Method and apparatus for changing the comfort level of gear shifts in an automated transmission of a motor vehicle

• US 20040014564A1
• Filed: 03/27/2003
• Published: 01/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG (INA-Holding Schaeffler GmbH & Co. KG)
• Original Assignee: LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG (INA-Holding Schaeffler GmbH & Co. KG)
• Inventors: Jager, Thomas, Vornehm, Martin, Kupper, Klaus, Henneberger, Klaus
• Granted Patent: US 6,814,687 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 477/115
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/02 including control of driveline clutches
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/10 including control of change-speed gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/11 Stepped gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/30 Driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/023 Clutch engagement rate
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0672 Torque change rate
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/19 Improvement of gear change, e.g. by synchronisation or smoothing gear shift
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/0096 using a parameter map
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/1208 with diagnostic check cycles; Monitoring of failures
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2302/04 Determining a modus for shifting
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/0437 by using electrical signals F16H61/0403 and F16H61/061 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/12 Detecting malfunction or potential malfunction, e.g. fail safe in control of hydrostatic gearing F16H61/4192; Circumventing or fixing failures
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 477/902 Control signal is engine parameter other than manifold pressure or fuel control

Abstract

The comfort level of a gear shift in a motor vehicle with an automated gear-shifting transmission is determined by shift parameters which are dependent on driving parameters and on a shift program mode that is either driver-selected or automatically determined. The shift program mode is identified through a characteristic parameter which can vary in a range of parameter values corresponding to a range of shift program modes. The method has the steps of:

detecting current values of the driving parameters;

detecting a current value of the characteristic parameter;

determining respective minimum and maximum values that each of said shift parameters can assume within the range of characteristic parameter values as a function of the current driving parameter values;

calculating actual shift parameter values as intermediate values between said maximum and minimum values for each of said shift parameters based on said current value of the characteristic parameter; and

performing the gear shift with the actual shift parameter values.

Claims

1. A method of changing a comfort level of a gear shift in a motor vehicle with an automated gear-shifting transmission, an engine and a clutch, wherein said comfort level is characterized by shift parameters which are dependent on driving parameters characterizing a driving situation of the vehicle and are further dependent on a shift program mode that is identified through a characteristic parameter, said shift program mode being one of a driver-selected and an automatically determined shift program mode, wherein a range of characteristic parameter values correlates to a range of shift program modes;

the method comprising;

detecting current values of the driving parameters;

detecting a current value of the characteristic parameter;

determining respective minimum and maximum values that can be assumed by each of said shift parameters as a function of the current driving parameter values dependent on the characteristic parameter value;

calculating actual shift parameter values as intermediate values between said maximum and minimum values for each of said shift parameters based on said current value of the characteristic parameter; and

performing the gear shift with the actual shift parameter values.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the intermediate values are calculated by interpolation between the minimum and maximum values.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein in calculating the actual shift parameter values, said calculation excludes shift parameter values that would cause an oscillatory shaking of the vehicle during the gear shift.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the shift parameters comprise first shift parameters used in an initial phase of the gear shift and second shift parameters used in an ending phase of the gear shift, and wherein the step of calculating the actual shift parameters is performed in a manner where the first shift parameters and the second shift parameters are in such a relationship to each other that the gear shift is consistent within itself.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the driving situation of the vehicle includes a current behavior of the driver.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the shift parameters comprise at least one of the group consisting of:

a rate of engine-torque cutback before changing gears in the automated gear-shifting transmission;

a speed of disengaging the clutch before said changing of gears;

a speed of shift actuation during said changing of gears;

a force of shift actuation during said changing of gears;

a speed of re-engaging the clutch after said changing of gears; and

a rate of engine-torque restoration after said changing of gears.

