Vehicle management for car wash
AssigneeFca US LLC
InventorAbhilash Gudapati
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle system, for a vehicle that implements a car wash mode, includes a shifter configured to move the vehicle between Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive (PRND) positions, a propulsion system, an instrument panel cluster including a human machine interface (HMI), a brake system including a parking brake. A controller is programmed to determine the shifter is not in the Park position, display, via the HMI, an option to initiate a car wash mode if the following conditions are met: (i) a grade of the vehicle is below a predetermined threshold grade indicating a substantially flat surface, and (ii) a speed of the vehicle is below a predetermined car wash speed, and subsequently initiate the car wash mode if a user selects, via the HMI, the option to initiate the car wash mode.
Claims19
A vehicle system for a vehicle that implements a car wash mode, the vehicle system comprising:
- a shifter configured to move the vehicle between Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive (PRND) positions;
- a propulsion system;
- an instrument panel cluster including a human machine interface (HMI);
- a brake system including a parking brake;
- and
- a controller having one or more processors, the controller programmed to:
- determine the shifter is not in the Park position;
- display, via the HMI, an option to initiate a car wash mode if the following conditions are met:
- (i) a grade of the vehicle is below a predetermined threshold grade indicating a substantially flat surface, and (ii) a speed of the vehicle is below a predetermined car wash speed;
- and
- initiate the car wash mode if a user selects, via the HMI, the option to initiate the car wash mode,
- wherein the controller is further programmed to, during operation in the car wash mode, monitor:
- the grade of the vehicle;
- the speed of the vehicle;
- feedback from a rain sensor system;
- an internal car wash timer;
- PRND shift requests from the shifter;
- an operator request for reactivation of the propulsion system;
- and
- a driver presence detection system configured to detect if the driver is present in the vehicle.
A vehicle system for a vehicle that implements a car wash mode, the vehicle system comprising:
- a shifter configured to move the vehicle between Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive (PRND) positions;
- a propulsion system;
- an instrument panel cluster including a human machine interface (HMI);
- a brake system including a parking brake;
- and
- a controller having one or more processors, the controller programmed to:
- determine the shifter is not in the Park position;
- display, via the HMI, an option to initiate a car wash mode if the following conditions are met:
- (i) a grade of the vehicle is below a predetermined threshold grade indicating a substantially flat surface, and (ii) a speed of the vehicle is below a predetermined car wash speed;
- and
- initiate the car wash mode if a user selects, via the HMI, the option to initiate the car wash mode,
- wherein when the shifter is shifted to Neutral, the controller is further programmed to determine if a vehicle power down is requested, and:
- if yes, (i) maintain the vehicle in the car wash mode and in Neutral, (ii) disable the propulsion system, and (iii) turn OFF a vehicle ignition;
- and
- if no, (i) maintain the vehicle in the car wash mode and in Neutral, (ii) maintain the propulsion system ON, and (iii) maintain the vehicle ignition ON.
A computer-implemented method for operating a vehicle in a car wash mode, the vehicle including a shifter configured to move the vehicle between Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive (PRND) positions, a vehicle propulsion system, an instrument panel cluster including a human machine interface (HMI), a brake system including a parking brake, and a controller having one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the method comprising:
- determining, by the controller, the shifter is not in the Park position;
- displaying, via the HMI, an option to initiate a car wash mode if the following conditions are met:
- (i) a grade of the vehicle is below a predetermined threshold grade indicating a substantially flat surface, and (ii) a speed of the vehicle is below a predetermined car wash speed;
- initiating, by the controller, the car wash mode if a user selects, via the HMI, the option to initiate the car wash mode;
- and
- during operation in the car wash mode:
- monitoring, by the controller, the grade of the vehicle;
- monitoring, by the controller, the speed of the vehicle;
- monitoring, by the controller, feedback from a rain sensor system;
- monitoring, by the controller, an internal car wash timer;
- monitoring, by the controller, PRND shift requests from the shifter;
- monitoring, by the controller, an operator request for reactivation of the propulsion system;
- and
- monitoring, by the controller, a driver presence detection system configured to detect if the driver is present in the vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.