Patents Examined by M. Hannon
  • Patent number: 9321448
    Abstract: A vehicle drive system includes a transmission, a clutch, and a shift execution portion. The shift execution portion operates the shift actuator to control the connecting portion in an engaged state engaged with the idler gear of a present gear stage to disengage from the idler gear of the present gear stage while gradually decreasing the engine torque while the clutch is still engaged, when a shift operation from the present gear stage to a subsequent gear stage is executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kyosuke Mori, Yasuhisa Iwasaki, Yoshihiro Murakami, Shinya Harada
  • Patent number: 9316296
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a reducer including a planetary gear and a steering apparatus of a vehicle including the same, and more particularly to a reducer including a planetary gear which can compensate a gap generated by wear of gear teeth of planet gears, sun gears, and ring gears, and a steering apparatus of a vehicle including the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Mando Corporation
    Inventor: Han Sang Chae
  • Patent number: 9303758
    Abstract: A control device configured to control a vehicle. When the required driving force is equal to or less than a control judgment value, the shift control section judges that an implementing condition of engagement limited downshift control is met, starts transition control to cause the release-side engagement device to transition to a non-direct-coupled engagement state and, after the release-side engagement device transitions to a non-direct-coupled engagement state, starts increasing rotation speed control to control rotation speed of the input member to be higher than synchronized rotation speed, starts differential rotation speed control to control the rotation speed to be higher than the synchronized rotation speed, and prohibits engagement of the engagement-side engagement device until it becomes higher than the synchronized rotation speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kohei Tsuda, Tomohiro Onouchi
  • Patent number: 9296386
    Abstract: A vehicle control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle mounting a torque converter with a lock-up clutch in order to better accomplish good drivability as well as good gasoline mileage than conventional vehicle control apparatuses includes an engine, a motor generator, a torque convertor with the lock-up clutch, and a battery, and expands a lock-up region when the battery is not under a input/output limited state wider than when the battery is under the input/output limited state while the vehicle is being driven at least by the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Nobufusa Kobayashi, Toshio Sugimura, Masato Yoshikawa
  • Patent number: 9296389
    Abstract: A motor vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine is equipped with at least two auxiliary units and with an electric machine connected to a power source. The electric machine can be coupled to the auxiliary units by means of a dual clutch device. A control device can actuate the dual clutch device for coupling the auxiliary units to the electric machine according to preselected priorities. One or the other auxiliary unit, or all auxiliary units, or no auxiliary unit may be coupled to the electric machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: WABCO GmbH
    Inventor: Dirk Bernhardt
  • Patent number: 9297428
    Abstract: A torque converter is provided. The torque converter includes a front cover for connecting to an engine crankshaft; a clutch plate; a clutch backing plate limiting axial movement of the clutch plate away from the front cover; and a connector rigidly connected to the front cover and including a rivet portion for fixing the clutch backing plate to the front cover. A method of forming a torque converter is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventors: Daniel Gerdeman, David Avins, Daniel Sayre, Matthew Smith
  • Patent number: 9205827
    Abstract: An ECU selects, in accordance with operation by a driver, either one of a manual shift mode in which a shift range can be manually changed through the operation by the driver and an engine rotation speed is controlled in accordance with a selected shift range and an automatic shift mode in which the engine rotation speed is controlled so as to reduce an amount of fuel consumption as compared with that in the manual shift mode. The driver is recommended to make a change from the manual shift mode to the automatic shift mode when the manual shift mode is selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Katsuhiko Yamaguchi, Eiji Fukushiro
  • Patent number: 9188173
    Abstract: A rotation transmission device with a built-in one-way clutch having an inside rotational member, an outside rotational member disposed concentrically with the inside rotational member is proposed. The device includes a one-way clutch that is radially disposed in an annular space defined between the inside rotational member and the outside rotational member, and at least one bearing disposed in the said annular space. The outside rotational member is made in a plastic material and is overmolded onto at least one stiffening insert.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: AKTIEBOLAGET SKF
