Development of Dc Motor based E-Shift Mechanism for Manual Transmission

Transmission designs over the years have evolved significantly achieving more efficiency in terms of fuel economy, comfort and reduction in emissions. This paper describes a Dc motor based E-shift mechanism which automates an existing manual transmission and clutch system to give comfort and ease for gear shifting. The basic idea of E-shift mechanism is to make hassle free gear shifting of manual transmission at sole command of driver without any control strategy for automatic shifting as in case of Automated Manual transmission (AMT). The E-shift mechanism will eliminate the manual efforts required for pressing clutch pedal and shifting gear, giving more ease while driving. The developed mechanism can be retro fitted on existing manual transmission without any major modification at lower cost. The E-shift mechanism uses two actuators for gear shifting and one actuator for clutch actuation. The paper proceeds with analytical calculation of force requirement for clutch actuation and gear shifting on existing manual transmission (MT) followed by motor selections for actuators. Then the design of linkages based actuator mechanism for gear selection is explained followed by that of cable shift clutch actuator mechanism. Lastly the developed E-Shift mechanism system is validated by vehicle trails.