EVS28

KINTEX, Korea, May 3-6, 2015

Economic Hybrid Transmission System using Clutchless

Geared Manual Transmission
Huiun Son, Yong-San Yoon, Kyung-Soo Kim, Sun Je Kim, Chiwoong Song
Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Korea

Abstract
In this study, we are proposing a hybrid car of new concept promising the most economic and fuel
efficient one. The architecture is derived from the conventional manual transmission with little
modification by replacing the clutch with the one-way clutch and a motor-generator is placed between the
one-way clutch and the gearbox. Another addition is the motion detector of the gear-shift lever that the
vehicle may recognize which gear step is intended to engage by the driver.
The advantages of the this new hybrid vehicle compared to other hybrid vehicles are as follows. Firstly,
the drivetrain is composed of the most economic components in simplest way just by serially attaching a
motor-generator to the conventional manual transmission. Secondly, the drivetrain consumes minimum
amount of energy as it doesn’t requires any additional actuator to control in addition to its light weight as
well as the efficiency of the manual transmission. Thirdly, as the conventional clutch is eliminated and the
motor-generator is assisting the gear synchronization, the operation of the gear shift is almost as easy as the
automatic transmission. Fourthly, as the gear shift is performed by the driver, the driver may avoid the
situation of the unwanted gear shift which may happen in the automated manual transmission. Additionally,
the gear shift process takes half the time required by the automated manual transmission as there is no
clutch.
A prototype of the hybrid drivetrain named as the clutchless geared manual transmission (CGMT) is
adopted to a small vehicle (Chevrolet Damas, 796cc, 5 speed manual transmission) adding a 7KW electric
motor-generator in series. The vehicle is designed such that it may run only by the motor-generator when
the vehicle speed is less than 40 kph with the engine being shut-off. Some test results will be presented.

Keywords: Hybrid, Manual Shift, Clutchless, Economic, Simplest architecture

affects to the cost, gas-mileage, and convenience.

1 Introduction As the technology of engines has been fully
matured, the study for transmissions has become
The most important part of a car is the power- much more promising.
train that delivers power from the power-source There are various types of transmissions; manual
to the wheels. Among the main components of transmission (MT), automated manual
the powertrain, a transmission, especially, highly transmission (AMT), automatic transmission (AT),

