Automatic clutch

US6171213A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Daimlerchrysler AG · US

Inventors

• Franz Kosik · Esslingen am Neckar, DE
• Thomas Grass · Neukirchen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 19, 1999
• Grant date: Jan 9, 2001
• Expiry date: Jan 19, 2019

Classification

• Technology area (CPC F): Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
• CPC primary: F16D2500/50206
• WIPO field: Mechanical elements
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

An automatically controllable clutch is arranged between the engine and the driving wheels in the transmission line of a motor vehicle. A transmission can be shifted arbitrarily or manually between idling and at least one driving position. An accelerator pedal or the like control the power of the engine, and a control device controls the clutch as a function of defined parameters detected by assigned sensors. When the driving position is engaged and the accelerator pedal is not operated, the clutch operates at its gripping point and transmits a low torque which is sufficient for a creeping of the vehicle on a level road or at a very low tractive resistance. When an approximated synchronism of the clutch input and the clutch output has been reached during the phase with an engaged driving position and while the accelerator pedal is not operated, the clutch is closed when the accelerator pedal is operated while maintaining the synchronism.