Claims:We claim:
1. An actuation assembly (100) for a clutch (102) in a vehicle, comprises:
an actuator (114), and
a rotary drum (110) coupled to said actuator (114), said rotary drum (110) comprises a groove (112), characterized in that
said groove (112) comprises a first portion (202) and a second portion (204) and couplable to said clutch (102) of said vehicle through a connecting member (104), said rotary drum (110) rotatable in a manner so as to move said connecting member (104) between said first portion (202), which is a completely engaged state of said clutch (102), and said second portion (204), which is completely disengaged state of said clutch (102).

2. The actuation assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting member (104) is retained in any one of said first portion (202) and said second portion (204) with deactivated state of said actuator (114).

3. The actuation assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator (114) is strategically operated to control said connecting member (104) in an intermediate portion (206).

4. The actuation assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting member (104) is at least one of a shaft and a cable, and said connecting member (104) is coupled to said groove (112) through any one of a guide pin (106) and a stud.

5. The actuation assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first portion (202), said second portion (204) and an intermediate portion (206) are designed in a manner that first portion (202) and said second portion (204) are parallel to each other with said intermediate portion (206) formed therebetween.

6. An apparatus for actuation of a clutch (102) in a vehicle, said apparatus comprises rotary drum (110) operable by an actuator (114), said rotary drum (110) comprises a groove (112) and couplable to said clutch (102) through a connecting member (104), characterized in that,
said groove (112) comprises a first portion (202), a second portion (204) and an intermediate portion (206), said groove (112) designed in a manner to guide and hold said connecting member (104) of said clutch (102) in said first portion (202), said second portion (204) and said intermediate portion (206) when said rotary drum (110) is operatively actuated by said actuator (114).

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first portion (202) and said second portion (204) are designed in a manner to retain said connecting member (104) in any one of said first portion (202) and said second portion (204) with deactivated state of said actuator (114).

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein first portion (202) and said second portion (204) are parallel to each other with said intermediate portion (206) formed therebetween.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting member (104) selected from any one of a cable and a shaft.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said connecting member (104) is engaged with said groove (112) through any one of a guide pin (106) and a stud.
, Description:Complete Specification:
The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

Field of the invention:
[0001] The present invention relates to an actuation assembly for a clutch in a vehicle and an apparatus.

Background of the invention:
[0002] An automated clutch system in vehicles with friction clutch uses actuators which have to be constantly powered to hold the clutch in a completely disengaged/engaged position. This leads to excessive current consumption which is detrimental to both actuator motor and vehicle battery. Some similar concepts include using worm and gear type arrangement where removal of power to the actuator locks the clutch lever in position and prevents the engagement due to clutch pulling force. This is achieved by virtue of positive locking property of the worm and gear design.

[0003] Few problems found in existing solutions are, firstly for automated clutch systems in vehicles with direct connection between actuator and clutch arm there is lack of self-locking functionality which leads to high current consumption in case there’s a need to hold the clutch in disengaged position. This is needed to overcome the clutch spring force applied to keep the clutch in engaged position. Secondly, for automated clutch systems with worm gear mechanism that although has self-locking mechanism but comes with added problems of need of high rotational speed and high torque requirements from the motor. This system always comes with a trade-off between cost of actuator and actuation time. Also for systems with this design, the clutch lever can be held in any position which is another reason for the trade-off while it is not needed to hold clutch in all the positions but only on the extreme ends, i.e. clutch fully engaged and fully disengaged positions.

[0004] A patent literature DE102019118754 discloses a clutch actuation device. The clutch actuating device for automated clutch actuation of an automatic gearbox, in particular a semi-automatic automatic gearbox of a motor vehicle, in particular of a motorcycle, has an electric servomotor, a clutch, a mechanical force transmission device which engages with the clutch and opens and closes it, and a transmission which is arranged between the servomotor and the force transmission device in terms of operation. The transmission translates a rotational movement of the servomotor into a longitudinal movement of the force transmission device. The transmission is a curved transmission having a curved track which is at least partly helical or helical.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings:
[0005] An embodiment of the disclosure is described with reference to the following accompanying drawing,
[0006] Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an actuation assembly of a clutch in a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention, and
[0007] Fig. 2 illustrates a design of the groove in a rotary drum, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments:
[0008] Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an actuation assembly of a clutch in a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The actuation assembly 100 comprises an actuator 114, and a rotary drum 110 coupled to the actuator 114 through a shaft. The rotary drum 110 comprises a groove 112, characterized in that, the groove 112 comprises a first portion P1 or 202 (shown in Fig. 2) and a second portion P2 or 204 (shown in Fig. 2) and couplable to the clutch 102 of the vehicle through a connecting member 104. The rotary drum 110 rotatable in a manner so as to move/guide the connecting member 104 between the first portion 202, which is a completely engaged state of the clutch 102, and the second portion 204, which is completely disengaged state of the clutch 102. The coupling to the clutch 102 implies connection to a part/component of the clutch 102 such as a clutch arm or clutch input lever. Also, the groove 112 is designed on a side surface of the rotary drum 110 around an axis 108.

