JP2005248976A - Power assist device and power assist method for vehicular clutch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power assist device for a vehicular clutch capable of giving assist quantity corresponding to an actual load (real load) to be applied to a hand and lever operating speed, and capable of reducing burden when manually operating a clutch lever, and capable of realizing smooth operation feeling. <P>SOLUTION: When transmitting operating force of the clutch lever fitted to a steering wheel of a motorcycle to a clutch mechanism through an operation cable, this power assist device for a vehicular clutch assists the operating force with driving force of a motor. This power assist device is provided with a rotation sensor for detecting rotation of the clutch lever, a load sensor fitted to the operation cable to detect operating load applied to the operation cable, an actuator for assisting operating force to the operation cable with the driving force of the motor, and a control means for controlling drive of the motor of the actuator on the basis of signals from the rotation sensor and the load sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a power assist device and method for a vehicle clutch. More specifically, when assisting the operation force with a motor when operating a clutch lever of a motorcycle, a power assist device for a clutch for a vehicle that can reduce a burden of manual operation and realize a smooth operation feeling, and Regarding the method.

  The motorcycle includes a clutch mechanism for transmitting / disconnecting the rotational driving force of the engine to a drive system below the transmission. By manually operating a clutch lever attached to a handle, the clutch lever and the clutch The clutch is disconnected through an operation cable connecting the mechanism. At this time, the lever principle is applied to the clutch lever, and the operation cable can be operated with a small gripping force (operation force) by increasing the lever ratio.

  However, considering the size of the hand that operates the clutch lever, there is a limit to the size of the lever ratio that can be adopted, and there is also a limit to reducing the operating force of the clutch lever.

  Also, when driving on a mountain road with many curves or slopes, or when traffic congestion is severe and the vehicle is repeatedly started and stopped, it is necessary to frequently operate the clutch lever, but only by adjusting the lever ratio described above The clutch operating force could not be reduced sufficiently, and the burden of manual operation was heavy. Further, even when the rotational driving force of the engine is large and the clutch operation load is large, the burden of manual operation is large for the same reason.

  In order to solve this problem, various power assist devices have been proposed in which the clutch driving assist device loads the operating cable to the operation cable as a power assist amount to reduce the clutch lever operating force (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

  In such a power assist device, an ON-OFF switch interlocked with a clutch lever for operating the vehicle clutch mechanism via an operation cable is provided, and driving / stopping of the motor is controlled by the ON-OFF switch. The ON-OFF switch is set to be ON during the idle section of the operation cable during the operation stroke of the clutch lever and OFF at the maximum operation stroke, and a clutch operation assist device is provided on the output shaft of the motor. Yes.

JP-A-6-249259

  However, the conventional power assist device described in Patent Document 1 or the like simply turns the motor on and off according to the position of the clutch lever detected by a micro switch or the like provided near the rotation center of the lever holder of the clutch lever. Therefore, there is a problem that the actual load acting on the hand operating the clutch lever, the speed of lever operation, etc. cannot be reflected and the operability is inferior. In other words, at the beginning of pulling the lever, the assist amount becomes too large even if the required operating force is small. On the other hand, in the state where the lever is fully pulled, the assist amount is small even though the necessary operating force is large. There was a problem of shortage and a problem that manual operation was insufficiently reduced because the motor could not catch up during a sudden operation.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an assist amount according to the actual load (actual load) acting on the hand, the lever operation speed, etc., and reduces the burden of manual operation of the clutch lever. It is an object of the present invention to provide a power assist device and method for a vehicle clutch capable of realizing an operation feeling.

A power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention includes:
A power assist device for a clutch for a vehicle that assists the operation force by a driving force of a motor when transmitting an operation force of a clutch lever attached to a handle of a motorcycle to a clutch mechanism via an operation cable,
A rotation sensor for detecting the rotation of the clutch lever;
A load sensor that is attached to the operation cable and detects an operation load applied to the operation cable;
An actuator that assists the operation force to the operation cable by the driving force of the motor;
And a control means for controlling the drive of the motor of the actuator based on signals from the rotation sensor and the load sensor.

