JP4813277B2 - Drive device for transmission - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is an apparatus developed for use in an automatic transmission of a vehicle using an automobile or other internal combustion engine as a driving power source. In particular, it is a device suitable for use in large cargo vehicles, large buses, towing tractors, and other automatic transmissions for large vehicles. The present invention relates to an apparatus for executing a speed change operation using air pressure installed in a vehicle as a power source. The present invention relates to a device for executing and controlling a shift operation by a program-controlled electronic circuit, and more particularly to a mechanical configuration for smoothly executing the shift operation or the select operation.

  Automatic transmissions that automatically select and set the transmission according to the vehicle speed or the vehicle load are widely used in passenger cars and small or medium-sized vehicles, even if the driver does not frequently change the transmission. . It is desired to equip a large vehicle with an automatic transmission that is easy to drive and that automatically sets and changes the optimum transmission according to the traveling speed or required acceleration.

  In the investigation by the applicant of the present application, the following [Patent Document 1] and [Patent Document 2] describe matters related to the present invention. In [Patent Document 1], paragraph [0023] describes that a damper action is performed when the synchronization of gears is completed. In [Patent Document 2], paragraph [0022] describes that air pressure is supplied to the damper device when the synchronization of the transmission is completed to reduce the operating noise. These are presented in advance as related prior art of the present invention.

Patent No. 2916018 (automotive equipment) JP 2000-230636 (Nissan Diesel etc.)

  The inventors of the present invention designed, prototyped, and tested various types of devices that use pneumatic cylinders as power for speed change control as automatic transmissions suitable for large vehicles. By using a pneumatic cylinder as the power source in this process, the necessary pressing force can be effectively generated before the gear meshes, but the drag suddenly disappears after the gear meshes or after the gear is disengaged. By doing so, it was experienced that the machine element moved at a rapid speed and collided with other machine elements to generate abnormal noise.

  In a large vehicle, a technique using an oil damper provided as a separate device is known in order to restrict rapid movement of members in the transmission in the shift direction or select direction. If this oil damper is simply abolished, there is a possibility that the piston will pop out due to the high-pressure air at the moment when synchronization is completed, and the sleeve and gear may collide. If the synchronization completion is detected by some method and the current of the solenoid valve is cut off by the detection output, it is thought that the movement of the piston will stop. However, even if the current is cut off, the displacement speed of the member is actually reduced immediately. It is difficult to do.

  The present invention has been made in such a background, and is an automatic transmission that uses a pneumatic cylinder as one of the power sources for displacing the machine element. The drag from the machine element that is the driven body suddenly disappears. At times, it is an object to provide a device whose mechanical elements are not unnecessarily accelerated. More specifically, it is intended to provide a device capable of applying a force (braking force) in a direction opposite to the moving direction to a mechanical element when a drag force from the mechanical element suddenly disappears such as a desired gear meshes. Objective. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus in which gears and other mechanical elements do not collide with other mechanical elements to generate mechanical noise.

  The present invention solves this, and includes a first pneumatic cylinder (10), a first piston (12) reciprocating in the pneumatic cylinder, and one of the first pneumatic cylinders (10). A first solenoid valve (1) whose air outlet is connected to the pneumatic inlet, and an air outlet to the opposite pneumatic inlet via the first piston of the first pneumatic cylinder (10). A connected second solenoid valve (2), a second pneumatic cylinder (15), a second piston (14) reciprocating in the second pneumatic cylinder (15), and a second pneumatic cylinder A third solenoid valve (3) having an air outlet connected to the pneumatic inlet of (15), and each air inlet of the first, second and third solenoid valves (1, 2, 3) Are connected to the air pressure source (8) and the piston (10) When the rod 13 is connected to the shift shaft (18) of the driven transmission and air pressure is supplied from the air pressure inlet of the second pneumatic cylinder (15), the piston of the first piston (10) In the drive device of the transmission configured such that the rod (13) can be pressed in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the second piston (14), when the synchronization of the transmission is completed, the first pneumatic cylinder (10) By controlling the solenoid valve that is supplying air pressure to the second pneumatic cylinder (15), the air pressure discharged from the high pressure side of the first pneumatic cylinder (10) is supplied to the low pressure side (the fourth pressure cylinder). The control means (9) for controlling one of the electromagnetic valve 4 and the fifth electromagnetic valve 5 to a conducting state) is provided. The numerals in the parentheses are reference numerals for each element described in the accompanying drawings of the embodiments (the same applies hereinafter).

