Patents Examined by Huan Le
  • Patent number: 11162567
    Abstract: A transmission system for a feed mixer including a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is provided. The CVT includes a mechanical loop and a hydrostatic loop. The CVT is operated so that the mechanical portion of the CVT is prevented from overtaking the hydrostatic portion of the CVT at start up of the CVT.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: KUHN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Bryan Rowntree, Léandre Guidault, Rodney Zimmerman
  • Patent number: 11162541
    Abstract: A transmission including a rotating shaft, a planetary gear mechanism, a friction engagement device disposed on radial outside of a ring gear of the planetary gear mechanism, a plate attached to the ring gear so as to face an outer circumferential surface of the ring gears, and a restriction member attached to the ring gear to restrict a movement of the plate in an axial direction. A first oil hole is formed at the ring gear so as to lead an oil supplied from an oil passage inside the rotating shaft to an outside of the ring gear in the radial direction, and a second oil hole is formed at the plate so as to lead the oil led through the first oil hole to the friction engagement device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takahiro Kasahara
  • Patent number: 11148304
    Abstract: A torque restriction mechanism is provided by which torque cutoff and torque transmission can be reliably performed without being affected by a rotation state of the drive unit, and damage to a collision object can be reduced even with a simple configuration. The torque restriction mechanism includes a first clutch and a second clutch. The first clutch cuts off torque to a driven unit when reaction torque at a stationary portion of a motor equals or exceeds a first value. The second clutch that transmits torque in accordance with a rotation state of a rotor of the motor, cuts off torque to the driven unit when the reaction torque equals or exceeds a second value larger than the first value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Akiko Hamada
  • Patent number: 11149805
    Abstract: A centrifugal clutch is configured so that assist thrust can be maintained constant or can be decreased even when a clutch shoe is abraded. The centrifugal clutch includes a drive plate to be rotatably driven by drive force of an engine. The drive plate includes each of swing support pins and the plate-side cam bodies. The swing support pin is fitted in a long-hole-shaped pin slide hole formed at a clutch weight to swingably support the clutch weight. The plate-side cam body includes a cylindrical roller, and a weight-side cam body of the clutch weight contacts the plate-side cam body. The weight-side cam body is formed as such a curved surface that a cam angle when a clutch shoe contacts a cylindrical surface of a clutch outer is the same between before and after abrasion of the clutch shoe progresses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha F.C.C.
    Inventors: Kaoru Aono, Yuta Yokomichi, Yuta Kine, Makoto Kataoka
  • Patent number: 11149802
    Abstract: A clutch unit used for a vehicle seat includes an input side clutch is configured such that one member of the input side inner ring member and the input side outer ring member rotates with a rotation of the operation lever, and the other member of the input side inner ring member and the input side outer ring member is rotated via the input side transmission member, so that the rotation of the operation lever is transmitted to the output side clutch. A rotation suppressing member configured to urge the other member in the rotation axis direction and apply a rotational resistance force greater than a force for the co-rotating is provided so as to suppress co-rotation of the other member. A pressing force transmission portion configured to transmit a force the rotation suppressing member urges in the rotation axis direction to the output side transmission member is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignees: SHIROKI CORPORATION, NTN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kunihiro Mikasa, Kyohei Sasanuma
  • Patent number: 11143279
    Abstract: A transmission includes: a torque converter; a transmission input shaft; a seal member sandwiched between the hollow shaft and the transmission input shaft; and a bush, the transmission input shaft including a large diameter portion abutted on the seal member, and a small diameter portion which is positioned on the tip end side of the large diameter portion, and which has a diameter smaller than a diameter of the large diameter portion, the seal member having a diameter larger than a diameter of the bush, and the small diameter portion having an axial length set to be longer than a length from an insertion inlet of the transmission input shaft of the bush to the seal member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignees: JATCO LTD, NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 11143112
    Abstract: An engine for an aircraft comprises an engine core comprising a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades; and a gearbox. The gearbox is an epicyclic gearbox and comprises a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, a ring gear, and a planet carrier on which the planet gears are mounted. The radial bending stiffness of the planet carrier is equal to or greater than 1.20×109 N/m, and/or the tilt stiffness of the planet carrier is greater than or equal to 6.00×108 Nm/rad. A method of operation of such an engine is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plc
    Inventor: Mark Spruce
  • Patent number: 11137057
    Abstract: Methods and systems for an epicyclic gear mechanism that includes a primary differential assembly to selectively drive the fore secondary differential assembly and the aft secondary differential assembly. The fore secondary differential assembly selectively drives one or more fore interfaces (e.g., output gears), whereas the aft secondary differential assembly selectively drives one or more aft interfaces (e.g., output gears). Each of the primary differential assembly, the fore and aft secondary differential assemblies, and the interfaces rotate about a common central axis. The primary differential assembly drives the fore secondary differential assembly via a first sun gear, and drives the aft secondary differential assembly via a second sun gear, both of which rotate about the common central axis. Further, one or more actuators are to activate or deactivate in order to drive or be driven by a selected interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: Roy Romana, Charles A. Crouch, Mariusz Kuczaj, Paul J. Smith
