Ball cam actuated dog clutch
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsJoseph Ralph Littlefield, Pete R. Garcia
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ball cam actuated dog clutch assembly for a motor vehicle transmission includes a clutch sleeve having a plurality of gear teeth positioned at a first end and multiple ball bearings disposed at a second end. A clutch hub having multiple helical grooves is created in an outer facing wall. Each of the helical grooves receives a portion of one of the ball bearings. An actuator member acts to rotate the clutch hub. Rotation of the clutch hub causes axial translation of the clutch sleeve in a selected one of a first direction or an opposite second direction by translation of the ball bearings within the helical grooves.
Claims18
A ball cam actuated dog clutch assembly for a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a clutch sleeve having multiple ball bearings retained by the clutch sleeve;
- a clutch hub having multiple helical grooves created in an outer facing wall, the clutch hub positioned partially within the clutch sleeve having each of the helical grooves receiving a portion of one of the ball bearings;
- and
- wherein rotation of the clutch hub causes axial translation of the clutch sleeve in a selected one of a first direction or an opposite second direction by translation of the ball bearings within the helical grooves, and wherein the clutch sleeve includes a plurality of gear teeth positioned at a first end aligned for meshed engagement with gear teeth of a drive assembly and the multiple ball bearings are disposed at a second end.
A ball cam actuated dog clutch assembly for a motor vehicle transmission, comprising:
- a clutch sleeve having a plurality of gear teeth positioned at a first end and multiple ball bearings disposed at a second end;
- a clutch hub having multiple helical grooves created in an outer facing wall, each of the helical grooves receiving a portion of one of the ball bearings;
- and
- an actuator member acting to rotate the clutch hub, rotation of the clutch hub causing axial translation of the clutch sleeve in a selected one of a first direction or an opposite second direction by translation of the ball bearings within the helical grooves.
A ball cam actuated dog clutch assembly for a motor vehicle transmission, comprising:
- a clutch sleeve having a plurality of gear teeth positioned at a first end and multiple ball bearings disposed at a second end;
- a clutch hub having gear teeth and multiple helical grooves created in an outer facing wall, each of the helical grooves receiving a portion of one of the ball bearings;
- and
- an actuator motor rotating a gear meshed with the gear teeth of the clutch hub operating to rotate the clutch hub, rotation of the clutch hub causing axial translation of the clutch sleeve in a selected one of a first direction or an opposite second direction by translation of the ball bearings within the helical grooves;
- wherein operation of the actuator motor in a first rotational direction translates the clutch sleeve in the second direction acting to mesh the plurality of gear teeth of the clutch sleeve with a plurality of gear teeth of a transmission final drive member, thereby engaging the dog clutch assembly with the final drive member defining a clutch closed position, and wherein operation of the actuator motor in a second rotational direction translates the clutch sleeve in the first direction acting to disengage the plurality of gear teeth of the clutch sleeve from the plurality of gear teeth of the transmission final drive member, thereby defining a clutch open position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.