JP2000264280A - Initializing method for automatic transmission device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prolong the lifetime of a battery by conducting such an initializing operation for each shift position, only when necessary, as requiring a comparatively large power. SOLUTION: An automatic transmission device is configured so that transition to the energy-saving mode (Stop mode S8) where only the hold of the control information is maintained, is conducted a certain time after the stop is sensed, and at the time of mode change between the energy-saving mode and the running mode, the control mechanism of the transmission is abutted to the specified shift position to conduct the initialization of the shift position (S4) under the condition that the counted frequency of shifting has attained the specified number (S3). Because the initialization of the shift position to make correction of a shift dislocation originating from the inertia drive of a motor is conducted on the condition that the shifting frequency involving increased likelihood of generation of shift dislocation has attained the specified number, the power will never be consumed wastefully, and it is possible to save the power to a great extent in cooperation with adoption of the energy-saving mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic transmission for a vehicle and, more particularly, to an automatic transmission suitable for a bicycle for automatically shifting a transmission in accordance with a vehicle speed detected by speed detecting means. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various automatic transmissions have been proposed as techniques for automating transmissions that enable bicycles to run lightly. As an automatic transmission of this type in a bicycle, a retracted position of a transmission cable connected to a transmission installed in a rear wheel driving unit or the like is controlled by a driving device such as a motor via a control mechanism according to the speed of the bicycle. In some cases, the vehicle is automatically shifted to a predetermined shift position by performing traction control by a predetermined amount. The amount of pulling operation of the pull-in position of the transmission cable in such an automatic transmission is performed by a driving device such as the motor. However, since the motor is usually driven by a battery, the battery is consumed and the motor is exhausted. The automatic shifting operation was performed until just before the drive became impossible,
Stable traveling cannot be performed due to the indetermination of the shift position due to the stop of the motor or the like during the shift, and in the worst case, even the transmission may be damaged.

[0003] In view of this, the applicants of the present application have previously proposed that when the power supply voltage of the drive device in the control mechanism of the transmission falls below a predetermined value, the shift operation of the transmission is prohibited, and after the vehicle is stopped,
An automatic transmission (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-346160) has been proposed in which the transmission is set at a low speed position. Thereby, when the power supply voltage of the driving device in the control mechanism of the transmission decreases and the transmission cannot be driven, the shift operation is held at the shift position adapted to the traveling state when the power supply voltage decreases, and stable traveling can be performed. Further, after the vehicle is stopped, the transmission is set to the low speed position while the shift operation is prohibited, so that the next traveling can be performed from the low speed position, and the traveling can be started stably. However, in the automatic transmission, when the vehicle is running at a low speed, that is, at a first speed, a pulse that is a speed detection signal during traveling is generated, and when the vehicle reaches a predetermined speed due to acceleration of the vehicle, a motor that is a driving device of the transmission shifts to a second speed. Try to shift up.

At this time, when the capacity of the power supply battery of the driving device is extremely reduced, a predetermined value (low battery setting) is set due to a decrease in the starting voltage when driving the motor which is the driving device for shifting. Voltage), the control circuit of the transmission is reset, and a phenomenon occurs in which the control circuit is lowered to the control circuit reset voltage or lower. This means that the motor is driven to shift to the second speed for a very short period of time from the low battery setting voltage to the control circuit reset voltage and the shifting operation is inhibited, and the transmission cable of the transmission is changed. At about the same time, the control circuit is reset below the reset voltage, the control circuit is reset, the power is automatically turned on again, and the shifting operation is prohibited. There is a possibility that "shift" in which the shift position of the machine shifts. Also, in a normal transmission,
Abrasion, deformation, bending, vibration during use, or displacement due to external force also occurred. Accordingly, the present applicant further proposes an automatic transmission configured to prohibit a shift operation of the transmission by detecting a drop of a power supply voltage of the drive device in the control mechanism of the transmission below a predetermined value. After the power is turned on, a check current larger than a normal control current is applied to the drive device for a short time to confirm the power supply capability. There has been proposed an automatic transmission disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-95619 which initializes a shift position where a drive device is locked by abutting the shift position.

