JP4036104B2 - Clutch operating device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to a clutch operating device, and more particularly to a clutch operating device capable of manually operating a clutch or automatically controlling the clutch.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 7 shows an example of a conventional clutch operating device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This clutch operating device includes a power cylinder 102, a control valve 104, and a relay means (relay cylinder) 106. ing.
[0003]
In the power cylinder 102, a power piston 110 is disposed in a shell 108, and the inside of the shell 108 is divided into an atmospheric pressure chamber 112 and an air pressure chamber 114. In addition, a port 120 is formed in the housing 116, and an inner side of the port 120 opens into the air pressure chamber 114. A free piston 124 is fitted into a cylinder 122 provided on the back side of the power cylinder 102, a liquid chamber 126 is formed at one end (right end in the figure), and the other end is one end of a rod 128 provided at the power piston 110. Abut. When the master cylinder 130 is connected to the liquid chamber 126 and the clutch pedal 132 is depressed, the hydraulic pressure generated in the master cylinder 130 is introduced into the liquid chamber 126.
[0004]
The control valve 104 includes a valve lifter 136 slidably fitted in the valve hole 134 and an air valve 138 disposed in series with the valve lifter 136. The valve lifter 136 has a liquid chamber 140 at one end (the left end in the figure) and a variable pressure chamber 142 at the other end. The liquid chamber 140 of the valve lifter 136 communicates with the liquid chamber 126 of the cylinder 122 into which the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder 130 is introduced, and the variable pressure chamber 142 communicates with the atmosphere via a passage inside the valve lifter 136. The air valve 138 is seated on the valve seat when not in operation to shut off the variable pressure chamber 142 and the air reservoir 144. When the valve lifter 136 moves to the right, the variable pressure chamber 142 is cut off from the atmosphere. 138 is opened and connected to the air reservoir 144.
[0005]
The variable pressure chamber 142 is connected to one inlet port of the double check valve 148 via a conduit 146. The outlet port of the double check valve 148 is connected to the port 120 through a conduit 150. The other inlet port of the double check valve 148 is connected to the air reservoir 144 via the electromagnetic valve 152.
[0006]
In this clutch operating device, when the clutch pedal 132 is depressed during manual operation, the fluid pressure of the master cylinder 130 is sent to the fluid chamber 126 of the cylinder 122 and the fluid chamber 140 of the control valve 104, and the free piston 124 operates (left And the valve lifter 136 is operated (right row). Then, the valve lifter 136 opens the air valve 138, and the compressed air introduced from the air reservoir 144 into the variable pressure chamber 142 is sent to the air pressure chamber 114 of the power cylinder 102 via the double check valve 148 to drive the power piston 110. . The output of the power cylinder 110 is transmitted to the clutch operation lever 156 via the push rod 154 of the relay means 106, and the clutch is disengaged.
[0007]
In the case of automatic control, the controller 158 switches the solenoid valve 152 and introduces compressed air from the air reservoir 144 into the air pressure chamber 114 of the power cylinder 102 via the port 120 to operate the power cylinder 102. Let
[0008]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-321946 (page 3-4, FIG. 1)
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The conventional clutch operating device described in Patent Document 1 uses the air pressure chamber 114 of the power cylinder 102 as an automatic clutch by controlling the pressure by an electromagnetic valve 152 provided outside. There was a problem that there were many, and the attachment property to a vehicle was bad. Further, since pressure air is supplied and discharged from the outside via a pipe, a double check valve, etc., there is a problem that the response is not good.
[0010]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a clutch operating device that can reduce the number of parts and improve vehicle assembly. It is another object of the present invention to provide a clutch operating device with high responsiveness.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the clutch operating device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the air valve is switched by the operation of the spool valve, the compressed air from the air pressure source is introduced into the air pressure chamber of the power cylinder, and the power piston is driven through The push rod for operating the clutch is operated, and in particular, an electric actuator is provided on the same axis as the spool valve and the air valve, and the spool valve is driven by the electric actuator.
[0012]
In the clutch operating device according to the present invention, the electric actuator is arranged coaxially with the spool valve and the air valve, and when the clutch is automatically controlled, the spool valve is directly driven by this electric actuator to open and close the air valve, Since the clutch is connected and disconnected, the responsiveness is excellent, the number of parts can be reduced, and the size can be reduced, so that the mountability to the vehicle and the assemblability are improved.
