USOO5406862A

United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 5,406,862

Amsallen (45) Date of Patent: Apr. 18, 1995
54 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR 5,289,740 3/1994 Milunas et al. ................ 74/866 OR
SELECTING ASTARTING GEARN AN Primary Examiner-Dirk Wright
AUTOMATED MECHANICAL Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Brooks & Kushman
TRANSMISSION
(75) Inventor: Marcel Amsallen, Kalamazoo, Mich. 57 ABSTRACT
73) Assignee: Eaton Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio A method and apparatus for selecting a transmission
starting gear based on calculated gross vehicle weight is
21 Appl. No.: 146,995 disclosed. The vehicle speed and grade are monitored
(22. Filed: Nov. 2, 1993 by sensors which provide data to a computer. The com
Int. Cl. ............................................... F16H 5/42
puter is programmed to calculate vehicle acceleration
(51) from the sensed speed and to adjust the acceleration
(52) U.S. C. .................................. 74/336 R; 477/900; value so as to eliminate the effect of grade. The gross
477/901
vehicle weight is then calculated from the adjusted
58 Field of Search ........................ 74/866; 364/424.1 acceleration value. Based on the calculated gross vehi
56) References Cited cle weight and the existing grade, an appropriate start
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS ing gear is automatically selected by the computer from
5,067,374 11/1991 Sakai et al. .................... 74/866 OR
a look-up table stored in memory.
5,172,609 12/1992 Nitz et al. ...................... 74/866 OR
5,272,939 12/1993 Markyuech et al. .......... 74/866 OR 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
- -- - - r - - - - --- - - -- - - - -

:
t

THROTTLE O O O
POSION FOR NEUT REW
SENSOR
O O O
UP AUTO ON
O
i NEUTRAL

ENGINE TRANSMISSION

10 16 12
U.S. Patent Apr. 18, 1995 Sheet 1 of 4 5,406,862

26

THROTTLE
POSITION O
SENSOR
O O O
UP AUTO ON
O
NEURAL.

