Accumulator assembly
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsCarlos E. Marin, Leonid Basin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An accumulator assembly is includes a piston located within a pressure canister. The pressure canister has a piston stop therein. The piston stop is located radially outboard of a biasing member or spring located within the pressure canister between the pressure canister and the piston. A support bracket is disposed on an end of the pressure canister in alignment with the spring. The outboard piston stop and the support bracket reduce the stresses due to reaction forces when the accumulator assembly is fully charged. By reducing the stresses due to reaction forces, the accumulator assembly can be made from steel casting or plastic molding without sacrificing the charge capacity of the accumulator assembly.
Claims20
An accumulator comprising:
- a housing having a closed end and an open end, the housing having an inner surface that defines a cavity and having a stop located within the cavity;
- an end cap disposed over the open end of the housing, the end cap having an inlet and an outlet in communication with the cavity for communicating a hydraulic fluid in and out of the cavity;
- a piston disposed within the housing between the stop and the end cap, the piston sealed to the inner surface and translatable along an axis;
- and
- a biasing member disposed within the housing and located axially between the closed end of the pressure canister and the piston, the biasing member configured to bias the piston towards the open end;
- and
- a support member coupled to an outside surface of the closed end of the housing, and
- wherein the piston stop is located radially outboard of the biasing member.
An accumulator for a hydraulic control system in a transmission of a motor vehicle, the accumulator comprising:
- a pressure canister having a closed end and an open end, the pressure canister having an inner surface that defines a cavity and having a stop located within the cavity;
- an end cap disposed over the open end of the pressure canister, the end cap having an inlet and an outlet in communication with the cavity;
- a piston disposed within the pressure canister between the stop and the end cap, the piston sealed to the inner surface and translatable along an axis between a charged position where the piston contacts the stop and a discharged position where the piston at least partially contacts the end cap;
- and
- a biasing member disposed within the pressure canister and located axially between the closed end of the pressure canister and the piston, the biasing member configured to bias the piston towards the end cap;
- and
- a support member coupled to an outside surface of the closed end of the pressure canister,
- wherein the piston stop is located radially outboard of the biasing member, and
- wherein the piston exerts a force at the stop of the pressure canister thereby limiting the force exerted by the compression of the biasing member on the closed end of the pressure canister when the piston is in the charged position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.