In addition, the vehicle clutch power assist method of the present invention includes:
A power assist method for a vehicle clutch that assists the operation force with a driving force of a motor when transmitting an operation force of a clutch lever attached to a handle of a motorcycle to a clutch mechanism via an operation cable,
Controlling the driving of the motor of the actuator that assists the operation force to the operation cable based on a signal from a rotation sensor that detects the rotation of the clutch lever and a load sensor that detects an operation load applied to the operation cable. It is characterized by.

  It is preferable that the operating force is controlled by repeatedly turning the motor on and off, and changing the length of the on period and the off period.

  Further, a target load corresponding to the position of the clutch lever is set in a predetermined storage device in advance, and the actual load of the clutch lever obtained from the load sensor and the target at the actual position of the clutch lever obtained from the rotation sensor. It is preferable to calculate the difference from the load and control the driving force of the motor based on this difference.

  It is preferable to increase the driving force of the motor in proportion to the operation speed of the clutch lever.

  Further, it is preferable to accumulate the deviation between the target load and the actual load and increase the driving force of the motor in proportion to the accumulated deviation.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to obtain a load acceleration from a load speed that is a rate of change of an actual load obtained from the load sensor, and to increase the driving force of the motor in proportion to the load acceleration.

  According to the present invention, the driving force of the motor of the actuator is controlled based on the rotation of the clutch lever and the load applied to the operation cable, and the assist amount reflecting the actual load and the operation speed can be obtained. It is possible to reduce the burden of manual operation and obtain a smooth operation feeling.

  Hereinafter, a power assist device and method for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a power assist device for a vehicle clutch (hereinafter simply referred to as an assist device) according to the present invention includes a rotation sensor 3 provided on a clutch lever 2 attached to a handle 1 of a two-wheeled vehicle, and an operation cable. 4, a load sensor 5 attached to 4, an actuator 7 that assists the operation force of the operation cable 4 by the drive force of the motor 6, and a control means 8 that controls the drive of the motor 6 of the actuator 7.

  The clutch lever 2 is provided in a lever holder 11 so as to be rotatable around a rotation center 12 thereof, and the lever holder 11 is fixed to a handle bar 13 on the left side of the motorcycle.

  Inside the lever holder 11, there is provided a rotation sensor 3 for detecting the rotation of the clutch lever 2, that is, the position of the clutch lever 2 in the operation process. The rotation sensor 3 is not particularly limited in the present invention. For example, a potentiometer, a rotary encoder, or the like can be used. The output (signal) from the rotation sensor 3 is supplied to the control means 8.

  The operation cable 4 extends from the clutch lever 2, and the load sensor 5 and the actuator 7 are provided in the middle of the operation cable 4. The other end side of the operation cable 4 is connected to a clutch release lever 15. The clutch release lever 15 is connected to a clutch mechanism 16 via a transmission mechanism (not shown) such as a pinion rack mechanism, and the clutch mechanism 16 is operated against the spring force of the spring.

  The load sensor 5 is attached to the operation cable 4 between the clutch lever 2 and the actuator 7, and detects an operation force applied to the operation cable 4. The load sensor 5 is not particularly limited in the present invention. For example, a load cell or a magnetostrictive sensor can be used.

  The output (signal) from the load sensor 5 is also supplied to the control means 8 in the same manner as the output (signal) from the rotation sensor 3.

  The actuator 7 is provided between the load sensor 5 and the clutch mechanism 16, and as shown in detail in FIGS. 2 to 3, a motor 6, a speed reduction mechanism 21 that decelerates the rotation of the motor 6, One end thereof is connected to the operation cable 4 on the clutch lever side, and the other end is provided with a slider 22 connected to the operation cable 4 on the clutch mechanism side.

  The rotational force of the motor 6 is transmitted from the gear 23 fixed to the output shaft 6a while being decelerated to the cylindrical gear 27 through the gears 24, 25 and 26.

  The cylindrical gear 27 is supported at both ends by ball bearings and meshes with a gear 28 formed on the upper surface of the slider 22. The gears 23 to 26 constitute the speed reduction mechanism 21.

  The slider 22 has a substantially box-shaped main body 29 with one surface open, extension portions 30 and 31 extending along the longitudinal direction of the main body 29 at both ends of the main body 29, And a coil spring 32 provided on the surface. As described above, the gear 28 is formed on the upper surface of the main body 29, and the surface facing the upper surface is opened, and the opened side slides on the inner surface of the casing 7a of the actuator 7. ing. 33 is a stopper fixed to the inner surface of the casing 7a. As described above, the operation cable 4 on the clutch lever side is connected to the extension portion 30 of the main body 29, and the operation cable 4 on the clutch mechanism side is connected to the extension portion 31 of the main body 29.

