KR20020035504A - Semi Automatic Clutch for Automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A semi-automatic clutch device for a vehicle is provided to easily carry out the transmission operation without any manipulation of a clutch pedal but by one-touch manipulation using electricity and air pressure force while keeping the output of a manual transmission system of a large-scaled truck or trailer. CONSTITUTION: A semi-automatic clutch device for a vehicle includes an air cylinder(14) for generating forward/reverse operation force by the air pressure supplied via an air tank(11) and an electronic control valve(12) and operating a master cylinder(15) via an air cylinder lever(24) mounted in parallel with a pedal lever(26) of a clutch pedal(16), and a switch(21) mounted on a shift lever(20) for operating the air cylinder by controlling the battery power applied to the electronic control valve.

Description

Semi-automatic clutch device for vehicle {Semi Automatic Clutch for Automobile}

The present invention relates to a semi-automatic clutch operation device for a vehicle, and in particular, the shift operation is easily performed by one-touch operation using electric force and air pressure without manual operation of the clutch pedal while maintaining the output of a manual transmission applied to a commercial vehicle such as a large truck or a trailer. A semi-automatic clutch operating device for a vehicle that can be performed.

In general, a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission causes the driver to step on the clutch pedal when changing the vehicle speed and stops the vehicle and hassle for the driver's driving operation. Will increase significantly.

Especially in the case of a large vehicle of 5 Tons or more, the fatigue is more serious due to the heavy load due to the clutch operation. As a means to solve this difficulty, the clutch operating device using hydraulic pressure is widely used, but this is a structure that consumes a lot of power, which greatly reduces the engine power. Therefore, a high horsepower engine is inevitably required to install a high horsepower engine. It is a major factor that greatly increases.

In other words, the transmission of automobile power transmission is divided into three types: manual transmission, automatic transmission, and semi-automatic transmission. The semi-automatic transmission is developed for shifting large commercial vehicles such as heavy trucks and trailers. In addition, it is classified into an electro-pneumatic shift (EPS) transmission, and a torque converter shift clutch (torqueconverter-shift clutch) that combines a fluid torque converter and a mechanical clutch.

EPS transmission is a semi-automatic transmission that has multi-stage (6-speed and 16-speed) speeds, high transmission efficiency, low cost, and the use of gear trains with greater load bearing capacity than planetary gears. The mechanical shift linkage connecting the body is replaced by electronic or pneumatic. Accordingly, when the driver shifts the shift lever by the magnet valve and the servo cylinder, the servo cylinder is operated by the control electronics to perform the shift.

On the other hand, the torque converter shift clutch is a method of using an electromagnet control valve for automatically clamping the clutch by the operation of the shift lever by installing a friction clutch between the torque converter and the mechanical transmission. Accordingly, the transmission of the torque converter shift clutch system is semi-automatically shifted by intermittently controlling the friction clutch by the operation of the shift lever without the clutch pedal.

This semi-automatic transmission has both the quick power of the manual transmission and the convenience of shifting operation of the automatic transmission. On the other hand, the structure is simpler than the automatic transmission and can be manufactured at a low cost. Development is underway for passenger cars.

It is a general view that the above automatic or semi-automatic transmissions are not desirable to be applied to commercial vehicles with a significant reduction in engine power despite the high additional burden, thus avoiding the installation of automatic or semi-automatic transmissions to maintain stable output. It is a reality that the phenomenon is very prominent.

In other words, in the case of commercial vehicles already shipped, the installation of these devices additionally lowers the output, thereby reducing the load on the legs while driving and ensuring the precision of clutch control operation and causing the engine to lose power. There is an urgent need for a clutch configuration for both manual and one-touch semi-automatic combinations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a main object thereof is to provide a semi-automatic clutch operating device for a vehicle that can be easily shifted by one-touch operation using electric force and air pressure.

Another object of the present invention, the vehicle semi-automatic clutch operation that can easily perform the shift operation by using one-touch operation using electric force and air pressure without manual operation of the clutch pedal according to the needs of the driver while using the mechanical structure of the existing manual transmission as it is To provide a device.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide the anti-clutch effect by providing the air amount adjusting means supplied to the air cylinder in the structure of the switch, whereby all operations from initial start to shifting during driving are operated by clutch. To provide a semi-automatic clutch operation device for a vehicle that can be made semi-automatic without.