    Inventors: Charles Chambonneau, François Champalou, Richard Corbett, Jeremy Detraigne
  • Patent number: 9188222
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a prime mover, input clutch, transmission, and controller. The transmission, which is selectively connected to the output shaft via the input clutch, has multiple friction clutches, including respective offgoing and oncoming clutches for a negative torque upshift. The controller includes a torque request module, offgoing clutch module, and oncoming clutch module. The torque request module limits input torque into the transmission during the negative torque upshift. The offgoing control module determines actual offgoing clutch torque capacity of the offgoing clutch, calculates an actual offgoing clutch pressure using the actual offgoing clutch torque capacity, and controls the offgoing clutch through the shift using the actual offgoing clutch pressure. The oncoming control module controls the oncoming clutch through multiple stages of control of the oncoming clutch, including a fill, staging, ramp, and quick-lock stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Dara Monajemi, Matthew Pruski
  • Patent number: 9169878
    Abstract: A torque transmitting assembly is provided. The torque transmitting assembly includes a generally cup shaped outer shell having a closed end and an open end. The closed end has at least one raised portion formed therein. The outer shell includes an outwardly extending lip surrounding the open end of the outer shell. The open end of the outer shell is adapted to be operatively engaged with a first rotating member. A generally disk shaped inner member has a central aperture and a central axis. The inner member includes at least one tab extending axially outwardly therefrom and engages the raised portion of the outer shell to facilitate a transfer of rotation between the outer shell and the inner member. The central aperture is adapted to be operatively engaged with a second rotating member. The inner member is received inside said outer shell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: Metal Forming & Coining Corporation
    Inventor: Timothy J. Cripsey
  • Patent number: 9163696
    Abstract: A damper device is disposed between an engine and a transmission and has a torque distribution mechanism that is provided with a first input element connected to the engine, a second input element connected to the engine via an elastic member, a first output element connected to the transmission, and a second output element connected to the transmission. The damper device further has a first clutch that is disposed between the first output element and the transmission, and is switched between an engaged state of connecting the first output element to the transmission and a released state of disconnecting the first output element from the transmission, and a second clutch that is disposed between the second output element and the transmission, and is switched between an engaged state of connecting the second output element to the transmission and a released state of disconnecting the second output element from the transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: FUJI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Ukon, Mamoru Murakami, Yuuki Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Shinohara
  • Patent number: 9140334
    Abstract: In an automatic transmission, a connection member which connects a carrier of a planetary gear mechanism PGSa to a clutch hub of a clutch is made to abut on the carrier of the planetary gear mechanism PGSa in an abutting portion, a thrust bearing T2 is disposed between the connection member and a clutch drum of the clutch, a thrust bearing T1 is disposed between a transmission case and the clutch drum of the clutch, and a clearance between the thrust bearing T1 and the clutch drum of the clutch is adjusted by using a shim. Accordingly, a thrust load inputted from a sun gear Sb of a planetary gear mechanism PGSb can be transmitted to the transmission case without passing through a sun gear Sa, which rotates at a high speed, of the planetary gear mechanism PGSa, and friction loss is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Soichi Sugino, Mariko Shibamura
  • Patent number: 9127753
    Abstract: A speed reducer includes an internal gear, an input shaft coaxial with the internal gear, and an eccentric disk on the input shaft and rotatable inside the internal gear. A cage, at an end of an output shaft, coaxial with the input shaft, and rotatable between the internal gear and the eccentric disk has pockets fewer in number than the internal gear's internal teeth. Rollers are received in the respective pockets such that when the input shaft rotates once, the rollers circumferentially move by a distance equal to one internal tooth width, causing the output shaft to be rotated at a reduced speed. The root radius of the internal gear, the radius of the circumcircle of the rolling bearing, and the outer diameter of the rollers are determined such that roller gaps defined between the rollers and the tooth bottoms of the internal gear are controlled to reduce vibration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: NTN Corporation
    Inventors: Koji Akiyoshi, Koji Sato, Masafumi Nakakoji
  • Patent number: 9127752
