Patent ID: 8321108

Claim:
A method of controlling an automobile clutch in an automated transmission system within a vehicle comprising an engine connected to a primary shaft via the clutch, comprising: translating a driver's request on an accelerator pedal in terms of sliding velocity ω sl , defined by a difference between engine speed ω e and primary shaft speed ω c ; defining constraints on engine and clutch actuators regarding operating limits; defining driving quality constraints to guarantee comfort during a clutch engagement phase; respecting the driving quality constraints by defining a reference trajectory for the sliding velocity by defining, for control intervals, a set value ω sl ref for the sliding velocity as a function of a clutch engagement time N* f ; from an expression of the reference trajectory, defining an analytical expression allowing real-time calculation of a set of control trajectories for the sliding velocity, by a constrained model predictive control law; selecting, with a dichotomic search from the set of the control trajectories for the sliding velocity, a control trajectory that respects constraints on the actuators; and controlling the clutch with the selected control trajectory for the sliding velocity.