Patents Examined by Douglas Fox
  • Patent number: 4858490
    Abstract: Motors (42,44) each have a pinion driving ring gear (62). Motor (42) is mounted on the platform and motor (44) is mounted on ring gear carrier (56). Rotation of either motor rotates carrier (56), hubs (40) and shaft (30).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1989
    Assignee: Hughes Aircraft Company
    Inventor: Richard W. Grant
  • Patent number: 4838126
    Abstract: An electro/hydraulic control system for automatically shifting gear stages of a multiple stage transmission gear mechanism by selectively controlling the operable effectiveness of various hydraulically operated friction units in accordance with vehicle operating conditions. The control system includes a series of hydraulic shift valves arranged in combination with at least two pressure regulator valves for controlling the supply of hydraulic actuating fluid to the friction units in response to ratio selection signals derived in an electronic control. The control system further includes at least one variable pressure solenoid whose variable pressure output is multiplexed to each pressure regulator valve in the system to provide for quality shifts between gear ratios. The desired end is effected by programmably profiling the output of the variable pressure solenoid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1987
    Date of Patent: June 13, 1989
    Assignee: BTR Engineering (Australia) Limited
    Inventors: Erich L. Wilfinger, Ronald J. Polomski, Darren L. Firth
  • Patent number: 4836053
    Abstract: A dual planetary gear reduction assembly for a two-wheel/four drive vehicle transfer case mechanism providing an exact two-to-one gear reduction ratio during full-time four wheel drive operation. The dual planetary is uniquely designed to provide a grounded carrier supporting inner and outer sets of planetary gears operative to rotate an ungrounded annulus gear and a meshing annulus plate in the same direction as the input shaft. A sun gear, having a predetermined number of helical teeth, is formed on the input shaft while the annulus gear has a predetermined number of internal teeth exactly twice the number of sun gear teeth. A clutch collar is internally splined on the output shaft and has external splines operative, when the collar is shifted into its low-range mode, to engage internal splines on the annulus plate and drive the transfer case output shaft at the two-to-one gear reduction ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 6, 1989
    Assignee: Chrysler Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Richard E. Eastman, Anand M. Jagani
  • Patent number: 4809560
    Abstract: A hollow shaft composed of a pair of trough-shaped shaft halves (15A) is employed as a speed-change shaft (15) for a key-shift transmission. Each of the shaft halves includes at both sides of an arched inner surface a pair of axially extending flattened end surfaces one of which has thereon an axially elongated projection (19) and the other of which has therein an axially elongated recess (20). The shaft halves are engaged to each other co-rotatably by fitting the projections of the respective shaft halves into the recesses of the other respective shaft halves. The projections and recesses are sized such that a pair of elongated axial grooves (21) are formed in an outer surface of the change shaft. A pair of shift keys (18) are disposed within such axial grooves for coupling speed-change gears (16F.sub.1 -16F.sub.5) selectively to the change shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 1988
    Date of Patent: March 7, 1989
    Assignee: Kanzaki Kokyukoki Mfg. Co. Ltd.
    Inventor: Shusuke Nemoto