Vehicle Transmission Kick Down Control via Speed Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle transmission control systems often result in unnecessary kick down transmissions, leading to increased fuel consumption and reduced fuel economy, as they do not effectively predict the required vehicle speed to determine whether a kick down is necessary.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that predict the vehicle's future speed by setting a target vehicle speed based on set points, current vehicle speed, and throttle position, determining whether to permit a kick down by comparing the target and current speeds, and controlling the transmission to maintain or adjust the shift stage accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If kick down transmission is performed based on typical transmission pattern when accelerator pedal depth is increased, then vehicle starting performance is improved, but fuel consumption increases when kick down becomes unnecessary
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by predicting future vehicle speed before executing kick down transmission. The prediction unit forecasts whether vehicle speed will need to be reduced shortly after kick down, and this prediction result is used to determine whether to permit the kick down. This prevents unnecessary kick down transmissions that would waste fuel, while still allowing kick down when it is truly needed for vehicle starting performance.
2Force
If kick down transmission is performed to obtain larger torque from engine, then acceleration performance is improved, but fuel economy deteriorates due to unnecessary kick down
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by using the predicted future vehicle speed as a basis for determining whether to permit kick down transmission. The prediction unit continuously monitors driving conditions and predicts whether speed reduction will be needed, providing feedback that controls the kick down determination. This feedback mechanism ensures kick down is only performed when torque is genuinely needed, preventing energy loss from unnecessary transmissions while maintaining acceleration performance when required.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for controlling a transmission of a vehicle includes a controller which is configured to: set a target vehicle speed of an own vehicle; determine whether to permit a kick down of the transmission of the own vehicle based on the target vehicle speed and a current vehicle speed; determine a target shift stage of the transmission of the own vehicle according to a predetermined transmission pattern based on the current vehicle speed and an open value of an accelerator pedal of the own vehicle; and control the transmission to maintain a current shift stage or to kick down the current shift stage to the target shift stage according to whether to permit the kick down determined by the kick down determination controller when the target shift stage is lower than the current shift stage of the own vehicle.