28 30

36 24

TRANSMISSION

10 16 12 4. 18
U.S. Patent Apr. 18, 1995 Sheet 2 of 4 5,406,862

NITIALIZATION 40

HAS GW
ASSESSMENT
BEEN MADE

GET GRADE, ENGINE SPEED 46

AND VEHICLE SPEED

S Drop > 20%

1300 C. RM > 2000 -

54
Y
USE PREVEOUSLY
CALCULATE VEHICLE
ACCELERATION DETERMERYALUE

ADJUST ACCELERATION 56
TOZEROGRADE

DETERMINE AND 58
UPDATE GW

SELECT . 60
727, 2
U.S. Patent

NOWETBOOW
 5,406,862
1. 2
which should be read in conjunction with the drawings
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTING A in which:
STARTING GEARN AN AUTOMATED FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the apparatus of the
MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the computer program used
TECHNICAL FIELD in carrying out the present invention on the computer in
This invention relates to automated mechanical trans F.G. 1.
mission for motor vehicles and more particularly to a FIG. 3 is a chart of grade versus acceleration which
method and apparatus for selecting a starting gear based is useful in explaining the procedure used to determine
10 vehicle acceleration adjusted for grade; and
on gross vehicle weight (GVW) and measured grade.
BACKGROUND ART
FIG. 4 is a chart of acceleration for 0% grade versus
GVW for various transmission gears with the vehicle
Medium duty trucks are often operated by drivers operating at a constant engine speed.
more accustomed to transmissions used on passenger 15 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED
cars. Due to inexperience, the truck driver may not EMBODEMENT
always select an appropriate starting gear for the exist
ing road and vehicle conditions. Improper selection of a Referring now to the drawings and initially to FIG. 1,
starting gear can result in damage to the vehicle clutch the vehicle engine generally designated 10 is selectively
and driveline components. While heavy duty trucks are 20 coupled to the input shaft 12 of a transmission 14 by a
generally driven by experienced drivers, there is still a friction clutch mechanism 16. The transmission 14,
need to provide assistance or control in the selection of when coupled to the engine 10 drives an output shaft 18
the starting gear. In one prior art system a predeter at a speed which is reduced relative to the speed of the
mined starting gear is automatically selected each time input shaft 12 by the gear ratio selected. The shaft 18 is
the engine is started. If the driver overrides the prede 25 connected to a vehicle's drive wheels by a differential
termined starting gear, the new starting gear is automat mechanism or the like. Transmission 14 may be a range
ically selected each time the vehicle stops, until the type compound transmission such as disclosed in U.S.
engine is restarted. Relying on the previous starting Pat. Nos. 3,105,395; 3,283,613 and 4,754,665, the disclo
gear as the default can produce problems since the pre sures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
vious stop may have been on a level grade and would be A programmable electronic control unit (ECU) gen
inappropriate if the next stop is on a 6% grade. For 30 erally designated 20, receives analog input data from an
example, in a 16-speed transmission, 1,2,3,4 or 5 may be input shaft speed sensor 22, indicative of engine RPM
a correct starting gear depending upon load, grade, etc. when the clutch 16 is engaged, and from a transmission
Since it is not always best to start in the lowest gear output shaft speed sensor 24, which is directly propor
available and the transmission can be severely damaged tional to vehicle speed. A sensor 26 provides input to
by starting in a gear that is inappropriately high, there is 35 the ECU 22 proportional to throttle position, while a
a need for a system which selects a starting gear on the sensor 28, which may be an inclinometer or similar
basis of current operating conditions such as grade and device, provides input to the ECU 22 indicative of the
load.
grade of the surface upon which the vehicle is travel
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ling.
In view of the above it is an object of the present The ECU 20 also receives transmission gear ratio
invention to provide a method and apparatus for auto commands from a driver control console 30 and pro
matically selecting a starting gear based on existing vides control signals to the console 30 for feedback to
grade and gross vehicle weight. the operator. The console 30 may include indicator
It is another object of the present invention to pro 45 lamps which indicate, when energized, that the trans
vide a method and apparatus for automatically selecting mission is in a forward (FOR), neutral (NEUT) or re
a starting gear based on existing grade and gross vehicle verse (REV) drive, respectively and may include man
weight wherein the gross vehicle weight is determined ual pushbuttons which allow the operator to select an
as a function of the acceleration of the vehicle adjusted upshift (UP), automatic preselection mode (AUTO) or a
to compensate for the grade of the vehicle at the time 50 downshift (DN) respectively. A pushbutton (NEU
the acceleration was determined. TRAL) allows selection of a shift into neutral. The
In accordance with the present invention the vehicle ECU 20 controls a transmission operator 32 and re
speed and grade are monitored by sensors which pro ceives feedback from the operator 32 regarding trans
vide data to a computer. The computer is programmed mission status. The ECU 20 also receives engine RPM
to calculate vehicle acceleration from the measured 55 data from a speed sensor 36.
speed and to determine the corresponding acceleration The ECU 20 includes the usual central processing
