JP2006214476A - Clutch operation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a relatively low cost clutch operation device enabling clutch operation by a clutch pedal even if a trouble of a working fluid supply discharge device occurs. <P>SOLUTION: The clutch operation device is provided with a clutch booster 21 operating a clutch 13 to a disengaging state when working fluid is supplied and operating the clutch 13 to an engaging state when working fluid is sucked, the working fluid supply discharge device 23 provided with a reservoir tank 29c storing working fluid and supplying and sucking working fluid to and from the clutch booster 21 by a command from a controller 22, a clutch pedal device 30 connected to an oil flow passage 31 connecting the clutch booster and the working fluid supply discharge device, supplying working fluid to the oil flow passage 31 by stepping the clutch pedal 30a in and sucking working fluid by recovery of the clutch pedal 30a, and a relief valve 32 re-circulating surplus working fluid from the oil passage to the reservoir tank 29c when working fluid of quantity exceeding predetermined quantity is supplied to the clutch booster 21 provided on the oil flow passage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a clutch operating device configured to supply and discharge hydraulic oil to and from a clutch booster according to a command from a controller and to connect and disconnect the clutch by the clutch booster.

  Conventionally, manual transmissions have been mainly used in large vehicles such as buses and trucks. In the manual transmission, the change lever of the driver's seat and the transmission are mechanically connected by a link mechanism such as a control rod. For this reason, it is necessary to drive the gear mechanism by performing a shift operation at the time of shift, and when the shift operation is frequently requested, the shift operation is a heavy burden on the driver. Therefore, a remote-operated manual transmission device has been developed in which a manual transmission is provided with a gear transmission, and a controller for controlling the gear transmission with an electric signal is provided. In this remote-operated manual transmission, shifting can be performed with a small force that simply operates the change lever, and the burden on the driver regarding the shifting operation is reduced. In order to further reduce the burden on the driver related to the shift operation, an automatic transmission has been proposed in which a clutch operation device that automatically connects and disconnects the clutch is provided so that a shift operation can be performed without stepping on the clutch pedal.

  The conventional clutch operating device used in this automatic transmission is in a disengaged state when a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied and the clutch is disconnected from the connected state and the supplied hydraulic oil is sucked and reduced below a predetermined amount. The clutch booster is connected to the clutch booster, and a reservoir tank for storing the hydraulic oil is provided. A predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied to the clutch booster according to a command from the controller, or the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster is sucked from the clutch booster. A hydraulic oil supply / discharge device that reduces the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster to less than a predetermined amount. The hydraulic oil supply / discharge device includes a motor that rotates the rotating shaft in response to a command from the controller and a hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder that supplies / discharges hydraulic oil by rotating the rotary shaft. When the rotation axis of the motor is rotated forward or reverse by a command from, hydraulic oil is supplied from the hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder to the clutch booster or hydraulic oil is sucked from the clutch booster, so that the clutch is connected / disconnected. ing.

However, in this clutch operating device, when a malfunction such as a failure occurs in the motor and the rotation becomes impossible, the hydraulic oil cannot be supplied to the clutch booster or is supplied to the clutch booster when the malfunction occurs while the hydraulic oil is supplied. As a result, the hydraulic fluid can no longer be sucked, the clutch continues to be disconnected or connected, and the clutch cannot be operated thereafter.
In order to solve this problem, a clutch operating device provided with a clutch pedal device that supplies and discharges hydraulic oil proportional to the amount of depression of the clutch pedal is provided separately from the hydraulic oil supply and discharge device that supplies and discharges hydraulic oil according to a controller command. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this clutch operating device, when a malfunction such as a failure occurs in the motor in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device and rotation becomes impossible, the hydraulic oil is supplied to and discharged from the clutch booster by the clutch pedal device to operate the clutch. It has become.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-213497 (whole specification, FIG. 1)