[0013]
The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the electric actuator is a solenoid valve.
[0014]
Furthermore, the invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the solenoid valve is capable of being liquid-tight.
[0015]
The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the electromagnetic valve and the hydraulic pressure chamber of the spool valve are blocked by a seal ring.
[0016]
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the electric actuator is a motor.
[0017]
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, a seal member is interposed between the motor and the hydraulic pressure chamber of the spool valve to seal the motor side, and the motor is driven via the seal member. It is characterized by transmitting to.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an entire clutch control system including a clutch operating device (indicated by reference numeral 1 as a whole) according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 are enlarged views of the main part (control valve part).
[0019]
The clutch control system is operated by operating the clutch pedal 2 to generate a hydraulic pressure, and the hydraulic pressure output from the master cylinder 4 is introduced and the power cylinder 6 is operated to operate the clutch. The clutch operating device (clutch actuator) 1 for connecting and disconnecting the clutch 10 by moving the push rod 8 forward and backward is provided. The clutch operating device 1 is attached to the side wall of the transmission 12.
[0020]
The clutch operating device 1 is operated automatically by the electric actuator 14 in addition to the manual operation that is operated by the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder 4 generated by the operation of the clutch pedal 2 as described above. It can be operated. Although the detailed configuration of the clutch operating device 1 will be described later, the power cylinder 6 is operated by switching the air valve of the control valve 16 by the electric actuator 14. In this embodiment, an electromagnetic valve is used as the electric actuator 14.
[0021]
As a transmission operation device (gear shift unit) 28 to be combined with a clutch control system for connecting / disconnecting the clutch 10 manually or automatically, various transmission operation devices have been known. 28 may be combined.
[0022]
The electromagnetic valve 14 of the clutch operating device 1 is controlled to cut off the supply of current by a clutch control device (control unit) 18. The control unit 18 receives a signal from the rotation sensor 20 that detects the rotation of the clutch pedal 2, a signal from the first clutch sensor 22 that detects the operating state of the clutch pedal 2, and a signal from the second clutch sensor 24. The The first clutch sensor 22 is turned on in the pedal free state and turned off when the pedal is depressed, and the second clutch sensor 24 is turned off in the pedal free state and turned on when the pedal is depressed.
[0023]
Further, a signal from the change lever 26 and a signal from the gear shift unit 28 are input to the control unit 18. Further, an accelerator opening signal, an engine rotation signal, and a vehicle speed signal are input via the engine control device (engine ECU) 30. On the other hand, a clutch-side signal is sent to the gear shift unit 28 and the engine ECU 30.
[0024]
Next, the configuration of the clutch operating device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The clutch operating device 1 includes a power cylinder 6, a hydraulic cylinder 32, and a control valve 16.
[0025]
The power cylinder 6 includes a power piston 36 slidably fitted in a cylinder shell 34, and the power piston 36 divides the cylinder shell 34 into an air pressure chamber 38 and an atmospheric pressure chamber 40. Yes. A piston rod 41 is fixed to the axial center portion of the power piston 36 and moves forward and backward integrally.
[0026]
The hydraulic cylinder 32 is provided in a cylinder body 44 formed in a main housing 42 that closes an opening of the cylinder shell 34. A free piston 46 and a hydraulic piston 48 are slidably disposed in the cylinder hole 44 a of the cylinder body 44. The free piston 46 and the hydraulic piston 48 divide the inside of the cylinder hole 44 a into a hydraulic chamber 50, an intermediate chamber 52 and an atmospheric chamber 54. A spring 56 is disposed between the free piston 46 and the hydraulic piston 48 to urge the pistons 46 and 48 in opposite directions.
[0027]
The control valve 16 includes a hydraulic spool valve 58 and an air valve 60. The spool valve 58 and the air valve 60 are provided in a valve hole 64 formed in both the main housing 42 and the valve housing 62 fixed to the main housing 42. A valve lifter 66 constituting a hydraulic spool valve 58 is slidably fitted to the valve hole 64 on the main housing 42 side. The valve lifter 66 divides the inside of the valve hole 64 into a hydraulic chamber 68, an exhaust chamber 70 and a variable pressure chamber 72, and is constantly urged toward the hydraulic pressure chamber 68 by a spring 74 disposed in the variable pressure chamber 72. Yes. In addition, an internal passage 66a composed of an axial passage and a radial passage is formed in the valve lifter 66. One end of the internal passage 66a opens at the tip of the valve lifter 66 on the variable pressure chamber 72 side, and the other end of the internal passage 66a. It opens into the exhaust chamber 70 and is open to the atmosphere via the exhaust port 76.
