JP2006070920A - Automatic clutch device and method of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a smooth clutch engagement operation by controlling a clutch engagement speed when an automatic clutch device is automatically started. <P>SOLUTION: A push rod 22 and a clutch outer lever 24 are connected to an output piston 6 dividing the inside of a power cylinder 2 into two pressure chambers 8 and 10. An intake solenoid valve 28 is opened to lead a compressed air into the air pressure chambers 8 to disengage the clutch, and an exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned on/off to engage the clutch. A motor output shaft (rack) 50 advanced and retreated by the driving of an electric motor 42 is disposed on the same axis of the output piston 6. In engaging the clutch, the motor output shaft 50 is applied to the output piston 6 to apply a brake to control the clutch engagement speed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic clutch device and a control method thereof, and more particularly to an automatic clutch device and a control method thereof that can easily control a connection speed when a clutch is engaged.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional automatic clutch device. The configuration of the automatic clutch device described in Patent Document 1 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. In addition, about a conventional structure, a code | symbol is put in parenthesis and shown. In the figure, (1) is a clutch lever, (2) is a single acting cylinder as an actuator for operating the clutch lever, and has a cylinder body (2a), a piston (2b), and a piston rod (2c). The piston rod (2c) is connected to the clutch lever (1) via the relay piston (3) and the push rod (4).

  One end of a compressed air supply / exhaust pipe (7) is connected to the pressure chamber (5), and a first electromagnetic valve (8) and a second electromagnetic valve (9) are connected to the compressed air supply / exhaust pipe (7). Connected in parallel. Connected to the first solenoid valve (8) is an air tank (10) that receives a supply of compressed air from a vehicle-mounted compressor (11). An exhaust pipe (12) is connected to the second solenoid valve (9). When the first solenoid valve (8) is excited, the compressed air in the air tank (10) is supplied to the pressure chamber (5), and when the second solenoid valve (9) is excited, the pressure chamber (5) is exhausted. (12), it communicates with the atmosphere.

  (13) is an electronic control unit for controlling the first solenoid valve (8) and the second solenoid valve (9), and includes an accelerator opening, an engine speed, a vehicle speed, a brake, etc., and a transmission from the shift lever (17). Each position detection signal, a signal from the position detector (15) for detecting the movement of the piston (2b), and the like are input, and these signals are processed to output a clutch connection / disconnection command signal. .

When the clutch is disengaged by the automatic clutch device, the first electromagnetic valve (8) is opened, and the compressed air in the air tank (10) is supplied into the pressure chamber (5) of the air cylinder (2). . Then, the piston (2b) moves in the clutch disengagement direction (the direction of arrow a in the figure) to disengage the clutch. When the clutch is engaged, the first electromagnetic valve (8) is closed, the supply of compressed air into the pressure chamber (5) is stopped, and the second electromagnetic valve (9) is opened. Then, the compressed air supplied into the pressure chamber (5) is discharged, the piston (2b) moves in the clutch engagement direction (in the direction of arrow b in the figure), and the clutch is engaged.
Japanese Patent No. 2691762 (page 2-3, FIG. 1)

In the clutch device configured as described above, it is possible to control the discharge speed of the compressed air supplied into the pressure chamber (5) by the operation (on / off control) of the second electromagnetic valve (9). It is possible to slow down the clutch engagement speed to some extent. However, when the clutch connection speed is controlled, the control of the second solenoid valve (9) that discharges the compressed air from the pressure chamber (5) alone causes the clutch stroke to change linearly as shown in FIG. In other words, there is a problem that the control is stepped and alternately repeats the state where the stroke is constant and the state where the stroke is changed, and a shock occurs during the half-clutch. Although it is possible to reduce the step change in stroke and bring it closer to a linear change by adding an electromagnetic valve and an orifice, the steps cannot be completely eliminated as long as the air is controlled on / off.
Further, the air tank (10) is an air brake tank, and if the internal pressure in the air tank (10) is too low due to the brake operation, the clutch may not be disengaged.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an output piston, which is reciprocally fitted in a power cylinder and divides the inside into two pressure chambers, is connected to a clutch outer lever, and an electromagnetic valve is connected to the two pressure chambers. In the automatic clutch device for connecting and disconnecting the clutch by operating the output piston by supplying and discharging the pressure medium through the auxiliary medium, an auxiliary drive mechanism for suppressing the operation of the output piston or applying auxiliary force is provided. It is characterized by.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an output piston that is reciprocally fitted in a power cylinder and divides the inside into two pressure chambers is connected to a clutch outer lever, and the two pressure chambers are connected to each other. In the control method of an automatic clutch device that operates the output piston by connecting and disconnecting the pressure medium through a solenoid valve to connect and disconnect the clutch, the operation of the output piston is suppressed or the auxiliary force is applied by an electric motor. And the clutch connection speed is variably controlled by a combination of the pressure control of the power cylinder by the electromagnetic valve and the brake control by the electric motor controlled by DUTY. It is a feature.

