JP4868760B2 - Clutch control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle clutch control device, and more particularly to a clutch control device that detects a clutch disengagement defect and performs control so that clutch disengagement can be performed reliably.

In recent years, mechanical automatic transmissions have been developed and put to practical use as automatic transmissions, with automatic transmissions provided by attaching actuators to transmission gear mechanisms and clutch mechanisms similar to those of manual vehicles. It is put into practical use mainly for large vehicles such as buses.
In such a vehicle, a wear clutch (simply referred to as a clutch) provided between the engine and the transmission is automatically connected or disconnected at the time of shifting by an attached actuator. At this time, a shock is applied to the vehicle. There has been proposed a method for controlling an automatic clutch so as not to be present (see Patent Document 1).
JP, 2003-202038, A In particular, when the automatic clutch is disengaged (disengaged), the vehicle will be shocked if the clutch disengagement instruction timing is not appropriate. Therefore, in the above proposal, the clutch disengagement instruction timing is appropriately tuned. We propose a method to do this.

However, even when the clutch disengagement instruction is given at an appropriate timing by the above method, the clutch is not disengaged unless the actuator is operated so that the clutch can be actually disengaged accurately. That is, in general, the clutch control means instructs the actuator a clutch disengagement stroke for disengagement with the timing of disengaging the clutch, whereby the actuator disengages the automatic clutch, but at this time, if the clutch disengagement stroke is insufficient, At the time of shifting, the synchronized side of the transmission is dragged by the engine rotation. As a result, there arises a problem of occurrence of a shock due to incomplete synchronization at the time of gear engagement and an increase in shifting time caused by the time required for synchronization. Furthermore, the sliding of the clutch causes a problem that the wear of the clutch is promoted.
Such a problem occurs when the characteristics change or failure occurs in equipment such as oil adhering to the clutch, and the clutch cannot be disconnected in the previous clutch disengagement stroke.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to detect a clutch disengagement failure, and to control a clutch so that the clutch can be accurately disengaged when it is determined to be defective. It is to provide a control means.

  The present invention for solving the aforementioned problems includes an engine, a transmission, a clutch interposed between the engine and the transmission, a clutch actuator that drives the clutch, and an operation of the clutch actuator. A clutch control means for controlling the clutch, a judgment means for judging whether or not the clutch control means is controlling the clutch actuator so that the clutch is properly disengaged when the clutch is disengaged, and the determination means A clutch disengagement allowance securing means for giving an instruction to the clutch control means to properly disengage the clutch when it is determined that the clutch is not properly disengaged, the determining means when the engine is running, and The vehicle is stopped, the gear is in the neutral state, and the clutch is in the engaged state. The clutch rotational speed detected after a predetermined time from the time when the latch is instructed is compared with a predetermined rotational speed, and the clutch rotational speed has not fallen below the predetermined rotational speed. In this case, it is determined that the clutch is not properly disengaged, and the clutch disengagement securing means determines a control voltage setting for disengaging the clutch by a difference between the clutch rotational speed and the predetermined rotational speed. The clutch control device is configured to instruct the clutch control means to increase in accordance with the control.

In normal clutch operation, when the clutch is disengaged, the clutch rotational speed gradually decreases and reaches 0. On the other hand, when the clutch is not completely disengaged, the clutch is dragged to the engine speed and rotates. The fact that the clutch rotational speed does not fall within a predetermined time despite the disconnection is utilized.
For example, the determination means is activated under the conditions of engine running, vehicle stop, neutral, and clutch engagement, such as the idling state of the vehicle, and a clutch disengagement failure is detected.
It is desirable that the predetermined time is about 2 seconds, and the rotation speed specified in advance is about 150 rotations / minute.

  Further, the instruction given by the clutch disengagement allowance means to the clutch control means is an instruction to increase the control voltage setting for disengaging the clutch. When the control voltage setting for clutch disconnection is increased, the clutch disengagement allowance securing means increases a predetermined amount or increases according to the difference between the clutch rotational speed and the predetermined rotational speed. It is desirable to do.

  As described above, when the determination unit determines that the clutch disengagement is defective, the clutch disengagement allowance securing unit issues an instruction to increase the control voltage, thereby enabling the clutch to be appropriately disconnected. Become.

  The clutch control device of the present invention detects a failure of clutch disengagement, and if it is defective, instructs to increase the control voltage so that the clutch is disengaged properly, shift shock due to clutch disengagement failure, abnormal wear of the clutch, It is possible to prevent the shift time from increasing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a mechanical automatic transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the mechanical automatic transmission, and FIG. 3 is a process of a clutch disengagement securing means. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the clutch disengagement failure and the clutch disengagement allowance.

