES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G07B: TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION

## Abstract

An idle stop controller includes an idle stop mechanism 2 controlling the stop and the restart of an engine 1; a vehicle location detecting section 5 detecting a vehicle location; and a controller 4, when an ETC gate is retrieved within a predetermined region from a vehicle location detected by the vehicle location detecting section, prohibiting the idle stop mechanism from stopping the engine, and when no ETC gate has been detected within the predetermined region, releasing the prohibition.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An idle stop controller including:
an idle stop mechanism controlling the stop and the restart of an engine;
a vehicle location detecting section detecting a vehicle location; and
a controller that prohibits the idle stop mechanism from stopping the engine, when an ETC gate has been retrieved within a predetermined region from a vehicle location detected by the vehicle location detecting section, and that releases the prohibition when no ETC gate has been detected within the predetermined region,
wherein the controller prohibits the stop of the engine to continue a setup thereof with respect to an on-vehicle appliance of which the setup is reset when the engine is restarted.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The idle stop controller according to claim 1, wherein the controller is provided by a vehicle navigation system, and wherein the vehicle navigation system retrieves an ETC gate within an accessible region calculated from the distance to the ETC gate or from the traveling direction of a vehicle and the route to the ETC gate.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The idle stop controller according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle navigation system has the route to a destination set therein and wherein when the vehicle location detected by the vehicle location detecting section is present in the route, the vehicle navigation system selects only ETC gates existing within a region accessible within a fixed distance from the vehicle location or within a fixed time period forward in the route as a candidate for retrieval.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The idle stop controller according to claim 2, wherein the controller includes a vehicle speed sensor detecting a vehicle speed and wherein only when the vehicle speed sensor detected that the vehicle is stopped, the vehicle navigation system retrieves an ETC gate.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The idle stop controller according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle navigation system retrieves an ETC gate, with only entrance gates as a candidate for retrieval when the vehicle location detected by the vehicle location detecting section is present in a general road, and further with only exit gates as a candidate for retrieval when the vehicle location is present in an express way.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

The idle stop controller according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle navigation system removes the ETC gate which has been passed immediately before from a candidate for retrieval.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

The idle stop controller according to claim 2, wherein when an ETC function has been deactivated, no vehicle navigation system commands the idle stop mechanism to prohibit the stop of an engine.