美國麻省理工學(xué)院的一名學(xué)生發(fā)明家提出了無離合器式混合動力變速器的概念，目的在于提升車輛的節(jié)能表現(xiàn)，并保證車輛的高性能絲毫不受影響。
這個概念結(jié)構(gòu)中運用到了一個電機來彌補在駕駛員在松開油門及離合器嚙合期間的加速滯后的問題，而第二個電機則被用于在換檔的同時進行快速齒輪匹配，因為整個過程中沒有機械操作，所以提升了齒輪嚙合的速度。
Dan Dorsch告訴《SAE汽車工程雜志》，“目前我們還處于概念驗證階段，將該項技術(shù)集成到目前的量產(chǎn)車中，還有許多工作需要完成。”
Dorsch 26歲，是一位二年級的博士生，也是美國麻省理工學(xué)院機械工程項目的國家科學(xué)基金會研究生獎學(xué)金計劃研究員。這項發(fā)明為他贏得了2016年Lemelson-MIT“Drive it!”研究生獎的1萬5千美元獎金。這項比賽由俄勒岡州波特蘭市的萊莫森基金會（Lemelson Foundation）贊助，由MIT工程學(xué)院承辦。
目前許多高性能量產(chǎn)車采用的都是雙離合變速器，包括那些搭載了混合動力電動動力總成的車輛。比如，保時捷918 Spyder插電式混合動力車搭載的是7速PDK雙離合變速器，而法拉利LaFerrari混動車配有一個7速雙離合手自一體變速器。
許多創(chuàng)新型發(fā)明因為能夠維持或提升車輛性能，并提高燃油經(jīng)濟性，迅速吸引了汽車行業(yè)工程管理人員的注意。IHS Automotive汽車公司的北美首席分析師Devin Lindsay表示，“燃油經(jīng)濟性法規(guī)對于高性能車輛而言，也具有重大影響。”
Dorsch還曾致力于汽車的輕量化設(shè)計工作。
“通過移除雙離合變速器，包括離合器中填充的液體，可以實現(xiàn)車輛減重，”他說，“高性能車輛通常會搭載一個或兩個電機，以滿足性能要求，因此我們可以在傳動系統(tǒng)中使用這些電機，并替代離合器發(fā)揮作用。”
Dorsch在MIT的研究導(dǎo)師和兩個學(xué)生團隊為項目研發(fā)工作提供了支持。他們打造了兩個概念原型架構(gòu)，每個架構(gòu)從設(shè)計到制作工件用時約4個月。MathWorks矩陣實驗室的模型展示了概念傳動系統(tǒng)可能采用的運行方式。
Dorsch表示，“我們也分析了基于特殊傳動配置的不同駕駛情景。”
這款概念變速器的測試階段有可能會與一家歐洲的高性能車輛OEM合作完成，但Dorsch沒有透露具體的廠商名稱。他表示，“最早2017年就可以與這家OEM合作，進行原型概念變速器的實驗室測試。”
Dorsch已為他設(shè)計的一款變速器申請了專利。他表示，在專利申請中記錄了變速器整體架構(gòu)、功能性，以及駕駛模式等信息。
在接下來的幾個月中，他將為第二款設(shè)計申請專利。“第二款設(shè)計使用了一個單獨的電機，而文中所提及的“專利申請中”的設(shè)計則使用了兩個電機。”
作者：Kami Buchholz
來源：SAE《汽車工程》雜志
翻譯：SAE上海辦公室
Clutchless hybrid transmission concept for high-performance cars
An MIT student-inventor’s clutchless hybrid transmission concept aims to provide high-performance vehicles an energy-saving attitude without compromise.
The concept mechanism uses an electric motor to fill the acceleration lag that occurs when a driver releases the throttle and engages the clutch. A second electric motor is used for quickly speed-matching the gears during the shift since there is no mechanical means to speed up the next gear before engaging it.
“Right now, we are only at the proof of concept stage," Dan Dorsch told Automotive Engineering. "There is quite a bit of work left in order to develop the transmission into something that can be used on a production car.”
Dorsch, 26, is a second-year Ph.D candidate and a National Science FoundationGraduate Research Fellow in the mechanical engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His invention earned him $15,000 as the 2016 Lemelson-MIT “Drive it!” Graduate Student Prize winner. The competition is funded by Portland, OR-based The Lemelson Foundation and administered by MIT’s School of Engineering.
Many current high performance production cars rely on a dual-clutch transmission, including those with a hybrid-electric powertrain. Two current examples are the plug-in hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder with a 7-speed PDK dual clutch transmission, and the hybrid Ferrari LaFerrari with a 7-speed dual clutch automated manual.
Innovations that can maintain or improve vehicle performance and increase fuel economy quickly attract the attention of the industry's engineering management. According to Devin Lindsay, IHS Automotive’s Principal Analyst for North America Forecast, “Even high performance cars are not immune to fuel economy regulations.”
Weight reduction was one of Dorsch’s design bogies.
“The lightweight aspect is due to removing the double clutch, including the fluid that often fills the clutches,” he said. “And since high performance cars often have one to two motors for performance reasons, we can use the motor or motors in the powertrain to replace the function of the clutch.”
Dorsch’s MIT research advisor and two student teams assisted with the project’s development. Two concept prototype architectures were built, each lasting about four months from design to hardware. The MathWorks' MATLAB models show how the transmission is likely to perform.
“We have also analyzed different driving scenarios based on a specific powertrain configuration,” said Dorsch.
Transitioning the concept transmission to a testing phase is likely to unfold with a European high-performance vehicle OEM that he would not identify. Said Dorsch, “It’s possible that lab testing on a prototype concept transmission with this OEM could happen as early as 2017.”
Dorsch has filed a patent application on one of his transmission designs. He said the provisional patent describes the overall architecture, its functionality, and the driving modes.
A patent application will be filed in the coming months for the second design. “This design uses a single electric motor whereas the patent-pending design uses two electric motors,” he said.
Author: Kami Buchholz
Source: SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine
這一概念變速器展現(xiàn)出優(yōu)良的速度匹配功能性，能夠更好地配合無離合器式變速器的換檔操作。（Lemelson-MIT項目圖片）
Dan Dorsch和他的高性能車輛無離合器式變速器混合式傳動系統(tǒng)。他在MIT完成的這個項目已衍生出多項發(fā)明，包括一個名為RoboClam的水底仿生挖掘裝置，用于水底自動化機械的錨固。（Lemelson-MIT項目圖片）