However, in the above-described conventional clutch operating device, when a problem occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device with the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster, the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster by the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device Is once released to release the clutch disengaged state, and in this state, hydraulic oil needs to be supplied to the clutch booster by the clutch pedal device. For this reason, in the conventional clutch operating device, when the hydraulic oil selection device is interposed between the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device and the clutch booster and the hydraulic oil is supplied by the clutch pedal device, the hydraulic pressure selection device is supplied with the hydraulic oil supply device. The hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster from the exhaust device is sucked, but the structure of the hydraulic pressure selection device becomes extremely complicated, and there is still a problem to be solved that raises the unit price of the entire clutch operating device. It was.
An object of the present invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive clutch operating device having a simple structure that can enable clutch operation by a clutch pedal even when a malfunction occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the invention according to claim 1 is configured such that when a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied, the clutch 13 is changed from the connected state to the disconnected state, and the supplied hydraulic oil is sucked and reduced to less than the predetermined amount. 13 is provided with a clutch booster 21 that changes the disconnected state from the disconnected state to a connected state, and a reservoir tank 29c that stores hydraulic oil. A predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied to the clutch booster 21 or supplied to the clutch booster 21 according to a command from the controller 22 A hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 that sucks the hydraulic oil from the clutch booster 21 and reduces the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster 21 to less than a predetermined amount, and an oil flow that connects the clutch booster 21 and the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23. A clutch that is connected to the passage 31 and supplies a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil to the oil passage 31 by the depression of the clutch pedal 30a. A clutch pedal device 30 that sucks hydraulic oil supplied to the oil passage 31 by restoring the pedal 30a from the oil passage 31, and a predetermined amount to the clutch booster 21 provided in the oil passage 31 via the oil passage 31. The clutch operating device includes a relief valve 32 that recirculates excess hydraulic oil from the oil passage 31 to the reservoir tank 29c when an excess amount of hydraulic oil is supplied.

In the clutch operating device according to the first aspect, when a problem occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 with the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster 21, the clutch pedal 30a in the clutch pedal device 30 is forcibly pulled. The excess hydraulic oil exceeding a predetermined amount can be recirculated from the oil passage 31 to the reservoir tank 29c via the relief valve 32. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate the hydraulic selection device that is conventionally interposed between the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 and the clutch booster 21 in order to recirculate excess hydraulic oil, and a relatively inexpensive clutch operating device can be provided. Obtainable.
On the other hand, after the relief valve 32 recirculates excess hydraulic oil from the oil passage 31 to the reservoir tank 29c, the hydraulic oil is supplied and discharged by the clutch pedal device 30 and supplied to the clutch booster 21. Even if a malfunction occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23, the original effect of enabling the clutch operation by the clutch pedal 31a can be maintained.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 is connected to the motor 25 for rotating the rotating shaft 25a in response to a command from the controller 22, and the rotating shaft 25a. The worm gear 26 that rotates with the rotation of the worm gear 25, the worm wheel 27 that meshes with the worm gear 26 and rotates with the rotation of the worm gear 26, one end pivotally supported around the worm wheel 27, and the other end moves with the rotation of the worm wheel 27. The clutch operating device includes a rod 28 and a hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder 29 in which the other end of the rod 28 is connected to a piston 29a and the piston 29a moves inside the cylinder body 29b to supply and discharge hydraulic oil.
In the clutch operating device described in claim 2, a cheaper clutch operating device can be obtained by using the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 having a structure conventionally used.

  In the clutch operating device of the present invention, when the hydraulic oil is supplied, the clutch is changed from the connected state to the disconnected state, and when the supplied hydraulic oil is reduced below a predetermined amount, the clutch booster is changed from the disconnected state to the connected state. The hydraulic oil is supplied to the clutch booster according to the command of the hydraulic oil, or the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device that sucks the supplied hydraulic oil from the clutch booster, and the oil passage that connects the clutch booster and the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device is connected to the clutch pedal. The hydraulic oil is supplied to the oil flow path by stepping on the clutch pedal and the clutch pedal device that sucks the hydraulic oil from the oil flow path by restoring the clutch pedal, and the hydraulic oil in an amount exceeding the predetermined amount is supplied to the clutch booster provided in the oil flow path. Provided with a relief valve that recirculates excess hydraulic oil from the oil flow path to the reservoir tank. If a problem occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device with the hydraulic oil supplied to the booster booster, excessive hydraulic oil exceeding a predetermined amount via the relief valve by forcibly depressing the clutch pedal in the clutch pedal device Can be refluxed from the oil flow path to the reservoir tank. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate the need for a hydraulic pressure selection device conventionally interposed between the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device and the clutch booster for the return, and to obtain a relatively inexpensive clutch operating device.

