Patent GB-1297460-A (GB)
IPC: B60W10/10
Filed: 1971-07-23
Abstract: 1297460 Change-speed control ROBERT BOSCH GmbH 23 July 1971 [24.July 1970] 34564/71 Heading F2D [Also in Division H3] Manually selected, or preselected, ratio shift in a six-speed clutch-driven countershaft transmission on a heavy vehicle is automatically established by means including an electronic circuit operating in response to digital signals representing input and output speeds controlling switching logic and gating circuits for producing synchronism by operating the engine fuel regulator, a layshaft brake and an engine (exhaust) brake, and for operating the main clutch and gear shift. General.-Shifts are initiated by the driver operating a three-position selector switch W selecting only upshift, downshift or neutral, after which the entire shift sequence is automatically controlled, the vehicle controls, excluding service brakes, being prevented from driver influence. Safety devices prevent downshift and downshift imitation if excessive engine speed would result, or if pressure is low in an hydraulic system operating gear shift and clutch, other safety arrangements being described in the circuit details below. The effective rates is shown on an indicator. Hydraulic system.-An electrically driven pump (29, Fig. 1, not shown) supplies pressure for gear shift (26) and main clutch actuation (25), the clutch being actuable for starting through a pedal-operated master cylinder (32). A pressure-responsive switch (31) controls the pump-drive motor (27) and the low-pressure safety circuit. These items are not described in detail. Electrical.-In the block diagram, Fig. 2, ZV is a transmission neutralizing valve; EA a group of six electrically-operated valves each controlling an individual ratio; MKS and MDS solenoid valves for rapid release and slow engagement of the main clutch. Synchronizing aids are a layshaft brake VG, engine (exhaust) brake MB, electronic engine fuel regulator (Diesel engine) RE, and a pedal cut-out PN taking clutch and engine fuel control away from the driver during gearshift. An engine starter blocking relay ASR prevents energization of the engine starter unless neutral has been selected or established, with the clutch, engaged and the clutch pedal not depressed. Control parameters are as follows. The manual upshift, downshift, neutral selector switch W; transmission input and output speed detectors DV1, DV2; transmission ratio setting detector GBN; main clutch control position indicator K5; low servo pressure detector PR; vehicle motion indicator XO1. Preselective operation, in addition to direct selection, is provided by a selector switch position memory WS, a preselected shift being established by closing a normally open switch (not shown) on the selector switch W. The synchronizing circuit AG (detailed below includes transmission input and output speed detectors DV1, DV2 controlling a circuit SY, and includes a failure circuit GA, which produces a shift prevention, signal GAO3 when either speed detector fails. Logic circuits.-Ratio shift is under the control of a shift command circuit SK, which receives signals from the selector switch memory WS, indicating the desired manually selected shift; from a circuit VS if the shift is to be preselected; from the downshift safety blocking circuit RK; and from a ratio position memory GSN signalled by the ratio position switches GBN, and indicating which ratio is actually established in the transmission at the time of the shift. The shift command circuit SK compares the prevailing with the selected ratios and if they differ, and if not blocked by the downshift blocker RK, issues a shift signal. Included in the shift command circuit SK is a downshift monitoring circuit RS, which checks whether a downshift is imminent, decides whether it can be carried out, and prevents initiation of such a shift if excessive engine speed would result. This avoids the possibility of a dangerous neutral condition if such a downshift were to be attempted on a downgrade.  A gear shift circuit GW, controlling energization of a transmission neutralizing valve ZV and the ratio-establishing valves EA, receives seven signals as follows, (1) the selector switch memory WS, (2) the ratio-position memory GSN, (3) clutch control position contacts KS, (4) the shift command circuit SK, (5) the synchronizing circuit SY, (6) the speed detector failure circuit GA and (7) the low pressure warning circuit PR. A clutch control circuit KD provides rapid disengagement and slow engagement of the main clutch during gear shift under control of solenoid valves MKS and MDS respectively, and receives signals 1, 3, 4 6 and 7 numbered above.  