    Abstract: A method of rotating an output gear at a rotational rate that is slower than an input rotational rate. The input rotation moves a planetary gear in a circular motion about a central axis. A first stage external gear configuration of the planetary gear engages with an internal gear configuration of a stationary gear. The engagement rotates the planetary gear about a concentrically located planetary gear rotational axis. A second stage external gear configuration is rotated by and at a same rate the first stage external gear configuration. The first stage diameter and/or number of teeth differs from the second stage diameter and/or number of teeth. The planetary gear rotation in conjunction with the difference between the first and second stages causes the output gear to rotate respective to the stationary gear. Rotational positioning of the output gear can be monitoring and adjusted by controlling the input rotational rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: AKTIEBOLAGET SKF
    Inventor: Arne Lars Jonas Kullin
  • Patent number: 9121479
    Abstract: A cycloid pinwheel speed reducer includes a first housing, two cycloidal gears, a plurality of rollers, an output shaft, a second housing, a mounting frame, an input gear, a transmission gear, and a first transmission shaft. The mounting frame includes a mounting portion, a first eccentric portion, and a second eccentric portion. The cycloidal gears are respectively sleeved on the first eccentric portion and the second eccentric portion. The second housing is sleeved on the mounting portion. The rollers are sandwiched between the second housing and the cycloidal gears. The transmission gear is rotatably mounted within the mounting portion and sleeved on the first transmission shaft, and meshes with the input gear and the first housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignees: HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD., HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Cheng Zhang, Xiao-Ming Xu
  • Patent number: 9121480
    Abstract: A rotational power transmission apparatus is provided including an input coupler having first and second input shafts, a differential engine coupled to the first input shaft and transmitting power to a first output shaft. First and second one-way bearings are coupled to the first output shaft. A first torque converter is coupled to the first one-way bearing, and a second torque converter coupled to the second one-way bearing. An output coupler is coupled to output from the first torque converter, output from the second torque converter and a second output shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: CVET Patent Technologies Inc.
    Inventor: Ervin Weisz
  • Patent number: 9115798
    Abstract: A drive device for the road wheels of a vehicle, with a stationary housing partially filled with a lubricating liquid, and a rotatably drivable driveshaft inserted into the housing interior and with a differential unit having a crown wheel with a differential housing. The crown wheel is rotatably drivable by the driving gear wheel, by means of which crown wheel a plurality of differential gear wheels of the differential unit are rotatably drivable, driven gear wheels being rotatably drivable in turn by these differential gear wheels. The driven gear wheels being drivingly connected in each instance to driven shafts for driving the road wheels of the vehicle. The differential unit is enclosed in the housing interior by a shielding housing, wherein the stationary housing interior is connected to the shielding housing interior via one or more apertures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Horst Sigl, Paul Lenz
  • Patent number: 9096217
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a transmission that form a plurality of shift speeds by engaging those of a plurality of engagement elements which need be engaged for each shift speed. The control apparatus having a target shift speed changing unit that changes a target shift speed based on a vehicle speed and a neutral control unit that, when predetermined conditions that are predetermined to bring the transmission into a neutral state are satisfied during traveling, engages at least one of the engagement elements that need be engaged to attain the target shift speed, and disengages the remainder of the engagement elements, thereby bringing the transmission into the neutral state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: AISIN AW CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takehiko Suzuki, Tomonori Tsugo, Yukio Sugiura
  • Patent number: 9097290
    Abstract: A friction plate for a clutch is provided. The friction plate includes a first core plate including at least one first radial extension, a second core plate including at least one second radial extension and friction material held axially between the at least one first radial extension and the at least one second radial extension. The at least one first radial extension and the at least one second radial extension are imbedded axially into opposite sides of the friction material and joined together. A method of forming a friction plate for a clutch is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventors: Chris Luipold, Scott Strong
  • Patent number: D373169
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1996
    Inventor: Kenneth E. Kokko