JP2611701B2 - Automatic transmission gearbox - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transmission for an automatic transmission.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional transmissions for automatic transmissions include:
For example, there is one similar to that shown in FIG. 3 similar to that described in JP-A-1-76820.

[0003] The automatic transmission 1 directly connected to the engine is adapted to switch the shift range in accordance with the rotational position of a select range lever 3 connected to a manual valve.

On the other hand, an operation unit 5 attached to a steering column is used to instruct a shift range such as parking: P, reverse: R, neutral: N, drive: D, second speed: 2, first speed: 1, and the like. Select switches 7 are arranged, and by selectively operating these switches, a corresponding shift instruction signal is issued from the operation unit 5.

The shift control unit 9 receives the shift instruction and issues an operation instruction signal.
1 rotates the select range lever 3 of the automatic transmission 1 to the designated shift position via the motor lever 13 and the cable 15 in response to the operation instruction signal. This rotation position is detected by the inhibitor switch 17, and as a result, a shift range detection signal is fed back to the shift control unit 9.

The shift control unit 9 receives signals from a vehicle speed signal 19, an engine rotation signal 21, a brake signal 23, a throttle opening signal 25, a throttle fully closing signal 27, an ignition key position signal 29, and the like. For shift control.

[0007]

However, in such a conventional transmission for an automatic transmission, the size of the step motor 11 is limited from the viewpoints of cost, weight, installation space, and the like.

On the other hand, the automatic transmission 1 is provided with a lock mechanism in which the latch is mechanically coupled to the gear at the P position, so that the shift from another position to the P position or from the P position to the other position is performed. The required shifting torque is about twice as large as the shifting torque between the other positions. In particular, since the gears are reversely driven from the tire side on a slope, the locking force of the locking mechanism is further increased, and a larger shifting torque is required.

Under such circumstances, in order to obtain a sufficient shifting torque by the small stepping motor 11, the relative relationship of shortening the motor lever 13 and increasing the length of the select lever 3 is sufficient. The small drive torque of the motor 11 is amplified and the manual valve of the automatic transmission 1 can be switched.

On the other hand, in order to transmit the operation of the step motor 11 to the manual valve of the automatic transmission 1 via the link mechanism including the motor lever 13, the cable 15, and the select range lever 3, a shift instruction signal is issued from the operation unit 5. Thereafter, there is a time lag (approximately 0.7 seconds) until the shift of the automatic transmission 1 is completed. If this time lag is, for example, 1 second or more, the driver will feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, if the motor lever 13 is shortened and the selector range lever 3 is lengthened as described above, the shifting torque can be sufficient to release the latch even on a slope or the like. Since the amount increases, the time lag until the completion of the shift may exceed 1 second.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a transmission for an automatic transmission which can increase the gearshift torque by using a small actuator by changing the lever ratio when necessary, and can suppress an increase in the time lag until the shift is completed. The purpose is to provide.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shift control unit for issuing a corresponding operation instruction in response to a shift instruction from an operation unit, and a shift range of an automatic transmission based on the operation instruction. , A first lever provided on the actuator and rotationally driven by the actuator, a second lever provided on the automatic transmission side and rotated for switching a shift range, and both levers are connected to each other. And a connecting member interlockingly connected to the automatic transmission, wherein a relative length of the first and second levers is adjusted so as to increase a shifting torque transmitted from the actuator to the automatic transmission. A shift instruction detecting means for detecting that a shift instruction has been received from the operation unit; Switching detection means for detecting whether or not an operation of switching the shift range in response to a shift instruction is provided, and a timer for counting a time from detection by the shift instruction detection means is provided. A control means is provided for activating the adjusting means when the shift range switching operation according to the shift instruction is not performed even if the time is exceeded.

[0014]

According to the above construction, when necessary, the relative length between the first lever on the actuator side and the second lever on the automatic transmission side is changed to increase the transmission torque transmitted from the actuator to the manual valve of the automatic transmission. Can be done. In addition, since the relative length of the levers cannot be changed in normal times, the operation amount of the actuator does not increase, and the time lag until the shift is completed can be suppressed.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a transmission for an automatic transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention. The basic configuration is the same as that of FIG. The manual valve is switched according to the rotation position,
The shift range is switched.

