Four-wheel-drive vehicle

• US 10,507,727 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2018
• Issued: 12/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nozu, Tomohiro, Yamazaki, Tetsuya, Kato, Tomoaki, Matsumoto, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, Edwin A
• Application Number:
  US16/051,608
• Publication Number:
  US 20190039455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 503 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/354 having separate mechanical assemblies for transmitting drive to the front or to the rear wheels or set of wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2023/0833 for adding torque to the rear wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2023/0866 with hydraulic means only
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 23/08 for changing number of driven wheels , for switching from driving one axle to driving two or more axles B60K17/3515 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 23/0808 for varying torque distribution between driven axles, e.g. by transfer clutch

Abstract

In a four-wheel-drive vehicle, a hydraulic unit has an electric motor, to which a motor current is supplied from a control device, and a pump that is actuated by rotation of a motor shaft, and a drive force transfer device has a piston that is moved by the pressure of working oil discharged from the pump, and a friction clutch that is switchable between a transfer state and a blocked state, in which transfer of a drive force to rear wheels is allowed and blocked, respectively, in accordance with movement of the piston. The control device detects the presence or absence of an abnormality of a flow passage forming member, which forms a flow passage for working oil, in accordance with at least any of a motor current and the number of revolutions of a motor shaft at the time when the motor shaft is rotated by applying a voltage to the electric motor.

Claims

1. A four-wheel-drive vehicle comprising:

main drive wheels and auxiliary drive wheels, to which a drive force of a drive source is transferred;

a drive force transfer device that is capable of blocking transfer of the drive force to the auxiliary drive wheels;

a hydraulic unit that supplies a working fluid to the drive force transfer device; and

a control device that controls the hydraulic unit, wherein;

the four-wheel-drive vehicle is switchable between a four-wheel-drive state, in which the drive force is transferred to the main drive wheels and the auxiliary drive wheels, and a two-wheel-drive state, in which the drive force is transferred to only the main drive wheels;

the hydraulic unit has an electric motor, to which a motor current is supplied from the control device, and a pump that is actuated by rotation of a motor shaft of the electric motor;

the drive force transfer device has a piston that is moved by a pressure of a working fluid supplied from the pump to a cylinder, and a clutch that is switchable between a transfer state, in which transfer of the drive force to the auxiliary drive wheels is allowed, and a blocked state, in which such transfer is blocked, in accordance with movement of the piston; and

the control device detects presence or absence of an abnormality of a flow passage forming member, which forms a flow passage for the working fluid, in accordance with at least any of the motor current and a number of revolutions of the motor shaft at the time when the motor shaft is rotated by applying a voltage to the electric motor.

2. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the control device detects the presence or absence of an abnormality of the flow passage forming member in accordance with at least any of the motor current and the number of revolutions of the motor shaft at the time when the motor shaft is rotated by applying a voltage to the electric motor from a state in which rotation of the motor shaft is stopped in a predetermined test operation possible period in which travel is not affected by the drive force which is transferred by the clutch.

3. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 2, wherein:

the hydraulic unit has, as the flow passage forming member, an electromagnetic valve disposed between the pump and the cylinder in the flow passage, a valve opening of the electromagnetic valve being varied in accordance with a current supplied from the control device; and

the control device detects the presence or absence of an abnormality of the flow passage forming member by applying a voltage to the electric motor with an amount of the current which is supplied to the electromagnetic valve set to an amount of a current that brings the electromagnetic valve into a valve open state in the test operation possible period.

4. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 2, wherein:

the hydraulic unit has, as the flow passage forming member, an electromagnetic valve disposed between the pump and the cylinder in the flow passage, a valve opening of the electromagnetic valve being varied in accordance with a current supplied from the control device; and

the control device detects the presence or absence of an abnormality of the flow passage forming member by applying a voltage to the electric motor with an amount of the current which is supplied to the electromagnetic valve set to an amount of a current that brings the electromagnetic valve into a valve closed state in the test operation possible period.

5. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 4, wherein

the test operation possible period is a time when the vehicle is in the two-wheel-drive state.

6. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising:

a propeller shaft that extends in a vehicle front-rear direction, as a constituent element of a drive force transfer system that transfers the drive force of the drive source to the auxiliary drive wheels;

a first engagement/disengagement portion provided on an upstream side of the propeller shaft in the drive force transfer system to allow and block transfer of the drive force; and

a second engagement/disengagement portion provided on a downstream side of the propeller shaft in the drive force transfer system to allow and block transfer of the drive force, wherein;

at least one of the first engagement/disengagement portion and the second engagement/disengagement portion is constituted by the clutch; and

the test operation possible period is a time when the vehicle is traveling with rotation of the propeller shaft stopped with both transfer of the drive force through the first engagement/disengagement portion and transfer of the drive force through the second engagement/disengagement portion blocked.

7. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 2, wherein:

the hydraulic unit has, as the flow passage forming member, an electromagnetic valve disposed between the pump and the cylinder in the flow passage, a valve opening of the electromagnetic valve being varied in accordance with a current supplied from the control device; and

the control device executes, in the test operation possible period, first test operation in which the presence or absence of an abnormality of the flow passage forming member is detected by applying a voltage to the electric motor with an amount of the current which is supplied to the electromagnetic valve set to an amount of a current that brings the electromagnetic valve into a valve open state, and second test operation in which the presence or absence of an abnormality of the flow passage forming member is detected by applying a voltage to the electric motor with the amount of the current which is supplied to the electromagnetic valve set to an amount of a current that brings the electromagnetic valve into a valve closed state.

8. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the test operation possible period is a time when the vehicle is stationary.

9. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the test operation possible period is a time when the vehicle is traveling with a difference between respective rotational speeds of the main drive wheels and the auxiliary drive wheels smaller than a predetermined value.

10. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the test operation possible period is a time when the vehicle is traveling steadily.

11. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the control device detects the presence or absence of an abnormality of the flow passage forming member, which forms the flow passage for the working fluid, in accordance with a time required since a voltage is applied to the electric motor until the motor current reaches a predetermined value.

12. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the control device detects the presence or absence of an abnormality of the flow passage forming member, which forms the flow passage for the working fluid, in accordance with the number of revolutions of the motor shaft made since a voltage is applied to the electric motor until the motor current reaches a predetermined value.

13. The four-wheel-drive vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the control device detects the presence or absence of an abnormality of the flow passage forming member, which forms the flow passage for the working fluid, in accordance with the motor current at a time when the number of revolutions of the motor shaft made since a voltage is applied to the electric motor reaches a predetermined value.