Powertrain interface module
AssigneeAllison Transmission, Inc.
InventorShaun Mepham
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Vehicles that are relatively heavy and/or configured to transport heavy loads may utilize a powertrain comprising an electric machine capable of operating at high speeds and a multispeed transmission to propel the vehicle. An interface module is configured to modulate torque between the electric machine and the multispeed transmission allowing the electric machine to smoothly match speed as the multispeed transmission shifts between gears. The interface module facilitates efficient, predictable, and reliable modulation of torque between an input and an output of the powertrain of the vehicle.
Claims20
A torsional damper assembly for use in a vehicle powertrain, the torsional damper assembly comprising:
- an input-side damper body rotatable about a rotational axis and having a first ramp arrangement, wherein the first ramp arrangement includes a plurality of input lobes and a plurality of input valleys, wherein each input valley is defined between a corresponding pair of the input lobes;
- an output-side damper body rotatable about the rotational axis and coupled to an output shaft that extends along the rotational axis, the output-side damper body having a second ramp arrangement that includes a plurality of output lobes and a plurality of output valleys, wherein each output valley is defined between a corresponding pair of the output lobes;
- and
- an overload clutch arranged axially around at least a portion of the output-side damper body;
- wherein the output-side damper body is configured to move axially along the rotational axis between (i) a first engagement position at which a crest of each input lobe of the first ramp arrangement is fully received in a corresponding output valley of the second ramp arrangement and a crest of each output lobe of the second ramp arrangement is fully received in a corresponding input valley of the first ramp arrangement and (ii) a second engagement position at which the crest of each input lobe of the first ramp arrangement is only partially received in the corresponding output valley of the second ramp arrangement and the crest of each output lobe of the second ramp arrangement is only partially received in the corresponding input valley of the first ramp arrangement.
A torsional damper assembly for use in a vehicle powertrain, the torsional damper assembly comprising:
- an input-side damper body rotatable about a rotational axis and having a first ramp arrangement, wherein the first ramp arrangement includes a plurality of input lobes and a plurality of input valleys, wherein each input valley is defined between a corresponding pair of the input lobes;
- and
- an output-side damper body rotatable about the rotational axis and coupled to an output shaft that extends along the rotational axis, the output-side damper body having a second ramp arrangement that includes a plurality of output lobes and a plurality of output valleys, wherein each output valley is defined between a corresponding pair of the output lobes,
- wherein the output-side damper body is configured to move axially along the rotational axis between (i) a first engagement position at which a crest of each input lobe of the first ramp arrangement is fully received in a corresponding output valley of the second ramp arrangement and a crest of each output lobe of the second ramp arrangement is fully received in a corresponding input valley of the first ramp arrangement and (ii) a second engagement position at which the crest of each input lobe of the first ramp arrangement is only partially received in the corresponding output valley of the second ramp arrangement and the crest of each output lobe of the second ramp arrangement is only partially received in the corresponding input valley of the first ramp arrangement, and
- wherein the input-side damper body further includes a pilot shaft extending along the rotational axis toward the output-side damper body and the output-side damper body further includes a pilot bushing and wherein the pilot shaft of the input-side damper body is engaged with the pilot bushing of the output-side damper body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.