7. An apparatus for performing the method of claim 1, comprising a processor unit operable to evaluate the current driving parameter values and a currently effective shift program mode, to look up in a memory device said maximum and minimum values, and to calculate said actual shift parameters.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein based on said actual shift parameters, the apparatus controls at least one of the clutch and the transmission in performing at least one of disengaging the clutch, shifting out of a currently engaged gear in the transmission, shifting into a different gear in the transmission, and re-engaging the clutch.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a device for detecting and evaluating error situations with an error counter operable to increment an error count dependent on the current driving parameter values and, when a predetermined error count limit has been exceeded, to take action through at least one of putting out an error message and interrupting an engagement of the clutch until the error counter has been reset based on the current driving parameter values.

10. A method of changing a comfort level of a gear shift in a motor vehicle with an automated gear-shifting transmission, an engine and a clutch, wherein said comfort level is characterized by shift parameters which are dependent on driving parameters characterizing a driving situation of the vehicle and are further dependent on a shift program mode, said shift program mode being one of a driver-selected and an automatically determined shift program mode, and which are further dependent on a characteristic parameter that is a function of the driving parameters;

the method comprising;

detecting current values of the driving parameters;

determining a current characteristic parameter value based on the current values of said driving parameters;

determining respective minimum and maximum values that can be assumed by each of said shift parameters as a function of the current driving parameter values dependent on the characteristic parameter value;

calculating actual shift parameter values as intermediate values between said maximum and minimum values; and

performing the gear shift with the actual shift parameter values.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the intermediate values are calculated by interpolation between the minimum and maximum values.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein in calculating the actual shift parameter values, said calculation excludes shift parameter values that would cause an oscillatory shaking of the vehicle during the gear shift.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the shift parameteres comprise first shift parameters used in an initial phase of the gear shift and second shift parameters used in an ending phase of the gear shift, and wherein the step of calculating the actual shift parameters is performed in a manner where the first shift parameters and the second shift parameters are in such a relationship to each other that the gear shift is consistent within itself.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the driving situation of the vehicle includes a current behavior of the driver.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the shift parameters comprise at least one of the group consisting of:

a rate of engine-torque cutback before changing gears in the automated gear-shifting transmission;

a speed of disengaging the clutch before said changing of gears;

a speed of shift actuation during said changing of gears;

a force of shift actuation during said changing of gears;

a speed of re-engaging the clutch after said changing of gears; and

a rate of engine-torque restoration after said changing of gears.

16. An apparatus for performing the method of claim 10, comprising a processor unit operable to evaluate the current driving parameter values and a currently effective shift program mode, to look up in a memory device said maximum and minimum values, and to calculate said actual shift parameters.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein based on said actual shift parameters, the apparatus controls at least one of the clutch and the transmission in performing at least one of disengaging the clutch, shifting out of a currently engaged gear in the transmission, shifting into a different gear in the transmission, and re-engaging the clutch.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a device for detecting and evaluating error situations with an error counter operable to increment an error count dependent on the current driving parameter values and, when a predetermined error count limit has been exceeded, to take action through at least one of putting out an error message and interrupting an engagement of the clutch until the error counter has been reset based on the current driving parameter values.

19. A method of monitoring the proper functioning of a controller device of an automated gear-shifting transmission, wherein the controller device has an error counter, wherein the method comprises:

incrementing an error count in the error counter upon detection of an error situation and decrementing said error count in the absence of said error situation, and

initiating an action if an error count limit has been exceeded,

and wherein at least one of an incremental step and a decremental step is variable.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one of the incremental step and decremental step varies dependent on a driving situation of a vehicle that is equipped with the automated gear-shifting transmission.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the error count limit varies dependent on the driving situation of the vehicle.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein said action is variable dependent on the driving situation of the vehicle.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the error count limit is raised when the vehicle is traveling and lowered when the vehicle is standing still.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein when the vehicle is standing still and a gear is engaged, an actuation of a clutch engagement is held up upon reaching the error count limit and the clutch engagement is not allowed to proceed until the error count has been decremented or reset.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the error count limit is lowered when the vehicle is standing still with a gear engaged.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the controller device has two processors, at least one of the processors has an error counter, and wherein the method comprises that the processors mutually monitor each other.