Control and method for supporting rapid gear changes in a two-wheeled vehicle

Abstract

The vehicle includes a canister purge valve (CPV) connected to an intake manifold of an engine of the vehicle via a canister purge valve (CPV) 114. The controller 110 is configured, when a request for a quick gear change is detected, to determine a current engine torque and compare it to a current wheel torque, and to actuate the CPV 114 to an open position if the current engine torque is lower than the current wheel torque. The request for a quick gear change is detected via the shift intent sensor 106. The current engine torque and the current wheel torque are calculated by the controller 110 using signals from the engine speed sensor 102 and the wheel speed sensor 104, respectively, or by indirect methods.Therefore, in the MTB vehicle, where there is no throttle control, the CPV 114 is operatively controlled to regulate the air intake in scenarios where the wheel torque is greater than the engine torque.

Description

Field of the Invention:The present disclosure relates to a controller and method for assisting rapid gear changes in a two-wheeler vehicle.Prior Art:An engine management system (EMS) assists the gear change by detecting the driver's shift intention without actuating the clutch lever or changing the throttle, also referred to as a fast gear change. The gear change is detected by a gear position sensor or a separate shift assistance sensor, also known as automatic shifting mechanism. Depending on the shifting direction and the current motor torque, the torque must either be increased or decreased and controlled accordingly by the EMS. The increase in torque for the fast gear change is achieved by changing the ignition, air, or fuel, or a combination thereof. In particular, in an intake system with a mechanical throttle body (MTB) in comparison with an intake system with an electronic throttle control (ETC) / drive-by-wire (driving / controlling without mechanical force transmission), the EMS has a very much lower control over the air and thus over the fuel, which in turn would have only very slight effects on the torque change to be effected.A patent US2006068975 discloses a transmission control device for motor cycles. A transmission control apparatus for a vehicle for smoothly performing transmission manipulation without clutch manipulation. The transmission control device includes a control unit that determines a start timing of the shift operation based on a detection signal of a shift operation detector and controls an amount of intake air to an engine corresponding to a gear shift position detected by a gear shift position detection means, thereby smoothly changing an output of the engine. For example, the control unit obtains an initial target throttle opening corresponding to the gear shift position from a table of initial target throttle openings, obtains data on the throttle opening, time, and a damping ratio corresponding to the gear shift position from a table of throttle openings, times, and damping ratios, and determines the opening time and the target throttle opening. Next, the control unit determines an injection amount and executes feedback control for increasing the intake air amount and the injection amount.Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawings:An embodiment of the disclosure will be described with reference to the following accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fast gear change assist controller in a two-wheeler vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for assisting rapid gear changes in the two-wheeler vehicle according to the present invention.Detailed Description of Embodiments:FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fast gear change assist controller in a two-wheeler vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The rapid gear change corresponds to the gear change without clutch or gas modulation / operation. The vehicle includes an activated carbon canister connected to an intake manifold of an engine of the vehicle via a canister purge valve (CPV) 114. The controller 110 is configured to, when a request for a fast gear change is detected, determine and compare a current engine torque to a current wheel torque and actuate the CPV 114 to an open position when the current engine torque is less than the current wheel torque. The request for a fast gear change is detected by the shift intention sensor 106 already known in the art (contact-type or contactless). The current engine torque and the current wheel torque are calculated by the controller 110 using signals from the engine speed sensor 102 and the wheel speed sensor 104, respectively, or through corresponding direct or indirect sensors (e.g., coasting conditions).According to an embodiment of the present invention, the intake manifold is in fluid communication with a mechanical throttle body (MTB) or an electronic throttle control (ETC) unit. The MTB includes a throttle that can be manually controlled via a throttle attached to a handlebar of the vehicle. The controller 110 is preferably suitable for MTB, but if necessary, the controller may be implemented for ETC units.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the engine ignition is on (ON) while the CPV 114 is actuated to the open position during the rapid gear change and the canister is purged. Under other operating conditions, there are no changes in the function of the ignition and the CPV 114 compared to the existing methodology.According to an embodiment of the present invention, the CPV 114 is only actuated to the open position when a first condition is met, including the canister being emptied during a previous drive cycle and / or a current / current / current drive cycle. Additionally, the CPV 114 is actuated to the open position after a second condition is met comprising the amount of fuel being below a certain threshold during the actuation.The reasons why the ignition is turned on (ON) together with the first condition and the second condition will be explained below. Generally, during coasting conditions, lambda control is turned off (OFF), and therefore no feedback is provided when air or fuel vapors are exhausted from the CPV 114, as this depends on how much the CPV 114 is loaded with fuel vapors. In addition, the CPV 114 is generally not activated during coasting conditions. Also, since the spark is interrupted in the coasting mode, the fuel vapor discharged during the shifting operation would leak out of the engine as exhaust gas without being burned, which would lead to a possible increase in emissions and a more rapid deterioration of the catalyst. To overcome this limitation, during rapid gear changes without clutch and with CPV 114 open, the ignition is maintained on (ON) to combust any fuel particles. In addition, use of the CPV 114 for rapid gear changes may not be enabled until the CPV 114 has been purged during the previous drive cycle and / or the current drive cycle, and when the amount of fuel during this actuation is below a certain threshold. This is because when the CPV 114 is operating under normal driving conditions, the lambda control is on (ON) and feedback is provided about what is being exhausted from the canister.According to an embodiment of the present invention, an operation of the controller 110 will be described. In the case of rapid gear change, i.e. in the case of gear change without modulation of clutch or throttle, such as, for example, direct pressing of the gear lever in an intended direction without actuation of the clutch lever, there is a scenario in which the engine is driven by the wheel, i.e. the engine / drive torque is lower than the wheel / driver torque, e.g. in the case of clutchless gear change with zero throttle / long fuel cut / overrun, i.e. in the idling state. To achieve the additional torque during fast gear changes, which are mostly coasting, the CPV 114 is opened, supplying / providing air or fuel vapors, or both. The supply from the canister contributes to increase of engine torque, thus enabling seamless shifting or rapid gear changing. Operation of the CPV 114 is not limited to coasting / fuel cut condition or MTB applications, but is suitable for scenarios where clutchless shifting occurs and engine torque is lower than wheel (driver) torque.According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller 110 is equipped with the necessary signal detection, detection and processing circuits. The controller 110 is the controller that includes input / output interfaces with pins or ports, the memory element 108 such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read only memory (ROM), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), clock, timer, counter, and at least one processor (which can implement machine learning) connected to each other and to other components via communication bus channels. Stored in memory element 108 are logic or instructions 112 or programs or applications or modules / models and / or thresholds / ranges, system thresholds, predefined / predetermined criteria / conditions, engine maps / tables accessed by the at least one processor according to the defined routines. The internal components of the controller 110, being the prior art, are not explained and are not to be understood as limiting. The controller 110 may also include or be connected to communication units to other control units to communicate via wireless or wired means such as the global system for mobile communications (GSM), 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, serial networks, and the like. The controller 110 is implementable in the form of a system-in-package (SiP) or system-on-chip (SOC) system or other known types. Examples of the controller 110 include, but are not limited to, microcontroller(s), microprocessor, microcomputer, etc.In accordance with the present invention, the vehicle 130 includes, but is not limited to, two-wheel, three-wheel, four-wheel vehicles, off-highway (OHW) vehicles, multi-wheel vehicles, and the like, including stationary applications such as power units and Construction Equipment Vehicle (CEV).FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of a method for assisting rapid gear changes in the two-wheeler vehicle according to the present invention. The rapid gear change corresponds to the gear change without clutch or gas modulation. The vehicle comprises the canister connected to the intake manifold of the engine of the vehicle via canister bleed valve (CPV) 114, characterized in that the method comprises a plurality of steps, one step 202 of which comprises detecting a request for the rapid gear change. A step 204 includes determining the current engine torque and comparing to the current wheel torque by corresponding sensors 102, 104, or derived by other indirect methods (e.g., coasting conditions). A step 206 includes actuating the CPV 114 to the open position when engine torque is less than the current wheel torque during a rapid gear change. The method described above is executed or implemented by the controller 110 through instructions 112 stored in the memory element 108.According to the method, the intake manifold is in fluid communication with the mechanical throttle body (MTB) or the electronic throttle control (ETC) unit. According to the present invention, the method includes allowing the engine ignition to be turned on (ON) while the CPV 114 is actuated to the open position during the rapid gear change and the canister is purged.According to the present invention, the method includes actuating the CPV 114 to the open position only after the first condition including purging the canister during the at least one previous drive cycle and the current drive cycle is met. The method also includes actuating the CPV 114 to the open position after the second condition is met including the amount of fuel being below the determined threshold during the actuation.In accordance with the present invention, a methodology for assisting clutchless shifting (also known as "fast gear change") in an engine management system (EMS) or two-wheel-application controller 110 is disclosed. Therefore, in the vehicle with MTB where there is no throttle control, the CPV 114 is operatively controlled to regulate air intake in scenarios where wheel torque is greater than engine torque. The present invention is also applicable to vehicles having an ETC unit.It is to be understood that embodiments described in the foregoing description are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Numerous such embodiments and other modifications and alterations of the embodiment described in the specification are provided. The scope of the invention is limited solely by the scope of the claims.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedUS 2006068975

