Countershaft automatic gearbox, in particular an automatic gearbox for motor vehicles

• US 5,910,068 A
• Filed: 01/12/1998
• Issued: 06/08/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AEC-Able Engineering Company, Inc., Getrag Ford Transmissions GmbH
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Najork, Rolf, Flintrop, Thomas, Wollny, Thomas, Krauss, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Wright, Dirk
• Assistant Examiner(s): KWON, TAI CHOON
• Application Number:
  US08/930,123
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 74/335, 74/336 R, 74/339, 477/109, 477/78, 477/90, 477/107, 477/123, 477/124, 701/54, 701/64, 701/55, 701/56
• US Class Current: 477/109
• 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 2059/6807 Status of gear-change operation, e.g. clutch fully engaged
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/0096 using a parameter map
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/2823 Controlling actuator force way characteristic, i.e. controlling force or movement depending on the actuator position, e.g. for adapting force to synchronisation and engagement of gear clutch
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/0403 Synchronisation before shifting
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/28 with at least one movement of the final actuating mechanism being caused by a non-mechanical force, e.g. power-assisted
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/2807 using electric control signals for shift actuators, e.g. electro-hydraulic control therefor F16H61/30, F16H61/32 take precedence; methods for generating shift signals F16H61/0213
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/682 with interruption of drive
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 63/50 Signals to an engine or motor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19251 Control mechanism

Abstract

In an automatically shiftable countershaft transmission, particularly for motor vehicles, the shift travels between the engagement points are established and the shift force may be varied as a function of gear step and dynamic load over the engagement travel. Depending on the functional phase, a lower force is provided during the synchronization phase, a higher force is provided during the shift-through phase and a lower force is provided during the dog-in phase.

Claims

1. An automatically shiftable countershaft transmission for a vehicle, comprising:

a transmission housing;

a gear system within said housing having a plurality of gear ratios for transmitting a dynamic load and a gear step comprising a shift from a first one of said ratios to a second one of said ratios;

synchronizing means for synchronizing said gear system;

shifting means for actuating said synchronizing means over a shift travel through a plurality of shift phases when shifting said gear system to one of said gear ratios;

a servo for applying a shift force for actuating said shifting means;

a sensor for detecting a position of said servo means and generating a servo position signal in response thereto; and

a computer for receiving said servo position signal from said sensor and varying said shift force as a function of gear step and dynamic load when shifting said gear system through said gear step.

2. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 1, wherein said servo applies a first shift force during the synchronization phase of said shift travel and said servo applies a second shift force during a shift-through phase of said shift travel, said first shift force being of a lower magnitude than said second shift force.

3. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 2, wherein said servo applies a third shift force during a dog-in phase of said shift travel, said third shift force being of a lower magnitude than said second shift force.

4. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 3, wherein said servo applies an upshift force for upshifting and a downshift force for downshifting, wherein said downshift force is greater than said upshift force.

5. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 1, wherein said servo applies an upshift force for upshifting and a downshift force for downshifting, wherein said downshift force is greater than said upshift force.

6. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 1, wherein said servo applies a first shift force during the synchronization phase of said shift travel, said servo applies a second shift force during a shift-through phase of said shift travel and said servo applies a third shift force during a dog-in phase of said shift travel, wherein said first shift force, said second shift force, and said third shift force are of equivalent magnitude.

7. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 1, wherein said shift force is proportional to said dynamic load.

8. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 1, wherein said computer varies said shift force as a function of shift phase and dynamic load factor.

9. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 1, wherein said vehicle includes an electronically controlled throttle and a throttle computer for controlling said throttle, wherein said throttle computer modulates said throttle as a function of dynamic load and lowers said dynamic load prior to execution of said one of said shift phases.

10. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 9, wherein said throttle computer modulates said throttle as a function of dynamic load and increases said dynamic load after execution of said one of said shift phases.

11. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 10, wherein said throttle computer modulates said throttle as a function of torque and time.

12. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 1, wherein said computer provides a zero torque window as a function of the dynamic load factor during one of said shift phases.

13. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 12, wherein said computer provides a larger zero torque window when said dynamic load factor is low and a smaller zero torque window when said dynamic load factor is high.

14. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 13, wherein said servo applies an upshift force for upshifting and a downshift force for downshifting, wherein said downshift force is greater than said upshift force and wherein said servo applies a first shift force during a synchronization phase of said shift travel, said servo applies a second shift force during a shift-through phase of said shift travel and said servo applies a third shift force during a dog-in phase of said shift travel, said first shift force, and said third shift force being of a lower magnitude than said second shift force.

15. An automatically shiftable countershaft transmission for a vehicle, comprising:

a transmission housing;

a gear system within said housing having a plurality of gear ratios for transmitting a dynamic load and a gear step comprising a shift from a first one of said ratios to a second one of said ratios;

synchronizing means for synchronizing said gear system;

shifting means for actuating said synchronizing means over a shift travel through a plurality of shift phases when shifting said gear system to one of said gear ratios;

a servo for applying a shift force for actuating said shifting means;

a sensor for detecting a position of said servo and generating a servo position signal in response thereto;

a computer for receiving said servo position signal from said sensor and varying said shift force as a function of gear step and dynamic load when shifting said gear system through said gear step;

an electronically controlled throttle and a throttle computer for controlling said throttle, said throttle computer modulating said throttle as a function of dynamic load, said throttle control computer lowering the dynamic load prior to entering one of said shift phases and increasing said dynamic load after said one of said shift phases is exited; and

an automatic clutch control means for providing a zero torque window as a function of dynamic load factor during execution of said one of said shift phases, said clutch control means providing a larger zero torque window when said dynamic load factor is low and a smaller zero torque window when said dynamic load factor is high.

16. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 15, wherein said computer varies said shift force as a function of shift phase and dynamic load factor.

17. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 16, wherein said computer modulates torque using a three-dimensional characteristic map in which the torque is stored as a function of time.

18. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 17, having a selector means for manual gear selection.

19. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 15, further comprising:

a fully automatic shift mode;

a semi automatic shift mode; and

a mode selector for selecting one of said shift modes.

20. The automatically shiftable countershaft transmission of claim 19, wherein said servo applies an upshift force for upshifting and a downshift force for downshifting, wherein said downshift force is greater than said upshift force, and wherein said, servo applies a first shift force during a synchronization phase of said shift travel, said servo applies a second shift force during a shift-through phase of said shift travel and said servo applies a third shift force during a dog-in phase of said shift travel, said first shift force and said third shift force being of a lower magnitude than said second shift force.