Description: SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INHIBITING IMPROPER OR UNINTENDED GEAR SHIFT IN MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLE
TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The subject matter in general relates to a manual gear transmission system based on shift and select cable. The subject matter in particularly relates to a system and a method to inhibit improper or unintended gear shift for protection against misuse of manual transmission powertrain equipped with mechanical linkage between gearshift lever and base transmission. More particularly, but not exclusively, the subject matter relates to a system and a method for inhibiting improper or un-intended gear shifting in a manual gear transmission of the vehicle to protect the transmission system and engine.
BACKGROUND
[002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present subject matter.
[003] In conventional manual transmission (MT) vehicle with mechanical linkage between gearshift lever and base transmission, while doing gearshift there is no mechanism to avoid driver misuse or accidental wrong gear engagement. There is always a risk of both engine and transmission damage in case of wrong gearshift. For example: if the driver engages a lower gear at very high vehicle speed, it will lead to very high clutch and engine speed. This condition leads to either clutch burst or damage to engine hardware. In case, if the driver engages a higher gear at very low vehicle speed, it will lead to high load on engine causing engine stall in moving vehicle. Another condition, if the driver is skipping gears while shifting [e.g. G2 ? G5 or G6 ? G2], it may put high load on gear synchronizers, which in turn causes damage to transmission.
[004] Currently, there are certain mechanisms, to notify the driver in case of improper or unintended gear shift in case of manual transmission vehicles, as per the speed and gear ratio of the vehicle. But there is no such system in case of manual gear transmission vehicles, where the shifting of the gears is being inhibited to restrict unintended or improper gear shift, protecting synchronizers, transmission and engine from any kind of damage.
[005] In view of the above, there is need for better management of gearbox and avoid unintended gearshift, in a manual gear transmission system. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a system and a method for inhibiting improper or un-intended gear shift in the manual gear transmission vehicle with mechanical linkage type manual gearshift lever
OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[006] In view of the foregoing limitations inherent in the state of the art, some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfy, are listed herein below.
[007] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system for inhibiting improper or unintended gear shift in a manual transmission vehicle to protect the hardware of the transmission system and the engine.
[008] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a method for inhibiting improper or unintended gear shift in the manual gear transmission of a vehicle without adding too many equipments, ultimately optimizing cost.
[009] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide the system and the method for better management of gearbox.
[0010] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be 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
[0011] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to manual gear transmission system in a vehicle. The concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0012] The present disclosure relates to a system for inhibiting improper or unintended gear shift in a manual transmission of a vehicle. The system comprises a processor which is coupled with a memory to operate and control a pair of actuators. The system comprising an input receiving unit coupled with the processor to receive input values of vehicle speed, gear ratio, engine speed, gear lever select position, and gear lever shift position. An engine speed determining unit coupled with the processor to calculate engine speed (Ecal) for each of the gear from the gear range based on the vehicle speed and the corresponding gear ratio; and a gear shift control unit is configured to determine whether the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each gear is within range of predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and a predefined engine minimum speed (Emin); determine the gears as not-allowed gears for which the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) lies outside the range of the predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and the predefined engine minimum speed (Emin); and inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears by actuating the pair of actuators.
[0013] In an aspect, the gear shift control unit is configured to calculate difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) for each gear and compare the difference with a predefined delta engine speed value (Edel); determine the gears as not-allowed gears which the difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) is more than the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel); and inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears by actuating the pair of actuators.
[0014] In an aspect, the gear shift control unit is coupled with the input receiving unit to receive the gear lever select position and the gear lever shift position; and actuate either odd actuator or even actuator from the pair of actuators when the gear lever shift position is being moved towards the not-allowed gears to inhibit the gear shifting.
[0015] In another embodiment of the present subject matter relates to a manual gear transmission system comprising a select cable is coupled with a shift tower at one end and gear lever at other end and a shift cable is coupled with the shift tower at one end and the gear lever at other end. The shift cable comprising a cylindrical stopper is positioned in between two electromagnetic actuators, where the two electromagnetic actuators are operated by a system which is embedded in Engine Control Unit (ECU) to inhibit shifting of not-allowed gears.
[0016] In an aspect, the electromagnetic actuators are defined as odd actuator and even actuator to inhibit odd gears and even gears, respectively.
[0017] In an aspect, the two electromagnetic actuators are positioned on either side of the cylindrical stopper outside neutral band.
