[0001] The present disclosure, in general, relates to an automatic transmission
system where normal, Economy, and Sport modes are provided for driving a
vehicle, and in particular, to a transmission control unit coupled with a monostable button to select and switch the automatic transmission system from one
mode to another mode based on previously stored state of the mode.
10 BACKGROUND
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in
understanding the present invention.
[0003] In automatic transmission system, a select and shift lever is provided to
select and shift gears. The select and shift lever either moves along first axis or in
15 dual axis for selection and shifting. A plurality of positions of the select and shift
lever is associated with the automatic transmission system. The plurality of
positions is selected from Park (P), Neutral (N), Reverse (R) and Drive (D). The
driver moves the select and shift lever selected positions to move the vehicle in
forward and reverse direction accordingly.
20 [0004] Apart from the given gear selection positions, the automatic
transmission system may also be coupled with Normal, Economy and Sports
mode. The Economy mode provides more fuel mileage as compared to Normal
and Sports mode where power is preferred. Generally, in the existing automatic
transmission vehicles, the Normal mode is associated with coupling of first gear in
25 transmission System while launching the vehicle from standstill. While in
Economy mode second gear is used to launch the vehicle from standstill. When
the speed of the vehicle is below a threshold limit, for example 10Km/hr, the
vehicle in Economy mode uses low Revolution Per Minute (RPM) or low power
and gives highest fuel mileage. Both in Normal and Economy mode vehicle
3
behaves the same when the vehicle speed is above a threshold limit, for example
10Km/hr. Where the Sports mode has high RPM and high power at all vehicle
speeds with lowest fuel mileage.
[0005] To select the Normal, the Economy, and the Sports mode in the
5 automatic transmission vehicle, a separate provision is provided. Existing,
rotatory switch is coupled with the transmission control unit to shift the vehicle in
Normal, Economy, and Sports mode. Similarly, three separate buttons are
provided to select Normal, Economy, and Sports mode in the vehicle in the
existing rotary switches. In the rotatory switch multiple mechanical parts are
10 provided which have high possibility of getting damaged; and the rotatory switch
are costly and require space in the vehicle cabinet.
[0006] The three separate buttons occupy more space in the vehicle cabinet
and distract the driver to select the desired mode. Multiple buttons have high cost
and high chances of getting damaged.
15 [0007] Another technical dis-advantage associated with existing rotatory
switch or multiple buttons is that the vehicle engine starts in the same mode where
it was stopped. For example, if last mode before turning off the Ignition of the
vehicle is sports mode, the vehicle will start in the Sports mode or driver has to
select the Normal or Economy mode manually by operating the rotatory switch or
20 multiple switches.
[0008] In other existing technologies where several push buttons or single
push button are provided that work in cyclic order, such as
Normal→Economy→Sports or such other cycles.
[0009] Technical problem: where the driver has to complete the cycle to
25 select the desired mode, for example, if the vehicle is in normal mode and driver
wants to run the vehicle in sports mode, the driver has to select the Economy
mode first and then selecting the Sports mode by pressing the button again.
Further, the button can be single push button or mono-stable button. Further, the
driver has to pay full attention towards the single push button or mono-stable
4
button to carefully select the desired mode. Due to cyclic mode selection, the
driver has to wait till final selection of the desired mode.
[0010] In the view of the above-cited problem(s), there is a need for a system
that can be implemented in the existing transmission control unit (TCU) to control
5 selection of driving mode by pressing single mono-stable button to avoid cost and
cyclic selection of the driving modes.
OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0011] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one
embodiment herein satisfy, are listed hereinbelow.
10 [0012] It is a general object of the present disclosure to provide a system for
vehicle having an automatic transmission where a transmission control unit (TCU)
is coupled with a mono-stable button to select driving mode by single push of the
mono-stable button.
[0013] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a transmission
15 control unit (TCU) that stores state of the driving mode and avoid multiple push
of the mono-stable button to select the desired mode.
[0014] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a method to
select the driving mode by single push of the mono-stable button.
[0015] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be
20 apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed
description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a
preferred form of the present invention is illustrated.
