Steering-Mounted Virtual Shifting for Large-Angle EV Turns
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Solution Overview
Problem
In battery electric vehicles with a pseudo sequential shifter installed on the steering, the positional relationship between the driver's hands and the shifter changes significantly with steering, making it difficult for the driver to smoothly operate the shifter when the steering angle is large, particularly during maneuvers like turning.
Innovation Solution
The battery electric vehicle is equipped with a processor that automatically shifts down the virtual shift position based on vehicle speed when the steering angle exceeds a predetermined threshold, ensuring smooth operation of the pseudo sequential shifter even during large steering angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a pseudo sequential shifter is installed on the steering wheel to simulate manual transmission operations, then the driver can experience shifting operations of a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle, but the positional relationship between the driver's hands and the shifter changes significantly with steering, making it difficult to operate the shifter smoothly when the steering angle is large
Solution Approach 1:
The control device automatically shifts down the virtual shift position in advance when detecting that the steering angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle, before the driver would need to manually operate the shifter. This preliminary automatic action prevents the operational difficulty that would occur during large steering maneuvers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically adjusting the virtual shift position based on steering angle detection, eliminating the need for manual shifter operation during conditions where manual operation would be difficult. The control device monitors steering angle and autonomously makes shift position adjustments.
2Ease of operation
If the driver manually operates the pseudo sequential shifter during large steering angles, then the driver maintains control over shift positions, but the changed positional relationship makes smooth operation difficult and delays acceleration after maneuvers
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the downshift action in advance during the steering maneuver when the steering angle is large, so that when the maneuver completes and the vehicle needs to accelerate, the shift position is already optimized. This eliminates the time delay that would occur if the driver had to manually operate the shifter after the maneuver.
3Productivity
If automatic downshifting is implemented when steering angle is large, then smooth acceleration after maneuvers is enabled, but the system complexity increases with additional sensors and control logic
Solution Approach 1:
The control device utilizes the existing steering angle sensor (already required for other steering control functions) and integrates the automatic downshift functionality into the existing control architecture. This multi-functional approach enables automatic downshifting without requiring entirely new sensing systems, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A battery electric vehicle includes an electric motor. The battery electric vehicle includes: an accelerator pedal; a pseudo sequential shifter; and a processor. The pseudo sequential shifter is installed on a steering, and simulates a sequential shifter that is used to perform a shifting operation of a manual transmission internal combustion engine vehicle. The processor executes, according to selection by a driver, a control mode in which an operation of the pseudo sequential shifter is associated with a virtual shift position that is a virtually implemented shift position, and an operation amount of the accelerator pedal, the virtual shift position, and a vehicle speed are associated with torque of the electric motor. The processor automatically shifts down the virtual shift position according to the vehicle speed when a steering angle of a steering wheel becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined angle during execution of the control mode.