Patent GB-1494243-A (GB)
Title: Control for hydrostatic transmissions
IPC: B62D11/18
Filed: 1975-02-13
Abstract: 1494243 Hydrostatic transmission control SUNDSTRAND CORP 13 Feb 1975 [13 Feb 1974] 6076/75 Heading F2W In a hydrostatic transmission a control pump 110 (Fig. 2A) provides an output which is proportional to the speed of a prime mover and a control valve 140 adjusts a control pressure to adjust the transmission ratio to maintain the prime mover speed substantially constant, or to vary this speed in response to the output from pump 110 and the load on the prime mover. Transmission arrangement.-As shown in Fig. 1, a pair of transmissions are provided, each comprising a variable displacement swashplate pump 32, a variable displacement swashplate motor 33, a feed pump 53, a shuttle valve 70 for directing fluid from the lower pressure main line 11 or 12 to a reservoir 54 from which cooled and filtered fluid is drawn by the charge pump, high pressure relief valves 81, 82 and a by-pass valve 90 which short-circuits the transmission on no pressure being received from feed pump 53. Feed pump 53 also supplies the pressure, through a line 205, to operate the rams 36, 38 and 94, 95 of the pump and motor displacement controls, respectively. The transmissions drive tracks on the opposite sides of a vehicle. Ratio control.-The control pump 110 supplies pressure through a variable throttle 112 to lines 117, 118 and 415, in which lines a constant pressure is maintained by a valve 120. Line 118 supplies this pressure to a pressure reducing valve 125, controlled by a cam 131 moved by a control handle 100, which varies the control pressure to give a desired transmission ratio. The output of valve 125 passes via a control valve 140, which has no effect on the pressure if the load on the prime mover is constant, through lines 127 and 141, through a direction control valve 142, again controlled by handle 110, and through steering control valves 171 and 173 to the control of the respective transmission. The control between the steering control valve 171 and its associated transmission only is shown. From valve 171 the pressure passes via a line 175 or 176 (depending on the direction of travel) to one side of a spool valve 200 which supplies pressure fluid to one of the rams 36, 38 to vary the pump displacement, a follow-up linkage and centring springs being provided as shown. The pressure for varying the displacement is from charge pump 53 through line 205. The control pressure in line 175 or 176 also passes via a shuttle valve 210 to a similar motor follow-up servo. The shuttle valve ensures that irrespective of the direction of travel the higher control pressure always adjusts the motor in the same direction. Springs 231, 232, 251 and 252 are sized so that the pump first adjusts from neutral to maximum displacement before spring 251 is overcome to reduce the motor displacement to further decrease transmission ratio (on increasing control pressure). A cam 275 and roller 274 in the motor followÀup linkage give a smaller change of motor displacement near the motor's maximum displacement value than further away from this, for the same change of control pressure to provide a constant steer radius when the transmission ratio alters in a turn. The steering control valve 171, when operated by a lever 101 has a valve spool 180 which moves to progressively throttle the control pressure and so cause the one transmission to vary differently from the other to effect steering An internal passage in spool 180 causes a reversal of pressures in lines 175 and 176 to reverse the direction of the transmission controlled thereby if the lever 101 is moved far enough, so that the vehicle can pivot about its centre. The control valve 140, which maintains prime mover speed substantially constant or may reduce it slightly with increasing load, comprises a valve spool 400 which controls communication between lines 127 and 141, this spool having an area A4 acted upon by the engine speed responsive pressure P 1  from the control pump upstream of throttle valve 112, which valve is varied by a link 117 associated with the engine throttle, so that this also varies the control pressure (in line 410). An area A2 of the spool 400 is acted upon by the constant pressure P 2  in line 415. A spring-biased piston 406 has an area A 3  acted upon by the valve output pressure P 4 , in line 141, this piston acting on one end of the spool, the other end having an area A 1  acted upon by the pressure P 4  transmitted through an orifice 436 to a chamber 437, the chamber 437 communicating with an accumulator comprising a spring 440 and a piston 441. In operation a fall in engine speed causes pressure P 1  in line 410 to drop, this decreasing the pressure on area A 4  and so causing valve spool 400 to move down to divert pressure from output line 141 to a line 461 connected to a reservoir, this drop in pressure P 4  increasing the transmission ratio eventually to increase engine speed and P 1 . The drop in pressure P 4  is immediately transmitted to area A 3  of the piston 406, to reduce the force on this area and recentre the spool 400, and the pressure in chamber 437 reduces slowly due to the provision of orifice 436, which reduction causes an additional downward movement of the spool 400. As the engine speed increases due to the drop in pressure P 4  the pressure P 1  acts on valve spool 400 to move this up to place conduits 127 and 141 in communication and so cause pressure P 4  to be raised towards pressure P 3 . This rise in P 4  acts upon area A 3  before it acts on area A 1  due to orifice 436, to move the valve spool 400 down to close the valve (by land 460), which rise in P 4  causes a reduction in engine speed. By this means the engine eventually attains an equilibrium setting, with the orifice 436 and the accumulator piston 441 providing system stability. The speed of the engine is set by an adjuster 408. The relationship between pressures P 1  and P 4  is governed by the relation between areas A 4  and A 3 , and is unaffected by temperature or viscosity changes, and engine speed is only maintained constant if area A 1  is equal to area A 3 , when a pressure P 1  to balance spring 402 is maintained.