Granted Patent B2

US 8,024,098 · App. 12/208,023 · Granted Sep 20, 2011

Abstract

Claims (50)

1. A method of determining an engagement position of a clutch of a vehicle, the clutch operable by a clutch pedal adapted to move over a travel range, and the method comprising:

determining a rate of change of position of the clutch pedal;

locating a dwelling range of the clutch pedal, the dwelling range comprising a plurality of positions of the clutch pedal along the travel range during which the rate of change of position of the clutch pedal is less than a predetermined rate of change for a predetermined length of time; and

recording the travel positions of the clutch pedal in the dwelling range.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein

the vehicle comprises a transmission;

the transmission has a plurality of gears having different sizes; and

the rate of change of position of the clutch pedal is determined during engagement of the transmission to a largest gear.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

calculating an average of the pedal positions in the dwelling range to determine an average dwelling pedal position.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

recording, at different times, a plurality of average dwelling pedal positions to create a plurality of recorded average dwelling positions; and

calculating an average of the recorded average travel positions to determine an average engagement point pedal position.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

obtaining a clutch position of the clutch, the clutch position being associated with the average engagement point pedal position; and

recording the clutch position.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein calculating the average of the recorded average travel positions comprises calculating a weighted average of the recorded average travel positions.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein:

recording the plurality of average dwelling pedal positions comprises storing respective time and date indicators corresponding to the plurality of recorded average dwelling pedal positions; and

calculating the weighted average comprises assigning a greater weight to a newer record of the plurality of recorded average dwelling pedal positions than to an older record of the plurality of recorded average dwelling pedal positions.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

determining a length of time during which the rate of change of position of the clutch pedal is less than the predetermined rate of change;

identifying the length of time as a dwelling time; and

recording the dwelling times associated with the respective average engagement point pedal positions.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein calculating the weighted average comprises assigning a greater weight to a first of the plurality of recorded average dwelling positions than a second of the plurality of recorded average dwelling positions, the first of the plurality of recorded average dwelling positions associated with a longer dwelling time than the second of the plurality of recorded average dwelling positions.

10. A method of determining an engagement position of a clutch of a vehicle, the clutch operable by a clutch pedal adapted to travel over a travel range, the method comprising:

receiving sensor data indicating a travel position of the clutch pedal;

determining, from the sensor data, a positional rate of change of the clutch pedal;

locating a first travel position of the clutch pedal at which the positional rate of change is less than a predetermined rate of change during a predetermined length of time; and

recording the first travel position of the clutch pedal.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the positional rate of change is determined when the vehicle accelerates from a reference position.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle is at rest in the reference position.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

recording, at different times, a plurality of first travel positions of the clutch pedal to create a plurality of recorded travel positions; and

calculating an average of the recorded travel positions to determine an average clutch pedal position.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the vehicle further comprises an automatic transmission shifter and the method comprises engaging the clutch with the automatic transmission shifter at a clutch position associated with the average clutch pedal position.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the vehicle further comprises a transmission and the positional rate of change is determined during engagement of the clutch to a largest gear of the transmission of the vehicle.

16. A clutch system for a vehicle, the clutch system comprising:

a clutch manipulator adapted to operate over a travel range;

a sensor adapted to obtain sensor data indicative of a travel position of the clutch manipulator, the travel position being within the travel range; and

a processing architecture coupled to the sensor and adapted to:

receive the sensor data;

determine, from the sensor data, the travel position of the clutch manipulator relative to the travel range;

determine, from the sensor data, a positional rate of change of the clutch manipulator over time;

compare the positional rate of change to a predetermined rate of change; and

locate a dwelling range of the clutch manipulator along the travel range during which the positional rate of change is less than the predetermined rate of change for at least a predetermined length of time.

17. The clutch system of claim 16 , wherein the predetermined rate of change is between 0% and 20% of the travel range per second.

18. The clutch system of claim 16 , wherein the predetermined rate of change is between 20% and 40% of the travel range per second.

19. The clutch system of claim 16 , wherein the predetermined length of time is between 0.05 and 0.5 seconds.

20. The clutch system of claim 16 , wherein the clutch manipulator comprises a clutch lever.

Assignments (12)