[0005]

However, in the automatic transmission, a large check current is supplied each time the power is turned on to confirm the power capability, and the shift position is initialized. Therefore, each time a relatively large check current is applied, a shift position initialization operation is performed in which the control mechanism of the transmission is brought into contact with a predetermined shift position to lock the drive device, thereby requiring a large amount of power. This had a considerable effect on battery life.

In the present invention, the conventional automatic transmission is further improved so that the operation of initializing a shift position requiring relatively large electric power is performed only when necessary, thereby extending the life of the battery. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of initializing an automatic transmission that can be performed.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention is an automatic transmission for automatically shifting a transmission in accordance with a vehicle speed detected by a speed detecting means. In the automatic transmission configured to shift to the energy saving mode in which only information is maintained, a condition that the counted number of shifts reaches a predetermined number when the mode is changed between the energy saving mode and the traveling mode. The present invention is characterized in that the control mechanism of the transmission is brought into contact with a predetermined shift position to initialize the shift position. Further, the present invention is an automatic transmission that automatically shifts the transmission in accordance with the vehicle speed detected by the speed detecting means. The automatic transmission changes to an energy saving mode in which only the retention of control information is maintained only a predetermined time after a stop is detected. In the automatic transmission configured to shift, the control mechanism of the transmission is shifted to a predetermined shift position on condition that the respective shift position signals when the mode is changed between the energy saving mode and the traveling mode are different. , And the shift position is initialized, and these are used as means for solving the problem.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 6 show an embodiment of an automatic transmission initializing method according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is an overall side view of a bicycle provided with the automatic transmission according to the present invention. FIG. 1B is a side view of an actuator box in which a control unit and the like of the automatic transmission are housed, FIG.
FIG. 2 is an internal plan view of the upper case of the actuator box, FIG. 3 is an internal bottom view of the lower case of the actuator box, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a shift position by a cam gear, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an automatic transmission, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a control flowchart in the automatic transmission according to the present invention. FIG.
As shown in (A), in a bicycle provided with the automatic transmission initializing method of the present invention, although not described in detail, a transmission such as a built-in type is installed on a transmission hub of a rear wheel drive unit, and a vicinity of a hanger portion is provided. The retracted position of the transmission cable with respect to the transmission is automatically shifted to a predetermined transmission position by controlling the retracted position of the transmission cable to the transmission by a predetermined amount according to the speed of the bicycle by a control unit housed in the actuator box 3 installed in the vehicle. is there.

The actuator box 3 includes an upper case 1
And a lower case 2. The lower case 2 is attached to a hanger portion of the vehicle body by a mounting bracket 1A fixed to an upper portion of the upper case 1. A battery box 11 is provided adjacent to and above the actuator box 3 for storing a power source of a drive unit in a control mechanism of a transmission in an automatic transmission and a battery serving as a power source of a control circuit in a control unit. Have been. Reference numeral 58 denotes the battery box 1
An initial reset switch exposed to the outside on one side is pressed to notify error information in a control unit of the automatic transmission and to drive a motor for adjusting a reference position for pulling a transmission cable. It can be carried out. A transmission (not shown) constitutes an internal transmission that is disposed in a transmission hub on the inner periphery of the rear wheel sprocket, and a transmission that is hoisted by a later-described transmission pulley 8 housed in the lower case 2 of the actuator box 3. The speed change operation is performed by the cable 13.

