Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Vladimir Ivanovic

Bradley Dean Riedle

Yuji Fujii

Diana Yanakiev

Hongtei Eric Tseng

Eric Hongtei Tseng

Nicholas Edward McCubbin

Josko Deur

Abhinav Kumar

Gregory Michael Pietron

Hong Jiang

Peter John Grutter

Andreas Evangelos Perakes

Nitendra Nath

Weitian Chen

Paul M Moubarak

Jau-Wen Tseng

Yijing Zhang

Pavithra Madhavan

Quazi Farooqi

Ivan Cvok

Branimir Skugor

Jakov Topic

Upon detecting a mobile object approaching a target region, a target speed profile for a vehicle, a position and a speed for the vehicle, and a position and a speed for the mobile object are input to a first neural network that outputs an entry probability distribution of predicted entry times at which the mobile object will enter the target region. The target speed profile, the position and the speed for the vehicle, the position and the speed for the mobile object, and a predicted entry time at which the mobile object entered the target region are input to a second neural network that outputs an exit probability distribution of predicted exit times at which the mobile object will exit the target region. An optimized speed profile is determined based on the entry and exit probability distributions by executing a model predictive control algorithm in a rolling horizon. A vehicle is operated based on the optimized speed profile.

Vehicle control for optimized operation

A computer includes a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to determine a planned curvature of a planned path of a vehicle, determine a friction-compensation torque based on image data received from a camera of the vehicle, and control a steering system of the vehicle based at least in part on the planned curvature and the friction-compensation torque. The friction-compensation torque compensates for friction internal to the steering system.

Friction compensation for vehicle system control

A powertrain includes a transmission having an input shaft, an output shaft, and a plurality of clutches engageable in various combinations to establish varying power flow paths between the input and output shafts. A controller is programmed to, responsive to a shift of the transmission: reduce torque capacity of an off-going one of the clutches and increase torque capacity of an oncoming one of the clutches during a torque transfer phase of the shift, and, in response to an inertia phase of the shift, continue to command non-zero torque capacity to the off-going clutch such that the off-going clutch brakes the output shaft throughout an entire duration of the inertia phase.

Predictive-based control for transmission shifting

A vehicle includes a first axle, a second axle, a driveshaft, a first clutch, a second clutch, a third clutch, and a controller. The second axle has first and second half shafts. The second axle has first and second wheels. The driveshaft is disposed between the first and second axles and is coupled to the second axle. The first clutch is configured to selectively couple the driveshaft to the first axle. The second clutch is configured to selectively couple the first wheel to the first half shaft. The third clutch is configured to selectively couple the second wheel to the second half shaft. The controller is programmed to control the clutches to connect the second axle to the first axle via the driveshaft.

Vehicle all-wheel drive control system

A lane curvature, a vehicle position offset relative to a lane center line, and a vehicle heading are determined based on image data received from a vehicle camera sensor. An adjusted lane curvature and an adjusted vehicle heading are computed based on a vehicle speed, a vehicle yaw rate and the position offset.

Vehicle lateral motion control

A vehicle includes a driveshaft, first axle, second axle, first clutch, second clutch, and controller. The driveshaft is selectively coupled to outputs of the first and second axles by the first and second clutches, respectively. The controller is programmed to, in response to a command to reconnect the driveshaft to the outputs of the first and second axles, close the second clutch to transfer loads from the second axle to the driveshaft, adjust the slip speed of the first clutch to within a target range, and close the first clutch.

A bench test calibration method for generating wet clutch torque transfer functions includes obtaining in-vehicle clutch torques at a set of shift conditions; performing a series of bench tests at various clutch pack clearances and lubrication oil flow rates at the set of shift conditions; adjusting clutch pack clearances and lubrication oil flow rates during the series of bench tests in response to a difference between a bench test measured clutch torques and the corresponding in-vehicle clutch torques exceeding a threshold; and recording relationships between first bench test measured torques and force profiles of a clutch actuator relative to the adjusted clutch pack clearances and lubrication oil flow rates for each of the set of shift conditions as a first transfer function.

Method of calibrating a wet clutch for generating transfer functions on a test bench

A method of down-shifting a transmission avoids output shaft oscillations by briefly increasing the torque capacity of an off-going element at the end of the inertia phase. The torque capacity of the off-going element is then reduced to zero when the measured transmission speed ratio begins to decrease. The method is suitable for downshifts that involve multiple off-going elements and multiple on-coming elements such as a shift from tenth gear to sixth gear in a ten speed transmission.

Method of shifting a transmission

A method of controlling a multiple step downshift is disclosed. Two offgoing shift elements are released and two oncoming shift elements are engaged to complete the downshift. During a first phase of the downshift, one of the offgoing shift elements controls the rate of increase of input shaft speed. During a second phase of the downshift, one of the oncoming shift elements controls the rate of increase of the input shaft speed. The method computes target torque capacities such that output torque and input shaft acceleration are continuous during the transition between phases. Furthermore, the method computes target torque capacities such that both oncoming clutches reach zero relative speed simultaneously as the input shaft reaches the final speed ratio.

Growing community of inventors

Canton, MI, United States of America

Vladimir Ivanovic