1 is a schematic view showing a clutch operating device according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exemplary configuration of a switch having an air amount adjustment function applied to the present invention.

3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a clutch operating device according to a modification of the present invention;

4 is a configuration diagram showing another example of a link connection according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

11: air tank, 12, 22: solenoid valve, 13: pneumatic regulator, 14: air cylinder, 15: master cylinder, 16: clutch pedal, 20: shift lever, 21: switch, 23: actuator, 24: second lever 26: first lever

The present invention for achieving these objects is at least one master cylinder for operating the clutch between the engaged and released state for the gear shift of the vehicle; A fluid cylinder operated by fluid pressure to drive the master cylinder; A fluid tank connected to the fluid cylinder through a flow path to provide fluid pressure to the fluid cylinder; An electronic control valve for controlling the supply of fluid pressure from the fluid tank to the fluid cylinder by opening and closing the flow path; And a switch for operating the electronic control valve, wherein when the switch is turned on, the electronic control valve opens the flow path from the fluid tank to the fluid cylinder to increase fluid pressure from the fluid tank to the fluid cylinder. And the electronic control valve releases the open state of the flow path when the switch is turned off.

Preferably, the fluid is air, the fluid cylinder is an air cylinder, the fluid tank is an air tank, the fluid pressure regulator is an air pressure regulator, and the fluid pressure is air pressure.

More preferably, the switch has a container-type switch body with one side open, a switch button inserted into the switch body in the form of a push button, and a biasing force in an outward direction of the switch body with respect to the switch button. And an electrical contact on each of the bottom surface of the switch button and the inner bottom surface of the switch body. The electronic control valve is operated when the switch button is pressed to contact the electrical contacts.

The air cylinder has a suction port and a discharge port, and the vehicle semi-automatic clutch actuator includes a first pneumatic regulator connected to each of the electronic control valve and the suction port, and a second connected to each of the electronic control valve and the discharge port. It may include a pneumatic regulator.

In addition, a pneumatic regulating chamber is formed between an inner surface of the switch body and a lower surface of the switch button, the volume of which varies according to the operation of the switch button, and the second pneumatic regulator is configured to connect the electronic control valve and the pneumatic regulating chamber. It may include a first air guide pipe for communicating, and a second air guide pipe for communicating the pneumatic control chamber and the discharge port.

According to an embodiment, said vehicle semi-automatic clutch actuator further comprises a manual clutch actuation assembly, said manual clutch actuation assembly comprising a clutch pedal and a pedal lever integrally connected to said clutch pedal, wherein said clutch pedal is to be stepped on. The pedal lever can be configured to actuate the actuating rod of the master cylinder when the pedal is in the released state.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a main portion of a clutch operating device according to the present invention, Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of a switch having an air amount adjustment function applied to the present invention, respectively.

The present invention performs the same role as the shifting operation using the shift lever 20 when the pedal force acting on the clutch pedal 16 is transmitted to the master cylinder 15 through the pedal lever 26 and the actuating rod 25. Related to the clutch mechanism, it is configured to use battery power together with the pneumatic pressure of the air tank 11 which is generally installed in large vehicles.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air cylinder 14 for operating the master cylinder 15 is an air tank through the air cylinder lever 24 parallel to the pedal lever 26 of the clutch pedal 16. (11) and the electronic control valve 12 are provided to generate the forward and backward operating force by the pneumatic pressure supplied. The electronic control valve 12 sends the pneumatic pressure of the air tank 11 to the chamber of the reciprocating air cylinder 14 to advance back and forth between the operation. The electronic control valve 12 uses a type that is solenoid operated and returned to spring force. At this time, the air cylinder lever 24 connected between the operation of the air cylinder 14 is the body pivot pin 18, which maintains a predetermined distance so as to enable a rotational movement like the pedal lever 26 connected to the clutch pedal 16. It is fixedly installed. Reference numeral 17 is an oil tank in communication with the master cylinder (15).

In addition, according to the present invention, a switch 21 is provided on the shift lever 20 so as to operate the air cylinder 14 by intercepting the battery power applied to the electronic control valve 12. The switch 21 uses a form that returns to the spring force when the push button is released, such as a push button, and is preferably installed at the gripping portion of the shift lever 20 so that the switch 21 is operated simultaneously with the shift operation.

