Method and apparatus for detecting the gear position of transmission
First Claim
1. An apparatus for detecting the gear position of a transmission system having a manually operable gear selection mechanism in a vehicle having an engine controlled by an accelerator pedal, comprising:
- (a) means for sensing the engine speed N;
(b) means for sensing the vehicle speed V;
said vehicle having a first characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to a first gear position of said transmission system and second characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to second gear position of said transmission system;
(c) reference level establishing means for establishing a first reference level defined by a first predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed;
(d) means, independent of said manually operable gear selection mechanism and accelerator pedal, for determining which of said first and second gear positions said transmission is in utilizing a mathematic operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the first reference level; and
(e) means, responsive to a determination of said first gear position by said determining means, for shifting the first reference level to a second reference level defined by a second predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed,said determining means being responsive to said shifting means for determining which of said first or second gear positions said transmission is in utilizing a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the second reference level.
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Abstract
In order to mathematically detect the gear position of a vehicle transmission system, engine speed and vehicle speed are detected. A first reference level defined by a predetermined ratio of engine speed and vehicle speed is established for determining the gear position by a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed and the sensed vehicle speed and the reference level. The first reference level is shifted to a second reference level in accordance with the determined gear position, thereby preventing an erroneous determination of the gear position.
25 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An apparatus for detecting the gear position of a transmission system having a manually operable gear selection mechanism in a vehicle having an engine controlled by an accelerator pedal, comprising:
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(a) means for sensing the engine speed N; (b) means for sensing the vehicle speed V; said vehicle having a first characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to a first gear position of said transmission system and second characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to second gear position of said transmission system; (c) reference level establishing means for establishing a first reference level defined by a first predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed; (d) means, independent of said manually operable gear selection mechanism and accelerator pedal, for determining which of said first and second gear positions said transmission is in utilizing a mathematic operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the first reference level; and (e) means, responsive to a determination of said first gear position by said determining means, for shifting the first reference level to a second reference level defined by a second predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed, said determining means being responsive to said shifting means for determining which of said first or second gear positions said transmission is in utilizing a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the second reference level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An apparatus for detecting the gear position of a transmission system having a manually operable gear selection mechanism in a vehicle having an engine controlled by an accelerator pedal, comprising:
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a microcomputer responsive to sensed vehicle conditions for controlling a fuel injection system of said engine and for interrupting fuel supply to said engine only when said transmission is in a given one of a first and a second gear position; means for sensing the engine speed N; means for sensing the vehicle speed V; said vehicle having a first characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to said first gear position of said transmission system and a second characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to said second gear position of said transmission system, said microcomputer including a central processing unit (CPU) and memory storage means for storing a control program for causing said microcomputer to generate a gear position indication signal by; (i) establishing a first reference level defined by a first predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed; (ii) determining, independently of said manually operable gear selection mechanism and said accelerator pedal, whether the transmission is said first or second gear position by utilizing a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the first reference level; (iii) shifting the first reference level to a second reference level defined by a second predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed responsive to a determination by said determining means that the transmission is in said first gear position; and (iv) determining which of said first and second gear positions said transmission system is in utilizing a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the second reference level. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A method for detecting the gear position of a transmission system having a manually operable gear selection mechanism in a vehicle having an engine controlled by an accelerator pedal, comprising the steps of:
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(a) sensing the engine speed N; (b) sensing the vehicle speed V, said vehicle having a first characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to a first gear position of said transmission system and second characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to second gear position of said transmission system; (c) establishing a first reference level defined by a first predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed; (d) determining, independently of said manually operable gear selection mechanism and said accelerator pedal, whether the transmission is in said first or said second gear position by utilizing a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the first reference level; (e) shifting the first reference level to a second reference level defined by a second predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed in response to a determination that the transmission is in said first gear position; and (f) determining which of said first and second gear positions said transmission system is in utilizing a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the second reference level. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method for detecting the gear position of a transmission system having a manually operable gear selection mechanism in a vehicle having an engine controlled by an accelerator pedal and a microcomputer responsive to sensed vehicle conditions for controlling a fuel injection system of said engine and for interrupting fuel to said engine when said transmission is in a given one of a first and a second gear position, comprising the steps of:
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(a) sensing the engine speed N; (b) sensing the vehicle speed V, said vehicle having a first characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to a first gear position of said transmission system and a second characteristic N/V ratio corresponding to a second gear position of said transmission system; said microcomputer including a control processing unit (CPU) and memory storage means for storing a control program for causing said microcomputer to generate a shift position indication signal by; (i) establishing a first reference level defined by a first predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed; (ii) determining, independently of said manually operable gear select mechanism and said accelerator pedal, whether said transmission is in said first or second gear position by utilizing a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the first reference level; (iii) shifting the first reference level to a second reference level defined by a second predetermined ratio of engine speed to vehicle speed responsive to a determination that the transmission is in said first gear position; and (iv) determining which of said first and second gear positions said transmission is in utilizing a mathematical operation involving the sensed engine speed N, the sensed vehicle speed V, and the second reference level. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. In a control system for an automotive vehicle having:
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a transmission including at least first and second gear ratios; an engine speed sensor for sensing engine speed and generating an engine speed signal (N); a vehicle speed sensor for sensing vehicle speed and generating a vehicle speed signal (V); an apparatus for determining the gear position of the transmission based only upon said engine speed signal and said vehicle speed signal, said apparatus comprising; a first circuit for selectively generating first and second reference signals, said first and second reference signals varying in accordance with first and second predetermined ratios of N/V respectively, said first predetermined ratio lying between ratios of N/V which correspond to said first and second gear ratios of said transmission and proximate a ratio of N/V which corresponds to said first gear ratio, said second predetermined ratio lying between said first predetermined ratio and a ratio of N/V which corresponds to said second gear ratio and proximate a ratio of N/V which corresponds to said second gear ratio; and a second circuit for receiving and mathematically processing said engine speed signal and said vehicle speed signal and the reference signal from said first circuit, and operable to compare the instantaneous value of N/V with the reference signal from said first circuit to produce a signal corresponding to one of said first and second gear ratios; said first circuit being responsive to the output of said second circuit to generate said first reference signal when said second circuit produces a signal indicative of said second gear ratio, and to generate said second reference signal when said second circuit produces a signal indicative that the transmission is operating in said first gear ratio whereby an erroneous gear ratio indication by said second circuit is avoided even when the instantaneous value of N/V fluctuates due to transitional operation of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification