Title of Invention

A CLUTCH CONTROLLER AND A METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A CLUTCH IN A STRADDLE TYPE VEHICLE TO ALLOW DESIRED TRANSMISSION OF ENGINE TORQUE

Abstract A clutch controller performs request follow-up control under which a clutch actuator is actuated based on a difference between actual transmission torque Tac, which is transmitted from a drive-side member to a driven-side member of a clutch, and request transmission torque Treq, which is determined based on rider"s accelerator operation, such that the actual transmission torque Tac approximates the request transmission torque Treq. In an operation range in which engine torque increases as an engine speed increases, the clutch controller performs rotational speed induction control, in place of the request follow-up control, under which the clutch actuator is actuated such that the engine speed increases or decreases to a predetermined engine speed.
Full Text CLUTCH CONTROLLER, METHOD OF CONTROLLING CLUTCH, AND
STRADDLE-TYPE VEHICLE
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent
Application No. 2007-043645 filed on February 23, 2007 and
Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-231132 filed on
September 6, 2007.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for
engaging or disengaging a clutch by an actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Related semi-automatic vehicles, which actuate an
actuator to engage or disengage a clutch, use a technology
for controlling relative positions of a drive-side member
and a driven-side member of the clutch (the degree of
engagement of the clutch) based on a difference in
rotational speed between these members during engaging
operation of the clutch (for example, JP-A-2001-146930).
The technology is designed to control the degree of
engagement between the drive-side member and the driven-
side member based on the difference in rotational speed
therebetween. This, however, can prevent appropriate
torque from being constantly transmitted via the clutch,
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and thus can impair riding comfort. For example, in case
where the timing of discontinuing a half-clutch state is
too early, the torque transmitted from the drive-side
member to the driven-side member sharply increases. This
can impair riding comfort. An additional technology is
also proposed, in which a half-clutch state is maintained
until the difference in rotational speed is almost zero.
However, this results in excessively low torque being
continuously transmitted to the driven-side member for a
long time period. Thus, the rider can perceive that the
vehicle decelerates excessively.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made in view of the foregoing
problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a
clutch controller, a method for controlling a clutch, and
a straddle-type vehicle which allow appropriate torque to
be transmitted to the downstream side via the clutch and
which prevent an engine speed from excessively increasing
o decreasing during engaging operation of the clutch.
In order to solve the foregoing problems, the present
invention is directed to a clutch controller including: an
actuator for changing the degree of engagement between a
drive-side member and a driven-side member of a clutch,
the members being located downstream of an engine in a
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torque transmission path; an actual torque obtaining
section for obtaining torque transmitted from the drive-
side member to a downstream mechanism of the torque
transmission path as actual transmission torque, the
downstream mechanism including the driven-side member; a
request torque obtaining section for obtaining torque
determined based on rider's accelerator operation as
request transmission torque; and a control unit for
performing a first control under which the actuator is
actuated based on a difference between the actual
transmission torque and the request transmission torque,
such that the actual transmission torque approximates the
request transmission torque. The control unit performs a
second control, in place of the first control, under which
the actuator is actuated such that an engine speed
increases or decreases to a predetermined engine speed, in
an operation range in which engine torque outputted from
the engine increases as the engine speed increases.
In addition, in order to solve the foregoing problems,
the present invention is directed to a straddle-type
vehicle including the clutch controller.
Further, in order to solve the foregoing problems, the
present invention is directed to a method for controlling
a clutch including the steps of: obtaining torque
transmitted from a drive-side member of the clutch to a
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driven-side member of the clutch or a mechanism downstream
of the driven-side member in a torque transmission path as
actual transmission torque; obtaining torque determined
based on the rider's accelerator operation as request
transmission torque; performing a first control under
which an actuator, which changes the degree of engagement
between the drive-side member and the driven-side member,
is actuated based on a difference between the actual
transmission torque and the request transmission torque,
such that the actual transmission torque approximates the
request transmission torque, in an operation range in
which engine torque outputted from an engine decreases as
an engine speed increases; and performing a second control
under which the actuator is actuated such that the engine
speed increases or decreases to a predetermined engine
speed in an operation range in which the engine torque
increases as the engine speed increases.
The present invention allows appropriate torque to be
transmitted to the downstream side via the clutch during
engaging operation of the clutch. The present invention
also prevents an excessive increase or decrease in engine
speed in the operation range in which the engine torque
increases as the engine speed increases. That is, if the
actual transmission torque is higher than the engine
torque, the engine speed decreases, and if the actual
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transmission torque is lower than the engine torque, the
engine speed increases. Also, if the engine operates in
the operation range in which the engine torque increases
as the engine speed increases, an increase or a decrease
in engine speed due to a difference between the actual
transmission torque and the engine torque causes the
difference between the actual transmission torque and the
engine torque to be greater, and therefore, the engine
speed further increases or decreases. According to the
present invention, in the operation range in which the
engine torque increases as the engine speed increases, the
actuator is actuated such that the engine speed increases
or decreases to a predetermined engine speed. This
prevents such an excessive increase or decrease in engine
speed. The straddle-type vehicle may be a motorcycle
(including a scooter), a four-wheeled buggy or a
snowmobile, for example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle provided with a
clutch controller according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a mechanism provided on
a torque transmission path of the motorcycle;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration
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of the clutch controller;
FIG. 4 illustrates an operation range of an engine;
FIGs. 5(a) to 5(c) are time charts respectively
showing examples of changes in degree of engagement of a
clutch, target transmission torque Ttg, actual
transmission torque Tac, and EG torque TEac in the case
when the request follow-up control is performed;
FIG. 6 illustrates changes in engine speed and EG
torque TEac in the case when the request follow-up control
is performed;
FIG. 7 illustrates changes in engine speed and engine
torque in the case when the control is performed such that
the actual transmission torque approximates the request
transmission torque in the operation range in which the
engine torque (EG torque) increases as the engine speed
increases;
FIGs. 8(a) to 8(c) are time charts respectively
showing examples of changes in degree of engagement of the
clutch, target transmission torque Ttg, actual
transmission torque Tac, and EG torque TEac in the case
when the rotational speed maintaining control is
performed;
FIG. 9 illustrates changes in engine speed and EG
torque TEac in the case when the rotational speed
maintaining control is performed;
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FIGs. 10(a) to 10(c) are time charts respectively
showing examples of changes in degree of engagement of the
clutch, target transmission torque Ttg, actual
transmission torque Tac, and EG torque TEac in the case
when the rotational speed induction control is performed;
FIG. 11 illustrates changes in engine speed and EG
torque TEac in the case when the rotational speed
induction control is performed;
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the processing
functions of the control unit;
FIG. 13 is a graph showing an example of the
relationship between the request transmission torque Treq
and the accelerator displacement;
FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a range determining
table;
FIG. 15 illustrates an example of an EG torque table;
FIG. 16 is a graph showing an example of the
relationship between the command actuation amount and the
torque deviation;
FIG. 17 is a graph showing another example of the
relationship between the command actuation amount and the
torque deviation;
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the
processing steps executed by the control unit; and
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing another example of the
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processing steps executed by the control unit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An embodiment of the present invention is described
below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side
view of a motorcycle 1 provided with a clutch controller
10 as an example of the embodiment of the invention. FIG.
2 is a schematic view of a mechanism located on a torque
transmission path of the motorcycle 1.
As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the motorcycle 1 is
provided not only with the clutch controller 10, but also
with an engine 30, a primary speed reducing mechanism 36,
a clutch 40, a secondary speed reducing mechanism 50, a
front wheel 2, and a rear wheel 3.
As shown in FIG. 1, the front wheel 2 is located at a
front part of a vehicle body, and supported by a lower end
of a front fork 4. Handlebars 5 are connected to the top
of the front fork 4. An acceleration grip 5a to be
gripped by a rider is mounted to the right end of the
handlebars 5. The acceleration grip 5a is connected to a
throttle valve 37a provided in a throttle body 37 (see FIG.
2). The throttle valve 37a is opened according to rider's
accelerator operation, and a certain amount of air, which
depends on the opening of the throttle valve 37a, is
delivered to the engine 30. The motorcycle 1 may be
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provided with an electronically-controlled throttle device
In this case, a sensor for detecting the rider's
accelerator operation and an actuator for opening the
throttle valve 37a according to the accelerator operation
detected by the sensor are provided.
As shown in FIG. 2, the engine 30 has a cylinder 31, a
piston 32, an intake port 33, and a crankshaft 34. The
throttle body 37 is connected to the intake port 33 via an
intake pipe 35.
The throttle valve 37a is placed in an intake passage
of the throttle body 37. Mixture of air, which flows
through the intake passage of the throttle body 37, and
fuel, which is supplied from a fuel supplier (not shown,
for example, injector or carburetor), is delivered to an
interior of the cylinder 31. An ignition plug (not shown)
faces the interior of the cylinder 31 and ignites the air-
fuel mixture within the cylinder 31. Burning the air-fuel
mixture causes the piston 32 to reciprocate within the
cylinder 31. The reciprocating motion of the piston 32 is
converted into rotating motion by the crankshaft 34,
thereby outputting torque from the engine 30.
The primary speed reducing mechanism 36 includes: a
drive-side primary reduction gear 36a, which operates in
conjunction with the crankshaft 34; and a driven-side
primary reduction gear 36b, which meshes with the primary
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reduction gear 36a. The primary speed reducing mechanism
36 decelerates the rotation of the crankshaft 34 according
to a gear ratio between these gears.
The clutch 40 transmits and shuts off torque output
from the engine 30 to the downstream side of the torque
transmission path. The clutch 40 is a friction clutch,
for example, and is provided with a drive-side member 41
and a driven-side member 42. The drive-side member 41
includes a friction disk, for example, and rotates
together with the primary reduction gear 36b. The driven-
side member 42 includes a clutch disk, for example, and
rotates together with a main shaft 52. The drive-side
member 41 and the driven-side member 42 are pressed
against each other by elastic force of a clutch spring 44
at the time of engaging the clutch 40, so that the torque
of the engine 30 is transmitted from the drive-side member
41 to the driven-side member 42. In turn, at the time of
disengaging the clutch 40, the driven-side member 42 is
moved away from the drive-side member 41, so that torque
transmission from the drive-side member 41 is interrupted.
The clutch controller 10 is provided with a clutch
actuator 14 as will be discussed later. The clutch
actuator 14 performs engaging operation of the clutch 40
(switching from the disengaged state to the engaged state)
and disengaging operation thereof (switching from the
10

engaged state to the disengaged state).
The secondary speed reducing mechanism 50 is designed
to decelerate the rotation of the main shaft 52 and
transmit the decelerated rotation to an axle 3a of the
rear wheel 3. The secondary speed reducing mechanism 50
is provided with a gearbox 51 and a transmission mechanism
57. The gearbox 51 is a mechanism to change deceleration
ratios, such as a constant-mesh gearbox and a selective-
sliding gearbox.
The gearbox 51 has on the main shaft 52 plural shift
gears 53a (for example, first-speed gear, second-speed
gear, third/fourth-speed gear) and shift gears 53b (for
example, fifth-speed gear and six-speed gear). Also, the
gearbox 51 has on the countershaft 55 plural shift gears
54a (for example, first-speed gear, second-speed gear,
third/fourth-speed gear) and shift gears 54b (for example,
fifth-speed gear and six-speed gear). The shift gears
53a are spline-connected to the main shaft 52 and operates
in conjunction with the main shaft 52. The shift gears
54a are provided such that they run idle to the
countershaft 55, and mesh with the shift gears 53a,
respectively. The shift gears 53b are provided such that
they run idle to the main shaft 52. The shift gears 54b
mesh with the corresponding shift gears 53b respectively,
while being spline-connected to the countershaft 55 to
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operate in conjunction with the countershaft 55.
The gearbox 51 is also provided with a gearshift
mechanism 56. The gearshift mechanism 56 includes a shift
fork and a shift drum, for example, and selectively moves
the shift gears 53a, 53b, 54a, 54b in the axial direction
of the main shaft 52 or the countershaft 55. Then, the
gearshift mechanism 56 causes the shift gears 53b, 54a,
which are provided to turn free to the corresponding
shafts, to connect with the adjacent shift gears 53a, 54b,
which operate in conjunction with the corresponding shafts
This changes the shift gears 53a, 54b, 54a, 54b to
transmit torque from the main shaft 52 to the countershaft
55. The gearshift mechanism 56 is actuated by receiving
power from a shift actuator 16 to be discussed later.
The transmission mechanism 57 is designed to
decelerate the rotation of the countershaft 55 and
transmit the decelerated rotation to the axle 3a of the
rear wheel 3. In this example, the transmission mechanism
57 includes: a drive-side member 57a (for example, drive-
side sprocket), which operates in conjunction with the
countershaft 55; a driven-side member 57b (for example,
driven-side sprocket), which operates in conjunction with
the axle 3a; and a transmission member 57c (for example,
chain), which transmits torque from the drive-side member
57a to the driven-side member 57b.
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Torque outputted from the engine 30 is transmitted to
the drive-side member 41 of the clutch 40 via the primary
speed reducing mechanism 36. The torque transmitted to
the drive-side member 41 is transmitted to the axle 3a of
the rear wheel 3 via the driven-side member 42, the
gearbox 51, and the transmission mechanism 57, in the case
that the clutch 40 is engaged or the drive-side member 41
and the driven-side member 42 contact each other, that is,
the clutch 40 is in a half-clutch state.
Now, a configuration of the clutch controller 10 is
described. The motorcycle 1 is a semi-automatic vehicle
which changes the shift gears of the gearbox 51 without
the need for the rider to operate the clutch. The clutch
controller 10 controls the degree of engagement of the
clutch 40 (relative positions of the drive-side member 41
and the driven-side member 42), and changes the shift
gears 53a, 53a, 54a, 54b. FIG. 3 is a block diagram
illustrating a configuration of the clutch controller 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, the clutch controller 10 is provided
with a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a clutch
actuator drive circuit 13, a clutch actuator 14, a shift
actuator drive circuit 15, a shift actuator 16, an
accelerator operation detector 17, an engine speed
detector 18, a vehicle speed detector 19, a gear position
detector 21, a clutch position detector 22, and clutch
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rotational speed detectors 23a, 23b. The control unit 11
is connected to a shift-up switch 9a and a shift-down
switch 9b.
The control unit 11 includes a central processing unit
(CPU) and operates in accordance with programs stored in
the storage unit 12. Specifically, the control unit 11
changes the shift gears 53a, 53a, 54a, 54b of the gearbox
51 according to the rider's gearshift operation (in this
example, switching the shift-up switch 9a or the shift-
down switch 9b ON), while controlling the degree of
engagement of the clutch 40 during engaging operation
thereof. The processing executed by the control unit 11
will be discussed in detail later.
The storage unit 12 includes a nonvolatile memory and
a volatile•memory. The storage unit 12 stores in advance
programs executed by the control unit 11 and tables or
expressions used for the processing in the control unit 11.
These tables and expressions will be discussed in details
later.
The clutch actuator drive circuit 13 supplies drive
voltage or drive current the clutch actuator 14 in
accordance with a control signal inputted from the control
unit 11. The clutch actuator 14 includes, for example, a
motor and a power transmission mechanism (such as
hydraulic path and wire) , and is driven by receiving the
14

electric power supplied by the clutch actuator drive
circuit 13. In this example, the clutch actuator 14
presses a push rod 43 or releases the pressed push rod 43.
When the push rod 43 is pressed by the clutch actuator 14,
it moves the drive-side member 41 and the driven-side
member 42 away from each other against the elastic force
of the clutch spring 44, so that the clutch 40 is
disengaged. In contrast, when the pressed push rod 43 is
released by the clutch actuator 14, it returns to its
original position (the position at the time when the
clutch 40 is engaged) using the elastic force of the
clutch spring 44. Thus, the drive-side member 41 and the
driven-side member 42 approach each other, so that the
clutch 40 is engaged. In addition, the clutch actuator 14
puts the clutch 40 to be in a half-clutch state during
engaging operation of the clutch 40. When the clutch 40
is in a half-clutch state, only part of torque of the
engine 30 is transmitted from the drive-side member 41 to
the driven-side member 42.
The shift actuator drive circuit 15 supplies drive
voltage or drive current to the shift actuator 16 in
accordance with a control signal inputted from the control
unit 11. The shift actuator 16 includes, for example, a
motor and a power transmission mechanism (such as
hydraulic path and wire) , and is driven by receiving the
15

electric power supplied from the shift actuator drive
circuit 15. The shift actuator 16 actuates the gearshift
mechanism 56 to change the shift gears 53a, 53b, 54a, 54b
to transmit torque from the main shaft 52 to the
countershaft 55, in order to change the deceleration
ratios.
The accelerator operation detector 17 is designed to
detect an amount of the accelerator operation by the rider
(hereinafter referred to as accelerator displacement).
Examples of the accelerator operation detector 17 are a
throttle position sensor for detecting a throttle opening
and an accelerator position sensor mounted to the
accelerator grip 5a to detect a rotation angle of the
accelerator grip 5a. Based on the signal outputted from
the accelerator operation detector 17, the control unit 11
detects the accelerator displacement by the rider.
The engine speed detector 18 is designed to detect a
rotational speed of the engine 30 (hereinafter referred to
as engine speed). Example of the engine speed detector 18
are a crank angle sensor for outputting a pulse signal
with a frequency according to the rotational speed of the
crankshaft 43 or the primary reduction gears 36a, 36b and
a tachogenerator for outputting a voltage signal according
to the rotational speed thereof. The control unit 11
calculates the engine speed based on the signal inputted
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from the engine speed detector 18.
The vehicle speed detector 19 is designed to detect a
vehicle speed and outputs a signal to the control unit 11
according to, for example, the rotational speed of the
axle 3a of the rear wheel 3 or that of the countershaft 55.
The control unit 11 calculates the vehicle speed based on
the signal. The vehicle speed detector 19 may output a
signal to the control unit 11 according to the rotational
speed of the main shaft 52. In this case, the control
unit 11 calculates the vehicle speed not only based on the
input signal, but also based on the deceleration ratio of
the gearbox 51 and that of the transmission mechanism 57.
The gear position detector 21 is designed to detect
positions of the shift gears 53a, 53b, 54a, 54b provided
movably in the axial direction of the countershaft 55 or
the main shaft 52. An example of the gear position
detector 21 is a potentiometer mounted to the gearshift
mechanism 56 or the shift actuator 16. The gear position
detector 21 outputs a signal to the control unit 11
according to the positions of the shift gears 53a, 53b,
54a, 54b. Based on the input signal, the control unit 11
detects that movements of the shift gears 53a, 53b, 54a,
54b, which are associated with the gear shifting, have
been completed.
The clutch position detector 22 is designed to detect
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the degree of engagement of the clutch 40. Examples of
the clutch position detector 22 are a potentiometer for
outputting a signal according to the position of the push
rod 43 and a potentiometer for outputting a signal
according to the position or the rotation angle of the
output shaft of the clutch actuator 14. Based on the
signal inputted from the clutch position detector 22, the
control unit 11 detects the degree of engagement of the
clutch 40.
The clutch rotational speed detector 23a is designed
to detect the rotational speed of the drive-side member 41
(hereinafter referred to as rotational speed of the drive-
side member 41) . Examples of the clutch rotational speed
detector 23a are a rotary encoder for outputting a pulse
signal with a frequency according to the rotational speed
of the drive-side member 41 and a tachogenerator for
outputting a voltage signal according to the rotational
speed of the drive-side member 41. In turn, the clutch
rotational speed detector 23b is designed to detect the
rotational speed of the driven-side member 42 (hereinafter
referred to as rotational speed of the driven-side member
42). Examples of the clutch rotational speed detector 23b
are a rotary encoder and a tachogenerator, as described
for the clutch rotational speed detector 23a.
The shift-up switch 9a and the shift-down switch 9b
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are designed for the rider to provide instructions to
change the shift gears 53a, 53b, 54a, 54b to the clutch
controller 11. These switches 9a, 9b output a signal to
the control unit 11 according to the gear shift
instructions. The control unit 11 actuates the shift
actuator 16 according to the input signal to change the
shift gears 53a, 53b, 54a, 54b to transmit torque from the
main shaft 52 to the countershaft 55. The shift-up switch
9a and the shift-down switch 9b are provided adjacent to
the accelerator grip 5a, for example.
Now, description is made of the processing executed by
the control unit 11. The control unit 11 obtains torque
Tac transmitted from the drive-side member 41 to the
downstream mechanism (such as the driven-side member 42,
or the countershaft 55 and the axle 3a located downstream
of the driven-side member 42) in the torque transmission
path including the driven-side member 42 (hereinafter the
torque is referred to as actual transmission torque). In
addition, the control unit 11 obtains torque Treq, which
is requested by the rider, according to the accelerator
displacement detected by the accelerator operation
detector 17 (hereinafter the torque is referred to as
request transmission torque). Further, the control unit
11 obtains torque Ttg which is supposed to be transmitted
from the drive-side member 41 to the downstream mechanism
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(hereinafter the torque is referred target transmission
torque). Then, in an operation range in which the torque
outputted from the engine 30 decreases as the engine speed
increases (hereinafter the operation range is referred to
as torque-decreasing operation range), the control unit 11
sets the target transmission torque Ttg at the request
transmission torque Treq, and actuates the clutch actuator
14 according a difference between the actual transmission
torque Tac and the target transmission torque Ttg, such
that Tac approximates Ttg (hereinafter this control is
referred to as request follow-up control (first control)).
First, the operation range of the engine 30 is
described. FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the operation
range of the engine 30. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis
represents engine speed, and the vertical axis represents
torque TEac produced by the engine 30 (hereinafter
referred to as EG torque). The graph illustrates torque
curves LI to L3 representing output characteristics of the
engine 30. The torque curve Ll shows the relationship
between the engine speed and the EG torque TEac, if the
accelerator displacement is large or the accelerator grip
5a is operated greatly. In turn, the torque curve L3
shows the relationship between the engine speed and the EG
torque TEac, if the accelerator displacement is small.
The torque curve L2 shows the relationship between the
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engine speed and the EG torque TEac, if the accelerator
displacement is moderate.
If the accelerator displacement is large, the torque
curve Ll shows the maximum EG torque TEac at the engine
speed of a value Rpeak. In the operation range in which
the engine speed is lower than the value Rpeak, the EG
torque TEac increases as the engine speed increases. In
contrast, in the operation range in which the engine speed
is higher than the value Rpeak, the EG torque TEac
decreases as the engine speed increases. In turn, in the
operation range in which the accelerator displacement is
small and in the operation range in which the accelerator
displacement is moderate, the torque curves L2 and L3 show
at any engine speed that the engine torque TEac decreases
as the engine speed increases.
Now, overview of the request follow-up control is
described. FIG. 5(a) to 5(c) illustrate the overview of
the request follow-up control, and are time charts
respectively showing examples of changes in degree of
engagement of the clutch 40, target transmission torque
Ttg, actual transmission torque Tac, and EG torque TEac in
the case the request follow-up control is performed in the
torque-decreasing operation range. FIG. 5(a) shows the
degree of engagement of the clutch 40. FIG. 5(b) shows
the target transmission torque Ttg. FIG. 5(c) shows the
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actual transmission torque Tac and the EG torque TEac.
FIG. 6 illustrates changes in engine speed and EG torque
TEac in the case when the request follow-up control is
performed in the torque-decreasing operation range. In
FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents engine speed, and
the vertical axis represents EG torque. In addition, a
line L2 shown in FIG. 6 is a torque curve in the case of
the aforementioned medium accelerator displacement. FIG.
6 shows the EG torque TEac obtained at the point in time
immediately before the time t2 in FIG. 5, and so forth.
Hereinafter, the EG torque TEac is described as a value
obtained by multiplying the torque on the drive-side
member 41 or the torque outputted from the engine 30 by
the gear ratio of the primary speed reducing mechanism 36
(the number of teeth of the driven-side primary reduction
gear 36b / the number of teeth of the drive-side primary
reduction gear 36a). In turn, the actual transmission
torque Tac is described as torque transmitted to the
driven-side member 42 in the mechanism downstream of the
drive-side member 41.
At tl, when the rider operates the accelerator grip 5a
and thus the start-up conditions, to be discussed later,
are satisfied, the control unit 11 sets the target
transmission torque Ttg as the request transmission torque
Treq, which is determined according to the accelerator
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displacement by the rider, as shown in FIG. 5(b) . As
shown in FIG. 5(c), at this time when the accelerator grip
5a is operated, the EG torque TEac increases. After that,
as shown in FIGs. 5(a) and 5(c), the control unit 11
actuates the clutch actuator 14 according to the
difference between the target transmission torque Ttg and
the actual transmission torque Tac in order to gradually
enhance the degree of engagement of the clutch 40.
Thereby, the control unit 11 allows the actual
transmission torque Tac to approximate the target
transmission torque Ttg (the request transmission torque
Treq under this control). Then, at t2, the actual
transmission torque Tac reaches the target transmission
torque Ttg. After that, because the difference between
the actual transmission torque Tac and the target
transmission torque Ttg is almost eliminated, the control
unit 11 keeps the degree of engagement of the clutch 40
approximately constant. After that, at t3, when the
difference between the rotational speed of the drive-side
member 41 and the rotational speed of the driven-side
member 42 (hereinafter referred to as clutch rotational
speed difference) falls below a predetermined value
(hereinafter referred to as rotational speed difference
for discontinuing half-clutch (for example, a value 0 or a
value close to 0) ) , the control unit 11 allows the clutch
23

40 to be completely engaged.
As shown in FIG. 5(c), generally there is a difference
between the EG torque TEac and the actual transmission
torque Tac when the clutch 40 is in a half-clutch state.
If the EG torque TEac is higher than the actual
transmission torque Tac, the difference therebetween
contributes to an increase in engine speed; therefore, the
engine speed increases at a rate according to the
difference. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5(c), when the EG
torque TEac increases at tl and becomes higher than the
actual transmission torque Tac, the engine speed increases.
Then, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 5(c), the EG torque TEac
outputted from the engine 30 decreases as the engine speed
increases. Then, as shown in FIG. 5(c), at t3, the EG
torque TEac corresponds with the actual transmission
torque Tac that has already reached the target
transmission torque Ttg. In other words, the EG torque
TEac, the actual transmission torque Tac, and the request
transmission torque Treq correspond with each other. Up
to this point, the discussion has been made with its focus
on the overview of the request follow-up control and the
changes in degree of engagement of the clutch 40 and so
forth with respect to time in the case when the request
follow-up control is performed.
If the EG torque TEac is lower than the actual
24

transmission torque Tac, torque produced by the inertia of
the internal mechanism of the engine 30 such as the
crankshaft 34 (hereinafter referred to as inertia torque
TIac) is transmitted as part of the actual transmission
torque Tac via the clutch 40. Therefore, the engine speed
decreases. Thus, under this control, when the EG torque
TEac falls below the actual transmission torque Tac, the
engine speed switches from increasing to decreasing, and
the EG torque TEac thus starts increasing, thereby
approaching the actual transmission torque Tac.
Consequently, in this operation range, when the control is
performed such that the actual transmission torque Tac
approximates the target transmission torque Ttg, which is
set at the request transmission torque Treq, the engine
speed converges to an engine speed Rreq at which torque
equal to the request transmission torque Treq is outputted
as the EG torque TEac (hereinafter the engine speed is
referred to as request torque rotational speed) (see FIG.
6) .
However, as under the request follow-up control
described above, the target transmission torque Ttg is set
on the request transmission torque Treq, and the clutch
actuator 14 is actuated according to the difference
between the target transmission torque Ttg and the actual
transmission torque Tac, such control, depending on the
25

operation range of the engine 30, can cause the engine
speed to continue to increase or decrease without
converging to a constant value or can require a long time
period for the engine speed to converge to a constant
value. For example, the engine speed continues to
increase or decrease in the operation range in which the
EG torque TEac increases, following the increase in the
engine speed (in the example of FIG. 4, this operation
range is shown in a part of the torque curve LI where the
engine speed is lower than the value Rpeak, and is
hereinafter referred to as torque-increasing operation
range). The reasons for this event are described below.
FIG. 7 illustrates changes in engine speed in the case
when the aforementioned control is performed in the
torque-increasing operation range. In FIG. 7, the
horizontal axis represents engine speed, and the vertical
axis represents EG torque TEac. The LI in FIG. 7 is a
part of the torque curve LI shown in FIG. 4, where the
engine speed is lower than Rpeak. Also, in FIG. 7, the
point El represents the EG torque TEac that is higher than
the actual transmission torque Tac, and the point E2
represents the EG torque TEac that is lower than the
actual transmission torque Tac.
As described above, if the EG torque TEac is higher
than the actual transmission torque Tac, the engine speed
26

increases. Thus, in this case, as shown the point El in
FIG. 7, the EG torque TEac further deviates from the
actual transmission torque Tac as the engine speed
increases so that the engine speed continues to increase.
Also as described above, if the EG torque TEac is lower
than the actual transmission torque Tac, the engine speed
decreases. Thus, in this case, as shown the point E2 in
FIG. 7, the EG torque TEac further deviates from the
actual transmission torque Tac as the engine speed
decreases so that the engine speed continues to decrease.
Thus, in the case where the clutch 40 is controlled such
that the actual transmission torque Tac approximates the
request transmission torque Treq in the torque-increasing
operation range, the engine speed could become excessively
high or low without converging to the request torque
rotational speed Rreq in this operation range, even if the
actual transmission torque Tac has reached the request
transmission torque Treq.
Therefore, in the torque-increasing operation range,
the control unit 11 performs to prevent the engine speed
from excessively increasing or decreasing, instead of the
request follow-up control. Specifically, if the EG torque
TEac is higher than the request transmission torque Treq,
the control unit 11 actuates the clutch actuator 14 such
that the actual transmission torque Tac approximates the
27

EG torque TEac (hereinafter this control is referred to as
rotational speed maintaining control). For example, under
the rotational speed maintaining control, the control unit
11 sets the target the EG torque TEac as transmission
torque Ttg and actuates the clutch actuator 14 according
to the difference between the target transmission torque
Ttg and the actual transmission torque Tac, such that Tac
approximates Ttg.
FIGs. 8(a) to 8(c) are time charts respectively-
showing examples of changes in degree of engagement of the
clutch 40, target transmission torque Ttg, actual
transmission torque Tac, and of EG torque TEac when the
rotational speed maintaining control is performed. FIG.
8(a) shows the degree of engagement of the clutch 40. FIG.
8(b) shows the target transmission torque Ttg. FIG. 8(c)
shows the actual transmission torque Tac and the EG torque
TEac. In FIG. 8(b), the request transmission torque Treq
is shown by a broken line. FIG. 9 illustrates changes in
engine speed and EG torque TEac when the rotational speed
maintaining control is performed. In FIG. 9, the
horizontal axis represents engine speed, and the vertical
axis represents EG torque. The LI in FIG. 9 is a part of
the torque curve LI shown in FIG. 4, where the engine
speed is lower than Rpeak. FIG. 9 shows the EG torque
TEac at the point immediately before t2 in FIG. 8, and so
28

forth.
At tl, when the rider operates the accelerator grip 5a,
and thus, the vehicle start-up conditions are satisfied,
the EG torque TEac increases as shown in FIG. 8(c). Then,
if the EG torque TEac exceeds the request transmission
torque Treq determined according to the accelerator
displacement, the control unit 11 sets the target
transmission torque Ttg not at the request transmission
torque Treq but at the EG torque TEac, as shown in FIG.
8(b). After that, as shown in FIGs. 8(a) and 8(c), the
control unit 11 actuates the clutch actuator 14 according
to the difference between the target transmission torque
Ttg (EG torque TEac in this example) and the actual
transmission torque Tac in order to gradually enhance the
degree of engagement of the clutch 40. Thereby, the
control unit 11 allows the actual transmission torque Tac
to approximate the EG torque TEac. Consequently, as shown
in FIG. 8(c), the actual transmission torque Tac reaches
the EG torque TEac at t2. After that, at t3, when the
clutch rotational speed difference falls below the
rotational speed difference for discontinuing half-clutch,
the control unit 11 allows the clutch 40 to be completely
engaged.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the EG torque TEac
increases at tl and is thus higher than the actual
29

transmission torque Tac. Therefore, the engine speed
keeps increasing from tl onwards. Then, as shown in FIG.
9 and FIG. 8(c), in the torque-increasing operation range,
the EG torque TEac increases as the engine speed increases
However, control by the control unit 11 allows the
difference between the actual transmission torque Tac and
the EG torque TEac to be eliminated at the point (t2)
where the actual transmission torque Tac reaches the
target transmission torque Ttg, and thus, the engine speed
stops increasing. Up to this point, the discussion has
focused on the overview of the rotational speed
maintaining control.
Now, description is made of the control to be
performed if the engine 30 operates in the torque-
increasing operation range, and if the EG torque TEac is
lower than the request transmission torque Treq. In this
case, the control unit 11 actuates the clutch actuator 14
such that the engine speed increases to a predetermined
engine speed (hereinafter this control is referred to as
rotational speed induction control (second control)).
Specifically, the control unit 11 actuates the clutch
actuator 14 such that the engine speed increases or
decreases to an engine speed determined according to the
request transmission torque Treq. For example, the
control unit 11 sets the target transmission torque Ttg
30

such that either one of the target transmission torque Ttg
and the request transmission torque Treq is higher than
the EG torque TEac while the other is lower than the EG
torque TEac. More specifically, if the EG torque TEac is
lower than the request transmission torque Treq, the
control unit 11 sets the target transmission torque Ttg at
a value lower than the EG torque TEac. In addition, the
control unit 11 allows the target transmission torque Ttg
to gradually approximate the request transmission torque
Treq during engaging operation of the clutch 40.
FIGs. 10(a) to 10(c) are time charts respectively
showing examples of changes in degree of engagement of the
clutch 40, target transmission torque Ttg, request
transmission torque Treq, EG torque TEac, and actual
transmission torque Tac in the case when the rotational
speed induction control is performed. FIG. 10(a) shows
the degree of engagement of the clutch 40. FIG. 10(b)
shows the target transmission torque Ttg, the request
transmission torque Treq and the EG torque TEac. FIG.
10(c) shows the actual transmission torque Tac and the EG
torque TEac. FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating changes in
engine speed and EG torque in the case when the rotational
speed induction control is performed. In FIG. 11, the
horizontal axis represents engine speed, and the vertical
axis represents EG torque. The Ll in FIG. 11 is a part of
31

the torque curve LI shown in FIG. 4, where the engine
speed is lower than Rpeak. In addition, FIG. 11 shows the
EG torque TEac and so forth from t2 onwards in FIGs. 10(a)
to 10(c) .
At tl, when the rider operates the accelerator grip 5a
and thus the vehicle start-up conditions are satisfied,
the EG torque TEac increases as shown in FIG. 10(c). Then,
as shown in FIG. 10(b), unless the EG torque TEac exceeds
the request transmission torque Treq determined according
to the accelerator displacement, the control unit 11
performs the rotational speed induction control.
Specifically, the control unit 11 sets the target
transmission torque Ttg at a value lower than the EG
torque TEac. Then, the control unit 11 actuates the
clutch actuator 14 according to the difference between the
target transmission torque Ttg and the actual transmission
torque Tac. Thereby, as shown in FIGs. 10(a) and 10(c),
the control unit 11 enhances the degree of engagement of
the clutch 40 gradually in order to allow the actual
transmission torque Tac to approximate the target
transmission torque Ttg. Then, at t2, the actual
transmission torque Tac reaches the target transmission
torque Ttg.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 10(c), the EG torque
TEac increases at the time tl and becomes higher than the
32

actual transmission torque Tac, and thus, the engine speed
increases. Then, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 10(c), in
the torque-increasing operation range, the EG torque TEac
increases as the engine speed increases. Under this
control, the control unit 11 sets the target transmission
torque Ttg at a value lower than the EG torque TEac, while
gradually increasing the target transmission torque Ttg to
the request transmission torque Treq. Thus, from t2
onwards, the actual transmission torque Tac follows the
target transmission torque Ttg, approximating the request
transmission torque Treq. Consequently, as shown in FIG.
10(b), at t3, the request transmission torque Treq, the
target transmission torque Ttg, and the EG torque TEac are
equal to each other, and thus the difference is eliminated
between the actual transmission torque Tac and the EG
torque TEac. Thereby, the engine speed converges to an
engine speed that is determined according to the request
transmission torque Treq (in this example, engine speed
Rreq at which the EG torque TEac equals to the request
transmission torque is outputted) . Up to this point, the
discussion has focused on the overview of the rotational
speed induction control.
The processing executed by the control unit 11 is
discussed in detail. FIG. 12 is a block diagram
illustrating the processing functions of the control unit
33

11. As shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 includes an
EG torque obtaining section 11a, an actual torque
obtaining section lib, a request torque obtaining section
lid, a range determining section lie, a target torque
setting section llf, a clutch actuator control section llg,
and a shift actuator control section llh. The actual
torque obtaining section lib includes an inertia torque
obtaining section lie.
Description is first made of the processing executed
by the EG torque obtaining section 11a. The EG torque
obtaining section 11a executes the processing for
obtaining the EG torque TEac currently outputted from the
engine 30. For example, the storage unit 12 stores in
advance a table that establishes the correspondence
between the EG torque TEac, and the engine speed and the
accelerator displacement (hereinafter the table is
referred to as EG torque table). Then, the EG torque
obtaining section 11a detects the accelerator displacement
based on the signal inputted from the accelerator
operation detector 17, while detecting the engine speed
based on the signal inputted from the engine speed
detector 18. Then, the EG torque obtaining section 11a
refers to the EG torque table to obtain the EG torque TEac
that corresponds to the detected accelerator displacement
and engine speed. As mentioned above, the EG torque TEac
34

is defined herein as a value obtained by multiplying the
torque outputted from the engine 30 by the gear ratio of
the primary speed reducing mechanism 36.
In place of the EG torque table, the storage unit 12
may store in advance an expression that represents the
relationship between the engine speed, the accelerator
displacement and the EG torque TEac (hereinafter the
expression is referred to as EG torque relational
expression). In this case, the EG torque obtaining
section 11a substitutes the detected engine speed and
accelerator displacement into the EG torque relational
expression in order to calculate the current EG torque
TEac.
Alternatively, the EG torque obtaining section 11a may
obtain the EG torque TEac based on pressure of air flowing
through the interior of the intake pipe 35 (hereinafter
the pressure is referred to as intake pressure). For
example, the storage unit 12 may store in advance a table
that establishes the correspondence between the EG torque
TEac, and the intake pressure and the engine speed. In
addition, a pressure sensor for outputting a signal
according to the intake pressure is disposed in the intake
pipe 35. In this case, the EG torque obtaining section
11a detects the engine speed at the time when the crank
angle is a predetermined value (for example, at the end of
35

intake stroke) , while detecting the intake pressure based
on the signal inputted from the pressure sensor. Then,
the EG torque obtaining section 11a refers to the table
stored in the storage unit 12 to obtain the EG torque TEac
that corresponds to the detected intake pressure and
engine speed.
Now, description is made of the processing executed by
the actual torque obtaining section lib. The actual
torque obtaining section lib executes the processing for
obtaining the actual transmission torque Tac in a
predetermined cycle (for example, several milliseconds)
during engaging operation of the clutch 40. Specifically,
the actual torque obtaining section lib calculates the
actual transmission torque Tac based on the EG torque TEac
obtained by the EG torque obtaining section 11a and based
on the torque produced due to the inertia of the mechanism
(such as the crankshaft 34, the piston 32 and the primary
speed reducing mechanism 36) located upstream of the
drive-side member 41 in the torque transmission path (i.e.
•inertia torque TIac).
Description is first made of the processing for
obtaining the inertia torque TIac. The inertia torque
TIac is a value determined according to the variation in
engine speed Qe per unit time (dQe / dt, hereinafter
referred to as rate-of-change of EG speed). The storage
36