As shown in FIG. 1, the engine output shaft 7 protruding from the engine 1 is connected to a mechanical automatic transmission 5 via an automatic clutch device 3. As a result, the output of the engine 1 is transmitted to the mechanical automatic transmission 5 and the gear shift is performed. The mechanical automatic transmission device 5 is an automatic transmission type transmission mechanism having a reverse speed (R) and a plurality of forward speeds (for example, 6 speeds), and in addition, a manual speed change is also possible.
The automatic clutch device 3 is automatically connected and disconnected when the mechanical automatic transmission 5 is shifted.
On the other hand, the engine 1 is provided with an engine rotation sensor 11 for detecting the rotation speed of the engine output shaft 7 of the engine 1, that is, the engine rotation speed.

The automatic clutch device 3 is brought into a connected state by press-contacting a clutch disc (friction clutch, also simply referred to as a clutch) 33 to the flywheel 31, while being brought into a disconnected state by separating the clutch disc 33 from the flywheel 31. A normal mechanical friction clutch is automatically operated.
A clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 is connected to the clutch disc 33. When this actuator 35 is operated, the clutch disc 33 is moved, and the clutch is connected / disconnected automatically. That is, when a voltage is applied to the actuator 35 to shift from the non-operating state to the operating state, the clutch disk 33 moves in the separating direction, and thereby the automatic clutch device 3 changes from the connected state to the disconnected state. On the other hand, in a non-operating state in which no voltage is applied to the actuator 35, the clutch disc 33 is in pressure contact with the flywheel 31, and in this case, the automatic clutch 3 is held in the connected state.

As the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35, an electric actuator using an electric motor, a pneumatic actuator using an air cylinder, a hydraulic actuator using a hydraulic cylinder, or the like can be used. Here, the description will be made on the assumption of the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 using an electric motor.
Such an automatic clutch device 3 is provided with a clutch stroke sensor 39 for detecting the amount of movement of the clutch disk 33, that is, the clutch stroke. A clutch rotation sensor 37 that detects the number of rotations of the clutch disk 33 is provided in the vicinity of the clutch disk 33.

  The mechanical automatic speed change mechanism 5 is driven by a gear shift actuator 51 to perform a speed change operation. The gear shift actuator 51 is for driving each gear shift member in the select direction and the shift direction in the mechanical speed change mechanism 5, and includes, for example, two sets of electric motors. At the time of shifting, the gear shift member 51 is driven by the gear shift actuator 51 to switch the meshing state of the mechanical automatic transmission mechanism 5, thereby shifting the shift stage to a desired state.

  The engine 1 is controlled by an engine control signal 113 output from an electronic control unit (ECU) 40. Also, the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 and the gear shifting actuator 51 are also driven via a control signal from the ECU 40.

  The ECU 40 includes a central processing unit CPU 401 that executes arithmetic processing in accordance with a control program, a control program for the engine 1, the automatic clutch device 3, and the mechanical automatic transmission device 5 including a program that realizes a clutch disengagement allowance means described later, A read only memory (ROM) 403 for storing necessary data, a random access memory (RAM) 405 for storing calculation results, an input / output interface 407, a timer 409, and the like.

  The ECU 40 has an input / output interface 407 via an input / output interface 407, a change lever operation signal 151 as an operation signal of the change lever unit 15, an accelerator opening signal 131 by an accelerator depression amount sensor attached to the accelerator pedal 13, and an actuator for clutch connection / disconnection. Obtained by a clutch stroke signal 391 from a clutch stroke sensor 39 attached to 35, a gear position signal 531 output from a gear position switch 53 attached to a gear shift actuator 51, and a clutch rotation sensor 37 attached to the automatic clutch device 3. Clutch speed signal 371 obtained, vehicle speed signal 551 obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 55 provided on the output side of the mechanical automatic transmission mechanism 5, engine obtained by the engine revolution sensor 11 provided in the engine 1 Such as a rotating speed signal 111 is input.

  The ECU 40 processes these input signals, thereby driving the engine 1, the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35, and the gear shift actuator 51, the engine control signal 113, the clutch actuator drive signal 351, and the gear shift actuator driving. The signal 511 is output via the input / output interface 407.

