KR20060050840A - Automatic clutch device and method of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

At the time of automatic start of the automatic clutch device, the clutch connection speed is controlled to perform a smooth clutch connection operation. The push rod 22 and the clutch outer lever 24 are connected to the output piston 6 which divides the inside of the power cylinder 2 into two pressure chambers 8 and 10, and the air supply solenoid valve 28 is connected. Opening, compressed air is introduced into the air pressure chamber 8 to block the clutch, and the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned on and off to connect the clutch. The motor output shaft (rack) 50 which moves forward and backward by the drive of the electric motor 42 is arranged on the same axis as the shaft center of the output piston 6, and the motor output shaft 50 is connected to the output piston 6 at the time of clutch connection. Brakes to control the clutch connection speed.

Description

AUTO CLUTCH DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THEREOF {AUTOMATIC CLUTCH DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME}

1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an automatic clutch device (Example 1),

2 is a view seen from the direction II of FIG.

3 is a control flowchart when automatic oscillation is executed by the automatic clutch device;

4 is a graph showing the operation of the clutch stroke, the solenoid valve for exhaust, and the motor at the time of automatic start;

5 is a control flowchart when a normal clutch disconnection / connection is executed by the automatic clutch device;

6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a conventional automatic clutch device;

7 is a graph showing a clutch stroke at the time of automatic start by the conventional automatic clutch device.

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

2: power cylinder 6: output piston

8: pressure chamber (air pressure chamber) 10: pressure chamber (atmospheric pressure chamber)

24: clutch outer lever 28: solenoid valve (supply solenoid valve)

32: solenoid valve (exhaust solenoid valve) 40: auxiliary drive mechanism

42: electric motor 50: output shaft (rack) of the electric motor

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic clutch device and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an automatic clutch device and a control method thereof in which the connection speed is easily controlled when the clutch is connected.

Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional automatic clutch device. The structure of the automatic clutch device of this patent document 1 is demonstrated easily with FIG. In addition, about the conventional structure, the code | symbol (') is attached | subjected to the code | symbol. In the figure, reference numeral 1 'denotes a clutch lever, reference numeral 2' denotes a single-acting cylinder as an actuator for operating the clutch lever, and a cylinder body 2a ', a piston 2b', and a piston rod. 2c ', the piston rod 2c' is connected to the clutch lever 1 'via the relay piston 3' and the push rod 4 '.

One end of the compressed air supply and discharge pipe line 7 'is connected to the pressure chamber 5', and the first solenoid valve 8 'and the second solenoid valve 9 are connected to the compressed air supply and demand pipe line 7'. ') Are connected in parallel. An air tank 10 'that is supplied with compressed air from a compressor 11' mounted on a vehicle is connected to the first solenoid valve 8 '. In addition, an exhaust pipe 12 'is connected to the second solenoid valve 9'. When the first solenoid valve 8 'is excited, the compressed air of the air tank 10' is supplied to the pressure chamber 5 ', and when the second solenoid valve 9' is excited, the pressure chamber ( 5 ') communicates with the atmosphere by the exhaust pipe 12'.

Reference numeral 13 'denotes an electronic control device for controlling the first solenoid valve 8' and the second solenoid valve 9 ', and includes an accelerator opening, an engine speed, a vehicle speed, a brake, and a shift lever ( Each detection signal of the transmission position from 17 '), a signal from the position detector 15' which detects the operation of the piston 2b ', and the like are inputted, and the clutch disconnection / connection command signal is calculated by processing these signals. It is supposed to output.

When the clutch is shut off by the automatic clutch device, the first solenoid valve 8 'is opened and the compressed air in the air tank 10' is supplied into the pressure chamber 5 'of the air cylinder 2'. . Then, the piston 2b 'operates in the clutch blocking direction (direction of arrow a in the drawing) and blocks the clutch. When the clutch is connected, the first solenoid valve 8 'is closed to stop the supply of compressed air into the pressure chamber 5' and the second solenoid valve 9 'is opened. Then, the compressed air supplied in the pressure chamber 5 'is discharged, and the piston 2b' operates in the clutch connection direction (the arrow b direction in a figure), and connects a clutch.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 2691762 (2nd to 3rd pages, FIG. 1)

In the clutch device of the above-described configuration, it is possible to control the discharge speed of the pressurized air supplied in the pressure chamber 5 'by the operation (on / off control) of the second solenoid valve 9'. It is possible to slow down the connection to some extent. However, when controlling the connection speed of the clutch, only the control of the second solenoid valve 9 'which discharges the compressed air from the pressure chamber 5' changes the clutch stroke linearly, as shown in FIG. There is a problem in that, in the stepwise control in which the state in which the stroke is changed to a constant state is alternately repeated, the shock is generated at the time of the half clutch. In addition, by adding the solenoid valve and the orifice, it is possible to reduce the step change in stroke and approach the linear change, but it is not possible to completely eliminate the step change as long as the air is controlled on / off.