unit 12 stores in advance an expression that associates
the inertia torque TIac with the rate-of-change of EG
speed (dQe / dt) . Specifically, the storage unit 12
stores in advance an expression, in which the inertia
torque Tia is equal to a value (I x (dQe / dt) ) obtained
by multiplying the inertial moment I on the mechanism
upstream of the drive-side member 41 by the rate-of-change
of EG speed (dQe / dt). In this case, the inertia torque
obtaining section lie, included in the actual torque
obtaining section lib, calculates the rate-of-change of EG
speed (dQe / dt) based on the signal inputted from the
engine speed detector 18. Then, the inertia torque
obtaining section lie multiplies the rate-of-change of EG
speed (dQe / dt) by the inertial moment I, and defines the
multiplication result (I x (dQe / dt) ) as inertia torque
TIac. The storage unit 12 may store in advance a table
that establishes the correspondence between the rate-of-
change of EG speed (dQe / dt) and the inertia torque TIac.
In this case, the inertia torque obtaining section lie
refers to the table to obtain the inertia torque TIac that
corresponds to the rate-of-change of EG speed (dQe / dt).
The actual torque obtaining section 11a assigns the EG
torque TEac and the inertia torque TIac, which are
obtained from the aforementioned processing, to the
expression that is stored in the storage unit 12 in
37

advance and represents the relationship between the EG
torque TEac, the inertia torque TIac and the actual
transmission torque Tac in order to calculate the actual
transmission torque Tac. For example, the actual torque
obtaining section lib assigns the inertia torque TIac and
the EG torque TEac to the following expression (1) , and
defines the obtained value as actual transmission torque
Tac.
Tac = TEac - TIac (1)
The actual transmission torque Tac is described herein
as torque transmitted to the driven-side member 42.
However, for example, the actual torque obtaining section
lib may calculate torque transmitted to the countershaft
55 or the mechanism downstream of the countershaft 55 as
actual transmission torque Tac. In this case, the actual
torque obtaining section lib obtains torque by multiplying
the value, which is obtained from the aforementioned
expression (1) , by the deceleration ratio of the gearbox
51 (the gear ratio of the shift gears after shifted-up or
shifted-down operation (after the clutch 40 is completely
engaged) ) and by the deceleration ratio of the
transmission mechanism 57, and defines the obtained torque
as actual transmission torque Tac.
In addition, when the torque produced on the mechanism
upstream of the primary speed reducing mechanism 36 is
38

stored as EG torque TEac in the aforementioned EG torque
table, the actual torque obtaining section lib multiplies
the EG torque TEac, which is obtained from the
aforementioned processing, by the deceleration ratio of
the primary speed reducing mechanism 36 (the number of
teeth of the driven-side primary reduction gear 36b / the
number of teeth of the drive-side primary reduction gear
36a) in order to calculate the actual transmission torque
Tac.
The processing for calculating the actual transmission
torque Tac is not limited to the aforementioned processes.
For example, the storage unit 12 may store in advance a
table or an expression that establishes the correspondence
between the actual transmission torque Tac, and the engine
speed, the accelerator displacement and the rate-of-change
of EG speed. In this case, the actual torque obtaining
section lib uses the table or the expression to directly
obtain the actual transmission torque Tac from the engine
speed, the rate-of-change of EG speed and the accelerator
displacement.
Now, description is made of the processing executed by
the request torque obtaining section lid. The request
torque obtaining section lid executes the processing for
obtaining the request transmission torque Treq based on
the accelerator displacement detected by the accelerator
39

operation detector 17. For example, the storage unit 12
stores in advance a table that establishes the
correspondence between the accelerator displacement by the
rider and the request transmission torque Treq
(hereinafter the table is referred to as request torque
table). Then, the request torque obtaining section lid
refers to the request torque table to obtain the request
transmission torque Treq that corresponds to the
accelerator displacement detected by the accelerator
operation detector 17. Alternatively, the storage unit 12
may store an expression that represents the relationship
between the accelerator displacement and the request
transmission torque Treq. In this case, the request
torque obtaining section lid assigns the accelerator
displacement detected by the accelerator operation
detector 17 to the expression in order to calculate the
request transmission torque Treq.
FIG. 13 is a graph that indicates an example of the
relationship between the request transmission torque Treq
and the accelerator displacement. On the graph, the
horizontal axis represents accelerator displacement, and
the vertical axis represents request transmission torque
Treq. As shown in FIG. 13, as the accelerator
displacement becomes larger, the request transmission
torque Treq increases. In addition, in the example shown
40

in FIG. 13, when the accelerator displacement is 0, the
request transmission torque Treq is a negative value.
Now, description is made of the processing executed by
the range determining section lie. The range determining
section lie determines whether or not the engine 30
operates in the torque-decreasing operation range or in
the torque-increasing operation range. The range
determining section lie executes this processing as below,
for example.
The storage unit 12 stores in advance an operation
range information correspondence table showing that each
operation range, which is specified by the accelerator
displacement and the engine speed, is either the torque-
increasing operation range or the information indicative
of the torque-decreasing operation range (hereinafter the
table is referred to as range determining table). FIG. 14
shows an example of the range determining table. The
range determining table stores the engine speed on the top
row and the accelerator displacement on the leftmost
column, both of which specify the operation range. In
addition, the range determining table stores, for each
operation range specified by the accelerator displacement
and the engine speed, the information indicating that the
operation range is either the torque-increasing operation
range or the torque-decreasing operation range. In FIG.
41

14, for example, in the operation range with 3000rpm
engine speed and 100% accelerator displacement, the
information indicating that this operation range is the
torque-increasing operation range ("increase" in FIG. 14)
is stored. In turn, in the operation range with 9000rpm
engine speed and 5% accelerator displacement, the
information indicating that this operation range is the
torque-decreasing operation range ("decrease" in FIG. 14)
is stored. In the case where the storage unit 12 stores
such a range determining table, the range determining
section lie refers to the range determining table to
determine whether the operation range that corresponds to
the accelerator displacement and the engine speed detected
by the respective detectors is the torque-increasing
operation range or the torque-decreasing operation range.
Alternatively, before or during the engaging operation
of the clutch 40, the range determining section lie may
estimate whether or not the EG torque TEac approximates
the request transmission torque Treq in the case where the
aforementioned request follow-up control is performed, and
determine the current operation range based on the
estimation result. Specifically, if the EG torque TEac is
estimated to approximate the request transmission torque
Treq, the range determining section lie determines that
the current operation range is the torque-decreasing
42

operation range. In contrast, if the EG torque TEac is
estimated to deviate from the request transmission torque
Treq, the range determining section lie determines that
the current operation range is the torque-increasing
operation range. This processing is executed as follows,
for example.
The range determining section lie refers to the EG
torque table to obtain the engine speed, at which the
torque that equals to the request transmission torque is
outputted as the EG torque TEac, that is, the request
torque rotational speed Rreq. FIG. 15 shows an example of
the EG torque table. In this table, the engine speed is
listed on the top row and the accelerator displacement is
listed in the leftmost column. The table also establishes
the correspondence between each engine speed and
accelerator displacement, and the EG torque TEac. In the
case where the storage unit 12 stores such an EG torque
table and for example, the accelerator displacement is 7 5%
and the request transmission torque Treq is 1.00, the
range determining section lie refers to this EG Torque
table and obtains the request torque rotational speed Rreq
of 6050rpm.
In addition, the range determining section lie
estimates the tendency of changes in the engine speed when
the request follow-up control is performed. Specifically,
43

if the request transmission torque Treq is higher than the
EG torque TEac, the actual transmission torque Tac made
higher than the EG torque TEac accordingly by the request
follow-up control. Therefore, the range determining
section lie estimates that the engine speed decreases. In
contrast, if the request transmission torque Treq is lower
than the EG torque TEac, the range determining section lie
estimates that the engine speed increases under the
request follow-up control.
Then, if the current engine speed increases or
decreases as estimated, the range determining section lie
determines whether or not the current engine speed
approximates the request torque rotational speed Rreq.
For example, if the current engine speed is 5000rpm and is
estimated to increase, this engine speed approximates the
request torque rotational speed Rreq (6050rpm in the
aforementioned example) (see FIG. 15) . In this case,
because the EG torque TEac also approximates the request
transmission torque Treq (1.00 in the aforementioned
example) accordingly, the range determining section lie
determines that the engine 30 currently operates in the
torque-decreasing operation range. In contrast, if the
engine speed is estimated to decrease, the engine speed
deviates from the request torque rotational speed Rreq
(6050rpm in the aforementioned example), and accordingly,
44

the EG torque TEac deviates from the request transmission
torque Treq (see FIG. 15) . In this case, the range
determining section lie determines that the engine 30
operates in the torque-increasing operation range.
Now, description is made of the target torque setting
section llf. The target torque setting section llf sets
the target transmission torque according to the
determination result made by the range determination
section lie. Specifically, if the engine 30 operates in
the torque-decreasing operation range, the target torque
setting section llf regards the request transmission
torque Treq obtained by the processing of the request
torque obtaining section lid as the target transmission
torque Ttg.
In turn, if the engine 30 operates in the torque-
increasing operation range, the target torque setting
section llf sets the target transmission torque Ttg
depending on a positive or negative value of the
difference between the EG torque TEac and the request
transmission torque Treq. Specifically, if the EG torque
TEac is higher than the request transmission torque Treg,
the target transmission torque llf sets the target
transmission torque Ttg as the EG torque TEac.
In contrast, if the EG torque TEac is lower than the
request transmission torque Treg, the target torque
45

