Park Lock Speed Warning Control for Gearbox Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for controlling motor vehicle park locks do not effectively prevent abusive actuation, leading to increased wear of the gearbox and other components, especially when the vehicle is rolling at slow speeds, and fail to provide timely warnings for potential malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines the vehicle's speed after actuating the park lock and generates a warning signal if the speed is above a threshold, blocking the powertrain, and increments a counter for repeated abusive actuations, triggering additional warnings when a limit is reached, to inform the driver of potential wear and encourage cautious use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the park lock is actuated while the vehicle is rolling at slow speed, then the park lock engages to prevent rolling, but this causes abusive actuation leading to increased wear of the gearbox and components
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit checks the vehicle speed before allowing park lock engagement. If the speed exceeds the threshold, the control unit prevents actuation of the park lock by blocking the actuating mechanism, thereby avoiding abusive engagement and reducing wear on gearbox components while still allowing engagement at appropriate low speeds
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors vehicle speed via a speed sensor and provides feedback to the control unit. This feedback mechanism enables real-time determination of whether park lock actuation would be abusive, allowing the system to dynamically control the park lock based on current operating conditions
2Ease of operation
If conventional methods allow park lock actuation at any speed, then the driver has full operational freedom, but this leads to abusive actuation and component wear
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit acts as an intermediary between the driver's park lock actuation request and the actual park lock mechanism. It mediates by evaluating speed conditions and either permitting or blocking the actuation, thus protecting components from abusive use while maintaining driver convenience through automatic control
3Device complexity
If no speed monitoring is implemented, then the control system remains simple, but abusive actuation cannot be detected or prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical speed-sensing mechanisms with electronic speed sensors and a control unit that processes speed signals electronically. This substitution achieves reliable abusive actuation prevention through electronic monitoring and control while keeping the overall system complexity manageable through integrated electronic control
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling a motor vehicle having at least one park lock. A drive train of the motor vehicle has a drive motor, wheel, and a transmission. An operating element actuates the park lock, which can assume a blocking position, in which the park lock blocks the drive train and/or a part of the drive train, and a release position. After actuation of the operating element, the park lock is switched from the release position into the blocking position (or vice versa). Here, the speed of the motor vehicle is determined. After actuation of the operating element and if the park lock assumes the release position beforehand, it is checked whether the speed is greater than a predefined first threshold value. If this check was successful, a first warning signal is produced; and the switching of the park lock into the blocking position is performed.