  The automatic clutch device of the present invention can easily control the clutch engagement speed by suppressing the operation of the output piston of the power cylinder by the auxiliary drive mechanism. Even when the pressure control of the power cylinder cannot be performed, the clutch can be disconnected by the auxiliary drive mechanism.

  In the control method for the automatic clutch device according to the fifth aspect, the speed of the clutch can be controlled so that the stroke of the clutch is linear and is as gentle as possible and can be moved smoothly.

  A clutch outer lever is connected to the output piston, which is divided into two pressure chambers in the power cylinder, and an auxiliary drive mechanism is installed in the automatic clutch device that connects and disconnects the clutch by the operation of the output piston. A configuration in which a braking force is applied to the movement of the piston achieves the object of controlling the clutch connection speed.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an automatic clutch device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow II in FIG. The power cylinder 2 of the automatic clutch device includes an output piston 6 slidably fitted in a cylinder shell 4, and the output piston 6 passes through the cylinder shell 4 with an air pressure chamber 8 and an atmospheric pressure chamber 10. It is divided into and. A piston rod 12 is fixed to the shaft core portion of the output piston 6 and moves forward and backward integrally. A stopper 14 is attached to the output piston on the atmospheric pressure chamber 10 side, and a spring 16 is disposed in the air pressure chamber 8.

  A main housing 18 is fixed to the opening side (the right side in FIG. 1) of the cylinder shell 4 to close the opening. A relay piston 20 is slidably fitted in a cylinder body 18 a formed in the main housing 18, and the piston rod 12 of the output piston 6 is in contact with one end face of the relay piston 20. One end of a push rod 22 for clutch operation is in contact with the other end surface of the relay piston 20. Further, a clutch outer lever 24 is connected to the other end of the push rod 22.

  One end of a compressed air supply line 26 is connected to the air pressure chamber 8, and the other end of the compressed air supply line 26 is connected to an air tank (not shown) via a first electromagnetic valve (supply electromagnetic valve) 28. ing. The atmospheric pressure chamber 10 and the compressed air supply pipe 26 are connected by an exhaust pipe 30, and a second solenoid valve (exhaust solenoid valve) 32 is provided in the exhaust pipe 30. . When the air supply solenoid valve 28 is opened, compressed air is supplied from the air tank to the air pressure chamber 8 to move the output piston 6 and the piston rod 12 to the right in FIG. The clutch is disengaged by moving the clutch 22 to the right and rotating the clutch outer lever 24. Also, by closing the air supply solenoid valve 28 and opening the exhaust solenoid valve 32, the air in the air pressure chamber 8 is sent to the atmospheric pressure chamber 10 to return the output piston 6 (to the left). Connect the clutch.

  The above configuration is the same as that of the conventional general automatic clutch device, and the clutch connection speed can be controlled by the on / off control of the second solenoid valve (exhaust solenoid valve) 32. It is impossible to perform such control (see FIG. 7).