  When the clutch lever 2 is operated, the main body 29 of the slider 22 slides to the left in FIGS. 2 to 3 due to the tensile force transmitted through the extension portion 30, and accordingly, is connected to the extension portion 31. The operation cable 4 is also pulled leftward in FIGS. 2 to 3, and this tensile force is transmitted to the clutch mechanism 16 via the clutch release lever 15. At that time, the coil spring 32 in the main body 29 receives a compressive force and is contracted. Then, when the operation of the clutch lever 2 is loosened, the main body 29 slides in the right direction in FIGS. Move to the right at ~ 3. Thereby, transmission of the operating force to the clutch release lever 15 is reduced or interrupted.

  Next, based on FIGS. 4 to 5, a power assist method for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as an assist method) will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the assist method of the present invention is a lever operation load (a tensile force applied from the clutch lever 2 to the operation cable 4) detected by the load sensor 5, and the operator operates the lever when operating the lever. Based on the lever position detected by the rotation sensor 3 (corresponding to the rotation angle of the lever rotated around the rotation center), that is, the driving force of the motor, that is, The assist amount added to the operation cable by the motor is determined. This determination is made by, for example, a CPU in the control means 8.

  Specifically, the assist amount is calculated based on the following equations (1) and (2).

Assist amount A = BA + Kv × V + Ka × A + Kp × (We−Wn) + Ki × Wsn
... (1)
Wsn = W _sn-1 + (We−Wn) (2)
Here, BA is the basic assist amount, and is a value set in advance by the rotation angle of the lever.

Also,
Kv: Speed term gain (constant)
V: Load speed (change rate of load calculated based on output from load sensor)
Ka: acceleration term gain (constant)
A: Load acceleration (change rate of load speed)
Kp: Proportional term gain (constant)
Ki: integral term gain (constant)
We: Target load value Wn: Current load value (actual load value)
Wsn: current cumulative deviation W _sn-1 : previous cumulative deviation Note that the target load value is a lever position (an indicator indicating how much the lever has been operated, that is, how much it has been rotated. The target value of the load in accordance with (which is detected by the above) is a value obtained experimentally by repeating the test drive for each model. When the load according to the target value is applied to the operator's hand, the operator feels that the operation feeling is the best.

  An example of this target load is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the solid line indicates the target load, and the broken line indicates the actual load. When there is no power assist by the motor, the actual load exceeds the target load, and the power assist amount is calculated so that the difference (deviation) is zero.

  In the equation (1), BA (basic assist amount) is obtained based on the output from the rotation sensor 3, a value corresponding to the rotation angle of the lever is set in advance, the memory (storage device) of the control means 8, etc. Is remembered. The load speed V and the load acceleration A are calculated by the CPU of the control means 8 based on the output from the load sensor 5. Further, as described above, the target load value We is obtained in advance by experiments as described above and stored in a memory (storage device) or the like.

  In the present invention, the driving force of the motor obtained by the equation (1) is added to the operation cable by repeatedly turning the motor on and off. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the assist amount is controlled by changing the length of the motor ON period and the OFF period. 6A shows a case where the on period is short and the assist amount is small, and FIG. 6B shows a case where the on period is long and the assist amount is large. In the present invention, when the assist amount by the motor is required in a very short time, for example, when the lever is operated suddenly, the motor-on period may last for a certain period as a result. The idea is that the assist amount is controlled by changing the length of the on and off periods of the motor.

  Further, in the assist method of the present invention, a target load corresponding to the position of the clutch lever 2 is set in advance as shown in FIG. 5, for example, and the actual load (actual load) of the clutch lever obtained from the load sensor is set. And the target load at the actual position (actual position) of the clutch lever 2 obtained from the rotation sensor can be calculated, and the driving force (assist amount) of the motor can be controlled based on this difference.

  In the above-described equation (1), this difference is accumulated together with the assist amount based on the current difference, and the assist amount based on the accumulated difference is given. In the control based on the equation (1), the correction amount with respect to the assist amount increases as the deviation is accumulated.

  Further, in the assist method of the present invention, the driving force of the motor can be increased in proportion to the operation speed of the clutch lever 2 (the term “Kv × V” in Expression (1)).

