Transmission Shift Modulation for Hazard Warning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern vehicle hazard warning systems often fail to effectively capture a driver's attention due to the proliferation of audio and visual cues, especially when the driver is distracted from the road.
Innovation Solution
A control system that utilizes transmission shift modulation to alert the driver through subtle changes in vehicle deceleration or acceleration, such as upshifts, downshifts, or torque converter clutch operations, which are outside the normal comfort zone, to provide a tactile warning without requiring the driver to look away from the road.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If audio or visual cues are used to warn the driver of potential hazards, then the driver is alerted to the hazard, but the driver's attention is not effectively captured due to driver distractions and proliferation of cues
Solution Approach 1:
The warning system segments the hazard alert function from other vehicle operations by using dedicated tactile feedback through the seat, separating it from audio and visual cue systems. This segmentation allows the tactile warning to operate independently and effectively capture driver attention without being lost among other cues.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat serves as an intermediary between the hazard detection system and the driver. Instead of directly presenting visual or auditory warnings that compete for the driver's attention, the system uses the seat as a mediator to deliver tactile feedback through controlled vibrations or pressure changes, effectively communicating hazard information through a different sensory channel.
2Ease of operation
If transmission shift modulation is used to alert the driver, then the driver's attention is effectively captured through tactile feedback, but drivability constraints must be temporarily ignored
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission shift modulation is applied periodically or temporarily only when hazard conditions are detected, rather than continuously. This periodic application allows the system to maintain normal drivability quality during ordinary operation while temporarily modifying shift patterns to generate tactile feedback for hazard warnings, thus resolving the contradiction between attention capture and drivability quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts transmission shift behavior based on detected hazard conditions. During normal operation, the transmission operates with standard shift schedules optimized for drivability. When a hazard is detected, the system dynamically modifies shift patterns to create noticeable tactile feedback, then returns to normal operation afterward, allowing both good drivability and effective warning capability.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for altering the drivability of a vehicle so as to alert a driver of the vehicle of a potentially hazardous condition. The vehicle has at least one sensor configured to detect the potentially hazardous potential. Additionally, the vehicle has a control system for directing a transmission of the vehicle to perform a transmission operation that catches the driver's attention by generating an acceleration or deceleration. The transmission operation is preferably an upshift, a downshift, an unlocking of a torque converter lockup clutch or a locking of the lockup clutch. In one embodiment, the control system directs the transmission to perform more than one transmission operation, the transmission operations defining a transmission operation cycle. In a preferred embodiment, more than one transmission operation cycle is performed. Potentially hazardous conditions include traffic in front of the vehicle, a second vehicle approaching from the rear, an upcoming curve in the road, an approaching speed limit or an upcoming banked portion of the road.