Commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic shift controller for an automatic transmission manual transmission (AMT) for commercial vehicles, comprising a housing, a control mechanism, and a gear position sensing device; the housing comprising a housing body and a panel; the control mechanism comprising a gear shift housing and a joystick assembly; a gear position slot being provided on the inner wall of the gear shift housing; and a joystick assembly comprising a joystick; one end of the joystick extending outward from the housing, the other end extending into the inner side of the housing and connected to the gear shift housing; a roller assembly being movably embedded in the end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the housing; one end of the roller assembly being in contact with the gear position slot via a roller, and the other end being internally connected to the end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the housing via a roller spring; a gear position display assembly, an L button, and an E / P button being provided on the panel; a hand ball being mounted on the end of the joystick extending outward from the upper portion of the housing; and hand ball plus / minus buttons being matched with the hand ball. The present invention is easy to operate and use, can effectively avoid the possibility of misoperation of gear shifting and shifting into the wrong gear, and can effectively improve gear shifting accuracy and comfort.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of automobile parts, and in particular to an AMT electronic shift controller for a commercial vehicle equipped with an AMT gearbox. Background Art

[0002] Automatic Manual Transmissions (AMTs) are becoming increasingly common in commercial vehicles. AMTs utilize electronic shifters, also known as "wire-controlled" or "by-wire shifters." For ease of description, they are referred to as "AMT shifters" below.

[0003] Due to the requirements of commercial vehicle transmissions and their specific use cases, a minimum of six gears are typically configured: forward (A / D), reverse (R), neutral (N), manual (M), creep mode (Dm), and (Rm). Current AMT shifters typically use a straight-shift mechanism, but some also have multiple-shift mechanisms. The corresponding shifting methods include straight-shift and multiple-shift mechanisms.

[0004] These types of AMT shifters feature either a single, inline six-speed setup or multiple gears with additional knobs or buttons. Commercial vehicles, in particular, frequently use the Dm and Rm creep mode gears, and the quality of these gear settings significantly impacts driving comfort.

[0005] Although the pure straight-line AMT shift controller is simple to operate, it is difficult to select gears due to the large number of straight-line gears, and it is easy to shift into the wrong gear. At the same time, due to the large number of gears, the front and rear shifting angles are naturally larger, and the operating comfort is poor.

[0006] While multi-speed shifting with buttons or knobs can reduce the chance of shifting the wrong gear, it also requires the driver's right hand to leave the gear lever, making operation less comfortable. Furthermore, the use of knobs or buttons complicates the entire shift mechanism, increasing costs.

[0007] In summary, it is necessary to improve or innovate the structure of the existing gear shift manipulator. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In response to the problems existing in the above-mentioned background technology, the present invention proposes a commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller with a reasonable and compact structural design, easy operation and use, which can effectively avoid the possibility of shifting errors and wrong gears, and effectively improve the shifting accuracy and comfort.

[0009] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0010] The above-mentioned commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller includes a shell, an operating mechanism and a gear sensing device; the shell has an accommodating space inside, which includes a shell body and a panel matched and installed on the upper part of the shell body; the operating mechanism is matched and installed on the shell, and includes a shift housing and a joystick assembly; the shift housing is matched and installed on the inner side of the shell and the inner wall is matched and provided with a gear slot; the joystick assembly includes a joystick; one end of the joystick extends to the outside of the shell, and the other end extends into the inside of the shell and is matched and connected to the shift housing; the gear sensing device is matched and located inside the shell; the joystick extends into the shell One end of the inner side is movably embedded with a roller assembly; one end of the roller assembly is matched and contacted with the gear slot through a roller, and the other end of the roller assembly is matched and connected with the end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the shell through a roller spring; the panel is also matched with a gear display assembly, an L button and an E / P button; the gear display assembly, the L button and the E / P button are all connected to the gear sensing device through a wiring harness; the end of the joystick extending to the outer side of the upper part of the shell is matched with a handball; the handball plus and minus buttons are matched with the handball; the handball plus and minus buttons are connected to the gear sensing device through a handball wiring harness.

[0011] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller, wherein: the gear display component is arranged in a single row inline on the panel, and can display R gear, N gear, D gear and M gear; the N gear is designed to be tilted.

[0012] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller, wherein: the joystick is also matched with a core rod installation cavity along its length direction from the top center; the joystick assembly also includes a core rod, a locking pin and a core rod spring; the core rod is matched and movably installed in the core rod installation cavity, one end of which extends to the outside of the upper end of the joystick, and the other end is matched and connected to the inner cavity bottom of the core rod installation cavity through the core rod spring; the middle section of the core rod is matched with locking pins symmetrically protruding on both sides of the opposite sides.