  In this case, the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device includes a motor that rotates the rotating shaft in response to a command from the controller, a worm gear that is connected to the rotating shaft and rotates with the rotation of the rotating shaft, and a worm that meshes with the worm gear and rotates with the rotation of the worm gear. A rod, one end pivotally supported around the worm wheel and the other end moving with the rotation of the worm wheel, the other end of the rod is connected to the piston, and the piston moves inside the cylinder body to supply and discharge hydraulic oil. If it is provided with a hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder, a cheaper clutch operating device can be obtained.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 6, a clutch 13 including a dry single disc clutch disk is disposed between the engine 11 and the transmission 12. The transmission 12 is provided with a gear transmission 14. The clutch 13 is provided with a clutch lever 13a for driving a dry single-plate clutch disk (not shown). The clutch lever 13a is connected to the clutch operating device 20 of the present invention for operating the clutch 13 by rotating the clutch lever 13a. . A clutch operating device 20 according to the present invention is connected to a clutch lever 13a and rotates the clutch lever 13a to connect / disconnect the clutch 13, and a hydraulic oil supply / discharge device that supplies and discharges hydraulic oil according to commands from the controller 22. 23. When a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied from the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23, the clutch booster 21 is boosted by compressed air from the air tank 16 to rotate the clutch lever 13a, and the clutch 13 is disconnected from the connected state. When the supplied hydraulic oil is sucked and decreases below a predetermined amount, the clutch lever 13a is rotated in the reverse direction, and the clutch 13 is changed from the disconnected state to the connected state.

  The controller 22 mainly performs clutch control and shift control, and outputs a clutch control signal to the clutch operating device 20 and a shift control signal to the gear transmission 14. The controller 22 receives signals from various sensors. Specifically, an idle signal from an accelerator sensor 22a that indicates the amount of depression of an accelerator pedal (not shown), a shift position signal from a position sensor 22b that detects a position position of a shift lever (not shown), and a vehicle speed provided on the transmission 12 are detected. A vehicle speed signal from the vehicle speed sensor 22c, and a shift / select stroke signal from the stroke sensor 22d provided in the gear transmission 14 and detecting the stroke are input to the controller 22. The controller 22 is configured to automatically perform a clutch operation and a gear shift operation by outputting a clutch control signal to the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 and a shift control signal to the gear transmission 14.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 1, the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 includes a housing 24 and a motor 25 that is provided outside the housing 24 and rotates a rotary shaft 25 a according to a command from the controller 22. The motor 25 may be any of a DC motor, an AC motor, an SR motor, a stepping motor, and the like, and a pair of motors 25 in this embodiment are provided. Inside the housing 24 is connected to a rotating shaft 25a of a motor 25 and rotates with the rotation of the rotating shaft 25a, a worm wheel 27 that meshes with the worm gear 26 and rotates with the rotation of the worm gear 26, and a worm wheel 27 A rod 28 whose one end is pivotally supported around the shaft and the other end moves as the worm wheel 27 rotates, and the other end of the rod 28 is connected to a piston 29a, and the piston 29a moves inside the cylinder body 29b to supply hydraulic oil. A hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder 29 for supplying and discharging is provided. Here, the worm wheel 27 is provided with one end of an urging device 17 that assists the rotation of the worm wheel 27 by the urging force of the coil spring 17 a, and the other end of the urging device 17 is pivotally supported by the housing 24. . The hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder 29 is provided with a reservoir tank 29c for storing the hydraulic oil. The piston 29a is returned to the inside of the cylinder body 29b so as to suck the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster 21. An energizing coil spring 29d is provided.

  The clutch operating device 20 of the present invention further includes a clutch pedal device 30 that supplies and discharges hydraulic oil proportional to the amount of depression of the clutch pedal 30a. The clutch pedal device 30 in this embodiment is used for emergency only when a malfunction occurs in the electrical relationship of the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 and the like, and the clutch pedal 30a is folded during normal traveling. The clutch operating device 20 realizes an automatic clutch operating function by operating the clutch booster 21 with hydraulic oil supplied and discharged by the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 according to a command from the controller 22 during normal traveling. The clutch booster 21 is operated by hydraulic oil supplied and discharged by the clutch pedal device 30 in an emergency in which the discharge device 23 cannot function, thereby realizing a manual clutch operation function.

