Patents by Inventor Axel Heitmann

Axel Heitmann 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: 6966860
    Abstract: An automatic transmission for motor vehicles (1) comprising a drive shaft (2) that can be linked with an internal combustion engine and an output shaft (3) that can be linked with at least one motor vehicle axle. Furthermore, it suggests a manual shiftable transmission (4) that comprises a first and a second planetary gear set (5, 6), several shift elements (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19) as well as an electric engine (14), which is provided as a starter/generator and/or for the continuous adjustment of the shiftable transmission (4) and/or for the at least partially electric driving operation of a motor vehicle. Pursuant to the invention the electric engine (14) can be connected to a first and/or a second shaft of the first planetary gear set (5) by means of two additional shift elements (12, 13).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Axel Heitmann, Ralf Dreibholz, Gerhard Gumpoltsberger
  • Publication number: 20050079942
    Abstract: A drive train (1, 30) for a hybrid vehicle, in which an internal combustion engine (2) is drive-technologically connected to a disengagement clutch (4) whose output side is connected to a transmission input shaft (7), which is connected to an input element (8, 38) of an automatic transmission (17, 36), and in which the transmission input shaft (7) can be driven by an electric machine (5) and itself drives a hydraulic pump (6), which is drive-technologically arranged after the disengagement clutch (4) and before a shiftable starting element (F) of the automatic transmission (17, 36).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2004
    Publication date: April 14, 2005
    Inventors: Gert Bauknecht, Reinhard Mertinkat, Axel Heitmann
  • Publication number: 20040211604
    Abstract: An automatic transmission for motor vehicles (1) comprising a drive shaft (2) that can be linked with an internal combustion engine and an output shaft (3) that can be linked with at least one motor vehicle axle. Furthermore, it suggests a manual shiftable transmission (4) that comprises a first and a second planetary gear set (5, 6), several shift elements (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19) as well as an electric engine (14), which is provided as a starter/generator and/or for the continuous adjustment of the shiftable transmission (4) and/or for the at least partially electric driving operation of a motor vehicle. Pursuant to the invention the electric engine (14) can be connected to a first and/or a second shaft of the first planetary gear set (5) by means of two additional shift elements (12, 13).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2004
    Publication date: October 28, 2004
    Inventors: Axel Heitmann, Ralf Dreibholz, Gerhard Gumpoltsberger
  • Publication number: 20040180751
    Abstract: An automatic, shiftable vehicle transmission (1) with an input drive shaft (2), which can be connected to an internal combustion engine, and an output drive shaft (3) which is connectable to at least one vehicle axle, a mechanical shifting gear train (4) with a first and a second planetary gear set (5, 6), as well as a plurality of shifting elements (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). The first planetary gear set (5) is a simple planetary gear set and the second planetary gear set (6) is a double, in particular, a Ravigneaux gear set (6). The second planetary gear set (6) is located after the first planetary gear set (5). A first shaft (14) is connectable via an additional shifting element (13) with a second shaft (16) of the first planetary gear set (5) and thereby, two further forward gear stages and an additional reverse gear stage can be realized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2004
    Publication date: September 16, 2004
    Inventors: Axel Heitmann, Ralf Dreibholz, Gerhard Gumpoltsberger