Electric drive direction confirmation system and method

• US 10,464,549 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2017
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Cardimen, Peter J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan Q
• Application Number:
  US15/824,090
• Publication Number:
  US 20190161073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 707 Days
• Field of Search: 701 22
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/387 Actuated clutches, i.e. clutches engaged or disengaged by electric, hydraulic or mechanical actuating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/442 Series-parallel switching type
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/547 the transmission being a stepped gearing
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/11 Stepped gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/30 Control strategies involving selection of transmission gear ratio control of change speed gearings, together with other vehicle sub-units B60W10/10; HEV transmission gearing B60K6/36; gearings and control thereof F16H
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/1005 Transmission ratio engaged
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/06 Direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/16 Ratio selector position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/08 Electric propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/16 Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/92 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2300/60 Control of electric machines, e.g. problems related to electric motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2300/70 Control of gearings
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 59/12 comprising push button devices
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 63/50 Signals to an engine or motor
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/919 Stepped shift
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/93 Conjoint control of different elements

Abstract

An electric drive direction confirmation system and method for a vehicle are provided. The system and method include receiving a gear selector input signal corresponding to a gear selection from an electronic gear selector on the vehicle, determining whether the gear selector input signal corresponds to a directional movement gear selection, and, when determined that the gear selector input signal corresponds to the directional movement gear selection, sending a drive command to temporarily urge the vehicle in a direction corresponding to the gear selection.

Claims

1. An electric drive direction confirmation system for a vehicle, comprising:

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by a processor cause the processor to;

receive a gear selector input signal corresponding to a gear selection from an electronic gear selector on the vehicle;

determine whether the gear selector input signal corresponds to a directional movement gear selection; and

when determined that the gear selector input signal corresponds to the directional movement gear selection, send a drive command to temporarily urge the vehicle in a direction corresponding to the gear selection.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the gear selection is one of a park gear, a reverse gear, a neutral gear and a drive gear.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the gear selector includes a plurality of actuators with each of said plurality of actuators corresponding, respectively to the park gear, the reverse gear and neutral gear and the drive gear.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the plurality of actuators include a push button drive gear actuator and a push button reverse gear actuator.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the gear selector input signal corresponds to the directional movement gear selection only when the gear selection is the reverse gear or the drive gear.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the gear selector input signal corresponds to the directional movement gear selection when the gear selection is one of a reverse gear or a drive gear.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the drive command temporarily urges the vehicle in a forward direction when the gear selection is the drive gear and temporarily urges the vehicle in a rearward direction when the gear selection is the reverse gear.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the electronic gear selector includes an actuator for selecting the gear selection from the following:

at least one park gear, at least one reverse gear, at least one neutral gear and at least one drive gear, and wherein the gear selector input signal is determined to correspond to the directional movement gear selection when said at least one reverse gear or said at least one drive gear is selected on the electronic gear selector.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the drive command instructs an electric motor of the vehicle to nudge the vehicle forwardly when the gear selection is said at least one drive gear and instructs the electric motor to nudge the vehicle rearwardly when the gear selection is said at least one reverse gear.

10. A computer-implemented electric drive direction confirmation method for a vehicle, comprising:

receiving a gear selector input signal corresponding to a gear selection from an electronic gear selector on the vehicle;

determining whether the gear selector input signal corresponds to a directional movement gear selection; and

when determined that the gear selector input signal corresponds to the directional movement gear selection, sending a drive command to temporarily urge the vehicle in a direction corresponding to the gear selection.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the gear selection is one of a park gear, a reverse gear, a neutral gear and a drive gear.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the gear selector input signal is determined to correspond to the directional movement gear selection when the gear selector input signal corresponds to the gear selection that is either the reverse gear or the drive gear.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein sending the drive command to temporarily urge the vehicle in the direction corresponding to the gear selection includes instructing an electric motor of the vehicle to slightly move or pulse in the direction corresponding to the gear selection.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the drive command slightly moves or pulses the vehicle forward when the gear selection is a drive gear and slightly moves or pulses the vehicle rearward when the gear selection is a reverse gear.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the gear selector input signal is determined to not correspond to the directional movement gear selection when the gear selection is any one of a park gear or a neutral gear.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein receiving the gear selector input signal includes translating push button actuation of the electronic gear selector into the gear selector input signal corresponding to the gear selection as selected via said push button actuation.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, which includes at least a processor, causes the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a gear selector input signal corresponding to a gear selection from an electronic gear selector on a vehicle;

determining whether the gear selector input signal corresponds to a directional movement gear selection; and

when determined that the gear selector input signal corresponds to the directional movement gear selection, sending a drive command to temporarily urge the vehicle in a direction corresponding to the gear selection.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein receiving the gear selector input signal includes translating push button actuation from the electronic gear selector into the gear selector input signal that corresponds with the gear selection.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the gear selector input signal is determined to correspond to the directional movement gear selection when the gear selection is one of a reverse gear or a drive gear.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein said direction is forward when the gear selection is the drive gear and said direction is rearward when the gear selection is the reverse gear.