EVS28 International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition 1

dual clutch transmission (DCT), continuous
variable transmission (CVT), etc.
MT is the cheapest one and has good gas mileage.
However, difficulty of the clutch actuation is
critical barrier to expand its share even though its
great efficiency. To solve inconvenience of
clutch, an actuator controls the clutch in case of
the AMT. Due to nonlinearity of clutch comes
from temperature, humidity, etc., many sensors
are needed. The control is based on
characteristics curve so that the more probability
of control failure as a clutch has worn out.
Moreover, after engaged neutral gear,
transmission speed is oscillating. The amplitude
of the oscillating transmission speed and the time
delay are higher the higher the stationary speed is
[1]. Consequently, it is difficult to control in
particular situations like bump, curve, etc., and it
cannot shift rapidly.For such a reason, the market
share of AMT in light vehicle is less than 1 % in
2012 and the estimation in 2017 is still less than
1 % [2].
AT has relatively small shifting impact using a
torque converter. However, the AT has low
efficiency due to the fluidic resistance. Also, in
view of shifting quality, unexpected gear shifting
or little delay of driver’s acceleration will give
the driver displeasure feels [3].
DCT uses two clutches; for even gears and for
odd gears, and it can accomplish fast and smooth
gear shift without torque gap by engaging the
clutches simultaneously. It is not only
comfortable but also gives good gas-mileage.
However, it is still expensive, and needs
advanced clutch control by using hydraulic
actuators [4]. Moreover, because smaller clutches
is necessary due to two clutches in same space,
torque allowance is reduced by small friction
surface of clutches [5].
CVT makes an engine operate in optimal range,
however, it has similar gas mileage of the AT
due to slippage of belt and operation of hydraulic
actuators. Also, it cannot deliver high torque to
wheels [6].
In the case of a hybrid vehicle, new concepts of
transmission using an electric motor are
suggested [7]. For the Toyota, by using concept
of power-split, two electric motor/generators
increase the price of the vehicle [8]. The Zanhrad
Favrik (ZF) uses friction clutch in hybrid power
train so that increase in price and weight is
expected [9].
To solve these limitations of existing
transmissions, the clutchless geared manual
transmission (CGMT) was proposed. Instead of a
EVS28 International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition
clutch of the manual transmission, an electric
motor is used for CGMT to perform a gear shift so
that much faster and more exact control than
automated manual transmission is possible.
Consequently, robustness is guaranteed in special
situations like bumps or curves. This novel gear
shift mechanism can provide easier operation for
novices. Also, the motor is utilized as the hybrid
system to have improved gas-mileage. Based on
manual transmission, in addition, a small amount
of additional cost for adopting the CGMT.
In this research, the feasibility of CGMT is was
verified. In section 2, the operating principle of
CGMT will be explained. The development of
prototype will be introduced in section 3 and the
verification experiment will be described in section
4. In section 5, experiment results will be shown.
Finally, conclusions will be formed in section 5.
2 The operating principles of the
CGMT
2.1 Mechanism of the manual
transmission
To understand the fundamentals of CGMT, basic
knowledge about a manual transmission is
necessary. Figure 1 shows a structure of manual
transmission. The input-shaft is connected to the
engine, and the input-gear transfers the engine
power to the counter-gear. All counter-gears which
are on the lay-shaft and the lay-shaft are connected
so that all counter-gears transfer engine power to
the output gears. The output-gears on the output-
shaft, however, are not connected to the output-
shaft. The output-gears is idling without providing
traction force on the output-shaft in neutral
condition. The synchronizer is connecting element
to engage the output-gear and the output-shaft,
simultaneously via the synchronization of
frictional cone and sleeve. The output-shaft finally
transfers the power to wheels.
However, synchronizers cannot normally work
while engine power flow exists. Thus, the clutch is
normally used to cut off the engine power during
Figure 1: Structure of the manual transmission [10]
2
 Figure 2: Structure of the CGMT
shifting gears. After engaging the synchromesh, a
clutch synchronizes the engine speed and input-
shaft speed.
However, shifting gear is possible without clutch
operation. The output-gear which will be shifted
and output-shaft can be synchronized by
elaborate control of accelerator pedal. Similarly,
instead of clutch, motor synchronizes the output-
gear and the output-shaft in case of CGMT.
2.2 Mechanism of the CGMT
2.2.1 Modification from the manual
transmission
In CGMT, because all the gears, input-shaft and
lay-shaft are always connected each other, the
motor can be connected to any one of these
components. However, considering the capacity
of engine room and leakage problem of
transmission-oil, the electric motor/generator of
the CGMT is connected to input-shaft as shown
in Figure 2. The motor can synchronize the speed
of the output-gear during shifting gears, and also
perform common hybrid functions such as
regenerative braking and assisting engine to
operate in optimal range.
The sprag-clutch replaces the friction clutch of
the manual transmission. A sprag-clutch is a one-
way freewheel clutch such as a rear wheel of
bicycle. Using this sprag-clutch, the engine
power cannot be transferred to the transmission
when motor is faster than engine. Using idle stop
and go (ISG) system, start the engine after motor
is faster than engine idle speed and turn off the
engine before motor is slower than engine idle
speed to prevent engine died. This component is
advantageous in city-drive that includes frequent
stop and go.
2.2.2 The operating principles
At the start stage, only the motor transfer power
to the wheels to start. When the motor speed is
faster than the engine idle speed, the engine is
turned on and the engine provides the propulsion
power.
EVS28 International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition
Figure 3: The motion detector of gear-shift lever
To shift to higher gears, the driver steps off the
acceleration pedal, and engine torque is cut off.
Next, the motor synchronizes the output-shaft and
out-put gear. After synchronization, the driver can
shift gear. The shifting mechanism of lower gears
is the same as that of shifting to higher gears.
During the stopping process, before the motor
speed is lower than the engine idle speed, the
engine is turned off.
2.2.3 The motion detector of gear-shift lever
The motion detector of gear-shift lever using hall-
effect sensors was installed. The motion can be
detected by sensing the magnetic force while
actuating the lever as shown in Figure 4. The lever
is supported by ball-socket joint so that the sensors
should be placed on the surface of concentric
sphere.
3 Prototype development
The prototype of the CGMT was developed using
a typical compact vehicle (Damas by Chevrolet,
796 cc engine with 28 kW power) and an electric
motor (7 kW electric motor), and a 5-speed manual
gearbox.
The electric motor can cover 40 km/h of the
vehicle speed without engine support. Detailed
information is shown in Table 1 and Table 2.
The schematic of CGMT is shown in Figure 4. The
control unit is based on the DSP TMS320F28335
microprocessor to get information of engine RPM,
motor RPM, output-shaft RPM
Figure 4: Hybrid transmission system using CGMT
3
 Table 1: Converted vehicle overview
motor rpm
Name Damas, Chevrolet target rpm
main shaft rpm
2000
Engine displacement 796 cc gear step
expectation step
Fuel LPG vehicle state
1500
Maximum power 28 kW
Maximum torque 62.8 N.m 1000