The switch 21 includes a container-type switch body 21a having one side open, a switch button 21b inserted into the switch body 21a in the form of a push button, and a switch body 21a with respect to the switch button 21b. And a compression spring 21c that exerts a biasing force in the outward direction. Each of the bottom of the switch button 21b and the inner bottom surface of the switch body 21a is provided with an electrical contact P. When the switch button 21b is pressed and the electrical contacts P come into contact with each other, the electronic control valve 12 ) Is activated. In addition, between the inner surface of the switch body 21a and the lower surface of the switch button 21b, a pneumatic regulating chamber 211 whose volume is changed according to the operation of the switch button 21b is formed.

The pneumatic regulator 13 is installed between the electronic control valve 12 and the air cylinder 14. Such a pneumatic regulator 13 may be installed in each of the suction port 141 and the discharge port 142 for raising the piston member 14b of the air cylinder 14, but more preferably, the discharge port 142 As shown in FIG. 2, the structure of the pneumatic regulator installed in the N / A is connected to the switch body 21a, and the pair of air induction pipes 12a and 14a and their open areas are varied so as to adjust the amount of air. It can be provided in the structure of the switch button 21b which integrally formed the contact point P in the bottom part which becomes. In this case, the so-called anti-clutch effect can be obtained through this.

In other words, the amount of air supplied to the air cylinder 14 via the electronic control valve 12 is effectively controlled on the switch 21 having the contact point P formed therein so as to interrupt the power supply of the battery. The pair of air induction pipes 12a and 14a communicating with the electronic control valve 12 and the air cylinder 14 respectively along the opposite side walls of the switch body 21a so as to be able to speak, Inside the 21a, a switch button 21b having another contact point P formed on its bottom is provided. Such a switch button 21b may be provided with a release preventing pin (not shown) or the like at the lower end of the switch button 21b so as not to unduly depart from the switch body 21a.

Preferably, the solenoid valve 12 is a solenoid valve, and when the switch button 21b is pressed to contact the electrical contacts P with each other, the solenoid control valve 12 is operated so that the air cylinder from the air tank 11 is released. 14, air pressure is provided. When the electrical contacts P are apart from each other, the electronic control valve 12 is subjected to a biasing spring force to close the flow path from the air tank 11 to the air cylinder 14.

On the other hand, the master cylinder 15 is connected to the oil tank 17 to contain the oil supplied from the oil tank 17. In addition, the master cylinder 15 reciprocates in the master cylinder 15 and actuates the oil in the oil tank 17 to actuate the clutch through the actuator 23 between the engaged and released states of the actuating rod 25. It includes. The air cylinder 14 includes a piston member 14b reciprocating by the air pressure provided from the air tank 11 through the electronic control valve 12 in the air cylinder 14, and the actuating rod 25 It is operated by the piston member 14b.

The piston member 14b of the air cylinder 14 is connected to the air cylinder lever 24, and the air cylinder lever 24 is rotatably installed about the pivot pin 18. As shown in FIG. When the piston member 14b is operated by pneumatic pressure, the air cylinder lever 24 rotates about the pivot pin 18 to push the actuating rod 25 to change the clutch to the released state.

In the clutch operating device of the present invention configured as described above, when the pedal lever 26 is rotated by stepping on the clutch pedal 16, the master cylinder 15 operates to separate the clutch from the conventional operation. If the driver feels fatigue due to prolonged operation, the pneumatic pressure of the air tank 11 is transmitted to the air cylinder 14 at the moment of pressing the switch button 21b installed in the shift lever 20, thereby providing the air cylinder lever 24. ) Is rotated and the master cylinder 15 is operated to space the clutch.

On the other hand, when the operation of the shift lever 20 is completed and the hand is released from the switch button 21b, the switch 21 is turned off and the solenoid control valve 12, the air cylinder 14, and the master cylinder 15 are in their original states. When the switch 21 is applied in a structure that also functions as a pneumatic regulator as shown in FIG. 2, the clutch clutch pedal 16 is operated by pressing the switch button 21b. It is to provide an alternative effect of stepping, by varying the release of the pressed switch button (21b) by varying the open area of the air induction pipe (12a) (14a) that is extended to both sides of the switch body (21a) By adjusting the volume of air, the effect of the anti-clutch is provided.