SUMMARY
[0016] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to a system to
25 select and switch among a plurality of driving modes based on single press
command of a mono-stable push button. The concepts are further described below
in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features
5
or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to
limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0017] In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a system for a
vehicle having an automatic transmission to select and switch among a plurality of
5 driving modes. The system comprising a mono-stable push button for selecting a
driving mode from the plurality of driving modes and a transmission control unit
(TCU). The plurality of driving modes are Economy mode, Normal mode, and
Sports mode. The transmission control unit (TCU) operatively coupled with the
mono-stable push button to receive operative inputs and the automatic
10 transmission to give control commands, the transmission control unit having a
processor, an interface, and a memory that are operatively coupled with each
other. The processor is coupled with the mono-stable push button and the
automatic transmission via the interface. The transmission control unit comprising
a mode selection unit coupled with the processor and the memory to: identify
15 previous state, current state, and target state of the driving mode upon receiving
single press command from the mono-stable push button from the memory; select
the driving mode based on the previous state, the current state, and the target state
of the driving mode upon receiving the single press command from the monostable push button; and update current state in the memory after selection of the
20 driving mode.
[0018] In an aspect, by-default driving mode of the vehicle is the Economy
mode.
[0019] In an aspect, the mode selection unit: select the sport mode from the
economy mode upon receiving single short press command from the mono-stable
25 button; and select the normal mode from the economy mode upon receiving single
long press command from the mono-stable button, where the mode selection unit
identify the single press command as the single long press command when the
mono-stable button is pressed for a time greater than a predefined threshold time
limit (THt).
6
[0020] In an aspect, the mode selection unit: select the economy mode from
the sport mode upon receiving single short press command from the mono-stable
button and the previous state of the driving mode is the economy mode; and select
the normal mode from the sport mode upon receiving single short press command
5 from the mono-stable button and the previous state of the driving mode is the
normal mode.
[0021] In an aspect, the mode selection unit: select the sport mode from the
normal mode upon receiving single short press command from the mono-stable
button; and select the economy mode from the normal mode upon receiving single
10 long press command from the mono-stable button.
[0022] In another embodiment, the present subject matter relates to a method
for selecting and switching among a plurality of driving modes in an automatic
transmission enabled vehicle by a mono-stable push button. The method
comprising: enabling an Economy mode upon starting of the vehicle; receiving a
15 single press command from the mono-stable push button; determining previous
state, current state, and target state of the driving mode; and selecting a driving
mode from the plurality of driving modes based on the determined previous state,
current state, and target state of the driving mode and the single press command
from the mono-stable push button.
20 [0023] In an aspect, the method includes that the single press command is
single short press command and/or single long press command, where the single
press command is determined as the single long press command when the monostable button is pressed for a time greater than a predefined threshold time limit
(THt).
25 [0024] In an aspect, the method includes: selecting the sport mode from the
economy mode upon receiving single short press command from the mono-stable
button; and selecting the normal mode from the economy mode upon receiving
single long press command from the mono-stable button.
7
[0025] In an aspect, the method includes: selecting the economy mode from
the sport mode upon receiving single short press command from the mono-stable
button and the previous state of the driving mode is the economy mode; and
selecting the normal mode from the sport mode upon receiving single short press
5 command from the mono-stable button and the previous state of the driving mode
is the normal mode.
[0026] In an aspect, the method includes: selecting the sport mode from the
normal mode upon receiving single short press command from the mono-stable
button; and selecting the economy mode from the normal mode upon receiving
10 single long press command from the mono-stable button.
[0027] Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the inventive
subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description
of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which
like numerals represent like components.
15 [0028] It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the
disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other.
Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined to form a further
embodiment of the disclosure.
[0029] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in
20 any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features
described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent
by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute
25 a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the
description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most
digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number
first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like
features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in
8
accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by
way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0031] Fig. 1 illustrates architecture of Transmission Control Unit (TCU) with
mono-stable push button and automatic transmission of the vehicle;
5 [0032] Fig. 2 illustrates flow of commands/signals from the mono-stable push
button to the TCU to select and switch among various driving modes, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0033] Fig. 3 shows a table illustrating action to be performed based on the
previous, current and target state of the driving mode in the TCU, in accordance
10 with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0034] Fig. 4a and 4b illustrates a method for selecting and switching among
a plurality of driving modes based on the previous, current, and target state of the
driving mode and single press command from the mono-stable push button, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
15 [0035] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block
diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the
principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any
flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like
represent various processes which may be substantially represented in a computer20 readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such
computer or processor is explicitly shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0036] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the
disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It
25 should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to
clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided
herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the
contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives
9
falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the
appended claims.
