Four-wheel drive vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11047429-B2
Application number	US-201916532813-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 6, 2019
Priority date	Aug 9, 2018
Publication date	Jun 29, 2021
Grant date	Jun 29, 2021

Abstract

A four-wheel drive vehicle comprises: main drive wheels; sub-drive wheels; a power transmission path; a first connecting/disconnecting device; and a second connecting/disconnecting device, at least one connecting/disconnecting device of the first and second connecting/disconnecting devices including: a dog clutch; a synchronization mechanism; and an electromagnetic actuator. The four-wheel drive vehicle includes a control device providing the energization control of the electromagnetic coil based on a preliminarily stored current command value to engage the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device, and the control device learns a characteristic value indicative of an increasing characteristic of the rotation speed of the first rotating member with respect to the current command value and updates the current command value such that an increase rate of the rotation speed of the first rotating member becomes equal to a predetermined rate based on the learned characteristic value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A four-wheel drive vehicle comprising: main drive wheels to which a drive power from a drive power source is transmitted; sub-drive wheels to which a portion of the drive power from the drive power source is transmitted during four-wheel drive running; a power transmission path transmitting the drive power from the drive power source to the sub-drive wheels; a first connecting/disconnecting device selectively disconnecting or connecting between the power transmission path and the drive power source; and a second connecting/disconnecting device selectively disconnecting or connecting between the power transmission path and the sub-drive wheels, at least one connecting/disconnecting device of the first and second connecting/disconnecting devices including: a dog clutch engaging a first rotating member disposed in the power transmission path and a second rotating member connected to the drive power source or the sub-drive wheels in a power transmittable manner; a synchronization mechanism synchronizing a rotation speed of the first rotating member with a rotation speed of the second rotating member; and an electromagnetic actuator including an electromagnetic coil to generate a torque for causing the synchronization mechanism to increase the rotation speed of the first rotating member and to cause the dog clutch to engage when the electromagnetic coil is subjected to energization control, wherein
the four-wheel drive vehicle includes a control device providing the energization control of the electromagnetic coil based on a preliminarily stored current command value to engage the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device, and wherein
the control device learns a characteristic value indicative of an increasing characteristic of the rotation speed of the first rotating member with respect to the current command value and updates the current command value such that an increase rate of the rotation speed of the first rotating member becomes equal to a predetermined rate based on the learned characteristic value.

2. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the power transmission path includes a control coupling controlling a transmission torque transmitted from the drive power source to the sub-drive wheels during four-wheel drive running, and wherein
the control device learns the characteristic value while the power transmission path and the drive power source or the sub-drive wheels are disconnected by the other connecting/disconnecting device of the first and second connecting/disconnecting devices and the control coupling is released.

3. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
the characteristic value is the increase rate of the rotation speed of the first rotating member increased at the time of engagement of the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device from when the energization control is started until when a predetermined time period set in advance has elapsed.

4. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
the characteristic value is an elapsed time at the time of engagement of the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device from when the energization control is started until when the rotation speed of the first rotating member increases to a predetermined speed set in advance.

5. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
the first rotating member is rotatably disposed in a casing housing the one connecting/disconnecting device to stir an oil stored in the casing, wherein
the control device stores a plurality of values corresponding to oil temperatures of the oil as the current command value, and wherein
the control device provides the energization control of the electromagnetic coil based on the current command value corresponding to the oil temperature of the oil to engage the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device and updates the current command value corresponding to the oil temperature of the oil at the time of learning of the characteristic value.

6. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 5 , wherein
the characteristic value is the increase rate of the rotation speed of the first rotating member increased at the time of engagement of the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device from when the energization control is started until when a predetermined time period set in advance has elapsed.

7. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 5 , wherein
the characteristic value is an elapsed time at the time of engagement of the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device from when the energization control is started until when the rotation speed of the first rotating member increases to a predetermined speed set in advance.

8. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 5 , wherein the control device updates each of the plurality of the current command values corresponding to the oil temperatures of the oil based on the learned characteristic value.

9. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein
the characteristic value is the increase rate of the rotation speed of the first rotating member increased at the time of engagement of the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device from when the energization control is started until when a predetermined time period set in advance has elapsed.

10. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein
the characteristic value is an elapsed time at the time of engagement of the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device from when the energization control is started until when the rotation speed of the first rotating member increases to a predetermined speed set in advance.

11. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the first rotating member is rotatably disposed in a casing housing the one connecting/disconnecting device to stir an oil stored in the casing, wherein
the control device stores a plurality of values corresponding to oil temperatures of the oil as the current command value, and wherein
the control device provides the energization control of the electromagnetic coil based on the current command value corresponding to the oil temperature of the oil to engage the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device and updates the current command value corresponding to the oil temperature of the oil at the time of learning of the characteristic value.

12. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 11 , wherein
the characteristic value is the increase rate of the rotation speed of the first rotating member increased at the time of engagement of the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device from when the energization control is started until when a predetermined time period set in advance has elapsed.

13. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 11 , wherein
the characteristic value is an elapsed time at the time of engagement of the dog clutch of the one connecting/disconnecting device from when the energization control is started until when the rotation speed of the first rotating member increases to a predetermined speed set in advance.

14. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 11 , wherein the control device updates each of the plurality of the current command values corresponding to the oil temperatures of the oil based on the learned characteristic value.

15. The four-wheel drive vehicle according to claim 14 , wherein
the characteristic value is the increase rate of the rotation speed of the first rotating member increased at the time of engagement of the dog clut

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Nose Mai

Classifications

• B60K17/02 Primary

  characterised by arrangement, location, or kind of clutch · CPC title

• F16D23/04

  with an additional friction clutch (synchro rings per se F16D23/025) · CPC title

• F16D2500/70605

  Adaptive correction; Modifying control system parameters, e.g. gains, constants, look-up tables · CPC title

• F16D48/064 Primary

  Control of electrically or electromagnetically actuated clutches (F16D48/062, F16D48/068 take precedence) · CPC title

• B60K23/08

  for changing number of driven wheels {, for switching from driving one axle to driving two or more axles (B60K17/3515 takes precedence)} · CPC title