Method and system for controlling the creep behavior of a vehicle equipped with an automated clutch

1. A method for controlling creep behavior of a vehicle equipped with an automated clutch, comprising:

detecting actuation of a brake actuating element, a creep parameter influencing a creep of the vehicle, an actuating position of the automated clutch being a function of the creep parameter; and

controlling the creep parameter using a vehicle speed setpoint so that when the brake actuating element is increasingly actuated, the vehicle speed is reduced.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the detecting step includes detecting an actuation force on the brake pedal.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the detecting step includes detecting a pressure in a brake system.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the detecting step includes detecting a path of the brake actuating element.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the speed of the vehicle is controlled so as to vary linearly with actuation of the brake element.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the speed of the vehicle is controlled so that the speed of the vehicle equals (BMAX-B/BMAX)*VMAX for B<BMAX and zero for B>BMAX, where B is the brake actuation, BMAX is a maximum creep brake actuation, and VMAX is the maximum vehicle creep when the brake is not actuated.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the speed of the vehicle is determined using a sensor sensing a rotational speed of an input shaft to a transmission, the sensor being downstream of the clutch.

8. The method as recited in claim 7 wherein the speed of the vehicle is determined using the transmission ratio.

9. A system for controlling the creep behavior of a vehicle equipped with an automated clutch, the system comprising:

engine sensors for detecting operating parameters of a vehicle engine;

a brake sensor for detecting an operating state of a vehicle braking device;

a power adjustment actuator for controlling a power output of the engine;

a clutch actuator for controlling the clutch;

a brake actuating element; and

an electronic control device having memory devices and a microprocessor, the electronic control device connected to the engine sensors, brake sensor, clutch actuator and brake actuating element, the control device controlling the clutch actuator according to analysis of the brake sensor signals so as to control creep behavior according to the method as recited in claim 1 .

10. The system as recited in claim 9 wherein the engine sensors includes a first sensor for detecting a vehicle speed.

11. The system as recited in claim 10 wherein the first sensor detects a rotational speed of an input shaft of a transmission situated downstream from the clutch in order to detect the vehicle speed.

12. A system for controlling the creep behavior of a vehicle equipped with an automated clutch, the system comprising:

a brake actuating element;

a brake sensor sensing actuation of the brake actuating element;

a clutch actuator for controlling the clutch;

a speed sensor detecting a rotational speed of a transmission input shaft downstream of the clutch; and

an electronic control device having memory devices and a microprocessor, the electronic control device connected to the brake sensor and clutch actuator, the control device receiving an input from the speed sensor and controlling a speed of the vehicle using a vehicle speed setpoint so as to reduce vehicle creep as the brake actuating element is increasingly actuated.

13. A method for controlling creep behavior of a vehicle equipped with an automated clutch, comprising:

detecting actuation of a brake actuating element; and

controlling the automated clutch to attain a vehicle speed setpoint, the vehicle speed setpoint being reduced as the brake actuating element is increasingly actuated.

14. The method as recited in claim 13 further comprising determining a vehicle speed as a function of an input shaft to a transmission.