Manual transmission clutch control using driveline measurements

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9815473-B2
Application number	US-201514945543-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 19, 2015
Priority date	Jan 30, 2014
Publication date	Nov 14, 2017
Grant date	Nov 14, 2017

Abstract

A method for controlling a manual transmission includes using a controller to determine a desired torque transmitted through an input clutch for the desired gear after a shift lever is moved to a desired gear position and while a clutch pedal is being released for engaging the clutch; inferring torque in the vehicle drive assembly; using inferred torque to determine clutch torque; and using the controller to automatically adjust a clutch actuator such that a difference between the desired torque and the inferred torque is reduced.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for controlling a manual transmission gearshift, comprising:
(a) determining, using a controller, a desired clutch torque for a desired gear after a shift-lever is moved to the desired gear, while a clutch pedal is being released;
(b) measuring rotating component acceleration;
(c) inferring a clutch torque based on the acceleration;
(d) reducing clutch torque error by automatically adjusting a clutch actuator such that a difference between the desired and inferred clutch torque is reduced.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
(e) determining a current engine torque;
(f) determining, using the controller, a desired engine torque for the desired gear; and
(g) automatically reducing a difference between the desired engine torque and the current engine torque.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (b) further comprises, using an acceleration sensor, mounted adjacent to a rotating component of a transmission system, to measure the rotating component acceleration.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (a) further comprises using the controller to determine the desired clutch torque for the desired gear after an accelerator pedal is re-depressed.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
(e) using the controller to determine a desired clutch slip of a clutch;
(f) determining slip across the clutch; and
(g) reducing clutch slip error by automatically adjusting the clutch actuator such that a difference between the desired and calculated slip is reduced.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) is further defined by, using a speed sensor, mounted adjacent to a rotating component of a transmission system, and determining a time derivative of an angular velocity to measure the rotating component acceleration.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) is further defined by using an angular position sensor, mounted adjacent to a rotating component of a transmission system, determining an angular velocity and a time derivative of an angular velocity to measure the rotating component acceleration.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) is further defined by the rotating component acceleration being measured by a sensor located between a manual transmission and a driven wheel.

9. A method for controlling a manual transmission gearshift, comprising:
(a) determining, using a controller, a desired clutch torque for a desired gear, after a shift-lever is moved to the desired gear, a clutch pedal is depressed and thereafter released, and an accelerator pedal is released and thereafter depressed;
(b) measuring rotating component acceleration;
(c) inferring clutch torque based on the acceleration;
(d) automatically adjusting a clutch actuator such that a difference between the desired and inferred clutch torque is reduced.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
(e) determining a current engine torque;
(f) determining, using the controller, a desired engine torque for the desired gear; and
automatically reducing a difference between the desired engine torque and the current engine torque.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein step (b) further comprises, using an acceleration sensor, mounted adjacent to a rotating component of a transmission system, to measure the rotating component acceleration.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of:
(e) using the controller to determine a desired clutch slip of a clutch;
(f) calculating slip across the clutch; and
(g) reducing clutch slip error by automatically adjusting the clutch actuator such that a difference between the desired and calculated slip is reduced.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein step (b) further comprises, using a speed sensor, mounted adjacent to a rotating component of a transmission system, and determining a time derivative of an angular velocity to measure the rotating component acceleration.

14. A method for controlling a manual transmission gearshift, comprising:
(a) a controller unlocking a shift-lever after a switch indicates a desired gearshift, and an accelerator pedal is released;
(b) after the shift-lever is moved to another gear, determining a desired clutch torque for the gear;
(c) measuring rotating component acceleration;
(d) inferring clutch torque based on the acceleration;
(e) automatically adjusting a clutch actuator such that a difference between the desired and inferred clutch torque is reduced.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
determining a current engine torque;
determining, using a controller, a desired engine torque for the new gear; and
automatically reducing a difference between the desired engine torque and the current engine torque.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein step (c) further comprises, using an acceleration sensor, mounted adjacent to a rotating component of a transmission system, to measure the rotating component acceleration.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein step (c) further comprises, using a speed sensor, mounted adjacent to a rotating component of a transmission system, and determining a time derivative of an angular velocity to measure the rotating component acceleration.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:
(e) using the controller to determine a desired clutch slip of a clutch;
(f) calculating slip across the clutch; and
(g) reducing clutch slip error by automatically adjust the clutch actuator such that a difference between the desired and calculated clutch slip is reduced.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein step (c) further comprises, using an angular position sensor, mounted adjacent to a rotating component of a transmission system, determining an angular velocity and a time derivative of an angular velocity to measure the rotating component acceleration.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Fujii Yuji
• Gibson Alex O
• Pietron Gregory M
• Kucharski Joseph F

Classifications

• B60W30/19 Primary

  Improvement of gear change, e.g. by synchronisation or smoothing gear shift · CPC title

• F16D2500/7061

  Feed-back · CPC title

• F16H2059/147

  Transmission input torque, e.g. measured or estimated engine torque · CPC title

• Y10T74/2014

  Manually operated selector [e.g., remotely controlled device, lever, push button, rotary dial, etc.] · CPC title

• F16D2500/50287

  Torque control · CPC title