JP2009156358A - Control device for automatic transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the deterioration of traveling performance such as insufficient acceleration by an up-shift caused by the improper operation of the switch, in an automatic transmission allowing the up-shift of the gear by the operation of a steering-up switch provided on a steering wheel with a shift lever operated in a D range. <P>SOLUTION: When the steering-up switch 47 provided on the steering wheel 4 is operated to be turned-on with the shift lever operated in the D range, a driving force allowance after the up-shift is calculated. An up-shift prohibition means for prohibiting the up-shift of the gear when the driving force allowance is smaller than a predetermined value is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic transmission mounted on an automobile, and more particularly to a control device for an automatic transmission having a manual transmission function in an automatic transmission range, and belongs to the technical field of an automobile transmission.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, automatic transmissions for automobiles have been put into practical use with an automatic shift mode that automatically switches the shift speed according to the driving state and a manual shift mode that switches the shift speed by a driver's manual operation. .

  In this automatic transmission, in addition to the P range for parking, the R range for reverse, the N range for neutral, the D range for selecting automatic transmission mode, etc. A manual shift mode selection position called a range or the like is set, and the shift speed is shifted up or down by one step by operating a shift lever at the manual shift mode selection position.

  Further, in Patent Document 1, in an automatic transmission having a manual shift mode in which a shift stage is switched by operating a shift lever as described above, a shift-up switch and a shift-down switch are further provided on the steering wheel. In the mode, it is disclosed that the shift stage can be shifted up or down by operating these switches.

  In the automatic transmission described in Patent Document 1, if the shift down switch is operated in the automatic shift mode, the shift mode is switched to the manual shift mode, and then if the shift up switch is operated, the automatic shift is performed. It is configured to return to the mode, and according to this, the shift lever can be switched to the manual shift mode while operating the automatic shift mode selection position such as the D range, and the acceleration or deceleration can be temporarily or quickly performed. This makes it possible to improve the convenience of the shifting operation.

JP 2002-349687 A

  By the way, if the shift lever can be operated by operating the switch provided on the steering wheel while the shift lever is operated to the automatic transmission mode selection position as described above, convenience is improved, but inadvertent shift operation or turning For example, an erroneous operation in which an unexpected gear shift is performed when the hand touches the switch is likely to occur. When a shift that does not match the driving state is performed due to such an inappropriate operation, particularly when an inappropriate shift-up shift is performed, the driving force of the vehicle is insufficient, resulting in poor acceleration. As a result, running performance will deteriorate.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, a switch for performing a shift operation in the manual shift mode is provided on the steering wheel, and the shift can be performed even when the shift lever is operated in the range for the automatic shift mode by operating this switch. It is an object of the present invention to prevent deterioration in running performance such as poor acceleration due to inappropriate operation by the switch, particularly inappropriate shift-up operation.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

  First, in the invention according to claim 1 of the present application, an automatic transmission mode in which the gear stage is automatically switched according to a traveling state and a manual transmission mode in which the gear stage is switched by a driver's manual operation are set. In the automatic transmission control apparatus, a shift lever for selecting these modes is provided, and a shift up switch for shifting up the gear position by manual operation is provided on or near the steering wheel. The first manual shift control means for shifting up the gear position when the shift up switch is operated while the lever is operated to the manual shift mode selection position, and the shift lever is operated to the automatic shift mode selection position. Second manual shift control for shifting up the gear position when the upshift switch is operated in the engaged state A margin driving force calculating means for calculating a margin driving force after shifting up the gear stage, and the margin driving even in a traveling state in which shifting up of the gear stage is permitted by the first shift control means. Shift up prohibiting means for prohibiting shift up of the gear stage by the second shift control means when the marginal driving force after the shift up calculated by the force calculating means is smaller than a predetermined value is provided. And