[0003]

Claims

A controller (110) for assisting rapid gear changes in a two-wheel vehicle, the rapid gear change corresponding to the shift without clutch or gas modulation, the vehicle comprising an activated carbon canister connected to an intake manifold of an engine of the vehicle via an activated carbon canister bleed valve (CPV) (114), the controller (110) being configured to: when a request for rapid gear change is detected, determine and compare an engine torque to a current wheel torque, and actuate the CPV (114) to an open position when the engine torque is less than the current wheel torque.The controller (110) of claim 1, wherein the intake manifold is in fluid communication with a mechanical throttle body (MTB) or an electronic throttle control (ETC) unit.The controller (110) of claim 1, wherein an ignition is on (ON) while the CPV (114) is actuated to the open position during the shift and the canister is purged.The controller (110) of claim 1, wherein the CPV (114) is actuated to the open position only when a first condition is met comprising the canister being emptied during a previous drive cycle and / or a current drive cycle.The controller (110) of claim 4, wherein the CPV (114) is actuated to the open position after a second condition is met comprising the amount of fuel being below a certain threshold during the actuation.A method for assisting rapid gear changes in a two-wheel vehicle, the rapid gear change corresponding to the shift without clutch or gas modulation, the vehicle comprising an activated carbon canister connected to an intake manifold of an engine of the vehicle via an activated carbon canister bleed valve (CPV) (114), characterised in that the method comprises the steps of: detecting a request for the gear change, determining engine torque and comparing to a current wheel torque, and actuating the CPV (114) to an open position if the engine torque is lower than the current wheel torque.The method of claim 6, wherein the intake manifold is in fluid communication with a mechanical throttle body (MTB) or an electronic throttle control (ETC) unit.The method of claim 6, comprising letting an engine ignition on (ON) while the CPV (114) is actuated to the open position during the shift and the canister is purged.The method of claim 6, comprising actuating the CPV (114) to the open position only when a first condition comprising purging the canister during a previous drive cycle and / or a current drive cycle is met.The method of claim 9, comprising actuating the CPV (114) to the open position after the second condition comprising the amount of fuel being below a certain threshold during the actuation is met.

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