Power train with automated clutch for use in motor vehicles
First Claim
1. A power train for use in a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a prime mover;
means for starting, operating and arresting said prime mover;
a transmission arranged to receive torque from said prime mover and being shiftable into and from a plurality of gears in which said transmission tends to move the vehicle, said transmission including multiple-position means for selecting gears and for shifting into and from selected gears;
an automated system arranged to transmit torque from said prime mover to said transmission and having engaged and disengaged conditions; and
means for controlling said system, including a signal receiving, processing and transmitting control unit, an actuator arranged to select the magnitude of torque being transmitted by said system in response to processed signals from said control unit, a plurality of signal generating sensors, and means for transmitting signals from said sensors to said control unit, said sensors and said signal transmitting means being prone to malfunction and said control unit having a normal operating mode when said sensors and said signal transmitting means function properly, when said transmission receives torque from said system and when said transmission is shifted into one of said gears to thus move the vehicle, said control unit further having an emergency operating mode which is set up in response to malfunctioning of at least one of said sensors and said signal transmitting means and in which the vehicle is not set in motion while said prime mover is in operation and said transmission is shifted into one of said gears.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The power train of a motor vehicle has an electronic unit which controls the condition of an automated clutch between the engine and a manually shiftable transmission. The control unit has a normal or standard operating mode when the various sensors which are connected with and transmit signals to the control unit (as well as the signal transmitting connections such as buses and/or cables) are not defective, and a standby or emergency mode when one or more sensors and/or connections are (temporarily or irreversibly) defective. The control unit then prevents the clutch from permitting or causing a creeping or crawling movement of the vehicle while the engine is idling and the transmission is shifted in a gear other than neutral. The mode of operation of the control unit can be changed back to normal in response to termination of a faulty operation of one or more sensors and/or connections, for example, with a predetermined delay.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A power train for use in a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a prime mover; means for starting, operating and arresting said prime mover; a transmission arranged to receive torque from said prime mover and being shiftable into and from a plurality of gears in which said transmission tends to move the vehicle, said transmission including multiple-position means for selecting gears and for shifting into and from selected gears; an automated system arranged to transmit torque from said prime mover to said transmission and having engaged and disengaged conditions; and means for controlling said system, including a signal receiving, processing and transmitting control unit, an actuator arranged to select the magnitude of torque being transmitted by said system in response to processed signals from said control unit, a plurality of signal generating sensors, and means for transmitting signals from said sensors to said control unit, said sensors and said signal transmitting means being prone to malfunction and said control unit having a normal operating mode when said sensors and said signal transmitting means function properly, when said transmission receives torque from said system and when said transmission is shifted into one of said gears to thus move the vehicle, said control unit further having an emergency operating mode which is set up in response to malfunctioning of at least one of said sensors and said signal transmitting means and in which the vehicle is not set in motion while said prime mover is in operation and said transmission is shifted into one of said gears. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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- 29. A method of operating a power train for use in a motor vehicle wherein a fuel consuming prime mover which is arranged to be started, operated and arrested serves to transmit torque to a transmission which is shiftable into and from a plurality of gears in which the transmission tends to move the vehicle in response to at least partial engagement of an automated torque transmitting clutch which is controlled by a system including a signal receiving, processing and transmitting control unit, an actuator operable to select the magnitude of torque being transmitted by the clutch in response to processed signals from the control unit, and a plurality of sensors which are arranged to transmit signals to the control unit and at least one of which is prone to malfunction, comprising the step of changing, in response to malfunctioning of the at least one sensor, the mode of operation of the control unit from a normal mode in which the transmission moves the vehicle in an at least partially engaged condition of the clutch, while the prime mover is in the process of transmitting torque to the clutch and while the transmission is in gear, to an emergency mode in which the transmission is prevented from moving the vehicle while the transmission is in gear, the prime mover is operated and a member which is actuatable to increase the consumption of fuel by the prime mover is not actuated.
Specification