ENGINE SOUND GENERATION AS TRANSMISSION SHIFTING AID FOR A HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE

• US 20190315338A1
• Filed: 04/16/2019
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: ESPIG, Markus, SCHNEIDER, Matthew Allen, EMIG, Tobias, POTT, Julian David, WILMES, Markus
• Granted Patent: US 10,773,711 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2006/4808 Electric machine connected or connectable to gearbox output shaft
• 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 6/48 Parallel type
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/52 Driving a plurality of drive axles, e.g. four-wheel drive
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/547 the transmission being a stepped gearing
• 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 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0208 Clutch engagement state, e.g. engaged or disengaged
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0638 Engine speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/1005 Transmission ratio engaged
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/184 Preventing damage resulting from overload or excessive wear of the driveline
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 63/42 Ratio indicator devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 Hybrid vehicles

Abstract

A hybrid electric vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electrical machine operable as a traction motor with a manual transmission arranged between the engine and the driving wheels and a clutch between the engine and the transmission generates an acoustic notification signal to indicate a gear shift that would result in either an excessive or insufficient engine speed. A different acoustic tone may be provided for a gear shift that would result in excessive engine speed than a gear shift that would result in insufficient engine speed. The acoustic notification signal may be a simulated engine noise.

Claims

1. A method for operating a vehicle having an electric machine and an engine coupled by a clutch to a manual transmission, comprising, by a controller:

generating an acoustic signal to indicate a gearshift resulting in an engine speed being outside of a specified range in response to the electric machine operating as a motor and the clutch being open, the engine speed based on electric machine speed and an engaged gear of the manual transmission.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the clutch is controlled by the controller.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the acoustic signal has a first tone in response to the engine speed exceeding the specified range and a second tone in response to the engine speed being below the specified range.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the acoustic signal simulates engine noise.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the acoustic signal comprises a simulated speech signal.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the simulated speech signal indicates an upshift to a higher gear or a downshift to a lower gear.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the acoustic signal has a different frequency for each gear of the manual transmission.

8. A vehicle comprising:

an engine;

a manual transmission coupled to the engine by a clutch;

an electric machine operable as a traction motor;

a speaker; and

a controller configured to generate an audio signal for the speaker when the clutch is open and the electric machine is operating as a traction motor in response to engine speed of the engine being above a first threshold or being below a second threshold, wherein the engine speed is based on a selected gear of the manual transmission and rotational speed of the electric machine.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the controller is configured to control opening and closing of the clutch.

10. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the audio signal has different frequency associated with each gear of the manual transmission.

11. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the audio signal has a first frequency indicative of the engine speed being above the first threshold and a second frequency indicative of the engine speed being below the second threshold.

12. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the audio signal comprises a voice signal.

13. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the audio signal comprises a simulated engine sound having a frequency corresponding to the engine speed.

14. A vehicle comprising:

an internal combustion engine;

an electric machine operable to drive the vehicle;

a manual transmission having an input coupled to the internal combustion engine by a clutch and an output coupled to vehicle driving wheels; and

a controller configured to;

detect whether the clutch is open;

detect an engaged gear of the manual transmission;

detect an operating parameter of the electrical machine while operating as a traction motor to drive the vehicle; and

generate a notification signal in response to a gear shift resulting in engine speed being outside a specified range, wherein the engine speed is based on the operating parameter of the electrical machine and the engaged gear of the manual transmission.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 further comprising a speaker, wherein the notification signal is an audio signal output by the speaker.

16. The vehicle of claim 15 wherein the audio signal has a different frequency for each gear of the manual transmission.

17. The vehicle of claim 15 wherein the audio signal is a voice signal.

18. The vehicle of claim 14 wherein the controller is configured to control the clutch.

19. The vehicle of claim 14 wherein the specified range is defined by an upper threshold and a lower threshold, and wherein the notification signal comprises a first frequency when the engine speed exceeds the upper threshold and comprises a second frequency lower than the first frequency when the engine speed is below the lower threshold.

20. The vehicle of claim 14 wherein the notification signal comprises an audio signal.