Systems and methods for improving manual gear shifting operations

Abstract

Powertrain operating method comprising: receiving at least one sensor input in a controller (12); anticipating a shifting operation of a manual transmission (208) via the controller (12) in response to the sensor input; and increasing an airflow to a motor (10) and a load applied to the motor (10) via the controller (12) based on the anticipation.

Description

Field of InventionThe present description relates to systems and methods for improving shift events of a manual transmission coupled to an engine. The methods and systems may be particularly useful for vehicles that are expected to be quickly shifted by a driver.General State of the Art and Brief Description of the InventionA manual transmission may be shifted when a driver depresses a clutch pedal and adjusts a position of a manual shift lever. During an upshift from a low (e.g., first gear) to a higher gear (e.g., second gear), a driver opens a clutch by depressing a clutch pedal. The driver also changes the position of a shift lever to release the gear being exited and to enter the next higher gear. For a soft shift, the driver waits until the engine speed has decreased to a speed that is near the transmission input shaft speed before engaging the manually operated clutch. If the driver releases the clutch pedal and closes the clutch earlier than desired, the driver may perceive a torque disturbance in the powertrain. However, if the driver closes the clutch when the engine speed is near transmission input shaft speed, the shift may be soft and the driver may perceive a smooth plot of powertrain torque. Engine torque may increase in response to a change in a requested or desired engine torque. Nevertheless, it may be difficult for a driver to judge when the engine speed is near transmission input shaft speed because transmission input shaft speed readings are unusual. Thus, from time to time, drivers may perceive torque disturbances in the powertrain, particularly during conditions where the driver is attempting to make a fast shift possible.Drive train methods are known from DE 10 2015 217 573 A1 and DE 696 12 556 T2, wherein a shifting process of a manual transmission is anticipated via the controller in response to sensor inputs.Furthermore, DE 10 2009 045 485 A1 discloses a method for operating a drive device.According to the invention, drive train methods according to claim 1 or according to claim 9 and a vehicle system according to claim 14 are proposed. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims and the following description.The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and developed a powertrain operating method comprising: receiving sensor input at a controller; judging, via the controller, in response to the sensor input, whether a manual transmission shift is in progress; and increasing, via the controller, a load applied to an engine based on the judgment.By decreasing engine speed via applying a load to the engine in response to a transmission upshift, it may be possible to provide, as a technical result, reducing a time for a manual shift of a manual transmission. Specifically, engine speed may be quickly reduced to transmission input shaft speed by applying a load to the engine in response to an indication of an upshift. Reducing engine speed earlier to transmission input shaft speed may allow a driver to release a clutch earlier without experiencing an undesirable powertrain torque disturbance. Further, in some examples, the manual upshift may be anticipated so that actions may be taken before the actual upshift is in progress to overcome the time delay of some types of load actuators.The present description may provide several advantages. In particular, the approach may reduce the times for gear upshifts in manual transmissions. Further, the approach may reduce powertrain torque disturbances. Furthermore, the approach may even be provided with some actuators that may not react as quickly as desired.The above advantages and other advantages and features of the present specification will be readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken alone or in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsDrawings will be assumed.It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that address any of the disadvantages mentioned above or in any part of this disclosure.Brief Description of the DrawingsThe advantages described herein will be better understood by reading an example of an embodiment referred to herein as a "detailed description" alone or with reference to the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an engine; FIG. 2 shows an example vehicle powertrain configuration; FIG. 3 shows an example vehicle operating sequence; and FIG. 4 shows an example method of operating a vehicle.