JP3052640B2 - Power assist device for vehicle clutch - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power assist device for a clutch for operating a clutch mechanism via an operation cable, and more particularly to a power assist device for a vehicle clutch in which the operating force of a clutch pedal and a clutch lever is reduced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Automobiles and motorcycles are provided with a clutch mechanism which is a device for connecting and disconnecting the rotational driving force of an engine to a drive system below a transmission at the time of starting or shifting. In this clutch mechanism, for example, in a motor vehicle, a clutch pedal is depressed, and in a motorcycle, a clutch operating force is transmitted through an operation cable by a manual operation of a clutch lever to disconnect (clutch) an engine rotational force. It has become. At that time, the principle of leverage is adopted for the clutch pedal and the clutch lever, and the operation feeling is reduced by increasing the pedal ratio and the lever ratio.

[0003] In addition, there is a hydraulic power clutch in which an on-off operation of a clutch mechanism is performed with a light operation feeling in automobiles and motorcycles. In this power clutch, the clutch mechanism is intermittently operated by using the negative pressure of the engine intake manifold or the hydraulic pressure generated by the oil pump, so that the operating force of the clutch pedal and the clutch lever is reduced.

[0004]

However, the conventional hydraulic power clutch cannot not only cope with a clutch mechanism employing an operation cable in which the clutch operation force is transmitted via the operation cable, but also can use an existing automobile or an automatic vehicle. It is difficult to retrofit this hydraulic power clutch to a conventional motorcycle. In order to retrofit a hydraulic power clutch to a conventional model, it is necessary to rework many related parts, which requires much labor and time, and increases costs.

In a clutch mechanism employing an operation cable, the operating force of a clutch pedal or a clutch lever is reduced by increasing a pedal ratio or a lever ratio, but the operating force of a clutch pedal or a clutch lever is greatly reduced. It cannot be reduced. Especially in motorcycles,
When traveling on a curved road or a mountain road with many hills, or traveling in a town where traffic is heavy and traffic is constantly congested, the gearshift operation must be performed frequently, and each time the clutch lever must be operated. However, when the lever operation of the clutch lever is frequently performed, the clutch operation force cannot be sufficiently reduced only by the lever ratio, so that the operation feeling is poor, the burden of manual operation is large, and it is difficult to enjoy comfortable traveling. Was.

[0006] Further, when the clutch disengagement is poor, it is sufficient to increase the operation amount of the clutch. However, there is a limit to the force of the rider and the size of the hand, and the operation amount of the clutch can be freely increased. Was difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has improved operability of a clutch pedal and a clutch lever, and enables a clutch mechanism to be reliably switched on and off with a light operating feeling. To provide a power assist device for a clutch for a vehicle.

Another object of the present invention is to add a motor driving force to an operation cable as a power assist amount by a clutch operation assisting device to reduce the operation force of a clutch pedal or a clutch lever and increase the operation amount of a clutch. An object of the present invention is to provide a power assist device for a vehicle clutch in which the disengagement of the clutch is improved.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a power supply for a vehicle clutch in which an eccentric moment generated in an output bearing of a motor due to an operation force applied to an operation cable is prevented and durability of the output bearing of the motor is improved. To provide an assist device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a power assist device for a vehicle clutch which does not impair clutch operation even when a motor fails.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a power assist device for a vehicle clutch which can easily and easily be retrofitted to conventional models of automobiles and motorcycles.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention comprises a motor-driven rotating body having a plurality of divided parts. A reel made of a reel piece is slidably provided. This reel has a plurality of cable guide paths having different winding diameters, and an operation cable for operating a clutch mechanism is wound around these cable guide paths to provide a clutch operation assisting device. This clutch operation assisting device comprises:
By applying an operation force to the operation cable, the rotating body and the reel are frictionally engaged, and a motor drive force is applied to the operation cable as a power assist amount.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an operation cable wound around the cable guide path is formed by branching and winding one operation cable around the cable guide path. The power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention, wherein the other operation cable is wound around the center, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, as described in claim 3, as the vehicle clutch mechanism. Is operated via an operation cable, an ON-OFF switch is provided in conjunction with an initial movement clutch operation member such as a clutch pedal or a clutch lever. The ON-OFF switch controls the start / stop of the motor.
The OFF switch is set to be ON during a play section of the operation cable during the operation stroke of the initial movement clutch operation member and OFF at the time of the maximum operation stroke, and a clutch operation assist device is provided on the output shaft of the motor. .

