Claims:We Claim:
1. A method for controlling clutch in a vehicle, said method comprising:
Detecting (100), by a control unit, an operating condition of a clutch of said vehicle;
Communicating (102), by said control unit said operating condition to a server;
Determining (104), by said server, at least one environmental condition based on location of said vehicle;
Determining (106), by said server, whether said operating condition of said clutch is in accordance with said environmental condition; and
Actuating (108), by said control unit, to change said operating condition of said clutch based on determination by said server.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said server is at least one of a cloud, a mobile device and a processing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said clutch is at least one of an electric clutch, electromagnetic clutch, and a mechanical clutch.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said environmental condition is at least one of, temperature, humidity, snow condition, and rainfall. , Description:Field of the invention
[0001] This invention relates to the field clutch control in a vehicle.
Background of the invention
[0002] Electronic clutch is used in a vehicle for power transmission from the engine to the wheels. While a vehicle travels through different geographical terrains there is a possibility of the weather changing along the terrain. The behavior of the clutch needs to be dynamic according to the changing weather conditions. A uniform clutch behavior irrespective of the weather condition may lead to decrease in powertrain performance. Hence there is a need to improve the clutch behavior.
Brief description of the accompanying drawing
[0003] Different modes of the invention are disclosed in detail in the description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing:
[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates a method for controlling clutch in a vehicle.
Detailed description of the embodiments
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a method for controlling clutch in a vehicle. The method comprises detecting 100, by a control unit, an operating condition of a clutch of said vehicle, communicating 102, by the control unit said operating condition to a server, determining 104, by said server, at least one environmental condition based on location of said vehicle. The environmental condition is at least one of, temperature, humidity, snow condition, and rainfall. The above mentioned environmental condition may be considered alone or in combination. For example, snow condition and rainfall and the like. Determining 106, by the server, whether said operating condition of said clutch is in accordance with said environmental condition, and actuating 108, by the control unit, to change the operating condition of the clutch based on determination by the server. The environmental condition disclosed herein implies the weather conditions in the area through which a vehicle is passing through. The clutch is at least one of an electric clutch, electromagnetic clutch, and a mechanical clutch.
[0006] The working of this method is explained with environmental condition being, snow or ice condition. In the road conditions with snow/ice, sufficient traction is not available to the wheels. In such a condition if more torque is supplied to the wheels by the engine, then the wheels will not be in a position to absorb this torque an in turn start skidding. In other words the tires will rotate but won't move the vehicle as sufficient friction is not available between tires and road to absorb the torque provided by the engine. The solution to this issue can be control the torque that is transmitted from engine to transmission via clutch. The clutch transmits the torque from engine to transmission. A fully open clutch torque transmits no torque while a fully closed clutch transmits complete available torque. The intermediate position of clutch in which the clutch partially transmits the torque is called as clutch slip. The clutch slip before completely closing the clutch is very important for engine stall prevention. The e-clutch software has this algorithm to prevent stall prevention. The moment engine and transmission speed (revolutions per minute) are in a specified band, the clutch is completely closed by the clutch actuator.
[0007] However, under snow condition, there is lack of traction availability and hence braking the vehicle is difficult in such conditions. The information over cloud may be used in the control unit and may influence clutch closure leading to better control of the vehicle. During snow conditions the clutch may be actuated to a partial slip position by not allowing the engine and transmission speeds to match leading to better control of vehicle. Additionally with the information of the traction availability from the tires of the vehicle, we can precisely slip the clutch in order that the traction is available in the vehicle to the required degree.
[0008] In case of electronic clutch, the clutch can be precisely controlled by the clutch actuator via control unit. Hence once the weather information over cloud is available, the opening and closing functions in the control unit can be modified accordingly for giving a smooth torque transfer from engine to transmission. The information over cloud helps the control unit to take decisions on the behavior of clutch. The rate with which the clutch should be opened and closed can be altered and precisely controlled to avoid engine stall, traction loss, avoid jerky drive. Also decision like idle coasting to be enabled or not can be effectively taken. Idle coasting is a drive behavior where if there is no driver demand and also there is no brake pressed, then the clutch is opened so that the engine drag is taken out and vehicle rolls using the kinetic energy of vehicle which results in reduction in fuel consumption. However in slippery conditions or ice road it can be dangerous to enable idle coasting which can be easily handled by control unit by using data over cloud. Also the additional control over clutch will improve the life of clutch as the clutch will be better handled in extreme cold and hot conditions.
[0009] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention in terms of type of vehicle used. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.