[0018] In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter relates to a method for inhibiting improper or unintended gear shift in a manual gear transmission of a vehicle. The method comprises receiving input value of vehicle speed, gear ratio, engine speed, gear lever select position, and gear lever shift position from CAN; calculating estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each of the gear from the gear range based on the vehicle speed and the corresponding gear ratio; determining whether the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each gear is within range of predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and a predefined engine minimum speed (Emin); determining the gears as not-allowed gears for which the calculated engine speed (Ecal) lies outside the range of the predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and the predefined engine minimum speed (Emin); and actuating the pair of actuators to inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears.
[0019] In an aspect, the method further comprises calculating difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) for each gear and comparing the difference with the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel); determining the gears as not-allowed gears for which the difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) is more than the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel); and actuating the pair of actuators to inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears.
[0020] In an aspect, the method comprises receiving the gear lever select position and the gear lever shift position; and actuating either odd actuator or even actuator from the pair of actuators when the gear lever shift position is being moved towards the not-allowed gears to inhibit the gear shifting.
[0021] Other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0022] While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter that is regarded as forming the present subject matter, it is believed that the present disclosure will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals designate like structural and other elements, in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of transmission control system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a transmission control system of fig. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates gear shift and gear select pattern and movement of shift direction and select direction in gear shift tower;
[0026] FIG. 4 illustrates select direction, shift direction, neutral band, and gear inhibition trigger activation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] Fig. 5 illustrates position of cylindrical stopper on the shift cable and position of the two actuators corresponding to the cylindrical stopper to inhibit the shifting of not-allowed gears, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 6 discloses a method for inhibiting improper or unintended gear shift in a manual transmission vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It 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 falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0031] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of 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.
[0032] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As 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”, “consisting” 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 or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
[0033] 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, 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.
[0034] 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 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.
[0035] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of 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 formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0036] In order to achieve the present technical solution, the inventors of the present application have two objectives. The first objective is determining the undesirable or non-feasible gears which will damage the hardware if engaged and second objective is to restrict shifting of the non-feasible gears.
[0037] To achieve the present objectives, the inventors developed the present technical subject matter.
[0038] FIG. 1 illustrates block diagram of the transmission control system (TCS) 100 in the vehicle. The transmission control system 100 is coupled with the manual transmission system and with the CAN to receive the real time values from Engine Control Unit (ECU) or from other sensors of the vehicle. The transmission control system 100 receives vehicle speed 201, gear ratio 202, engine speed 203, gear lever select position 204, and gear lever shift position 205. The transmission control system 100 receives the vehicle speed 201, gear ratio 202, engine speed 203 from the ECU via Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. The transmission control system 100 coupled with a plurality of sensors positioned in the gearshift tower to detect the gear lever select position and the gear lever shift position.
[0039] As shown in the fig. 1, the transmission control unit 100 processed the received inputs values and control actuation of a pair of electromagnetic actuators to inhibit the shifting of not-allowed or restricted gears at real time.
[0040] Fig. 2 illustrates components or processing units of the Transmission Control System (TCS) 100, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The TCS 100 may be implemented inside the Engine Control Unit (ECU) or as a separate transmission control unit. The TCS 100 includes a processor(s) 102, an interface(s) 104, and a memory 106.
[0041] The processor(s) 102 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 instructions. The TCS 100 can be provided as a micro-controller to operate the pair of actuators 306, 307 to achieve the objectives.
[0042] Among other capabilities, the one or more processor(s) 102 are configured to fetch and execute instructions and one or more routines stored in the memory 106. The memory 106 may store one or more readable instructions or routines or maps which may be fetched and executed to control actuation of the pair of magnetic actuators 306, 307 to inhibit the shifting of improper or unintended gears. The memory 106 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.
[0043] The interface(s) 104 may include a variety of interfaces, for example, interfaces for data input and output devices referred to as I/O devices, storage devices, and the like. The interface(s) 104 may facilitate communication of the TCS 100 with various other controllers, such as ECU and sensors of the manual transmission system. The interface(s) 104 may also provide a communication pathway for one or more components of the TCS 100, for example, communication between various processing units. Examples of such components include, but are not limited to, processing unit(s) 108 and data 120. The TCS 100 and other components are coupled with the each other via CAN bus or any other existing communication line in the vehicles.
[0044] The processing unit(s) 108 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the processing unit(s) 108. In examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the processing unit(s) 108 may be processor-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the processing unit(s) 108 may include a processing resource (for example, one or more processors), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the processing unit(s) 108. In such examples, the TCS 100 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 be separate but accessible to the TCS 100 and the processing resource. In other examples, the processing unit(s) 108 may be implemented as electronic circuitry to perform the functions and to control the actuation of pair of magnetic actuators 306, 307 to inhibit shifting of improper or unintended gears.
