JP7650301B2 - Method, computing device, computer program and machine-readable storage medium for shifting gears in a vehicle - Patents.com - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for driving a vehicle, in particular a two-wheeled vehicle, having an internal combustion engine, an electric machine torque-transmittingly connected to the internal combustion engine, and a manually operable transmission, as well as a computer program and a computing device for carrying out the method.

In vehicles with an internal combustion engine and a manually operable transmission, in particular in two-wheeled vehicles (motorcycles or motorcycles), a so-called shift assist may be provided to assist in the shifting operation, so that the possibly provided clutch does not (anymore) have to be operated.

According to the invention, a method for driving a vehicle, in particular a two-wheeled vehicle (or motorcycle or motorbike) having an internal combustion engine, an electric machine torque-transmittingly connected to the internal combustion engine, and a manually operable transmission with a number of different gears is proposed, as well as a computer program and a computing device for carrying out said method having the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims and the following description.

As already mentioned at the beginning, in vehicles with an internal combustion engine and a manually operable transmission, a so-called shift assistant can be provided, which can be integrated, for example, in the engine control unit. In this case, when a shifting operation request or a gear change request is detected, the internal combustion engine can be operated, for example, by the engine control unit, in such a way that the load is received by the gears of the transmission and a gear change without load is possible without operating the clutch. For a shifting operation in which the internal combustion engine supplies the drive torque, ignition and injection are interrupted or the injection quantity is significantly reduced for a short time (typically less than 300 ms) to relieve the load of the transmission, and the throttle valve opening is adjusted accordingly, so that the drive torque is correspondingly reduced and the load is received by the transmission. A typical operating point here can be an upshift during an acceleration phase.

Conversely, the internal combustion engine may be driven by the rear wheels via the transmission or may coast (e.g., with engine braking). At this stage, a corresponding engine braking torque must be applied by the internal combustion engine to overcome the inherent friction in order to obtain an unloaded state of the transmission for the shifting maneuver.

In the first case, the shifting intervention results in a brief reduction in the torque of the internal combustion engine, whereas in the second case, the torque of the internal combustion engine needs to be increased without the driver's assistance. For this purpose, the throttle valve can be adjusted differently from the driver's request. For this operation, an electronically controlled or electronically operable throttle valve may therefore be required.

Such torque-boosting interventions during engine braking operation, which are not controlled by the driver, must be monitored by a separate function accordingly in order to prevent unintended acceleration of the vehicle in the event of a fault and to ensure driver safety. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide an extension beyond the general monitoring function of ensuring that the opening of the electronically controlled throttle valve corresponds to the driver's request. Such an extension must be able to accommodate differences between the driver's request and the controlled throttle valve within the required framework and time of the shifting operation and to detect and prevent any differences that exceed this. This means that the monitoring of the throttle valve control for the electronically controlled throttle valve must be extended, including the use of a shift assist.

In this context, it is proposed, in particular in such vehicles which also have an electric machine that can be driven in the form of a motor and a generator, i.e. also a corresponding rectifier or inverter, that when a shifting operation (i.e. a gear change request or a gear change operation request) for changing the actual gear of the transmission is detected, that the electric machine is operated in such a way that the load acting on the transmission is reduced, in particular that no load acts on the transmission at all. Such a shifting operation request or gear change request can be detected, for example, by means of the load (e.g. a light pressure) or operation of the shift pedal or shift lever.

That is, if the torque regulation for unloading the transmission can be guaranteed by the electric machine, the intervention of the throttle valve and thus the above-mentioned adjustment or change of the throttle valve monitoring can be omitted, which allows significantly simpler monitoring. In other words, monitoring of the difference between the actual position of the throttle valve and the position requested by the driver is carried out in the usual way, whereby if a difference exists or is detected, countermeasures, such as a warning message, are initiated. A difference can be considered to exist or detected, for example, when the difference between the actual position and the position requested by the driver is greater than a preset threshold value. This applies regardless of the presence or absence of a shifting operation.

