Abstract
In this research, a transmission control unit was developed for a wheel loader on the basis of 16-bit microcontroller system. The TCU has the basic functions which include shifting control algorithm, actuation of six proportional solenoid valves, signal conditioning for four speed sensors, remote data monitoring capability with RF-module and duty cycle identification system which could identify the duty cycles from PWM signals. In order to design the control system, the overall transmission structure of the wheel loader was investigated and its characteristics of shifting were analyzed in advance. For the purpose of identifying the existing control algorithm and acquire some information about the shifting performance, the shifting experiments were performed for various shifting conditions with the conventional TCU. From the previous work on the conventional TCU, the shifting scheme was designed with the open-loop control which is based on the experimental data only to verify the feasibility of the developing TCU's shilling capability. The experimental results show comparable shifting characteristics to that of conventional TCU though the tests were performed at restricted shilling conditions. Hence, we could have the confidence for the development of the wheel loader automatic transmission TCU and its shifting quality could be improved with the adoption of appropriate feedback control scheme.