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe present description relates to operating a vehicle that includes an internal combustion engine and a manual transmission. The engine may be configured as shown in FIG. 1. The engine may be mechanically coupled to other vehicle components to form a powertrain, as shown in FIG. 2. The vehicle may be operated according to the simulated operating sequences shown in FIG. 4. The method described in FIG. 4 may be included in the systems of FIGS. 1 and 2 to provide the sequence of FIG. 3.Referring to FIG. 1, the internal combustion engine 10 including a plurality of cylinders, one cylinder of which is shown in FIG. 1, is controlled by the electronic engine controller 12. Engine 10 includes combustion chamber 30 and cylinder walls 32 with piston 36 positioned therein and connected to crankshaft 40. A flywheel 97 and a ring gear 99 are coupled to the crankshaft 40. The starter 96 includes the pinion shaft 98 and the pinion gear 95. the pinion shaft 98 may selectively advance the pinion gear 95 to engage the ring gear 99. The starter 96 may be mounted directly on the front side of the engine or on the rear side of the engine. In some examples, the starter 96 may selectively provide torque to the crankshaft 40 via a belt or chain. In one example, the starter 96 is in a ground state when not engaged with the engine crankshaft. Combustion chamber 30 is shown communicating with intake manifold 44 and exhaust manifold 48 via intake valve 52 and exhaust valve 54, respectively. Each intake and exhaust valve may be actuated by an intake cam 51 and an exhaust cam 53. The position of the intake cam 51 may be determined by the intake cam sensor 55. The position of the exhaust cam 53 may be determined by the exhaust cam sensor 57.Liquid fuel injector 66 is shown positioned to inject fuel directly into cylinder 30, which is known to those skilled in the art as direct injection. Alternatively, liquid fuel may be injected into an intake passage, known to those skilled in the art as port injection. Fuel injector 66 supplies liquid fuel in proportion to pulse width from controller 12, and fuel is supplied to fuel injector 66 by a fuel system (not shown) including a fuel reservoir, a fuel pump, and a fuel rail (not shown).Intake manifold 44 is shown in communication with optional electronic throttle 62, which adjusts a position of throttle plate 64 to control airflow from air inlet 42 to intake manifold 44. In some examples, throttle 62 and throttle 64 may be positioned between intake valve 52 and intake manifold 44 such that throttle 62 is an intake passage throttle.The manifoldless ignition system 88 provides spark to the combustion chamber 30 via a spark plug 92 in response to the controller 12. Universal exhaust gas oxygen (UEGO) 126 is shown coupled to exhaust manifold 48 upstream of catalytic converter 70. Alternatively, the UEGO sensor 126 may be replaced with a two-state oxygen sensor.The converter 70 may include multiple catalytic devices in one example. In another example, multiple emission control devices may be used with multiple bricks each. The converter 70 may be a three-way catalyst in one example.A driver 132 inputs a driver demand torque to the controller 12 via the accelerator pedal 130 and the accelerator pedal position sensor 134. The driver demand torque may be a function of vehicle speed and accelerator pedal position.Controller 12 is shown in FIG. 1 as a conventional microcomputer including: microprocessor unit 102, input / output ports 104, non-volatile memory 106, random access memory 108, keep alive memory 110, and a conventional data bus. Controller 12 is shown receiving various signals from sensors coupled to engine 10, in addition to those signals previously discussed, including: engine coolant temperature (ECT) from temperature sensor 112 coupled to cooling sleeve 114; a measurement of intake manifold pressure (MAP) from pressure sensor 122 coupled to intake manifold 44; an engine position sensor from Hall effect sensor 118 that senses the position of crankshaft 40; a measurement of mass of air entering the engine from sensor 120; and a measurement of throttle position from sensor 58. In a preferred aspect of the present description, the engine position sensor 118 generates a predetermined number of equally spaced pulses each revolution of the crankshaft from which the engine speed (RPM) may be determined.During operation, each cylinder in engine 10 typically performs a four stroke cycle: the cycle includes the intake stroke, the compression stroke, the power stroke, and the exhaust stroke. During the intake stroke, exhaust valve 54 generally closes and intake valve 52 opens. Air is introduced into the combustion chamber 30 via the intake manifold 44, and the piston 36 moves toward the bottom of the cylinder so as to increase the volume in the combustion chamber 30. The position in which the piston 36 is near the bottom of the cylinder and at the end of its stroke (e.g., when the combustion chamber 30 has its largest volume) is typically known by those skilled in the art as bottom dead center(UT). During the compression stroke, the intake valve 52 and the exhaust valve 54 are closed. The piston 36 moves toward the cylinder head so as to compress the air in the combustion chamber 30. The point at which the piston 36 is at the end of its stroke and closest to the cylinder head (e.g., when the combustion chamber 30 has its smallest volume) is typically referred to by those skilled in the art as top dead center (TDC). In a process, referred to as injection below, fuel is introduced into the combustion chamber. In a process, hereinafter referred to as ignition, the injected fuel is ignited by known igniting means such as the spark plug 92, resulting in combustion. During the power stroke, the expanding gases push the piston 36 back to BDC. The crankshaft 40 converts piston motion into rotational torque