The proposed method can also be used during operation of the internal combustion engine, for example during acceleration, in which the electric machine exerts a braking effect on the internal combustion engine and thereby generates a torque, but is particularly suitable for downshifting operations, especially when a shifting request is detected during coasting or engine braking operation of the internal combustion engine, since here the unloading is not successful only through injection adjustment. Here, the electric machine can be operated in such a way that an increased (i.e. accelerated) torque is exerted by the electric machine on the internal combustion engine.

This method is particularly advantageous for internal combustion engines with at most two, preferably only one, cylinders, but can in principle also be used for other internal combustion engines. The electric machine or its rotor can be directly connected to the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine so as not to rotate relative to it and can be configured, for example, as a permanently excited synchronous machine. Similarly, the electric machine can have a different type of work or its torque can be transmitted to the crankshaft by means of a gear, a belt drive, a chain or in other ways.

The proposed method can also provide a shift assist for shifting operations during engine braking operation, even when a mechanical or mechanically operable throttle valve is provided. In order to unload the transmission during shifting operations during engine braking operation of the drive train, the friction torque of the internal combustion engine (including the clutch and the transmission input mechanism) or the engine braking torque must be applied. With a mechanical throttle valve, it is generally not possible to draw in enough air via the air bypass (Stepper) to achieve the required combustion energy and thus the correction of the engine braking torque over the entire speed range. Therefore, the corresponding shifting operations without the clutch or without the operation of the clutch are not conventionally assisted by this system.

However, shift assistance for all load situations can be realized even for systems with a mechanical throttle valve, provided that the required torque, or at least the torque that is missing when the bypass is fully open, can be provided by the electric machine.

Another advantage of the proposed method is that the required engine braking torque is achieved more quickly. An internal combustion engine can only generate torque by the combustion process. Depending on the rotational speed and the number of cylinders, different lengths of time pass between combustions and thus until a possible change in torque or the provision of torque. Due to low rotational speeds, especially in single-cylinder internal combustion engines, a correspondingly long time passes before the transmission is unloaded for the shifting operation and before the internal combustion engine provides the required engine braking torque. Here, the electric machine can provide the required torque significantly more quickly, which can correspondingly speed up or improve the shifting operation.

In order for the electric machine to produce the above-mentioned advantages, it must be able to apply the required torque across the entire speed range, i.e. the engine braking torque of the internal combustion engine. If this is not desirable, at least in the lower speed range, the torque of the electric machine can be used to assist the shift assist, thus increasing its reaction speed.

Due to the faster controllability of the electric machine, the torque generation can be better synchronized with the driver's shifting actions, and special moment profiles can be pre-set, for example with respect to time. The use of the moment profiles can be dependent on the detection of the shifting action or its type or speed (for example how quickly the lever is operated) and on other parameters of the internal combustion engine, such as engine speed, oil temperature, etc.

The computing device according to the invention, for example a control unit of a vehicle, is designed in particular from a program technology perspective to carry out the method according to the invention.

It is also advantageous to implement the program code for executing all method steps in the method according to the invention as a computer program or computer program product, since this is particularly cost-effective when a specially designed control unit is also used for other tasks and is therefore present in any case. Suitable data carriers for providing the computer program are, in particular, magnetic, optical and electrical storage devices, such as hard disks, flash memories, EEPROMs, DVDs, etc. Downloading the program via a computer network (Internet, intranet, etc.) is also possible.

Further advantages and embodiments of the invention can be seen from the specification and accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric machine, on which the method of the invention can be carried out; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the progression of the method of the present invention according to a preferred embodiment.

The present invention is illustrated generally by way of example in the drawings and will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle 100 configured as a motorcycle with an internal combustion engine 110, an electric machine 120 and a manual or manually operable transmission 140, in which the method according to the invention can be performed. The internal combustion engine 110 is configured, for example, as an internal combustion engine with a cylinder 111 and a crankshaft 115.