Therefore, all operations from the initial start to the shifting while driving can be performed semi-automatically without using the clutch pedal at all.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the main portion of the clutch operating device according to a modification of the present invention.

According to a modified embodiment of the present invention, the master cylinder 15 which receives the actuation force of the air cylinder 14, the solenoid valve 22 which is selected among the operating pressures of both master cylinders 15, and the clutch by the selected operating pressure It is also possible to configure an additional installation of the actuator 23 to operate each. In this case, in addition to the master cylinder 15 connected to the clutch pedal 16, a master cylinder 15 operated by the air cylinder 14 is added.

The hydraulic pressure of both master cylinders 15 is selected by the solenoid valve 22. The above-described solenoid valve 12 is for pneumatic use, while the solenoid valve 22 uses hydraulic pressure. Of course, the operation of the solenoid valve 22 uses a switch 21 installed on the shift lever 20.

The actuator 23 converts the hydraulic force into mechanical force for link operation. In other words, when the clutch actuator of FIG. 3 presses the clutch pedal 16 to drive the master cylinder 15, hydraulic force is applied to the actuator 23 through the solenoid valve 22 to apply mechanical force, thereby driving the clutch. This is done. On the other hand, if you want to operate the clutch using the switch button 21b of the shift lever 20 due to fatigue during operation, as described above, the air cylinder 11 of the air tank 11 is pressed at the moment when the switch 21 is pressed. Pneumatic pressure is transmitted to the piston rod 24 'is a linear movement, which leads to the operation of the master cylinder 15 again to space the clutch.

When the operation of the shift lever 20 is completed and the hand is released from the switch button 21b, the switch 21 is turned off and the electronic control valve 12, the air cylinder 14, and the master cylinder 15 are in an original state. Return to.

Although the configuration of FIG. 3 is more complicated than that of FIG. 1, it is not necessary to install the air cylinder lever 24 in the driver's seat as shown in FIG. 1, which is advantageous in terms of utilizing the space of the driver's seat or preventing malfunction. However, in operation, the shift is easy by only pressing the switch 21 is the same.

4 is also a block diagram showing another example of a link connection according to the present invention. The air cylinder levers 24 and 26 are independently connected to the master cylinder 15 so that one side does not affect the operation of the other side. This is substantially the same as the configuration of FIG. 1, in which the air cylinder levers 24 and 26 are vertically installed in FIG. 1, whereas the air cylinder levers 24 and 26 are horizontally installed in FIG. 3. Only different, their configuration and operation are the same. This embodiment also adopts a separate structure where each air cylinder lever 24, 26 operates independently of one another.

That is, it is safe for the pedal lever 26 of the clutch pedal 16 to remain in place while the air cylinder lever 24 is rotating when the switch 21 is operated to operate the master cylinder 15. It is advantageous in terms of driving.

Such a clutch mechanism of the present invention is directly attached to the existing transmission device is easy to shift in semi-automatic one-touch. Operational pneumatics or power sources are available from the vehicle and do not have much difficulty in proper piping and wiring.

In addition, since the semi-auto is selected and used according to the needs of the driver, the fuel cost of driving the vehicle is not greatly increased.

According to the above configuration and action, the present invention has the effect that can be easily performed by one-touch operation using electric force and air pressure without manual operation of the clutch pedal according to the needs of the driver.

It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, such modifications or variations will have to belong to the claims of the present invention.

Claims (12)