[0045] In an aspect, the processing unit(s) 108 may include input receiving unit 110, Engine speed determining unit 112, and Gear shift control unit 116. The processing unit(s) 308 may include other unit(s), which may implement functionalities that supplement applications or functions performed by the TCS 100, or the processing unit(s) 108.
[0046] Further, the data 120 may include data that is either stored or generated as a result of functionalities implemented by any of the components of the processing unit(s) 108. In some aspects, the data 120 may be stored in the memory 106 in the form of various data structures. Additionally, the data 120 can be organized using data models, such as relational or hierarchical data models. The data 120 may store data, including temporary data and temporary files, generated by the processing unit(s) 108 for performing the various functions of the TCS 100. In the present subject matter, the data 120 may store the temporary calculated engine speeds, difference of various engine speeds, and predefined maximum and minimum engine speeds, gear ratios, predefined delta engine speed. All these information may be stored as lookup table or as table for efficient and fast accessing of data.
[0047] Before explaining each component of the fig. 2, fig 3-5 are explained for better understanding of the present subject matter and changes made in hardware point of view to restrict or inhibit the shifting of improper or unintended gear.
[0048] Fig. 3 illustrates ‘H’ pattern of seven manual forward gears 1-6 and one reverse gear. It can be five manual forward gears 1-5 and one reverse gear. In the fig. 3, reference numeral 303 indicates the gear select direction where shift lever 301 moves to select the gear and reference numeral 302 indicates the gear shift direction where the shift lever 301 moves to shift the gear.
[0049] Fig. 4 also illustrates the gear select direction and the gearshift direction along with gear inhibition activation band 304. The TCS 100 actuates the pair of electromagnetic actuators 306, 307 upon detection of gear shift lever 301 at the gear inhibition activation band 304.
[0050] Referring to fig. 5, the manual gear transmission system comprises a gear select cable 303a coupled with the gear shift lever 301 at one end and gear lever at other end. Similarly, a gear shift cable 302a coupled with the gear shift lever 301 at one end and gear lever at other end. On the gear shift cable 302a, a cylindrical stopper 305 is provided and a pair of magnetic actuators having odd actuator 307 to inhibit shifting of odd gears and an even actuator 306 to inhibit shifting of even gears are placed in the manual transmission system. The cylindrical stopper 305 is placed in between the odd actuator 307 and the even actuator 306 and a distance ‘d’ is provided in between the odd actuator 307 and the even actuator 306. Where the distance ‘d’ is slightly broader than neutral band, before gear synchronization approach zone.
[0051] In an embodiment, the two electromagnetic actuators 306, 307 are positioned on either side of the cylindrical stopper 305 or in an equivalent position between neutral band and synchro approach band or at the beginning of synchro approach band and in the manual gear transmission system to restrict movement of the gear shift cable 302a.
[0052] In an embodiment, where the distance ‘d’ is an equivalent position between neutral band and synchro approach band or at the beginning of synchro approach band In a preferred example gear stroke length can be segmented in sequence to ->
1-Neutral Band
2- Synchro approach band
3- Synchronization Band
4- Sure Engaged Band.
The pair of electromagnetic actuators 306, 307 are placed at equivalent position between 1 and 2 or at the beginning of 2.
[0053] In an event to inhibit shifting of odd gear, the odd electromagnetic actuator 307 actuates to restrict forward movement of the cylindrical stopper 305 of the gear shift cable 302a. Resultantly, the user will not be able to shift the gear. Similarly, in an event to inhibit shifting of even gear, the even electromagnetic actuator 306 actuates to restrict backward movement of the cylindrical stopper 305 of the gear shift cable 302a. Resultantly, the user will not be able to shift the gear.
[0054] Referring back to fig. 2 where the present subject matter determines allowed or not-allowed gears for which shifting can be done or not, respectively.
[0055] In operation, the input receiving unit 112 coupled with the plurality of sensors and vehicle CAN bus to receive the real time parameters of the vehicle. The real-time parameters include current vehicle speed 201, gear ratio 202, engine speed 203, gear shift lever select position (204), and gear shift lever shift position 205. The plurality of sensors may communicate over a communications bus of the manual transmission vehicle to receive and/or send electronic messages, commands or status information, or other types of information in the form of electronic messages. In this example the communications bus is a controller area network (“CAN”) bus, although it will be understood that the transmission control system (TCS) 100 may make use of virtually any type of communications bus that permits status electronic messages, commands, status information, or any other type of electronic information to be relayed between the various subsystems of the vehicle in real time. The communications bus will be referred to throughout the following discussion as “vehicle CAN bus”.
