Plural Power Paths To Planetary Gearing Patents (Class 475/218)
  • Patent number: 5127887
    Abstract: A driveline is provided for vehicles with two or more driving wheels in which power is carried between the transmission and each wheel through a parallel shaft differential with two internal gear pairs. A traction balance, connecting the differentials, counterbalances reactive torque. Relative wheel traction is varied by change gears within the traction balance or by control torque applied to traction balance components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 7, 1992
    Inventor: John B. Nuttall
  • Patent number: 5114386
    Abstract: A reversible variable speed drive mechanism is disclosed formed of an engine crankshaft and a balancing shaft parallel to the crankshaft. A second pulley is non-rotatably secured to a first end of the balancing shaft. The second pulley is coupled to a first pulley at a first end of the crank shaft by a belt. The second pulley has a belt supporting circumference which is adjustable such that the speed of the balancing shaft is adjustable by altering the circumference around which the belt travels. A planetary gear assembly is coupled to a second end of the crankshaft. The balancing shaft sprocket is coupled by a chain to a sprocket on the planetary yoke such that the rotation of the planetary yoke is coupled to the rotation of the balancing shaft. By altering the rotational speed of planetary yoke relative to an input gear, the output gear can be made to rotate in a first direction, in a second direction or assume a neutral stationary position. A locking sprocket is rotatably mounted on the balancing shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1992
    Inventor: Gyula Csotonyi
  • Patent number: 5112283
    Abstract: The continuous speed-shifting device of the present invention is provided with the first, second and third rotary shafts, a differential gear mechanism having the first gear element connected to the third rotary shaft, a variable speed pulley mechanism which connects the second and the third rotary shafts speed-changeably by a belt, a driving power gear mechanism which connects the first rotary shaft to the second or the third gear element of the differential gear mechanism and a circulating power gear mechanism which connects the second rotary shaft to the third or the second gear element of the differential gear mechanism. According to switching of the advancing and the retreating, the first rotary shaft and the driving power gear mechanism or the second rotary shaft and the circulating power gear mechanism are connected or disconnected by the gear clutch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1992
    Assignee: Bando Chemical Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirofumi Miyata, Yutaka Furukawa
  • Patent number: 5098350
    Abstract: A continuously variable drive train or power train which is a fluid mechanical drive system which is self-contained and self-controlled. It is useful as in power equipment drive train between a power source and a transfer case, for example, etc. It includes first and second rotatable bell housings, two fluid couplers, and a plurality of inter-connected planetary gear assemblies for transmitting rotational energy from a power source (e.g., an engine) to an output shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1992
    Inventor: William A. Sackschewsky
  • Patent number: 5039305
    Abstract: A transaxle for an automotive vehicle driveline having an internal combustion engine, a hydrokinetic torque converter (10) mounted on the axis of the crankshaft of the engine, multiple ratio gearing (118, 160) mounted on an output shaft axis (86) located in parallel relationship with respect to the engine crankshaft axis, and a torque transfer drive (14,68,70,78,86) comprising a dual torque flow path between the turbine of the torque converter and the torque input elements of the gearing including clutch and brake structure (96,138,144,106,178,170) for effecting ratio changes in the gearing, the torque converter, the torque transfer gearing and the multiple ratio gearing being packaged in a common assembly with maximum space economy whereby the clutch and brake structure is adapted to select one torque flow path or the other through the transfer drive as well as to control the torque flow pattern through the multiple ratio gearing and whereby the N/V design parameter for the transaxle may be chosen to effect
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1991
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: Stanley L. Pierce
  • Patent number: 5013289
    Abstract: A power transmission has three countershaft gear sets which provide selective input members for a pair of interconnected simply planetary gear arrangements. The planetary gear arrangements have the sun gears interconnected, a ring gear and a carrier interconnected, another carrier connected with a transmission output shaft and another ring gear connected with one of the transfer gear sets. The other two transfer gear sets are connected with respective ones of the interconnected members. A plurality of selectively engageable clutches and brakes are arranged to establish input and reaction members for the planetary gear arrangement to provide six forward speed ratios and one reverse speed ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1991
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventor: Keith D. Van Maanen
  • Patent number: 4916975
    Abstract: A torque converter system is provided with two differential gears, the cage of the first differential gear receiving the power from the engine motion input shaft and the output shaft of the second differential gear cage driving the system output shaft. The two differential gears have their four planetaries coupled two by two, wherein:the engine motion input shaft and the system power output shaft are coaxial;the motion is transmitted through each differential gear by planetary shafts which are coaxial to each other and coaxial to the shaft respectively connected to the input cage and the output cage,a mechanism is provided for the staging of fixed ratios between the rotation speeds at the input and the output; a rotation of the converter system output shaft in one direction and in the other; a disconnection of the output shaft in order to obtain a dead point, and the blocking of the output shaft rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1988
    Date of Patent: April 17, 1990
    Inventor: M. Michel Combastet