  In the automatic clutch device according to this embodiment, an auxiliary drive mechanism (generally denoted by reference numeral) is provided on the air pressure chamber 8 side (left side in FIG. 1) of the cylinder shell 4 so as to easily control the clutch connection speed. 40). The auxiliary drive mechanism 40 is connected to a drive shaft of an electric motor 42 (see FIG. 2) and rotates, a worm wheel 46 that meshes with the worm 44, and a shaft core of the worm wheel 46 that is fixed and integrated. And a rack 50 that meshes with the pinion 48 and moves forward and backward as the pinion 48 rotates. The rack 50 is a motor output shaft that causes the output of the electric motor 42 to act on the output piston 6, and is arranged coaxially with the piston rod 12 fixed to the shaft core portion of the output piston 6. A front end portion 50a of the rack 50 faces the air pressure chamber 8 from a hole formed in the cylinder shell 4, and can be moved forward and backward in the direction of the output piston 6 by the operation of the electric motor 42. In this embodiment, one end 48a of the pinion 48 is taken out from the housing 52, and the rack 50 can be moved forward and backward by manually operating the end 48a so that the clutch can be operated. It has become. Reference numeral 54 denotes a pressure pad that supports the back surface of the rack 50 that meshes with the pinion 48.

  An example of performing clutch engagement control at the time of automatic start by the automatic clutch device having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the control flowchart shown in FIG. 3, and the timing chart of FIG. . 4 is a graph showing changes in the clutch stroke, the second is a graph showing the on / off operation of the exhaust solenoid valve 32, and the third is an on / off operation of the electric motor 42 as a motor brake. The fourth graph is a graph showing ON / OFF of the assist operation due to the normal rotation of the electric motor 42. The brake operation of the electric motor 42 generates a braking force by short-circuiting the terminals of the electric motor 42, and this braking force is controlled by DUTY control. Further, the assist by the electric motor 42 moves the motor output shaft (rack) 50 by the rotational force of the electric motor 42 and applies a force pushing the output piston 6 in the right direction in FIG. (Moving in the clutch engagement direction) speed is reduced.

  The clutch connection control at the time of automatic start in the automatic transmission is performed by a shift operation by a change lever (not shown) and an accelerator opening signal from an accelerator sensor (not shown). First, in step 1 (S1), control is started by determining whether or not to engage the clutch by automatic starting. Whether or not the vehicle starts automatically at step 2 (S2) is determined by checking the position at the time of the shift operation and entering the D range. If it is in the D range, it is determined that automatic starting is performed, and the clutch is disengaged for gearing. When the clutch is disengaged, the air supply solenoid valve 28 is opened, compressed air is introduced from the air tank to the air pressure chamber 8, the output piston 6 and the piston rod 12 are moved to the right in FIG. The clutch is disengaged by rotating the clutch outer lever 24 via the push rod 22. This clutch disengaged state is the T1 position of the clutch stroke in FIG. 4, and clutch engagement control is started from this position. Furthermore, in the automatic clutch device according to this embodiment, when starting, the electric motor 42 of the auxiliary drive mechanism is driven to move the rack (motor output shaft) 50 to the clutch disengagement position of the output piston 6.

  After the clutch is disengaged and the gear engagement is completed, control for connecting the clutch is started. In step 3 (S3), it is determined whether or not the clutch is in the standby position. If the clutch is not in the standby position, standby position control is performed in step 4 (S4) to move the clutch to the standby position. .

  The standby position control is performed between the T1 position and the T2 position of the clutch stroke shown in the uppermost stage of FIG. In this standby position control, the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is opened and closed for a predetermined time to perform pulse exhaust. In this embodiment, as the initial pulse (see the portion indicated by A in the graph of the exhaust solenoid valve in FIG. 4) at the start of the standby position control, from the subsequent normal pulse (see the portion indicated by B in the same figure) Also open for a long time. In this case, exhaust is performed for a long time by opening the exhaust solenoid valve 32 with an initial pulse only during an initial period until the clutch actually starts to move. Thereafter, exhaust is performed by turning on and off the exhaust solenoid valve 32 by a normal pulse. In the standby position control for moving the clutch to the standby position, in addition to the pressure control of the power cylinder 2 by the exhaust solenoid valve 32, the motor brake is applied by short-circuiting the terminals of the electric motor 42, and the moving speed of the clutch To control. In the motor brake control, the moving speed of the clutch is controlled by DUTY control as shown in the motor brake graph of FIG. 4 (see the portion indicated by C in FIG. 4). As described above, in this embodiment, since the motor brake is turned on / off in addition to the exhaust solenoid valve 32 being turned on / off, the clutch stroke is substantially linear.