  Based on the clutch actuator drive signal 351 and the gear shift actuator drive signal 511 output from the ECU 40, appropriate voltages are applied to the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 and the gear shift actuator 51, respectively, to drive. Thereby, the clutch connection / disconnection of the automatic clutch device 3 and the gear shift of the mechanical automatic transmission device 5 are realized.

  The driver can operate by changing the automatic shift mode and the manual shift mode by the change lever unit 15. That is, in the state where the driver puts the lever of the change lever unit 13 in the drive “D”, the driving state signals (vehicle speed signal 551, engine speed signal 111, engine load, etc.) as various sensor outputs In addition, the ECU 40 controls the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35, the gear shifting actuator 51, and the engine 1 so as to shift the gear to the optimum gear position (automatic shift mode).

  On the other hand, it is also possible for the driver to issue a gear shift command by manual operation. When the driver puts the lever of the change lever unit 15 into “+” or “−”, the current gear shift stage is increased by one stage. Alternatively, a change lever operation signal 151 for lowering one step is input to the ECU 40. Based on this signal, the ECU 40 controls the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35, the gear shift actuator 51, and the engine 1 (manual shift mode).

  That is, in the automatic shift mode, the ECU 40 determines the necessity of changing the gear position based on the travel state information such as the vehicle speed and the engine load. In the manual shift mode, the ECU 40 is based on the driver's shift command. The shift signal is output to control the clutch disengagement-gear shift-clutch connection, and the engine 1 is appropriately controlled.

FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the mechanical automatic transmission.
As shown in the figure, the ECU 40 includes a shift signal generation means 415, a gear shift control means 419, a clutch control means 421, an engine output control means 423, and a clutch disengagement allowance securing means 425, which are provided as programs. Are stored in a storage device such as the ROM 403 of the ECU 40. When the CPU 401 executes these programs, the ECU 40 controls the automatic shift and causes the vehicle to travel.

  That is, when the shift signal generating means 415 sets the gear shift stage and a shift is required, the shift signal generating means 415 generates a signal for the clutch control means 421 to connect / disconnect the clutch by making a shift request. Then, the automatic clutch device 3 is operated by controlling the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35. On the other hand, in response to a shift request from the shift signal generation unit 415, the gear shift control unit 419 controls the gear shift actuator 51 to shift the mechanical automatic transmission 5 to the selected shift gear stage. Further, the engine output control means 423 controls the output of the engine 1 at the time of the shift in conjunction with the clutch control means 421 in response to a shift request from the shift signal generation means 415.

FIG. 2 will be described in more detail.
A manual / automatic shift command 411 is input to the shift signal generating means 415 when the driver selects manual or automatic shift by operating the change lever unit 15 while the vehicle is traveling. In the case of the manual shift mode, the shift stage is determined by a shift-up or shift-down request generated by the driver's operation of the change lever unit 15.

On the other hand, when the automatic shift mode is selected by the manual / automatic shift command 411, the shift signal generation means 415 normally receives the vehicle speed signal 551, the accelerator opening signal 131, etc., which are input via the input / output interface 407 of the ECU 40. Is received as the driving state information 413, and the gear position is determined based on the information.
That is, the shift map 417 is stored in the ROM 403 of the ECU 40. By referring to the shift map 417 using the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening as a key, the shift gear stage corresponding to the traveling state at that time is selected.
When the transmission gear stage is selected, the shift signal generation means 415 sends signals to the clutch control means 421, the gear shift control means 419, and the engine output control means 423, respectively, and the automatic clutch device 3 and the mechanical automatic transmission device 5 respectively. Then, the engine 1 is controlled to perform gear shift.

Next, control of the automatic clutch device 3 will be described.
When the clutch control means 421 receives a signal indicating that the gear position is shifted from the shift signal generation means, the clutch control means 421 drives the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 prior to the gear shift so that the clutch disc 33 is moved to the flywheel 31. When the gear shift is completed, the operation of gradually engaging the clutch disc 33 to the flywheel 31 (clutch engagement) is performed.
At this time, the clutch control means 421 supplies a clutch stroke target value (voltage value) that indicates how much the clutch disc 33 is moved to engage or disengage the clutch. .

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the target value of the clutch stroke is indicated by a voltage value of 0 to 5 V, for example, and is about 0 V in the clutch engagement. When disengaging the clutch, for example, a drive voltage is applied to the electric motor of the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 so that the clutch stroke target value becomes 3.0V. As a result, the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 is operated, and the clutch disc 33 is disconnected from the flywheel 31. At this time, the clutch stroke sensor 39 detects the operation of the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 and sends a clutch stroke value indicating how much the actuator has moved as a clutch stroke signal 391 to the ECU 40.
Accordingly, the value of the clutch stroke signal 391 substantially matches the voltage value (0 to 5 V) of the clutch stroke target value that the clutch control means 421 gives to the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35, although there is a delay or the like.

