Electro-Hydraulic Shuttle Transmission and Control for Tractors with Non-Electronic Engine 2018-01-0390

Recently, emerging technological developments in powertrain were mostly accompanied with electronics for efficient and precise control of various powertrain systems like engine, transmission, hydraulics, etc. Agricultural tractors are of no exception to this context. Most of the higher horsepower tractors above 50 HP are equipped with modern transmission systems such as Power-shuttle, Power-shift etc. having their wet clutch transmission and diesel engine controlled by an Electronic Control Unit. This is possible only with an engine that receives and provides electronic signals. Whereas a tractor with mechanical (non-electronic) engine is of predominant use in the Indian farm lands due to their low cost and immediate availability compared to that of an engine equipped with high-end electronics. Hence, there is a demand for low cost drivetrain with improved controls and without engine electronics. This research work depicts on one such development, where an effective power shuttle transmission system and controls were developed for a non-electronic engine tractor. The multi-plate wet clutch shuttle transmission is electro-hydraulically controlled, thus eliminates the operator fatigue due to frequent clutch pedal application with improved vehicle launch and smooth shuttle shift ability. This research work also address the safety features for protecting and increasing the life of system components like clutch slippage, energy dissipation, power consumption. Additional system protection was also done through fault mode diagnosis via safety features such as anti-stalling, speed cut off shuttling, wrong direction detection, etc with minimal sensors and powertrain components.