US 7,179,197 B2Granted

Clutch state determining device

AssigneeDenso Corporation

InventorsMasahiro Asano, Eiji Takemoto

Life of this patent

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Abstract

If a user presses a clutch pedal to perform gear-shifting operation while a vehicle is traveling, a clutch disc, which has been engaged with a flywheel rotating with an engine, is brought to partial clutch engagement and slides on an end surface of the flywheel to generate friction. Thus, a first phenomenon in which a decreasing rate of the engine rotation speed rapidly increases occurs. Then, a second phenomenon in which the clutch disc is completely disengaged from the flywheel to eliminate the friction and the decreasing rate of the engine rotation speed returns to an original state occurs. If the first and second phenomena are detected successively when neither an engine side nor a power transmission system side transmits power for varying an engine rotation speed, it is determined that the clutch disc is disengaged.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A clutch state determining device for determining engagement or disengagement of a clutch, which provides or interrupts transmission of rotating power from a driving part to a driven part, the clutch state determining device comprising:

sensing means for sensing a rotation speed of the driving part;
prohibiting means for suspending or prohibiting the determination of the engagement or the disengagement of the clutch if power for varying the rotation speed of the driving part is transmitted from the driving part or the driven part;
and
determining means for determining whether the clutch is in a disengaged state based on the variation in the rotation speed of the driving part sensed by the sensing means when the prohibiting means determines that neither the driving part nor the driven part transmits the power for varying the rotation speed of the driving part, wherein
the driving part is an engine mounted in a vehicle,
the driven part is a power transmission system for transmitting the rotating power of the engine to wheels, and
the sensing means includes a rotation speed sensor for sensing an instantaneous rotation speed provided by each one of cylinders of the engine.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/008,738Filed 10 Dec 2004
Priority: JP 2003-41563312 Dec 2003
Published: US 2005/0130799 A116 Jun 2005
Granted: 20 Feb 2007
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification24 codes

B60W 30/18
Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of…:…
B60W 10/02
Conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function: including control of driveline clutches
B60W 10/06
Including control of propulsion units: including control of combustion engines
F16D 48/06
External control of clutches: control by electric or electronic means, e.g. of fluid pressure