Method of correcting shift position sensor of vehicle

• US 20080045376A1
• Filed: 11/22/2006
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: Kim, Chang-Hyun
• Granted Patent: US 7,603,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 477/34
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/36 characterised by the transmission gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/365 with the gears having orbital motion
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/445 Differential gearing distribution type
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/122 Avoiding failures by using redundant parts
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/1284 the failing part is a sensor
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 59/10 comprising levers
• 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: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19251 Control mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/2003 Electrical actuator

Abstract

A method of correcting shift position sensors of a vehicle, the sensors including an inhibitor switch and two or more analog sensors that detect angle displacement between a shift lever and a lever housing as a voltage change. The method includes determining a current condition of a transmission as a range P, when the inhibitor switch outputs signals corresponding to the range P; and inputting signals from the inhibitor switch and from the analog sensors, and determining the current condition of the transmission as a shift range that is indicated by a majority of the signals, when the inhibitor switch outputs signals corresponding to a range other than the range P.

Claims

1. A method of correcting shift position sensors of a vehicle, the sensors comprising an inhibitor switch and two or more analog sensors that detect angle displacement between a shift lever and a lever housing as a voltage change, comprising the steps of:

determining a current condition of a transmission as a range P, when the inhibitor switch outputs signals corresponding to the range P; and

inputting signals from the inhibitor switch and from the analog sensors, and determining the current condition of the transmission as a shift range that is indicated by a majority of the signals, when the inhibitor switch outputs signals corresponding to a range other than the range P.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising, if the signals of the inhibitor switch and the analog sensors correspond to the range P in a normal state before determining the current condition, and if the signals of the inhibitor switch do not correspond to the range P,

when a driver steps on a brake, determining the current condition as a shift range that is indicated by the majority of the signals, and

when the driver does not step on the brake, determining the current condition of the transmission as a range N.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising, if none of the signals of the inhibitor switch and the analog sensors correspond to the P range in a normal state before determining the current condition, and if the signals of the inhibitor switch do not correspond to the P range in the current state, determining the current condition as a shift range that is indicated by the majority of the signals.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the two or more analog sensors are exactly two analog sensors.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein the step of determining the condition as a shift range that is indicated by the majority of the signals comprises:

determining whether two of the signals agree with each other or not, if the two analog sensors are both normal; and

determining the condition of the transmission as an N range, if two or more of the signals agree with each other and signals of the two analog sensors are both in P range, otherwise determining the condition as a shift range that is indicated by the agreed two or more signals.

6. The method as defined in claim 5, further comprising, when the two analog sensors are both normal, if it is determined that two or more of the signals do not agree with each other,

if a normal state before determining the current condition existed over a preset time, determining the condition of the transmission as a shift range that was determined in the normal state before determining the current condition, and

if the normal state before determining the current condition did not exist over the preset time, determining the condition of the transmission as the N range.

7. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein if only one of the two analog sensors is normal,

when a signal of the inhibitor switch agrees with a signal of the normal analog sensor, the condition of the transmission is determined as a shift range of the agreed signals,

when the signal of the inhibitor switch does not agree with the signal of the normal analog sensor, if a normal state before determining the current condition existed over a preset time, the condition of the transmission is determined as a shift range that was determined in the normal state before determining the current condition, and 20% or more of a driver'"'"'s desired torque is subtracted before storage, and

if a normal state before determining the current condition did not exist over a preset time, the condition of the transmission is determined as the N range.

8. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein if the two analog sensors are both abnormal, it is determined whether the inhibitor switch is normal or not,

if the inhibitor switch is determined as normal, the current condition of the transmission is determined as a shift range that is indicated by the inhibitor switch, and 40% of the driver'"'"'s desired torque is subtracted before storage, and

if the inhibitor switch is determined as abnormal, the condition of the transmission is determined as the N range.

9. The method as defined in claim 5, further comprising determining whether the shift position sensors need to be corrected or not, the determining whether the shift position sensors need to be corrected or not comprising:

determining that the inhibitor switch needs to be corrected, if the signals of the inhibitor switch include two or more overlapping signals, or the inhibitor switch outputs no signals; and

determining that one of the analog sensors needs to be corrected, if the one of the analog sensors indicates a voltage out of a discontinuous series of voltage ranges.