Vehicle immobilizer method and system

• US 9,073,504 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Nedorezov, Felix, Jiang, Hong, Thomas, Steven Gerald, Gibson, Alexander O'Connor
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH-STEWART, DEMETRA R
• Application Number:
  US13/841,504
• Publication Number:
  US 20140277973A1
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/00 Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles locks for vehicles E05B77/00-E05B85/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/02 including control of driveline clutches
• CPC Class Codes: G05G 5/00 Means for preventing, limiting or returning the movements of parts of a control mechanism, e.g. locking controlling member G05G17/00 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method of immobilizing a vehicle include receiving a driver presence signal and a transmission state signal and commanding a transmission tie-up in response to the driver presence signal and the transmission state signal. In one embodiment, controlling a transmission element to tie-up a transmission includes braking approximately simultaneously a combination of transmission elements to inhibit rotation of a transmission output and maintaining transmission line pressure to maintain the transmission tie-up when an engine is off.

Claims

1. A method of immobilizing a vehicle, comprising:

controlling at least one transmission element to tie-up a transmission in response to a driver presence signal and a transmission state signal; and

limiting engine speed to a threshold based on the driver'"'"'s presence signal and the transmission state signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling a transmission element to tie-up a transmission comprises:

braking approximately simultaneously a combination of transmission elements to inhibit rotation of a transmission output; and

maintaining transmission line pressure to maintain the transmission tie-up when an engine is off.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein limiting engine speed comprises limiting accelerator pedal input in response to the driver presence signal being below a threshold value and the transmission state signal indicating a park state.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein commanding the transmission tie-up is in response to the driver presence signal indicating absence of a driver and the transmission state signal indicating a non-park state.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

removing the transmission tie-up in response to at least one of the transmission state signal indicating a park state and receiving a transmission tie-up override signal.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

shutting off the engine in response to receiving a vehicle motion signal indicating the vehicle is not moving.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

applying a parking brake in response to the driver presence signal indicating absence of a driver and the transmission state signal indicating a non-park state; and

removing the transmission tie-up.