setting section llf sets a value lower than the EG torque
Teac as the target transmission torque Ttg. In addition,
the target torque setting section llf gradually reduces
the difference between the target transmission torque Ttg
and the request transmission torque Treq during engaging
operation of the clutch 40. Specifically, the target
torque setting section llf determines the difference
between the target transmission torque Ttg and the EG
torque TEac according to that between the EG torque TEac
and the request transmission torque Treq. For example,
the target torque setting section llf calculates the
target transmission torque Ttg by assigning the EG torque
TEac, which is obtained by the processing of the EG torque
obtaining section 11a, and the request transmission torque
Treq, which is obtained by the processing of the request
torque obtaining section lid, to the following expression
(2) stored in the storage unit 12 in advance.
Ttg = TEac - (Treq - TEac)•••(2)
When the target transmission torque Ttg is set in this
manner, the target transmission torque Ttg approximates
the request transmission torque Treq gradually during
engaging operation of the clutch 40. In other words, as
described by referring to FIGs. 10(a) to 10(c) and 11, the
actual transmission torque Tac reaches the target
transmission torque Ttg during engaging operation of the
46

clutch 40. Therefore, when the target transmission torque
Ttg is lower than the EG torque TEac, the actual
transmission torque Tac also turns out to be lower than
the EG torque TEac. Thus, the engine speed increases. In
the torque-increasing operation range, the EG torque TEac
increases as the engine speed increases. Thus, the
difference between the EG torque TEac and the request
transmission torque Treq is gradually reduced during
engaging operation of the clutch 40; therefore, the target
transmission torque Ttg also gradually approximates the
request transmission torque Treq.
The processing executed by the target torque setting
section llf is not limited to this. For example, a
maximum value ATmax of the difference between the EG
torque TEac and the target transmission torque Ttg may be
given. Thus, if the difference between the request
transmission torque Treq and the EG torque TEac exceeds
the maximum value ATmax, the target torque setting section
llf does not necessarily set the target transmission
torque Ttg by assigning the EG torque TEac and the request
transmission torque Treq to the expression (2).
Alternatively, the target torque setting section llf may
set a value obtained by subtracting the maximum value
ATmax from the EG torque TEac (TEac - ATmax) as the target
transmission torque Ttg.
47

Now, description is made of the processing executed by
the clutch actuator control section llg. During engaging
operation of the clutch 40, the clutch actuator control
section llg actuates the clutch actuator 14 in a
predetermined cycle based on the difference between the
actual transmission torque Tac and the target transmission
torque Ttg (hereinafter referred to as torque deviation).
Specifically, the clutch actuator control section llg
actuates the clutch actuator 14 by an amount according to
the torque deviation to allow the actual transmission
torque Tac to approximate the target transmission torque
Ttg. The clutch actuator control section llg executes the
following processing, for example.
The storage unit 12 stores in advance an expression
that represents the relationship between the torque
deviation (Ttg - Tac) and the amount by which the clutch
actuator 14 is actuated (hereinafter the amount is
referred to as command actuation amount) (hereinafter the
expression is referred to as actuation amount relational
expression). The clutch actuator control section llg
calculates the torque deviation (Ttg - Tac) in a
predetermined cycle during engaging operation of the
clutch 40. Then, the clutch actuator control section llg
substitutes the torque deviation (Ttg - Tac) into the
actuation amount relational expression in order to
48

calculate the command actuation amount, and outputs a
control signal to the clutch actuator drive circuit 13
according to the calculated command actuation amount. The
clutch actuator drive circuit 13 outputs electric power to
drive the clutch actuator 14 according to the control
signal.
FIG. 16 is a graph showing the relationship between
the torque deviation (Ttg - Tac) and the command actuation
amount obtained from the actuation amount relational
expression. In an example shown in FIG. 16, the actuation
amount relational expression is established such that if
the torque deviation (Ttg - Tac) is positive, the clutch
actuator 14 is actuated in the direction to engage the
clutch 40. In turn, the actuation amount relational
expression is established such that if the torque
deviation (Ttg - Tac) is negative, the clutch actuator 14
is actuated in the direction to disengage the clutch 40.
In addition, the actuation amount relational expression is
established such that the command actuation amount
increases in proportion to the torque deviation (Ttg -
Tac) .
The storage unit 12 stores the actuation amount
relational expressions; the one expression is to actuate
the clutch actuator 14 in the direction to engage the
clutch 40 when the torque deviation (Ttg - Tac) is
49

positive as shown in FIG. 16 (hereinafter the expression
is referred to as engagement actuation amount relational
expression) and the other expression is to actuate the
clutch actuator 14 in the opposite direction from or the
direction to disengage the clutch 40 (hereinafter the
expression is referred to as disengagement actuation
amount relational expression). FIG. 17 is a graph showing
the relationship between the torque deviation (Ttg - Tac)
and the command actuation amount obtained from the
disengagement actuation amount relational expression. In
the graph shown in FIG. 17, the actuation amount
relational expression is established such that if the
torque deviation (Ttg - Tac) is positive, the clutch
actuator 14 is actuated in the direction to disengage the
clutch 40, in contrast to the graph shown in FIG. 16.
The clutch actuator control section llg selects either
the engagement actuation amount relational expression or
the disengagement actuation amount relational expression
depending on a positive or negative value of the
difference in clutch rotational speed (rotational speed of
the drive-side member 41 - rotational speed of the driven-
side member 42). Specifically, if the difference in
clutch rotational speed is positive, the clutch actuator
control section llg assigns the torque deviation (Ttg -
Tac) to the engagement actuation amount relational
50

expression. In contrast, if the difference in clutch
rotational speed is negative, the clutch actuator control
section llg assigns the torque deviation (Ttg - Tac) to
the disengagement actuation amount relational expression.
Alternatively, in place of the engagement actuation
amount relational expression and the disengagement
actuation amount relational expression, the storage unit
12 may store a table that establishes the correspondence
between the command actuation amount, and the target
transmission torque Ttg and the actual transmission torque
Tac. In this case, the clutch actuator control section
llg refers to the table to directly obtain the command
actuation amount that corresponds to the target
transmission torque Ttg and the actual transmission torque
Tac, rather than calculating the difference between the
target transmission torque Ttg and the actual transmission
torque Tac.
When the difference in clutch rotational speed is
below the rotational speed difference for discontinuing
half-clutch as a result of the aforementioned control
based on the torque deviation, the clutch actuator control
section llg further actuates the clutch actuator 14 to
completely engage the clutch 40.
Now, description is made of the processing executed by
the shift actuator control section llh. When the rider
51

operates the shift-up switch 9a or the shift-down switch
9b to input a gear shift command from the switch button,
the shift actuator control section llh actuates the shift
actuator 16 to change the shift gears 53a, 53b, 54a, 54b.
In the example described herein, when the shift-up switch
9a or the shift-down switch 9b is turned ON, the shift
actuator control section llh outputs a control signal to
the shift actuator drive circuit 15 at start-up of the
motorcycle 1 and in the state where the clutch 40 is
disengaged and the gearbox 51 is set in the neutral
position. The shift actuator 16 is actuated by the
driving power supplied from the shift actuator drive
circuit 15 in order to move some of the shift gears 53a,
53b, 54a, 54b.
Now, description is made of a flow of the processing
executed by the control unit 11. FIG. 18 is a flowchart
showing an example of the processing executed by the
control unit 11 at start-up of. the motorcycle 1. The
processing described herein starts when the vehicle start-
up conditions are satisfied. The vehicle start-up
conditions are that: for example, the clutch 40 is
disengaged with the gearbox 51 set in a position other
than neutral position; and the engine speed and the
accelerator displacement are equal to or greater than
their respective predetermined values. Alternatively, the
52

start-up conditions may be that: the clutch 40 is
disengaged with the gearbox 51 set in a position other
than neutral position; and a value, which is obtained by
subtracting the driven-side member 42 from the drive-side
member 41 of the clutch 40, is a negative value.
If the vehicle start-up conditions are satisfied, the
request torque obtaining section lid first detects the
accelerator displacement, and then refers to the request
torque table (see FIG. 13) to obtain the request
transmission torque Treq that corresponds to the detected
accelerator displacement (step S101). In addition, the EG
torque obtaining section 11a detects the engine speed and
obtains the EG torque TEac based on the detected engine
speed and accelerator displacement (step S102).
After that, the range determining section lie
estimates whether or not the EG torque TEac approximates
the request transmission torque Treq in the case when the
aforementioned request follow-up control is performed, and
according to the estimation result, determines the current
operation range of the engine 30 (steps S103 to S105).
Specifically, the range determining section lie determines
whether or not the engine speed increases in the case when
the request follow-up control is performed (step S103).
In other words, the range determining section lie
determines whether or not the difference between the EG
53

torque TEac and the request transmission torque Treq (TEac
Treq) is greater than 0. In this step, if the
difference is greater than 0, the range determining
section lie determines that the engine speed increases and
whether or not the request torque rotational speed Rreq is
higher than the current engine speed (step S104). In this
step, if the request torque rotational speed Rreq is
higher than the current engine speed, the EG torque TEac
should approximate the request transmission torque Treq
due to the action of the aforementioned request follow-up
control. Therefore, the range determining section lie
determines that the engine 30 operates currently in the
torque-decreasing operation range. In this case, the
processing of the control unit 11 continues to the step
S106. In contrast, in the step S104, if the request
torque rotational speed Rreq is lower than the current
engine speed, the EG torque TEac deviates from the request
transmission torque Treq due to the action of the request
follow-up control. Therefore, the range determining
section lie determines that the engine 30 operates
currently in the torque-increasing operation range. In
this case, the processing of the control unit 11 continues
to the step S107.
In addition, in the step S103, if the engine speed is
determined to decrease in the case when the request
54

