Claims:We Claim:
1. A method (10) for deactivating an accelerator pedal in a single brake switch system that is mounted on a brake pedal, said method comprising:
monitoring (12) at least one of a vehicle speed by means of a vehicle speed sensor and a vehicle clutch position by means of a vehicle clutch position sensor;
transmitting (14) the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor and the vehicle clutch position from the vehicle clutch position sensor to an engine control unit;
determining (16) a slope of the decrease in vehicle speed and the position of the clutch by the engine control unit;
determining (18) if the slope of the decrease in vehicle speed and the position of the clutch is greater than a threshold slope of the decrease in vehicle speed and a threshold position of the clutch that is stored in the engine control unit; and
deactivating (20) the accelerator pedal by closing a throttle valve of the engine and allowing vacuum to fill in a brake chamber if the slope of the decrease in vehicle speed is greater than a threshold slope of the decrease in vehicle speed and the position of the clutch is greater than the threshold position of the clutch
, Description:Field of the invention
[0001] This invention relates to a method for deactivating an accelerator pedal in a single brake switch system.

Background of the invention
[0002] Prior art patent application number US 20110264354 A1 describes a control system for a vehicle that includes an error detection module and a remedial control module. The error detection module detects whether an accelerator of the vehicle is stuck based on vehicle speed, a position of the accelerator, and one of pressure applied to a brake of the vehicle and a status of a parking brake of the vehicle. The remedial control module, when the accelerator is stuck, at least one of resets the position of the accelerator and decreases the torque output of a powertrain system.

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 flowchart for a method for deactivating an accelerator pedal in a single brake switch system.

Detailed description of the embodiments
[0005] A method 10 for deactivating an accelerator pedal in a single brake switch that is mounted on a brake pedal is described. The method comprises monitoring 12 at least one of a vehicle speed by means of a vehicle speed sensor and a vehicle clutch position by means of a vehicle clutch position sensor, transmitting 14 the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor and the vehicle clutch position from the vehicle clutch position sensor to an engine control unit. The method further comprises determining 16 a slope of the decrease in vehicle speed and the position of the clutch by the engine control unit and determining 18 if the slope of the decrease in vehicle speed and the position of the clutch is greater than a threshold slope of the decrease in vehicle speed and a threshold position of the clutch that is stored in the engine control unit, and deactivating 20 the accelerator pedal by closing a throttle valve of the engine and allowing vacuum to fill in a brake chamber if the slope of the decrease in vehicle speed is greater than a threshold slope of the decrease in vehicle speed and the position of the clutch is greater than the threshold position of the clutch.
[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method 10 for deactivating an accelerator pedal in a single brake switch system that is mounted on a brake pedal. The method 10 comprises determining 12 if the single brake switch that is mounted on the brake pedal is faulty. If it has been determined that the single brake switch that is mounted on the brake pedal is faulty, then the method comprises checking 14 if the accelerator pedal is stuck in a particular position. If the accelerator pedal is not stuck in a particular position, then the method once again comprises checking 14 if the accelerator pedal is stuck in a particular position. If the accelerator pedal is indeed stuck in a particular position, the vehicle speed is monitored by means of a vehicle speed sensor. At the same time, the vehicle clutch position is monitored by means of a clutch sensor. If the vehicle clutch is depressed at a particular position, an error signal is generated by the engine control unit. Alternatively, if the engine control unit determines 18 that the slope of the vehicle speed is higher than a threshold slope of the vehicle speed, then the deceleration of the vehicle is attributed to the depression of the vehicle brake. More specifically, when the engine control unit determines 20 that the slope of the decrease in vehicle speed is greater than a threshold slope of the decrease in vehicle speed that is stored in the engine control unit, then the deceleration of the vehicle is attributed to the depression of the vehicle brake. In an alternate exemplary embodiment, both the slope of the vehicle speed and the position of the vehicle clutch are monitored by the engine control unit.
[0007] In either case, when the engine control unit determines that the accelerator pedal is stuck at a particular position and that the driver is attempting to regain control over the vehicle by depressing the clutch / decreasing the vehicle speed by depressing the brake pedal, the engine control unit deactivates the accelerator pedal. More specifically, the engine control unit deactivates 22 the accelerator pedal by closing a throttle valve of the engine and allowing vacuum to fill in a brake chamber. By closing the throttle valve of the engine, fuel is not permitted to enter into the combustion chamber of the engine. Therefore, the driver of the vehicle can carefully maneuver the vehicle to a parking spot by depressing the brake pedal and stopping the vehicle effectively.
[0008] 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 design of inlet connector used and the type of inlet connector 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.