  When the clutch moves to the standby position, next, in step 5 (S5), it is determined whether or not the accelerator is turned on by the accelerator opening signal from the accelerator sensor, and if the accelerator is on, Start clutch engagement. In step 6 (S6), it is determined whether or not the half-clutch position has been reached. That is, it is confirmed whether clutch rotation has occurred. If the clutch is not in the half-clutch state, control is performed to set the half-clutch state while controlling the speed in step 7 (S7). The period from T2 to T3 in FIG. 4 is a section in which this half-clutch control is performed. The clutch is connected by turning on and off the exhaust solenoid valve 32 and driving the electric motor 42. The exhaust solenoid valve 32 performs pulse exhaust. This pulse exhaust is also performed by combining an initial pulse with a long exhaust time (see part D in FIG. 4) and a relatively short normal pulse (see part E in the same figure), and the clutch is returned to the contact side. Go. As described above, the exhaust time is increased as an initial pulse until the clutch actually starts moving (F position in the clutch stroke graph shown in FIG. 4), and after the clutch starts moving, the normal pulse is shortened. Repeat the opening of time.

  Only by such pulse control of the exhaust solenoid valve 32, the clutch stroke becomes gradual as in the prior art (see FIG. 7). In this embodiment, the assist operation is performed by driving the electric motor 42. Thus, the speed of the clutch is controlled so that the clutch stroke is linear and is as gentle and smooth as possible (see section G in FIG. 4). In this half-clutch control, the electric motor 42 is switched from the motor brake operation (C) to the motor assist operation (G) when the opening and closing of the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is started by the initial pulse as described above.

  When the speed control results in a half-clutch state (see the clutch stroke H position in FIG. 4), it is determined in step 8 (S8) whether the clutch is synchronized. In this step (S8), it is determined that the clutch is synchronized when the difference between the engine speed determined by the accelerator opening and the clutch speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value. If not synchronized, the process proceeds to step 9 (S9), the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned off, and only the DUTY control (current control) of the electric motor 42 is performed. This is because the pressing force to the clutch is controlled by controlling the current, and the clutch is synchronized.

  If the clutch is synchronized in step 8 (S8), the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is continuously turned on in step 10 (S10) (K in the graph of the exhaust solenoid valve shown in FIG. 4). In step 11 (S11), the electric motor 42 is turned off and the clutch is connected at once (see T3 to T4).

  Next, in step 12 (S12), it is determined whether or not the clutch is in the fully connected position. If it is determined that the clutch is in the fully connected position, the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned off in step 13 (S13). In step 14 (S14), the electric motor 42 is braked to brake the output piston 6 (see the portion indicated by L of the motor brake shown in FIG. 4).

  As described above, the clutch engagement operation at the time of automatic start by the automatic clutch device is performed by applying a brake by the auxiliary drive mechanism 40 including the electric motor 42 in addition to the on / off operation of the exhaust electromagnetic valve 32 as in the conventional case. The clutch connection speed can be arbitrarily variably controlled, and the clutch can be connected linearly and at a moderate speed.

  In the above embodiment, the output from the electric motor 42 of the auxiliary driving device 40 is transmitted to the output piston 6 of the power cylinder 2 by the pinion 48 and the rack 50. However, the output is not limited to the rack and pinion. May be used. Further, the present invention can also be applied to a tandem type automatic clutch device in which two power cylinders whose interior is divided into two pressure chambers by an output piston are connected in series. Furthermore, the power cylinder 2 introduces air into one of the two pressure chambers 8 and 10 defined by the output piston 6 to operate the output piston 6, but the power cylinder 2 is also operated by a vacuum. Applicable. Moreover, although the output of the auxiliary drive treatment is obtained by driving the electric motor, the output is not limited to the electric motor, and other actuators can be used.