follow-up control is performed (if the difference (TEac -
Treq) is smaller than 0), the range determining section
lie determines whether or not the request torque
rotational speed Rreq is lower than the current engine
speed (step S105) . In this step, if the request torque
rotational speed Rreq is lower than the current engine
speed, the EG torque TEac should naturally approximate the
request transmission torque Treq due to the action of the
request follow-up control. Therefore, the range
determining section lie determines that the engine 30
operates currently in the torque-decreasing operation
range. Also in this case, the control unit 11 goes to the
step S106 to continue the processing. In contrast, in the
step S105, if the request torque rotational speed Rreq is
determined to be higher than the current engine speed, the
EG torque TEac deviates from the request transmission
torque Treq due to the action of the request follow-up
control. Therefore, the range determining section lie
determines that the engine 30 operates in the torque-
increasing operation range. In this case, the control
unit 11 goes to the step S107 to continue the processing.
As a result of the determinations of the processing
steps S104 and S105, if the range determining section lie
determines that the current operating condition of the
engine 30 falls within the torque-decreasing operation
55

range, the target torque setting section llf sets the
target transmission torque Ttg as the request transmission
torque Treq obtained in the step S101 (step S106).
Thereby, the request follow-up control is performed under
which the actual transmission torque Tac follows the
request transmission torque Treq.
In contrast, if the range determining section lie in
the processing steps S104 and S105 determines that the
current operating condition of the engine 30 falls within
the torque-increasing operation range, the target torque
setting section llf determines whether or not the EG
torque TEac obtained in the step S102 is higher than the
request transmission torque Treq obtained in the step S101
(step S107) . In this step, if the EG torque TEac is
higher than the request transmission torque Treq, the
target torque setting section llf sets the target
transmission torque Ttg as the EG torque TEac obtained in
the step S102 (step S108). Thereby, the rotational speed
maintaining control is performed in which the actual
transmission torque Tac follows the EG torque Tac.
In contrast, if the EG torque TEac is not higher than
the request transmission torque Treq in the processing
step S107, the target torque setting section llf executes
the following processing, for example, in order to perform
the rotational speed induction control. More specifically,
56

the target torque setting section llf determines whether
or not the difference between the EG torque TEac and the
request transmission torque Treq (Treq - TEac) is higher
than the aforementioned maximum value ATmax (step S109).
In this step, if the difference (Treq - TEac) is larger
than the maximum value ATmax, the target torque setting
section llf subtracts the maximum value ATmax from the EG
torque TEac and sets the obtained value as the target
transmission torque Ttg (TEac - ATmax) (step Sill). In
contrast, if the difference (Treq - TEac) is not larger
than the maximum value ATmax, the target torque setting
section llf substitutes the EG torque TEac, which is
obtained in the step S102, and the request transmission
torque Treq, which is obtained in the step S101, into the
aforementioned expression (2), in order to calculate the
target transmission torque Ttg (step S110).
When the target transmission torque Ttg is set in the
processing step S106, S108, S110 or Sill, the actual
transmission torque obtaining section lib calculates the
actual transmission torque Tac (step S112). Then, the
clutch actuator control section llg determines whether or
not the clutch rotational speed difference is a positive
value, based on the determination result, selects either
then the aforementioned engagement actuation amount
relational expression or disengagement actuation amount
57

relational expression (step S113) . Then, the clutch
actuator control section llg calculates the command
actuation amount based on the difference between the
target transmission torque Ttg and the actual transmission
torque Tac (that is, the torque deviation) (step S114) .
Specifically, if the clutch rotational speed difference is
negative, the clutch actuator control section llg assigns
the torque deviation (Ttg - Tac) to the disengagement
actuation amount relational expression in order to
calculate the command actuation amount. In contrast, if
the clutch rotational speed difference is positive, the
clutch actuator control section llg assigns the torque
deviation to the engagement actuation amount relational
expression in order to calculate the command actuation
amount. Then, the clutch actuator control section llg
outputs a control signal to the clutch actuator drive
circuit 13 according to the command actuation amount (step
S115) . Thereby, the clutch actuator 14 is actuated for
the amount according to the command actuation amount, so
that the degree of engagement of the clutch 40 changes.
After that, the clutch actuator control section llg
recalculates the clutch rotational speed difference, and
determines whether or not the recalculated clutch
rotational speed difference is smaller than the rotational
speed difference for discontinuing half-clutch (step S116).
58

In this step, if the clutch rotational speed difference is
smaller than the rotational speed difference for
discontinuing half-clutch, the clutch actuator control
section llg allows the clutch 40 to be completely engaged
(step S117). In contrast, if the clutch rotational speed
difference has not been smaller than the rotational speed
difference for discontinuing half-clutch, the control unit
11 returns to the step S101 to repeat the subsequent steps
in a predetermined cycle (for example, several
milliseconds) until the clutch 40 is completely engaged in
the step S117. The aforementioned processing is an
example of the processing executed by the control unit 11
at vehicle start-up.
In the above-mentioned clutch controller 10, the
control unit 11 performs the request follow-up control or
actuates the clutch actuator 14 based on the difference
between the actual transmission torque Tac and the target
transmission torque Ttg at which the request transmission
torque Treq is set, such that Tac approximates Ttg. This
allows appropriate torque to be transmitted to the
downstream side via the clutch during engaging operation
of the clutch. In turn, in the torque-increasing
operation range, the control unit 11 performs the
rotational speed induction control or actuates the clutch
actuator 14 such that the engine speed increases or
59

decreases to a predetermined engine speed (the request
torque rotational speed in the above description) . This
prevents the engine speed from excessively increasing or
decreasing in the torque-increasing operation.
Further, in the clutch controller 10, the actual
torque obtaining section lib calculates the actual
transmission torque Tac based on the EG torque TEac and
the inertia torque TIac produced due to the inertia of the
mechanism upstream of the drive-side member 41 in the
torque transmission path. The actual transmission torque
Tac is thus obtained without providing any specific sensor
for outputting a signal according to the actual
transmission torque Tac.
Still further, in the clutch controller 10, the
predetermined engine speed depends on the request
transmission torque Treq. This allows the control unit 11
to perform the control such that the EG torque TEac
approximates the request transmission torque Trea with
request by the rider.
Moreover, in the clutch controller 10, the control
unit 11 includes the target torque setting section llf for
setting the torque that is supposed to be transmitted from
the drive-side member 41 to the downstream mechanism as
the target transmission torque Ttg. Under the rotational
speed induction control, the target torque setting section
60

llf sets the target transmission torque Ttg such that
either the target transmission torque Ttg or the request
transmission torque Treq is higher than the EG torque TEac,
while the other is lower than the EG torque TEac. Thus,
under the rotational speed induction control, the control
unit 11 actuates the clutch actuator 14 based on the
difference between the actual transmission torque Tac and
the target transmission torque Ttg, such that Tac
approximates Ttg. Under the request follow-up control,
the control unit 11 controls the clutch actuator 14 based
on the difference between the actual transmission torque
Tac and the target transmission torque Ttg which is set at
the request transmission torque Treq. Also under the
rotational speed induction control as described above, the
control unit 11 actuates the clutch actuator 14 based on
the difference between the actual transmission torque Tac
and the target transmission torque Ttg. Therefore, the
control unit 11 can execute the similar processing under
the request follow-up control and the rotational speed
induction control and simplify the processing for
controlling the clutch. According to this embodiment, the
target torque setting section llf sets the target
transmission torque Ttg based on the difference between
the EG torque TEac and the request transmission torque
Treq. This enables the control such that the target
61

transmission torque Ttg more approximates the EG torque
TEac as the difference is smaller between the EG torque
TEac and the request transmission torque Treq. Then, due
to the execution of such control, the EG torque TEac
approximates the request transmission torque Treq at a
slower pace as the difference becomes smaller between the
EG torque TEac and the request transmission torque Treq.
This prevents rapid changes in engine speed.
In addition, according to one embodiment of the clutch
controller 10, the control unit 11 includes the range
determining section lie for determining whether or not the
engine 30 operates in an operation range in which the EG
torque TEac increases as the engine speed increases. Thus,
the range determining section lie determines whether or
not the engine 30 operates in an operation range in which
the EG torque TEac increases as the engine speed increases
based on whether or not the EG torque TEac approximates
the request transmission torque Treq in the case when the
request follow-up control is performed. This ensures that
the rotational speed induction control is performed in an
operation range in which the EG torque TEac does not
approximate the request transmission torque Treq.
The present invention is not limited to the above-
mentioned clutch controller 10 and can have various
alternatives. For example, in the above description, if
62

the current operating condition of the engine 30 falls
within the torque-increasing operation range, and the
detected EG torque TEac is higher than the request
transmission torque Treq, the control unit 11 performs the
rotational speed maintaining control in which the target
transmission torque Ttg is set at the detected EG torque
TEac. However, if the current operating condition of the
engine 30 falls within the torque-increasing operation
range, and the engine speed falls outside a predetermined
range, the target torque setting section llf may perform
the rotational speed maintaining control. In addition,
the target torque setting section llf may set the target
transmission torque Ttg by means of the similar processing
under the aforementioned rotational speed induction
control, unless the engine speed falls outside the
predetermined range.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the
processing executed by the control unit 11 according to
the embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 19, the same
processing steps as those shown in FIG. 18 are designated
by the same numerals, and the description thereof is not
repeated.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, if the
determination results in the steps S103 to S105 show that
the current operating condition of the engine 30 falls
63

within the torque-increasing operation range, the target
torque setting section llf calculates the engine speed Rac
based on the signal of the engine speed detector 18. Then,
the target torque setting section llf determines whether
or not the calculated engine speed Rac is higher than a
predetermined minimum value Rmin and also is lower than a
predetermined maximum value Rmax (step S118). In this
step, the minimum value Rmin and the maximum value Rmax
are referred to as engine speed in the torque-increasing
operation range and are stored in the storage unit 12 in
advance.
If the determination result in the step S118 shows
that the engine speed is either equal to or higher than
the maximum value Rmax or equal to or lower than the
minimum value Rmin, the target torque setting section llf
sets the target transmission torque Ttg at the EG torque
TEac (step S108). Thereby, the rotational speed
maintaining control is performed. In contrast, if the
engine speed Rac is higher than the minimum value Rmin and
lower than the maximum value Rmax, the target torque
setting section llf determines whether or not the
difference between the EG torque TEac and the request
transmission torque Treq (Treq - TEac) is larger than the
aforementioned maximum value ATmax (step S109), and then
performs the subsequent process. Thereby, the rotational
64