  The invention according to claim 2 is the control device for an automatic transmission according to claim 1, further comprising accelerator opening detecting means for detecting an accelerator opening, wherein the shift-up prohibiting means includes the margin. When the marginal driving force after the upshift calculated by the driving force calculating means is smaller than a predetermined value, the shift stage is shifted up only when the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening detecting means is larger than the predetermined value. Is prohibited.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the control apparatus for the automatic transmission according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a slope detecting means for detecting a slope of the travel path, wherein the margin driving force calculating means is provided. Is characterized in that the margin driving force is calculated using the gradient detected by the gradient detecting means as a parameter.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the control device for an automatic transmission according to any one of the first to third aspects, a turning angle detecting means for detecting a turning angle of the automobile is provided. The margin driving force calculation means calculates the margin driving force using the turning angle detected by the turning angle detection means as a parameter.

  Here, the detection of the turning angle is performed by detecting, for example, the steering angle of the steering wheel, the difference between the rotational speeds of the left and right wheels, and the lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle body.

  With the configuration described above, according to the invention of each claim of the present application, the following effects can be obtained.

  First, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the shift lever is operated to the manual shift mode selection position such as the M range, for example, when the shift up switch is operated, for example, the shift control system breaks down. Unless the vehicle is in a traveling state in which the engine speed is extremely decreased after the upshifting and the traveling is impossible, the first manual shift control means performs the shift up of the gear stage.

  On the other hand, in a state where the shift lever is operated to the automatic transmission mode selection position such as the D range, when the margin driving force after the shift up calculated by the margin driving force calculation means is smaller than a predetermined value, Even in a traveling state where shifting up of the shift stage by the first manual shift control unit is allowed, shifting up of the shift stage by the second shift control unit is prohibited.

  Therefore, traveling performance such as inadequately shifting up the gear stage due to careless operation or erroneous operation of the upshift switch provided in the vicinity of the steering wheel, resulting in insufficient driving force and poor acceleration. As a result, the deterioration of the vehicle is prevented and good running performance is maintained.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the marginal driving force after the upshift is smaller than the predetermined value, the accelerator opening is larger than the predetermined value, in other words, when the driver requests acceleration. Only shift-up of the gear position is prohibited. Therefore, it is avoided that the shift-up operation is prohibited when the accelerator opening is not more than a predetermined value, where there is no acceleration request, and there is no problem of acceleration failure, and a shift according to the driver's operation is executed. become.

  Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 3, since the gradient of the traveling road is used as a parameter when the margin driving force is calculated, the margin driving force is appropriately calculated on any of the flat road, the uphill road, and the downhill road. Therefore, the shift-up prohibition control of the gear stage for preventing an acceleration failure or the like is always appropriately executed.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the turning angle of the vehicle is used as a parameter when calculating the margin driving force, the margin driving force is appropriately calculated according to the degree even during turning, As in the third aspect of the invention, the shift-up prohibition control for the gear position is appropriately executed.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an automobile equipped with an automatic transmission according to the present embodiment. A power unit formed by combining an engine 1 and an automatic transmission 2 is mounted on the front of the automobile. Has been. In addition, a shift lever 3 for switching the range of the automatic transmission 2 to the side of the driver's seat is disposed in the vehicle, a steering wheel 4 is disposed in front, and a floor in front of the driver's seat is provided on the floor in front of the driver's seat. An accelerator pedal 5 and a brake pedal 6 are provided. Further, a meter unit 7 is disposed on the instrument panel in front of the steering wheel 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the shift lever 3 is operated along a series of operation paths 32 provided in the guide member 31. On the operation path 32, the P range position and the R range are arranged. A position, an N range position, and a D range position are provided. When the shift lever 3 is operated to the D range position, the shift mode of the automatic transmission 2 is set to an automatic shift mode in which the shift stage is automatically switched according to the running state.

  Further, an M range position 33 is provided on the side of the D range position. When the shift lever 3 is operated from the D range position to the M range position 33, the shift mode of the automatic transmission 2 is changed to the driver. The manual shift operation is switched to the manual shift mode for switching the gear position.

