JPS60234128A - Actuator for control of clutch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a friction clutch with good feeling in semi-clutching operation by installing a throttle valve at the fluid pressure chamber in a fluid pressure cylinder of a clutch actuator. CONSTITUTION:A normally closed solenoid valve 20 in communication with a pressure source 8 and through a pipe 19 is fixed at the lefthand wall of a cylinder tube 9 of this clutch actuator concerned, and when a solenoid valve 20 is opened the pressurized fluid flows into a chamber 22 in said cylinder tube 9 via passage 21. A throttle valve 23 is installed on the lefthand wall of the cylinder tube in order to adjust the pressure in the chamber 22, and thus to control the position of a piston 10. Accordingly the operating pressure of the fluid pressure cylinder can be adjusted steplessly by changing continuously the opening of said throttle valve with rotation of the output shaft of a stepping motor 27. This will ensure enhancement of the feeling in engaging the clutch.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clutch control actuator device used for engaging and disengaging a friction clutch.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Hydraulic actuators equipped with electromagnetic valves are widely used to automatically engage clutches in vehicles. As a conventional actuator of this type, for example, working fluid pressure from a working fluid pressure source is supplied to an actuator cylinder, and pressure regulating valves are provided on the inlet and outlet sides of the working fluid pressure of the actuator cylinder, respectively. A structure has been proposed in which a pressure regulating valve is controlled to open and close in accordance with pulse signals to control its average opening degree, thereby controlling a clutch (Japanese Patent Application No. 58-68436).

In this way, the pressure regulating valve is repeatedly opened and closed to control the ratio between the open state period and the closed state period, thereby adjusting the working fluid pressure applied to the actuator cylinder. Then, the movement of the actuator is gradual (and the operation of the clutch in the half-clutch zone is also gradual), resulting in a problem that the feeling at the time of starting is not good. In other words, the clutch control speed differs greatly between a half-clutch start to achieve a shock-free start and a normal shift up/down. It connects in about 1.0 seconds, but it connects in about 0.2 seconds during normal upshifts and downshifts, so the on/off control of the solenoid valve as described above cannot prevent the shock, and it is difficult to prevent it. If you try to do so, you will have to increase the number of solenoid valves, which will cause problems such as increased force. In other words, since there is a limit to improving the response speed (approximately 5 ms) of the solenoid valve with ON/OFF control of the solenoid valve, the only way to connect the clutch slowly is to lengthen the OFF time of the solenoid valve. In order to realize this, it is necessary to increase the number of solenoid valves, and increasing the off time causes problems such as an increase in the time required for starting.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an actuator device for clutch control capable of stepless operation, which can perform half-clutch operation of a friction clutch with good feeling.

Structure of the Invention The structure of the present invention to achieve the above object includes a fluid pressure cylinder connected to the friction clutch for operating the clutch, and a pressure source for supplying pressurized fluid to the fluid pressure cylinder. , characterized in that it comprises a valve means for regulating the fluid pressure supplied from the pressure source to the fluid pressure cylinder, and a throttle valve for regulating the operating pressure of the fluid pressure cylinder.

By adjusting the operating pressure using the throttle valve, a stepless operation actuator is realized, and the clutch can be smoothly engaged.

The opening of the throttle valve can be determined, for example, by using a stepping motor to continuously adjust the position of the valve body of the throttle valve. After the speed is fed back and the vehicle speed reaches a predetermined value (for example, 3 to 51 b/h), the rotational speed of the stepping motor is increased, the clutch is rapidly connected, and the time required for starting can be shortened.

Further, the clutch operation speed may be changed depending on the accelerator opening degree.

Example Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an actuator device for clutch control according to the present invention. This actuator device 1 is a device for operating a friction clutch 4 provided between a vehicle internal combustion engine 2 and a transmission 3, and is connected to a release lever 5 of the friction clutch 4 via a link 6. The hydraulic cylinder 7 has a hydraulic cylinder 7 which is in a state of rotation, and a pressure source 8 which supplies pressurized fluid to the hydraulic cylinder 7.

