Controllable one-way clutch for a vehicle
AssigneeHyundai Motor Company
InventorDong-Hoon Park
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A controllable clutch includes a plurality of piston members, a plurality of oil passages communicating with the piston members and a plurality of grooves for receiving a roller from the piston members. The piston members are disposed in one of an inner race and an outer race. The pistons in the piston member can extend in the same rotational direction to form a one-way clutch in that direction. Alternatively, the pistons in the piston members can extend in opposite rotational directions to form a clutch. Or, by selectively applying hydraulic fluid to the piston members, a one-way clutch can selectively be formed in either rotational direction.
Claims58
A controllable one-way clutch for a vehicle, including an inner race and an outer race directly confronting said inner race for transferring a driving force therebetween, said controllable one-way clutch comprising:
- a main oil passage disposed at a center portion of said inner race;
- a plurality of branch oil passages communicating with said main oil passage, radially disposed in said inner race, and extending from said main oil passage;
- and
- a plurality of piston members disposed within said inner race, each of said plurality of piston members including a cylinder, a return spring, a piston, and at least one roller, said cylinder communicating with said branch oil passage, and said at least one roller being disposed within a groove which is formed at an outer periphery of said inner race and facing said outer race,
- said groove having a first plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of each said piston member and a cam plane directly communicating with and disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to said first plane, whereby when a hydraulic pressure is supplied to the piston members through the branch oil passages, rollers seat between the outer race and the cam planes of the inner race and function as a one-way clutch for transferring the driving force to the outer race, and for easily terminating the driving force when the hydraulic pressure closes.
A controllable clutch for a vehicle, including an inner race and an outer race directly confronting said inner race for transferring a driving force therebetween, said controllable clutch comprising:
- a main oil passage disposed at a center portion of said inner race;
- a plurality of branch oil passages communicating with said main oil passage and disposed in said inner race, extending from said main oil passage;
- and
- at least two pairs of piston members disposed within said inner race, each of said piston members including a cylinder, a return spring, a piston, and at least one roller, said cylinder communicating with one of said branch oil passages, and said at least one roller being disposed within a groove which is formed at an outer periphery of said inner race and facing said outer race,
- said groove having a first plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of a respective piston member and a cam plane disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to said first plane.
A controllable clutch for a vehicle, including an inner race and an outer race directly confronting said inner race for transferring a driving force therebetween, said controllable clutch comprising:
- at least two pairs of branch oil passages radially disposed in said inner race;
- and
- at least two pairs of piston members disposed within said inner race, each of said piston members including a cylinder, a return spring, a piston and at least one roller, each of said cylinders communicating with a different one of said branch oil passages, and said at least one roller being disposed within a groove which is formed at an outer periphery of said inner race and facing said outer race,
- said groove having a first plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of a respective piston member and a cam plane disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to said first plane.
A controllable clutch including an inner race and an outer race directly confronting said inner race, said controllable clutch comprising:
- at least first and second piston members disposed in said outer race, said first and second piston members including a cylinder, a piston disposed in said cylinder, a roller connected to said piston, and a return spring biasing said piston into said cylinder, said roller being disposed within a corresponding groove formed in a periphery of said outer race and which faces said inner race;
- each groove having a first plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of a corresponding piston member and a cam plane disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to said first plane;
- and
- fluid supply means for supplying hydraulic fluid to said first and second piston members.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.