[0009] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, the actuation assembly 100 uses an electronic actuator 114 and a mechanical design of the rotary drum 110 with a groove 112 on it. The electronic actuator 114 is directly coupled to the rotary drum 110 in a way that rotating motion of the actuator 114 causes rotation of the rotary drum 110. The rotary drum 110 is mechanically connected to the clutch 102 either via a solid shaft or a flexible cable. The movement of the actuator 114 in one direction causes the rotary drum 110 to rotate in one direction in a way that pulls or releases the clutch 102. The groove 112 of rotary drum 110 are so designed that having the mechanical connection of clutch 102 to any extreme on the groove 112 prevents motion of clutch 102 despite the actuator 114 being powered OFF, thereby creating a self-locking design for clutch 102. Any halt needed mid-way, i.e. half clutch state, is done through actuator 114 being powered ON or other PWM based actuation of the actuator 114 since the duration needed is short.

[0010] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, a controller 116 is connected to the actuator 114. The controller 116 is configured to detect a shift intention of a driver based on at least one parameter and energize the actuator 114 in a first direction for engagement and a second direction for disengagement. The shift intention is detected using at least one engine and vehicle parameters 118 such as but not limited to, engine speed, vehicle speed, throttle input, a switch on the handlebar, a shift sensor, and the like. The operation of the actuator 114 results in engagement/disengagement of the clutch 102. For example, the controller 116 receives input from an engine speed sensor and a vehicle speed sensor and based on the ratio decides the shift intention. The controller 116 is not limited to the above parameters and is allowed to use other parameters and combination thereof. Further, plurality of engine operating parameters are used by the controller 116 to decide the engagement position and engagement/disengagement speed of the clutch 102. The controller 116 is any one of an Engine Control Unit (ECU) or a Transmission Control Unit (TCU) or combination thereof. The desired positions of the clutch 102 are achieved through motion of the actuator 114 caused by power electronics receiving signals from the controller 116. In another example, the controller 116 reads gear position sensor value or quick shift sensor value to operate the clutch 102.

[0011] The controller 116 comprises memory element such as Random Access Memory (RAM) and/or Read Only Memory (ROM), Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and vice-versa Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC), clocks, timers and at least one processor (capable of implementing machine learning) connected with each other and to other components through communication bus channels. The memory element is pre-stored with logics or instructions or programs or applications and/or threshold values, which is/are accessed by the at least one processor as per the defined routines. The internal components of the controller 116 are not explained for being state of the art, and the same must not be understood in a limiting manner. The controller 116 may also comprise communication units to communicate with a server or cloud through wireless or wired means such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, serial networks, and the like. In an embodiment, the controller 116 is the Engine Control Unit (ECU) of the vehicle.

[0012] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, the connecting member 104 is retained in any one of the first portion 202 and the second portion 204 with deactivated state of the actuator 114. In another embodiment, the actuator 114 is strategically operated to control the connecting member 104 in the intermediate portion 206. The connecting member 104 is at least one of a shaft and a cable, and the connecting member 104 is coupled to the groove 112 through a guide pin 106 or stud. The guide pin 106 is slotted in the groove 112 or channel and slides or rolls in the same when the rotary drum 110 is rotated.

[0013] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, the first portion 202, the second portion 204 and the intermediate portion 206 are designed in a manner that the first portion 202 and said second portion 204 are parallel to each with the intermediate portion 206 therebetween. The intermediate portion 206 is formed in any manner selected from a group comprising helical, steps, zip-zag, straight, curved and the like along the axis 108. Further, the first portion 202, the second portion 204 and the intermediate portion 206 are part of a single continuous groove 112 or slotted groove 112 or channel.