Means for supplying air pressure discharged from the high pressure side (relative to the piston) of the pneumatic cylinder (10) to the low pressure side includes the air discharge port of the first electromagnetic valve ( 11) and the second electromagnetic valve. A fourth solenoid valve (4) connecting the air outlet of the valve (2), an air outlet of the first solenoid valve (1), and an air outlet of the third solenoid valve (3); And a fifth solenoid valve (5) for connecting the two . It is desirable to provide a throttle (6) in the air passage between the air outlet of the second solenoid valve (2) and the atmosphere. Further, it is desirable to provide a throttle (7) in the air passage between the air discharge port of the third solenoid valve (3) and the atmosphere.

  According to the present invention, when a mechanical force is applied to the movable mechanical element of the transmission, synchronization is completed when the gear of the transmission is engaged, and the mechanical load suddenly disappears. Air pressure is automatically supplied to the low-pressure side of the piston or the second pneumatic cylinder moving in the one pneumatic cylinder via the fourth or fifth electromagnetic valve. As a result, it is possible to avoid a phenomenon in which a braking force is generated in the movement of the piston or the damper, and the movable element to which the force is applied is suddenly accelerated and collides with another mechanical element.

  According to the present invention, with respect to a transmission that displaces a mechanical element using a pneumatic cylinder, when the drag applied to the mechanical element suddenly disappears, the drive device is accelerated and mechanical noise is eliminated. Can do. According to the present invention, auxiliary position control by an electric motor can be eliminated, or the auxiliary electric motor can be reduced in size.

(Example)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main part of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure is displayed as a block diagram in which details are simplified in order to explain the configuration and operation of the present invention. For reference, FIG. 7 shows the structure of a conventional apparatus in which the inventors of the present application have studied the problem with the same drawing. As can be seen by comparing the configuration of FIG. 1 with FIG. 7, the main point of the present invention is the configuration of the exhaust system of the three solenoid valves 1, 2 and 3 and its control means.

  Returning to FIG. 1, this apparatus is a part of a transmission for a large vehicle, and is an apparatus for selecting an effective combination of transmission gears using air pressure. That is, the movement of the piston 12 that reciprocates inside the pneumatic cylinder 10 is transmitted to the piston rod 13 fixed to the piston 12, and the movement of the piston rod 13 is transmitted through the ball joint 17 to the shift lever 16. Is transmitted to. A shift shaft 18 provided on the shift lever 16 so that its axes are orthogonal to each other rotates as shown by arrows in the figure. This shift shaft 18 is a control shaft in the shift direction of the transmission not shown. The position of the shift shaft 18 shown in the figure is the neutral position of the transmission, and the 1st / 3rd speed or the reverse / 2nd speed is selected by rotating in the positive or negative direction around the shaft.

  A piston 14 of a pneumatic cylinder 15 is connected to the piston rod 13. The piston 14 reciprocates in the pneumatic cylinder 15 and exhibits the function of a pneumatic damper. That is, when the piston rod 13 further moves to the right in the drawing, the air pressure in the pneumatic cylinder 15 acts on the piston 14 movably provided in the cylinder structure to suppress the movement. Acts like Further, air pressure is introduced into the pneumatic cylinder 10 from the electromagnetic valve 1 into the space on the left side of the drawing from the position of the piston 12. Similarly, air pressure is introduced from the electromagnetic valve 2 into the space on the right side of the piston 12. Further, air pressure is introduced from the electromagnetic valve 3 into the space of the pneumatic cylinder 15. These solenoid valves 1, 2 and 3 are electrically controlled by a control circuit 9. The control circuit 9 includes a program control circuit, and the opening / closing sequence of each solenoid valve is controlled by software (program). In FIG. 1, the wiring of the control output of the control circuit 9 is displayed. For FIGS. 3 to 7, since the drawings are complicated, the control output wiring display is omitted.

