Control strategies to reduce NVH during operation of vehicle axle disconnect devices

An axle disconnect control method for an axle disconnect system of a vehicle, the axle disconnect system including a dog clutch, the axle disconnect control method comprising:

• monitoring, by a control system of the vehicle and using a position sensor for a solenoid of the dog clutch, a position of the solenoid, wherein the solenoid is configured to move a first gear of the dog clutch to engage/disengage with a second gear of the dog clutch, wherein the first gear is connected to a powertrain of the vehicle and the second gear is connected to an axle or a wheel of the vehicle;
• and
• performing, by the control system and based on the position of the solenoid as provided by the position sensor, velocity-based control of the solenoid to engage/disengage the first and second dog clutch gears to connect/disconnect the axle or the wheel of the vehicle to/from the powertrain of the vehicle, respectively,
• wherein the velocity-based control of the solenoid to engage the first and second dog clutch gears to connect the axle or the wheel to the powertrain comprises:
• (i) increasing, by the control system, a velocity of the solenoid to a target speed during a first period followed by
• (ii) holding, by the control system, the velocity of the solenoid constant at the target speed for a second period up until initial contact between the first and second dog clutch gears,
• (iii) after the initial contact between the first and second dog clutch gears, increasing, by the control system, the velocity of the solenoid above the target speed during a third period corresponding to a gear binding region followed by
• (iv) after gear binding between the first and second dog clutch gears, decreasing, by the control system, the velocity of the solenoid to zero during a fourth period as the solenoid approaches one of two end-stop positions.

An axle disconnect control method for an axle disconnect system of a vehicle, the axle disconnect system including a dog clutch, the axle disconnect control method comprising:

• monitoring, by a control system of the vehicle and using a position sensor for a solenoid of the dog clutch, a position of the solenoid, wherein the solenoid is configured to move a first gear of the dog clutch to engage/disengage with a second gear of the dog clutch, wherein the first gear is connected to a powertrain of the vehicle and the second gear is connected to an axle or a wheel of the vehicle;
• and
• performing, by the control system and based on the position of the solenoid as provided by the position sensor, velocity-based control of the solenoid to engage/disengage the first and second dog clutch gears to connect/disconnect the axle or the wheel of the vehicle to/from the powertrain of the vehicle, respectively,
• wherein the velocity-based control of the solenoid to disengage the first and second dog clutch gears to disconnect the axle or the wheel from the powertrain comprises:
• (i) increasing, by the control system, a velocity of the solenoid to a target speed during a first period corresponding to a gear binding region and up until the first and second dog clutch gears begin to disengage from each other, and
• (ii) after increasing the velocity of the solenoid to the target speed during the first period, holding, by the control system, the velocity of the solenoid constant at the target speed during a second period followed by (iii) decreasing, by the control system, the velocity of the solenoid to zero during a third period as the solenoid approaches one of two end-stop positions.