  This M range position 33 has a long operation area in the front and rear, and if the shift lever 3 is operated forward (direction A shown in FIG. 2B) from the central neutral position, a shift down switch (hereinafter referred to as “shift”). If the lever 34 of the automatic transmission 2 is shifted down by one step and operated backward (B direction shown in FIG. 2B), the upshift switch (hereinafter referred to as “the lever down switch”) 34 is turned on. "Shift lever up switch" 36) is turned on so that the gear position is shifted up by one stage. Then, after the operation, it returns to the neutral position to prepare for the next operation.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the steering wheel 4 is supported by a center paddle portion 41, three spokes 42, 43, 44 extending in a T-shape from the paddle portion 41, and these spokes. It is comprised with the wheel part 45. FIG. A pair of left and right shift down switches (hereinafter referred to as “steering down switches”) is positioned in front of the left and right spokes 42, 43, that is, in the vicinity of the position where the thumbs of the left and right hands of the driver holding the wheel portion 45 are located. 46, 46 are provided, and a predetermined portion of the paddle portion 41 on the back side of the spokes 42, 43, that is, fingers other than the thumbs of the left and right hands of the driver holding the wheel portion 45 are positioned. A pair of left and right shift up switches (hereinafter referred to as “steering up switches”) 47 and 47 are provided in the vicinity of the portion to be operated.

  The steering down switches 46 and 46 and the steering up switches 47 and 47 are used when the shift lever 3 is operated to the M range position and the manual shift mode is selected, and the shift lever down switch 34 and the shift lever up switch Instead of 35, a function of shifting down or up shifting is provided.

  Specifically, if one (or both) of the pair of steering down switches 46, 46 is pushed down in the direction A 'shown in FIG. 3A, the switch 46 is turned on and the automatic transmission 2 is turned on. If the shift stage is shifted down by one stage and one of the pair of steering up switches 47, 47 (or both) is pulled toward the front as indicated by arrow B ', the switch 47 is turned on to change the speed. The stage is shifted up by one stage.

  Further, the steering down switch 46 and the steering up switch 47 are temporarily manually operated in a state where the shift lever 3 is operated to the D range position in addition to the function of shifting down or up the shift stage in the manual shift mode. It has a function for setting a shift mode (hereinafter referred to as “direct mode”) that enables a shift.

  That is, when any one of the steering down switches 46 and 46 and the steering up switches 47 and 47 is turned ON while the shift lever 3 is operated to the D range position, the transmission mode of the automatic transmission 2 is automatically set. The shift speed is maintained from the shift mode to the direct mode until the shift stage is shifted down or up by one stage and a predetermined release condition is satisfied. In addition, if the steering down switch 46 or the steering up switch 47 is turned on again during that time, the gear position is shifted down or up by one stage each time.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the meter unit 7 includes a vehicle speed meter 71 in the center, an engine tachometer 72 in the left area, a water temperature meter 73 in the right area, a fuel gauge 74, and the state of the automatic transmission 2. The indicator 75 shown is arranged.

  The indicator 75 includes a P range indicator 75a, an R range indicator 75b, an N range indicator 75c, and a D range indicator 75d indicating the range selected by operating the shift lever 3, and further includes a D range indicator. Adjacent to the display 75d, there are provided a direct mode display 75e indicating the letter "D" and a manual shift mode display 75f indicating the letter "M". Of these displays, the D range display The device 75d is a seven segment type display.

  Here, the display mode of the D range indicator 75d, the direct mode indicator 75e and the manual shift mode indicator 75f will be described. First, in the automatic shift mode in which the shift lever 3 is at the D range position, FIG. As shown in a), the direct mode display 75e and the manual shift mode display 75f are turned off, and the D range display 75d displays the letter “D”.

  In the manual shift mode in which the shift lever 3 is at the M range position, as shown in FIG. 5B, the direct mode indicator 75e is turned off, the manual shift mode indicator 75f is turned on, and the D range indicator is displayed. 75d displays a number indicating the gear position at that time.