  Further, although not shown here, as is well known, the transmission is provided with a select shaft arranged orthogonal to the shift shaft 18 in addition to the shift shaft 18. An effective combination of gears in the transmission can be selected by a combination of the movements of the shift shaft and the select shaft. Since this structure is a well-known structure, further detailed description is omitted here. The structure of the present invention described below will be described in detail specifically for the shift shaft, but can be similarly implemented for the select shaft.

  Here, the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided with a new solenoid valve 4 between the pneumatic exhaust port of the solenoid valve 1 and the pneumatic exhaust port of the solenoid valve 2, and the air exhaust port of the solenoid valve 1 and the air exhaust of the solenoid valve 3. The greatest feature is that a solenoid valve 5 is newly provided between the outlet. The two additional solenoid valves 4 and 5 are open / close types, and need not be three-way valves like the solenoid valves 1 to 3. These two solenoid valves 4 and 5 are also electrically programmed by the control circuit 9.

  Further, in the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention, the passage for releasing air to the atmosphere is formed in a form that branches the air passage connecting the discharge port of the second solenoid valve 2 and the discharge port of the fourth solenoid valve 4. Similarly, the air passage connecting the discharge port of the third solenoid valve 3 and the discharge port of the fifth solenoid valve 5 is formed to be branched. Then, throttles 6 and 7 are respectively provided at the outlets of the branch passages to the atmosphere to restrict the flow of the released air flow to the atmosphere. The size of the two throttles 6 or 8 depends on various factors such as the air pressure value of the high-pressure air tank 8, the form of each solenoid valve, the thickness and length of the connecting pipe, and can be set by testing. Good. Depending on the design of the duct form, there may be a case where the restriction 6 or 7 is not particularly required.

  Describing the operation of this device, FIG. 2 (1) shows the position of the piston 12 when the non-illustrated transmission is in the neutral position. FIG. 2 (2) shows the position of the piston 12 when the transmission is in the reverse or 2nd position. At this time, the piston shaft is separated from the piston inside the air damper 11. FIG. 2 (3) also shows the position of the piston 12 when the transmission is in the 1st or 2nd position.

  FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 are explanatory diagrams showing the ON / OFF state of each solenoid valve and the air pressure distribution of this apparatus. First, referring to FIG. 3, when the transmission is in the neutral position, the solenoid valve 1 is controlled to be ON and the solenoid valve 2 is controlled to be OFF, thereby increasing the pressure inside the cylinder on the left side of the piston 12 and increasing the pressure on the right side. Air pressure is exhausted and the solenoid valve 3 is controlled to be turned on to supply air pressure to the pneumatic cylinder 15 to activate the damper action. Thereby, the piston 12 balances with the neutral position. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the electromagnetic valve 3 is turned off to reduce the damper action of the pneumatic cylinder 15. As a result, the piston 12 and the piston 14 move to a point where the clutch rotation on the right side of the drawing and the output rotational force are balanced as indicated by arrows in FIG. Then, the synchronization is completed (that is, the gear outside the figure is engaged), and the load on the piston 12 is reduced.

  When the synchronization determination means detects the clutch rotation conversion point or the output stroke start point, and the synchronization completion is determined, when the piston 12 starts to move to the right in the figure, the device of the present invention The solenoid valve 1 is switched from ON to OFF. As a result, the air flow of the solenoid valve 1 is changed as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5, and the pressure on the left side of the piston 12 in the pneumatic cylinder 10 passes from the high pressure state to the solenoid valve 1 and the solenoid valve 5 in the ON state. Will be released to the atmosphere. In this state, when the piston 12 further moves to the right in the figure due to the air pressure remaining on the left side of the diagram of the pneumatic cylinder 10, a part of the pressure on the left side of the piston 12 is electromagnetically applied from the solenoid valve 1 as shown in FIG. It goes into the exhaust port of the electromagnetic valve 3 via the valve 5 and enters a state where the exhaust of the air pressure in the space of the pneumatic cylinder 15 is blocked. Here, it is possible to create a state in which the pressure in the left space of the pneumatic cylinder 10 and the pressure in the space of the pneumatic cylinder 15 are balanced. As a result, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon in which the piston 12 further proceeds to the right in the drawing and generates a collision sound.