[0056] The engine speed determining unit 114 coupled with the processor 102 to calculate estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each of the gear from the gear range based on the vehicle speed 201 and the corresponding gear ratio 202.
[0057] The gear shift control unit 116 is configured to determine whether the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each gear is within range of predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and a predefined engine minimum speed (Emin). Further, the gear shift control unit 116 determines the gears as not-allowed gears for which the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) lies outside the range of the predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and the predefined engine minimum speed (Emin). Upon determination of this situation, the gear shift control unit 116 inhibits the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears by actuating the pair of actuators 306, 307 by sending current signals.
[0058] The gear shift control unit 116 determines the gears as allowed gears for which the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) lies inside the range of the predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and the predefined engine minimum speed (Emin).
[0059] Further, the gear shift control unit 116 calculates difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) 203 for each gear and compare the difference with a predefined delta engine speed value (Edel).
[0060] The gear shift control unit 116 determines the gears as not-allowed gears for which the difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) (203) is more than the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel). The gear shift control unit 116 inhibits the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears by actuating the pair of actuators 306, 307 by sending current signals.
[0061] The gear shift control unit 116 is coupled with the input receiving unit (112) to receive the gear lever select position 204 and the gear lever shift position 205 and actuate either odd actuator 307 or even actuator 306 from the pair of actuators 306, 307when the gear lever shift position 205 is being moved towards the not-allowed gears for gear shifting.
[0062] Below mentioned table 1 illustrate an exemplary calculations and comparison of engine speed at all gear ratio.

Table 1
[0063] Below mentioned table 2 illustrates exemplary allowed gears and no-allowed gears in term of OK and NOT-OK.

Table 2
[0064] Based on the determination as done by the TCS 100 on the real time input values, the TCS 100 determines that gear 3 and 4 are allowed gears when engaged gear is 5th and gears 1, 2, and reverse are not-allowed gears.
[0065] As per system configuration and implementation with manual gear transmission system, the actuation of even and odd actuators 306, 307 (which are electromagnetic plungers) inhibit or restrict shifting of 1st and 2nd gear.
[0066] FIG. 6 discloses a method (600) for inhibiting improper or unintended gear shift in a manual gear transmission of a vehicle.
[0067] At step 601, the method 600 includes receiving input value of vehicle speed 201, gear ratio 202, engine speed 203, gear lever select position 204, and gear lever shift position 205 from CAN bus.
[0068] At step 603, the method 600 includes calculating estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each of the gear from the gear range based on the vehicle speed 201 and the corresponding gear ratio 202.
[0069] At step 605, the method 600 includes determining whether the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each gear is within range of predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and a predefined engine minimum speed (Emin). If the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) is within the range of the predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and the predefined engine minimum speed (Emin), the method proceed to step 607. If the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) is outside the range of the predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and the predefined engine minimum speed (Emin), the method proceed to step 611 and determine the gears as not-allowed gears.
[0070] At step 607, the method includes calculating difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) 203 for each gear and comparing the difference with the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel). If the difference is less than the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel), the method proceed to step 609 and determine the gears as allowed gears.
[0071] If the difference is more than the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel), the method proceed to step 611 and determine the gears as not-allowed gears.
[0072] Once the allowed and not-allowed gears are determined as per real time parameters of the vehicle, the TCS 100 allows shifting of allowed gears and inhibit shifting of not-allowed gears.
[0073] At step 613, the method 600 includes actuating the pair of electromagnetic actuators 306, 307 to restrict movement of the shift cable having the cylinder stopper 305 in forward and rearward direction to inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears. The method comprising steps of receiving the gear lever select position 204 and the gear lever shift position 205; and actuating either odd actuator 307 or even actuator 306 from the pair of actuators 306, 307 when the gear lever shift position 205 is being moved towards the not-allowed gears to inhibit the gear shifting.
[0074] Technical advantages:
[0075] The present system is used for better management of gearbox and avoid unintended or improper gearshift and this is a cost-effective dynamic gearshift inhibition system.
[0076] The present system is used for protection against misuse of manual transmission powertrain equipped with mechanical linkage between gearshift lever and base transmission.