  FIG. 5 is a control flowchart in the case of performing normal clutch engagement / disengagement by the automatic clutch device (see FIG. 1). Here, first, in step 21 (S21), it is determined whether the clutch is disengaged or engaged. (S21). If it is determined in step 22 (S22) that the clutch is disengaged, it is determined in step 23 (S23) whether or not the clutch is disengaged. If the clutch disengagement has already been completed, the air supply solenoid valve 28 is turned off in step 24 (S24). If the clutch disengagement has not been completed, the air supply solenoid valve 28 is turned on in step 25 (S25). Then, compressed air from an air tank (not shown) is introduced into the pressure chamber 8 on the left side of FIG. 1, the output piston 6 and the piston rod 12 move rightward, and the clutch outer lever 24 is rotated via the push rod 22 to rotate the clutch. Is refused.

  Subsequently, if it is determined in step 26 (S26) that the clutch is engaged, it is determined in step 27 (S27) whether or not the clutch is engaged. If the clutch is already connected, the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned off in step 28 (S28). If clutch engagement is not completed, the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned on in step 29 (S29). When the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned on, the compressed air is discharged from the left pressure chamber 8 in FIG. 1 and introduced into the right chamber 10 to move the output piston 6 and the piston rod 12 to the left to connect the clutch. .

  When performing normal clutch connection / disconnection as described above, the clutch can be connected / disconnected by the same operation as that of the conventional apparatus by turning on / off the supply solenoid valve 28 and the exhaust solenoid valve 32. However, when the clutch connecting / disconnecting speed is insufficient, the assist by the electric motor 42 can be used. In the automatic clutch device according to this embodiment, since the motor output shaft (rack) 50 and the output piston 6 of the power cylinder 2 are separated, the electric motor 42 becomes a load at the time of normal clutch connection / disconnection other than at the time of starting. There is no. Further, even when the electric motor 42 fails, the clutch can be connected and disconnected.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an automatic clutch apparatus. Example 1 It is an II direction arrow line view of FIG. It is a control flow in the case of performing automatic start by the automatic clutch device. It is a graph which shows the action | operation of a clutch stroke, the solenoid valve for exhaust, and a motor at the time of the said automatic start. It is a control flow in the case of performing normal clutch connection / disconnection by the automatic clutch device. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of the conventional automatic clutch apparatus. It is a graph which shows the clutch stroke at the time of the automatic start by the conventional automatic clutch apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

2 Power cylinder 6 Output piston 8 Pressure chamber (air pressure chamber)
10 Pressure chamber (atmospheric pressure chamber)
24 Clutch outer lever 28 Solenoid valve (solenoid valve for air supply)
32 Solenoid valve (exhaust solenoid valve)
40 Auxiliary drive mechanism 42 Electric motor 50 Electric motor output shaft (rack)

Claims (5)

An output piston that is reciprocally fitted in a power cylinder and divides the inside into two pressure chambers is connected to a clutch outer lever, and a pressure medium is supplied to and discharged from the two pressure chambers via an electromagnetic valve. In the automatic clutch device that operates the output piston to connect and disconnect the clutch,
An automatic clutch device comprising an auxiliary drive mechanism that suppresses the operation of the output piston or applies an auxiliary force.   2. The automatic clutch device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary drive mechanism includes an output shaft that moves forward and backward by driving of an electric motor, and the motor output shaft is arranged coaxially with an axis of the output piston.   The automatic clutch device according to claim 2, wherein the output piston of the power cylinder is operable independently of the output shaft of the electric motor.   The automatic clutch device according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the output piston is assisted by the auxiliary drive mechanism when the clutch is disengaged. An output piston that is reciprocally fitted in a power cylinder and divides the inside into two pressure chambers is connected to a clutch outer lever, and pressure medium is supplied to and discharged from the two pressure chambers via an electromagnetic valve. In the control method of the automatic clutch device for operating the output piston to disconnect and connect the clutch,
The suppression of the operation of the output piston or the application of an auxiliary force is controlled by an auxiliary drive mechanism including an electric motor, and the connection speed of the clutch is controlled by the pressure control of the power cylinder by the electromagnetic valve and the DUTY control. A control method for an automatic clutch device, wherein the control is variably controlled in combination with brake control by an electric motor.

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