Moreover, the said air tank 10 'is a tank of an air brake, and when the internal pressure in the air tank 10' fell too much by brake operation, there existed a possibility that a clutch might not be blocked.

The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein the output piston which is fitted to the reciprocating motion in the power cylinder and partitions the inside into two pressure chambers is connected to the clutch outer lever, and the pressure medium is connected to the two pressure chambers via an electromagnetic valve. An automatic clutch device which operates the output piston to shut off and connect the clutch by suddenly discharging, characterized in that an auxiliary drive mechanism for suppressing the operation of the output piston or providing an assisting force is provided.

In addition, the method of the present invention according to claim 5 connects an output piston, which is fitted so as to reciprocate in a power cylinder and divides the inside into two pressure chambers, to a clutch outer lever, and the solenoid valves to the two pressure chambers. In the control method of the automatic clutch device which operates the said output piston by supplying and discharging a pressure medium via a clutch, and performs the interruption | blocking and connection of a clutch, The suppression of the operation | movement of the said output piston, or provision of assistance force is an auxiliary | assistance containing an electric motor. While being controlled by the drive mechanism, the connection speed of the clutch is variably controlled by a combination of the pressure control of the power cylinder by the solenoid valve and the brake control by the electric motor that is duty controlled. It is.

The automatic clutch device of the present invention can easily control the clutch connection speed by suppressing the operation of the output piston of the power cylinder by the auxiliary drive mechanism. In addition, even when the pressure control of the power cylinder cannot be performed, it is possible to execute the clutch interruption by the auxiliary drive mechanism.

Further, in the control method of the automatic clutch device according to claim 5, the stroke of the clutch is linear, as smooth as possible, and the speed can be limited so as to execute smooth movement.

The clutch outer lever is connected to an output piston partitioned into two pressure chambers in the power cylinder, and an auxiliary drive mechanism is installed in an automatic clutch device that shuts off and connects the clutch by operating the output piston. Therefore, the object of controlling the clutch connection speed is achieved by the structure which applies a brake force to the movement of an output piston.

(Example 1)

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, this invention is demonstrated by the Example shown in drawing. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an automatic clutch device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view seen from the direction II of FIG. 1. The power cylinder 2 of this automatic clutch device is provided with an output piston 6 slidably fitted in a cylinder shell 14, which output piston 6 is in the cylinder shell 4. Is divided into an air pressure chamber (8) and an atmospheric pressure chamber (10). The piston rod 12 is fixed to the shaft portion of the output piston 6 to move forward and backward integrally. A stopper 14 is attached to the atmospheric pressure chamber 10 side of the output piston, and a spring 16 is disposed in the air pressure chamber 8.

The main housing 18 is fixed to the opening side (right side of FIG. 1) of the cylinder shell 4, and this opening is closed. The relay piston 20 is slidably fitted in the cylinder body 18a formed in the main housing 18, and the piston rod 12 of the output piston 6 is fitted to one end surface of the relay piston 20. Is in contact. The other end surface of the relay piston 20 is in contact with one end of the push rod 22 for clutch operation. In addition, the clutch outer lever 24 is connected to the other end of the push rod 22.

One end of the compressed air supply line 26 is connected to the air pressure chamber 8, and the other end of the compressed air supply line 26 is not shown via a first solenoid valve (air supply solenoid valve) 28. It is connected to the air tank. Moreover, between the atmospheric pressure chamber 10 and the said compressed air supply line 26 is connected by the exhaust line 30, and the 2nd solenoid valve (exhaust solenoid valve) 32 in this exhaust line 30 is provided. It is installed. When the air supply solenoid valve 28 is opened, compressed air is supplied from the air tank to the air pressure chamber 8 to move the output piston 6 and the piston rod 12 to the right in FIG. The push rod 22 is moved to the right through 20 to rotate the clutch outer lever 24 to shut off the clutch. Furthermore, by closing the air supply solenoid valve 28 and opening the exhaust solenoid valve 32, the air in the air pressure chamber 8 is sent to the atmospheric pressure chamber 10 to return the output piston 6 (to the left side). By moving the clutch).