Layout FR
Transmission 5-speed manual 500

Maximum speed 115 km/h

Vehicle weight 870 kg 0

5 10 15 20 25 30
Table 2: Electric motor/generator specifications
Name AMDM4001 Figure 5: Working process -departure
Maximum power 20 kW
Maximum torque 92.2 N.m 2000
Rated power 7.0 kW 1800
motor rpm
target rpm
Rated speed 2650 RPM 1600 main shaft rpm
gear step
Bandwidth 90Hz 1400
expectation step
1200 vehicle state
and selected gear step, and to control the motor 1000
torque during shifting gears. 800
Instead of the clutch of a manual transmission, 600

the electric motor synchronizes the speed of the 400

output-shaft and the output-gear which will be 200

0
selected, and then the gear can be smoothly
engaged without clutch operation. This novel 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56

gear shift mechanism can provide easier

operation for novices. When the shift to the third Figure 6: Working process – shifting to upper gears
step, the engine is turned on by using ISG system
that is operated by the DSP. 2000 motor rpm
target rpm
1800 main shaft rpm
1600 gear step
4 Experiments method 1400
expectation step
vehicle state

Indoor and field tests was conducted using the 1200

1000
prototype of the CGMT.
800
For indoor tests, the moment inertia of the 600
vehicle (about 75 kg.m2) was replaced by the 400

custom-built inertia and it is connected to the rear 200

wheel. Step-by-step gear shifting scenarios were 0

60 62 64 66 68 70
conducted.
Various scenarios were tested on a paved road.
Not only normal conditions but also unique Figure 7: Working process – shifting to lower gears
conditions were considered, such as parking,
uphill, downhill, speed bump, curve, etc. 2000 motor rpm
target rpm
1800 main shaft rpm
gear step
1600
expectation step
1400 vehicle state

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

Figure 5: Connection of custom-built inertia 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56