  The clutch pedal device 30 is connected to an oil passage 31 that connects the clutch booster 21 and the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23, and supplies a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil to the oil passage when the clutch pedal 30a is depressed. When the clutch pedal 30a that has been stepped on is restored, the amount of hydraulic oil supplied to the oil passage 31 is sucked from the oil passage 31. The oil passage 31 is provided with a relief valve 32. The relief valve 32 supplies excess hydraulic oil from the oil passage 31 to the hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder 29 when an amount of hydraulic oil exceeding a predetermined amount is supplied to the clutch booster 21 via the oil passage 31. It is comprised so that it may recirculate | reflux to the reservoir tank 29c.

The operation of the clutch operating device configured as described above will be described.
The controller 22 during normal running performs a gear shift operation in accordance with a shift position signal from a shift lever (not shown). Specifically, when receiving the gear shift signal from the shift lever, the controller 22 outputs a clutch control signal to the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 to rotate the rotating shaft 25a of the motor 25. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the worm gear 26 is rotated, and the worm wheel 27 meshing with the worm gear 27 is further rotated to move the rod 28 in the direction indicated by the solid line arrow, thereby pushing the piston 29a. Then, a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied from the hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder 29 to the clutch booster 21 via the oil path 31. As a result, the clutch booster 21 rotates the clutch lever 13a to change the clutch 13 from the connected state to the disconnected state.

  Next, the controller 22 outputs a shift control signal to the gear transmission 14 and drives a motor (not shown) to perform a gear shift. Finally, the controller 22 outputs a clutch control signal to the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 again, and rotates the motor 25 in the opposite direction. Then, as indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. 1, the worm gear 26 rotates in the reverse direction, the worm wheel 27 also rotates in the reverse direction, and the rod 28 is pulled back. As a result, the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster 21 is sucked, passes through the oil passage 31 in the reverse direction, and returns to the hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder 29. As a result, the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster 21 decreases below a predetermined amount, and the clutch booster 21 rotates the clutch lever 13a in the reverse direction to bring the clutch 13 from the disconnected state to the connected state. Thereby, the automatic gear shift operation by the controller 22 is completed.

Next, the operation when an abnormality occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 will be described. Here, abnormalities in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 may include damage to the worm gear 26, engagement of the worm gear 26 and the worm wheel 27, or so-called seizure or disconnection of the motor 25.
First, when a malfunction occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 in a state where the hydraulic oil is not supplied from the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 to the clutch booster 21, the clutch operation by the clutch pedal device 30 is performed as it is. Is possible. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the clutch pedal 30a is depressed, a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied to the oil flow path 31 by the depression, and the oil path 31 passes through the oil path 31 as indicated by solid arrows. A predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied to the clutch booster 21. As a result, the clutch booster 21 rotates the clutch lever 13a to change the clutch 13 from the connected state to the disconnected state.

  Next, a shift lever (not shown) is operated to output a shift control signal from the controller 22 to the gear transmission 14 to perform a gear shift. Thereafter, the depressed clutch pedal 30a is returned to restore the clutch pedal 30a. Then, as indicated by a broken line arrow in FIG. 1, the hydraulic oil supplied to the oil flow path 31 is sucked from the oil flow path 31, and the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster 21 is sucked to the oil flow path 31 by the oil flow path 31. The clutch booster 21 rotates the clutch lever 13a in the reverse direction to change the clutch 13 from the disconnected state to the connected state. This completes the manual gear shift operation.

  Next, a case where a malfunction occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 in a state where a predetermined amount or more of hydraulic oil is supplied from the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 to the clutch booster 21 will be described. In this case, since the clutch 13 is in a disengaged state, as shown in FIG. 4, first, the clutch pedal 30 a in the clutch pedal device 30 is forcibly depressed, and a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied to the oil passage 31. Supply forcibly. Then, the relief valve 32 provided in the oil flow path 31 recirculates excess hydraulic oil in an amount exceeding a predetermined amount from the oil flow path 31 to the reservoir tank 29c as indicated by a solid line arrow. Then, when the clutch pedal 30a is fully depressed, the excess hydraulic oil is recirculated, and the clutch booster 21 is maintained in a state where an amount of hydraulic oil necessary for the operation is supplied, and the clutch 13 is in a disconnected state. Kept.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the clutch pedal 30 a that has been depressed is returned and the clutch pedal 30 a is restored as indicated by a solid arrow, hydraulic oil is sucked from the oil passage 31. Here, a malfunction occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23, and no hydraulic oil is supplied / discharged from the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 to the oil flow path 31. Therefore, the hydraulic oil is supplied from the oil flow path 31 by the clutch pedal device 30. When sucked, the hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster 21 is sucked into the oil flow path 31 and decreases below a predetermined amount. Therefore, the clutch booster 21 rotates the clutch lever 13a in the reverse direction to bring the clutch 13 from the disconnected state to the connected state. When the clutch pedal 30a is stepped on again, a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied from the clutch pedal device 30 to the oil passage 31 by the stepping on as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. Is supplied with a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil. As a result, the clutch booster 21 rotates the clutch lever 13a, and the clutch 13 changes from the connected state to the disconnected state again. As a result, the clutch pedal device 30 can be engaged and disengaged.