[0013] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller, wherein: a mechanical unlocking button is also installed on one side of the handball; one end of the mechanical unlocking button protrudes from the outside of the handball, and the other end extends into the inside of the handball and is matched and connected with the end of the core rod extending from the outside of the joystick.

[0014] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller, wherein: a shift cover is installed on one side of the gear housing; a housing N gear locking groove is matched on the upper inner side wall of the shift housing; a cover plate N gear locking groove corresponding to the housing N gear locking groove is matched on the upper side of the shift cover facing the shift housing.

[0015] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller, wherein: the middle section of the control lever is symmetrically provided with strip guide holes on both sides; the locking pin moves through the strip guide holes and extends into the N-gear locking groove of the shell and the N-gear locking groove of the cover plate respectively.

[0016] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller, wherein: the roller assembly consists of a roller bracket and a roller; the roller bracket is movably embedded in the interior of the end of the joystick extending into the housing; the roller bracket is provided with a roller spring installation cavity along its length from the tail; one end of the roller spring extends into the roller spring installation cavity, and the other end is mateably connected to the interior of the end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the housing; the roller is mateably hingedly installed on the head of the roller bracket and extends to the outside of the end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the housing, and then mates with and contacts the gear slot.

[0017] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller, wherein: the front and rear sides of the end of the joystick extending into the housing are symmetrically provided with roller assembly mounting arms, the left and right sides of the end of the joystick extending into the housing are symmetrically provided with rotating shafts and are hinged to the gear housing through the rotating shafts; the roller assembly mounting arms are matched to form a roller assembly mounting cavity for embedding the roller assembly and roller spring; the roller bracket is movably embedded in the roller assembly mounting cavity.

[0018] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller, wherein: a dust cover is also installed on the inner side of the panel.

[0019] Beneficial effects:

[0020] The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller of the present invention has a reasonable and compact structural design, is easy to operate and use, and has a reasonable gear arrangement. For the driver of the commercial vehicle AMT transmission, the gear shift operation becomes very simple, the forward gear and the reverse gear are clearly set, and the creeping forward gear and the creeping reverse gear can also be easily operated. The gear selection is simple and it is not easy to engage the wrong gear. During normal operation, the right hand does not need to leave the gear lever, and the operation is direct, which is comfortable and convenient.

[0021] The present invention arranges the gear display assembly, i.e., the travel gears R, N, D, and M, in a single row and inline design on the panel. Gear shifting is achieved by directly moving the joystick back and forth. The handball plus and minus buttons are arranged on the handball and can also be operated directly, which greatly simplifies the driver's gear shifting action and makes the operation simple and convenient. The present invention sets relatively infrequently used functions such as E / P (energy saving / power mode) and L (creeping mode) as buttons and arranges them on the panel, which can also facilitate the driver to select and operate according to needs.

[0022] The present invention utilizes a symmetrical electronic shifter with gear feedback (either a dual roller-shift slot or a dual bullet-shift slot). This design allows for compact components and symmetrical force distribution on the gear feedback mechanism, while maintaining the desired gear shift feedback feel. This reduces friction on the shift shaft and improves component durability. The present invention utilizes a roller-shift feedback design to shift damping during the shift process from a sliding (bullet-shift slot) to a rolling (roller-shift slot) design. The roller's rolling feel provides a superior feel compared to the sliding feel of a conventional bullet-shift slot. The dual roller design also enhances gear feedback during shifting, improving shift engagement and shift feel, resulting in a more comfortable, smoother, and clearer shift feel. To reduce accidental shifting, the present invention also incorporates a mechanical unlock button, which is required to be pressed on the wrist to exit N gear. Furthermore, the tilted N gear design of the gear display assembly complies with ergonomics and provides comfortable operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 This is an exploded view of the AMT electronic shift controller for commercial vehicles of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 An exploded view of the operating mechanism and gear position sensing device of the AMT electronic shift controller for commercial vehicles of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly structure of the housing and operating mechanism of the AMT electronic shift controller for commercial vehicles of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the partial assembly structure of the housing and operating mechanism of the AMT electronic shift controller for commercial vehicles of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 5 The present invention is a commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller Figure 4 Enlarged view of area A in the middle;

[0028] Figure 6 This is a partial structural diagram of the shift housing and joystick assembly of the AMT electronic shift controller for commercial vehicles of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 7 An exploded view of the partial structure of the joystick assembly of the AMT electronic shift control system for commercial vehicles of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 8 This is an exploded view of the structure of the joystick assembly of the commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller of the present invention using a rolling (roller-shift slot) shift position feedback;

[0031] Figure 9This is an exploded view of the structure of the joystick assembly of the commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller of the present invention, which adopts a sliding (bullet head-gear slot) shift gear feedback. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] like Figures 1 to 8 As shown, the commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller of the present invention includes a housing 1, an operating mechanism 2 and a gear position sensing device 3.