The above configuration is the same as that of a conventional general automatic clutch device, and the connection speed of the clutch can be controlled by the on-off control of the second solenoid valve (exhaust solenoid valve) 32, but the linear control as described above. It is not possible to execute (see FIG. 7).

In the automatic clutch device according to this embodiment, the assisting by the electric motor is provided on the air pressure chamber 8 side (left side in FIG. 1) of the cylinder shell 4 so that control of the clutch connection speed can be easily performed. A drive mechanism (indicated by the reference numeral 40 as a whole) is provided. The auxiliary drive mechanism 40 includes a worm 44 which is connected to the drive shaft of the electric motor 42 (see FIG. 2) and rotates, a worm wheel 46 that meshes with the worm 44, and the worm wheel ( The pinion 48 which is fixed to the shaft center of 46 and rotates integrally, and the rack 50 which meshes with this pinion 48 and moves forward and backward with the rotation of the pinion 48 are provided. This rack 50 is a motor output shaft which applies the output of the electric motor 42 to the said output piston 6, and arrange | positions on the same axis as the piston rod 12 fixed to the axial center part of the said output piston 6. It is. The tip portion 50a of the rack 50 faces the inside of the air pressure chamber 8 from the hole formed in the cylinder shell 4 and moves forward and backward in the direction of the output piston 6 by the operation of the electric motor 42. It is supposed to be. In this embodiment, one end 48a of the pinion 48 is taken out from the housing 52, and the rack 50 is moved forward and backward by manually operating the end 48a to operate the clutch. You can run it. Also, reference numeral 54 is a pressure pad that supports the back surface of the rack 50 that engages the pinion 48.

An example of the case where the clutch connection control at the time of automatic start is performed by the automatic clutch device according to the above configuration will be described with reference to the control flowcharts shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, 3, and the timing chart of FIG. 4. do. 4 is a graph showing the change in the clutch stroke, the second stage is a graph showing the on / off operation of the solenoid valve 32 for exhaust, and the third stage is the on / off operation as the motor brake of the electric motor 42. The graph shown and the 4th step are graphs showing on and off of assist operation by normal rotation of the electric motor 42. The brake operation of the electric motor 42 generates a brake force by shorting between the terminals of the electric motor 42, and controls the brake force by the duty control. In addition, the assist by the electric motor 42 moves the motor output shaft (rack) 50 by the rotational force of the electric motor 42, and applies an urging force to the output piston 6 to the right direction of FIG. The speed of the left movement (movement in the clutch connection direction) of (6) is slowed down.

The clutch connection control at the time of automatic start in the automatic transmission is performed by a shift operation by a change lever (not shown) and an accelerator opening signal from an accelerator sensor (not shown). First, in step 1 (S1), control is started by determining whether or not to make clutch connection by automatic start. In step 2 (S2), it is determined whether or not the automatic oscillation is performed by confirming the position at the time of the shift operation and determining whether it has entered the D range. When it is in the D range, it is determined that automatic start is performed, and the clutch is shut off to engage the gear. When the clutch is shut off, the air supply solenoid valve 28 is opened to introduce compressed air from the air tank into the air pressure chamber 8, and the output piston 6 and the piston rod 12 are The clutch is moved in the right direction and the clutch is blocked by rotating the clutch outer lever 24 via the push rod 22. The state of such clutch disconnection is the T1 position of the clutch stroke of FIG. 4, and the clutch connection control is started from this position. Further, in the automatic clutch device according to this embodiment, the electric motor 42 of the auxiliary drive mechanism is driven at the time of starting to move the rack (motor output shaft) 50 to the clutch shutoff position of the output piston 6.

After the clutch is shut off and the gearing is completed, the control for connecting the clutch is started. In step 3 (S3), it is determined whether the clutch is in the standby position, and if not, the standby position control for moving the clutch to the standby position is executed in step 4 (S4).