of the rotary shaft. Finally, during the exhaust stroke, the exhaust valve 54 opens to deliver the combusted air-fuel mixture to the exhaust manifold 48, and the piston returns to TDC. It should be noted that the foregoing is shown merely as an example and that intake and exhaust valve opening and / or closing timings may change, such as to provide positive or negative valve overlap, late intake valve closing, or various other examples.FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a vehicle powertrain 200. The powertrain 200 may be powered by the engine 10 in the vehicle 290. Engine 10 may be started with an engine starting system shown in FIG. 1. Further, engine 10 may generate or adjust torque via torque actuator 204 such as a fuel injector, cam, throttle, etc. The engine 10 may provide torque to the alternator 202 via the belt 210 to provide electrical power to electrical devices. Thus, the alternator 202 selectively applies a negative torque to the engine 10. Furthermore, electrical charge is supplied from alternator 202 to electrical energy storage device (e.g., battery) 291. The electrical energy storage device carries additional electrical devices 292 (e.g., disc defroster, radio, etc.) Charge to Add. The device 220 also selectively applies a negative torque to the engine 10 via the belt 222. The device 220 may be an air conditioning compressor, vacuum pump, or other torque consuming device.Engine output torque may be transmitted to the manually actuated clutch 206. The manually operated clutch 206 is operated via the manually operated clutch pedal 234 and linkage 230. The clutch pedal sensor 232 provides a position of the clutch pedal 234 to the controller 12. The manually-actuated clutch 206 may be selectively actuated by the driver 132 depressing and / or releasing the manually-actuated clutch 206. The manually operated clutch 206 is opened when the clutch pedal 234 is depressed. The manually operated clutch 206 is closed when the clutch pedal 234 is released. The input shaft 270 mechanically couples the manually operated clutch 206 to the manually operated transmission 208.The manually operated transmission 208 includes gears (e.g., gears 1- 6) 255. The gears 255 are fixed gear stages that provide different ratios between the transmission input 270 and output 260 shafts. The gears 255 may be manually engaged and disengaged by opening the manually operated clutch 206 and moving the manual gear selector 216 by the driver 132. Closing clutch 206 transfers power from engine 10 to wheels 218 when one of gears 255 is engaged via manual gear selector 216. The gear positions are reported to the controller 12 via the gear position sensors 275. The output shaft 260 connects the manual transmission 208 to the wheels 218. In some examples, an axle and gears may be positioned between the manual transmission 208 and the wheels 216.The controller 12 may be configured to receive inputs from the engine 10, as shown in more detail in FIG. 1, and accordingly control torque output of the engine and / or operation of the alternator 202 and the device 222. As one example, in turbo-charged or mechanical-charged engines, an engine torque output may be controlled by adjusting a combination of spark timing, fuel pulse width, fuel pulse timing, and / or air charge by controlling throttle opening and / or valve timing, valve lift, and boost.Thus, the method of FIGS. 1 and 2 provides for a vehicle system comprising: an engine; a manual transmission coupled to the engine, the manual transmission including a manually operated clutch; and a controller including non-transitory instructions to increase a load applied to the engine in response to a gear upshift of the manual transmission. The vehicle system further includes additional instructions to increase an engine air amount in response to the gear upshift being anticipated. The vehicle system further includes an alternator and additional instructions for increasing load across the alternator. The vehicle system further includes an air conditioning compressor and additional instructions for increasing load across the air conditioning compressor. The vehicle system includes a manually-actuated clutch with the manual transmission. The vehicle system includes a manual shift lever with the manual transmission.Referring now to FIG. 3, a simulated example vehicle operating sequence for the system of FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown. The operating sequence may be provided via executable instructions that provide the method of FIG. 4 in cooperation with sensors and actuators shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The vertical lines T0 - T4 indicate interesting points in time during the sequence.The first plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of the state of the clutch pedal over time. The vertical axis represents the state of the manual clutch pedal. The manual clutch pedal is not actuated (e.g., released) and the manual clutch is closed when the trace is at a lower level near the horizontal axis. The manual clutch pedal is actuated (e.g., depressed) and the manual clutch is opened when the trace is at a higher level near the vertical axis arrow. The horizontal axis represents time, and time is from the left side of the graph to the right side of the graph.The second plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of the