Method for the automatic control of a gearbox, in particular on a motor vehicle

• US 4,324,322 A
• Filed: 09/28/1978
• Issued: 04/13/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jean-Paul Sibeud
• Original Assignee: Jean-Paul Sibeud
• Inventors: Sibeud, Jean-Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Krizmanich, George H.
• Application Number:
  US06/946,508
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 192/4 A, 192/0.033, 192/0.032, 192/0.03, 192/3.56, 192/3.55, 192/3.54, 192/3.51, 192/3.61, 192/3.63, 192/0.092, 74/866
• US Class Current: 477/78
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2702/02 Automatic transmission with toothed gearing
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2702/04 Control dependent on speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/02 including control of driveline clutches
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/10 including control of change-speed gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/11 Stepped gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/19 Improvement of gear change, e.g. by synchronisation or smoothing gear shift
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/0403 Synchronisation before shifting
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/682 with interruption of drive
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 63/502 for smoothing gear shifts

Abstract

A manual or automatic control method for the gearbox of a vehicle by use of an electronic computer.

The electronic computer controls the clutch and the dogs of the gearbox:

either through the manual intervention of the driver,

or in the event of a "kick down" of the accelerator pedal,

or else automatically on the initiative of a processing device 300. The method permits automization of a standard gear box, which can also be supplied in non-automatic form.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a gearbox with a plurality of gear ratios provided with dogs, on a vehicle which includes, an engine, a clutch, means for opening and closing said clutch, gearbox control means, gearbox condition detector means, memory means, ratio selection means, means for determining rotational speeds of input and output shafts of said gearbox, engine speed control means, means for determining the speed of said engine, means for determing the acceleration of said vehicle, and means including controls for effecting a sequence of operations, which operations are carried out automatically and including electrical and electronic circuits which operate as loop chains, comprising:

(a) opening the clutch;

(b) putting said gearbox into neutral, by means of said gearbox control means;

(c) selecting the largest gear ratio n'"'"' of more than one gear ratios useable at the existing speed of said vehicle;

(d) memorizing by said memory means an electrical binary code representing said selected gear ratio n'"'"', and simultaneously memorizing by said memory means data representing the character of a change in gear ratios;

(e) using said gearbox control device to place said gearbox into said selected gear ratio n'"'"';

(f) simultaneously closing said clutch;

(g) using said gearbox condition detector to determine whether the gearbox is in said selected gear ratio n'"'"', with the dogs of gear ratio n'"'"' meshed together;

(h) comparing selected gear ratio n'"'"' with the condition of said gearbox as determined by said gearbox condition detector to determine whether said condition is equivalent to said selected gear ratio; and

(i) if said condition is equivalent to said selected gear ratio, cancelling said date memorized in said memory means to prepare for a new cycle.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein, the selection of a new gear ratio is made:

on the initiative of a ratio selecting device, upon change in output of said engine.

3. A method according to claim 1 for the control of a gearbox provided with individual synchromeshes, including the steps of:

(a) closing said clutch after said gearbox condition detector means indicates that said gearbox is in neutral;

(b) adjusting the speed of said engine using said engine speed control device to cause the rotational speeds of input and output shafts of said gearbox to become related by a predetermined ratio; and

(c) opening said clutch before using said gearbox control device to cause said gearbox to be placed into said selected gear ratio n'"'"'.

4. A method according to claim 1, including the steps of:

selecting upper and lower engine speed limits and causing memorization thereof by said memory means;

monitoring the engine speed with at least one of said means;

predicting the engine speed under said selected ratio n'"'"' with at least one of said means; and

proceeding with a change of ratio to said selected ratio n'"'"' only if the predicted engine speed is within said upper and lower engine speed limits.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the selection of said gear ratio n'"'"' is made manually.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the selection of new gear ratio n'"'"' is made by depressing an accelerator.

7. A method according to claim 6, including:

depressing said accelerator rapidly into fully depressed position and thereby transmitting an order to select the highest ratio useable at a given vehicle speed as said ratio n'"'"';

causing memorization of the latter said ratio n'"'"'; and

thereafter placing said gearbox in the latter said selected ratio n'"'"'.