The standby position control is executed between the T1 position and the T2 position of the clutch stroke shown at the top of FIG. In this stand-by position control, pulse exhaust is performed by opening and closing the solenoid valve 32 for a predetermined time. In this embodiment, the initial pulse (see part indicated by A in the graph of the exhaust solenoid valve of FIG. 4) at the start of the stand-by position control is set as compared with the subsequent normal pulse (see part indicated by B of FIG. 4). Be open for a long time. This is to perform exhaust for a long time by opening the exhaust solenoid valve 32 with an initial pulse for the initial period until an actual clutch starts to operate. Thereafter, the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned on and off by a normal pulse to perform the exhaust. In the stand-by position control for moving the clutch to the stand-by position, in addition to the pressure control of the power cylinder 2 by the exhaust solenoid valve 32, the motor brake is shorted by short-circuit between the terminals of the electric motor 42. To control the movement speed of the clutch. Motor brake control, as shown in the graph of the motor brake of FIG. 4, controls the moving speed of the clutch by duty control (see a portion indicated by C in FIG. 4). Thus, in this embodiment, since the motor brake is turned on and off in addition to turning on and off the solenoid valve 32 for exhaust, the clutch stroke becomes almost straight.

When the clutch moves to the stand-by position, it is next determined in step 5 (S5) whether the accelerator is on by the accelerator opening degree signal from the accelerator sensor, and when the accelerator is on, the clutch connection operation for starting is started. In step 6 (S6), it is determined whether or not the half clutch position is reached. That is, check whether clutch rotation has occurred. If it is not in the half-clutch state, the control to perform the half-clutch state is performed, performing speed control in step 7 (S7). T2 to T3 in FIG. 4 are sections for performing this half clutch control. The clutch is connected by turning the exhaust solenoid valve 32 on and off and driving the electric motor 42. The exhaust solenoid valve 32 performs pulse exhaust. This pulse evacuation is also performed by combining an initial pulse with a long exhaust time (see section D in FIG. 4) with a relatively short normal pulse (see section E in FIG. 4) to return the clutch to the connection side. As described above, until the clutch actually starts to operate (the F position in the graph of the clutch stroke shown in FIG. 4), the exhaust time is increased as an initial pulse, and after the clutch starts to operate, the pulse is normally pulsed. The short time opening is repeated.

Only the pulse control of the solenoid valve 32 for exhaust exhausts the clutch stroke stepwise as in the prior art (see Fig. 7). However, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the assist operation of the clutch is performed by driving the electric motor 42. The stroke is linear, as smooth as possible, and also speed controlled to perform smooth movement (see section G in FIG. 4). In this anti-clutch control, as described above, the electric motor 42 is switched from the motor brake operation C to the motor assist operation G when the solenoid valve 32 for opening and closing is started by an initial pulse. do.

When the clutch is in the anti-clutch state due to the speed limit (refer to the H position of the clutch stroke in Fig. 4), it is determined whether the clutch is synchronized in step 8 (S8). In this step S8, when the difference between the engine speed determined by the accelerator opening degree and the clutch speed becomes less than or equal to the predetermined value, it is determined that the clutch is synchronized. If it is not synchronized, it moves to step 9 (S9), the exhaust solenoid valve 32 will be turned off, and only duty control (current control) of the electric motor 42 will be performed. This is to control the pressing force to the clutch by controlling the electric current, so as to synchronize the clutch.

In step 8 (S8), when the clutch is synchronized, the solenoid valve 32 for exhaust is continuously turned on in step 10 (S10) (refer to the K part of the graph of the exhaust solenoid valve shown in FIG. 4). At the same time, the clutch is connected at once by turning off the electric motor 42 in step 11 (S11) (see T3 to T4).

Next, it is determined in step 12 (S12) whether the clutch is in the fully connected position, and when it is determined that the clutch is in the fully connected position, in step 13 (S13), the exhaust solenoid valve 32 is turned off, and In 14 S14, the electric motor 42 is brake-activated and the brake is applied to the output piston 6 (refer to the portion indicated by L of the motor brake shown in FIG. 4).

As described above, in addition to the on-off operation of the exhaust solenoid valve 32 similar to the conventional one, the auxiliary drive mechanism 40 equipped with the electric motor 42 is provided with the clutch connection operation at the time of automatic start by the automatic clutch device. By actuating the brake, it becomes possible to arbitrarily variably control the connection speed of the clutch, and the clutch can be connected linearly and at a gentle speed.