  Thus, in the clutch operating device 20 of the present invention, even when a malfunction occurs in the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 in a state where the hydraulic oil is supplied from the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 23 to the clutch booster 21. By excessively depressing the clutch pedal 30a in the clutch pedal device 30, excess hydraulic oil exceeding a predetermined amount can be recirculated from the oil passage 31 to the reservoir tank 29c via the relief valve 32. Thereby, the clutch operation by the clutch pedal 31a of the clutch pedal device 30 becomes possible. Therefore, the clutch operating device 20 can eliminate the hydraulic selection device that has been conventionally required to recirculate surplus hydraulic oil. As a result, the clutch operating device 20 that is relatively inexpensive than the conventional one can be obtained. Obtainable.

It is a block diagram which shows the clutch operation apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 which shows the state by which the clutch was cut | disconnected by the command of the controller. It is a block diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 which shows the state by which the clutch was cut | disconnected by the clutch pedal apparatus. It is a block diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 which shows the state which the hydraulic fluid recirculate | refluxed from the relief valve to the reservoir tank. It is a block diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 which shows the state which restored the clutch pedal after the hydraulic fluid recirculates. It is a figure which shows the structure of an automatic transmission provided with the clutch operating device.

Explanation of symbols

13 Clutch 20 Clutch operating device 21 Clutch booster 22 Controller 23 Hydraulic oil supply / discharge device 25 Motor 25a Rotating shaft 26 Worm gear 27 Worm wheel 28 Rod 29 Hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder 29a Piston 29b Cylinder main body 29c Reservoir tank 30 Clutch pedal device 30a Clutch pedal 31 Oil flow path 32 Relief valve

Claims (2)

When a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied, the clutch (13) is changed from the connected state to the disconnected state, and when the supplied hydraulic oil is sucked and decreases below a predetermined amount, the clutch (13) is changed from the disconnected state to the connected state. Clutch booster (21),
A reservoir tank (29c) for storing the hydraulic oil is provided, and a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied to the clutch booster (21) or a hydraulic oil supplied to the clutch booster (21) according to a command from the controller (22). A hydraulic oil supply / discharge device (23) for reducing the hydraulic oil sucked from the clutch booster (21) and supplied to the clutch booster (21) to less than a predetermined amount;
The oil booster (21) and the hydraulic oil supply / discharge device (23) are connected to an oil flow path (31), and a predetermined amount of hydraulic oil is supplied to the oil flow path (31) by depressing a clutch pedal (30a). A clutch pedal device (30) for sucking hydraulic oil supplied to the oil passage (31) from the oil passage (31) by restoration of the clutch pedal (30a) supplied and stepped on,
When the amount of hydraulic oil exceeding the predetermined amount is supplied to the clutch booster (21) via the oil flow path (31) provided in the oil flow path (31), excess hydraulic oil is removed from the oil flow path. A clutch operating device comprising: a relief valve (32) for recirculating from (31) to the reservoir tank (29c). The hydraulic oil supply / discharge device (23) is connected to the motor (25) that rotates the rotating shaft (25a) according to a command from the controller (22), and the rotating shaft (25a) is connected to the rotating shaft (25a). A rotating worm gear (26), a worm wheel (27) that meshes with the worm gear (26) and rotates with the rotation of the worm gear (26), and one end pivotally supported around the worm wheel (27). A rod (28) whose other end moves as the wheel (27) rotates, and the other end of the rod (28) is connected to the piston (29a), and the piston (29a) moves inside the cylinder body (29b). The clutch operating device according to claim 1, further comprising a hydraulic oil supply / discharge cylinder (29) for supplying and discharging hydraulic oil.

Images