Interrelated power delivery controls – including engine control – Transmission control – With clutch control
Patent
1995-09-29
1997-05-06
Wright, Dirk
Interrelated power delivery controls, including engine control
Transmission control
With clutch control
477 86, B60K 4122, F16H 5902, F16H 5904, F16H 5970
Patent
active
056265344
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a clutch control system for the automatic control of a motor vehicle clutch which connects an engine with a gearbox under the control of a driver-operated gear ratio selector lever, the control system including an electronic control unit which controls initial clutch take-up on starting of the vehicle, clutch re-engagement following each ratio change, clutch disengagement on movement of the gear selector lever to change the operative ratio of the gearbox, and clutch disengagement on the coming to rest etc of the vehicle. Such a clutch control system is herein after referred to as a clutch control system of the kind specified.
Examples of such systems are described in the Applicants earlier European patents nos. 0038113, 0043660, 0059035 and 0101220 and European Application No. 0566595.
After assembly a clutch control system of the kind specified requires calibration before it can operate. Such calibration can prove to be a time consuming process which is difficult to incorporate into a vehicle assembly line manufacturing procedure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a clutch control system of the kind specified which overcomes the above calibration problem.
Thus according to the present invention there is provided a clutch control system of the kind specified characterised in that the control unit incorporates an automatic calibration routine which is invoked on the initial keying-on of the system, said routine comprising a predetermined sequence of events in which the system responds to actions of the operator and at predetermined points in the calibration routine advises the operator that the system is ready to proceed to the next stage of the calibration.
In a typical clutch control system of the kind specified the clutch is spring engaged (eg by a diaphragm spring) and is disengaged by an hydraulic or other fluid pressure operated actuator the supply of fluid to, and exhaust of fluid from, which is controlled by the control unit via a solenoid-operated fluid flow control valve having a null position in which flow of fluid to and exhaust of fluid from the actuator is shut-off. The control unit also receives signals indicative of the position of an associated throttle, the state of engagement of the clutch, vehicle engine speed, vehicle speed, gearbox ratio currently selected, and loading (eg push or pull loading) on the gear selector lever.
When applying the present invention to such a clutch control system the calibration routine typically includes the measurement and saving to memory of signals representative of the following parameters: which controls the supply of fluid to and exhaust of fluid from an associated clutch actuator, and of gear selector lever positions for each ratio of the gearbox.
In a preferred arrangement calibration of the neutral range of positions of the selector lever and the foot-off throttle position takes place in parallel with calibration of the clutch clamped position and the null-position solenoid valve current, and after checking that all these calibrations have been sucessfully completed, the calibration routine issues a first operator advice signal.
Preferably the first and all subsequent operator advice signals comprise the sounding of an audible warning (eg a buzzer) and/or the activation of a visible warning (eg a flashing indicator light).
The calibration of the neutral range of the gear selector lever is obtained by the operator moving the lever to a neutral position, the system checking that no selecting force is currently being applied to the gear selector lever thus confirming that the opearator has placed the lever in the intended neutral position, and the system then measuring and saving to memory a signal representative of a neutral plane position and ascribing a permissable future range of neutral selection positions based on the measured neutral position.
The foot-off throttle calibration is achieved by the system simply recording the signal corresponding to a fully released throttle.
The clutch clamped position is
REFERENCES:
patent: 3910388 (1975-10-01), Moori et al.
patent: 4499793 (1985-02-01), Jow et al.
patent: 4629045 (1986-12-01), Kasai et al.
patent: 5042133 (1991-08-01), Peterson et al.
patent: 5065849 (1991-11-01), Kono et al.
"Automotive Engineering" vol. 101, No. 9, Sep. 1993 p. 70.
Ashley Jonathan D.
Jones Charles J.
Automotive Products plc
Germain Lee A.
Milliken Paul E.
Wright Dirk
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