In the automatic shifting of the transmission, upshifting or downshifting is automatically performed by the control unit according to the vehicle speed detected by the speed detecting means. A reed switch installed on a frame such as a rear wheel is arranged close to the rotation trajectory of a magnet installed on a rear wheel spoke or the like, and a pulse per unit time generated by the contact and separation of these two is counted. A device that detects the rotation speed of the wheels, that is, the vehicle speed (and acceleration) of the bicycle, or the like is employed, and the speed detection signal is used as a shift control signal of the automatic transmission. As shown in FIG. 3, the start end of the transmission cable 13 whose rear end is connected to a transmission of an internal type or the like installed in the rear wheel hub is connected to the actuator box 3.
Is fixedly engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the speed change pulley 8 which is rotatably supported in the lower case 2. The speed change cable 13 is provided between the hexagon nut 20 locked to the introduction portion of the lower case 2 and the spacer 1.
It is inserted through an outer through an adjuster 16 through an adjuster 16 to adjust its entry position. Reference numeral 33 denotes a retaining ring of the speed change pulley 8, 19 denotes a square nut, 21 denotes a screw connecting the upper and lower cases, and 32 denotes a ventilation sheet.

As shown in FIG. 2, in an upper case 1 of the actuator box 3, a cam gear 4 integrally connected to a transmission pulley 8 to which a starting end of the transmission cable 13 is fixed and fixed by a coaxial line 9 is provided. Is supported. A large number of teeth are engraved on the outer periphery of the cam gear 4, and a small gear in the second reduction gear 5 that rotates by receiving a driving force from a driving device such as a motor 26 is formed on these teeth. Are engaged. The small gear of the first reduction gear 6 meshes with the outer periphery of the large gear of the second reduction gear 5. The worm 7 fixed to the output shaft of the motor 26 meshes with the outer periphery of the large gear of the first reduction gear 6. As shown in FIG. 4, concave portions are formed in portions of the cam gear 4 where the teeth are not formed, corresponding to the respective shift positions, and the concave portions correspond to the amount of pulling of the shift cable 13. The detector in the micro switch 27 falls down to detect the shift position. Reference numeral 30 denotes a board on which a control circuit and the like are disposed, and controls the driving of the motor 26 through the cord 28 according to the control signal processed here. Reference numeral 10 denotes shafts of the reduction gears 5 and 6, 12 denotes a seal grommet, 22 denotes a board mounting screw, 23 denotes a mounting bracket mounting screw, and 24 denotes a micro switch 27 mounting screw.

The automatic transmission thus constructed operates as follows. When the vehicle starts running, it receives a pulse signal from a speed detecting unit composed of a magnet installed on the rear wheel spokes and a reed switch installed on the stationary side, and the speed signal is arranged on the board 30. The cam gear 4 which has been subjected to arithmetic processing in the control circuit and has been reduced through the worm 7 and the first and second reduction gears 6 and 5 by the forward rotation of the motor 26 is moved from the reference position by one as shown by the arrow in FIG.
The shift position from the first speed to the third speed is rotated. Along with this, the speed change pulley 8 (FIG. 3) integral with the cam gear 4 pulls the rear end of the speed change cable 13 to automatically change the speed of a transmission of an internal type installed in the rear wheel hub. .

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the automatic transmission according to the present invention, and shows pulses generated by a speed detector 52 composed of a magnet and a reed switch when the wheels start to rotate when the vehicle starts running. The speed detection signal SP is sent to the main control circuit 54, and the mode is changed from the stop mode to the running mode. The main control circuit unit 54 receives the speed detection signal SP and inputs the speed detection signal SP.
And a low-battery detection signal from a low-battery detection circuit 53 that detects a decrease in the power supply voltage of the driving device in the control unit of the transmission below a predetermined value. Each input of the LS is taken in, processed and calculated, and a processing signal CS for automatic shifting is sent to the motor drive circuit unit 55. The motor 26 is rotationally driven by a drive signal from the motor drive circuit 55, and automatic shift control is performed. Reference numeral 56 denotes an LED output unit for displaying a shift position, low battery detection, and a shift position initialization operation according to the present invention, which will be described later.