[0014]

In the present invention having the above-described structure, a clutch operation assisting device is provided in the middle of an operation cable for operating the clutch mechanism, and the motor driving force is applied as a power assist amount to the operation cable by the clutch operation assisting device. Therefore, the operating force of the operating cable required to operate the clutch mechanism can be greatly reduced, the operability of the clutch pedal and clutch lever can be improved, and comfortable driving can be enjoyed with a light operating feeling. .

In the power assist device, the motor driving force can be selectively added to the operation cable as a power assist amount by the clutch operation assist device.
Since the clutch operation amount can be designed to be large, the disengagement of the clutch can be improved.

Further, the operation cable wound around the cable guide path is obtained by branching and winding one operation cable around the cable guide path and winding the other operation cable around the center thereof. The eccentric moment generated in the output bearing of the motor by the force can be prevented, and the durability of the output bearing of the motor can be improved.

Furthermore, even in the event of a malfunction of the clutch operation assisting device, the operating force of the clutch pedal or the clutch lever is reliably transmitted to the clutch mechanism via the operating cable or reel, so that the clutch operation can be performed by the motor failure. Is not compromised.

By providing a clutch operation assisting device in the middle of the operating cable, a power assisting device for a vehicle clutch can be configured, so that the related parts of the conventional model can be used as it is, and this power assisting device is used for automobiles and motorcycles. It can be easily and easily retrofitted.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a left side view showing an example of a motorcycle to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a power assist device for a vehicle clutch in an unfolded state.

In FIG. 1, the motorcycle 1 has an engine 3 mounted at a lower center portion of a body frame 2,
A fuel tank 4 is provided above the engine 3. An operation seat 5 is provided behind the fuel tank 4, and the operation seat 5 is installed on a seat rail 6 of the vehicle body frame 2.

A steering mechanism 8 is provided on the head pipe 7 of the vehicle body frame 2, and a front fork 10 for rotatably supporting the front wheels 9 is provided on the steering mechanism 8. Also, handlebars 12 and 13 are attached to the left and right sides of the upper bracket 11 of the steering mechanism 8, respectively, and are pivotally attached to the front fork 10 so as to be rotatable left and right.

On the other hand, a swing arm 16 for rotatably supporting a rear wheel 15 is pivotally mounted on a pivot shaft 14 erected at a lower center portion of the body frame 2 so as to be rotatable around the pivot shaft 14.

The left handlebar 12 attached to the upper bracket 11 of the steering mechanism 8 is provided with a clutch lever 17 as an initial operation clutch operating member, and the right handlebar 13 is provided with a front brake lever (not shown). .

As shown in FIG. 2, an operation cable 18 extends from the clutch lever 17 as a clutch cable, and a clutch operation assist device 19 is provided in the middle of the operation cable 18. The other end of the operation cable 18 is connected to a clutch release lever 20.

The clutch release lever 20 is linked to a clutch mechanism 22 via a mechanical operating force transmitting mechanism 21 such as a pinion rack mechanism, and causes the clutch mechanism 22 to operate the clutch against the spring force of a spring 23. ing. By the clutch operation of the clutch mechanism 22, the rotational driving force transmitted from the crankshaft 24 of the engine 3 is intermittently connected to a drive system below the transmission 25. In the clutch mechanism 22, the rotational driving force from the engine 3 is always transmitted to the transmission 25 by the spring force of the spring 23.

The operating cable 18 from the clutch lever 17 is guided by a cable guide 29 together with a starter cable 26, a throttle cable 27 and a wire harness 28 as shown in FIG. It is connected to the clutch release lever 20.

The clutch operation assisting device 19 provided in the middle of the operation cable 18 has a battery 3 as shown in FIG.
The motor output is transmitted to a motor output shaft 33 via a speed reducer 32 as shown in FIG. A hub 35 housed in a main body casing 34 is rotatably attached to the motor output shaft 33 by taper or spline connection. Hub 3
5 is fixed to the motor output shaft 33 and forms a part of the motor output shaft 33. The speed reducer 32 attached to the electric motor 31 is attached and fixed to the main body casing 34. Reference numeral 36 denotes a case cover. A bearing 37 is provided on the case cover 36, and the bearing 37 guides the rotation of the hub 35.