A synchronizing aids control circuit VRX controls a layshaft brake VG, engine (exhaust) brake MB, the existing electronic engine fuel regulator RE and a pedal cut out PN taking all vehicle controls other than service brakes away from the driver during shift. The circuit VRX receives signals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the above. The engine started blocking relay ASR is actuated by a blocking circuit AS receiving signals 1, 2 and 3. Functional effect of the above circuits is as follows. A manual selection of up or down shift at the selector switch W will only ensue if (a) the selector shift memory (WS) differs from the effective gear setting memory (GSN); (b) the clutch pedal is not depressed (KS); (c) the shift command SK is not blocked by the safety downshift protector RK; (d) both speed detectors DV1, DV2 are operative (GA); and (e) servo pressure is available (PR). With these conditions satisfied, and providing the vehicle is not stationary (signalled by DV2) rapid clutch release occurs at MKS, the transmission is neutralized at ZV, and the synchronizing aids VG, MB and PN become effective to synchronize the selected ratio, on completion of which the synchronizing circuit SY signals the shift circuit GW to energize the selected shift valve of the group EA to establish the selected ratio, the clutch being slowly reengaged at MDS. As a modification, for rapid downshift, the clutch may be re-engaged immediately after neutralizing and the new ratio established without further de-clutching. The engine starter blocking circuit AS permits energization of the engine starter only in neutral positions of both the ratio position and selector position memories GSN, WS, and with the main clutch engaged and the clutch pedal not depressed. Circuit details.-The selector switch position memory WS comprises a counter with three bi-stable trigger stages 167, 173 and 179, Fig. 10, each having two outputs AA, BB, and CC to count the ratio steps, forward for upshift backward for downshift, the direction being determined by a bi-stable trigger stage 164. NOR gates are indicated at 161 &c. and inverters at 160 &c. Input signals from the manual selector switch are WH, WZ and WN an input signal 501 to selecting respectively upshift, downshift and neutral. In addition a main switch on the selector switch is switched on to provide an input signal SO1 to activate the entire circuit and also to set the counter to zero with the neutral signal WN providing an output signal from a bi-stable trigger 181. A mono-stable trigger 165 applies the shift pulses to the counter triggers, the outputs AA &c. of which feed in appropriate combinations NOR gates 182 ... 187 producing the final output signals WSO1 ... WSO6 indicating which ratio has been selected. Thus each upshift signal WH from the selector switch W steps the signal WSO1 &c., one step upwards, each downshift signal WZ one step downwards, and neutral WN produces the neutral signal WSN alone. The circuit GSN of the gear position memory Fig. 11, not shown, receives input signals (GBO, GBO1 ... GBO6) produced by switches which are closed when neutral or respective ones of the six ratios of the transmission are established. Each input signal feeds one input of a bi-stable trigger (194 ... 200), the other input, which is a re-set input, being provided by a respective NOR gate (200 ... 207), having as one input signal (GBO &c.) and as the other a signal from a single common NOR gate (208) receiving all the input signals (GBO&c.). Each bi-stable trigger has two outputs one being the inverse of the other (GS0, GS0; GS01, GS01 ... GS06, GS06). With this arrangement the establishment of any particular ratio or neutral is indicated by logic 1 at one output, (GS0 &c.) zero at the other (GS0 &c.) of the corresponding trigger, and these output signals persist even after the corresponding ratio has been disestablished in the transmission, until establishment of the next selected ratio re-sets the outgoing bistable trigger and activates the trigger of the new ratio. The inverted outputs (logic O) (GSO &c.) are used for signalling the shift command circuit SK, the direct outputs (logic 1) for the downshift blocking circuit RS. The synchronizing unit AG, Fig. 2, less the failure circuit GA, is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Toothed wheel proximity type input and output speed detectors DV1, DV2 generate speedresponsive pulses which trigger mono-stable multivibrators 72, 72a feeding low-pass filters 73, 73a which filter out the A.C. component leaving output D.C. voltages proportional to speed, which are converted in voltage matching stages DA1, DA2 to a range suitable for further use, the matching stages being operational amplifiers with adjustable feed-back. The matching stage DA2, Fig. 4, requires its range changed in accordance with the desired gear ratio so that the output and input speeds can be matched for synchronizing, and its sign is opposite to that of DA1, permitting synchronism to be determined by simple addition. In the matching stage DA2, 81 is the operational amplifier, 84 the feedback resistor and 86, 87 voltage divider resistors biasing an inverting input M. A voltage divided 88, 89 is connected to the non-inverting amplifier input and, to change the output range in accordance with each selected gear ratio, further voltage divi