System and method for adjusting driveline operation

• US 9,527,494 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2015
• Issued: 12/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Glugla, Chris Paul, McEwan, Douglas James, Huberts, Garlan J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Jerrah
• Assistant Examiner(s): WEBER, TAMARA L
• Application Number:
  US14/605,621
• Publication Number:
  US 20160214596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/00 Conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function for propulsion of purely electrically-propelled vehicles with power supplied within the vehicle B60L50/00 - B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 20/00 Control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles hybrid vehicle design, B60K6/00; electric vehicles B60L
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/188 Controlling power parameters of the driveline, e.g. determining the required power

Abstract

Methods and systems for determining driveline control parameters for a vehicle are described. In one example, a method for requesting a vehicle to operate in a specific operating region based on a request from a cloud network is described. The method may include options for driver interaction and autonomous vehicle operation.

Claims

1. A method for operating a driveline, comprising:

transmitting to a controller of a vehicle, driveline operating regions where immature driveline parameters exist in a database of a remote off vehicle network;

adjusting an actuator responsive to a request from the remote off vehicle network via the controller, the actuator adjusted to operate the driveline at the operating regions where the immature driveline parameters exist;

providing three data gathering modes for adjusting the immature driveline parameters in the database of the remote off vehicle network;

a first of the three data gathering modes requiring driveline operating parameters change less than a first threshold;

a second of the three data gathering modes requiring driveline operating parameters change less than a second threshold, the second threshold greater than the first threshold; and

a third of the three data gathering modes requiring driveline operating parameters change greater than the second threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more control parameters at the driveline operating regions where the immature driveline parameters exist; and

updating parameters of the database based on the one or more control parameters, where the immature driveline parameters are default driveline control parameters that have not been adjusted based on vehicle operation.

3. The method of claim 2, where updating parameters of the database includes uploading the one or more control parameters to the remote off vehicle network.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising downloading the updated parameters to other vehicles.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising operating the other vehicles based on the updated parameters.

6. The method of claim 1, where the driveline operating regions are based on engine speed and torque;

and

further comprising;

requesting driver permission to operate the driveline in the first of the three data gathering modes when changes in the first of the three data gathering modes would be noticeable, the changes in the first of the three data gathering modes would be noticeable when a control parameter change is greater than a threshold difference between a changed parameter and a present condition; and

not requesting driver permission to operate the driveline in the first of the three data gathering modes when changes in the first of the three data gathering modes would be not be noticeable, the changes in the first of the three data gathering modes would not be noticeable when the control parameter change is less than a threshold difference between a changed parameter and a present condition.

7. The method of claim 6, where the driveline operating regions include a specified transmission gear;

and

further comprising;

judging whether or not the vehicle, which includes the driveline, is occupied before the vehicle proceeds on a preferred driving route in the second and third data gathering modes of the three data gathering modes, the preferred driving route determined by the remote off vehicle network.

8. A method for operating a driveline, comprising:

transmitting to a controller of a vehicle, driveline operating regions where immature driveline parameters exist in a database of a remote off vehicle network;

adjusting an actuator responsive to a request from the remote off vehicle network via the controller, the actuator adjusted to operate the driveline at the driveline operating regions where the immature driveline parameters exist; and

entering one of three data gathering modes including passive, moderate, and aggressive modes where the immature driveline parameters are updated via the controller.

9. The method of claim 8, where there are only three data gathering modes;

where the passive mode includes adjusting driveline operating conditions without driver permission; and

further comprising;

judging whether or not the vehicle, which includes the driveline, is human operated before the vehicle proceeds on a preferred driving route determined by the remote off vehicle network in second and third data gathering modes of the three data gathering modes.

10. The method of claim 9, where adjustments to the driveline operating conditions are smaller in magnitude for the passive mode than for the moderate mode.

11. The method of claim 8, where a first of the three data gathering modes requires driveline operating parameters change less than a first threshold;

where a second of the three data gathering modes requires driveline operating parameters change less than a second threshold, the second threshold greater than the first threshold; and

where a third of the three data gathering modes requires driveline operating parameters change greater than the second threshold.

12. The method of claim 8, where a driver is notified of a request to adjust driveline operating conditions.

13. The method of claim 12, where the driver is requested to change a vehicle input.

14. The method of claim 8, where the vehicle is driven autonomously.

15. A method for operating a driveline, comprising:

broadcasting driveline operating regions where immature driveline parameters exist in a database of a remote off vehicle network to a controller in a vehicle in response to one or more of the immature driveline parameters being in the database;

adjusting an actuator responsive to a request from the remote off vehicle network via the controller;

the actuator adjusted to operate the driveline at the operating regions where the immature driveline parameters exist;

the driveline operating regions being a basis for adjusting the immature driveline parameters;

entering a data gathering mode where the immature driveline parameters are updated via the controller; and

not adjusting driveline operating conditions in response to vehicle occupant input to the controller when the vehicle is not human operated.

16. The method of claim 15, where an engine of the driveline is operated at a constant speed at driveline operating conditions;

and

further comprising;

judging if the vehicle is occupied when the vehicle is not human operated before acquiring data and adjusting driveline operating conditions.

17. The method of claim 15, where driveline operating conditions include throttle position and transmission gear;

where the data gathering mode is one of three data gathering modes; and

further comprising;

a first of the three data gathering modes requiring driveline operating parameters change less than a first threshold;

a second of the three data gathering modes requiring driveline operating parameters change less than a second threshold, the second threshold greater than the first threshold; and

a third of the three data gathering modes requiring driveline operating parameters change greater than the second threshold.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising evaluating road conditions, and not adjusting immature driveline parameters when road conditions do not conform to predetermined driving conditions.