  • Patent number: 11137053
    Abstract: A drive system for a vehicle includes a first planetary gear set, a second planetary gear set, a third planetary gear set, a first electromagnetic device coupled to the first planetary gear set, a second electromagnetic device coupled to the second planetary gear set, and an output shaft coupled to the first planetary gear set. The third planetary gear set includes a sun gear, a ring gear, planetary gears coupling the sun gear to the ring gear, and a carrier rotationally supporting the planetary gears. The ring gear is directly coupled to the first planetary gear set and the second planetary gear set. The sun gear is directly coupled to the second planetary gear set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Oshkosh Corporation
    Inventors: David J. Steinberger, Jon J. Morrow, Eric E. Braun, Andrew J. Kotloski
  • Patent number: 11131348
    Abstract: In a torque limiter of the present invention, a difference is provided between a maximum static frictional force between the coil spring and the first outer circumferential surface and a maximum static frictional force between the coil spring and the second outer circumferential surface such that, when rotational torque in a direction of increasing the diameter of the coil spring and less than a predetermined value is applied to the first or second rotator, the first and second rotators integrally rotate via the coil spring, and one of the first and second rotators relatively rotates relative to the other of the first and second rotators together with the coil spring when the rotational torque is greater the predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Suncall Corporation
    Inventor: Ryoukei Kumagai
  • Patent number: 11118670
    Abstract: A vehicle cooling system comprises an oil circulation circuit in which a cooling oil is circulated by an electric oil pump to cool a predetermined cooling target with the cooling oil; an oil temperature sensor detecting an oil temperature that is a temperature of the cooling oil; and a control device including a cooling control portion outputting a rotation command for operating the electric oil pump so as to cool the cooling target. The control device includes a pump abnormality determination portion outputting the rotation command to the electric oil pump to determine a presence/absence of abnormality based on a rotation state of the electric oil pump when an operation stop time of the vehicle is longer than a predefined determination permission time and an oil temperature detection value detected by the oil temperature sensor is higher than a predefined determination permission temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahisa Yashiro, Yoshitada Yamagishi
  • Patent number: 11114917
    Abstract: An electric motor rotor for a hybrid module includes a rotor carrier, a piston carrier, and a tapered snap ring. The rotor carrier includes a first inner circumferential surface with an inner spline for receiving a first plurality of clutch plates, a second inner circumferential surface, radially outside of the first inner circumferential surface, a radial wall connecting the first inner circumferential surface to the second inner circumferential surface, and a groove with a conical wall. The piston carrier includes a radial outer ring installed between the groove and the radial wall. The tapered snap is ring installed in the groove and urges the piston carrier into contact with the radial wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventors: Mohammad Moasher, Victor Norwich, Kyle Nelson, Matthew Payne
  • Patent number: 11105396
    Abstract: The invention regards a planetary gearbox which includes a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears which are driven by the sun gear, a ring gear, and a plurality of journal bearing pins. Each of the journal bearing pins is located in an inner bore of one of the planet gears, wherein the journal bearing pins each have a longitudinal axis which extends in the axial direction of the planetary gearbox. In each case a journal bearing pin and a planet gear form a journal bearing. It is provided that the journal bearing pin includes, along the length of the journal bearing, a stiffness which varies along the longitudinal axis of the pin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG
    Inventor: Andreas Goumas
  • Patent number: 11104216
    Abstract: A vehicle drive apparatus that includes an engagement device, a rotating electrical machine, and a frictional engagement device on a power transfer path connecting an input drivably coupled to an internal combustion engine and an output drivably coupled to a wheel, wherein: a cooling oil passage provided in an area where the engagement device is arranged and configured such that oil for cooling the rotating electrical machine passes through the cooling oil passage and an inflow suppression provided between the engagement device and the frictional engagement device and configured to suppress occurrence of a situation in which oil passing through the frictional engagement device flows into the cooling oil passage are provided inside the tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yohei Tada, Yuichi Seki
  • Patent number: 11092201
    Abstract: A system comprises magnetorheological fluid clutch apparatuses, each magnetorheological fluid clutch apparatus including a first rotor having at least one first shear surface, a second rotor rotating about a common axis with the first rotor, the second rotor having at least one second shear surface opposite the at least one first shear surface, the shear surfaces separated by at least one annular space, magnetorheological (MR) fluid in an MR fluid chamber including the at least one annular space, the MR fluid configured to generate a variable amount of torque transmission between the rotors when subjected to a magnetic field, and coil(s) actuatable to deliver a magnetic field through the MR fluid such that each said magnetorheological fluid clutch apparatus is actuatable to selectively transmit actuation by controlled slippage of the rotors with respect to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: EXONETIK INC.