The most characteristic configuration of the present invention is that the main control circuit unit 54 is configured to shift to an energy saving mode in which only the holding of the control information is maintained after a predetermined time from the detection of the stop. In the transmission, when the mode change between the energy-saving mode and the traveling mode is performed, the control mechanism of the transmission abuts a predetermined shift position on a condition that the counted number of shifts has reached a predetermined number. Is to be initialized. In the illustrated example, when returning from the energy saving mode to the traveling mode, the control mechanism of the transmission is abutted to a predetermined shift position on condition that the counted number of shifts has reached a predetermined number. The initialization is performed. Conversely, the shift position may be initialized on the condition that the number of shifts counted when changing from the traveling mode to the energy saving mode has reached a predetermined number. Further, according to the present invention, the transmission control mechanism is brought into contact with a predetermined shift position on condition that the respective shift position signals at the time of mode change between the energy saving mode and the traveling mode are different from each other. Is to be initialized. In the illustrated example, the shift position is initialized on condition that the shift position signal at the time of transition to the energy saving mode immediately before and the shift position signal at the time of returning from the energy saving mode to the driving mode are different. It is what was constituted. Also, conversely,
The shift position may be initialized on the condition that the shift position signal is different from the shift position signal when the driving mode is changed to the energy saving mode.

The initialization of the shift position mainly corrects a shift of the shift control mechanism due to play, vibration, deformation due to long-term use, wear and the like, and furthermore, inertia of the motor stopped by a decrease in the control circuit reset voltage. It also corrects the "shift" caused by the driving. The motor 26 is rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the cam gear 4 in the clockwise direction (the direction opposite to the arrow in FIG. 4). In this state, the microswitch is brought into contact with the abutment block serving as the reference surface such that the microswitch faces the reference position, and the shift position is forcibly returned to the reference normal position, thereby confirming the shift reference position.

FIG. 6 is a control flowchart including an initialization method in the automatic transmission according to the present invention. The state of control of the automatic transmission will be described with reference to the drawings. When the wheels start rotating by the start of running of the vehicle, a running mode is set, and the control circuit of the automatic transmission control device is initialized in step S1. In step S2, the current shift position and the previous shift position are compared. That is, a shift position signal at the time of shifting to the energy saving mode (stop mode: S8) in which only the control information is maintained only after a predetermined time has elapsed since the stop was detected, and a shift from the energy saving mode to the traveling mode, immediately before the later described. If the shift position signal at the time of return is different (N), the flow shifts to step S4, where the control mechanism of the transmission is brought into contact with a predetermined shift position to initialize the shift position. If it is determined in step S2 that the shift position signal at the time of shifting to the energy saving mode immediately before and the shift position signal at the time of returning to the running mode match, the process shifts to step S3. Here, if the counted number of shifts is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (Y), the possibility of occurrence of a shift in the shift position increases, so that the process proceeds to step S4 to initialize the shift position. The number of shifts counted in step S3 is equal to or less than a predetermined value (N)
If it is confirmed that the process is executed, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, the capability of a power supply for driving a driving device such as a motor is confirmed. That is, confirmation of whether the power supply voltage is sufficient and detection of a low battery are performed. If there is no decrease in the power supply voltage (N), the process proceeds to step S7. If the vehicle is traveling, the process proceeds to step S9, but if the traveling is stopped and no speed signal is input for a certain period of time (Y), it is determined that the traveling has been completed, and the process proceeds to step S8.
To a stop mode (an energy saving mode in which only control information is maintained). In step S9, a normal automatic shift process is performed. If the shift position matches the required shift position, a shift request position is generated in step S10, and the process returns to the step S5 to request the shift position. If not, the process proceeds to step S11, where gear position movement processing, that is, upshifting or downshifting control is performed. In the step S5,
If the low battery is detected as the voltage of the battery is not sufficient to continue the automatic shift control, the process proceeds to step S6, and the shift position fixing process is performed. That is, if the shift position at the time of detection of the low battery is, for example, the second speed, it is fixed as it is, and if it is the third speed or more, the process proceeds to step S11 to shift down and perform the process of shifting to the second speed. The running can be restarted at the shift position where the running is easy. When the automatic shift is normally performed in step S11, the number of shifts is counted in step S12, and the process returns to the routine of step S5.