selected gear over time. The vertical axis represents the selected gear. The selected gears are identified on the vertical axis at different levels. The gears are selected via the manual shift lever. The horizontal axis represents time, and time is from the left side of the graph to the right side of the graph.The third plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of desired engine braking torque versus time. The vertical axis represents the desired engine braking torque. The target engine braking torque increases in the direction of the vertical axis arrow. The horizontal axis represents time, and time is from the left side of the graph to the right side of the graph.The fourth plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of desired engine air flow versus time. The vertical axis represents desired engine air flow. The desired engine airflow increases in the direction of the vertical axis arrow. The horizontal axis represents time, and time is from the left side of the graph to the right side of the graph.The fifth plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of desired alternator torque versus time. The vertical axis represents alternator torque. Alternator torque increases in the direction of the vertical axis arrow. Alternator torque is a negative torque when applied to the motor. The horizontal axis represents time, and time is from the left side of the graph to the right side of the graph.The sixth plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of engine speed versus time. The vertical axis represents engine speed. The engine speed increases in the direction of the vertical axis arrow. The horizontal axis represents time, and time is from the left side of the graph to the right side of the graph.At time T0, the vehicle is in first gear and the clutch pedal is not depressed. The desired engine braking torque and engine air flow are at a mid-level and the alternator torque is at a lower level, which applies a lower negative torque to the engine. The engine speed increases.At time T 1, the vehicle speed enters a speed range in which a driver may be expected to manually shift transmission gears. The speed range may be based on or a function of currently selected gear and desired engine braking torque, vehicle speed, and / or accelerator pedal position. In some examples, instead of a downshift, an upshift may be predicted based on the trajectory of the accelerator pedal or the driver demand torque. For example, if the driver demand torque or accelerator pedal position increases or is constant as engine speed increases and when engine speed enters a range where a shift is expected, it may be determined that the driver is expected to upshift (e.g., upshift to a higher gear). The alternator load and desired engine airflow may be increased in response to the expected manual transmission shift. The alternator load is increased so that engine speed is reduced more quickly as the driver releases the accelerator pedal (not shown). The engine airflow is increased by an amount corresponding to the alternator load so that the driver does not notice the increase in the alternator load. For example, if alternator torque applies 20 Nm negative torque to the motor, the motor torque is increased by 20 Nm. Engine torque is increased via increasing engine air flow and fuel flow. The engine is maintained in operation and burns a stoichiometric air-fuel mixture as engine torque increases. The engine speed continues to increase and the target engine braking torque remains at the same level.Between time T 1 and time T 2, the alternator torque and desired engine air flow are increased to higher values. Neither the clutch pedal is applied nor the accelerator pedal (not shown) is released. The engine speed continues to increase.At time T 2, the driver releases the accelerator pedal to initiate an upshift. The desired engine braking torque decreases in response to the driver releasing the accelerator pedal. Further, the desired engine air flow is decreased in response to the decreased desired engine braking torque. Alternator torque is maintained at a constant level. However, in some examples where engine speed is within a transmission input shaft speed threshold, the amount of torque applied to the engine via the alternator or other torque consumer may be decreased so that engine speed does not rapidly decrease below transmission input shaft speed. Engine speed is reduced in response to the reduction in desired engine braking torque. The selected gear remains in first gear and the clutch pedal is not applied.Between time T2 and time T3, the clutch pedal is operated and the selected gear is changed from the first gear to the second gear by the driver manually changing the gear selection position. Engine speed decreases due to the lower engine airflow and the alternator load applied to the engine. The clutch pedal is released near time T 3 to have the engine speed equal to the transmission input shaft speed.At time T 3, the driver actuates the accelerator pedal (not shown) and the desired engine braking torque increases in response to the actuated accelerator pedal. The desired engine air flow increases in response to the desired engine braking torque and in response to the negative torque applied to the engine via the alternator. By increasing the desired engine air flow, the actual engine braking torque may