On the other hand, a sleeve-like rotor 38 constituting a rotating body is fitted to the boss 35a of the hub 35. An engagement pin 39 projecting in the axial direction is implanted in the rotor 38, and this engagement pin 39 is engaged with an arc-shaped long hole 40 formed in the outer flange 35b of the hub 35 as shown in FIG. You. The rotor 38 rotates relatively to the hub 35 by the stroke of the elongated hole 40.

A reel 41 is slidably provided on the outer periphery of the rotor 38. As shown in FIG. 4, the reel 41 has three cable guide paths 42, 43, and 44 formed on the outer peripheral side, and the winding diameter γ of the cable guide path 43 formed at the center of the reel 41 is 4 and 5, the winding diameter δ of the other two cable guide paths 42 and 44 is made smaller.

The reel 41 has a divided structure, and includes a plurality of, for example, four arc-shaped divided reel pieces 41a, 41.
b, 41c and 41d are arranged in the circumferential direction. The number of divided reel pieces may be two or more.

In one of the divided reel pieces 41a to 41d, one of the divided reel pieces 41a is provided with an engaging hole 45 so as to cross each of the cable guide paths 42, 43 and 44, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 5, the end piece of the drive-side clutch cable 18a of the operation cable 18 is formed in the engagement hole 45 of the cable guide path 41 at the center of the reel 41 having a small winding diameter. The end pieces 48 of the two connection cables 18c of the driven-side clutch cable 18b are engaged with engagement holes 46 of the cable guide paths 42, 44 outside the reel 41 having a large winding diameter.

Connection cable 18 for drive-side clutch cable 18a and driven-side clutch cable 18b
c is wound around the reel 41 at least half a turn or more, and as a whole, is wound substantially one turn or more. The connection cable 18c is connected to the driven clutch cable 18b via an equalizer 49.

Also, as shown in FIG.
8 also has an end piece 50 at the other end of the drive-side clutch cable 18a or the driven-side clutch cable 18b.
An end piece 50 of the drive-side clutch cable 18a is provided in an engagement hole 52 of the clutch lever 17, and an end piece 51 of the driven-side clutch cable 18b is provided in an engagement hole 53 of the clutch release lever 20.
Respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the clutch lever 17 has a rotation center A on a lever holder 54.
It is provided to be rotatable around. The lever holder 54
While being fixed to the left handlebar 12, a micro switch or the like is turned on near the rotation center A of the lever holder 54.
An OFF switch 55 is attached.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the ON-OFF switch 55 has a fixed contact 56a provided on the lever holder 54 side, a movable contact 56b provided on the clutch lever 17 side, and The ON / OFF operation is performed by the rotation operation. The ON-OFF switch 55 is set to an OFF state as shown in FIG. 6 when the clutch lever 17 is not operated, and is turned ON during a play section of the operation cable 18 during the operation stroke of the clutch lever 17, and at the time of the maximum stroke. It is set to be OFF.

The ON-O of this ON-OFF switch 55
By the FF operation, as shown in FIG.
The N-OFF operation is performed, and the electric motor 31 is started and stopped.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

When the clutch lever 17 is gripped with, for example, the left hand, the drive side clutch cable 18a is pulled. As soon as the drive side clutch cable 18a is pulled, O
The N-OFF switch 55 is turned on, and the electric motor 31 of the clutch operation assist device 19 is started. The driving of the electric motor 31 rotates the rotor 38 attached to the hub 35 of the motor output shaft 33.

On the other hand, when the drive side clutch cable 18a is pulled by the manual operation of the clutch lever 17, the respective reel pieces 41a to 41d of the reel 41 of the clutch operation assisting device 19 are rotated by the pulling force of the drive side clutch cable 18a. The rotor 38 is pressed against and frictionally engaged with the reel pieces 41 a of the reel 41.
To 41 d to apply a rotational force to the reel 41. Thus, the rotational driving force of the motor is applied to the connection cable 18c and the driven clutch cable 18b via the reel 41 as power assist. Therefore, the operation of the clutch lever 17 is performed by the reel 41
Is pressed against the rotor 38 side and the tightening operation force required for frictional engagement is sufficient, so that it becomes very light.

When the clutch operation assisting device 19 is operated by operating the clutch lever 17, the motor driving force is applied to the operation cable 18 together with the lever operation force, and the clutch release lever 20 is operated. Regarding the winding diameters γ, δ of the cable guide paths 42, 43, 44 of the reel 41, the winding diameter δ on the driven side is larger than the winding diameter γ on the drive side. Since the amount of movement of the drive side clutch cable 18a which is pulled by the operation of the clutch lever 17 is larger, a sufficiently large amount of clutch operation can be obtained, and the disconnection of the clutch mechanism 22 can be improved.