[0033] The housing 1 is a rectangular parallelepiped structure with an internal storage space, comprising a front housing 11, a rear housing 12, a left housing 13, a right housing 14, a panel 15, and a dust cover 16. The front housing 11, rear housing 12, left housing 13, and right housing 14 constitute the housing body. The front housing 11, rear housing 12, left housing 13, right housing 14, and panel 15 are connected to each other via slots and snap-fit ​​structures. One end of the panel 15 is a flat plate structure with a pair of button mounting holes 151. The other end of the panel 15 is an arc-shaped plate structure with a panel joystick mounting hole 152 in the middle. The panel 15 also has a gear display assembly mounting slot located on one side of the panel joystick mounting hole 152. The pair of button mounting holes 151 are respectively mounted with an L button 153 and an E / P button 154. The dust cover 16 is an arc-shaped structure and is mounted on the inner side of the panel 15 at the joystick mounting hole 152. A dust cover joystick mounting hole 161 is formed in the middle of the dust cover 16 to correspond to the joystick mounting hole 152. In this embodiment, the left and right edges of the front and rear shells 11 and 12 are uniformly provided with slots, the front, rear, and upper edges of the left and right shells 13 and 14 are uniformly provided with protruding buckles, and the left, right, front, and rear edges of the panel 15 are also equipped with slots.

[0034] The operating mechanism 2 is matched and mounted on the housing 1 , and includes a shift housing 21 , a shift cover 22 , a PCB cover 23 and an operating lever assembly 24 .

[0035] The gear housing 21 is matched and installed on the inner side of the outer shell 1, and its upper inner wall is matched with a shell N gear locking groove 211, the middle front and rear inner walls are matched with a gear groove 212 with a tooth-shaped structure, and the middle part is opened with a shell joystick mounting hole 213 along the left and right directions; wherein, the gear housing 21 is also matched with a shock-absorbing pad 214 on the side of the shell wall corresponding to the gear groove 212.

[0036] The shift cover 22 is mounted on the left side of the shift housing 21, and the PCB cover 23 is mounted on the right side of the shift housing 21. A cover lever mounting hole 221 is formed in the middle of the shift cover 22, which is aligned with the housing lever mounting hole 213 of the shift housing 21. A cover N-shift locking groove 222 is formed on the side wall of the upper portion of the shift cover 22, which faces the shift housing 21, and corresponds to the housing N-shift locking groove 211.

[0037] The joystick assembly 24 is mounted on the gear housing 21 and includes a joystick 241, a hand ball 242, a roller assembly 243, a roller spring 244, a core rod 245, a locking pin 246, a core rod spring 247, and a mechanical unlocking button 248. The joystick assembly 24 is used to provide shifting structural support and shifting force value travel.

[0038] The lower end of the joystick 241 passes through the panel joystick mounting hole 152 of the panel 15 of the housing 1 and the dust cover joystick mounting hole 161 of the dust cover 16 and extends into between the gear housing 21 and the shift cover 22 of the housing 1, and the upper end of the joystick 241 extends to the outside of the upper part of the housing 1. Among them, a pair of roller assembly mounting arms 2411 are symmetrically provided on the front and rear sides of the lower end of the operating lever 241, and a pair of rotating shafts 2412 are symmetrically provided on the left and right sides of the lower end. A pair of strip guide holes 2413 are symmetrically opened on the opposite sides of the middle section along the length direction of the operating lever 241; the operating lever 241 is also matched with a core rod mounting cavity from the top center along its length direction; the pair of roller assembly mounting arms 2411 are matched with roller assembly mounting cavities 2414 along the horizontal direction, and the roller assembly 243 is movably embedded in the roller assembly mounting holes; the head end of the roller assembly 243 extends outward from the roller assembly mounting arm 2411 and is matched and contacted with the gear slot 212 of the gear housing 21 of the operating mechanism 2, and the tail end of the roller assembly 243 is matched with a roller spring 244 and is connected to the inner cavity bottom of the roller assembly mounting cavity 2414 of the roller assembly mounting arm 2411 through the roller spring 244.