speed induction control is performed.
In this embodiment, the request follow-up control is
replaced with the rotational speed maintaining control, if
the engine 30 operates in an operation range in which the
engine speed exceeds a predetermined value (the maximum
value Rmax or the minimum value Rmin). This also makes it
possible to prevent the engine speed from excessively
increasing or decreasing even when the engine 30 operates
in the torque-increasing operation range.
In turn, if the current operating condition of the
engine 30 falls within the torque-decreasing operation
range, and the engine speed exceeds a predetermined
maximum value Rmax2 or a predetermined minimum value Rmin2,
the control unit 11 may perform the rotational speed
maintaining control. This prevents the engine speed from
excessively increasing or decreasing during engaging
operation of the clutch 40, even if the current operating
condition of the engine 30 falls within the torque-
decreasing operation range.
In addition, under the above-mentioned rotational
speed induction control, the target torque setting section
llf controls the clutch actuator 14 by setting the target
transmission torque Ttg in accordance with the request
transmission torque Treq in order for the engine speed to
reach the request torque rotational speed Rreq. In other
65

words, the target torque setting section llf assigns the
request transmission torque Treq and the EG torque TEac to
the aforementioned expression (2) in order to calculate
the target transmission torque Ttg. However, under the
rotational speed induction control, the target torque
setting section llf may set the target transmission torque
Ttg according to a predetermined value (hereinafter
referred to as fixed transmission torque) in place of the
request transmission torque Treq. For example, the target
torque setting section llf may assign the fixed
transmission torque, in place of the request transmission
torque Treq, to the aforementioned expression (2) in order
to calculate the target transmission torque Ttg. This
allows the control unit 11 to actuate the clutch actuator
14 such that the engine speed approximates at which the EG
torque TEac equal to the fixed transmission torque is
outputted.
In addition, under the above-mentioned rotational
speed maintaining control, the control unit 11 sets the
target transmission torque Ttg at the EG torque TEac, and
actuates the clutch actuator 14 according to the
difference between the target transmission torque Ttg and
the actual transmission torque Tac, thereby suppressing
the changes in engine speed. However, the control unit 11
may perform the rotational speed maintaining control based
66

on the engine speed rather than that based on the above
torque difference. Such control is executed as follows,
for example.
The storage unit 12 stores in advance a table that
establishes the correspondence between the command
actuation amount of the clutch actuator 14, and the rate-
of-change of engine speed Qe (the rate-of-change of EG
speed (dQe / dt) ) and the clutch rotational speed
difference. For example, this table is established such
that as the rate-of-change of EG speed (dQe / dt)
increases, the command actuation amount increases. For
example, this table is also established such that as the
clutch rotational speed difference increases, the command
actuation amount decreases. In the case where the storage
unit 12 stores such a table, during engaging operation of
the clutch 40, the control unit 11 calculates the rate-of-
change of EG speed (dQe / dt) in a predetermined cycle
based on the signal inputted from the engine speed
detector 18, while calculating the clutch rotational speed
difference based on the signals inputted from the clutch
rotational speed detectors 23a, 23b. Then, the control
unit 11 refers to the aforementioned table to obtain the
command actuation amount that corresponds to the
calculated rate-of-change of EG speed (dQe / dt) and
clutch rotational speed difference, and outputs a control
67

signal to the clutch actuator 14 according to the obtained
command actuation amount. Due to the execution of such
rotational speed maintaining control, the rate-of-change
of EG speed (dQe / dt) gradually decreases during the
engaging operation of the clutch 40, and consequently, the
actual transmission torque Tac approximates the EG torque
TEac. Thus, the engine speed is prevented from
excessively increasing or decreasing.
In turn, the control unit 11 may perform the
rotational speed induction control based on the engine
speed, rather than that based on the torque difference.
Such control is executed as follows, for example.
The storage unit 12 stores in advance a table that
establishes the correspondence between the command
actuation amount, and the clutch rotational speed
difference and the rate-of-change of the difference (Rreq
- Qe) between the request torque rotational speed Rreq and
the current engine speed Qe (d (Rreq - Qe) / dt) . For
example, this table is established such that as the rate-
of-change (d (Rreq - Qe) / dt) increases, the command
actuation amount increases. For example, this table is
also established such that as the clutch rotational speed
difference increases, the command actuation amount
decreases. In the case when the storage unit 12 stores
such a table, the control unit 11 obtains the request
68

transmission torque Treq during the engaging operation of
the clutch and refers to the aforementioned EG torque
table to obtain the request torque rotational speed Rreq
that corresponds to the obtained request transmission
torque Treq. Then, the control unit 11 obtains the engine
speed Qe based on the signal inputted from the engine
speed detector 18 and calculates the rate-of-change (d
(Rreq - Qe) / dt) . The control unit 11 also calculates
the clutch rotational speed difference based on the
signals inputted from the clutch rotational speed
detectors 23a, 23b. Then, referring to the aforementioned
command actuation amount correspondence table, the control
unit 11 obtains the command actuation amount that
corresponds to the rate-of-change (d (Rreq - Qe) / dt) and
the clutch rotational speed difference, and outputs a
control signal to the clutch actuator 14 according to the
obtained command actuation amount. Due to the execution
of such rotational speed induction control, the engine
speed increases or decreases to the request torque
rotational speed Rreq determined according toward the
request transmission torque Treq, thereby preventing the
engine speed from excessively increasing or decreasing.
69

WE CLAIM:
1. A clutch controller comprising:
an actuator for changing the degree of engagement
between a drive-side member and a driven-side member of a
clutch, the members being located downstream of an engine
in a torque transmission path;
an actual torque obtaining section for obtaining
torque transmitted from the drive-side member to a
downstream mechanism of the torque transmission path as
actual transmission torque, the downstream mechanism
including the driven-side member;
a request torque obtaining section for obtaining
torque determined based on rider's accelerator operation
as request transmission torque; and
a control unit for performing a first control under
which the actuator is actuated based on a difference
between the actual transmission torque and the request
transmission torque, such that the actual transmission
torque approximates the request transmission torque,
wherein the control unit performs a second control, in
place of the first control, under which the actuator is
actuated such that an engine speed increases or decreases
to a predetermined engine speed, in an operation range in
which engine torque outputted from the engine increases as
the engine speed increases.
70

2. The clutch controller as claimed in Claim 1, wherein
the actual torque obtaining section calculates the actual
transmission torque based on the engine torque and inertia
torque produced due to inertia of a mechanism upstream of
the drive-side member in the torque transmission path.
3. The clutch controller as claimed in Claim 1, wherein
the predetermined engine speed depends on the request
transmission torque.
4. The clutch controller as claimed in Claim 3, wherein:
the control unit includes a target torque setting
section for setting torque that is supposed to be
transmitted from the drive-side member to the downstream
mechanism as a target transmission torque;
the target torque setting section sets the target
transmission torque, such that either the target
transmission torque or the request transmission torque is
higher than the engine torque, while the other is lower
than the engine torque, under the second control; and
the control unit actuates the actuator based on a
difference between the actual transmission torque and the
target transmission torque, such that the actual
transmission torque approximates the target transmission
71

torque, under the second control.
5. The clutch controller as claimed in Claim 4, wherein
the target torque setting section sets the target
transmission torque based on a difference between the
engine torque and the request transmission torque.
6. The clutch controller as claimed in Claim 1, wherein:
the control unit includes a determining section for
determining whether or not the engine operates in an
operation range in which the engine torque increases as
the engine speed increases; and
the determining section determines whether or not the
engine operates in an operation range in which the engine
torque increases as the engine speed increases based on
whether or not the engine torque approximates the request
transmission torque in the case when the first control is
performed.
7. A straddle-type vehicle comprising the clutch
controller as claimed in Claim 1.
8. A method for controlling a clutch comprising the steps
of:
obtaining torque transmitted from a drive-side member
72

of the clutch to a driven-side member of the clutch or a
mechanism downstream of the driven-side member in a torque
transmission path as actual transmission torque;
obtaining torque determined based on rider's
accelerator operation as request transmission torque;
performing a first control under which an actuator,
which changes the degree of engagement between the drive-
side member and the driven-side member, is actuated based
on a difference between the actual transmission torque and
the request transmission torque, such that the actual
transmission torque approximates the request transmission
torque, in an operation range in which engine torque
outputted from an engine decreases as an engine speed
increases; and
73
performing a second control under which the actuator
is actuated such that the engine speed increases or
decreases to a predetermined engine speed in an operation
range in which the engine torque increases as the engine
speed increases.

A clutch controller performs request follow-up control
under which a clutch actuator is actuated based on a
difference between actual transmission torque Tac, which
is transmitted from a drive-side member to a driven-side
member of a clutch, and request transmission torque Treq,
which is determined based on rider's accelerator operation,
such that the actual transmission torque Tac approximates
the request transmission torque Treq. In an operation
range in which engine torque increases as an engine speed
increases, the clutch controller performs rotational speed
induction control, in place of the request follow-up
control, under which the clutch actuator is actuated such
that the engine speed increases or decreases to a
predetermined engine speed.

Documents:

http://ipindiaonline.gov.in/patentsearch/GrantedSearch/viewdoc.aspx?id=ZlQNfiyXFHy8SM/4D3k2jg==&loc=wDBSZCsAt7zoiVrqcFJsRw==


Patent Number 272028
Indian Patent Application Number 323/KOL/2008
PG Journal Number 12/2016
Publication Date 18-Mar-2016
Grant Date 14-Mar-2016
Date of Filing 22-Feb-2008
Name of Patentee YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicant Address 2500 SHINGAI, IWATA-SHI, SHIZUOKA
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 KENGO MINAMI C/O. YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA 2500 SHINGAI, IWATA-SHI, SHIZUOKA 438-8501
PCT International Classification Number G06F17/00; B60W10/06; B62K11/00
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 2007-231132 2007-09-06 Japan
2 2007-043645 2007-02-23 Japan