[0037] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised
that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of
5 the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects,
and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are
intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0038] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular
embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As
10 used herein, the singular forms “a", “an” and “the” are intended to include the
plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be
further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or
“including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers,
steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence
15 or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,
components and/or groups thereof.
[0039] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", “third”, and the like in
the present invention are used for the purpose of description only, and are not to
be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly
20 indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defining
"first" and "second" may include at least one of the features, either explicitly or
implicitly.
[0040] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the
functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example,
25 two figures shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or may
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts
involved.
[0041] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific
terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
10
ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further
understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should
be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the
context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly
5 formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0042] Micro-Controller: It is a compact integrated circuit designed to
govern a specific operation in an embedded system. A typical microcontroller
includes a processor, memory and input/output (I/O) peripherals on a single chip.
Generally, microcontrollers are designed to be readily usable without additional
10 computing components because they are designed with sufficient on board
memory as well as offering pins for general I/O operations, so they can directly
interface with sensors and other components.
[0043] FIG. 1 illustrates a system of a vehicle having an automatic
transmission 400, a transmission control unit (TCU) 300, a mono-stable push
15 button 201 and a select and shift gear lever 202. The select and shift gear lever
202 moves in single axis or in dual axis to put the vehicle in neutral (N), reverse
(R), Park (P) and Drive (D) mode. Once the drive (D) mode is ON, the driver
further can select the Normal mode 102, Economy mode 101, and Sport mode 103
as per choice based on required power and fuel mileage. The mono-stable push
20 button 201 is coupled with the TCU 300 to transmit the driver preference by
means of signals to the TCU 300.
[0044] In the present system, the economy mode 101 is by-default mode
instead of the normal mode 102 to obtain maximum fuel economy.
[0045] Economy Mode 101: This mode is default mode after Ignition ON.
25 This mode can also be selected by long or short press of mode button based on
previous mode. In this mode powertrain is optimized to give maximum fuel
economy. In this mode 1st Gear is disabled.
11
[0046] Normal Mode 102: This mode can also be selected by long or short
press of mode button based on previous mode. In this mode powertrain behaves
same as ECO mode. In this mode 1st Gear is enabled.
[0047] Sports Mode 103: This mode can also be selected by short press of
5 mode button. In this mode powertrain is optimized to give maximum
performance. In this mode 1st Gear is enabled.
In this block memory reading function is present.
[0048] The TCU 300 is coupled with the mono-stable push button 201 and the
select and shift gear lever 202 to receive input command/signals and process these
10 signals and give operative command to the transmission system 400. The Monostable push button 201 is simple switch which is spring load that came to original
position once pressed.
[0049] Referring to fig. 1, the present subject matter provides the system
where a mode selection unit 308 is implemented in the Transmission Control Unit
15 (ECU) 300 of the vehicle. In another embodiment, the mode selection unit 308
may be embedded in the TCU 300 or installed in the TCU 300. In another
embodiment, the mode selection unit 308 may be provided as pre-configured
micro-controller to receive inputs signal from the mono-stable push button 201
and give operative commands to the automatic transmission 400. The mode
20 selection unit 308 is configured to receive single press command from the monostable push button 201 and receive previous, current and target state of the driving
mode to select and switch the driving mode as desired by the driver. The TCU 300
includes a processor(s) 302, an interface(s) 304, and a memory 306. The mode
selection unit 308 is operatively coupled with the processor 302 and the memory
25 306 of the TCU 300. Further, the mode selection unit 308 is coupled with the
mono-stable push button 201 via the interface 304.
[0050] The processor(s) 302 may be implemented as one or more
microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,
logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate data based on operational
30 instructions.
12
[0051] Among other capabilities, the one or more processor(s) 302 are
configured to fetch and execute instructions and one or more routines stored in the
memory 306. The memory 306 may store one or more computer-readable
instructions or routines, which may be fetched and executed to select and switch
5 among the plurality of driving modes by the mono-stable push button 201. The
memory 206 may include any non-transitory storage device including, for
example, volatile memory such as RAM, or non-volatile memory such as
EPROM, flash memory, and the like. The memory 306 stores the previous state of
the driving mode, current state of the driving mode and actions configured with
10 the previous and current state to select the target state of driving mode. The table
as shown in fig. 4 is stored in the memory 306.
