Patents by Inventor Ralph D. Salle

Ralph D. Salle has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5226339
    Abstract: A manual two-speed automotive transmission adapted to being driven by an electric motor. The transmission includes an input shaft assembly driven by the motor via its armature, a flywheel and a clutch, an input gear assembly axially aligned with and separated from the input shaft assembly, and a transfer shaft assembly parallel to the input assemblies. A two-gear speed reducer rotatably mounted on the transfer shaft assembly connects a fixed gear of the input shaft assembly to a fixed gear of the input gear assembly. Additional gears are rotatably mounted on the transfer shaft assembly and secured to the input gear assembly, such that a synchronizer assembly on the transfer shaft cooperates with the various gears to drive the transfer shaft and a final output gear mounted thereon at a low or high speed. Reverse is accomplished by reversing the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1993
    Assignee: Chrysler Corporation
    Inventors: John M. Donato, John C. McCoy, Robert S. McKee, Ralph D. Salle, Richard A. Bakowski
  • Patent number: 4706789
    Abstract: A hydraulically-actuated starting clutch adapted for a continuously variable transmission which is located at the output of the transmission to couple the vehicle wheels to the engine upon a signal from the throttle induced system oil pressure. The clutch includes a cover connected to the drive shaft through a hub forming a pressure chamber behind a piston, a Belleville spring acted upon by a pressure disc extending between the spring and the piston and urging a pressure plate against the clutch plate and an end plate secured in the cover, and retractor fingers on said pressure disc engaging said pressure plate. A cooling oil impeller is positioned between the end plate and a clutch plate hub and operatively connected to the end plate, and the clutch plate is operatively connected to a sleeve shaft to drive the differential for the vehicle wheels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1987
    Assignee: Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc.
    Inventors: John W. McColl, Philip J. Mott, Ralph D. Salle
  • Patent number: 4157136
    Abstract: A friction shoe assembly for a speed-responsive clutch adapted for use in a hydrodynamic device to couple turbine and impeller members including a disc secured to the turbine member having a series of cam surfaces thereon formed in apertures in the discs. The friction shoe assemblies are mounted in the apertures in engagement with the cam surfaces. The friction shoe assemblies engage with the impeller at a predetermined speed of rotation of the turbine member, and the cam means induces a wedging engagement of the shoes with the impeller member. The shoe assemblies include a spring mounted roller secured thereto to provide a torque limit for the clutch and include a streamlined shoe body manufactured of sheet metal providing a streamlined configuration toward the oncoming oil stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1977
    Date of Patent: June 5, 1979
    Assignee: Borg-Warner Corporation
    Inventor: Ralph D. Salle
  • Patent number: 3959983
    Abstract: A controlled, variable displacement, wobble plate compressor includes a pivotable wobble plate driven through an improved drive and support linkage including a universal joint and having its pivot point offset from the axis of the drive shaft so that at the "no stroke" position the pistons are all disposed at their top-dead-center positions. The capacity of the compressor is controlled by an improved system for varying the position of the wobble plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1974
    Date of Patent: June 1, 1976
    Assignee: Borg-Warner Corporation
    Inventors: Richard W. Roberts, Ralph D. Salle