[0014] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for the actuating the clutch 102 in the vehicle is provided. The apparatus comprises the rotary drum 110 operable by the actuator 114. The rotary drum 110 comprises the groove 112 and couplable to the clutch 102 through the connecting member 104, characterized in that, the groove 112 comprises the first portion 202, the second portion 204 and the intermediate portion 206. The groove 112 designed in a manner to guide and hold the clutch 102 in the first portion 202, the second portion 204 and the intermediate portion 206 when the rotary drum 110 is operatively actuated by the actuator 114.

[0015] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, the first portion 202 and the second portion 204 are designed in a manner to retain the connecting member 104 (and therefore the clutch 102) in any one of the first portion 202 and the second portion 204 with deactivated state of the actuator 114. The first portion 202 and the second portion 204 are parallel to each other with the intermediate portion 206 therebetween. The connecting member 104 is selected from any one of the cable and the shaft or a combination thereof. The connecting member 104 is engaged with the groove 112 through any one of the guide pin 106 and the stud.

[0016] In accordance to the present invention, the actuation assembly 100 and the apparatus are implementable in a vehicle selected from a group comprising a two-wheeler such as a geared motorcycle, a three-wheeler, a four-wheeler, and the like. More specifically, those vehicle which comprises the manual clutch mechanism and manual or automatic gear shift mechanism. The vehicle comprises mechanical friction clutch 102 and sequential gearbox or H-type four wheeler gearboxe or other types of gearboxes, and other optional parts such as an Engine Control Unit (ECU), separate transmission control unit, power electronics, engine performance measurement sensors, electronic actuator 114 with position feedback, etc.

[0017] Fig. 2 illustrates a design of the groove in a rotary drum, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The rotary drum 110 is axially cut from an outer/curved surface and is shown in an unfolded view for simplicity of explanation. The first portion P1 or 202, the second portion P2 or 204 and the intermediate portion 206 are clearly visible. The significance of first portion 202 and the second portion 204 and working of the rotary drum 110 are explained below.

[0018] In accordance to the present invention, the controller 116 uses the electronic actuator 114 and a mechanical design of the rotary drum 110 with one groove 112 formed on it. The electronic actuator 114 is directly coupled to the rotary drum 110 in a way that rotating motion of the actuator 114 causes rotation of the rotary drum 110. The groove 112 is used to connect and control the clutch 102. The first portion 202 is the fully engaged position of the clutch 102 and the second portion 204 is the fully disengaged position of the clutch 102.

[0019] According to the present invention a working of the actuation assembly 100 is described and the same must not be understood in limiting manner. A driver drives a two-wheeler vehicle with manual transmission. The vehicle is retrofit with actuation assembly 100. While in motion, the driver changes the gear lever for next gear. The shift intention of the driver is detected and the actuation assembly 100 is operated by the controller 116 to assist change in gear without clutch 102 being operated manually. Assume that initially the clutch 102 is in the first portion 202 (can be referred to as first position as well). When the clutch 102 is to be disengaged, the actuator 114 rotates the rotary drum 110 such that the mechanical connection between rotary drum 110 and the clutch 102, i.e. the connecting member 104 moves from first portion 202 to the second portion 204 (can be referred to as second position as well) and causes the clutch 102 to disengage. Since after disengagement the force acting on the connecting member 104 is perpendicular to the flat surface of the second portion 204, it fails to cause a rotation of the rotary drum 110 or the actuator 114 and hence stays in position despite actuator 114 being in deactivated state (or power OFF stage). Similarly, the same mechanism holds good for movement from the second portion 204 to the first portion 202. Any position of the connecting member 104 between in the intermediate portion 206 is achieved by operatively actuating/rotating the rotary drum 110 to that position and sending out Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) signals to hold the clutch 102 in that position.

[0020] In accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, the actuation assembly 100 is redundant to already existing manual means for operating the clutch 102. In other words, the rider/driver has an option to activate the actuation assembly 100 or the continue using the manual means.

[0021] In accordance to the present invention, an electronic actuator 114 for actuation of clutch 102 with self-locking mechanism is provided. The clutch 102 is locked in extreme positions without keeping the actuator 114 in powered ON stage. Another advantage is that the actuator 114 does not draw current from the battery, thus improving the life of the battery. Further, the fuel efficiency of the vehicle is improved. The actuation assembly 100 also enables clutch pull, release, half clutch, crawl, stall prevention features. The actuation assembly 100 is an independent unit or part of Semi-Automated Manual Transmission (SAMT) system, as gear change is done manually. The actuation assembly 100 is usable in AMT system as well.

[0022] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.