  In the direct mode set by turning on one of the steering down switches 46 and 46 or the steering up switches 47 and 47 while the shift lever 3 is operated to the D range position, FIG. As shown in (c), the direct mode indicator 75e and the manual shift mode indicator 75f are turned on, and the D range indicator 75d displays a number indicating the gear position at that time.

  Next, a controller for controlling the gear position of the automatic transmission 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the controller 100 is provided for control in the automatic shift mode as basic shift control of the automatic transmission 2. In addition, a signal from the vehicle speed sensor 101 for detecting the vehicle speed, a signal from the accelerator opening sensor 102 for detecting the depression amount (accelerator opening) of the accelerator pedal 5 as an engine load, and an operation position of the shift lever 3 are detected. A signal from the shift position sensor 103 is input.

  Further, for the shift control in the manual shift mode, signals from the shift lever down switch 34 and the shift lever up switch 35 are input, and for the shift control in the manual shift mode and the direct mode, Signals from the steering down switch 46 and the steering up switch 47 are input.

  Further, in order to appropriately perform the shift control in the direct mode, a signal from the engine speed sensor 104 that detects the engine speed and an output speed (turbine speed) of the torque converter in the automatic transmission 2 are detected. A signal from the turbine rotational speed sensor 105, a signal from the steering angle sensor 106 for detecting the steering angle of the steering wheel 4 as a turning angle detection means of the vehicle, and an operation of an air compressor for air conditioning mounted in the vehicle, A signal from the air conditioner switch 107 that detects non-operation, a signal from the vehicle weight sensor 108 that detects the total weight of the vehicle including the weight of the passengers and the loaded luggage, and a signal from the gradient sensor 109 that detects the gradient of the travel path Is entered.

  The controller 100 sets a gear position based on signals from the sensors and switches, and outputs a gear shift control signal to the automatic transmission 2 so as to realize the gear position. A display control signal for controlling the display states of the indicators 75a to 75f of the indicator 75 is output.

  Next, a control example of the shift control by the control unit 100, particularly a shift up shift based on the operation of the steering up switch 47 in the manual shift mode and the direct mode will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S1, signals from the sensors and switches shown in FIG. 6 are input, and in step S2, it is determined whether or not the steering up switch 47 is turned on. If it is immediately after being turned on from the OFF state, in step S3, it is determined whether or not the current gear stage is the highest speed stage, and the current gear stage is a gear stage other than the highest speed stage that can be shifted up. If so, then step S4 is executed to determine whether or not a predetermined shift-up condition is satisfied.

  The shift-up condition may be, for example, that the engine speed after the shift-up is not so low that the engine cannot be operated below a predetermined value, or that the speed change system is faulty by a fault diagnosis system provided separately. Is not detected. If the upshift condition is satisfied, it is next determined in step S5 whether the operation position of the shift lever 3 is the M range position or the D range position.

  When the shift lever 3 is in the M range position and the shift mode is set to the manual shift mode, the automatic shift is performed so that the shift stage is shifted up by one in accordance with the ON operation of the steering up switch 47 in step S6. A shift control signal is output to the machine 2.

  On the other hand, when the shift lever 3 is in the D range position, the steering up switch 47 is turned on. Therefore, in step S7, the shift mode is switched from the automatic shift mode to the direct mode, and in steps S8 and S9, the shift is performed. Judgment control is performed to determine whether or not to shift up the stage.

That is, first, in step S8, the marginal driving force of the vehicle after the upshift is calculated. The margin driving force is obtained as a value obtained by subtracting the running resistance D of the automobile from the driving force F transmitted to the wheels using the engine as a power source (margin driving force = FD). In this case, the driving force F and the running resistance D are calculated according to the following formula in this embodiment.
_{F = [(T E -T LP} -T AC) × t-T LG] × I T × I F / R
D = R _R + R _L + R _A + R _S + R _C

Here, _TE is the engine output torque after the upshift, and is detected by the accelerator opening sensor 102 and the engine speed after the upshift calculated from the current engine speed detected by the engine speed sensor 104, for example. The current accelerator opening and the engine power performance map. T _LP is a driving loss of the oil pump of the automatic transmission 2, and is obtained based on characteristics set in advance according to the engine speed. T _AC is a driving loss of the air compressor for air conditioning, and a predetermined value is substituted when the air conditioner switch 107 is ON.

