JPH0419238Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a clutch control device suitable for use in vehicles, particularly automobiles.

As is well known in the field of technology, the clutch device that is interposed between the engine and transmission of a car and controls the transmission of power is often operated manually by the driver, and is used for long-distance driving. In this case, it causes considerable fatigue for the driver. On the other hand, so-called automatic transmissions that do not require clutch operation are already widely used, but they have the disadvantage of being extremely complex and expensive.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above, and is a clutch control device for a vehicle that has a structure that is extremely simple and therefore inexpensive compared to conventional automatic transmission devices, and that can greatly reduce the driver's clutch operation effort. The purpose is to provide the following. The object of the present invention is to include a clutch actuating member for controlling engagement and release of a clutch interposed between an engine and a transmission, and a pressure response device connected to the clutch actuating member. The pressure response device is fitted in a cylinder, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder, a piston shaft connecting the piston to the clutch actuating member, and slidably in the piston shaft in the axial direction. The cylinder includes a control valve that controls the supply and discharge of working fluid to a clutch engagement side working chamber and a clutch release side working chamber partitioned by a piston, wherein the engine and the output shaft of the clutch are substantially connected to each other. a synchronizing signal pressure generating means that emits a synchronizing signal pressure when the rotational speed becomes the same; a pressure chamber partitioned by the piston shaft and the control valve to which the synchronizing signal pressure is supplied and discharged; and a pressure chamber driven by the engine. A control circuit includes a generator that generates a current that is approximately proportional to an increase or decrease in engine speed, and an excitation means that is excited by the current from the generator,
The control valve is moved along the axis by the excitation means in the clutch engagement direction when the engine speed increases and in the clutch release direction when the engine speed decreases, and the piston is moved along the axis of the control valve. for a vehicle, wherein the clutch is displaced in the same direction following the synchronizing signal pressure generating means, and the clutch is displaced so as to be fully engaged by supplying signal pressure from the synchronizing signal pressure generating means to the pressure chamber. This is realized by a clutch control device.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, in the schematic diagram of FIG.
is a known clutch interposed between the engine 10 and the transmission 12; 16 is a clutch operating member for controlling engagement and release of the clutch 14; 18 is operatively connected to the clutch operating member 16; The detailed structure of the pressure-responsive device will be described later.
20 is a generator known per se that is connected to the engine 10 and driven by the engine to generate a current that increases according to the engine speed; 22 is an accelerator pedal that controls the fuel supply to the engine 10; and 24 is an accelerator pedal 22. A variable resistor 26 is connected to a variable resistor whose resistance value increases as the amount of pedal depression increases when the pedal is depressed. button 2 on the instrument panel.
8' is closed and the clutch 1
4 is a clutch switch that is automatically opened when fully engaged; 30 is an air tank that stores compressed air as a working medium to be supplied to the pressure-responsive device 18; 32 is a clutch switch that is connected to the pressure-responsive device 18 and the air tank 30; A solenoid valve 34 interposed between the clutch and the clutch 14 receives signals from a rotation speed sensor 36 that detects the rotation speed of the engine 10 and a rotation speed sensor 38 that detects the rotation speed of the output shaft of the clutch 14, that is, the input shaft of the transmission 12. when the rotation speed of both becomes equal (preferably about 1
This is a controller that operates the solenoid valve 32 when the state continues for seconds). The rotation speed sensors 36 and 38, the controller 34 and the solenoid valve 3
2 constitute synchronization signal pressure generating means for generating a pneumatic pressure signal indicating synchronization when the engine speed and the clutch output shaft speed become substantially the same speed.

Next, the structure and operation mode of the pressure response device 18 will be explained with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures. The pressure-responsive device 18 includes a cylinder 40 and a piston 42 slidably fitted within the cylinder, the shaft 44 of which is pivotally connected at one end to the clutch actuating member 16. The inside of the cylinder 40 is divided by the piston 42 into a clutch engagement side working chamber 40a and a clutch releasing side working chamber 40b, and a control valve 48 is slidably axially provided in a hollow hole 46 of the piston shaft 44. is fitted in.
Inside the control valve 48, a compressed air supply passage 50 communicating with the air tank 30 and an exhaust passage 52 communicating with the atmosphere are provided. The above supply passage 50
By the relative displacement of the control valve 48 in the axial direction with respect to the piston shaft 44, compressed air is supplied to either the clutch engagement side working chamber 40a or the clutch releasing side working chamber 40b, or to both of them. The air supply hole 44a of the piston shaft 44,
It communicates with air supply holes 50a and 50b that cooperate with 44b. Similarly, the exhaust passage 52 is connected to the exhaust hole 44a' on the piston shaft 44 so as to communicate either the clutch engagement side working chamber 40a or the release side working chamber 40b with the atmosphere, or to prevent either of them from communicating with the atmosphere. and 44b'. 54a and 54b are electromagnetic coils that are energized by the current generated by the generator 20 and move the control valve 48 to the right in the figure against the return spring 56; 58 is the hollow hole 46 in the piston shaft; The solenoid valve 3 is a pressure chamber formed at the end of the solenoid valve 3, which is configured as a three-way valve through a passage 60.
It is connected to 2.