follow the desired engine braking torque, although negative torque is applied to the engine via the alternator. Engine speed begins to increase in response to the increase in desired engine braking torque.Between time T 3 and time T 4, the alternator torque and desired engine air flow are decreased to lower values. Alternator torque is decreased so that battery charge is not increased more than desired. Neither the clutch pedal is applied nor the accelerator pedal (not shown) is released. The engine speed continues to increase.In this way, engine operating conditions may be adjusted in anticipation of a manual transmission shift. In particular, an alternator load may be increased and engine torque production may be increased until the driver releases the accelerator pedal so that engine speed is reduced more quickly upon release of the accelerator pedal than when only engine air flow is reduced. Reducing engine speed faster during a shift may allow the driver to more quickly engage a new gear and close a manually operated clutch earlier without causing an undesirable powertrain torque disturbance.Referring now to FIG. 4, a method of operating a vehicle powertrain is shown. The method of FIG. 4 may be implemented, at least in part, as executable instructions stored in controller memory. The method of FIG. 4 may cooperate with and be a part of the system of FIGS. 1 and 2. Further, the method of FIG. 4, along with the system of FIGS. 1 and 2, may provide the operating sequence shown in FIG. 3.At 402, method 400 determines vehicle operating conditions. Vehicle operating conditions may be determined via data input to a controller of vehicle sensors and actuators. Vehicle operating conditions may include, but are not limited to, engine speed, vehicle speed, currently selected gear, accelerator pedal position, clutch pedal position, and alternator load or torque consuming device load applied to the engine. Method 400 continues to 404 after vehicle operating conditions are determined.At 404, method 400 judges whether a manual transmission upshift is predicted or predicted before the actual gear upshift occurs. In one example, method 400 may judge that a manual transmission upshift is anticipated when the manual transmission is in selected gears (e.g., gears 1 or 2, but not gears 3 or 4). In other examples, method 400 may judge that a manual transmission upshift is anticipated responsive to a speed of accelerator pedal actuation being greater than a threshold (e.g., greater than X mm / second). If method 400 judges that a manual transmission shift is to be anticipated, the answer is yes and method 400 proceeds to 406. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to 430.At 406, method 400 estimates an engine speed or vehicle speed range in which the driver is expected to upshift the manual transmission. In one example, the engine speed or vehicle speed at which the driver is expected to upshift is a function of the accelerator pedal position, the currently selected gear, and the engine speed at which the engine generates the peak engine torque. Further, in some examples, the engine speed or vehicle speed at which the driver is expected to shift may be further based on the speed of increase in accelerator pedal position. For example, when the vehicle is operating in first gear, the driver may be expected to shift the manual transmission in an engine speed range between 300 U / min below an engine speed at which the engine generates maximum torque and 100 U / min above the engine speed at which the engine generates maximum torque when the accelerator pedal is applied more than 50 percent of full drive. The engine speed or vehicle speed estimates may be determined empirically and stored in tables and / or functions in memory. The engine speed range and / or the vehicle speed range are determined by indexing the functions and tables about the engine speed or the vehicle speed and the currently selected gear. Method 400 continues at 408 after the engine speed or vehicle speed range of the expected shift is determined.At 408, method 400 judges whether engine speed or vehicle speed is within the range determined at 406. Further, in some examples, method 400 judges whether or not selected conditions are present to determine whether or not the shift is expected to be an upshift. Method 400 may judge that the imminent shift is expected to be an upshift when driver demand torque or accelerator pedal position increases or is constant because engine speed increases and engine speed falls within a range where a shift is expected. If the engine speed or vehicle speed is within the speed range of the expected shift and the shift is expected to be an upshift, the answer is yes and method 400 proceeds to 414 where a load applied to the engine via the alternator is increased. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to 412. In this way, the load applied by the alternator to the engine may be applied before the driver opens the clutch or releases the throttle, so that a slow reacting alternator may increase engine torque at the same time a shift is occurring or before the shift is occurring.At 414, method 400 increases the load the alternator applies to the engine. The alternator load may be increased via increasing an amount of current supplied to an alternator excitation coil. Further, in some examples, the load applied by the alternator may be based on the gear currently engaged. For example, if the first gear is engaged, a first load may be applied to the engine via the alternator. If a second gear is engaged, a second load different from the first load may be applied to the engine via the alternator. Additionally, the desired engine air flow and fuel flow may be increased by the same amount by which the alternator torque is increased, but in an opposite direction. For example, a negative torque provided to the engine is increased to a more negative torque (e.g., -20 Nm), and the engine torque is increased by a more positive torque (e.g., +20 Nm) by opening an engine throttle. In this way, the change in alternator torque applied to the engine is compensated for via the change in engine torque, so the driver may not notice a torque change. Alternator torque may be estimated based on alternator excitation current and alternator speed. Method 400 continues to 416 after the alternator load applied to the engine has been increased.At 416, method 400 judges whether engine speed is within a transmission input shaft speed threshold, or whether the transmission clutch is released by the driver, or whether the driver is applying the accelerator pedal. If so, the answer is yes and method 400 proceeds to 418. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to 420.At 418, method 400 reduces the load the alternator applies to the engine. The alternator load may be reduced to a value that provides a desired voltage output from the alternator for receiving the battery charge. Method 400 continues to end after the alternator load applied to the engine has been reduced.In some examples, method 400 may include an additional step whereby battery state of charge (SOC) is obtained or reduced to a value less than a threshold before exiting method 400. Because the alternator load is increased during the manual shift, method 400 may allow vehicle accessories to partially drain the vehicle battery so that additional charge may be supplied to the battery during a subsequent manual shift. Thus, the battery state of charge between shifts may be reduced by the controller 12 instructing accessory electrical devices to increase the consumption of electrical charge from the battery so that the battery is in a state in which it may receive charge during a subsequent shift.At 412, method 400 judges whether the accelerator pedal has been released or is released or whether the clutch opens or the clutch pedal is pressed. Method 400 makes its judgment so that if the driver shifts transmission gears outside of the engine speed or vehicle speed described at 408, the alternator load applied to the engine may be increased to reduce engine speed during the shift. If method 400 judges that the accelerator pedal has been released or is being released or that the clutch is opening or the clutch pedal is being pressed, the answer is yes and method 400 proceeds to 414. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to end.At 420, method 400 maintains the alternator at a load or torque currently applied to the engine or at a load that the alternator has applied to the engine when the accelerator pedal has been released. By maintaining the alternator load, an expected speed of engine deceleration may be provided. In still other examples, the alternator load may be increased to a predetermined load. Method 400 continues to 422 after the alternator load is applied to the engine.At 422, method 400 judges whether the manual clutch is released or released or whether the accelerator pedal is applied. Alternatively, method 400 may judge if a new gear has been selected and engaged via the manual gear selector. Such conditions may provide an indication that the manual shift is completed and engine speed will soon correspond to transmission input speed by engaging the manual clutch. If method 400 judges that one or more conditions are present, the answer is yes and method 400 proceeds to 424. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to 416.At 424, method 400 reduces alternator load applied to the engine. Alternator load may be reduced via reducing a current supplied to an alternator excitation coil. Method 400 continues to end after the alternator load is decreased.At 430, method 400 judges whether the accelerator pedal has been released or is released or whether the clutch opens or the clutch pedal is pressed. Method 400 may use these conditions as a basis to determine whether a shift is present. If method 400 judges that the accelerator pedal has been released or is being released or that the clutch is opening or the clutch pedal is being pressed, the answer is yes and method 400 proceeds to 432. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 proceeds to 440. Further, in some examples, method 400 may also require conditions to be present for an upshift before proceeding to 432.At 432, method 400 increases an alternator load applied to the engine. The alternator load is increased to slow the engine to transmission input shaft speed more quickly so that a soft shift may be provided by the driver. Method 400 continues with 434 after the alternator load applied to the engine has been increased (e.g., a greater negative torque is applied to the engine via the alternator).At 434, method 400 judges if engine speed is within a transmission input shaft speed threshold, or if the transmission clutch is released by the driver, or if the driver is applying the accelerator pedal. If so, the answer is yes and method 400 proceeds to 436. Otherwise, the answer is no and method 400 returns to 432. If method 400 returns to 432, the controller may maintain the alternator at a load or torque currently applied to the engine or at a load that the alternator has applied to the engine when the accelerator pedal has been released. By maintaining the alternator load, an expected speed of engine deceleration may be provided. In still other examples, the alternator load may be increased to a predetermined load.At 436, method 400 reduces alternator load applied to the engine. Alternator load may be reduced via reducing a current supplied to an alternator excitation coil. Method 400 continues to end after the alternator load is decreased.At 440, method 400 adjusts the battery SOC to a level less than a threshold level. The battery SOC may be reduced via increasing charge supplied to electrical devices such as disc defrosters. The battery SOC is reduced so that the battery charge may be increased during a subsequent transmission shift event. Otherwise, if the SOC were at a higher level, the alternator load applied to the engine may need to be reduced. Method 400 continues to end after the battery SOC is reduced to below a threshold SOC.It should be noted that although method 400 describes an alternator applying load to the engine, load may be provided to the engine via an air conditioning compressor, vacuum pump, or other engine accessory load. Further, loads from other accessories, such as air conditioning compressors, may be applied to the engine in conjunction with or concurrent with applying the alternator load to the engine during the manual transmission shift to reduce engine speed during a manual shift.Thus, the method of FIG. 4 provides for a powertrain operating method comprising:receiving sensor input to a controller; judging, via the controller, in response to the sensor input, whether a manual transmission shift is in gear; and increasing, via the controller, a load applied to the engine based on the judgment. The method includes where the load is an alternator load. The method includes adjusting the alternator load in response to the gear being exited and the gear being engaged. The method includes where the load is an air conditioner clutch load. The method includes adjusting the air conditioner clutch load in response to the gear being exited and the gear being engaged. The method includes where the load is a vacuum pump. The method includes judging whether the manual transmission shift is in gear based on a position of an accelerator pedal. The method includes judging whether the manual transmission shift is in progress based on a position of a clutch pedal.The method of FIG. 4 also provides for a powertrain operating method, comprising: receiving sensor input in a controller; predicting a shift of a manual transmission via the controller in response to the sensor input; and increasing, via the controller, a load applied to an engine based on the prediction. The method includes predicting the shift based on vehicle speed and currently engaged gear. The method includes predicting the shift based on accelerator pedal position and currently engaged gear. The method includes where the manual transmission is shifted via adjusting a position of a shift lever and opening a clutch via a clutch pedal. The method further includes increasing engine torque in response to the shift being anticipated. The method further comprises adjusting a position of a throttle to increase engine torque.As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the method described in FIG. 4 may represent one or more processing strategies of any number, such as event-driven, interrupt-driven, multi-tasking, multi-threading, and the like. Further, the methods described herein may be a combination of actions of a controller in the physical world and instructions within the controller. At least portions of the control methods and routines disclosed herein may be stored as executable instructions in non-transitory memory and executed by the control system, which includes the controller in combination with the various sensors, actuators, and other engine hardware. Thus, various illustrated steps or functions may be performed in the order shown, in parallel, or in some cases omitted. Likewise, the order of processing need not necessarily achieve the objects, features, and advantages described herein, but is provided for ease of illustration and description. Although not explicitly illustrated, it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that one or more of the illustrated steps or functions may be repeatedly performed, depending on the particular strategy being used. Further, the described actions, operations, methods, and / or functions may graphically represent code to be programmed into non-transitory memory of the computer readable storage medium in the engine control system.This concludes the description. Their reading by those skilled in the art would recognize many changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the specification. For example, I3, I4, I5, V6, V8, V10, and V12 engines operating on natural gas, gasoline, diesel, or alternative fuel configurations could take advantage of the present description.