The electric machine 120 is torque-transmittingly coupled to the crankshaft 115 and thus to the internal combustion engine 110. The internal combustion engine 110 is also connected via the crankshaft 115 to the clutch 130, which is further connected via the clutch 130 to the transmission 140.

By means of the computing device 180 configured as a control unit, the electric machine 120 can be appropriately controlled, i.e. a braking torque can be applied to the crankshaft and thus to the internal combustion engine, so that a torque converter or generator type operation can be performed. Similarly, an acceleration torque or a drive torque can be applied to the crankshaft and thus to the internal combustion engine, so that a torque generator or electric operation can be performed.

Furthermore, a steering wheel 150 and a shift pedal 155 are shown. Operating the steering wheel 150 drives and controls the fuel injection and, for example, the electronically operable throttle valve 112, and operating the shift pedal 155 shifts the gears of the transmission 140.

In FIG. 2, the progress of the method according to the invention is shown in a schematic manner in a preferred embodiment. In this case, in step 200, first, monitoring is performed as to whether a shifting operation is initiated. If in step 210, a shifting request or the start of a shifting operation is detected, for example by means of an initial movement or load or operation of the shift pedal, in step 220, when the internal combustion engine is coasting, the electric machine is controlled or operated, for example according to a moment profile 225, in such a way that the electric machine applies an increased or accelerated torque to the internal combustion engine, thereby ultimately keeping the transmission unloaded.

In this way, the gear shift can be carried out without any problems in step 230, and then the electric machine can be returned to the previous state again in step 240. It should be noted that since the shifting operation or its course and length is generally preset by the driver, step 220 must therefore be carried out correspondingly quickly, for example by means of a moment profile 225, which can be carried out, for example, depending on the actual speed of the shifting operation (which can for this purpose be detected, for example).

During this operation, monitoring 250 of the difference between the throttle valve position requested by the driver and the actual position can be carried out continuously. This difference must not be changed even during the shifting operation due to the special actuation of the electric machine to obtain the no-load position of the transmission, since the throttle valve must not be actuated independently of the driver's request.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Vehicle 110 Internal combustion engine 111 Cylinder 112 Throttle valve 115 Crankshaft 120 Electric machine 130 Clutch 140 Transmission 150 Steering wheel 155 Shift pedal 180 Calculating device 200 Step 210 Step, switching operation request 220, 230, 240 Step 225 Moment profile 250 Monitoring

Claims (10)

1. A method for shifting gears in a vehicle (100) having an internal combustion engine (110), an electric machine (120) torque-transmittingly connected to the internal combustion engine (110), and a manually operable transmission (140) having a plurality of different gears, without requiring a driver to operate a clutch (130), comprising:
When a shifting operation request, which is an operation requesting a gear change, is detected, the electric machine (120) is caused to reduce a load acting on the transmission (140) according to a moment profile preset depending on an operation speed at the shifting operation request, prior to the gear change.
When the switching operation request is detected during coasting of the internal combustion engine (110), the electric machine (120) is operated such that an increased torque is applied to the internal combustion engine (110) by the electric machine (120) .
method. operating the electric machine (120) so that no load is applied to the transmission (140);
The method of claim 1. An electronically operable throttle valve (112) is provided for the internal combustion engine (110).
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2. monitoring for a difference between the actual position of the throttle valve (112) and the position requested by the driver and initiating countermeasures when such a difference exists;
The method of claim 3 . a mechanically operable throttle valve is provided for said internal combustion engine (110);
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2 . the moment profile is further pre-set depending on the type of the shifting request and/or depending on at least one operating parameter of the internal combustion engine (110).
6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The number of cylinders (111) provided in the internal combustion engine (110) is two or less.
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A computing device (180) designed to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . A computer program product for causing a computing device (180) to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . A machine-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 9 .

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