8. A method according to either one of claims 6 or 7, including:

retaining said gearbox in the gear ratio n'"'"' on full release of said accelerator to effect breaking action of said engine.

9. A method according to any one of claims 6 or 7, including:

changing to a different ratio n'"'"' when the acceleration of said vehicle exceeds a predetermined limit.

10. A method according to anyone of claims 6 or 7, including:

changing to a different ratio n'"'"' when the speed of said engine reaches anyone of predetermined points on an engine speed cut-off curve.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein:

one of said predetermined points on said cut-off curve lies substantially in the middle of said curve.

12. A method according to claim 1, for the control of a gearbox provided with collective synchromesh, including:

the steps of when said clutch is open and said engine is in neutral, operating said synchromesh to cause rotational speeds of input and output shafts of said gearbox to become related by a predetermined ratio;

utilizing a synchronism detector to determine when said shafts are in said related ratio; and

thereafter proceeding with placing said gearbox in said ratio n'"'"'.

13. An apparatus for controlling a gearbox with a plurality of gear ratios provided with dogs, on a vehicle which includes, an engine, a clutch, means for determining rotational speeds of input and output shafts of said gearbox, engine speed control means, means for determining the speed of said engine, means for determining the acceleration of the vehicle having said gearbox, and means including controls for automatically carrying out a sequence of operations including electrical and electronic circuits which operate as loop chains, said means including controls further comprising:

(a) means for opening and closing the clutch;

(b) a gearbox control device for putting said gearbox into neutral;

(c) a ratio selection means for selecting the largest gear ratio n'"'"' of more than one gear ratio useable at the existing speed of said vehicle, n'"'"';

(d) a memory means adapted to memorize an electrical binary code representing said selected gear ratio n'"'"', and to simultaneously memorize data representing the character of a change in gear ratio;

(e) a gearbox control device adapted to place said gearbox into said selected ratio n'"'"';

(f) a gearbox condition detector adapted to determine whether the gearbox is in said selected ratio n'"'"', with the dogs of the gear ratio n'"'"' meshed together;

(g) means for comparing the selected gear ratio n'"'"' with the condition of said gearbox as determined by said gearbox condition detector to determine whether said condition is equivalent to said selected gear ratio n'"'"'; and

(h) means for cancelling said data memorized in said memory means to prepare for a new cycle.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

means for selecting said gear ratio n'"'"' at the beginning of a cycle manually by the driver of a vehicle.

15. An apparatus according to claim 13 including means rendering said apparatus useful for the control of a gearbox provided with individual synchromeshes, comprising:

(a) means for closing said clutch after said gearbox condition detector means indicates that said gearbox is in neutral;

(b) said engine speed control device being adapted to control the speed of said engine to cause the rotational speeds of input and output shafts of said gearbox to become related by a predetermined ratio; and

(c) means for opening said clutch before using said gearbox control device to cause said gearbox to be placed into said ratio n'"'"'.

16. An apparatus according to claim 13, including:

means for predicting engine speeds under a selected ratio n'"'"' prior to placing said gearbox into said selected ratio n'"'"'; and

means for restraining said gearbox control device from placing said gearbox in said selected said ratio n'"'"' if the predicted engine speed is not within upper and lower engine speed limits, preselected and memorized by said memory means.

17. An apparatus according to claim 13, including:

means for selecting said new gear ratio n'"'"' automatically on the initiative of said ratio selecting device.

18. An apparatus according to claim 13, including:

an accelerator means for said engine operable to cause said ratio selection means for selecting a gear ratio to function.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, including:

means operable upon depressing of said accelerator to order the selection of the highest ratio useable at any given vehicle speed as the ratio n'"'"' and to cause placement of said gearbox into the latter said ratio n'"'"'.

20. An apparatus according to anyone of claims 18 or 19, including:

means for retaining said gearbox in the selected ratio n'"'"' upon release of said accelerator to effect breaking action by said engine.

21. An apparatus according to claim 19 including:

means for changing the ratio of said gearbox to a different ratio n'"'"' when the speed of said engine reaches anyone of predetermined points on a speed torque curve of said engine.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21, including:

means for changing the selection of the ratio n'"'"' when the speed of said engine reaches a midpoint on the torque-speed curve.