That is, parking is performed by the operation unit 5:
P, reverse: R, neutral: N, drive: D,
When a shift instruction is given to an intended travel range by selectively operating a shift position such as a second speed, a second speed, and a first speed, the shift control unit 9 processes an electric signal from, for example, a shift position detector and operates. An instruction signal is issued, and the step motor 11 as an actuator rotates to one of the positions P, R, N, D, 2, and 1 in FIG. 1 in response to the operation instruction signal. This rotation causes the motor lever 1
The select range lever 3 of the automatic transmission 1 is rotated through the cable 3 and the cable 15 to the designated shift position to switch the manual valve, thereby switching the shift range. In this embodiment, the motor lever 13 is a first lever, the select range lever 3 is a second lever, and the cable 15 is a connecting member. The shift position detector and the like and the shift control unit 9 constitute shift instruction detecting means for detecting that a shift instruction has been given from the operation unit 5.

The turning position of the select range lever 3 is detected by an inhibitor switch 17, and as a result, a shift range detection signal is fed back to the shift control unit 9. Therefore, the inhibitor switch 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a switching detecting means for detecting whether or not an operation of switching the shift range in accordance with the shift instruction has been performed.

The shift control unit 9 is connected to an alarm device 31 for notifying the driver when the automatic transmission 1 is not shifted even if an operation instruction signal is issued to the actuator 11.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the relative length between the select range lever 3 and the motor lever 13 is adjusted so that the motor lever 13 increases the shifting torque transmitted from the step motor 11 to the automatic transmission 1 when necessary. Adjusting means 30 is provided. That is, the cable 1
5 is provided so as to be movable along the groove 13a of the motor lever 13, and the motor lever 1 of the cable 15 is moved with the movement of the movable member 33.
3 is configured to be movable in the center direction or the outside direction of the step motor 11. The moving member 33 is urged outward by the spring 35 toward the outside of the step motor 11, and is always in the state of the outside position a. The moving member 33 contacts the solenoid pin 39 of the solenoid 37 attached to the motor lever 13 at the outer position a.

The solenoid 37 is electrically connected to the shift control unit 9 and is turned on and off by an operation instruction signal of the shift control unit 9. The solenoid 37 is normally in the OFF state, and when turned ON, the solenoid pin 39 is protruded along the motor lever 13 to move the moving member 33 against the urging force of the spring 35 so that the inside of the step motor 11 is positioned b. Move to Then, a timer is provided for counting the time from the detection by the shift instruction detecting means, and the shift control unit 9 performs the shift range switching operation according to the shift instruction even if the time set by the timer exceeds the set time. It constitutes control means for operating the adjusting means 30 when not in operation.

The adjusting means 30 can be provided on the select range lever 3 side, or on both the motor lever 13 and the select range lever 3. However, on the select range lever 3 side, in the structure of the adjusting means 30 as in the above embodiment, the movement timing of the moving member 33 is reversed. For example, the connection position of the cable 15 to the select range lever 3 is always on the center side, and is located on the outside when a large shift torque is required.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(A) In the case of normal lever ratio This flowchart is executed by turning on the ignition switch, and during normal gear shifting, the moving member 33 of the cable 15 is moved to the outside position a (FIG.
(Solid line position). Therefore, although there is no increase in the shift torque, the select range lever 3 can be largely moved with a small rotation of the motor lever 13 and the switching response of the manual valve to the rotation of the step motor 11 is quick, so that the occupant may feel uncomfortable. Absent.

That is, it is determined in step S1 whether or not a shift operation of the operation unit 5 has been performed. When the shift operation is performed, the timer is reset (T = 0) (step S1).
2) Operate. An operation instruction signal is issued from the shift control unit 9, and the step motor 11 is rotated in response to the operation instruction signal (step S4). This rotation uses a shift range signal detected by the inhibitor switch 17 to determine whether or not the select range lever 3 of the automatic transmission 1 has rotated to the designated shift position via the motor lever 13 and the cable 15. To judge.
If the shift instruction signal matches the shift range signal, the process proceeds to step S6, and the step motor 11 stops.