Further, the cable guide paths 42, 43, 4
By changing the winding systems γ and δ of No. 4, the clutch operation amount and the power assist amount can be set freely.

The cable guide path 4 of the reel 41
2, 3, and 43 are provided so that the drive side clutch cable 18a is wound around the center cable guide path 43, and the connection cable 18c of the driven side clutch cable 18b is wound around the two outer cable guide paths 42, 44. The operation force applied to the operation cable 18 is distributed in a straight line, so that the output bearing 5
8 can be prevented, and the durability of the output bearing 58 of the motor can be improved.

The clutch mechanism 22 is operated by the above-described clutch operation.
In this case, the clutch is operated to act as a clutch to prevent the rotational driving force of the engine 3 from being transmitted to the transmission 25.

Further, when the clutch lever 17 is operated and pulled by the maximum stroke, the ON-OFF switch 55
Is turned off, and the driving of the electric motor 31 is stopped.
Thus, it is possible to prevent the rotor 38 and the reel 41 of the clutch operation assisting device 19 from sliding relative to each other more than necessary in the frictional contact state.

When the clutch lever 17 is released, the spring force of the spring 23 of the clutch mechanism 22 acts on the clutch lever 17 via the operation cable 18 to return the clutch lever 17 to the original position. At this time, the hub 35 and the rotor 38 of the clutch operation assisting device 19 are maintained in a relationship in which the operation force of the operation cable 18 immediately acts.
Specifically, the engagement pin 39 of the rotor 38 and the long hole 40 of the hub 35 are engaged with the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 so that the operating force of the clutch lever 17 is immediately transmitted to the clutch mechanism 22 side. It has become.

The motor output shaft 33 side, the hub 35 and the rotor 3
By holding the engagement relationship (position of the engagement pin 39) with the cable 8 as shown in FIG. 5, even if the electric motor 31 fails, the clutch cable 17 is manually operated to connect to the operation cable 18. The transmitted operating force is directly transmitted to the clutch release lever 20 via the reel 41, and the clutch operation of the clutch mechanism 22 can be performed.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the power assist device is applied to the motorcycle 1. However, the power assist device can also be applied to a motorcycle or a four-wheeled vehicle.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which the power assist device for a vehicle clutch is applied to an automobile.

One end of an operation cable 60 is connected to a clutch pedal 59 as an initial movement clutch operation member of an automobile, and the other end of the operation cable 60 is connected to a clutch release lever 61. The clutch release lever 61 is connected to a clutch mechanism 63 via a mechanical operating force transmission mechanism 62 such as a worm gear mechanism.
3 is operated by the clutch.

A clutch operation assisting device 65 provided with an electric motor 64 is provided in the middle of the operation cable 60. The electric motor 64 of the clutch operation assisting device 65 is also turned ON / OFF by interlocking with the clutch pedal 59. -OF
It is started and stopped by an F switch (not shown).

The clutch operation assisting device 65 is not different from the clutch operation assisting device 19 of the motorcycle 1 shown in FIGS.

In the above embodiment, the power assist device is applied to the clutch mechanism. However, the power assist device can be applied to a vehicle parking brake or a main stand power assist device of a motorcycle.

FIG. 10 shows an example in which the power assist device is applied to a parking brake of an automobile.

One end of an operation cable 67 is connected to a parking brake lever 66 as an initial parking brake operation member of an automobile, and the other end of the operation cable 67 is connected to a parking brake mechanism 68 to operate the parking brake mechanism 68. It has become.

A parking brake operation assisting device 70 having an electric motor 69 is provided in the middle of the operation cable 67. The electric motor 6 of the parking brake operation assisting device 70 is provided.
9 is also turned ON / OFF by 0N-0FF in conjunction with the ratchet release knob 71 provided on the parking brake lever 66.
It is started and stopped by a switch (not shown).

The parking brake operation assisting device 70 is a clutch operation assisting device 1 for the motorcycle 1 shown in FIGS.
9, and the description is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the ON-OFF switch 55 is provided in association with the initial operation member such as the clutch lever 17. However, the ON-OFF switch 55 is provided in association with the operation cable 18. Is also good.