[0052] The interface(s) 304 may include a variety of interfaces, for example,
interfaces for data input and output devices referred to as I/O devices, storage
devices, various hardware components including switches, such as mono-stable
15 push button 201, and the like. The interface(s) 304 may facilitate communication
of the mono-stable push button 201 with the mode selection unit 308 of the TCU
300 and communication between the TCU 300 and the automatic transmission
400. The interface(s) 304 may also provide a communication pathway for one or
more components of the TCU 300. Examples of such components include, but are
20 not limited to, the mode selection unit 308.
[0053] The mode selection unit 308 may be implemented as a combination of
hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to
implement one or more functionalities of the mode selection unit 308. In examples
described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be
25 implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the
mode selection unit 308 may be processor-executable instructions stored on a nontransitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the mode
selection unit 308 may include a processing resource (for example, one or more
processors), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the machine30 readable storage medium, i.e., memory 306 may store instructions that, when
13
executed by the processing resource, implement the mode selection unit 308. In
such examples, the mode selection unit 308 or TCU 300 may include the
machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing
resource to execute the instructions or the machine-readable storage medium may
5 be separate but accessible to the mode selection unit 308 and the processing
resource. In other examples, the mode selection unit 308 may be implemented by
electronic circuitry.
[0054] In an aspect, the mode selection unit 308 may include a memory read
and write module 310 to read the current and previous state of the driving mode as
10 stored in block of the memory 306 and write the target state as current state after
selection and switching of the driving mode in the block of the memory 306. The
mode selection unit 308 may include other unit(s) which may implement
functionalities that supplement applications or functions performed by the mode
selection unit 308.
15 [0055] Further, a separate data may be provided to include data that is either
stored or generated as a result of functionalities implemented by any of the
components of the mode selection unit 308. In some aspects, the data may be
stored in the memory 306 in the form of various data structures. In the present
subject matter, a lookup table having previous state, current state, and a target
20 state along with action. The lookup table is stored in the memory 306.
[0056] As shown in the table of fig. 3, each target state depends on the
previous state and current state along with action performed by the mono-stable
push button 201. The action performed by the mono-stable push button 201 is
either a short press which generates a short press command and a long press
25 which generates a long press command. The mono-stable push button 201 may be
configured with a time buzzer to indicate the driver to release the mono-stable
push button 201 when long press is intended. When the mono-stable push button
201 is pressed for time which is greater than a predefined time threshold limit
(THt), for example, 2 -3 seconds, a long press command is generated and the time
30 buzzer indicates the driver.
14
[0057] In operation, when the Ignition of the vehicle is ON and vehicle is in
drive (D) mode, by-default Economy mode 101 is implemented in the vehicle to
achieve more fuel economy. In the economy mode 101, the powertrain of the
automatic transmission 400 is optimized to give maximum fuel economy.
Accordingly, in the economy mode 101 1
st 5 gear enablement is disabled means
vehicle directly drives in 2nd gear to save fuel until specifically requested by the
driver to drive the vehicle in 1st gear or in Normal mode 102 where more power is
required like hill, slope or pot hole areas.
[0058] Referring to fig. 1, 2, and 3 together, as economy mode 101 is by10 default mode of the vehicle in the present system, other modes are selected by the
driver by pressing the mono-stable push button 201 that may be provided on the
instrument panel or at ease location in the vehicle cabin. As shown in fig. 2, the
mode selection unit 308 is coupled with the processor 302 and the memory 306 to
identify previous state, current state, and target state of the driving mode upon
15 receiving single press command from the mono-stable push button 201 from the
memory 306. The mode selection unit 308 further select the driving mode based
on the previous state, the current state, and the target state of the driving mode
upon receiving the single press command from the mono-stable push button 201.
Once the desired mode is selected, the mode selection unit 308 update/write
20 current state of the driving mode in the memory 306.
[0059] As shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3, when sport mode 103 is desired by the
driver, the driver presses the mono-stable push button 201 for a short time period
101a to generate single short press command (101ab) that goes to the mode
selection unit 308 of the TCU 300. Upon receipt of the single short press
25 command 101ab from the mono-stable button (201), the mode selection unit 308
selects the sport mode 103 when the previous state is any state and current state is
the economy mode 101 state.
[0060] The mode selection unit 308 selects the normal mode 102 from the
economy mode 101 upon receiving single long press command 101b from the
30 mono-stable button 201.
15
[0061] The mode selection unit 308 selects the economy mode 101 from the
sport mode 103 when the previous state of the driving mode is the economy mode
101 and single short press command 103ab is received from the mono-stable
button 201.
