Methods and system for providing vehicle performance feedback

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9522597-B2
Application number	US-201514637154-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 3, 2015
Priority date	Mar 3, 2015
Publication date	Dec 20, 2016
Grant date	Dec 20, 2016

Abstract

Systems and methods for supplying feedback to a driver of a vehicle so that transmission shifting busyness may be reduced are presented. In one example, the systems and methods include increasing resistance of an accelerator pedal in response to a difference between an available powertrain torque and a desired powertrain torque.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for providing feedback from a vehicle powertrain to a foot of a driver of the vehicle powertrain, comprising:
increasing accelerator pedal application resistance to provide the feedback to the driver in response to a decreasing difference between available powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque.

2. The method of claim 1 , where the accelerator pedal application resistance is increased proportional to the decreasing difference between available powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising inhibiting downshifting for a predetermined amount of time in response to the decreasing difference between available powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque.

4. The method of claim 3 , where the predetermined amount of time is based on engine speed and driver-demanded powertrain torque.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising downshifting a transmission in response to the decreasing difference between available powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque being less than a threshold.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising ceasing to increase accelerator pedal application resistance in response to the decreasing difference between available powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque being less than a threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 , where increasing accelerator pedal application resistance increases effort by the driver to apply an accelerator pedal to request additional torque.

8. A method for providing feedback from a vehicle powertrain to an appendage of a driver of the vehicle powertrain, comprising:
increasing accelerator pedal application resistance to provide the feedback to the driver in response to an increasing difference between actual powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising filtering the desired powertrain torque.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising increasing the accelerator pedal application resistance in response to a torque where a transmission is downshifted.

11. The method of claim 10 , where increasing the accelerator pedal application resistance includes increasing the accelerator pedal application resistance proportionately to the increasing difference between actual powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising inhibiting downshifting for a predetermined amount of time in response to the increasing difference between actual powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque being less than a threshold.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising downshifting a transmission in response to the increasing difference between actual powertrain torque and desired powertrain torque being greater than a threshold.

14. A system, comprising:
an accelerator pedal;
a vehicle powertrain including an engine;
a haptic actuator to increase and decrease resistance to applying the accelerator pedal; and
a controller including executable instructions stored in non-transitory memory for increasing accelerator pedal application resistance in response to a difference between available powertrain torque and predicted actual powertrain torque.

15. The system of claim 14 , where increasing accelerator pedal application resistance in response to the difference between available powertrain torque and predicted actual powertrain torque occurs only in gears higher than a first transmission gear.

16. The system of claim 14 , further comprising additional instructions to inhibit downshifting a transmission for a predetermined amount of time in response to the difference between available powertrain torque and predicted actual powertrain torque.

17. The system of claim 16 , where the predetermined amount of time is based on engine speed.

18. The system of claim 14 , further comprising additional instructions for downshifting a transmission in response to the difference between available powertrain torque and predicted actual powertrain torque being less than a threshold.

19. The system of claim 18 , further comprising additional instructions for ceasing to increase accelerator pedal application resistance in response to the difference between available powertrain torque and predicted actual powertrain torque being less than a threshold.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Fader Hugh
• Mccallum James William Loch
• Lee Seunghoon

Classifications

• B60K26/021 Primary

  with means for providing feel, e.g. by changing pedal force characteristics · CPC title

• B60W50/16 Primary

  Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal · CPC title

• B60W2510/0657

  Engine torque · CPC title

• B60W2710/06

  Combustion engines, Gas turbines · CPC title

• B60K2026/023

  with electrical means to generate counter force or torque · CPC title