FIG. 2 shows the engine 10 when it is started and when it is idling, and since the rotation speed of the engine 10 is low, the electromagnetic coils 54a, 54 are connected to the generator 20.
The current supplied to b is correspondingly small and the control valve 4
8 is held in a neutral position by a return spring 56. Next, when the accelerator pedal 22 is depressed to start, the rotational speed of the engine 10 increases and the current supplied to the electromagnetic coils 54a, 54b increases, and as shown in FIG. The control valve 48 moves to the right, and the compressed air in the air tank 30 flows into the supply passage 5.
0 to the clutch engagement side working chamber 40a, while the clutch releasing side working chamber 40b is supplied to the exhaust passage 5.
2, the piston 42 follows the control valve 48 and moves to the right. The rightward displacement of the piston 42 is caused by the electromagnetic coils 54a, 54
The piston ends at a position where the rightward force in the figure applied to the control valve 48 by b and the opposing leftward force of the return spring 56 are balanced, and the piston stops at that position. Due to the right movement of the piston 42, its shaft 4
4, the clutch actuating member 16 is rotated, and the clutch 14 connects the engine 10 and the transmission 12 in a half-engaged state, which is usually referred to as a half-clutch, and the vehicle starts moving. When the accelerator pedal 22 is further depressed for acceleration after starting, and the running resistance of the vehicle changes from static resistance to rolling resistance and is greatly reduced, the rotational speed of the engine 10 further increases, and the electromagnetic coil As the electromagnetic force of 54a and 54b increases, the control valve 48 moves further to the right, and in the same manner as described above, the piston 42 and therefore its shaft 44 move to the right, and the clutch 14 is further urged in the engagement direction. . As a result, the rotational speed of the engine 10 and the rotational speed of the output shaft of the clutch 14 become substantially the same, and if this state continues for a set period of time, for example, one second or more, the signals from the rotational speed sensors 36 and 38 are compared, respectively. The solenoid valve 32 is opened by the output controller 34 as shown in FIG. 5, compressed air in the air tank 30 is supplied to the pressure chamber 58 through the passage 60, and the control valve 4
8 is forcibly pushed to the right stroke end by air pressure, and the clutch 14 is completely engaged by the piston 42 which is displaced following the control valve 48. At this time, there is no problem even if the clutch switch 26 is closed, but it is desirable to open the clutch switch 26 as shown in the figure in order to avoid wasteful power consumption and to reduce durability due to heat generation of the electromagnetic coils 54a and 54b. Further, FIG. 4 shows a case where, immediately after the vehicle starts, the load suddenly increases due to, for example, running onto a curb, and the rotational speed of the engine 10 decreases. In this case, the biasing force of the electromagnetic coils 54a, 54b is Since the control valve 48 is moved to the left by the return spring 56, the piston 42
follows this and moves to the left, operating the clutch actuating member 16 in the clutch releasing direction via the piston shaft 44, thereby reliably preventing the engine 10 from stalling. Furthermore, when starting on a slope, etc., the accelerator pedal 22 will naturally be strongly depressed, and the resistance of the variable resistor 24 attached to the pedal will increase, so the electromagnetic coil Since the biasing forces of 54a and 54b are reduced by the increased resistance, they are balanced with the opposing force of the return spring 56 at a higher engine speed. That is, in this case, the aforementioned half-clutch operation is performed at a higher engine speed than when starting on flat ground, so that the engine 10 can be started smoothly without stalling.

As described above, the vehicle clutch control device according to the present invention includes a clutch actuating member that controls the engagement and release of the clutch, which is interposed between the engine and the transmission, and a clutch actuating member that is connected to the clutch actuating member. a pressure responsive device, the pressure responsive device having a cylinder, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder, a piston shaft connecting the piston to the clutch actuating member, and an axial direction within the piston shaft. a control valve that is slidably fitted into the cylinder and controls the supply and discharge of working fluid to a clutch engagement side working chamber and a clutch release side working chamber, which are partitioned by a piston in the cylinder; a synchronizing signal pressure generating means that emits a synchronizing signal pressure when the output shaft of the clutch and the output shaft of the clutch reach substantially the same rotation speed; and a pressure that is partitioned by the piston shaft and the control valve and to which the synchronizing signal pressure is supplied and discharged. and a control circuit comprising a generator driven by the engine to generate a current substantially proportional to an increase or decrease in engine speed, and an excitation means excited by the current from the generator, the control valve comprising: By the excitation means, the piston is moved along the axis in the clutch engagement direction when the engine speed increases and in the clutch release direction when the engine speed decreases, and the piston is moved in the same direction as the control valve. The clutch is displaced in the direction and the signal pressure from the synchronizing signal pressure generating means is supplied to the pressure chamber to completely engage the clutch, and has a simple and inexpensive structure. This is extremely beneficial as it can greatly reduce the driver's effort to operate the clutch and prevent fatigue.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;
2, 3, 4, and 5 are sectional views showing various operating modes of the pressure-responsive device 18 in FIG. 1, respectively. 10...Engine, 18...Pressure response device, 1
2...Transmission, 20...Generator, 14...Clutch, 22...Accelerator pedal, 16...Clutch operating member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a clutch operating member that controls engagement and release of a clutch interposed between the engine and the transmission;
a pressure responsive device connected to the clutch actuating member, the pressure responsive device comprising a cylinder, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder, and a piston shaft connecting the piston to the clutch actuating member. and a control valve that is slidably fitted in the piston shaft in the axial direction and controls the supply and discharge of working fluid to a clutch engagement side working chamber and a clutch release side working chamber partitioned by the piston in the cylinder. and a synchronizing signal pressure generating means that generates a synchronizing signal pressure when the engine and the output shaft of the clutch reach substantially the same rotation speed; A control circuit comprising a pressure chamber to which signal pressure is supplied and discharged, a generator driven by the engine and generating a current approximately proportional to an increase or decrease in engine speed, and an excitation means excited by the current from the generator. The control valve is moved along the axis by the excitation means in the clutch engagement direction when the engine speed increases and in the clutch release direction when the engine speed decreases, and the piston is moved by the excitation means. The clutch is displaced in the same direction following the control valve, and the clutch is displaced so as to be fully engaged by supplying signal pressure from the synchronizing signal pressure generating means to the pressure chamber. Clutch control device for vehicles.