  The above describes in detail the state when the transmission shifts from the neutral position to the 1st / 3rd position. However, when the transmission shifts from the neutral position to the rev / 2nd position, the piston 12 is directed leftward in the figure. May generate a collision sound. In this case, the solenoid valve 2 that was initially controlled to be in the ON state is controlled to be OFF when the piston 12 starts to advance. Thereby, the air pressure on the right side of the pneumatic cylinder 10 can be introduced into the space on the right side of the piston 12 of the pneumatic cylinder 10 via the electromagnetic valve 4, and the piston 12 can be prevented from being accelerated unnecessarily to the left.

  Since these can be understood in the same manner from Table 1 shown below, further detailed description of the operation will be omitted. Similarly, when the transmission returns to the neutral position, a desired operation can be performed by opening / closing control of the electromagnetic valve.

  The present invention does not deny the technology for correctly controlling the displacement position of the piston by the electric motor and the worm gear described in the section of the prior art. Depending on the scale of the apparatus, it is possible to design using the means for performing position control with a worm gear after implementing the present invention. In that case, according to the present invention, the electric motor for controlling the piston position can be reduced in size.

The block block diagram which shows the structure of this invention Example apparatus. The figure explaining the positional relationship of the pneumatic cylinder and pneumatic damper of this invention Example apparatus. The figure explaining operation | movement of this invention Example apparatus (when the high pressure side of a cylinder is pressurized). The figure explaining operation | movement of this invention Example apparatus (when the low pressure side of a cylinder and damper atmospheric pressure are exhausted). The figure explaining operation | movement of this invention Example apparatus (when the high pressure side of a cylinder is converted into exhaust). The figure explaining operation | movement of this invention Example apparatus (when the exhaust_gas | exhaustion of a cylinder high pressure side wraps around a damper). The block block diagram (reference diagram) of a prior art apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 1st solenoid valve 2 2nd solenoid valve 3 3rd solenoid valve 4 4th solenoid valve (open / close valve)
5 Fifth solenoid valve (open / close valve)
6 throttle 7 throttle 8 high pressure air tank 9 control circuit 10, 15 pneumatic cylinder 12, 14 piston 13 piston rod 16 shift lever 17 ball joint 18 shift shaft

Claims (3)

A first pneumatic cylinder, a first piston reciprocating in the first pneumatic cylinder, a first solenoid valve having an air outlet connected to one pneumatic inlet of the first pneumatic cylinder, A second solenoid valve having an air outlet connected to a pneumatic inlet of the first pneumatic cylinder opposite to the first piston; a second pneumatic cylinder; and a second pneumatic cylinder A second piston that reciprocates, and a third solenoid valve having an air outlet connected to a pneumatic inlet of the second pneumatic cylinder,
The air inlets of the first, second and third solenoid valves are each connected to a pneumatic source;
An output shaft of the first piston is coupled to a shift shaft of the driven transmission;
A transmission device configured such that when air pressure is supplied from a pneumatic inlet of the second pneumatic cylinder, an output shaft of the first piston can be pressed in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the second piston. In the drive unit of
When the synchronization of the transmission is completed, the pressure discharged from the high pressure side of the first pneumatic cylinder is controlled by controlling the solenoid valve that is supplying air pressure to the first pneumatic cylinder and the second pneumatic cylinder. Means for supplying to the low pressure side ,
Means for supplying air pressure discharged from the high pressure side of the first pneumatic cylinder to the low pressure side thereof,
A fourth solenoid valve connecting the air outlet of the first solenoid valve and the air outlet of the second solenoid valve, and the air outlet of the first solenoid valve and the third solenoid valve. A transmission device for a transmission , comprising: a fifth solenoid valve that connects the air discharge port .   The drive device for a transmission according to claim 1, wherein a throttle is provided in an air passage between the air discharge port of the second solenoid valve and the atmosphere.   The drive device for a transmission according to claim 1, wherein a throttle is provided in an air passage between the air discharge port of the third electromagnetic valve and the atmosphere.

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