Motor vehicles – Power – Electric
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-02
2003-01-07
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Motor vehicles
Power
Electric
C180S065600, C180S065700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06502652
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a motor vehicle with at least one primary drive source, and it also relates to a method of operating the motor vehicle.
Motor vehicles with one primary drive source belong to the known state of the art.
In motor vehicles according to the known state of the art, a drive torque is generated by a combustion engine. The drive torque is introduced into a transmission by way of a transmission input shaft. The transmission has different shift levels corresponding to different transmission ratios. The transmission ratio, in turn, determines the amount of torque delivered at the output shaft of the transmission. By way of the transmission output shaft, the differential, and the vehicle axle(s), the torque is transmitted to the wheels and tires of the vehicle which, through their contact to the road, will cause the vehicle to move. Motor vehicles according to this concept have proven themselves for a long time.
Nevertheless, motor vehicles of the known state of the art still have certain characteristics that leave a desire for improvement.
For example, when the transmission is shifted from one gear to another, there is a time gap in vehicle traction because the power train is interrupted during the shift process. This interruption of the tractive force is experienced by the driver as a “nodding effect”. The interruptions in the power flow further represent an inefficient use of engine power, as the output shaft receives no power during the time phases when the traction is interrupted.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a motor vehicle as well as a method of operating a motor vehicle in which an improved degree of efficiency, an increased comfort level for the driver and passengers, and increased flexibility of the power train are combined with reductions in the cost and complexity of the manufacturing process as well as reduced operating costs and improved driving characteristics of the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, the foregoing objective is met by a vehicle which, in addition to a primary drive source and a driving shaft or input shaft, is equipped with an additional superimposed drive source, which will also be referred to as the second or secondary drive source. In this arrangement, the primary drive source, for example a combustion engine, generates an input quantity such as an input torque. The input torque can be transmitted to a driven shaft or output shaft rotating at an output rpm rate. The superimposed drive source allows the input/output ratio to be varied, in particular between the input torque and the output torque or the input rpm rate and the output rpm rate.
While the primary drive source is typically a combustion engine, the superimposed drive source is, for example, an electro-mechanical energy converter, turning electrical energy into mechanical energy and/or vice versa. A preferred mode of operation of the energy converter is as an electrical generator, so that energy can be recovered from the power train of the vehicle.
The invention increases the flexibility of a motor vehicle with a primary drive source. In a motor vehicle equipped according to the invention, the time gaps in the tractive force can be shortened or eliminated. For example, the invention offers the possibility of activating the superimposed drive source during a gear shift, i.e., when vehicle traction is interrupted by un-clutching or disengaging the gear-shift transmission, so that during the interruption, the driving torque is provided by the superimposed drive source, e.g., an electro-mechanical energy converter.
Preferably, such a concept includes the possibility of controlling the ratio between the input quantity and the output quantity.
According to the invention, the foregoing objective is further met by a vehicle which, in addition to a primary drive source and a driving shaft, is equipped with an additional superimposed drive source and with a means of influencing one of the “border-interface” quantities, i.e., the input quantity (e.g., the engine rpm rate or engine torque) or the output quantity (the output rpm rate or output torque). Preferably, the influence is exercised through a control process. The concept of influencing the border-interface quantities in accordance with the invention means in particular that as a result of the activity of the superimposed drive source, the input or output quantity will at least temporarily take on a value that is different from a value that would occur in the absence of the superimposed drive source, if the primary drive source were working at the same operating point.
According to the invention, the foregoing objective is further met by a vehicle with at least one drive source, in particular a combustion engine, to generate at least one input quantity such as an input torque and at least one output shaft to deliver an output quantity such as an output rpm rate, and with at least a part of a planetary gear set operative at least part of the time and interposed at least partially between the primary drive source and the output shaft, where at least one substantially rotatable element of the planetary gear set is connected to a second drive source which can generate a second input quantity, in particular a second input torque.
In other words, a vehicle according to the invention is equipped with at least two drive sources, one of which is a combustion engine, and at least one second drive source is coupled to the power train through a rotatable element of a planetary gear set such as ring gear, planet carrier, planet gear or sun gear.
Thus, according to the invention, a combustion engine can, by way of a gear set, turn the sun gear of a planetary set at a certain rpm rate, while an electro-mechanical energy converter coupled to the ring gear of the planetary set introduces an additional, superimposed torque or rpm rate so that the output rpm rate is increased as a result of the activity of the electro-mechanical energy converter
In an embodiment of the invention as described in the preceding paragraph, the planetary gear set may have, e.g., one ring gear and/or one sun gear and/or at least one planet gear and/or at least one planet carrier. Instead of gears, the planetary set may also have friction wheels as another preferred way of meeting the object of the invention.
According to the invention, the planetary set may have all of the aforementioned elements, i.e., a ring gear, a sun gear, at least one planet gear, as well as a planet carrier. However, the preferred solutions according to the invention also include designs where at least some of these elements are omitted. For example, the scope of the invention also includes planetary sets with only a ring gear, at least one planet gear and a planet carrier. Or, as another example, a planetary set according to the invention could have only a sun gear, at least one planet gear, and a planet carrier. Under the invention, there is substantially no limit in regard to the number of planet gears. Nevertheless, in some arrangements there can be a preference for certain numbers of gears. For example, planetary sets with three planet gears are preferred. However, this does not preclude the use of only one or only two planet gears. Another especially preferred arrangement has four planet gears. The scope of preferred solutions further includes planetary sets with five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten planet gears. However, no limitation on the number of planet gears is implied in mentioning these possibilities.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the motor vehicle has two transmission devices, one of which is a superimposed or secondary transmission. Particularly preferred are arrangements where an rpm rate or a torque of one transmission device is superimposed on an rpm rate or torque of the other transmission device.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one segment of the power train of the vehicle has two
Darby & Darby
Johnson Brian L.
LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG
Phan Hau
LandOfFree
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