Patent ID: 8412436

Claim:
A hill start assistance method to assist a user in maneuvering a vehicle on a hill, the vehicle includes a braking system and an electronic brake control, including at least one master cylinder pressure sensor and in which the pressure on each caliper of the vehicle can be controlled, the method comprising: estimating torque transmitted by a clutch of the vehicle; recording an item of information corresponding to a value of the master cylinder pressure resulting from user actuation of a brake pedal of the vehicle; when the user completely releases the brake pedal, starting a timer to count for a set period of time during which the braking system maintains the pressure on the calipers as a function of a pressure setpoint equal to the value of the last recorded piece of information; and during the set period of time, commanding a release of the pressure on the calipers when pull-away conditions are not met by an end of the set period of time; commanding a release of the pressure on the calipers when the pull-away conditions are met during the set period of time; and updating the recorded information with a new value of the master cylinder pressure when the user depresses the brake pedal again before the end of the set period of time, wherein the updating the recorded information includes stopping the timer and re-estimating the torque transmitted by the clutch.