Incidentally, even if the clutch control means 421 gives a clutch stroke target value (voltage value) for clutch disconnection to the clutch connection / disconnection actuator 35 and the clutch connection / disconnection actuator 35 operates correctly and moves the clutch disk 33, the clutch Unless the disc 33 is correctly disconnected from the flywheel 31, the clutch is not correctly disconnected.
For example, when oil adheres to the clutch disk, or there is a secular change, a characteristic variation of a device, or a failure, the movement of the clutch disk 33 is deteriorated, and the clutch control means 421 and the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 are In some cases, the clutch is not disengaged even though 33 is operating properly.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the clutch disengagement allowance securing means 425 for detecting such a clutch disengagement failure and enabling appropriate disengagement of the clutch. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining processing of the clutch disengagement allowance securing means 425.
As shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the clutch control means 421 gives a clutch disengagement control voltage (1) that is a clutch stroke target value to the clutch disengagement actuator 35. This clutch disengagement control voltage (1) is set when the vehicle is shipped, and is stored in the RAM 405 in the ECU 40. Normally, when the clutch is disengaged, this value is given to the clutch disengagement actuator 35 and the clutch disc 33 is operated, so that the clutch disengagement is normally realized.
That is, as shown in FIG. 4, by applying the clutch control voltage (1) to the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35, the clutch disc 33 is actuated, and the clutch disc 33 is disconnected from the flywheel 31. The rotation of the clutch that has been rotating with the rotation of the engine 1 is gradually stopped, and the value of the clutch rotation number signal 371 sent from the clutch rotation sensor 37 gradually decreases and becomes zero within 2 seconds at the longest.
However, when the clutch disc 33 is not completely disconnected from the flywheel 31, the engine continues to rotate and the clutch continues to rotate. That is, the clutch rotational speed signal 371 does not become zero.

  The clutch disengagement allowance securing means 425 uses such properties to detect a clutch disengagement failure and to change the clutch control voltage so that the disengagement of the clutch can be realized. That is, the clutch disengagement allowance securing means 425 determines whether or not there is a clutch disengagement failure when the vehicle is stopped, such as when the vehicle is idling, and corrects the clutch control voltage if the clutch disengagement is defective. Stored in the internal RAM 405. As a result, when the vehicle is operated, the clutch is appropriately disengaged, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a shock due to the clutch disengagement failure, the increase in the shift time, the wear of the clutch disk, and the like.

The flow of processing will be described with reference to FIG. The clutch disengagement securing means 425 is a program stored in the ROM 403 in the ECU 425, and is executed by the CPU 401 using various signals input via the input / output interface 407, data stored in the RAM 405, and the like. Is done.
First, it is checked whether or not the engine is operating based on the engine speed signal 111. Further, the vehicle speed signal 551 is used to check whether the vehicle speed is 0, that is, whether the vehicle is stopped. Further, it is checked from the gear position signal 531 whether or not the gear is neutral. Further, it is checked whether or not the clutch is engaged based on the clutch stroke signal 391. Then, by combining the above investigations, it is determined whether or not the engine is operating, the vehicle speed = 0, the gear position is neutral, and the clutch is engaged (s4251). If s4251 is satisfied (yes), the process is executed. If not (no), the determination process of s4251 is repeated.

When s4251 is established (yes), the clutch disengagement control voltage (1) stored in the clutch disengagement control voltage storage unit in the RAM 405 is applied to the clutch disengagement actuator 35, and time t = 0 is set (s4252). . The clutch disengagement control voltage stored in the clutch disengagement control voltage storage unit as an initial value is, for example, about 3.0V. The measurement of the time t is performed using a timer 409 in the ECU 40.
Thereby, a voltage is applied to the electric motor of the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 so as to realize the clutch stroke of the clutch disengaging control voltage (1). When the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 is operated, the clutch disk 33 is operated and the clutch is disconnected.
Here, when the clutch disk 33 is normally separated from the flywheel 31, as shown by the dotted line in the upper diagram of FIG. At this time, if normal, t ≦ α (α is, for example, 2 seconds), and the clutch rotational speed becomes zero. The value of α is set in advance.