[0028]
An air valve 60 is disposed on the valve housing 62 side of the valve hole 64. The valve body 78 of the air valve 60 faces the valve lifter 66 and is urged by a spring 80 and seated on the valve seat 82 when the control valve 16 is not in operation. In a state where the valve body 78 is seated on the valve seat 82, the compressed air supply port 84 connected to an air tank (not shown) and the variable pressure chamber 72 are blocked. The variable pressure chamber 72 communicates with the air pressure chamber 38 of the power cylinder 6 via a passage 62a in the valve housing 62 and a pipe line 63 (see FIG. 1).
[0029]
The hydraulic pressure chamber 68 of the hydraulic spool valve 58 communicates with the hydraulic pressure chamber 50 of the hydraulic cylinder 32 through a passage 86 formed in the main housing 42, and the hydraulic pressure chamber 50 of the hydraulic cylinder 32 is in the main housing 42. The inlet port 90 communicates with a passage 88 formed in As shown in FIG. 1, the inlet port 90 of the main housing 42 is connected to an output pressure chamber of the master cylinder 4 operated by the clutch pedal 2 via a pipe line 92.
[0030]
The piston rod 41 of the power piston 36 passes through the guide block 94 fitted in the cylinder hole 44a, and further passes through the free piston 46 and abuts one end surface of the hydraulic piston 48. A push rod 8 for clutch operation is in contact with the end surface of the hydraulic piston 48 on the atmosphere chamber 54 side. The other end (right end in FIG. 2) of the push rod 8 is connected to a clutch outer lever (not shown). The stroke of the clutch operating push rod 8 is detected by a clutch rotation sensor 96.
[0031]
An electromagnetic valve 14 as an electric actuator is fixed to a side surface of the main housing 42 provided with the control valve 16 on the hydraulic spool valve 58 side. The electromagnetic valve 14 is positioned coaxially with the hydraulic spool valve 58 and the air valve 60 arranged in series with the hydraulic spool valve 58, and operates when a current is supplied by a signal from the control unit 18. The rod 14a advances and pushes the valve lifter 66 of the hydraulic spool valve 58 to open the air valve 60. The solenoid valve 14 itself has a structure that can be liquid-tight. In addition, a seal ring 98 is interposed in the attachment portion of the electromagnetic valve 14 to the main housing 42 to keep the fluid pressure chamber 68 fluid tight.
[0032]
The operation of the clutch operating device 1 will be described. In the case of manual operation, when the clutch pedal 2 is depressed, the liquid in the output pressure chamber of the master cylinder 4 is pumped from the inlet port 90 through the passage 88 to the hydraulic chamber 50 of the hydraulic cylinder 32 and further into the passage 86. To the hydraulic pressure chamber 68 of the hydraulic spool valve 58. Accordingly, the free piston 46 is moved to the right in FIG. 2, and the valve lifter 66 is pushed to the right in FIGS.
[0033]
When the valve lifter 66 is actuated, the tip of the valve lifter 66 comes into contact with the valve body 78 of the air valve 60 to close the internal passage 66a, and further moves to push the air valve 60 open. When the valve body 78 of the air valve 60 is separated from the valve seat 82, the compressed air supply port 84 and the variable pressure chamber 72 communicate with each other. Then, compressed air in an air tank (not shown) is supplied from the variable pressure chamber 72 to the pressure chamber 38 of the power cylinder 6 through the passage 62a and the pipe 63 (see FIG. 1). The compressed air supplied to the pressure chamber 38 moves the power piston 36 to the right in FIG. When the power piston 36 moves forward, the piston rod 41 and the hydraulic piston 48 move to the right in FIG. 2 to move the clutch operating push rod 8 forward. As the clutch operating push rod 8 moves forward, a clutch outer lever (not shown) is operated to disengage the clutch 10.