At least one master cylinder for actuating the clutch between engaged and disengaged states for gear shifting of the vehicle; A fluid cylinder operated by fluid pressure to drive the master cylinder; A fluid tank connected to the fluid cylinder through a flow path to provide fluid pressure to the fluid cylinder; An electronic control valve for controlling the supply of fluid pressure from the fluid tank to the fluid cylinder by opening and closing the flow path; And a switch for operating the electronic control valve. When the switch is turned on, the electronic control valve opens the flow path from the fluid tank to the fluid cylinder so that a fluid pressure is provided from the fluid tank to the fluid cylinder, and the electronic control when the switch is turned off. The valve is a semi-automatic clutch operating device for a vehicle, characterized in that to release the opening of the flow path. 2. The semiautomatic clutch actuator for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle semiautomatic clutch actuator further comprises at least one fluid pressure regulator disposed between the fluid cylinder and the electronic control valve. 3. The semi-automatic clutch operation of claim 2, wherein the fluid is air, the fluid cylinder is an air cylinder, the fluid tank is an air tank, the fluid pressure regulator is an air pressure regulator, and the fluid pressure is air pressure. Device. The switch body of claim 3, wherein the switch comprises: a container-type switch body having one surface open, a switch button inserted into the switch body in the form of a push button, and a biasing force in an outward direction of the switch body with respect to the switch button. And a compression spring for actuating, each of the bottom of the switch button and the inner bottom surface of the switch body is provided with an electrical contact, and the electronic control valve is operated when the switch button is pressed to contact the electrical contacts. Semi-automatic clutch actuator for vehicles. The electronic control valve of claim 4, wherein the electronic control valve is a solenoid valve, and when the switch button is pressed to contact the electrical contacts, the electronic control valve is operated to provide air pressure from the air tank to the air cylinder. Semi-automatic clutch operating device for a vehicle, characterized in that the electric control valve is applied a biasing spring force in the direction of closing the flow path when the electrical contact is apart from each other. 5. The air cylinder of claim 4, wherein the air cylinder has a suction port and a discharge port, and the vehicle semi-automatic clutch actuator includes a first pneumatic regulator connected to each of the electromagnetic control valve and the suction port, and the electronic control valve and the discharge port. And a second pneumatic regulator connected to each of the ports. According to claim 6, Between the inner surface of the switch body and the lower surface of the switch button is formed a pneumatic regulating chamber in which the volume is variable according to the operation of the switch button, The second pneumatic regulator, the electronic control valve and the And a second air induction pipe communicating with the pneumatic control chamber and the second air induction pipe communicating with the pneumatic control chamber and the discharge port. 4. The master cylinder of claim 3, wherein the master cylinder is connected to an oil tank to contain oil supplied from the oil tank, and engages and releases the clutch through an actuator by reciprocating in the master cylinder and applying pressure to the oil. An actuating rod actuating between states, the air cylinder including a piston member reciprocating by air pressure provided through the electronic control valve from the air tank in the air cylinder, the actuating rod being the piston Semi-automatic clutch operating device for a vehicle, which is operated by a member. 9. The air cylinder of claim 8, wherein the piston member of the air cylinder is connected to an air cylinder lever, and the air cylinder lever is rotatably installed about a pivot pin, so that the air is operated when the piston member is operated by the air pressure. Semi-automatic clutch operating device for a vehicle, characterized in that the cylinder lever rotates about the pivot pin to push the operating rod to change the clutch to the released state. 10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the vehicle semi-automatic clutch actuator further comprises a manual clutch actuation assembly, wherein the manual clutch actuation assembly includes a clutch pedal and a pedal lever integrally connected to the clutch pedal, And the pedal lever actuates an actuating rod of the master cylinder to convert the clutch into a released state. 11. The semi-automatic clutch operating device according to claim 10, wherein the pedal lever and the air cylinder lever are arranged to operate independently of each other. 4. The vehicle semi-automatic clutch actuator of claim 3 further comprising a manual clutch actuation assembly and further comprising first and second master cylinders separated from each other, wherein each of the first and second master cylinders comprises: A first and a second connected to an oil tank to contain oil supplied from the oil tank, and to operate the clutch between engaged and released states through an actuator by reciprocating in each of the master cylinders and applying pressure to the oil; And an actuating rod, wherein the air cylinder includes a piston member reciprocating by air pressure provided through the electronic control valve from the air tank in the air cylinder, wherein the piston member of the air cylinder and the first One working rod constitutes one rod that is integral with each other, and thus the air The piston member pushes the first actuating rod to release the clutch when the piston member is actuated by the manual clutch actuating assembly, the manual clutch actuating assembly includes a clutch pedal and a pedal lever integrally connected to the clutch pedal; And the pedal lever actuates the second actuating rod of the second master cylinder to convert the clutch into the released state when the clutch pedal is depressed.