Manual transmission with electric clutch
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsMichael Glenn Fodor, Patrick J. Curran, Matthew John Shelton, Peter Douglas Kuechler
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle includes an powerplant, a manual transmission, and a clutch. A vehicle controller is programmed to automatically control operation of the clutch allowing the driver to shift gears by just operating the gear shifter. The vehicle also includes an input allowing the driver to override the controller and operate the clutch. The input is located on the gear shifter and is in electric communication with the controller. The controller is programmed to, inter alia, command the clutch to reduce clutch capacity responsive to receiving a signal from the sensor indicating grasping of the shifter.
Claims11
A vehicle comprising:
- a powerplant;
- a manual transmission including a shifter having a sensor configured to sense grasping of the shifter wherein the sensor is configured to measure squeeze pressure on the shifter;
- an electric clutch selectively coupling the powerplant and the transmission;
- and
- a controller programmed to, responsive to receiving a signal from the sensor indicating grasping of the shifter, command the clutch to reduce clutch capacity, wherein the reduction of clutch capacity is based on the measured squeeze pressure.
A vehicle comprising:
- a powerplant;
- a manual transmission including a shifter having a sensor;
- a clutch including a clutch disc selectively coupling the powerplant and the transmission and an electric actuator controllable to increase and decrease capacity of the clutch;
- and
- a controller programmed to, responsive to receiving a signal from the sensor indicating squeeze pressure on the shifter, command the electric actuator to reduce clutch capacity based on the measured squeeze pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.