The fluid pressure cylinder 7 has a cylinder tube 9 and a piston 10 disposed in the cylinder tube 9, and the piston 10 is rotated toward the left in FIG. 1 by a return spring 12 provided in one chamber 11. is spring biased. A stopper 13 is fixed to the piston 1o,
This stopper 13 prevents the piston 1o from moving toward the left from the position shown in FIG. A base end portion of a bushing rod 15 that is inserted into a through hole 14 provided in the cylinder tube 9 so as to be freely advanced and retractable is fixed to the stopper 13, and a distal end portion of the bushing rod 15 projects outward from the cylinder tube 9. ing.

On the right outer wall of the cylinder tube 9, a Nureve member 16 arranged in alignment with the through hole 14 is provided on the right outer wall of the cylinder tube 9.
The tip of the bushing rod 15 is housed in a recess 17a of a movable wing 17 disposed within the sleeve member 16. One end of the connecting rod 18 is connected to the link 6 and the other end of the connecting rod 18 is housed in the recess 17b of the moving member 17.
The link 6 can be driven according to the movement of 0. In the illustrated embodiment, the friction clutch 4 is in the engaged state when the piston 10 is in the illustrated position, and when the piston 10 moves to the right from the position shown in FIG. After passing through the state, it becomes a state of separation.

A pressure source 8 and a pipe 1 are provided on the left side wall of the cylinder tube 9.
A normally closed solenoid valve 20 connected to the cylinder tube 9 is fixed, and when the solenoid valve 20 is opened, pressurized fluid flows through a passage 21 formed in the left side wall of the cylinder tube 9.
It flows into the other chamber 22 within the cylinder tube 9. Therefore, the pressure in the chamber 22 and the return spring 12
It can be positioned in a position where it meets the force of

A throttle valve 23 is further provided on the left side wall of the cylinder tube 9 as a pressure regulating valve so that the pressure within the chamber 22 can be adjusted and the position of the piston 1o can be controlled. The throttle valve 23 has a valve body 25, a part of which is formed into a conical shape corresponding to the shape of the valve seat 24.
A threaded portion 28a of an output shaft 28 of a stepping motor 27 is screwed into a threaded hole 26 formed in the stepping motor 5. The valve body 25 is provided so that it can move forward and backward in the direction of the Y axis, but cannot rotate around the axis.
According to the rotation of the output shaft 28 of the stepping motor 27, the opening degree of the throttle valve 23 can be continuously changed.

A piston 1 is further provided on the right side wall of the cylinder tube 9.
A position sensor 29 is provided for detecting the moving position of the piston 10, and the position of the detection rod 3o, which is lightly pressed against the piston 1o, is displaced by the movement of the piston 10, and a signal indicating this displacement is a position signal P. and is input to the control unit 31. The control unit 31 receives data D indicating vehicle operating conditions (not shown), such as vehicle speed, engine speed, gear position, brake operation state, etc., from the operating condition detector 32, and according to the position signal P and the data D, A first control signal C8 that controls opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve 20 so that the friction clutch 4 is connected and disconnected.
, and a second motor for controlling the rotation of the stepping motor 27.
A control signal C8° is output.

The control unit 31 includes a microcomputer, and executes engagement and disengagement operations of the friction clutch 4 based on a control program stored in the microcomputer, and also generates engine control signals for controlling the internal combustion engine 2. C8 and a transmission control signal C84 for controlling the switching of the transmission 3.

A flowchart of the clutch control program executed within the control unit 31 is shown in FIG. This program is executed by interrupt processing in response to a gear change operation, and first, in step a, it is determined whether the shift lever position after the gear change is in the 1st gear (1st) or reverse (R) position. If the determination result in step a is r YES J, it is determined in step b whether or not to start. In case of starting, step C
The first clutch connection operation for starting
A clutch control operation is carried out, whereas if the clutch is disengaged at start-up, a predetermined second clutch control operation is carried out in step d.

If the determination result in step a is r NOJ,
It is determined whether the gear position is 2nd speed (2nd) or not in step e, and if the determination result is r YES J,
Furthermore, it is determined whether the gear position is the result of an upshift (step f), and the third or fourth clutch control operation is executed in accordance with the determination result (steps g, h).
.

If the determination result in step e is rNOJ, it is determined in step i whether or not the gear position is 3rd speed (3rd), and the fifth or sixth clutch control operation is executed according to the determination result (step j, k).

