The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 22, 2022
Filed:
Jul. 01, 2021
Toyota Research Institute, Inc., Los Altos, CA (US);
Alexander R. Green, Redwood City, CA (US);
Michael Thompson, San Juan Capistrano, CA (US);
Yan Ming Jonathan Goh, Palo Alto, CA (US);
John Subosits, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Avinash Balachandran, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
TOYOTA RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC., Los Altos, CA (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods of controlling a clutch in a vehicle are provided. With the goal of enabling autonomous/assisted control of the clutch by an electronic control unit while preserving the familiar mechanical feeling at the clutch pedal that driving enthusiasts prefer, embodiments of the disclosed technology use a shuttle valve to blend control of clutch engagement between a driver and an ECU. In these embodiments, a clutch pedal in the vehicle may be mechanically connected to a piston in a first hydraulic cylinder (just like in a traditional mechanical/hydraulic clutch actuation system), and an ECU may actuate a second hydraulic cylinder. Accordingly, a shuttle valve may be used to route the fluid coming from the cylinder with the greater pressure (i.e. the driver actuated cylinder or the ECU actuated cylinder), to a third hydraulic cylinder which adjusts engagement of a clutch by a mechanical linkage.