5 [0062] The mode selection unit 308 selects the normal mode 102 from the
sport mode 103 when previous state of the driving mode is the normal mode 101
and the single short press command 103ba is received from the mono-stable
button 201.
[0063] The mode selection unit 308 selects the sport mode 103 from the
10 normal mode 102 when current state is normal state and single short press
command 102ab is received from the mono-stable button 201.
[0064] The mode selection unit 308 selects the economy mode 101 from the
normal mode 102 when the current state is normal state and single long press
command 102b is received from the mono-stable button 201.
15 [0065] The mode selection unit 308 has a memory read and write module 310
that reads the current and previous state of the driving mode and writes the target
state upon selection is made.
[0066] FIG. 4a and 4b illustrates a method 500 for selecting and switching
the driving mode from the plurality of driving modes based on the single press of
20 the mono-stable push button 201 and reading the current and previous state of the
driving mode stored in the memory 306. The order in which the method 500 is
described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the
described method blocks can be combined in any appropriate order to carry out
the method 500 or an alternative method. Additionally, individual blocks may be
25 deleted from the method 500 without departing from the scope of the subject
matter described herein.
[0067] At block 502, the method includes starting the vehicle and selecting
the drive (D) mode in the automatic transmission.
16
[0068] At block 504, the method includes enabling the economy mode 101
by-default in the vehicle upon selection of the drive mode in the automatic
transmission.
[0069] At block 506, the method includes receiving single press command
5 from the mono-stable push button 201 for selecting the driving mode. The single
press command can be short single press command or long single press command.
A time buzzer is coupled with the mono-stable push button 201 to indicate driver
to release the button in case long single press command is intended.
[0070] At block 508, the method includes determining the previous and
10 current state of the driving mode by reading the memory 306.
[0071] At block 510, the method includes selecting a target driving mode
from the plurality of driving modes based on the determined previous state and
current state and the single press command from the mono-stable push button 201.
[0072] At block 518, the method includes selecting the sport mode 103 from
15 the economy mode 101 upon receiving single short press command 101ab from
the mono-stable button 201.
[0073] At block 512, the method includes selecting the normal mode 102 from
the economy mode 101 upon receiving single long press command 101b from the
mono-stable button 201.
20 [0074] At block 520, the method includes selecting the economy mode 101
from the sport mode 103 upon receiving single short press command 103ab from
the mono-stable button 201 and the previous state of the driving mode is the
economy mode 101.
[0075] At block 516, the method includes selecting the normal mode 102 from
25 the sport mode 103 upon receiving single short press command 103ba from the
mono-stable button 201 and the previous state of the driving mode is the normal
mode 101.
17
[0076] At step 514, the method includes selecting the sport mode 103 from the
normal mode 102 upon receiving single short press command 102ab from the
mono-stable button 201.
[0077] At step 516, the method includes selecting the economy mode 101
5 from the normal mode 102 upon receiving single long press command 102b from
the mono-stable button 201.
Technical advantages:
[0078] With the present system implemented in the automatic transmission
enabled vehicle having the TCU to control selection and switching of the driving
10 mode by a mono-stable push button by single press based on the previous state of
driving mode as compared to convention cyclic single push button system or
rotatory switch or multiple switch.
[0079] With the present mode selection unit in the TCU, the driving mode is
selected at a very fast rate and with single mono-stable push button.
15 [0080] With the present disclosure, single mono-stable button is configured to
perform selection of all driving modes.
[0081] With the present system, there is no requirement of expensive rotatory
switch.
[0082] The above description does not provide specific details of the
20 manufacture or design of the various components. Those of skill in the art are
familiar with such details, and unless departures from those techniques are set out,
techniques, known, related art or later developed designs and materials should be
employed. Those in the art can choose suitable manufacturing and design details.
[0083] It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar terms
25 are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely
convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise,
as apparent from the discussion herein, it is appreciated that throughout the
description, discussions utilizing terms such as “receiving,” or “determining,” or
“retrieving,” or “controlling,” or “comparing,” or the like, refer to the action and
18
processes of an electronic control unit, or similar electronic device, that
manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities
within the control unit’s registers and memories into other data similarly
represented as physical quantities within the control unit memories or registers or
5 other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
[0084] Further, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. It
will be appreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features and
functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into other systems or
10 applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,
modifications, variations, or improvements therein may subsequently be made by
those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure
as encompassed by the following claims.