value if the vehicle were on a zero grade or level road unit (CPU), input/output unit (I/O), random access
way. In other words the actual acceleration is adjusted memory (RAM), and read only memory (ROM) which
to compensate for the effect of vehicle grade. The gross may be at least partially electrically erasable program
vehicle weight is then determined based on the adjusted mable read only memory (EEPROM). The ROM stores
acceleration value. Based on the determined gross vehi the program for controlling the transmission operator
cle weight and the existing grade, an appropriate start 32 to effect shifting of the transmission in response to
ing gear is automatically selected by the computer from vehicle operating conditions or commands from the
a look-up table stored in memory. console 30. The ROM also stores data in various tables
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
65 for use by the CPU in making a transmission starting
gear selection.
A more complete understanding of the present inven The clutch mechanism 16 includes the usual friction
tion may be had from the following detailed description clutch which can be moved from a fully disengaged
 5,406,862
3 4.
position to a fully engaged position by a clutch operator lated on the basis of current throttle position data and
34 that is controlled by signals from, and provides feed engine speed data. If droop is greater than 20% the
back to, the ECU 20. Alternatively, a manually actuated engine will be operating at full fuel or on the maximum
clutch may be employed. horse power portion of the horse power versus engine
Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow chart of the routine speed curve. The horse power versus engine speed for a
for controlling the selection of the transmission starting typical vehicle of interest at various throttle angular
gear is shown. This routine represents the basic logical positions may be approximated by a linear equation and
flow starting with initialization of certain variables at implemented in the ECU 20 for calculation of horse
power up, through the process of determining the gross power. Alternatively, the horse power versus engine
vehicle weight based upon grade and vehicle accelera 10 speed data at various throttle angles may be stored in
tion, to the selection of the transmission starting gear.
The point in time when the grade and acceleration data look up tables in ROM if a more accurate calculation of
is available to calculate GVW is generally not the same horse power is desired.
point in time when the actual shift is performed. This is Vehicle acceleration is the result of the horse power
because the conditions necessary to calculate GVW 15 available from the engine in excess of that which would
will be present only for brief periods during vehicle be required to support the current grade and GVW at
acceleration from rest. The grade measurement and zero acceleration. Since the horse power available from
shift point calculation procedure are therefore repeated the engine varies with engine speed, this excess horse
continuously and are updated at the program loop cycle power, or A HP, will also vary with engine speed. How
of, for example, 10 msec. 20 ever, the variation in A HP is minimal over the engine
With reference to FIG. 2, GVW is initialized to speed range of 1300 to 2000 rpm for a typical engine of
35,000 pounds at block 40 and this value is used as the interest. Thus, the condition imposed by decision blocks
default GVW value, as indicated in block 42, in any 48 and 50 insure that vehicle acceleration is a good
starting gear calculation until the appropriate condition indicator of gross vehicle weight and grade environ
are present for an actual GVW determination to be 25 ment.
made. For example the first determination of GVW An adjustment of the value of acceleration calculated
may set a flag, which flag is then checked by the deci in block 52 is made in block 56 to arrive at a value of
sion block 44 to determine whether the default GVW
should be used. acceleration representative of a zero grade environment
At block 46 the latest input data on the grade of the 30 as opposed to the actual grade of the surface at the time
surface on which the vehicle is traveling and the engine of measurement. As shown in FIG. 3, the grade versus
and vehicle speed on this grade is retrieved. The start acceleration at various loads produces a family of paral
ing gear selection is based on GVW which in turn is lel lines. The point where each line intersects the x axis
based on vehicle acceleration on a flat surface or zero represents the acceleration that this GVW would ex
grade. However, there are several other factors that can 35 hibit if the grade were 0%. The line A in FIG.3 repre
influence vehicle acceleration besides the grade and sents the GVW line which passes though the measured
gross vehicle weight. These factors include driver oper grade data and the calculated acceleration on that mea
ation of the throttle pedal and the characteristics of the sured grade. The acceleration value where line A
all speed governor. For example, the driver can control crosses the x axis corresponds to the acceleration at 0%
vehicle acceleration by depressing the throttle pedal for the GVW of interest and can be calculated from the
very slowly. The all speed governor attempts to following equation:
achieve a particular engine speed for a particular throt
tle position and will reduce fuel flow as the engine
speed approaches the speed being commanded by the
current throttle position. This in turn will reduce vehi 45 where:
cle acceleration. To insure that the vehicle acceleration do=acceleration at 0% grade