[0039] like Figure 5 and Figure 8 As shown, a spring limiting column 2415 is convexly provided at the bottom of the inner cavity of the roller assembly mounting cavity 2414; the roller assembly 243 is composed of a roller bracket 2431 and a roller 2432; the roller bracket 2431 is movably installed in the roller assembly mounting cavity 2414, and a roller spring mounting cavity 2433 is opened from the tail along its length direction; one end of the roller spring 244 extends into the roller spring mounting cavity 2433, and the other end is matched and sleeved on the spring limiting column 2415; the roller 2432 is matched and hingedly installed on the head of the roller bracket 2431 and extends outward from the roller assembly mounting cavity 2414 and is in contact with and connected to the gear slot 212.

[0040] The roller assembly 243 acts on the gear slot 212 and is compressed in the roller assembly mounting cavity 2414 of the joystick 241. The joystick 241 provides a handball shift force value change according to the contour of the gear tooth slot 212. A pair of roller assemblies 243 are symmetrically installed in the roller assembly mounting cavity 2414 of a pair of roller assembly mounting arms 2411 of the joystick 241. The force value fed back to the joystick 241 is more stable and has a better feel than a single bullet head or single roller structure, while saving Z-direction structural space. Similarly, a pair of roller assemblies 243 can also be replaced by a pair of bullet head assemblies to achieve the functions of the present invention.

[0041] The lower end of the operating lever 241 is respectively connected to the housing operating lever mounting hole 213 in the middle of the shift housing 21 and the cover operating lever mounting hole 221 of the shift cover 22 through a pair of rotating shafts 2412 .

[0042] The handball 242 is matched with the outside of the upper end of the joystick 241 and is located on the outside of the shell 1; in order to reduce erroneous gear shifting, a mechanical unlocking button 248 is also matched with the front side of the handball 242. To shift out of the N gear, the mechanical unlocking button 248 on the handball 242 needs to be pressed; one end of the mechanical unlocking button 248 protrudes from the outside of the handball 242, and the other end extends into the inside of the handball 242; handball plus and minus buttons 2421 are matched with the left and right sides of the handball 242.

[0043] The core rod 245 is movably mounted in the core rod mounting cavity of the operating rod 241, and its upper end extends outward from the upper end of the operating rod 241 and is matched and connected with the end of the mechanical unlocking button 248 extending into the inner side of the hand ball 242; wherein, the lower end of the core rod 245 is matched and connected with the core rod spring 247 and is matched and connected with the inner cavity bottom of the core rod mounting cavity of the operating rod 241 through the core rod spring 247; the middle section of the core rod 245 is matched and symmetrically protruded with a pair of locking pins 246 on both sides, and the pair of locking pins 246 are movable through the operating rod A pair of strip guide holes 2413 in the middle section of the rod 241 extend into the N-block locking groove 211 of the shell and the N-block locking groove 222 of the cover plate respectively; the locking pin 246 is confined in the N-block locking groove 211 of the shell. When the driver operates the shifter to move out of the N-block, he needs to press the mechanical unlocking button 248. When the mechanical unlocking button 248 acts on the upper end of the core rod 245, it will drive the locking pin 246 to move downward together. The locking pin 246 moves out of the N-block locking groove 211 of the shell, the operating rod 241 is unlocked, and the driver can shift forward and backward.

[0044] The gear position sensing device 3 is mounted inside the housing 1 and includes a PCB 31, a magnetic sensor 32, a magnet 33, a gear position display assembly 34, and a handball wiring harness 35. The PCB 31 is fixed to one side of the gear housing 21 and covered by the PCB cover 23. The magnetic sensor 32 is mounted on the PCB 31. The magnet 33 is mounted on the end of the rotating shaft 2412 of the joystick 241 of the joystick assembly 24. The magnet 33 rotates as the joystick 241 shifts gears and outputs a magnetic field change signal. The magnetic sensor 32, mounted on the PCB 31, senses the magnetic field signal of a specific gear position and outputs the gear position information, synchronizing the output of the gear position information with the gear position of the shifter. The gear position display assembly 34 is mounted in the gear position display assembly mounting slot of the panel 15 and is electrically connected to the PCB 31 via a wiring harness. Designed as a single inline row on the panel 15, the gear position display assembly 34 can display the R, N, D, and M gears, allowing the gear position indicator to display in sync with the position of the shift lever. The N gear position on the gear display assembly 34 is tilted (tilted means it is tilted at a certain angle relative to the vertical position), aligning with ergonomics and ensuring comfortable operation. The plus / minus buttons 2421 on the handball 242 are electrically connected to the PCB 31 via a handball wiring harness 35, facilitating direct manual shifting in D and M gears. The L button 153 and the E / P button 154 on the panel 15 are electrically connected to the PCB 31 via a wiring harness. When creep mode is desired, pressing the L button 153 on the panel 15 activates creep mode. At this point, shifting into R or D gear enables Rm or Dm creep mode. The E / P button 154 can also be used to switch between economy mode and power mode. The gear position sensing device 3 outputs force value changes and gear position signals based on the gear shift trajectory, and the gear position can be adjusted using the buttons.

