Patent Application
20070298929
Referring now to
The output of the transmission 16 is provided to a rear driveline assembly 30 which includes a rear propshaft 32 which drives a conventional rear differential 34. The rear differential 34 provides drive torque to a pair of rear axles 36 which are in turn coupled to left and right rear tire and wheel assemblies 38 which may be either a dual configuration illustrated or a single left and right tire and wheel assembly. Suitable universal joints 42 may be utilized as necessary with the rear propshaft 32 to accommodate static and dynamic offsets and misalignments thereof. Also disposed in the cab of the truck or tractor is an operator adjustable gear selector lever or assembly 46 having an output which is provided to the master controller 20. The gear selector lever assembly 46 defines a shift pattern 48 through which the vehicle operator may select, for example, whether the master controller 20 will automatically select and shift between available gears of the transmission 16 or defeat or override such automatic selection and manually select a desired gear. A stationary front axle 50 pivotally supports a pair of front tire and wheel assemblies 52 which are controllably pivoted by a steering linkage 54 which is coupled to and positioned by a steering wheel 56.
Whereas in prior art configurations of automated mechanical transmissions, the master controller 20 was hard wired to the shift and actuator assembly 18 and indirectly hard wired to the master friction clutch operator assembly 24 through the shift and actuator assembly 18 or directly hard wired thereto, the present invention replaces such hard wiring with a wireless, i.e., bi-directional radio frequency data link. Accordingly the master controller 20 includes a first radio frequency transceiver, i.e., transmitter and receiver, assembly 60. The first transceiver assembly 60 includes a first transmitter 62 which is provided with electrical power from the master controller 20 as well as all control signals to be transmitted to the shift actuator assembly 18 and the master friction clutch operator 24. The first transceiver assembly 60 also includes a first receiver 64 which receives signals transmitted by a complementary device associated with the master controller 20. The first transmitter 62 and the first receiver 64 share a suitable antenna 66 which facilitates transmission and reception of radio signals to and from complementary second transceiver assembly 70 associated with the shift actuator assembly 18.
The second transceiver assembly 70 includes a second transmitter 72 which receives data, from, for example, position sensors and linear transducers (illustrated in
Referring now to
Each of the actuator and shift rail assemblies 82, 84, 86 and 88 also includes a position sensor such as a linear transducer which is connected to the second transmitter 72 by a multiple conductor cable 90. A first linear transducer 92 is associated with the first actuator and shift rail assembly 82 and provides real time data regarding its position to the second transmitter 72. A second linear transducer 94 is associated with the actuator and shift rail assembly 84 and provides real time data regarding the position of the second actuator and shift rail assembly 84 to the second transmitter 72. A third linear transducer 96 provides data to the second transmitter 72 regarding the position of the third actuator and shift rail assembly 86 which rotates the shift rail of the second actuator and shift rail assembly 84. A fourth linear transducer 98 provides real time data to the second transmitter 72 regarding the real time position of the fourth actuator and shift rail assembly 88.
The transmission assembly 16 may include additional sensors. For example, an input shaft speed sensor 100 may provide real time data regarding the rotational speed of the input shaft 102 of the transmission 16 to the second transmitter 72 through the multi-conductor cable 90.
The wireless electronic, i.e., radio frequency link between the first transceiver assembly 60 and the second transceiver assembly 70 may function in accordance with one of many electronic data transmission protocols. Such a system will preferably have a data transmission capability of 1 to 3 Mbps, operate with transmitter power of 5 milliwatts or less and include some type of interference suppression. For example, Bluetooth point-to-point transmission may be utilized. Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG. A typical Bluetooth system will preferably operate in Class 2 or Class 3 mode and include adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) to effectively suppress interference. Alternatively, a WiFi, ultra wide band radio link or any other short range wireless technology may be utilized. Additionally, any radio frequency proprietary protocol specifically developed for this purpose or adapted from similar data transmission installations may be utilized. The system may utilize radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in a poll and response operating system, especially for switches such as the switches in the gear selector assembly 46 or neutral or reverse switches in the transmission 16. Such switches, when pooled, will read their RFID tag and whether the switch is on (active) off (deactivated) or unknown, indicating a fault or malfunction. This operating configuration, can, of course, be expanded to include switches having multiple (i.e., two, three, four or more) active states. As disclosed below with reference to
The signals provided by the first transmitter 62 of the first transceiver assembly 60 from the master controller 20 relate to the selection of shifts achieved by the splitter, the main gear box and the planetary gear assembly through control of the actuator and shift rail assemblies 82, 84, 86 and 88 as well as command a full or partial engagement and disengagement of the master friction clutch 14 by commands provided to the master friction clutch operator assembly 24 from the second transceiver assembly 70.
Referring now to
As noted, the assembly 110 is generally similar to the first embodiment assembly 10 illustrated in
A linear transducer and transmitter assembly 126 may be associated with the throttle or accelerator pedal 28. The transmitter assembly 126 provides data to the transceiver assembly 60 through a radio frequency link regarding the actual or real time position of the throttle pedal 28. A transmitter assembly 128 may also be associated with the shift assembly 46 to provide data regarding the manual control inputs from the operator of the vehicle such as operating mode, that is, whether the transmission 16 should operate in manual or automatic, the gear selected, such as neutral, forward, or reverse and a request for an upshift or downshift. The transmitter assembly 128 provides a radio frequency link to the transceiver 60. Alternatively, the transmitter 128 may be augmented with a receiver to receive data from the transceiver assembly 60 and the master controller 20 such as operating status indication or other indicator signals which are utilized to operate, for example, lights, digital readouts, buzzers or other audible warnings which may be located on the gear selector lever assembly 46 or elsewhere in the vehicle cab. Additionally, and as also illustrated in
It will be appreciated that all of the radio frequency links may be and are utilized to avoid difficulties of electrical connection and continuity which often arise from the use of hard wiring, i.e., wire harnesses and connectors. Thus, when a sensor or actuator is located in an environmentally unfriendly location, i.e., exposed to ambient and road conditions, the use of a radio transmitter, radio receiver or radio transceiver in accordance with this invention disposed proximate a sensor or actuator is appropriate. The master controller 20 and associated transceiver 60 will, on the other hand, be located within the cab or other location in an environmentally friendly location and proximate a power source. While several transmitters and transceivers have been shown with various sensors to provide various data to the transceiver assembly 60 associated with the master controller 20, it will be appreciated that any data or information which may be necessary or may be utilized by the master controller 20 or other device may be transmitted to the transceiver assembly 60 or a similar component in the manner described to eliminate the hard wiring and connectors associated with prior designs and therefore improve the reliability of such systems. Similarly, any command or control signals to any operator or actuator generated by the controller 20 or other device may be transmitted by the transceiver assembly 60 or a similar component in the manner described to eliminate the need for wiring harnesses and connectors.
The foregoing disclosure is the best mode devised by the inventors for practicing this invention. It is apparent, however, that apparatus incorporating modifications and variations will be obvious to one skilled in the art of automated transmissions having wireless interfaces. Inasmuch as the foregoing disclosure is intended to enable one skilled in the pertinent art to practice the instant invention, it should not be construed to be limited thereby but should be construed to include such aforementioned obvious variations and be limited only by the spirit and scope of the following claims.
