Predictive Transmission Control for Fuel Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle transmission systems face challenges in immediately adapting to road grade variations, leading to delayed acceleration, busy shifting, and decreased fuel economy due to their reliance on pre-set shift patterns that do not account for real-time road conditions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle transmission control system that predicts running load and required driving force based on road grade and curvature, using navigation data to determine the optimal gear for minimal fuel consumption, allowing for proactive gear shifting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a shift pattern based on pre-set relationships between accelerator pedal strokes and vehicle speeds is used, then the transmission control is simple and reliable, but the system cannot respond immediately to road grade variations, causing delayed acceleration and busy shifting
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of the running load based on navigation data (road grade and curvature information) before the vehicle actually encounters the road section. This allows the transmission control to proactively select an appropriate shift pattern in advance, rather than reacting after the grade change is detected. The calculation unit computes the running load using the formula: running load = vehicle weight × gradient × sin(grade angle) + vehicle weight × centrifugal force, enabling predictive gear selection that improves response speed while maintaining manageable system complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple shift patterns are set for respective grades of roads, then the system can adapt to different road conditions, but the transmission cannot immediately apply the appropriate shift pattern when grade variation occurs, leading to degraded fuel economy
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes a feedback loop where the calculation unit continuously monitors navigation data regarding road grade and curvature, computes the running load, and provides this information to the determination unit. The determination unit then selects the most appropriate shift pattern from multiple pre-set patterns based on the calculated running load. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures that the transmission immediately applies the appropriate shift pattern when grade variation occurs, eliminating time delay and improving fuel economy while maintaining high adaptability to different road conditions.
3Ease of operation
If the transmission calculates the grade of a road after the grade is actually changed, then the control logic is simple, but the system maintains a previous shift pattern until detecting grade variation, causing delayed acceleration
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of the running load using navigation data (road grade and curvature information) before the vehicle actually encounters the road section. This allows the transmission control to proactively select an appropriate shift pattern in advance, rather than reacting after the grade change is detected. The calculation unit computes the running load using the formula: running load = vehicle weight × gradient × sin(grade angle) + vehicle weight × centrifugal force, enabling predictive gear selection that improves response speed while maintaining manageable system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A transmission control apparatus may include a determination device that determines a predicted running load on a predetermined section of a road ahead of the vehicle by use of information regarding a grade and a curvature of the predetermined section of the road ahead of the vehicle and determines fuel consumptions for respective gears, based on the predicted running load, a determination device that determines a final gear, based on the determined fuel consumptions for respective gears, and a controller that performs gear shift control for the vehicle, based on the final gear.