Method for operating a drive train of a vehicle

Abstract

A method for operating a drive-train (1) of a vehicle, in particular a municipal or agricultural utility vehicle, which has at least one drive machine (2), a vehicle transmission (3) with at least two gears, at least one driven axle (8) and at least one power take-off (10). A normal power level is supplied by the drive machine (2), which is controlled or regulated in accordance with a normal torque characteristic curve (18). An operating-situation-dependent manner additional power can be supplied to the at least one driven axle (8) and/or to the at least one power take-off (10). The additional power supplied is controlled or regulated in accordance with operating-situation-dependent torque characteristic curves (18, 19a to 19d, 20a to 20d) which are called up as a function of the gear selected at the time.

1 - 10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . A method for operating a drive-train ( 1 ) of a vehicle which has at least one drive machine ( 2 ), a vehicle transmission ( 3 ) with at least two gears, at least one driven axle ( 8 ) and at least one power take-off ( 10 ), the method comprising:
 supplying a normal power level by the drive machine ( 2 ), which is controlled or regulated in accordance with a normal torque characteristic curve ( 18 ),   supplying, in an operating-situation-dependent manner, additional power to at least one of the at least one driven axle ( 8 ) and the at least one power take-off ( 10 ), and   controlling or regulating the additional power supplied in accordance with operating-situation-dependent torque characteristic curves ( 18 ,  19   a  to  19   d ,  20   a  to  20   d ) which are called up as a function of which one of the at least two gears is selected at the time.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , further comprising monitoring activation of the at least one power take-off ( 10 ) and a driving speed of the vehicle for the operating-situation-dependent supply of additional power. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 11 , further comprising, in an operating situation of the vehicle in which the at least one power take-off ( 10 ) is not active and the vehicle is being driven at a driving speed below a driving speed limit, controlling or regulating the drive machine ( 2 ) in accordance with the normal torque characteristic curve ( 18 ) regardless of which of the at least two gears is selected at the time. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 11 , further comprising, in an operating situation of the vehicle in which the at least one power take-off ( 10 ) is not active and the vehicle is being driven at a driving speed above a driving speed limit, controlling or regulating the drive machine ( 2 ) in accordance with a gear-specific transport torque characteristic curve ( 19   a  to  19   d ) as the operating-situation-dependent torque characteristic curve. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 11 , further comprising, in an operating situation of the vehicle in which the at least one power take-off ( 10 ) is active and the vehicle is being driven at a driving speed below a driving speed limit, controlling or regulating the drive machine ( 2 ) in accordance with a gear-specific power take-off torque characteristic curve ( 20   a  to  20   d ) as the operating-situation-dependent torque characteristic curve. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , further comprising, in an operating situation of the vehicle in which the at least one power take-off ( 10 ) is active and the driving speed is zero, controlling or regulating the drive machine ( 2 ) in a gear-specific manner in accordance with the power take-off torque characteristic curves ( 20   a  to  20   d ) with an application of a reduction factor. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the vehicle transmission ( 3 ) has at least two synchronous gears and at least two powershiftable gears, and when these are selected, an operating-situation-dependent and gear-specific torque characteristic curve ( 18 ,  19   a  to  19   d ,  20   a  to  20   d ) is called up for the control or the regulation of the drive machine ( 2 ). 
     
     
         18 . A control unit ( 12 ) for the control of a drive-train ( 1 ) of a vehicle having at least one drive machine ( 2 ), a vehicle transmission ( 3 ) with at least two gears, at least one driven axle ( 8 ) and at least one power take-off ( 10 ), the drive machine ( 2 ) supplying a normal power level which is controlled or regulated by the control unit ( 12 ) in accordance with a normal torque characteristic curve ( 18 ),
 the drive machine ( 2 ), in an operating-situation-dependent manner, supplying additional power to at least one of the at least one driven axle ( 8 ) and the at least one power take-off ( 10 ), and   the control unit ( 12 ) being designed to control or regulate the supply of additional power, in accordance with operating-situation-dependent torque characteristic curves ( 18 ,  19   a  to  19   d ,  20   a  to  20   d ), which are called up as a function of which one of the at least two gears is selected.   
     
     
         19 . The control unit ( 12 ) according to  claim 18 , wherein the control unit ( 12 ) is designed to carry out a method comprising:
 supplying a normal power level by the drive machine ( 2 ), which is controlled or regulated in accordance with a normal torque characteristic curve ( 18 );   supplying, in an operating-situation-dependent manner, additional power to at least one of the at least one driven axle ( 8 ) and the at least one power take-off ( 10 );   controlling or regulating the additional power supplied in accordance with operating-situation-dependent torque characteristic curves ( 18 ,  19   a  to  19   d ,  20   a  to  20   d ) which are called up as a function of which one of the at least two gears is selected at the time; and   monitoring activation of the at least one power take-off ( 10 ) and a driving speed of the vehicle for the operating-situation-dependent supply of additional power.   
     
     
         20 . The control unit ( 12 ) according to  claim 18  in combination with a computer program product with program code means which is run on the control unit to carry out a method for operating the drive-train ( 1 ) of the vehicle including steps of:
 supplying the normal power level by the drive machine ( 2 ), which is controlled or regulated in accordance with the normal torque characteristic curve ( 18 ); 
 supplying, in an operating-situation-dependent manner, the additional power to at least one of the at least one driven axle ( 8 ) and the at least one power take-off ( 10 ); 
 controlling or regulating the additional power supplied in accordance with the operating-situation-dependent torque characteristic curves ( 18 ,  19   a  to  19   d ,  20   a  to  20   d ) which are called up as a function of which one of the at least two gears is selected at the time; and 
 monitoring activation of the at least one power take-off ( 10 ) and the driving speed of the vehicle for the operating-situation-dependent supply of additional power.