[0034]
When the depression force of the clutch pedal 2 is released, the pressures in the hydraulic chamber 50 of the hydraulic cylinder 32 and the hydraulic chamber 68 of the hydraulic spool valve 58 are reduced, and the valve lifter 66 is returned to the state shown in FIG. Then, the internal passage 66a of the valve lifter 66 is opened, the variable pressure chamber 72 is opened to the atmosphere from the exhaust chamber 70 and the exhaust port 76 via the internal passage 66a, and the air in the pressure chamber 38 of the power cylinder 6 is discharged to the pipe 63 and the control valve. It is discharged to the atmosphere through 16 variable pressure chambers 72. Then, the power piston 36, the piston rod 41, the hydraulic piston 48, and the push rod 8 are restored to the state shown in FIG. 2, and the clutch outer lever is restored and the clutch 10 is engaged.
[0035]
When the operation of the clutch 10 is automatically performed, the electromagnetic valve 14 is actuated by a signal from the control unit 18 and the valve lifter 66 is moved to the right in FIG. Then, the control valve 16 performs the same operation as in the manual operation, the valve lifter 66 presses the valve body 78 of the air valve 60 to open the air valve 60, and the compressed air from the air tank is passed through the variable pressure chamber 72. This is sent to the pressure chamber 38 of the power cylinder 6 to operate the power cylinder 6 and disengage the clutch 10. When the solenoid valve 14 is switched in reverse by a signal from the control unit 18, the pressure chamber 38 of the power cylinder 6 is opened to the atmosphere via the pipe 63 and the variable pressure chamber 72, and the power piston 36 and the piston rod 41 are returned. Then, the push rod 8 for clutch operation returns and the clutch 10 is engaged.
[0036]
An example of the actual operation of the clutch operating device 1 capable of manual operation and automatic operation of the clutch 10 as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in FIG. 4, if a clutch disengagement instruction is issued from the control unit 18 at step 1 (S1 in FIG. 4), whether or not the first clutch sensor 22 is off at step 2 (S2). Determine whether. When the first clutch sensor 22 is off, that is, when the clutch pedal 2 is depressed, the clutch is manually disengaged, so that the drive of the solenoid (solenoid valve) 14 is stopped in step 3 (S3).
[0037]
When the first clutch sensor 22 is not turned off in step 2 (S2), that is, when the clutch pedal 2 is not depressed, it is necessary to automatically disengage the clutch. In step 4 (S4), the solenoid 14 is driven with the maximum current. Further, in step 5 (S5), it is determined again whether or not the first clutch sensor 22 is OFF. If Step 5 (S5) is Yes, the clutch is manually disengaged, so the process proceeds to Step 3 (S3) and the drive of the solenoid 14 is stopped.
[0038]
When Step 5 (S5) is No, it is determined whether or not the detection value of the clutch rotation sensor 96 has reached the target value, that is, whether or not the clutch disengagement position has been reached. If the clutch disengagement position has not been reached, the process returns to step 4 (S4), and the solenoid 14 is driven again with the maximum current. On the other hand, if the detected value of the clutch rotation sensor 96 has reached the target value, in step 7 (S7), the solenoid 14 is PWM-controlled with a duty ratio that can maintain the clutch disengaged state.
[0039]
Next, the operation from the clutch disengaged state will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the clutch disengaged state in step 11 (S11), it is determined in step 12 (S12) whether or not the first clutch sensor 22 is off. If No, that is, if the clutch pedal 2 is not depressed, step 13 ( In S13), it is determined whether a clutch engagement instruction is issued from the control unit 18. When No, that is, when the clutch engagement instruction is not issued, in step 14 (S14), the solenoid 14 is PWM-controlled at a duty ratio that can maintain the clutch disengaged state.
[0040]
When the clutch engagement instruction is issued in step 13 (S13), the solenoid 14 is driven by PWM control according to the clutch engagement instruction value from the control unit 18 in step 15 (S15). After the solenoid 14 is driven, it is determined in step 16 (S16) whether or not the clutch 10 is engaged. If the clutch 10 is not yet connected, the process returns to step 15 (S15), and the solenoid 14 is further driven. . If the clutch 10 is engaged at step 16 (S16), the drive of the solenoid 14 is stopped at step 17 (S17). The position of the clutch rotation sensor 96 at this time is instructed from the control unit 18.