Therefore, after s4252, it is determined whether the time t has exceeded α (s4253), and when t <α (no in s4253), s4253 is repeated, and the process waits for t = α to elapse.
If time t ≧ α, it is determined whether or not the clutch rotational speed is smaller than a predetermined specified rotational speed β (s4254). For example, β is set to 150 rotations.
If the clutch rotational speed is smaller than the specified rotational speed β (yes in s4254), it is determined that the clutch is normally disconnected without dragging, and the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the clutch rotational speed is equal to or higher than β (no in s4254), it is determined that the clutch has dragged the engine speed and is not normally disconnected.

In this case, the clutch disengagement control voltage value is corrected. That is, for example, the clutch disengagement control voltage is increased by a predetermined value to obtain the clutch disengagement control voltage (2) (s4255). The predetermined increase is set to 0.2 V, for example. Then, the corrected clutch disengagement control voltage value is stored in the clutch disengagement control voltage storage unit in the RAM 405.
Thereafter, the process returns to s4252 again, and processing for determining whether or not the clutch is normally disengaged is performed (s4252 to s4254).
When the clutch disconnection control voltage correction value ((2)) is applied to the clutch engagement / disengagement actuator 35 and the clutch is normally disengaged, as shown in FIG. 4, the clutch rotational speed decreases to 0 without dragging the engine. In this case, at t = 2α, the clutch rotational speed is smaller than the specified rotational speed β (yes in s4254), the process is terminated, and then the clutch disengagement control voltage used is the clutch disengagement control voltage (2).

If the clutch is not disengaged even after the correction (s4254), the correction is performed again (s4255), the value is stored (s4256), and the process of checking again whether the clutch is disengaged at that value is repeated (s4252 to s4256). Normally, the clutch can be disengaged by one correction.
Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, for example, if the clutch is not disengaged even if the corrected clutch disengagement control voltage exceeds 4.0 V, a clutch failure is considered, so a signal indicating abnormality is input / output. It may be output via an interface and displayed on an indicator (not shown) on the front panel of the vehicle.

  As another method for correcting the clutch disengagement control voltage, the increment of the clutch disengagement control voltage for correction can be varied in accordance with the magnitude of the difference between the clutch rotation speed in s4254 and the predetermined specified rotation speed β. Can be considered.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications are possible, and these are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 35 is driven by an electric motor. However, even if the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator is operated by air or hydraulic pressure, the clutch control means is the clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator. By determining whether or not the clutch is actually disengaged with the value given to, and correcting the value given to the clutch engagement / disengagement actuator, a similar clutch disengagement securing means can be realized. Further, the time α for determining the clutch disengagement and the specified rotational speed β are not limited to α = 2 seconds and β = 150 rotations, but may be determined by testing in advance and stored in the RAM 405.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the mechanical automatic transmission concerning embodiment of this invention Functional configuration diagram of mechanical automatic transmission Flowchart showing the flow of processing of the clutch disengagement securing means A diagram for explaining clutch disengagement securing means

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Engine 3 ... Automatic clutch apparatus 5 ... Mechanical automatic transmission 31 ... Flywheel 33 ... Clutch disk 35 ... Clutch connecting / disconnecting actuator 37 ... Clutch rotation sensor 39 ......... Clutch stroke sensor 421 ......... Clutch control means 425 ......... Clutch disengagement allowance securing means

Claims (1)

An engine, a transmission, a clutch interposed between the engine and the transmission, a clutch actuator for driving the clutch, a clutch control means for controlling the operation of the clutch actuator, and disengaging the clutch And determining means for determining whether or not the clutch control means is controlling the clutch actuator so that the clutch is properly disconnected, and the determination means determines that the clutch is not properly disconnected. A clutch disengagement allowance securing means for giving an instruction to the clutch control means to increase the control voltage setting for disengaging the clutch so that it is properly disengaged , and the determination means when the engine is running, and The clutch control is executed when the vehicle is stopped, the gear is neutral, and the clutch is engaged. The clutch rotational speed detected after a predetermined time from the time when the clutch is instructed to be disengaged is compared with a predetermined rotational speed, and the clutch rotational speed is less than or equal to the predetermined rotational speed. When the clutch is not lowered, it is determined that the clutch is not properly disengaged , and the clutch disengagement allowance securing means determines the control voltage setting according to the difference between the clutch rotational speed and the predetermined rotational speed. The clutch control device is configured to instruct the clutch control means to increase the clutch control means .

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