Vehicle control device

• US 9,487,213 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2011
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yanagida, Tomoaki, Moriyama, Shuji, Morino, Takuro, Matsunaga, Hitoshi, Hattori, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, John R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cass, Jean-Paul
• Application Number:
  US13/982,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20140019021A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,107 Days
• Field of Search: 477/47, 701/54
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/02 including control of driveline clutches
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/107 with endless flexible members
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/11 Stepped gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2030/1809 Without torque flow between driveshaft and engine, e.g. with clutch disengaged or transmission in neutral
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/00 Input parameters relating to data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/1005 Transmission ratio engaged
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/1038 Output speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18072 Coasting
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18109 Braking

Abstract

A vehicle control device includes an engine that is a power source of a vehicle, a transmission configured to connect the engine to a drive wheel of the vehicle, and a clutch configured to connect or block transmission of power between the engine and the drive wheel through the transmission. The vehicle control device is capable of executing predetermined control to allow the vehicle to travel while stopping supplying fuel to the engine and releasing the clutch that has been engaged, during travel of the vehicle, and the vehicle control device downshifts the transmission at the time the clutch is released in the predetermined control. It is possible to shift the transmission into a lowest-speed side gear ratio by the downshift.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device comprising:

an engine that is a power source of a vehicle;

a transmission configured to connect the engine to a drive wheel of the vehicle; and

a clutch configured to connect transmission of power between the engine and the drive wheel through the transmission when the clutch is engaged or block transmission of power between the engine and the drive wheel when the clutch is disengaged,

wherein the vehicle control device executes a predetermined control including;

performing a fuel cut to stop the supply of fuel to the engine, during travel of the vehicle,

decreasing an engaging pressure of the clutch so as to disengage the clutch that was previously engaged, during travel of the vehicle, and

downshifting the transmission into a lowest-speed side gear ratio control by the time a rotation of the engine stops while decreasing the engaging pressure of the clutch.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined control is started according to a braking operation.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

the downshift is started simultaneously when a disengage instruction to disengage the clutch is output in the predetermined control.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle control device controls a speed of the downshift which is a changing speed of a gear ratio in the predetermined control.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein

the speed of the downshift in the predetermined control is a speed to decrease change in deceleration of the vehicle at the time the clutch is disengaged.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein

the speed of the downshift in the predetermined control is based on a disengaging speed at which the clutch is disengaged.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein

a timing at which the clutch is completely disengaged and a timing at which the downshift is completed coincide with each other in the predetermined control.