[0085] It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and other
15 features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into many other
different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated
alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be
subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be
encompassed by the following claims.
20 [0086] The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended,
encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and
substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein,
including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for
example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.

We claim:

1. A system for a vehicle having an automatic transmission (400) to select and
switch among a plurality of driving modes (101, 102, 103), the system
comprising:
5 a mono-stable push button (201) for selecting a driving mode
from the plurality of driving mode (101, 102, 103), the plurality of
driving mode (101, 102, 103) are Economy mode (101), Normal mode
(102), and Sports mode (103);
a transmission control unit (300) operatively coupled with the
10 mono-stable push button (201) to receive operative inputs and the
automatic transmission (400) to give control commands, the
transmission control unit (300) having a processor (302), an interface
(304), and a memory (306) that are operatively coupled with each
other, where the processor (302) is coupled with the mono-stable push
15 button (201) and the automatic transmission (400) via the interface
(304),
characterized in that
the transmission control unit (300) comprising:
a mode selection unit (308) coupled with the processor (302)
20 and the memory (306) to:
determine previous state and current state of the driving
mode upon receiving single press command from the monostable push button (201);
select a target state of the driving mode based on the
25 determined previous state and current state of the driving mode
and the single press command received from the mono-stable
push button (201); and
update current state in the memory (306) after selection
of the driving mode.
30
20
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein by-default driving mode of the
vehicle is the Economy mode (101).
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mode selection unit (308):
select the sport mode (103) from the economy mode (101) upon
5 receiving single short press command (101ab) from the mono-stable button
(201); and
select the normal mode (102) from the economy mode (101) upon
receiving single long press command (101b) from the mono-stable button
(201), where the mode selection unit (308) identify the single press
10 command as the single long press command (101b) when the mono-stable
button (201) is pressed for a time greater than a predefined threshold time
limit (THt).
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mode selection unit (308):
select the economy mode (101) from the sport mode (103) upon
15 receiving single short press command (103ab) from the mono-stable button
(201) and the previous state of the driving mode is the economy mode
(101); and
select the normal mode (102) from the sport mode (103) upon
receiving single short press command (103ba) from the mono-stable button
20 (201) and the previous state of the driving mode is the normal mode (101).
5. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mode selection unit (308):
select the sport mode (103) from the normal mode (102) upon
receiving single short press command (102ab) from the mono-stable button
25 (201); and
select the economy mode (101) from the normal mode (102) upon
receiving single long press command (102b) from the mono-stable button
(201).
21
6. A method (500) for selecting and switching among a plurality of driving
modes (101, 102, 103) in an automatic transmission enabled vehicle by a
mono-stable push button (201), the method (500) comprising:
enabling (504) an Economy mode (101) upon starting of the
5 vehicle;
receiving (506) a single press command from the mono-stable push
button (201);
determining (508) previous state, current state, and target state of
the driving mode; and
10 selecting (510) target state of a driving mode from the plurality of
driving modes (101, 102, 103) based on the determined previous state and
current state of the driving mode and the single press command received
from the mono-stable push button (201).
7. The method (500) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the single press command
15 is single short press command and/or single long press command, where the
single press command is determined as the single long press command
(101b) when the mono-stable button (201) is pressed for a time greater than
a predefined threshold time limit (THt).
8. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method (500) includes:
20 selecting (518) the sport mode (103) from the economy mode (101)
upon receiving single short press command (101ab) from the mono-stable
button (201); and
selecting (512) the normal mode (102) from the economy mode (101)
upon receiving single long press command (101b) from the mono-stable
25 button (201).
9. The method (500) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the method (500) includes:
selecting (520) the economy mode (101) from the sport mode (103)
upon receiving single short press command (103ab) from the mono-stable
button (201) and the previous state of the driving mode is the economy
30 mode (101); and
22
selecting (516) the normal mode (102) from the sport mode (103)
upon receiving single short press command (103ba) from the mono-stable
button (201) and the previous state of the driving mode is the normal mode
(101).
5
10. The method (500) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the method (500) includes:
selecting (514) the sport mode (103) from the normal mode (102)
upon receiving single short press command (102ab) from the mono-stable
button (201); and
10 selecting (516) the economy mode (101) from the normal mode (102)
upon receiving single long press command (102b) from the mono-stable
button (201).