Adjustment of the speed of a motor vehicle with an automatic gearbox

• US 20050261107A1
• Filed: 07/13/2005
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Pindl, Stephan, Lankes, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 7,246,675 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 477/34
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/00 Vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator fittings acting on two or more sub-units B60W30/14; speedometers G01P; systems or devices for controlling speed in general G05D13/00 ; in traffic anti-collision system for road vehicles G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/04 and means for comparing one electrical quantity, e.g. voltage, pulse, waveform, flux, or the like, with another quantity of a like kind, which comparison means is involved in the development of an electrical signal which is fed into the controlling means
• 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 2710/105 Output torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/106 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/182 Selecting between different operative modes, e.g. comfort and performance modes
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2300/14 Selecting a state of operation, e.g. depending on two wheel or four wheel drive mode
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/0213 characterised by the method for generating shift signals

Abstract

A method relieves the burden of a driver of a motor vehicle in which the drive train is provided with a gearbox which can be operated in an automatic mode and a manual mode. The method comprises the following automatic steps: a) detection whether the speed of the vehicle should be adjusted, b) initiation of the adjustment if necessary, and c) the carrying out of the adjustment. During step b) and/or step c) it is determined on one or several occasions whether the gearbox is operating in an automatic mode or in a manual mode in order to trigger a change into the automatic mode of the gearbox if the gearbox is operated in the manual mode.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle comprising:

a drive train,

an automatic gearbox coupled with the drive train that can be operated in a manual mode and an automatic mode in which the transmission ratio is changed automatically,

a automatic speed adjustment unit coupled with said gearbox,

a control device coupled with said automatic gearbox and said automatic speed adjustment unit, wherein the control device comprises means to detect the activation of the automatic speed adjustment unit, and switching means to switch from the manual mode to the automatic mode of the automatic gearbox, wherein the switching means are controlled if the automatic speed adjustment is active and the automatic gearbox is in manual mode.

2. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device controls the transmission ratio of the gearbox and determines during activation of the automatic speed adjustment unit whether a change of the transmission ratio is advantageous and that a change into the automatic mode is only triggered if changing the transmission ratio of the gearbox is advantageous.

3. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device triggers the change into the automatic mode of the gearbox by outputting a signal to the driver that the gearbox in the automatic mode should be changed manually.

4. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device triggers the change in the automatic mode of the gearbox by activating a gearbox control and/or adjustment in such a way that it automatically carries out the change.

5. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein on initiating the automatic speed adjustment, the mode in which the gearbox is operated at the moment is stored.

6. The motor vehicle according to claim 5, wherein on ending the automatic speed adjustment, the control unit activates the gearbox control and/or adjustment in such a way that this ensures an operation of the gearbox in the stored mode.

7. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit ends the automatic speed adjustment if the driver of the motor vehicle activates the manual mode of the gearbox.

8. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit initiates the automatic speed adjustment or offers to the driver of the motor vehicle the initiation of the automatic speed adjustment to more or less keep the speed constant should it be detected that the driver more or less keeps or tries to keep the speed constant.

9. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein on initiating and/or carrying out the automatic speed adjustment, the control unit detects the setpoint speed once only or repeatedly.

10. The motor vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the control unit uses an acceleration pattern to carry out the automatic speed adjustment that was selected from several different stored acceleration patterns.

11. The motor vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the driver of the motor vehicle can select the used acceleration pattern.

12. The motor vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the used acceleration pattern can be selected on the basis of information gained during the distance covered by the driving operation.

13. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein on carrying out the automatic speed adjustment, the distance to and/or the speed of possible obstacles is to be taken into consideration.

14. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the drive train has several components that can output and/or record power and that on carrying out the automatic speed adjustment, it directly or indirectly has an effect on one or several of these components.

15. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein automatic speed adjustment is carried out on the basis of the wheel moment.