is not influence by either the driver, or the all speed s= a constant slope
governor, and is a true indicator of the gross vehicle g=measured grade
weight and grade environment, the conditions shown in an=measured acceleration
decision blocks 48 and 50 are imposed and must be met 50 FIG. 4 shows acceleration for 0% grade versus
before a new GVW value will be determined.
As indicated in blocks 48 and 50, if droop is greater GVW in gears two through six at a constant engine
than 20% and the engine speed is between 1300 and speed of 1600 RPM, for a vehicle of interest. The values
2000 RPM, the acceleration of the vehicle for the exist for the family of curves shown in FIG. 4 are stored in a
ing grade is calculated at block 52 based on the vehicle 55 table in memory so that for any calculated acceleration
speed data. Otherwise, the previously determined value a corresponding value of GVW may be looked up in the
of GVW is used as indicated in block 54. Droop is de table, as shown in block 58. If the calculated accelera
fined, for a given throttle position, as: tion is not in the table, then a conventional interpolation
routine is run to arrive at the GVW based on GVW
entries corresponding to acceleration entries above and
% Droop = No No
- N.
below the calculated acceleration. As long as engine
speed is between 1300 and 2000 RPM, as required by
where: block 50, the entries for an engine speed of 1600 RPM,
No=engine speed at zero load do not introduce any substantial error.
Nc= current engine speed 65 Once GVW has been determined, the starting gear is
For a particular engine of interest, the engine speed at then obtained from a table in ROM for the existing
zero load is substantially linearly related to throttle grade and gross vehicle weight as indicated in the block
position and consequently percent droop may be calcu 56. Data stored in the table is shown in TABLE 1.
 5,406,862
5 6
TABLE 1. using a previously calculated value of gross vehicle
GVW bs
weight in selecting the starting gear unless the
(1000 lbs) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
engine droop is greater than a predetermined value
and engine speed is between predetermined upper
GRADE 5 and lower levels.
0% 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 4. A method of selecting a starting gear for an auto
4 4 4 4. 4 3 3 3 3 3
2 4 4 4. 4 3 3 3 - 3 3 3 mated transmission of a vehicle on a grade, the method
3 4. 4. 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 comprising:
4. 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 (a) measuring the grade while the vehicle is moving;
5 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2. 1. O (b) determining a vehicle acceleration;
6 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1
7 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 (c) determining an acceleration, a0, that the vehicle
8 3 3 3 2 2 2. 1 1 would exhibit if the grade were 0%, based on the
measured grade and the acceleration determined in
steps a and b;
While the best mode for carrying out the invention 15 (d) calculating a gross vehicle weight as a function of
has been described in detail, those familiar with the art the acceleration ao determined in step c; and
to which this invention relates will recognize various (e) selecting the starting gear based on the calculated
alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the gross vehicle weight and the measured grade.
invention as defined by the following claims. 5. Apparatus for selecting the starting gear for an
What is claimed is: 20 automated transmission of a vehicle on a grade, the
1. A method of selecting a starting gear for an auto apparatus comprising:
mated transmission of a vehicle on a grade, the method means for sensing the grade,
comprising: means for sensing vehicle speed,
(a) measuring the grade while the vehicle is moving; computer means programmed to calculate a gross
(b) measuring vehicle speed; 25 vehicle weight based on the sensed vehicle speed
(c) calculating a gross vehicle weight as a function of and the sensed grade and to select a starting gear as
the measured grade and vehicle speed obtained in a function of the calculated gross vehicle weight.
steps a and b; and 6. The invention defined in claim 5 wherein said com
(d) selecting the starting gear based on the calculated puter means is programmed to calculate vehicle accel
gross vehicle weight and the measured grade. 30 eration based on the sensed vehicle speed and to adjust
2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein step c the calculated vehicle acceleration to a zero grade envi
further comprises: ronment and wherein said gross vehicle weight calcula
(c1) calculating a vehicle acceleration based on the tion is based on said adjusted vehicle acceleration.
measured vehicle speed obtained over time from 7. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein said com
step b; and 35 puter is programmed to use a previously calculated
(c2) adjusting the acceleration calculated in step c1 to value of gross vehicle weight in selecting a starting gear
determine an acceleration which the vehicle would unless engine droop is greater than a predetermined
exhibit for the existing gross vehicle weight if the value and engine speed is between predetermined upper
grade were 0%, based on the measured grade de and lower limits.
termined in step a. 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the grade is a zero
3. The method defined in claim 2 further comprising: grade.
measuring engine speed; 9. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the grade is a
calculating engine droop as a function of engine Zero grade.
speed; and k is s

45

50

55

65