In addition, although the output from the electric motor 42 of the auxiliary drive mechanism 40 was transmitted to the output piston 6 of the power cylinder 2 by the pinion 48 and the rack 50 in the said embodiment, It is not limited to a pinion, For example, what used the pole screw may be sufficient. The present invention is also applicable to a tandem type automatic clutch device in which two power cylinders, each of which is divided into two pressure chambers by an output piston, are connected in series. The power cylinder 2 also introduces air into one of the two pressure chambers 8, 10 partitioned by the output piston 6 to operate the output piston 6, but operates by vacuum. It is also applicable to a power cylinder. Moreover, although the output of an auxiliary drive mechanism is obtained by the drive of an electric motor, it is not limited to an electric motor, Other actuator can also be used.

FIG. 5 is a control flowchart when the normal clutch is blocked and connected by the automatic clutch device (see FIG. 1), and here, first, in step 21 (S21), a determination is made as to whether to disconnect or connect the clutch ( S21). If it is determined in step 22 (S22) that the clutch is blocked, it is determined in step 23 (S23) whether the clutch block is completed. If the clutch shutoff has already been completed, the air supply solenoid valve 28 is turned off in step 24 (S24). If the clutch shutoff is not completed, the solenoid valve 28 for supply air is turned on in step 25 (S25). Then, compressed air from an air tank (not shown) is introduced into the pressure chamber 8 on the left side of FIG. 1, the output piston 6 and the piston rod 12 move to the right side, and are pushed through the push rod 22. The clutch is blocked by rotating the clutch outer lever 24.

Subsequently, when it is determined that the clutch is connected in step 26 (S26), it is determined whether the clutch connection is completed in step 27 (S27). If the clutch is already connected, the solenoid valve 32 for exhaust is turned off in step 28 (S28). When the clutch connection is not completed, the solenoid valve 32 for exhaustion is turned on in step 29 (S29). When the solenoid valve 32 for exhaustion is turned on, compressed air is discharged from the left pressure chamber 8 of FIG. 1, introduced into the atmospheric pressure chamber 10 on the right side, and the output piston 6 and the piston rod 12 are turned on. Move to the left to connect the clutch.

When the normal clutch disconnection / connection is executed as described above, the clutch is blocked / connected by the same operation as that of the conventional apparatus by turning on and off the air supply solenoid valve 28 and the exhaust solenoid valve 32. Can be. However, when the speed of blocking and connecting the clutch is insufficient, assist by the electric motor 42 may be used. In the automatic clutch device according to this embodiment, since the motor output shaft (rack) 50 and the output piston 6 of the power cylinder 2 are separated, the electric motor at the time of normal clutch disconnection / connection other than the start-up (42) does not become a load. In addition, even when the electric motor 42 is broken, the clutch can be blocked and connected.

The automatic clutch device of the present invention can easily control the clutch connection speed by suppressing the operation of the output piston of the power cylinder by the auxiliary drive mechanism, and even when the pressure control of the power cylinder is not possible, It is possible to execute the clutch cut off by this. In addition, in the control method of the automatic clutch device of the present invention, the stroke of the clutch is linear, as smooth as possible, and the speed can be limited so as to execute smooth movement.

Claims (5)

The output piston, which is reciprocally fitted in the power cylinder and partitions its interior into two pressure chambers, is connected to the clutch outer lever, and the output piston is operated by supplying pressure medium through the solenoid valve to the two pressure chambers. In the automatic clutch device which cuts off and connects a clutch, An auxiliary drive mechanism is provided for suppressing the operation of the output piston or providing an auxiliary force. Automatic clutch device. The method of claim 1, The auxiliary drive mechanism has an output shaft which moves forward and backward by the drive of the electric motor, and the motor output shaft is disposed on the same axis as the axis of the output piston. Automatic clutch device. The method of claim 2, The output piston of the power cylinder is characterized in that it is operable independently of the output shaft of the electric motor (1) Automatic clutch device. The method of claim 1, At the time of clutch disconnection, assisting the operation of the output piston by the auxiliary drive mechanism; Automatic clutch device. The output piston, which is reciprocally fitted in the power cylinder and partitions its interior into two pressure chambers, is connected to the clutch outer lever, and the output piston is operated by supplying pressure medium through the solenoid valve to the two pressure chambers. In the control method of the automatic clutch device which performs interruption | blocking and connection of a clutch, The suppression of the operation of the output piston or the provision of the assisting force is controlled by an auxiliary drive mechanism including an electric motor, and the connection speed of the clutch is controlled by pressure control of the power cylinder by the solenoid valve and duty control. Variable control by a combination of brake control by said electric motor. How to control the automatic clutch device.

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