Fluid drive

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising reinforcing elements, integral with said vanes of said impeller, spanning each pocket and being clear of said bottom surface, said impeller being made of forged alloy steel and said pockets and said reinforcing elements being machined from a single blank, using a multi-axis CNC milling machine.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising reinforcing elements, integral with said vanes of said impeller, spanning each pocket and being clear of said bottom surface, said impeller being made of forged alloy steel and said pockets, said vanes, and said reinforcing elements being machined from a single blank, radially extending free edges of said vanes being rounded on a radius generally half the thickness of a vane at its free edge before it is rounded.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising generally radially extending vanes the free edges of which are rounded on a radius generally half the thickness of the vane at its free edge before it is rounded, wherein said impeller is made of forged alloy steel and said pockets and said reinforcing elements are machined from a single blank, with each entire pocket and said rounding being machined on a multi-axis CNC milling machine.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising an annular seal lip integral with and extending around a rim section of the impeller, said lip projecting axially beyond a plane defined by a free edge of said vanes, an annular seal lip integral with and extending around a rim section of the runner projecting axially beyond a plane defined by a free edge of said vanes, toward and coaxial with said lip of said impeller, the runner lip being convexly rounded and the impeller lip having a concave portion complementary to at least a portion of said convexly rounded runner lip.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising an annular seal lip integral with and extending around a rim section of the impeller, said lip projecting axially beyond a plane defined by a free edge of said vanes, an annular seal lip integral with and extending around a rim section of the runner projecting axially beyond a plane defined by a free edge of said vanes, toward and coaxial with said lip of said impeller, both of said lips being convexly rounded on a radius generally one half of the width of the lip before it is rounded.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising pockets of the runner having smoothly uninterrupted bottom surfaces at their radially innermost reach lying on a circle of a larger diameter than a circle on which bottom surfaces of the pockets of the impeller at their radially innermost reach lie.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising said vanes being rounded at free edges, with a radius of approximately one-half the thickness of the vane.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes extending radially from a hub section to a rim section by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising said vanes having a free edge rounded on a radius generally half the thickness of the vane at its free edge before it is rounded, and an annular seal lip extending around a rim section of each of the impeller and runner, said lips projecting axially beyond a plane defined by said free edges of said vanes, said lips being coaxial and in direct confrontation with one another.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes extending radially from a hub section to a rim section by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising said vanes having a free edge rounded on a radius generally half the thickness of the vane at its free edge before it is rounded, and an annular seal lip extending around a rim section of each of the impeller and runner, said lips projecting axially beyond a plane defined by said free edges of said vanes, said lips being coaxial and in direct confrontation with one another, said impeller and said runner being made of forged alloy steel and said pockets and said lips being machined from a single blank, said lips being rounded on a radius approximately one-half the width of the lip before it is rounded, said pockets, vanes and lips and the rounding of said free edges and projecting lips being machined on a multi-axis CNC milling machine.

In a fluid drive system in which an impeller rotated by an input shaft drives a runner mounted on an output shaft through a fluidic coupling, said impeller and said runner having radially elongated pockets defined by a bottom surface and vanes by which said pockets are separated, the improvement comprising reinforcing elements, integral with said vanes of said impeller, spanning each pocket and being clear of said bottom surface, said impeller being made of forged alloy steel and said pockets and said reinforcing elements being machined from a single blank on a multi-axis CNC milling machine, said vanes deviating from the perpendicular with respect to a planar face of said impeller.