When the running of the vehicle is completed, the process shifts to the stop mode in step S8, and only the holding of the control information such as the shift position and the number of shifts is maintained, and only the weak power is consumed. Then, when the next running is started, when returning from the energy saving mode to the running mode, which is a feature of the present invention, on the condition that the counted number of shifts has reached a predetermined number, The control mechanism of the transmission is brought into contact with a predetermined shift position by applying a check current to initialize the shift position, or a shift position signal at the time of shifting to the energy saving mode immediately before, and at the time of returning from the energy saving mode to the driving mode. On condition that the shift position signal is different from the shift position signal, the shift mechanism is initialized by abutting the control mechanism of the transmission at a predetermined shift position.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, within the scope of the present invention, the type of transmission and its installation position, the type of speed detecting means and its installation position, and the control unit of the transmission are described. Types of actuators to be configured and their installation positions, types of driving devices such as motors, control forms of control units, shift position detection forms, low battery detection forms, shift counts, shift position initialization forms, etc. Can be selected as appropriate.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an automatic transmission for automatically shifting a transmission in accordance with a vehicle speed detected by a speed detecting means. In the automatic transmission configured to shift to the energy saving mode in which only the control information is retained later, when the mode is changed between the energy saving mode and the traveling mode, the counted number of shifts has reached a predetermined number. Under the condition, the control mechanism of the transmission is brought into contact with a predetermined shift position to initialize the shift position, so that the initial position of the shift position is corrected in order to correct the shift of the shift position due to play or deformation. Is performed on the condition that the number of shifts at which the possibility of occurrence of shift deviation has increased has reached a predetermined number. Large current without is energized waste power initializes the shift position has made it possible to reduce the combined significant power and adoption of energy-saving mode.

In the automatic transmission, the control mechanism of the transmission is set to a predetermined shift position on condition that the respective shift position signals when the mode is changed between the energy saving mode and the traveling mode are different. Since the shift position is initialized by abutting, even if the number of shifts does not reach the predetermined number, the control is maintained in the energy saving mode if a shift shift occurs due to some external factor or the like. Since this can be detected as the latest shift position deviation information from the information and the shift position can be initialized, a large current is supplied each time the vehicle travels to initialize the shift position and waste power. In addition to the above, there is an advantage that the power saving can be greatly reduced in combination with the adoption of the energy saving mode, and the shift position can be initialized immediately when a shift shift occurs. As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an automatic transmission apparatus initialization method capable of extending the life of a battery by performing an initialization operation of a shift position requiring relatively large electric power only when necessary. Is done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a method for initializing an automatic transmission according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (A) is an overall side view of a bicycle provided with the automatic transmission according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 (B). 1 is a side view of an actuator box in which a control unit and the like of the automatic transmission are stored, and FIG. 1C is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 2 is an internal plan view of an upper case of an actuator box of the automatic transmission according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an internal bottom view of a lower case of the actuator box of the automatic transmission according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a shift position by a cam gear of the automatic transmission according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an automatic transmission of the automatic transmission according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a control flowchart in the automatic transmission according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper case 1A Mounting bracket 2 Lower case 3 Actuator box 4 Cam gear 5 2nd reduction gear 6 1st reduction gear 7 Worm 8 Speed change pulley 11 Battery box 13 Speed change cable 26 Motor 27 Micro switch 30 Substrate (control circuit) 58 Initial reset switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic transmission for automatically shifting a transmission according to a vehicle speed detected by speed detection means,
In the automatic transmission configured to shift to the energy saving mode in which only the holding of the control information is maintained after a predetermined time from the detection of the stop, when the mode is changed between the energy saving mode and the driving mode, the counted number of shifts is An automatic transmission device initialization method, characterized in that a transmission control mechanism is abutted against a predetermined shift position to initialize a shift position on condition that a predetermined number has been reached. 2. An automatic transmission for automatically shifting a transmission according to a vehicle speed detected by a speed detecting means,
In an automatic transmission configured to shift to an energy saving mode in which only control information is maintained after a predetermined time has elapsed after the stop is detected, each shift position signal when the mode is changed between the energy saving mode and the traveling mode is set. And a control mechanism of the transmission is abutted to a predetermined shift position to initialize the shift position on the condition that the shift position is different from that of the automatic transmission device.