[0077] Furthermore, each of the appended claims defines a separate invention, which for infringement purposes is recognized as including equivalents to the various elements or limitations specified in the claims. Depending on the context, all references below to the “invention” may in some cases refer to certain specific embodiments only. In other cases, it will be recognized that references to the “invention” will refer to subject matter recited in one or more, but not necessarily all, of the claims.
[0078] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all groups used in the appended claims.
[0079] Furthermore, those skilled in the art can appreciate that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present 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 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.
[0080] 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.
[0081] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is determined by the claims that follow. The present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.
, Claims: We claim:
1. A transmission Control system (100) for inhibiting improper or unintended gear shift in a manual transmission of a vehicle, the transmission Control system (100) comprises:
a processor (102) coupled with a memory (104) to operate and control a pair of actuators (306, 307), the transmission protection system (100) comprising:
an input receiving unit (112) coupled with the processor (102) to receive input value of vehicle speed (201), gear ratio (202), engine speed (203), gear lever select position (204), and gear lever shift position (205);
an engine speed determining unit (114) coupled with the processor (102) to:
calculate estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each of the gear from the gear range based on the vehicle speed (201) and the corresponding gear ratio (202); and
a gear shift control unit (116) configured to:
determine whether the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each gear is within range of predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and a predefined engine minimum speed (Emin);
determine the gears as not-allowed gears for which the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) lies outside the range of the predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and the predefined engine minimum speed (Emin); and
inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears by actuating the pair of electromagnetic actuators (306, 307).
2. The transmission Control system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gear shift control unit (116) configured to:
calculate difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) (203) for each gear and compare the difference with a predefined delta engine speed value (Edel);
determine the gears as not-allowed gears if the difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) (203) is more than the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel); and
inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears by actuating the pair of electromagnetic actuators (306, 307).
3. The transmission Control system (100) as claimed in claim 1 and 2, wherein the gear shift control unit (116) coupled with the input receiving unit (112) to:
receive the gear lever select position (204) and the gear lever shift position (205); and
actuate either odd actuator (307) or even actuator (306) from the pair of electromagnetic actuators (306, 307) when the gear lever shift position (205) is being moved towards the not-allowed gears to inhibit the gear shifting.
4. A manual gear transmission system comprising:
a select cable (303a) coupled with a gear shift lever (301) at one end and gear lever at other end; and
a shift cable (302a) coupled with the gear shift lever (301) at one end and the gear lever at other end, the shift cable (302a) comprising:
characterized in that
a cylindrical stopper (305) positioned in between two electromagnetic actuators (306, 307), where the two electromagnetic actuators (306,307) are operated by a transmission protection system (100) embedded in Engine Control Unit (ECU) to inhibit shifting of not-allowed gears in accordance of the claims 1-3.
5. The manual gear transmission system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the electromagnetic actuators (306, 307) are defined as odd actuator and even actuator to inhibit odd gears and even gears, respectively.
6. The manual gear transmission system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the two electromagnetic actuators (306, 307) are positioned on either side of the cylindrical stopper (305) or in an equivalent position between neutral band and synchro approach band or at the beginning of synchro approach band, in the manual gear transmission system to restrict movement of the gear shift cable (302a).
7. A method (600) for inhibiting improper or unintended gear shift in a manual gear transmission of a vehicle, the method (600) comprises:
receiving (601) input value of vehicle speed (201), gear ratio (202), engine speed (203), gear lever select position (204), and gear lever shift position (205) from CAN;
calculating (603) estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each of the gear from the gear range based on the vehicle speed (201) and the corresponding gear ratio (202);
determining (605) whether the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) for each gear is within range of predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and a predefined engine minimum speed (Emin);
determining (611) the gears as not-allowed gears for which the calculated engine speed (Ecal) lies outside the range of the predefined engine maximum speed (Emax) and the predefined engine minimum speed (Emin); and
actuating (613) the pair of actuators (306,307) to inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gear.
8. The method (600) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:
calculating (607) difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) (203) for each gear and comparing the difference with the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel);
determining (611) the gears as not-allowed gears for which the difference between the calculated estimated engine speed (Ecal) and the current engine speed (Espd) (203) is more than the predefined delta engine speed value (Edel); and
actuating (613) the pair of actuators (306, 307) to inhibit the gear shifting of the not-allowed gears.
9. The method as claimed in claim 7 and 8, wherein the method comprises:
receiving (601) the gear lever select position (204) and the gear lever shift position (205); and
actuating (613) either odd actuator (307) or even actuator from the pair of actuators (306,307) when the gear lever shift position (205) is being moved towards the not-allowed gears to inhibit the gear shifting.