Figure 8: Working process - stop

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5 Results
The sifting time was measured through the
motion detector of gear-shift lever. It takes an
average of 1 to 2 seconds to shift. Considering
human gesture that is took about 0.3 seconds,
synchronization should be finished in 0.3
seconds for smooth operation.
Figure 5 shows the test results of the departure.
Gear step is displayed by multiplying by 100 and
0 means neutral gear engaged. When vehicle
state is 1000, it means the state in which the
engine is off. When it is 2000, the engine is
turned on. The vehicle was starting in the second
gear. At first, only the motor transfer power to
the wheels to start. The engine remains off. After
neutral gear is engaged to shift the third gear, the
motor synchronizes the output-shaft and output-
gear and the engine is turned on. After
synchronization, the driver can shift gear. After
the third gear is engaged, the engine can add
power. Target rpm is meaningful only when the
neutral gear is engaged.
The process of shifting to gears is shown in
Figure 6 and Figure 7. To shift to higher gears,
the driver steps off the acceleration pedal to cut
off engine torque and shift to neutral. Then, the
motor synchronizes the output-gear. After
synchronization, the driver can shift gear. The
shifting mechanism of lower gears is the same as
that of shifting to higher gears.
Figure 8 shows the process of stop. During the
stopping process, before the motor speed is lower
than the engine idle speed, the engine is turned
off.
6 Conclusions
The interactive hybrid transmission system using
CGMT was suggested. Not only low price, but
also great improvement on gas-mileage are
expected as a hybrid transmission. Instead of
clutches, smooth gear shifting can be
accomplished by motor control. Despite the
motor was chosen arbitrarily, it was tracking
output-shaft speed well during the shifting period.
Also, the speed change of the output-shaft is
intense than the actual because the custom-build
inertia is far lower than actual vehicle inertia, so
that better test results of the vehicle driven on the
road is expected. Consequently, Operational
feasibility of the CGMT was proven.
In future works, various control method will be
applied. And, optimal design will be searched
with considering engine brake, performance in
low step. Through system modelling,
EVS28 International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition
improvement of fuel efficiency will be also
showed.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by basic science
research program through the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
(2013R1A1A2059011).
References
[1] Pettersson, Magnus, and Lars Nielsen., Gear
shifting by engine control, Control Systems
Technology, IEEE, Vol.8, No.3 (2000), 495-507.
[2] Statista, http://www.statista.com, accessed on
2014-09-01.
[3] Byeonguk Jeon., Introduction of Quantitative
Measuring Methods for Objective Shift Quality
Evaluation, Journal of the Korean Society of
Automotive Engineers, Vol.35, No.8 (2013), 16-
24.
[4] Lee-Hyung Cho, Seibum Choi., A design of sliding
mode controller for shift performance
improvement of Dual Clutch, KSAE 2007 Autumn
Conference, Vol.2 (2007), 975-981.
[5] Kulkarni, Manish, Taehyun Shim, and Yi Zhang.,
Shift dynamics and control of dual-clutch
transmissions, Mechanism and Machine Theory,
Vol.42, No.2 (2007), 168-182.
[6] Dongwoo Kim, Hyunsoo Kim., Shift Control
Strategy for Electric Controlled CVT vehicle, The
Korean Society of Automotive Engineers (KSAE),
Vol.8, No.3 (2000), 85-97.
[7] Sun Je Kim, et al., Verification of the Shifting
Mechanism of Clutchless Geared Smart
Transmission using the Compact Car Size Test
Bench, Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference
(VPPC), 2013 IEEE(2013), 1-5.
[8] Liu, Jinming, Huei Peng., Modeling and control of
a power-split hybrid vehicle, Control Systems
Technology, IEEE Transactions on 16.6 (2008),
1242-1251.
[9] Reed, Jr. et al., Method of Converting an Existing
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[10] Howstuffworks, http://auto.howstuffworks.com/,
accessed on 2014-09-01.
5
Authors
Huiun Son received the B.S. degree
in Mechanical Engineering from
KAIST in 2014. He is currently
working toward M.S. degree at
KAIST. His research interests include
propulsion systems for hybrid
vehicles.

Yong-San Yoon received his PhD

degree from the Univ. of Iowa in
1979. Currently, he is a professor
emeritus of Mechanical Engineering,
KAIST and involves in the several
projects of developing new derive
trains.

Kyung –Soo Kim received the B.S.,

M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in
Mechanical Engineering from KAIST
in 1993, 1995, and 1999, respectively.
He was Chief Researcher with LG
Electronics, Inc., from 1999 to 2003
and a DVD Group Manager with
STMicroelectronics Company Ltd.,
from 2003 to 2005. In 2005, he joined
the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Korea Polytechnic
University, as a Faculty Member.
Since 2007, he has been with the
Department of Mechanical
Engineering, KAIST. He serves as
Associate Editors of Automatica and
Journal of Mechanical Science and
Technology. His research interests
include the control theory, sensor and
actuator design and robot manipulator
design.

Sun Je Kim received the B.S., M.S.

and Ph.D. degree in Mechanical
Engineering from KAIST in 2009,
2011 and 2015 respectively. His
research interests include propulsion
systems for hybrid vehicles.

Chiwoong Song received the B.S.

and M.S. degree in Mechanical
Engineering from KAIST in 200 and
20 respectively. His research interests
include propulsion systems for hybrid
vehicles using flywheel.

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