Patents Examined by Richard M. Lorence
  • Patent number: 12281676
    Abstract: For improving manual operation of an actuator (1), a novel clutch (4, 6) is proposed that features at least one movable protrusion (12) that is axially movable along a coupling axis (11) of the clutch (4, 6) relative to an element (8) that carries the protrusion (12). This design has the advantage that engagement of the clutch (4, 6) is possible under all circumstances, even in cases in which the protrusion (12) is not yet in a correct rotational coupling position (18) (cf. FIG. 7), as the protrusion (12) can be transferred into the coupling position (18) by a rotational movement (24, 25) at all times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: AUMA Riester GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Tobias Wasser, Girish Panakanahalli Ningaiah, Kiran Krishnegowda, Atiqh Ahmed Mohammed
  • Patent number: 12276178
    Abstract: A clutch mechanism that can be used in various tools and mechanisms for holding a movable shaft in one or more preferred positions includes a clutch ring that surrounds the shaft. An interior diameter of the clutch ring is configured to closely surround and grasp one or more holding portions of the shaft. The clutch ring is configured such that the clutch ring can elastically deform to allow the shaft to move relative to the clutch ring. The clutch ring can take the form of a generally cylindrical sidewall. Openings may be formed through a thickness of the cylindrical sidewall to make it easier for portions of the clutch ring to elastically deform, thereby allowing the shaft to move relative to the clutch ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: FLOWCO PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Garrett S. Boyd, Mitchell A. Boyd
  • Patent number: 12259015
    Abstract: A reverse-input blocking clutch includes a pressed member having a pressed surface; an input member having an input-side engaging portion; an output member having an output-side engaging portion; an engaging element having a pressing surface, an input-side engaged portion, and an output-side engaged portion and arranged between the pressed surface and the output-side engaging portion with respect to a first direction which is a direction of moving toward or away from the pressed surface; an elastic member that elastically urge the pressing surface toward the pressed surface 7 in the first direction; and a displacement prevention means for preventing relative displacement in the axial direction of the engaging element with respires to the output member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: NSK LTD.
    Inventors: Nagao Dohi, Shohei Kaneko
  • Patent number: 12253120
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a cam and a one-way cam clutch that realize a reduction in weight and production cost, provide more design freedom in setting the center of gravity of the cam, and achieve high responsiveness. The above object is achieved by a cam configured to make contact with an inner race and an outer race by a rotational moment applied in an engaged direction by an annular spring, in which a plurality of cam plates having an identical outer contour and arranged in parallel along a direction of the pivot axis are coupled together and united by a connecting pin extending in the direction of the pivot axis, and the annular spring is configured to be mountable between adjacent cam plates and/or on an outer side of the plurality of cam plates in the direction of the pivot axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: TSUBAKIMOTO CHAIN CO.
    Inventor: Yuto Hanawa
  • Patent number: 12253118
    Abstract: A clutch hub includes oil supply holes extending therethrough to supply lubricating oil from an interior of the clutch hub toward first clutch plates and second clutch plates. An injection port to allow injection of the lubricating oil into the interior of the clutch hub is located inside of the clutch hub between the clutch hub and a rotation axis of a clutch body. The clutch hub includes an inner circumferential portion including an opposing portion opposing the injection port, and a first portion closer to a first end portion of the clutch hub than the opposing portion in a direction extending along the rotation axis. The first portion includes an inclined inner circumferential surface structured such that a radius of the clutch hub decreases toward the first end portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: KUBOTA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hidetoshi Hana, Atsushi Jinnai, Tomonari Tsuchida, Ryoma Iwase, Yosui Nishijima, Naoyuki Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 12241532
    Abstract: A hybrid module includes a rotor carrier having an axially extending portion and a radially extending portion; and a torque converter assembly arranged radially inside of the axially extending portion. The torque converter assembly includes: an impeller having an impeller shell non-rotatably connected to the axially extending portion; a turbine in fluid communication with the impeller and having a turbine shell arranged axially between the impeller and the radially extending portion; and a lock-up clutch. The lock-up clutch includes a plurality of clutch plates, a clutch plate carrier connected to at least some of the plurality of clutch plates, and a piston axially slidable along the clutch plate carrier to engage the plurality of clutch plates. The clutch plate carrier is non-rotatably connected to the turbine shell. An apply chamber is bounded in part by the turbine shell, the piston, and the clutch plater carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventor: Joshua Verdier
  • Patent number: 12222011
    Abstract: A clutch device includes an inner ring; an outer ring; a ratchet engagement mechanism; and a switching mechanism. When an engaging member is provided on an inner peripheral portion of the outer ring, a cam member includes a cam inner ring portion provided to rotate together with the inner ring, a cam outer ring portion disposed outside the cam inner ring portion, and a plurality of rolling elements disposed between the cam inner ring portion and the cam outer ring portion. When the engaging member is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the inner ring, the cam member includes a cam outer ring portion provided to rotate together with the outer ring, a cam inner ring portion disposed inside the cam outer ring portion, and a plurality of rolling elements disposed between the cam inner ring portion and the cam outer ring portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: NSK-WARNER K.K.
    Inventors: Osamu Katayama, Takashi Kurita, Shiori Kokubo, Noboru Yaotani
  • Patent number: 12208680
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a power take-off (PTO) assembly. The PTO assembly, in one example, couples to a shaft and is driven by rotation of the shaft. The PTO assembly includes a disconnect clutch that selectively couples a bi-directional pump to the shaft. The disconnect clutch is passively actuated based on hydraulic system pressure to disengage the disconnect clutch when a prime mover is in operation and engage the disconnect clutch when the prime mover is shut down.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: DANA BELGIUM N.V.
    Inventors: Kurt Cattoor, Filip D. Schacht, Jan Markey, Filip Van Raepenbusch, Jan A. Bedert
  • Patent number: 12203547
    Abstract: A hydraulic parking lock actuation module for a parking lock with a parking lock piston, which can be hydraulically actuated in a parking lock cylinder from an initial position in an actuation direction by applying an actuation pressure, and which is mechanically coupled to an actuation rod which can be fixed via an engaging device in order to act as a locking mechanism for the parking lock piston. In order to simplify the actuation of the parking lock, for actuating the parking lock piston and the locking mechanism for the parking lock piston, the hydraulic parking lock actuation module includes only one active actuation valve with a tank connection and a working pressure connection at which different hydraulic pressure levels are applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventors: Peter Greb, Laszlo Man
  • Patent number: 12203512
    Abstract: A cam clutch unit includes a plurality of cams and a plurality of rollers disposed so as to be aligned in a circumferential direction between an inner ring and an outer ring, a cage ring having a plurality of pocket portions which regulate relative movement in a circumferential direction of the cam and the roller, and an annular spring which urges the cam, in which the cam has an engagement stepped portion capable of engagement with the spring, the cage ring has an end-part circumferential annular portion continuing in the circumferential direction on an end surface in the axial direction, the pocket portion regulates movement of the roller to the outer ring side and the inner ring side and has a claw portion capable of insertion of the roller from the outer ring side or the inner ring side by elastic deformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: TSUBAKIMOTO CHAIN CO.
    Inventors: Akira Morita, Riku Kato, Hirokazu Tsuneda
  • Patent number: 12203519
    Abstract: A rotational coupling includes a hub assembly configured for rotation about a rotational axis. The hub assembly includes a hub disposed about the axis and configured to receive a shaft and a disc extending radially outwardly from the hub. An armature and electromagnet are disposed on opposite axial sides of the disc. The electromagnet is fixed against rotation. A bearing is disposed between the hub and the electromagnet. The hub assembly and electromagnet are separated by an air gap on an outboard side of the bearing. A debris shield is axially aligned with, and extends across the radial length of, the air gap and, in some embodiments, is at least partially disposed within the air gap. The shield has a fixed end coupled to one of the hub assembly and electromagnet during assembly and a free end configured to engage the other through a spring force and/or electromagnetic attraction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2024
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: Warner Electric Technology LLC
    Inventors: Michael Edwin Humy, Clinton Lee Mcclellan
  • Patent number: 12196270
    Abstract: A switching device for a drivetrain of a motor vehicle includes a housing in which a first and a second driveshaft are rotatably mounted. The first and second driveshafts are arranged coaxially with one another so that they have a common rotation axis; The switching device further including switchable clutch device arranged between the first and the second driveshaft. The clutch device is transferrable into a disengaged open switched position, in which the first driveshaft is freely rotatable relative to the second driveshaft, and into an engaged switched position, in which the first driveshaft is connected to the second driveshaft via the clutch device for conjoint rotation. The control element is formed by a sliding sleeve, with an annular space being formed between each of the clutch elements, the corresponding drive shaft and the control element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventors: Oleg Weitner, Viktor Ruder
  • Patent number: 12187245
    Abstract: The vehicle includes a SBW actuator capable of switching between a locked state in which the drive wheels of the vehicle are restrained from rotating and an unlocked state in which the rotation of the drive wheels is not restrained by the actuator, a parking lock releasing operation unit for switching the locked state of SBW actuator to an unlocked state by manual operation, and an undercover covering a lower portion of the parking lock releasing operation unit, and the undercover is provided with a through hole, and the parking lock releasing operation unit is exposed downward from the through hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yukihiro Tanigawa
  • Patent number: 12187359
    Abstract: A device for preventing a reverse input includes a first housing, a second housing coupled with the first housing to define an internal space along with the first housing, an output shaft including an output disk disposed in the internal space and having one or more concave curved surfaces on an outer circumference surface of the output disk and an output shaft body configured to protrude from the output disk, an input shaft including an input disk having one or more concave grooves on an outer circumference surface thereof and an input shaft body disposed on a same rotation axis as a rotation axis of the output shaft body to protrude from the input disk, and one or more moving pins disposed on the concave grooves, respectively, to come into contact with the concave curved surfaces, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Su Ju Park