Each of the first to sixth clutch control operations is executed in accordance with control information read from a table circulated in advance, based on data indicating engine speed, vehicle speed, etc. A detailed flowchart illustrating the first clutch control operation is shown in FIG. The clutch 40 control operation will be described based on FIG. A determination is made as to whether the value of N is decreasing. If the value of N is decreasing, there is a risk that the engine will stop, so the process proceeds to step C8, and a control signal for disengaging the clutch 4 is output.

That is, the stepping motor 27 is driven so that the first control signal C81 opens the stain valve 2o, and the second control signal C82 closes the throttle valve 23, thereby reducing the pressure in the chamber 22. When the pressure is approximately equal to the pressure of the source 8, the piston 10 moves fully to the right, and the clutch 4 is completely disengaged.

If the determination result in step C6 is rNOJ, it is determined in step C4 whether or not the brake is applied, and if the brake is applied, step C
Proceed to step C8, and connect clutch 4 in the same way as in step C8.
If the brake is not applied, the process proceeds to step C6, where the clutch 4 is connected.

To connect the clutch 4, the first control signal C81 closes the stain valve 20, and the second control signal C82 closes the throttle valve 23.
This is executed by driving the stepping motor 27 so that the opening is opened.

FIG. 4 shows the operation of clutch 'g' in step C0 shown in FIG. 3, with time T plotted on the horizontal axis and position X of the piston 10 plotted on the vertical axis. Here, X is the position where the clutch 4 is completely disengaged, X4 is the position where the clutch 4 is completely engaged, and X2 and
The area between 3 and 3 is the half-clutch zone. At time T1, when the solenoid valve 20 is closed and the throttle valve 23 is opened, the piston 1o, which had been moving all the way to the right in the cylinder tube 9, begins to move in the direction of arrow A from position X1 to position X2. and move.

The position of the piston 10 is constantly monitored by a position sensor 29, and in the zone between t, x, and
In order to connect the clutch 4 at a relatively high speed,
The stepping motor 2 is operated to fully open the throttle valve 23.
7 is driven by the second control signal cs. When X=X at time T, the stepping motor 27 is driven so that the metering of the throttle valve 23 reaches a predetermined value because it enters the half-clutch zone, and as a result, the pressure in the chamber 22 becomes X1-. The pressure decreases relatively slowly compared to the rate of pressure drop in the section X *, and the clutch 4 is connected slowly and without shock, and at time , the clutch 4 becomes fully connected.

In the section of X s -

The connecting operation of the clutch 4 is completed at time T4.

As can be seen from the above description, since the pressure regulating means for connecting the shift latch 4 by lowering the pressure in the chamber 22 is a throttle valve, the movement of the piston 10 in the half-clutch zone can be controlled arbitrarily. The speed can be changed slowly and continuously. Therefore, by changing the duty ratio of the pulse signal applied to the solenoid valve as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 4, discontinuity does not appear at all when half-clutching is performed, and even when the clutch is half-clutching, there is no discontinuity at all. The clutch can be connected with a good cuff ring.

In the above, the first clutch control operation was explained in detail.
Regarding the second to sixth clutch control operations shown in FIG. 2, simply changing the metering value of the throttle valve 23 in the half-clutch zone to the optimum value corresponding to the operating conditions at that time,
The operations described above can be applied in exactly the same way.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, since the operating pressure of the fluid pressure cylinder can be adjusted steplessly using the throttle valve, the slow speed operation required when engaging the clutch can be smoothly performed. In particular, the feeling when the clutch is engaged when starting can be significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a detailed flowchart of the first clutch control operation step of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of the first clutch control operation step of FIG.
It is a graph for explaining the clutch connecting operation in the device shown in the figure. 1... Actuator device, 4... Friction clutch, 7
... Fluid pressure cylinder, 8... Pressure source, 10... Piston 20... Solenoid valve, 23... Throttle valve, 27...
, stepping motor, 31... control unit, cs
l...first control signal, C8,...second control signal. Patent applicant: Diesel Kiki Co., Ltd. Agent: Patent attorney: Masatoshi Takano

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fluid pressure cylinder connected to the friction clutch for operating the friction clutch, a pressure source for supplying pressurized fluid to the fluid pressure cylinder, and a pressure source supplied to the fluid pressure cylinder from the pressure source. 1. An actuator device for clutch control, comprising: valve means for controlling fluid pressure; and a throttle valve for regulating the operating pressure of the fluid pressure cylinder.