If the two do not match in step S5, the process proceeds to step S7, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined time (T = 100) has elapsed since the speed change operation of the operation unit 5. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S3, and the driving of the step motor 11 is continued.

(B) In the case of a lever ratio for increasing the shifting torque In step S7, if the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S8, and the step motor 11 is stopped. Next, in step S9, an operation instruction signal is issued from the shift control unit 9, and the solenoid 37 is turned on. When the solenoid 37 is turned on, the solenoid pin 3
9 protrudes and moves the moving member 33 toward the center of the step motor 11 against the urging force of the spring 35 to be positioned at the inner position b (the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 1). And
The counting is continued (step S10), and the step motor 11 is rotated by the operation instruction signal from the shift control unit 9, and the select range lever 3 of the automatic transmission 1 is instructed via the motor lever 13 and the cable 15. Rotate to the shift position (step S11). At this time, since the connection position of the cable 15 to the motor lever 13 is close to the center of the step motor 11, a larger shift torque is transmitted to the manual valve. For example, when switching from P to D in hill parking or the like, The latch can be smoothly disengaged from the gear for shifting.

Next, in step S12, it is determined whether or not the shift instruction signal from the operation unit 5 matches the shift range signal detected by the inhibitor switch 17. If they match, the step motor 11 is stopped (step S13), and the solenoid 37 is turned off (step S14). When the solenoid 37 is turned off, the moving member 33 returns to the outside a by the urging force of the spring 35.

If the two signals do not match in step S12, the process proceeds to step S15, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined time (T = 400) has elapsed since the shift operation of the operation unit 5 was performed. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S10, and the driving of the step motor 11 is continued.

If the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S16 to stop the step motor 11, and in step S17, an alarm is issued from the alarm device 31 to notify the driver that a shift change cannot be performed. In this case, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the processing of steps S10 to S15 is automatically repeated several times, and the shift challenge by the step motor 11 is automatically performed several times. In this embodiment, the relative length of the lever is changed on the side of the step motor 11, but the relative length of the lever can be changed on the side of the automatic transmission 1. In this case, when the relative length of the lever requires a large torque, contrary to this embodiment, it is necessary to increase the length of the lever.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the structure of the present invention, when the shift range switching operation according to the shift instruction is not performed even if the set time is exceeded after the shift instruction is issued. The shift torque can be increased without increasing the size of the actuator by adjusting the relative lengths of the levers. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly perform switching in a parking range or the like that requires a large shifting torque. Moreover, if the relative length of the lever is returned, the operation amount of the actuator can be reduced, and an increase in the time lag until the shift is completed can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a shift device of an automatic transmission according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart based on the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a shift device of an automatic transmission according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic transmission 3 Select range lever (2nd lever) 5 Operation part 9 Shift control unit 11 Step motor (actuator) 13 Motor lever (2nd lever) 15 Cable (continuous member) 33 Moving member (adjustment means) 35 Spring (adjusting means) 37 Solenoid (adjusting means) 39 Solenoid pin (adjusting means)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A shift control unit for receiving a shift instruction from an operation unit and issuing a corresponding operation instruction, an actuator for switching a shift range of the automatic transmission in accordance with the operation instruction, and a rotation drive provided by the actuator provided by the actuator. An automatic transmission, comprising: a first lever, a second lever provided on the automatic transmission side and rotating for switching a shift range, and a connecting member for interlockingly connecting the two levers. In the transmission, there is provided adjusting means for adjusting a relative length of the first and second levers so as to increase a shift torque transmitted from the actuator to the automatic transmission, and a shift instruction is received from the operation unit. Shift instruction detecting means for detecting that the shift range is switched in accordance with the shift instruction. Switching detection means for detecting whether or not a shift range is provided, and a timer for counting the time from detection by the shift instruction detection means is provided. A transmission for an automatic transmission, further comprising control means for operating said adjusting means when a switching operation is not being performed.