Further, t is a torque ratio of the torque converter, a speed ratio obtained from the engine speed detected by the engine speed sensor 104 and the turbine speed detected by the turbine speed sensor 105, a characteristic map of the torque converter, It is requested from. T _LG is a drive loss of the gear on the power transmission path from the automatic transmission 2 to the wheels, and a predetermined value is used. _IT is the speed reduction ratio of the shift stage after the upshift of the automatic transmission 2. Further, _IF is a reduction ratio of the final reduction gear, R is an effective radius of the wheel, and these are values known as the specifications of the automobile.

Furthermore, R _R is the rolling resistance of the wheels, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 101, is calculated based on the total weight of the vehicle and the road surface friction coefficient or the like is detected by the vehicle weight sensor 108. R _L is air resistance, which is calculated based on the vehicle speed, the vehicle front projected area as the specifications of the automobile, the air resistance coefficient, and the like. _RA is an acceleration resistance, which is also calculated based on the vehicle speed (rate of change in vehicle speed), front projection area, air resistance coefficient, and the like. R _S is a gradient resistance and is calculated based on the gradient of the traveling path detected by the gradient sensor 109 and the total vehicle weight. Further, _RC is a cornering resistance, and is calculated based on the steering angle of the steering wheel 4 and the vehicle speed detected by the steering angle sensor 106.

  Note that the above calculation method of the marginal driving force is merely an example, and can be obtained by other methods.

  As described above, if the marginal driving force after upshifting is calculated using the values input from each sensor and various specifications of the automobile, the marginal driving force is then determined in step S9 in the flowchart of FIG. It is determined whether or not the value is greater than or equal to. If it is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, a shift control signal is output so as to shift up the shift stage by one step in step S6, and if smaller than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S10 to shift up the shift stage. No signal is output and shift up is not executed.

  As a result, when the marginal driving force is equal to or greater than the predetermined value and the required acceleration force can be obtained even if the shift stage is shifted up, the shift stage is shifted up according to the driver's operation, and the marginal driving force is increased. Is smaller than a predetermined value, and when the shift speed is shifted up, an acceleration failure occurs, the shift up is prohibited, and the driving performance deteriorates due to the driver's careless operation or erroneous operation on the steering up switch 47. Is avoided.

  Next, another control example of the upshift based on the operation of the steering up switch 47 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The operation of this control example is basically the same as that of the above control example. First, in the same manner as steps S1 to S4 in the flowchart of FIG. 7, the input of various signals and the steering up switch 47 are turned on. Whether or not the current gear position is the highest speed, and whether or not the upshift condition is satisfied.

  Then, immediately after the steering up switch 47 is turned ON, if the shift stage of the automatic transmission 2 is not the highest speed stage and the upshift condition is satisfied, step 5 in the flowchart of FIG. Then, it is determined whether the operation position of the shift lever 3 is the M range position or the D range position. When the gear is in the M range position, that is, when the shift mode is set to the manual shift mode, a shift control signal is output to the automatic transmission 2 so as to shift up the shift stage by one in step S6 '. To do.

  On the other hand, when the shift lever 3 is in the D range position, the steering up switch 47 is turned ON. Therefore, in step S7 ′, the shift mode is switched from the automatic shift mode to the direct mode, and in step S8 ′. The marginal driving force of the vehicle after the upshift is calculated by the same calculation as in the control example. In step S9 ', it is determined whether or not this marginal driving force is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. If it is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, a shift control signal is output so that the shift stage is shifted up by one step in step S6'. .

  The above operation is the same as the operation of the control example shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, but in this control example, when it is determined in step S9 ′ that the marginal driving force after the upshift is smaller than a predetermined value. Next, in step S10 ′, it is determined whether or not the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening sensor 102 is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

  If it is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, in step S6 ′, a shift control signal is output so as to shift up the shift stage by one stage, and the accelerator opening degree, as in the case where the marginal driving force is larger than the predetermined value. Is greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S11 ', and a shift control signal for shifting up the shift stage is not output, and shift up is not executed.

  In other words, when the accelerator opening is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, in other words, when there is no driver's acceleration request, it is not necessary to consider the problem of acceleration failure originally. Even if the value is smaller than the value, the shift stage is shifted up by one, and the driver's ON operation of the steering up switch 47 is respected.

  On the other hand, when the accelerator opening is larger than the predetermined value, in other words, at the time of an acceleration request in which acceleration failure is a problem, the steering up switch 47 is used when the marginal acceleration becomes smaller than the predetermined value due to shift-up of the gear. Even if there is an ON operation, shift up is prohibited.

  As a result, while respecting the driver's switch operation, acceleration failure due to careless operation or erroneous operation is prevented, and good running performance is maintained.

  As described above, according to the control apparatus for an automatic transmission according to the present invention, the shift stage is operated in a state where the shift lever is operated to the range for the automatic transmission mode by the operation of the steering up switch provided on the steering wheel. In the automatic transmission capable of upshifting, an inappropriate upshift due to careless operation or erroneous operation of the switch is prevented, and good running performance is maintained. Therefore, the present invention may be suitably used in the manufacturing industry of this type of automatic transmission for automobiles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an entire automobile showing the arrangement of components constituting an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows a shift lever and its operation position. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of a steering down switch and a steering up switch. It is a figure which shows the structure of a meter unit. It is a figure which shows the lighting state of the principal part of the indicator for automatic transmissions in the meter unit. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the shift control operation | movement of the same embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the principal part of another control action.

Explanation of symbols

2 Automatic transmission 3 Shift lever 4 Steering wheel 47 Steering up switch 100 Controller (first and second manual shift control means, margin driving force calculation means, shift up prohibition means)
102 Accelerator opening detection means 106 Steering angle detection means 109 Gradient detection means

Claims (4)

An automatic shift mode in which the shift stage is automatically switched according to the driving state and a manual shift mode in which the shift stage is switched by a driver's manual operation are set, and a shift lever for selecting these modes is provided. And
In a control device for an automatic transmission provided with a shift up switch for shifting up a gear position by manual operation on or near a steering wheel,
First manual shift control means for shifting up the shift stage when the shift up switch is operated in a state where the shift lever is operated to the manual shift mode selection position;
Second manual shift control means for shifting up the shift stage when the shift up switch is operated in a state where the shift lever is operated to the automatic shift mode selection position;
A margin driving force calculating means for calculating a margin driving force after shifting up the shift stage;
Even if the first shift control means is in a traveling state in which shift up of the shift stage is allowed, if the margin driving force after the shift up calculated by the margin driving force calculation means is smaller than a predetermined value, the first shift control means A control apparatus for an automatic transmission, comprising: a shift-up prohibiting unit that prohibits a shift-up of the gear stage by the two-speed control unit. In the automatic transmission control device according to claim 1,
Accelerator opening detection means for detecting the accelerator opening is provided,
The shift up prohibiting means is configured such that the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening detecting means is larger than a predetermined value when the margin driving force after the shift up calculated by the margin driving force calculating means is smaller than a predetermined value. A control device for an automatic transmission, characterized in that only upshifting is prohibited. In the control apparatus for an automatic transmission according to claim 1 or 2,
Gradient detection means for detecting the gradient of the travel path is provided,
The control device for an automatic transmission, wherein the margin driving force calculation means calculates margin driving force using the gradient detected by the gradient detection means as a parameter. The control apparatus for an automatic transmission according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A turning angle detecting means for detecting a turning angle of the automobile is provided;
The control apparatus for an automatic transmission, wherein the margin driving force calculation means calculates margin driving force using the turning angle detected by the turning angle detection means as a parameter.

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