System for selecting a transmission economy-based shift schedule
First Claim
1. A system for selecting an economy mode shift schedule for a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a transmission having a torque converter and a plurality of selectable gear ranges;
a transmission control circuit including a control module having the economy mode shift schedule stored therein, the transmission control circuit configured to operably control the transmission;
an engine control circuit configured to control operation of an engine, the engine being operably coupled to the transmission;
a communication link configured to transfer information between the transmission control circuit and the engine control circuit;
wherein, the control module further includes instructions stored therein for executably controlling the transmission control circuit toreceive engine torque data from the communication link,calculate vehicle acceleration,determine an accelerator pedal position,determine a mode of the torque converter,compute a net tractive effort force of the vehicle,compare the vehicle acceleration to a first threshold, the accelerator pedal to a second threshold, and the net tractive effort force to a third threshold,select the economy mode shift schedule for the transmission based on the comparison; and
control shifting between gear ranges of the transmission according to the economy mode shift schedule.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method of selecting an economy mode shift schedule for a transmission coupled to a motor vehicle. The method includes calculating vehicle acceleration and determining a change in accelerator pedal position. Also, a net tractive effort force of the vehicle is determined for a current gear range of the transmission. Also, the method includes comparing the net tractive effort force for the current gear range to a maximum tractive effort force for a desired gear range and selecting the economy mode shift schedule for the transmission based on the comparison. The method further includes controlling shifting between one or more gear ranges of the transmission according to the economy mode shift schedule.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for selecting an economy mode shift schedule for a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a transmission having a torque converter and a plurality of selectable gear ranges; a transmission control circuit including a control module having the economy mode shift schedule stored therein, the transmission control circuit configured to operably control the transmission; an engine control circuit configured to control operation of an engine, the engine being operably coupled to the transmission; a communication link configured to transfer information between the transmission control circuit and the engine control circuit; wherein, the control module further includes instructions stored therein for executably controlling the transmission control circuit to receive engine torque data from the communication link, calculate vehicle acceleration, determine an accelerator pedal position, determine a mode of the torque converter, compute a net tractive effort force of the vehicle, compare the vehicle acceleration to a first threshold, the accelerator pedal to a second threshold, and the net tractive effort force to a third threshold, select the economy mode shift schedule for the transmission based on the comparison; and control shifting between gear ranges of the transmission according to the economy mode shift schedule. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of operating a motor vehicle at an optimal vehicle speed without negatively affecting vehicle productivity, the vehicle having an engine coupled to a transmission, comprising:
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(a) determining gear ratios of all gear ranges of the transmission; (b) receiving engine torque data as a function of engine speed for all gear ranges; (c) calculating vehicle acceleration and determining accelerator pedal position; (d) determining a net tractive effort force of the vehicle for a current gear range of the transmission; (e) comparing the vehicle acceleration to a first threshold, the accelerator pedal position to a second threshold, and the net tractive effort force to a third threshold; (f) enabling an enhance economy shift schedule only if the vehicle acceleration satisfies the first threshold, the accelerator pedal position satisfies the second threshold, and the net tractive effort force is less than the third threshold; (g) selecting the enhanced economy mode shift schedule for the transmission based on the comparison; and (h) controlling shifting between one or more gear ranges of the transmission according to the enhanced economy mode shift schedule. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of selecting an economy mode shift schedule for a transmission having X selectable gear ranges and coupled to a powered vehicle, the transmission having a transmission control circuit and the vehicle having an engine control circuit for controlling an engine, comprising:
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controlling the transmission according to a non-economy mode shift schedule; calculating vehicle acceleration and a change in accelerator pedal position; computing a net tractive effort force of the vehicle for a current gear range N of the transmission, where N<
X;determining a maximum tractive effort force for all upshift gear ranges, the upshift gear ranges comprising gear ranges N+1, N+2, . . . , and N+J, where J=X−
N;comparing the calculated vehicle acceleration to a first threshold, the calculated change in accelerator pedal position to a second threshold, and the net tractive effort force to each maximum tractive effort force; discontinuing the controlling step; and selecting and controlling the transmission according to the economy mode shift schedule for the transmission based on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification