Patent Grant
9043058
The present disclosure relates to marine propulsion devices, and more particularly to systems and methods for facilitating shift changes in marine propulsion devices.
The following US Patents and Applications provide background information and are incorporated herein by reference in entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,618 discloses a shift cable assembly for a marine drive that includes a shift plate, a shift lever pivotally mounted on the plate, and a switch actuating arm pivotally mounted on the plate between a first neutral position and a second switch actuating position. A control cable and drive cable interconnect the shift lever and switching actuating arm with a remote control and clutch and gear assembly for the marine drive so that shifting of the remote control by a boat operator moves the cables to pivot the shift lever and switch actuating arm which in turn actuates a shift interrupter switch mounted on the plate to momentarily interrupt ignition of the drive unit to permit easier shifting into forward, neutral and reverse gears. A spring biases the arm into its neutral position and the arm includes an improved mounting for retaining the spring in its proper location on the arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,181 discloses a shift cable assembly for a marine drive having a clutch and gear assembly, including a remote control for selectively positioning the clutch and gear assembly into forward, neutral and reverse, a control cable connecting the remote control to a shift lever pivotally mounted on a shift plate, a drive cable connecting the shift lever on the shift plate to the clutch and gear assembly, and a spring guide assembly with compression springs biased to a loaded condition by movement of the remote control from neutral to forward and also biased to a loaded condition by movement of the remote control from neutral to reverse. The bias minimizes chatter of the clutch and gear assembly upon shifting into gear, and aids shifting out of gear and minimizes slow shifting out of gear and returns the remote control to neutral, all with minimum backlash of the cables. The spring guide assembly includes an outer tube mounted to the shift plate, and a spring biased plunger axially reciprocal in the outer tube and mounted at its outer end to the shift lever.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,776 discloses a shift speed equalizer in a marine transmission in a marine drive subject to a decrease in engine speed upon shifting from neutral to a forward or reverse gear due to a high propeller pitch or the like, such as in bass boat applications, and subject to an increase in engine speed upon shifting back to neutral. The shift from neutral to forward or reverse is sensed, and engine speed is increased in response thereto, to compensate the decrease in engine speed due to shifting. The return shift back to neutral is sensed, and engine speed is decreased in response thereto, to compensate the increase in engine speed due to shifting. Engine speed is increased by advancing engine spark ignition timing, and engine speed is decreased by retarding or returning engine ignition timing to its initial setting. Particular methodology and structure is disclosed, including modifications to an existing shift plate and to an existing guide block to enable the noted functions, and including the addition of an auxiliary circuit to existing ignition circuitry enabling the desired altering of engine ignition timing to keep engine speed from dropping when shifting into forward or reverse.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,771 discloses a control system for a marine vessel that incorporates a marine propulsion system that can be attached to a marine vessel and connected in signal communication with a serial communication bus and a controller. A plurality of input devices and output devices are also connected in signal communication with the communication bus and a bus access manager, such as a CAN Kingdom network, is connected in signal communication with the controller to regulate the incorporation of additional devices to the plurality of devices in signal communication with the bus whereby the controller is connected in signal communication with each of the plurality of devices on the communication bus. The input and output devices can each transmit messages to the serial communication bus for receipt by other devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,083 discloses a gear shift mechanism in which a cam structure comprises a protrusion that is shaped to extend into a channel formed in a cam follower structure. The cam follower structure can be provided with first and second channels that allow the protrusion of the cam to be extended into either which accommodates both port and starboard shifting mechanisms. The cam surface formed on the protrusion of the cam moves in contact with a selected cam follower surface formed in the selected one of two alternative channels to cause the cam follower to move axially and to cause a clutch member to engage with either a first or second drive gear.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,518 discloses a shifting apparatus for a marine propulsion device that incorporates a magneto-elastic elastic sensor which responds to torque exerted on the shift shaft of the gear shift mechanism. The torque on the shift shaft induces stress which changes the magnetic characteristics of the shift shaft material and, in turn, allows the magneto-elastic sensor to provide appropriate output signals representative of the torque exerted on the shift shaft. This allows a microprocessor to respond to the onset of a shifting procedure rather than having to wait for actual physical movement of the components of the shifting device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,530 discloses an engine control strategy for a marine propulsion system that selects a desired idle speed for use during a shift event based on boat speed and engine temperature. In order to change the engine operating speed to the desired idle speed during the shift event, ignition timing is altered and the status of an idle air control valve is changed. These changes to the ignition timing and the idle air control valve are made in order to achieve the desired engine idle speed during the shift event. The idle speed during the shift event is selected so that the impact shock and resulting noise of the shift event can be decreased without causing the engine to stall.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,214,164 discloses shift operation control system for an outboard motor, which is capable of reducing a load that is acting on a shift operation lever during a shift operation and a shock occurring during the shift operation, to thereby facilitate the shift operation. The shift operation by the shift operation lever is continuously detected by a shift position detector, and when an early stage of the shift operation from the forward position to the neutral position or from the reverse position to the neutral position is detected and at the same time the engine speed at the detection is not less than a predetermined value, engine output reduction control is carried out, and when the shift position detector detects that the shift position has been switched to the neutral position, the engine output reduction control is canceled.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/462,570 discloses systems and methods for controlling shift in a marine propulsion device. A shift sensor outputs a position signal representing a current position of a shift linkage. A control circuit is programmed to identify an impending shift change when the position signal reaches a first threshold and an actual shift change when the position signal reaches a second threshold. The control circuit is programmed to enact a shift interrupt control strategy that facilitates the actual shift change when the position signal reaches the first threshold, and to actively modify the first threshold as a change in operation of the marine propulsion device occurs.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/760,870 discloses a system and method for diagnosing a fault state of a shift linkage in a marine propulsion device. A control lever is movable towards at least one of a maximum reverse position and a maximum forward position. A shift linkage couples the control lever to a transmission, wherein movement of the control lever causes movement of the shift linkage that enacts a shift change in the transmission. A shift sensor outputs a position signal representing a current position of the shift linkage. A control circuit diagnoses a fault state of the shift linkage when after the shift change the position signal that is output by the shift sensor is outside of at least one range of position signals that is stored in the control circuit.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described herein below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In certain examples, methods are for facilitating shift changes in a marine propulsion device having an internal combustion engine and a shift linkage that operatively connects a shift control lever to a transmission for effecting the shift changes amongst a reverse gear, a neutral gear and a forward gear. The methods can comprise: sensing a position of the shift linkage; sensing a speed of the engine; comparing the speed of the engine to a stored engine speed; and modifying, based upon the position of the shift linkage when the speed of the engine reaches the stored engine speed, a neutral state threshold that determines when the speed of the engine is no longer reduced to facilitate a shift change.
In certain other examples, systems are for facilitating shift changes in a marine propulsion device. The systems can comprise: an internal combustion engine; a shift linkage that operatively connects a shift control lever to a transmission for effecting the shift changes amongst a reverse gear, a neutral gear and a forward gear; a position sensor that senses position of the shift linkage; a speed sensor that senses speed of the engine; and a control circuit that compares the speed of the engine to a stored engine speed. The control circuit modifies, based upon the position of the shift linkage when the speed of the engine reaches the stored engine speed, a neutral state threshold that determines when the control circuit ceases reducing the speed of the engine to facilitate a shift change.
Various other aspects and exemplary combinations for these examples are further described herein below.
Examples of methods and systems for facilitating shift changes in marine propulsion devices are described with reference to the following figures. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components.
In the present description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be inferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes only and are intended to be broadly construed. The different methods and systems described herein may be used alone or in combination with other methods and systems. Various equivalents, alternatives, and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.
The shift control system 10 also includes a remote control 25 having an operator control lever 26, which in the example of
The shift control system 10 also includes a control circuit 36 that is programmable and includes a microprocessor 38 and a memory 40. The control circuit 36 can be located anywhere in the shift control system 10 and/or located remote from the shift control system 10 and can communicate with various components of the marine vessel 11 via wired and/or wireless links, as will be explained further herein below. The control circuit 36 can have one or more microprocessors that are located together or remote from each other in the shift control system 10 or remote from the system 10. Although
In this example, the control circuit 36 communicates with one or more components of the marine propulsion device 12 via a communication link 50, which can be a wired or wireless link. The control circuit 36 is capable of monitoring and controlling one or more operational characteristics of the marine propulsion device 12 by sending and receiving control signals via the communication link 50. In this example, a throttle valve 34 is provided on the engine 14 and a throttle valve position sensor 46 senses the position of the throttle valve 34, which is movable between open and closed positions. The throttle valve position sensor 46 provides signals to the control circuit 36 via the link 50 indicating the current position of the throttle valve 34.
The control circuit 36 is also configured to at least receive position signals from a shift sensor 48 sensing a current position of the shift linkage 28. The control circuit 36 communicates with the shift sensor 48 via the communication link 50, which can be a wired or wireless link. In this example, the shift sensor 48 includes a potentiometer and an electronic converter, such as an analog to digital converter that outputs discrete analog to digital (ADC) counts that each represent a position of the shift linkage 28. Such potentiometer and electronic converter combinations are known in the art and commercially available for example available from CTS Corporation.
As described in the incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,530, shifting from one gear position to another gear position (such as from neutral gear to forward gear) can often result in significant impact noise and/or impact shock to the marine propulsion device, and particularly its drive components. This noise and/or shock results from the impact that occurs between moving parts of the clutch, for example. The amount of noise and/or shock is often proportional to the speed of the engine 14. The faster the speed of the engine 14, the more noise and/or shock, and vice versa. Shifting from one gear position to another gear position (such as from forward gear to neutral gear) can often cause a significant load to be placed on the shift mechanism. The faster the speed of the engine 14, the more load on the shift mechanism, and vice versa. During a shift event, it can therefore be desirable to briefly reduce the speed of the engine 14 in order to facilitate a shift event having less noise and/or shock and/or a shift event encountering reduced load. The speed of the engine 14 can be reduced by implementing one of several known shift interrupt control strategies, several of which are disclosed in the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,530, which are described in the context of reducing noise and/or shock. These shift interrupt control strategies can also be used to reduce the load. Shift interrupt control strategies can include varying spark ignition, varying engine torque profile, interrupting ignition, reducing engine torque, varying throttle valve position, interrupting engine ignition circuit, cutting fuel, opening the idle air control valve, just to name just a few. Implementing any one of these shift interrupt control strategies can cause the speed of the engine 14 to slow, thus decreasing the torque provided to the drive train, including the noted clutch.
In the present disclosure, the control circuit 36 is programmed to enact a selected shift interrupt control strategy that briefly lowers the speed of the engine when the position signal provided by the shift sensor 48 reaches a threshold. As will be explained further herein below, advantageously, the control circuit 36 is also programmed to actively modify one or more threshold as a change in operation of the marine propulsion device 12 occurs, such as for example a change in a position of the throttle valve 34, as sensed by the throttle valve position sensor 46.
As explained herein above, the control circuit 36 is programmed to compare the current position signal (here an ADC count) outputted by the shift sensor 48 to a threshold. When the position signal reaches the threshold, the control circuit 36 enacts a new control state. It should be understood that the control circuit 36 can follow generally the same protocol during a shift from neutral gear to reverse gear as it does during a shift from neutral gear to forward gear. Also, the control circuit 36 can follow generally the same protocol during a shift from reverse gear to neutral gear as it does during a shift from forward gear to neutral gear. As such, for discussion purposes and for brevity, an exemplary control circuit 36 protocol during a shift from neutral gear to forward gear, and back to neutral gear is discussed herein below.
Referring to
As described herein above, the shift control system 10 is a mechanical system wherein manual inputs from the operator directly actuate the shift event. Thus the control circuit 36 has an observational role relative to the actual shifting event because the shifting event is largely controlled by mechanical connections in the marine propulsion device 12, including among other things the connections between the control lever 26, shift linkage 28, shift rod 24, and clutch. However the control circuit 36 can control characteristics of the engine 14 based upon the sensed operator inputs to the control lever 26 and more specifically based upon sensed movements of the shift linkage 28, for example. In this example, mechanical tolerances and connections between the noted control lever 26, shift linkage 28 (including portions 28a, 28b and shift link 30) will vary for each marine propulsion device 12. Because of this variability, the noted thresholds that are programmed in the control circuit 36 at the time the shift control system 10 is initially configured, which thresholds typically represent common or estimated positions of the shift linkage 28 at which a shift event most likely occurs, will not necessarily accurately reflect such a result in every system. The difference between the thresholds that are programmed when the shift control system 10 is initially configured and the actual positions at which changes in shift states occur can vary. For example, the position of the shift linkage 28, will not always accurately and/or precisely predict and/or represent the position at which an actual shift event occurs at the transmission 22. Each system will have slightly different physical characteristics, which causes the correlation between the position of the control lever 26 and actuation of the clutch to vary and be unpredictable at the time of initial configuration of the shift control system 10.
Like
Through research and development efforts, the present inventors have recognized that because of unpredictability and lost motion encountered in mechanically based systems, it is desirable to provide a control system that actively modifies one or more of the noted thresholds for changing control states of the control circuit 36. By actively modifying these threshold(s), it is possible to more precisely (timely) implement shift interrupt control strategies prior to an actual shift event, which in turn provides efficiency in the shift change by for example reducing the impact and/or noise of the event. The inventors have also recognized that the shift control system 10 can be programmed to modify one or more noted thresholds, for example based upon movement of the throttle valve 34 between its closed and open state, which correlates to actual gear position of the marine propulsion device 12. By sensing the position of the throttle valve 34 and correlating throttle valve 34 position to the actual shift condition, the shift control system 10 is able to more accurately implement the shift interrupt control strategy at an optimal time. In other words, the throttle valve 34 will typically change position upon an actual shift event. This information can therefore be used by the control circuit 36 to modify the noted thresholds and more precisely implement the shift interrupt control strategy.
Referring back to
Referring to
During additional research and development efforts, the present inventors have recognized that it is desirable to more accurately and consistently identify the noted “second threshold” identified herein above at step 206. In other words, the inventors have recognized that it is desirable to more accurately and consistently identify the upper and lower thresholds T1 and T2 of the Neutral State 60 shown in
As in the examples described herein above with respect to
In a first example, each time the engine 14 transitions from the crank state to the run state, the control circuit 36 can assume that the control lever 26 is in the neutral position 26c (because as stated above the system 10a is configured to prevent the engine 14 from starting unless the operator control lever 26 is in the neutral position 26c). Based on this assumption, the control circuit 36 can then actively modify upper and lower limits T1, T2 (see
As discussed herein above with respect to
As mentioned herein above, in another example, the stored engine speed can represent a speed of the engine 14 that is known to occur upon a shift change from one of the forward and reverse gears into the neutral gear. That is, the present inventors have also recognized that when control lever 26 operates the transmission 22 to disconnect the propeller 20 from the engine 14, a sudden removal of load on the engine 14 occurs, which thereby causes a correspondingly sudden rise in speed (e.g. RPM) of the engine 14. Therefore according to this example, the control circuit 36 is programmed to assume that upon such a sudden rise in speed of the engine 14, the transmission 22 has transitioned from one of the forward or reverse gears to the neutral gear. On this basis, the control circuit 36 is programmed to adapt the noted neutral state thresholds T1, T2 according to the method described above.
More specifically, the control circuit 36 is programmed to compare the speed of the engine 14 to the stored engine speed and then modify, based upon the position of the shift linkage 28 when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed, the neutral state threshold T1, T2 that determines when the control circuit 36 reduces the speed of the engine 14 to facilitate a shift change. The control circuit 36 is programmed to make this modification by first determining whether the current neutral state threshold T1, T2 stored in the memory 40 varies by more than a predetermined amount from the position of the shift linkage 28 when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed. If yes, the control circuit 36 is programmed to adapt the neutral state thresholds T1, T2 by a certain calibrated amount, which can also be stored in the memory 40. If no, the control circuit 36 is programmed to not adapt the current neutral state thresholds T1, T2 stored in the memory 40.
The inventors have also recognized that the speed of the engine 14 may reach the noted stored engine speed for a variety of reasons, only one of which is that a shift has occurred from one of the forward and reverse gears to the neutral gear. For example, the speed of the engine 14 could significantly change based upon a trimming action of the marine propulsion device 12, an engagement between the propeller 20 and an obstruction, an addition of a heavy load to the marine vessel 11, removal of a load from the marine vessel 11, and/or the like. Therefore, to ensure that the threshold adaptation process is only employed when the shift has occurred, the control circuit 36 is programmed to disregard any occurrence of when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed if the shift linkage 28 position is not near the current thresholds T1 and T2 of the Neutral State 60, for example if the shift linkage 28 is not at a position that is within a predetermined amount or within a threshold relative to the currently known thresholds T1, T2. This allows the control circuit 36 to disregard situations where the change in speed is caused by a trimming action of the marine propulsion device 12, an engagement between the propeller 20 and an obstruction, an addition of a heavy load to the marine vessel 11, etc., because each of these instances are unlikely to occur at the same time as a movement of the control lever 26 near the Neutral State 60. That is, the present inventors have realized that if the control lever is located near to the thresholds T1, T2, it is likely that the change in speed of the engine 14 is because of an actual shift event.
In another example, the control circuit 36 is programmed to disregard an occurrence of when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed if the shift linkage 28 is not at a position that is within a predetermined amount or within a threshold relative to the currently known thresholds T1, T2 of the Neutral State 60 and further where the control lever 26 has changed position at or above a certain stored rate, which can be stored in the memory 40.
It will thus be understood that the present disclosure provides a system 10a for facilitating shift changes in marine propulsion devices 12. The system 10a can include an internal combustion engine 14; a shift linkage 28 that operatively connects a control lever 26 to a transmission 22 for effecting shift changes amongst a reverse gear, a neutral gear and a forward gear; a shift position sensor 48 that senses position of the shift linkage 28; and an engine speed sensor 31 that senses speed of the engine 14. The control circuit 36 is programmed to compare the speed of the engine 14 to a stored engine speed, which can represent a known speed at which the engine 14 changes from a crank state in which the engine 14 is cranking to a run state in which the engine 14 is running. The control circuit 36 is configured to modify, based upon the position of the shift linkage 28 when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed, a neutral state threshold (e.g. T1, T2) that determines when the control circuit 36 ceases to reduce the speed of the engine 14 to facilitate the shift change. The control circuit 36 is programmed to identify the position of the shift linkage 28 when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed and then add positive and negative calibrated amounts to thereby identify the upper neutral state threshold T1 and the lower neutral state threshold T2, respectively. In this manner, when a shift change is ultimately made from forward gear to neutral gear, the upper neutral state threshold T1 designates a threshold of the Forward-to-Neutral State 68 at which the control circuit 36 stops reducing the speed of the engine 14 to facilitate the shift change. When the shift change is ultimately made from the reverse gear to the neutral gear, the lower neutral state threshold T2 designates a threshold of the Reverse-to-Neutral State 72 at which the control circuit 36 stops reducing the speed of the engine 14 to facilitate the shift change. In other words, once the upper and lower neutral state thresholds T1, T2 are adapted, the control circuit 36 can continue to sense the position of the shift linkage 28 after the shift linkage 28 reaches the neutral state threshold T1, T2 and thereafter the control circuit 36 ceases control of speed of the engine 14 when the shift linkage 28 returns to the neutral state threshold T1, T2.
Therefore it will also be understood that the present disclosure provides a method of facilitating shift changes in the marine propulsion device 12. The method can include sensing a position of the shift linkage (step 304), sensing a speed of the engine 14 (step 306), comparing the speed of the engine 14 to a stored engine speed (step 308) and modifying, based upon the position of the shift linkage 28 when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed, a neutral state threshold T1, T2 that determines when the speed of the engine 14 is no longer reduced to facilitate a shift change (step 312). Optionally, the method can include the steps of continuing to sense the position of the shift linkage 28 after the shift linkage 28 reaches the neutral state threshold T1, T2 and thereafter ceasing control of the speed of the engine 14 when the shift linkage 28 returns to the neutral state threshold T1, T2.
Therefore it will also be understood that the present disclosure provides a method of facilitating shift changes in the marine propulsion device 12 that includes sensing the position of the shift linkage (step 402) determining whether the shift linkage is near the Neutral State 60 (step 404), sensing the speed of the engine 14 (step 406), comparing the speed of the engine 14 to a stored engine speed (408) and modifying, based upon the position of the shift linkage 28 when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed, a neutral state threshold T1, T2 that determines when the speed of the engine 14 is no longer reduced to facilitate a shift change (step 410). In other examples, the method can include the step of disregarding an occurrence of when the speed of the engine 14 reaches the stored engine speed if the shift linkage 28 does not have a position that is near to the current thresholds T1, T2 and/or if the position of the shift linkage 28 has not changed by more than a stored rate (steps 503, 504).
Certain examples disclosed herein thus provide for quicker adaptation of the thresholds T1, T2 of the Neutral State 60, for example at startup and crank of the engine 14. Certain examples also allow for other thresholds in the control state flow to be adapted for more accurate shift cable adjustment diagnostics. Certain examples allow for a reduction in the size of the Neutral State 60, thus allowing for continued shift interrupt strategies to assist the operator to achieve neutral from gear. Certain examples provide the operator with the ability to begin and terminate shift interrupt strategies on a mechanical engine more accurately to increase the efficacy of the shift strategies while eliminating the inherent variability between engines/gear cases/adjustments.
The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/782,364, filed Mar. 14, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in entirety.
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