[0045] Among them, the joystick assembly 24 of the present invention adopts the above-mentioned roller assembly 243 such structural design to realize the rolling (roller-shift slot) shift gear feedback, and can also adopt the following Figure 9 The structure design of the sliding (bullet head-gear slot) gear shift feedback is composed of a bullet head 001 and a bullet head spring 002.

[0046] The present invention has a reasonable structural design, and the gear setting can make the gear logic of the gear shifter simple and clear, the structural layout is more compact, the volume is smaller, and the whole vehicle layout is more convenient, and the assembly and maintenance on the whole vehicle are easier.

Claims

1. A commercial vehicle automated manual transmission (AMT) electronic shift controller, comprising a housing, an operating mechanism, and a gear position sensing device; the housing interior defines a housing space comprising a housing body and a panel mounted on the upper portion of the housing body; the operating mechanism is mounted on the housing and comprises a gear housing and a joystick assembly; the gear housing is mounted on the inner side of the housing and has a gear slot formed on its inner wall; the joystick assembly comprises a joystick; one end of the joystick extends outward from the housing, the other end extends into the inner side of the housing and is matingly connected to the gear housing; the gear position sensing device is positioned on the inner side of the housing; and the following characteristics are characterized: The end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the housing is movably embedded with a roller assembly; the roller assembly comprises a pair of roller assembly mounting cavities symmetrically mounted on a pair of roller assembly mounting arms of the joystick; the pair of roller assembly mounting arms are symmetrically protruded on the front and rear sides of the lower end of the joystick; the roller assembly mounting cavity is horizontally opened on the roller assembly mounting arms; one end of the roller assembly is matingly contacted and connected with the shift slot via a roller, and the other end of the roller assembly is matingly connected to the interior of the end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the housing via a roller spring; The panel is also equipped with a gear display assembly, an L button, and an E / P button; the gear display assembly, the L button, and the E / P button are all connected to the gear sensing device via a wiring harness; the gear display assembly is arranged in a single row on the panel and can display R gear, N gear, D gear, and M gear; The N gear is of inclined design; The end of the joystick extending outward from the upper portion of the housing is matched with a handball; a handball plus / minus button is matched with the handball; the handball plus / minus button is connected to the gear position sensing device via a handball wiring harness; The joystick is also matched with a core rod installation cavity along its length direction from the top center; the joystick assembly also includes a core rod, a locking pin and a core rod spring; the core rod is matched and movably installed in the core rod installation cavity, one end of which extends to the outside of the upper end of the joystick, and the other end is matched and connected with the inner cavity bottom of the core rod installation cavity through the core rod spring; locking pins are matched and protruded symmetrically on both sides of the middle section of the core rod; a mechanical unlocking button is also matched and installed on one side of the handball; one end of the mechanical unlocking button protrudes from the outside of the handball, and the other end extends into the inside of the handball and is matched and connected with the end of the core rod extending outside the joystick; A shift cover is mounted on one side of the shift housing; a housing N-gear locking groove is provided on the upper inner wall of the shift housing; a cover plate N-gear locking groove corresponding to the housing N-gear locking groove is provided on the upper side of the shift cover facing the shift housing; strip guide holes are symmetrically provided on both sides of the middle section of the joystick; the locking pin moves through the strip guide hole and extends into the housing N-gear locking groove and the cover plate N-gear locking groove respectively.

2. The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller according to claim 1, characterized in that: The roller assembly consists of a roller bracket and a roller; the roller bracket is movably embedded in the interior of the end of the joystick extending into the shell; the roller bracket is provided with a roller spring installation cavity along its length from the tail; one end of the roller spring extends into the roller spring installation cavity, and the other end is matched and connected with the interior of the end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the shell; the roller is matched and hingedly installed on the head of the roller bracket and extends outward from the end of the joystick extending into the inner side of the shell to be matched and contacted with the gear slot.

3. The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller according to claim 2, characterized in that: The joystick is symmetrically provided with rotating shafts on the left and right sides of one end extending into the shell and is hinged to the gear housing through the rotating shafts; the roller assembly mounting cavity is used to embed the roller assembly and the roller spring; the roller bracket is movably embedded in the roller assembly mounting cavity.

4. The commercial vehicle AMT electronic shift controller according to claim 1, characterized in that: A dust cover is also matched and installed on the inner side of the panel.

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