GB2582110A

GB2582110A - User selected control features for powertrain management

Info

Publication number: GB2582110A
Application number: GB2008655.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Yapici Tarkan; James McClaren Stephen; Llaveshi Ingrid; D Kendrick William
Original assignee: Cummins Inc
Current assignee: Cummins Inc
Priority date: 2017-11-14
Filing date: 2018-10-05
Publication date: 2020-09-09
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-05
Also published as: CN111556834A; BR112020014364A2; CN111556834B; GB2582110B; WO2019099115A1; GB202008655D0

Abstract

There is disclosed the use of an accelerator pedal position and an associated kickdown status to change a selected performance indicator value associated with a vehicle powertrain in order to activate or inhibit control features which manage the available power to the powertrain for propelling the vehicle. The driver can activate and/or inhibit the powertrain control features without the need for external sensors and without the driver manipulating a switch in the vehicle that requires the driver to divert attention from driving.

Claims

What is Claimed is:

1. An electronic control system for a vehicle including a powertrain, comprising: an electronic control unit; a selection switch operably connected with the control unit, the selection switch for selecting one or more control features by which the electronic control unit manages an available power to the powertrain in response to a performance indicator value determined by a position of the selection switch; and an accelerator pedal, wherein the electronic control unit is operably connected with the accelerator pedal, and wherein, in response to a kickdown status of the accelerator pedal and a time of the accelerator pedal in the kickdown status, the electronic control unit overrides the value of the performance indicator to activate or inhibit the one or more control features of the electronic control unit that manages the available power to the powertrain.

2. The electronic control system of claim 1 , wherein the accelerator pedal is engageable with a kickdown switch that indicates a position of the accelerator pedal to a driver of the vehicle, and the kickdown switch is not connected to the electronic control unit.

3. The electronic control system of claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to record the time in which the kickdown status is active and override the value of the performance indicator in response to an elapsed time of the kickdown status being active exceeding an elapsed time threshold.

4. The electronic control system of claim 3, wherein the elapsed time threshold is calibratable.

5. The electronic control system of claim 3, wherein the electronic control unit overrides the value of the performance indicator to an override value.

6. The electronic control system of claim 5, wherein the override value is relinquished in response to the kickdown status of the accelerator pedal being inactive and the passage of a lag time since the kickdown status of the accelerator pedal became inactive.

7. The electronic control system of claim 6, wherein the lag time is calibratable.

8. The electronic control system of claim 3, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to re-set the elapsed time in response to the kickdown status of the accelerator pedal being inactive.

9. The electronic control system of claim 1 , wherein the selection switch is operable to manually select between a first performance indicator value associated with a fuel efficient mode of operation of the powertrain and a second performance indicator value associated with a less fuel efficient mode of operation of the powertrain.

10. A method of controlling a powertrain of a vehicle, comprising: managing an available power to the powertrain in response to a selected performance indicator value by which one or more control features manage the available power to the powertrain; determining a kickdown status of an accelerator pedal associated with the powertrain and an elapsed time the accelerator pedal is in the kickdown status; and overriding the performance indicator value to activate or inhibit the one or more control features that manage the available power to the powertrain in response to the kickdown status and the elapsed time.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising manually selecting, via a selection switch, the performance indicator value.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the accelerator pedal is engageable to a kickdown switch that provides an indication to a driver of the vehicle of an accelerator position relative to a kickdown threshold position of the accelerator pedal.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising recording the elapsed time in which the kickdown status of the accelerator pedal is active and the performance indicator value is overridden in response to the elapsed time exceeding a threshold.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the threshold is calibratable.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the overridden performance indicator value is relinquished in response to the kickdown status being passive and the passage of a lag time since the kickdown status became passive.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising resetting the elapsed time in response to the kickdown status of the accelerator pedal being passive.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the kickdown status is communicated to a driver of the vehicle via a kickdown switch engageable by the accelerator pedal.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more control features include power limits applied to the powertrain.

19. A vehicle system, comprising: a powertrain operable to propel the vehicle system; an accelerator pedal for operating the powertrain; a selection switch for selecting a performance indicator value determined by a position of the selection switch; and an electronic control unit operably connected to the powertrain, the accelerator pedal and the selection switch, the electronic control unit configured to manage an available power to the powertrain in response to the performance indicator value, and wherein, in response to a kickdown status of the accelerator pedal and a time of the accelerator pedal in the kickdown status, the electronic control unit overrides the performance indicator value to activate or inhibit the one or more control features of the electronic control unit that manages the available power to the powertrain.

20. The vehicle system of claim 19, wherein the selection switch is operable to manually select between a first performance indicator value associated with a fuel efficient mode of operation of the powertrain and a second performance indicator value associated with a less fuel efficient mode of operation of the powertrain.