  • Patent number: 12173761
    Abstract: An axisymmetric clutch mechanism includes a drive clutch body having a drive bearing surface and a drive clutch surface; an intermediate clutch body having an intermediate clutch surface configured for sliding contacting engagement with the drive clutch surface; a driven clutch body having a driven bearing surface configured for transferring compressive axial force to the drive bearing surface; and rotational drag means for generating resistance to rotational slippage between the drive clutch surface and the intermediate clutch surface. The intermediate and driven clutch bodies are helically coupled in a first rotational direction, forming a first helical coupling having a first lead angle, and with the taper angle of the drive clutch surface and the intermediate clutch surfaces and the first lead angle being selected such that the clutch mechanism will lock when the drive clutch body is rotated relative to the driven clutch body in the first rotational direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Noetic Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Maurice William Slack, Victor Yung
  • Patent number: 12169010
    Abstract: A torque limiter (TL) is provided for torque transmission (TT) to downstream components. The TL includes an input shaft, an output shaft and a torsional spring which is preloadable by a preload torque whereupon the torsional spring is fittable about the output shaft with the output shaft fit about the input shaft. For input shaft rotation, first TT paths proceed from the input shaft to the output shaft through the torsional spring when downstream torque of the downstream components deceeds the preload torque and a second TT path proceeds from the input shaft to an external structure when the downstream torque exceeds the preload torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2024
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventors: Swapnil Tukaram Shinde, Ramesh Babu
  • Patent number: 12154820
    Abstract: A magnetic stopper, for a rotary motion system that includes a base unit and a rotary unit rotatably mounted on the base unit, includes a static part configured to be mounted on the base unit and a rotary arm configured to be mounted on the rotary unit. The static part includes a rotary arm stopping portion configured to receive a distal end portion of the rotary arm, and a movable arrangement including a magnet holder and a mobile magnet mounted on the magnet holder and movable within the rotary arm stopping portion. The rotary arm includes a rotary arm magnet configured to magnetically interact with the mobile magnet when the static part and the rotary part are mounted respectively on the base and rotary units, to prevent excessive movement of the rotary unit when the rotary motion system is operating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: ETEL S.A.
    Inventors: Philippe Tamigniaux, Yannick Droval
  • Patent number: 12138958
    Abstract: A hub structure includes a tubular body defining a hollow cavity. The tubular body includes a first surface and a second surface, the first surface defining a first groove extending along an axial direction of the tubular body. The first groove is defined by an inner sidewall surrounding the hollow cavity, an outer sidewall spaced from and configured to face the inner sidewall, and a bottom surface coupling the inner sidewall and the outer sidewall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: GIANT MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hui-Yuan Su
  • Patent number: 12129895
    Abstract: A bistable electromagnetic clutch is provided that includes a first part, a second part and an spring part. The first part includes a yoke with a plurality of iron cores, and an electromagnetic coil on each of the iron cores. The second part includes a moving carrier disc and a magnetic conductive disc that is fixed on a side of the moving carrier disc that is away from the yoke. Several magnets are fixed on the moving carrier disc, and the iron cores and the magnets are provided in a correspondence relation. The spring part is configured to keep the moving carrier disc and the yoke in normally separated positions. Two adjacent electromagnetic coils form a group, two electromagnetic coils in a same group are wound to form a group of windings with identical magnetic polarities, and corresponding two magnets form a group of magnetomotive forces with identical magnetic polarities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: JING-JIN ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yang Cao, Ping Yu, Jianwen Li
  • Patent number: 12117047
    Abstract: A hydraulic assembly with a lubricant output, a control output and a pump which can supply a hydraulic fluid flow to the lubricant output and the control output. A switching valve with structurally predefined hysteresis is arranged between a pump output and the control output of the hydraulic assembly. Depending on the pressure in the branch between the pump output and the control output, the valve can be switched between an open position in which the control output is connected to the pump output, and a blocking position in which the control output is blocked off. The switching valve switches from the open position to the blocking position when the pressure provided by the pump exceeds an upper switching threshold, and returns from the blocking position to the open position when the pressure provided by the pump falls below a lower switching threshold. A clutch can be switched by means of such a hydraulic assembly, and a method for actuating the clutch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: FTE AUTOMOTIVE GmbH
    Inventors: Christian Sperber, Benjamin Wüchner, Patrick Gegner