MXPA00008281A - Overrunning coupling assembly and manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

A hub (72) for a torque-transmitting member comprising a planar clutch. The clutch includes a pocket plate (78) and a notch plate (84) located within the hub (72). One plate is integrated within the hub (72), such as by casting or molding, to form an integral assembly, the other plate being splined or otherwise secured to a shaft. The pocket plate (78) has strut pockets (80) disposed about the axis of the hub (72). The notch plate (84) has recesses (110) at angularly spaced positions about the axis. Struts (82) pivotally anchored in the strut pockets (80) engage the notch plate recesses (110) to effect one-way torque transfer between the plates (78, 84).

Description

OVERWEIGHT COUPLING ASSEMBLY AND MANUFACTURING METHOD TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to overdrive couplings for use in mechanisms such as power transmissions and a method for manufacturing them. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The improvements in the invention are specially adapted for use in stator assemblies for torque conversion transmissions in the power train of a motor vehicle. The invention can also be used in other applications, however, such as torque transfer devices and chain devices that require overdrive coupling in the torque flow path.

The torque converter transmissions include a stator assembly having a stator shaft secured to a stationary sleeve arrow and stator blades located between a toroidal flow outlet section of a hydrokinetic turbine and a toroidal flow inlet section of a hydrokinetic impeller. The stator blades change the direction of the tangential component of the toroidal flow velocity vector in the turbine output section prior to the entry of the toroidal flow into the impeller inlet section. This allows the multiplication of the torque when the hydrokinetic converter delivers power to a power output element of a gear with multiple ratio in the transmission mechanism. It is a known practice in the art of automotive transmissions to design the stator assembly of a hydrokinetic torque converting transmission with a stator shaft that is adapted to receive an overdrive coupling having an outer race and an inner race, the inner track is attached to a stationary sleeve arrow and the outer track is carried by the blade section of the stator assembly. The outer track would typically be provided with cams to provide a plurality of cam surfaces that are engageable by the overdrive rolls. The overdrive coupling allows the delivery of torque by reaction of the stator blades to the stationary sleeve arrow when the torque converter is in torque multiplication mode. The rollers and cam surfaces with which they interact will allow free movement of the blade section of the converter when the torque converter is in coupling mode. The outer race of an overdrive stator coupling is attached or coupled in a central opening in the stator shaft. It is held in place by captive rings located in grooves of grub rings machined on the stator shaft. Prior art stator constructions for hydrokinetic torque converters are typically made of aluminum alloys or phenolic resin. They are formed in a die casting operation or in an injection molding operation wherein the inner and outer sheaths of the stator blades and an end wall of a stator shaft comprise a unitary molding. Said constructions require the formation of a track or a space for teeth in the axis of the stator. The outer track of an overdrive coupling, which is located on the stator shaft, has a track or tooth arrangement to allow the outer track of the overdrive coupling to be fixed to the stator shaft. In the alternative, in the arrangement for the track or the space for teeth can be formed on the shaft. The overdrive coupling assemblies in such arrangements are fixed in place by a spacer which are secured within the axis of the converter and held in place by a captive ring or the like. Said prior art designs lack space saving because they have an undesirable axial length. They also require a relatively large number of machining parts and operations during manufacturing. further, require locking rings or similar with retention slots that require finishing machining operations on the stator shaft. Modes of the invention will be illustrated and described it is anticipated that various modifications and alternative designs may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The stator shaft comprises a casting of aluminum alloy or phenolic casting. The shaft and stator blade assembly are formed by a die casting operation or injection molding operation. The term "casting", when used in this description, should be understood to refer to a casting. The coupling assembly of the invention can be used in a plurality of applications, including torque converter stators. For the purpose of disclosing an embodiment of the invention, a torque converter coupling will be described. The invention is not limited, however, to designs of torque converters.It is an object of. The invention provides a bag plate portion of a flat coupling assembly that is cast or molded on a stator shaft so as to form an integral part of the stator shaft. The bag plate can preferably be formed of powder metal, which is adaptable to simplified and cost-efficient emptying operations. The reinforcement bags are formed during the process of emptying powdered metal for the bag plate. It is a further object of the invention to provide a notch plate located within the axis of the stator directly adjacent to the bag plate so that it can be held in place by means of a captive ring or the like during the assembly operation. This can also be made of powder metal. The axis of the stator rotates in relation to the notch plate. The inner margin of the notch plate has inner teeth which engage external projections formed on a stationary stator torsion shaft. The bags of the bag plate of the invention receive the torque transmission reinforcements, as explained in the copending patent application identified above. The reinforcements are urged by reinforcement springs in engagement with the notches formed in the notch plate, thereby allowing the transfer of torque in one direction from the stator sheets to the stationary sleeve arrow. The free movement of the stator blades is carried out at torsion inversion upon the transition between torque converter torque multiplication mode and coupling mode. In order to carry out the objects of the invention, the coupling assembly can be adapted to be used with a stator shaft having a central opening through which a stationary stator arrow extends. A plate of bags is placed on the stator shaft as part of a stationary assembly. A plate of notches on the shaft is placed in face-to-face relationship with respect to the bag plate. The bag plate has reinforcement bags in angularly positioned positions about the axis of the stator assembly. The notch plate has notched recesses juxtaposed with respect to the reinforcement bags. The torsional transmitting reinforcements located in the reinforcement bags are rotatably anchored on one of their edges of the reinforcement bags when coupling the reinforcing edges and the accompanying recesses to allow torsional transfer in a single direction.