[0041]
If the first clutch sensor 22 is OFF in step 12 (S12), that is, if the clutch pedal 2 is depressed, the position of the clutch pedal rotation sensor 20 is measured in step 18 (S18). In step 19 (S19), the rotational speed of the clutch pedal rotation sensor 20 is calculated. Subsequently, in step 20 (S20), the position of the clutch rotation sensor 96 is measured. Thereafter, in step 21 (S21), the drive of the solenoid 14 by PWM control is gradually reduced according to the speed of the clutch pedal rotation sensor 20 and the position data. If the PWM driving force of the solenoid 14 becomes zero% in step 22 (S22), the driving of the solenoid 14 is stopped in step 23 (S23). If the PWM driving force of the solenoid 14 is not zero%, the process returns to step 21 (S21) to further reduce the PWM driving of the solenoid 14. Steps 18 (S18) to 23 (S23) are a mechanism for smoothly changing from the state in which the clutch 10 is automatically operated to the pedal depression force when the clutch pedal 2 is depressed.
[0042]
In this embodiment, since the electric actuator 14 that directly drives the control valve 16 of the clutch operating device 1 is provided, the responsiveness can be improved as compared with the configuration in which the control valve is driven by an electromagnetic valve provided outside. . In addition, the number of parts can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, it can reduce in size and can improve the assembly property to a vehicle. Further, since proportional control can be performed by a linear solenoid, it is not necessary to attach an expensive air proportional control valve to the outside.
[0043]
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a main part (control valve 116) of the clutch operating device 101 according to the second embodiment, and shows a part corresponding to FIG. 3 of the first embodiment. is there. Therefore, the same parts as those in FIG. Further, since the configuration of the parts other than the part shown in FIG. 6 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.
[0044]
In this embodiment, a motor 114 as an electric actuator is fixed to the side surface of the main housing 42 provided with the control valve 116 on the hydraulic spool valve 58 side. A shaft 114a that moves forward and backward by the drive of the motor 114 is arranged coaxially with the hydraulic spool valve 58 and the air valve 60 that are arranged in series, and when a current is supplied by a signal from the control unit 18, the motor 114 is driven, its shaft 114a moves forward, pushes the valve lifter 66, and opens the air valve 60.
[0045]
Since the motor 114 cannot be kept fluid-tight inside like the electromagnetic valve 14 of the first embodiment, the seal member 199 completely forms a gap between the hydraulic chamber 68 in the valve hole 64 and the motor 114 side. Sealed. This seal member 199 has a configuration in which a double seal 199b is fitted on the outer periphery of a bottomed cylindrical body 199a, and a shaft 114a of a motor 114 is inserted into the cylindrical body 199a, and the bottom surface of the cylindrical body 199a is inserted. The forward / backward movement of the shaft 114a is transmitted to the valve lifter 66 of the hydraulic spool valve 58. In addition, a seal ring 198 is interposed at a portion where the motor 114 is attached to the main housing 42.
[0046]
Also in the second embodiment, since the motor 114 that directly drives the control valve 16 is attached to automatically control the clutch operating device 101, the same operational effects as the first embodiment can be obtained. Can do.
[0047]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the electric actuator for directly driving the control valve is provided, the responsiveness can be improved as compared with the configuration in which the control valve is driven by an electromagnetic valve provided outside. In addition, the number of parts can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, it can reduce in size and can improve the assembly property to a vehicle.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system showing the overall configuration of a clutch control system including a clutch operating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clutch operating device.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the clutch operating device.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating another operation of the clutch operating device.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a clutch operating device according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a conventional clutch operating device.
[Explanation of symbols]
6 Power cylinder 8 Push rod 14 Electric actuator (solenoid valve)
58 Spool valve 60 Air valve

Claims (6)

In the clutch operating device that switches the air valve by the operation of the spool valve, introduces compressed air from the air pressure source into the air pressure chamber of the power cylinder, and operates the clutch operating push rod via the drive of the power piston.
A clutch operating device, wherein an electric actuator is provided coaxially with the spool valve and the air valve, and the spool valve is driven by the electric actuator. The clutch operating device according to claim 1, wherein the electric actuator is a solenoid valve. The clutch operating device according to claim 2, wherein the electromagnetic valve is liquid-tight. The clutch operating device according to claim 2, wherein the electromagnetic valve and a hydraulic pressure chamber of the spool valve are blocked by a seal ring. The clutch operating device according to claim 1, wherein the electric actuator is a motor. 6. The motor side is sealed by interposing a seal member between the motor and the hydraulic pressure chamber of the spool valve, and the drive of the motor is transmitted to the spool valve via the seal member. The clutch operating device described in 1.

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