    Inventors: Jean-Sebastien Plante, Pascal Larose, Marc Denninger, Guifre Julio
  • Patent number: 11085495
    Abstract: A double clutch assembly includes: a center plate, first and second disks, first and second pressure plates, a connecting plate, a cover plate, a pulling cover, first and second diaphragm springs, and a guide plate. In particular, the pulling cover is formed with an engagement recess, an engagement slot is formed at the second diaphragm spring, and the guide plate includes a body, an exterior engagement end protruding toward the second diaphragm spring and inserted into the engagement slot and the engagement recess, an interior engagement end formed at an interior circumference of the body, and a fixing end inserted into an incision slit of the second diaphragm spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jong Min Kim, Jeong Heon Kam, Jinwoo Lee, Euihee Jeong
  • Patent number: 11078990
    Abstract: A self-locking apparatus for a gear set permits forward-driving an input in clockwise or counterclockwise directions and substantially prevents an output from being driven in either or both of those directions. The device includes a gear set with planet gears arranged within a planet carrier within a fixed ring gear. Each of the planet gears is engaged with the planet carrier via a differentiating connector retained in an elongated slot in the planet carrier where it moves to the clockwise position when being forward driven in the clockwise direction and, when the planet carrier is back driven in the clockwise direction, the connector moves to the counter-clockwise position in the slot. This arrangement allows the gear set to be forward driven but not back driven. This differentiated action can engage/disengage with any form of unidirectional engage/disengage mechanism. The apparatus is useful in industrial applications requiring self-locking gear sets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: WEDGEROCK LLC
    Inventor: Thomas C. West
  • Patent number: 11078991
    Abstract: A planetary gear device includes: a first internal gear and a second internal gear, a first external gear which meshes with the first internal gear, a second external gear which meshes with the second internal gear, and an eccentric body which circumferentially moves the first external gear and the second external gear. The first external gear and the second external gear each independently have external teeth and are connected to each other to integrally rotate with each other, the first internal gear and the second internal gear each independently have internal teeth, one of the first internal gear and the second internal gear is connected to a stationary side, and the other thereof is connected to an output side, and each of the first internal gear and the second internal gear has internal teeth which are constituted by a support body, and a rotating body rotatable to the support body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Toshiya Nagumo
  • Patent number: 11072335
    Abstract: The invention provides to a method for controlling a vehicle (1) with an internal combustion engine (2) and a transmission (3), the transmission being arranged to automatically provide shifts between a plurality of gear ratios between the engine and at least one driven wheel (5) of the vehicle, characterized by the steps of: —registering (S1, S108) a decrease of a demanded torque from an engine control input device (8) of the vehicle, —controlling (S2, S109) in response to the demanded torque decrease the rotational speed of the engine so as to not be below a rotational speed threshold value which is above an idle speed of the engine, and where said rotational speed threshold value is determined so as for a transmission gear down shift to be avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignee: VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Johan Larsson, Anders Eriksson
  • Patent number: 11059470
    Abstract: An in-vehicle controller includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry stops injection of fuel under a preset fuel cutoff condition including a lockup clutch being in an engagement state. A request for raising heating performance of a heater core is a heater actuation request, and an amount of particulate matter deposited on a filter is a deposition amount. The processing circuitry controls the lockup clutch in a disengagement state when a heater actuation request is generated and the deposition amount is less than a preset deposition amount threshold. The processing circuitry controls the lockup clutch in the engagement state when the heater actuation request is generated and the deposition amount is greater than or equal to the preset deposition amount threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Isao Takagi