Claims

A powertrain operating method comprising: receiving at least one sensor input in a controller (12); predicting, via the controller (12), a shift of a manual transmission (208) in response to the sensor input; and increasing an airflow to an engine (10) and a load applied to the engine (10) via the controller (12) based on the prediction.The powertrain operating method of claim 1, wherein the load is an alternator load, and wherein the method further comprises: decreasing the load applied to the engine (10) based on the expectation of responsive to an accelerator pedal (130) being actuated.The powertrain operating method of claim 2, wherein the alternator load is adjusted in response to the gear being exited and the gear being engaged.The powertrain operating method of claim 1, wherein the load is an air conditioner clutch load, and wherein the method further comprises: adjusting a battery state of charge to below a threshold for a subsequent gear shift event in response to an accelerator pedal (130) being released or a manual clutch (206) being closed.The powertrain operating method of claim 4, wherein the air conditioner clutch load is adjusted in response to the gear being exited and the gear being engaged.The powertrain operating method of claim 1, wherein the load is a vacuum pump load.The powertrain operating method of claim 6, wherein it is judged whether the shift operation of the manual transmission (208) is in gear based on a position of an accelerator pedal (130).The powertrain operating method of claim 6, wherein it is judged based on a position of a clutch pedal whether the shift operation of the manual transmission (208) is in progress.A powertrain operating method comprising: receiving at least one sensor input in a controller (12); predicting, via the controller (12), a manual transmission (208) shift operation in response to the sensor input; and increasing, via the controller (12), a load applied to an engine (10) based on the prediction; and decreasing the load applied to the engine (10) based on the prediction in response to an accelerator pedal (130) being operated, wherein the shift operation is predicted based on vehicle speed and currently engaged gear, and the method further comprises: increasing an airflow to the engine (10) in response to the prediction.The powertrain operating method of claim 9, wherein the shift is anticipated based on accelerator pedal position and currently engaged gear, and the method further comprises: adjusting a battery state of charge to below a threshold for a subsequent gear shift event in response to an accelerator pedal (130) being released or a manual clutch (206) being closed.The powertrain operating method of claim 9, wherein the manual transmission (208) is shifted via adjusting a position of a shift lever and opening a clutch (206) via a clutch pedal.The powertrain operating method of claim 9, further comprising increasing engine torque in response to the shift being anticipated.The powertrain operating method of claim 12, further comprising adjusting a position of a throttle to increase engine torque in response to the anticipated gear change.A vehicle system comprising: an engine (10); a manual transmission (208) coupled to the engine (10), the manual transmission (208) including a manually operated clutch (206); and a controller (12) including non-transitory instructions to increase a load applied to the engine (10) in response to a gear upshift of the manual transmission (208) and decrease the load applied to the engine (10) for a gear upshift in response to an accelerator pedal (130) being operated, the vehicle system further comprising additional instructions to increase an amount of engine air in response to the gear upshift being anticipated.The vehicle system of claim 14, further comprising an alternator (202) and additional instructions for increasing the load across the alternator (202).The vehicle system of claim 14, further comprising an air conditioning compressor and additional instructions for increasing load across the air conditioning compressor.The vehicle system of claim 14, further comprising: additional instructions to adjust the battery state of charge to below a threshold for a subsequent gear shift event in response to the accelerator pedal (130) or the manually operated clutch (206) being released.The vehicle system of claim 14, wherein the manual transmission (208) includes a manual shift lever.

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