Method of preventing engine stall using automated clutch control

Abstract

A system and method of controlling an automatic clutch to prevent a motor vehicle engine from stalling is disclosed. The method includes the steps of determining an engine stall threshold, detecting accelerator pedal actuation, detecting current engine speed, and comparing current engine speed to the engine stall threshold. If the engine speed is below the engine stall threshold, a controller detects and compares vehicle acceleration to predetermined threshold acceleration such that the automatic clutch is actuated only when the vehicle acceleration is below the threshold acceleration. The system includes the step of detecting foot brake position such that the automatic clutch is only actuated if the foot brake is properly actuated. The controller will then actuate the automatic clutch to proportionally decouple the engine from the transmission to prevent engine stall. The automatic clutch will remain open until detecting a predetermined clearing condition.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.