  Furthermore, in the assist method of the present invention, the load acceleration is obtained from the load speed that is the rate of change of the actual load obtained from the load sensor 5, and the driving force of the motor can be increased in proportion to this acceleration (formula (1) ) “Ka × A”).

  In the above-described equation (1), all the control methods described above are incorporated, but in the present invention, at least one term (“Kv × V”, “Ka ×”) other than the basic assist amount BA in the equation (1). A ”,“ Kp × (We−Wn) ”and“ Ki × Wsn ”) can be employed, and various control methods can be employed.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the control flow of the assist method of the present invention.

  First, when the clutch lever is operated, the operation amount is detected by the rotation sensor and the load sensor, and the motor assist amount is calculated according to, for example, the aforementioned equation (1) based on the outputs of both sensors (step S1). . Next, it is determined whether or not the assist by the motor is performed (step S2). If it is determined that the assist is being performed, it is then determined whether or not the assist-off condition is satisfied (step S3). ).

  Such assist-off conditions include the current lever position (for example, the position where the lever has been operated to the maximum), the current operation load (when it matches the target load), and the load speed (when the lever is returned). I can give you.

  When the assist OFF condition is not satisfied, the motor control is determined (step S4), and the motor is controlled according to the assist amount calculated in step S1 (step S5).

  On the other hand, if the assist-off condition is satisfied, the motor is turned off (step S6), and the accumulated deviation in the equation (1) is initialized (step S7).

  If it is determined in step S2 that the assist is not being performed, it is determined whether or not an assist ON condition is satisfied (step S8). Such assist ON conditions include the current lever position (the position of the clutch lever is not the position showing the maximum rotation angle), the current operation load (there is a difference between the target load), and the load speed (pull the lever). The load acceleration can be increased.

  If it is determined that the assist-on condition is satisfied, the motor is turned on (step S9), and it is determined to control the motor (step S10), and the motor is controlled according to this determination (step S11). .

1 is an overall explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of the actuator shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the actuator shown in FIG. It is a control block diagram of the power assist method of the clutch for vehicles of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a target load and an actual load. It is a figure which shows an example of on / off of the motor in the assist method of this invention. It is a figure which shows the control flow of the power assist method of the clutch for vehicles of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Handle 2 Clutch lever 3 Rotation sensor 4 Operation cable 5 Load sensor 6 Motor 7 Actuator 8 Control means 16 Clutch mechanism

Claims (7)

A power assist device for a vehicle clutch that assists the operation force with a driving force of a motor when transmitting an operation force of a clutch lever attached to a handle of a motorcycle to a clutch mechanism via an operation cable,
A rotation sensor for detecting the rotation of the clutch lever;
A load sensor that is attached to the operation cable and detects an operation load applied to the operation cable;
An actuator that assists the operation force to the operation cable by the driving force of the motor;
A power assist device for a vehicle clutch, comprising: a control unit that controls driving of the motor of the actuator based on signals from the rotation sensor and the load sensor. A power assist method for a vehicle clutch that assists the operation force with a driving force of a motor when transmitting an operation force of a clutch lever attached to a handle of a motorcycle to a clutch mechanism via an operation cable,
Controlling the driving of the motor of the actuator that assists the operation force to the operation cable based on a signal from a rotation sensor that detects the rotation of the clutch lever and a load sensor that detects an operation load applied to the operation cable. A power assist method for a vehicle clutch characterized by the above. The method according to claim 2, wherein the motor is repeatedly turned on and off, and the operation force is controlled by changing a length of the on period and the off period. A target load corresponding to the position of the clutch lever is set in a predetermined storage device in advance, the actual load of the clutch lever obtained from the load sensor, and the target load at the actual position of the clutch lever obtained from the rotation sensor The method according to claim 3, wherein a difference between the two is calculated, and the driving force of the motor is controlled based on the difference. 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the driving force of the motor is increased in proportion to the operation speed of the clutch lever. The method according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the deviation between the target load and the actual load is accumulated, and the driving force of the motor is increased in proportion to the accumulated deviation. The method according to claim 3, 4, 5, or 6, wherein a load acceleration is obtained from a load speed that is a rate of change of an actual load obtained from the load sensor, and the driving force of the motor is increased in proportion to the load acceleration.

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