//

ClemsonVehicularElectronicsLaboratory:HillHoldControl

HillHoldControl
BasicDescription
Whenstartingavehiclefromastationarypositiononasteepincline,adriver
has to coordinate the application and release of the clutch, brake and
acceleratorpedalsinamanualtransmissioncar.Thisscenariocanbeboth
frustrating and unsafe. Hill hold control systems assist the driver in these
situations by keeping the brakes applied until torque from the engine is
appliedtowheels.Dependingonthemanufacturer,hillholdcontrolmayalso
bereferredtoashillstartassistorhillstartcontrol.
Most hillhold systems used in vehicles today can be placed into one of
threecategories.
BasicLevelSystem:
The sensors used in the most basic hillhold systems are the brake pedal
travel sensor, master cylinder pressure sensor, wheel speed sensors and
throttle position sensor. Hill hold takes place after the vehicle comes to a
complete stop with the drivers foot on the brake, determined by the brake
pedaltravelsensor.Therequiredbrakingforcetobeappliedforthehillhold
function is calculated based on the amount of force required to keep the
vehicle stationary. The braking force applied is a function of the pressure
applied to the brakes, which is determined by the master cylinder pressure
sensor. When the brake pedal is released, Hill Hold Control is activated,
maintainingtheappropriatebrakepressureuntilthethrottleisapplied.
The limitation of the basiclevel system is that its independent of the
gradient of the incline. Therefore, if the conditions required to activate Hill
Hold Control (entrance criteria) are satisfied, then the system will be
activatedwhetherthesurfacehasapositive,negativeorzerogradient.The
exitcriteriaofthesystemisbasedonlyonthrottleposition.
MediumLevelSystem
Thesesystemsaremorecomplexthanbasicsystems.Thesensorsusedin
these systems are the same as the sensors used by the basiclevel
systemsplusaclutchpositionswitch(formanualtransmissionvehicles),a
longitudinalaccelerationsensorandasensorindicatingwhenthevehicleis
inreversegear.
Theentrancecriteriaofamidlevelsystemaredifferentwhenthevehicleis
onaninclineandwhenitsonadecline.Inthecasewhereavehicleisonan
incline,threeconditionsmustbesatisfied:
1. Thevehiclemustcometoacompletestop
2. Theinclinemustbesufficientlysteeptorequiretheuseofhillhold
controlasdeterminedbythelongitudinalaccelerationsensor
3. Theclutchmustbecompletelydepressedorclosetofulltravel(manualtransmissionsonly).
Whenonadecline,anadditionalconditionisrequired.Thereversegearmustbeengaged.Thisindicatestothesystemthatthedriveris
trying to back up a hill without rolling forward. The exit criteria or deactivation of hill hold control is based on either of two independent
conditions.Thefirstisanindicationthatthedriverwantstomovethevehicle.Thismaybeindicatedbythefollowing:
1. Theclutchpedalbeingreleasedtothepointofgearengagement(whichisdetectedbythesecondclutchswitch)
2. Anappropriateamountofthrottlebeingappliedforthevehicletostartmoving(ahigheramountofthrottlemustbeappliedwhenthe
vehicleismovingupasteeperincline).
Thesecondisthebrakebeingappliedinanyofthefollowingconditions:
1. Whenthevehicleisstoppedonapositiveinclineandtheclutchisreleased(indicatingneutralisengaged)
2. Theclutchispressedandreversegearisengagedwhilethevehicleisstoppedonanincline
3. Thevehicleisstoppedonadeclineandtheclutchisreleased.
Ifthebrakeisappliedinanyoftheaboveconditions,itmeansthatthedriverwantstoletthevehiclerollinthedirectionoftheslope.Hill
data:text/htmlcharset=utf8,%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cvel.clemson.edu%2Fauto%2Fimages%2FCVELwebheadauto850.png%22%20

1/2

//

ClemsonVehicularElectronicsLaboratory:HillHoldControl

holdcontrolisdeactivatedbyreducingthetorqueappliedtothewheelstostopthecaratarateproportionaltotheslope.Thisgivesthe
midlevelsystemamorenaturalfeel.
UpLevelSystem
Theuplevelsystemissimilartothemidlevelsystem,exceptthatithastheseextrafeatures:
1. Aclutchtravelsensorfordeterminingthespeedwithwhichtheclutchpedalispressedorreleased(toallowthesystemtoapply
andreleasethebrakesaccordingly)
2. Anadditionalhilldescentfeaturethatenablesthesystemtoreversethevehiclewhengoingdownhill.
Differentmanufacturersimplementhillholdindifferentways.Forexample,thesystemdescribedintheimagesonthispageisemployed
byDelphi.Boschhasanelectroniccontrolthatactivatesthebrakesfor2secondstogivethedrivertimetostartthevehicle.
Sensors
Clutchtravelsensor,clutchswitch,gearpositionsensor,throttlepositionsensor,brakepedalsensor,wheelspeedsensor,
longitudinalaccelerationsensor
Actuators
Brakemastercylinder
DataCommunications
ControlUnitCommunication:TypicallyControlAreaNetwork(CAN)BusSystem
Manufacturers
Bosch,Continental,Ford,Mazda,MercedesBenz,Toyota,TRW
ForMoreInformation
[1]HillHolder,Wikipedia.
[2]BoschESPwithHillHoldControl,YouTube,Mar.9,2012.
[3]20112012ToyotaSienna:HillAssistControl,YouTube,Mar.4,2010.
[4]HondaCRZ:HowtousetheHillStartAssist,YouTube,Apr.26,2011.
[5]HowDoesHillHoldAssistWorkOnThe2012ChevySonic?,AlexLuft,GMAuthority,Aug.30,2011.
[6]HillStartAssistFordHowToVideo,YouTube,Dec.19,2012.
[7]AdaptiveBrakingTechnologyandHillStartAssistMercedesBenz,YouTube,Mar.1,2013.
[8]2014NissanRogueHillStartAssist,YouTube,Feb.11,2014.
[9]2015InfinitiQ50HillStartAssist,YouTube,Oct.23,2014.
UpdatesorcorrectionstothiswebpageshouldbeemailedtoCVELL@clemson.edu.
ReturntoCVELAutomotiveElectronicSystemsPage.

data:text/htmlcharset=utf8,%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cvel.clemson.edu%2Fauto%2Fimages%2FCVELwebheadauto850.png%22%20

2/2