Improving the gearshifts events in automated manual transmission by using an electromagnetic actuator

The existing electrically automated manual transmission employs DC motors to carry out gearshift events. It is relatively complicated and has potential to be improved both in structure and transmission efficiency. A novel gearshift system that utilizes a 2-DOF electromagnetic actuator to realize the automation of gearshift is proposed. The structure and working principle are introduced, and the coupling system model of the actuator is developed to investigate its characteristics. The results show that the utilization of the electromagnetic actuator in automated manual transmission gearshift system is appropriate. Multi-stage control strategy including PID algorithm and optimal control is introduced to improve the gearshift quality. A look-up table is developed to adjust the peak force of synchronization process according to the working condition. Finally, the conceptual gearshift system and the control strategy are verified on a test bench. The results show that the controller can adjust the peak force of the synchronization process timely and the designed control strategy achieves the compromise of indexes of gearshift quality. The novel gearshift system is technically feasible.