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Ford patents automatic manual transmission with fingertip control



In December 2018, Ford filed a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for it Manual transmission with electric clutch. USPTO published the patent last November, Muscle cars & trucks discovered paperwork this month. What we’re talking about is another version of the automatic manual transmission, a technical milestone that the auto industry passed over 70 years ago. What’s more interesting is the bit of MC&T presumption that comes with the patent finding, that this transmission could find its way into the next-gen S650-series. Ford Mustang.

Mechanically, all the basics are here, including a set of gears for manual gear shifting, fine-tuned with the ability to use smart sensors in the gearshift knob. Without the clutch pedal, the powertrain understands when to shift gears by noting when the driver has gripped the gearshift lever and begins to move it, acting like a conventional manual transmission in use. daily. However, according to the patent, the electronic control could be a “dry friction clutch” that can be fine-tuned based on how the driver uses their fingers or pressure on the gearshift knob. The patent says the gearshift knob housing is “flexible, at least in some areas, to allow the driver to deform slightly, i.e. crush the knob”. In certain applications, “the magnitude of the squeeze applied by the driver” can mimic the action of the clutch pedal, with stronger squeezes disengaging the clutch further, lighter squeezes gentler will do the opposite. A different type of delicate, fingertip-controlled clutch operation will allow the driver to activate neutral mode using a button or other squeeze on the knob, rather than needing to shift to neutral. count.

The patent claims the point of this innovation is to give “many people, especially driving enthusiasts … increased driver interaction” of the manual, without the the “negative attribute” of increasing the engine every time a new gear is needed. This makes Ford’s patent like Kia Intelligent Manual Transmission (IMT) launched in Europe Kia Rio in 2020, developed for the same reason. The That IMT is designed for lightweight crossbreduses the powertrain’s electrical bits to turn the engine on and off over a wider range of operations, possibly because cars can control the clutches on their own.

Ford’s concept is suitable for vertically mounted transmissions in rear- and all-wheel drive cars. Year 2024 Mustang will offer a hybrid powertrain, maybe Ford has this in mind as well. The Bronco may also work. However, as we always say, from patent to production is a long way, so this can appear and cannot go further than the Internet.

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