EP0170465B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Semi-automatic transmission with twin splitter
Assignee: Eaton Corp
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Filing: 1985-07-17
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Granted: 1989-01-11
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Expires: 2005-07-17
Abstract
Abstract A semi-automatic mechanical transmission system (10) and method for controlling same is provided. The transmission system includes a shift selector lever (1) which may be moved forward or rearward from the centered position thereof to select upshifts and downshifts, respectively, and a central processing unit (38) receiving input singles from the selector lever and which will sense multiple movements of the shift select lever in a given direction and interpret same as request for multiple or skip shifts in said direction. The control also includes a display (2) comprised of three sections, a currently engaged gear ratio section (2") a maximum permissible consecutive upshift indicating section (2 min ) and a maximum permissible consecutive downshift indicating section (2 sec ). The central processing unit includes circuitry and logic rules to process input signals to determine the currently permissible gear ratios and will indicate said gear ratios, in the form of maximum permissible upshifts and downshifts, at said display, and will also execute only the lesser of the maximum permissible number of consecutive upshifts or downshifts or the number of consecutive upshifts or downshifts selected by the operator.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael William Dunkley
- 👤 John Ernest Stainton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 15:29
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60W; B60W10/00; B60W10/04; B60W10/06; B60W10/02; B60W10/10; B60W10/11; B60W10/111; B60W30/00; B60W30/18; B60W30/18009; B60W30/18027; F; F16; F16H; F16H61/00; F16H61/70; F16H61/702; F16H63/00; F16H63/40; F16H63/42; B60W50/00; B60W50/02; B60W50/0205; B60W2050/021; B60W2510/00; B60W2510/06; B60W2510/0638; B60W2510/10; B60W2510/1005; B60W2510/1015; B60W2510/104; B60W2520/00; B60W2520/10; B60W2540/00; B60W2540/16; F16H59/00; F16H59/02; F16H2059/0239; F16H2059/0252; F16H61/02; F16H61/0202; F16H61/0248; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S74/00; Y10S74/07
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
167 words
A method of controlling a semi-automatic mechanical change gear transmission system (10) comprising a manual fuel throttle control (24), a fuel throttle controlled engine (14), a multi-speed change gear mechanical transmission (12), a friction master clutch (16) interposed between the engine and the transmission, a manual clutch control (3) for selectively engaging and disengaging the master clutch, a manually operated shift selected lever I (1) moveable in a first direction ("UP") from a centered position to select upshifts and in a second direction ("DOWN") from said centered position to select downshifts from the currently engaged gear ratio, a central processing unit (38) for receiving input signals indicative of tranmission input shaft (28 and/or 32) and output shaft (36) rotational speeds and operation of said shift selection lever and for processing same according to predetermined logic rules to issue command output signals to non-manually controlled operators including a clutch operator (30), a fuel throttle control operator (26) and a transmission operator (34), the method of controlled characterized by:
Claim 2
Independent Claim
167 words
A method of controlling a semi-automatic mechanical change gear transmission system (10) comprising a manual fuel throttle control (24), a fuel throttle controlled engine (14), a multi-speed change gear mechanical transmission (12), a friction master clutch (16) interposed between the engine and the transmission, a manual clutch control (3) for selectively engaging and disengaging the master clutch, a manually operated shift selected lever I (1) moveable in a first direction ("UP") from a centered position to select upshifts and in a second direction ("DOWN") from said centered position to select downshifts from the currently engaged gear ratio, a central processing unit (38) for receiving input signals indicative of tranmission input shaft (28 and/or 32) and output shaft (36) rotational speeds and operation of said shift selection lever and for processing same according to predetermined logic rules to issue command output signals to non-manually controlled operators including a clutch operator (30), a fuel throttle control operator (26) and a transmission operator (34), the method of controlled characterized by:
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
234 words
processing said input signals to determine the currently engaged gear ratio of said transmission and to determine permissibly engaged gear ratios of said transmission under sensed vehicle operating conditions; and sensing operation of said manual shift selection lever including the directon of movement thereof and the number of displacements of said lever from said centered position within a predetermined period of time; and determining the transmission gear ratio selected by the operator to be shifted directly into from the currently engaged ratio by assuming each repetition of displacement from the centered position of said shift selection lever in a given direction indicates operator selection of a change of one additional consecutive ratio in said direction; and issuing command output signals to cause an automatic upshift or downshift from the currently engaged gear ratio to the least displaced gear ratio from currently engaged gear ratio of 1) the operator selected gear ratio or 2) the most displaced from currently engaged ratio of the permissible gear ratios in the selected direction of shifting, said command output signals causing said transmission to be shifted directly from said currently engaged gear ratio to said least displaced gear ratio, said command output signals also causing the engine (14) and master cluth (16) to be automatically controlled during a shift. 2. The method of claim 1 additionally characterized by: displaying an indication of the permissibly engaged gear ratios (2', 2").
Claim 4
Independent Claim
30 words
The method of claims 1 or 2 additionally characterized by: displaying the currently engaged gear ratio (2''') and also displaying an indication of the permissibly engaged gear ratios (2', 2").
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
65 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said displaying comprises: providing a first display section (2"') for indicating the currently engaged gear ratio; providing a second display section (2') for indicating the maximum number of permissible consecutive upshifts from said currently engaged gear ratio; and, providing a third display section (2") for indicating the maximum number of permissible consecutive downshifts from said currently engaged gear ratio.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
93 words
The method of claim 4, wherein said first display section is interposed said second and third display sections, such that said second display section is displaced from said first display section in the opposite direction from that in which said third display section is displaced from said first display section, said first section providing a numerical display, said second and third display sections providing a display of zero, one, two or three symbols corresponding to a maximum of zero, one, two or three, respectively, consecutive gear changes in a given direction being permissible.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
84 words
The method of any of claims 1-5 wherein said central processing unit also receives an input (30) indicative of operation of said master clutch (16) and additionally comprising: sensing the stoppage of the vehicle from above a predetermined vehicle speed; and thereafter, upon sensing both a single movement of the shift selection lever (1) in the downshift direction and manual disengagement of the master clutch, causing said tranmsission (10) to automatically be shifted to a predetermined gear ratio designated to be allowable for starting.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
59 words
The method of any of claims 1-6 wherein said master clutch is automatically operated by said central processing unit only during shifting of said transmission and said manual clutch control will override said non-manually operated control to cause said master clutch to assume any degree of disengagement greater than a degree of disengagement set by said central processing unit.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
84 words
The method of any of Claims 1-7 additionally characterized by: sensing or calcuting an input signal indicative of current engine rotational speed; comparing said current engine speed input signal to a reference signal corresponding to a preselected minimum acceptable engine performance rotational speed; and, downshifting said transmission to the lowest permissibly engaged gear ratio in response to a single movement of the shift selection lever in the downshift direction if the current engine speed input signal is less than the reference engine speed signal.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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