[0059]

As described above, according to the power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention, the clutch operation assist device is provided in the middle of the operation cable for operating the clutch mechanism. Since the driving force is added to the operation cable as the power assist amount, the operation force of the operation cable required to operate the clutch mechanism can be greatly reduced, and the initial movement clutch operation members such as the clutch pedal and clutch lever can be used. The operability can be improved, and comfortable driving can be enjoyed with a very light operation feeling.

Further, in this power assist device, the motor driving force can be selectively added to the operation cable as a power assist amount by the clutch operation assist device.
Since the clutch operation amount can be designed to be large, the disengagement of the clutch can be improved.

Further, the operation cable wound around the cable guide path is obtained by branching and winding one operation cable around the cable guide path and winding the other operation cable around the center thereof. The eccentric moment generated in the output bearing of the motor by the force can be prevented, and the durability of the output bearing of the motor can be improved.

Furthermore, even in the event of a failure of the clutch operation assisting device, the operating force of the clutch pedal or the clutch lever is reliably transmitted to the clutch mechanism via the operation cable or reel, so that the clutch operation may be interrupted by the motor failure. Is not compromised.

By providing a clutch operation assisting device in the middle of the operating cable, a power assisting device for a vehicle clutch can be configured, so that the related parts of the conventional model can be used as they are, and this power assisting device can be used for automobiles and motorcycles. It can be easily and easily retrofitted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a motorcycle to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a routing relationship of operation cables of the power assist device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a clutch operation assist device incorporated in the power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention.

5 is a side view of the clutch operation assisting device shown in FIG. 4, with a case cover removed, showing a coupling relationship between the clutch operation assisting device and an operation cable;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a clutch lever of the motorcycle.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a lever holder for mounting the clutch lever shown in FIG. 6 from below.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 7, showing a structure of an ON-OFF switch attached to the lever holder of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example in which the power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention is applied to an automobile.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the operation assist device of the power assist device for a vehicle clutch according to the present invention is applied to a parking brake mechanism of an automobile.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Motorcycle 2 Body frame 3 Engine 12, 13 Handlebar 17 Clutch lever (Initial clutch operation member) 18, 60 Operation cable (Clutch cable) 18a Drive side clutch cable 18b Driven side clutch cable 18c Connection cable 19, 65 Assisting clutch operation Apparatus 20, 61 Clutch release lever 22, 63 Clutch mechanism 25 Transmission 30 Battery 31, 64, 69 Electric motor 33 Motor output shaft 34 Main body casing 35 Hub (motor output shaft) 38 Rotor (rotating body) 39 Engagement pin 40 Long hole 41 Reel 42, 43, 44 Cable guide path 41a-41d Split reel piece 45, 46, 52, 53 Engagement hole 47, 48, 50, 51 End piece 49 Equalizer 54 Lever holder -55 ON-OFF switch 56a Fixed contact 56b Movable contact 57 Power supply circuit 58 Output bearing 59 Clutch pedal (Initial clutch operation member) 66 Parking brake lever (Initial parking brake operation member) 67 Operation cable (Parking brake cable) 68 Parking brake mechanism 70 Brake operation assist device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuya Shinkai 300, Takatsukacho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Suzuki Corporation (72) Inventor Kunsho Ishibe 300, Takatsuka-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Suzuki Corporation (56 References JP-A-6-117450 (JP, A) JP-A-2-168067 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16D 23/12 G05G 1/00- 25/04

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A reel comprising a plurality of divided reel pieces is slidably provided on a rotating body driven by a motor. The reel has a plurality of cable guide paths having different winding diameters. A clutch operation assisting device is formed by winding an operation cable for operating the clutch mechanism, and the clutch operation assisting device applies an operation force to the operation cable to frictionally engage the rotating body and the reel with each other. A power assist device for a vehicle clutch, wherein a motor driving force is added as a power assist amount to the vehicle. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the operation cable wound around the cable guide path is formed by branching and winding one operation cable around the cable guide path, and winding the other operation cable around the center thereof. Power assist device for clutch. 3. An on-off switch interlocking with an initial clutch operation member such as a clutch pedal or a clutch lever for operating a vehicle clutch mechanism via an operation cable is provided.
The stop is controlled, and the ON-OFF switch is set to be ON during a play section of the operation cable during the operation stroke of the initial movement clutch operation member and OFF at the time of the maximum operation stroke, and a clutch operation assist is provided to the output shaft of the motor. A power assist device for a vehicle clutch, comprising a device.