In one embodiment of the invention, the notch plate, instead of the bag plate, may be formed integrally with the shaft as part of a cast or molded assembly. In this instance, the plate of bags, instead of the plate of notches, would be coupled to the torsion shaft. In other environments and other uses of the invention that do not include torque converters, a coupling body that is not part of a torque converter stator shaft would be used to wrap the plate of bags and the plate of notches . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 shows a hydrokinetic torque converter of the prior art comprising a impeller, a turbine and a stator, the stator having a stator shaft with a conventional overdrive coupling; FIGURE 2 is a schematic, exploded, isometric view of a stator and an overdrive coupling for a stator together with a impeller and a turbine of the type illustrated in cross-sectional section view of the torque converter of FIGURE 1; FIGURE 3 is a schematic representation of a roller coupling assembly assembled on the stator shaft for a torque converter of the type illustrated in the cross-sectional view of FIGURE 1; FIGURE 3a is a schematic cross-sectional view of a prior art overdrive coupling that can be used on a torque converter shaft; FIGURE 3b shows an over-mounted bearing design for guiding an outer race of an overdrive coupling with respect to the inner race, the latter being secured to the stationary beam arrow of a hydrokinetic torque converter; FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view generally corresponding to the cross-sectional view of FIGURE 3 showing an improved overdrive coupling of the invention; FIGURE 5 is an isometric view, partially in section, showing a powder metal plate molded or cast into a stator shaft as part of an integral shaft assembly; FIGURE 5a is an isometric view corresponding to FIGURE 5 showing an alternate design to the bag plate forming part of the assembly of FIGURE 5; FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but illustrating a modified clutch assembly wherein the annular bag plate is replaced by individual bag members that are molded or cast into the stator shaft of the torque converter as part of an integral assembly; FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane of section 7-7 of FIGURE 4 showing the details of the reinforcements that are located in the bags of the bag plate; FIGURE 7a is a plan view of a reinforcement located in each bag of the bag plate; FIGURE 7b is an elevation view of the reinforcement shown in FIGURE 7a as seen from the plane of the section line 7b-7b of FIGURE 7a; FIGURE 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a modified bag plate design including a ring in which reaction pins are formed for the reinforcements; FIGURE 8a is a plan view of the ring and pins that are part of the assembly of FIGURE 8; and FIGURE 9 is an isometric view, in partial section, showing the modified bag plate and the ring assembly of FIGURE 8. SPECIAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Shown in FIGURE 1 is a torque converter of the prior art. previous. A crankshaft 10 is drivably connected to the envelope of the impeller 12 of the hydrokinetic torque converter, generally identified with the reference number 14. This connection is provided by the pulse plate 15. The envelope of the impeller forms part of an impeller blade 16, which is arranged in a torque-flow converter toroidal flow circuit defined in part by the turbine 18. A blade stator 20 is located between the flow output section of the turbine and the inlet flow section of the impeller. A lock of the torque converter, not shown, would be located as shown in phantom at 22 of FIGURE 1. This clutch, when applied, would connect the impeller to the turbine. The turbine 18 includes a turbine shaft 24 which is attached to the sleeve arrow of the turbine 26. The torque input elements of the planetary gears (not shown) are connected to the sleeve arrow of the turbine. An overdrive coupling 28 of a conventional design of the prior art is placed on the shaft 30 of the stator 20. It includes an inner race 32, also presented in FIGURES 2 and 3, which is attached to the stationary stator sleeve arrow 34 secured or formed as part of the transmission cover. FIGURE 2 shows in isometric form an exploded view of a stator, the turbine and the impeller of FIGURE 1. Each of these elements of the converter includes passages of toroidal fluid flow with blades. The stator passages change the tangential fluid flow velocity vector as the fluid exits from the flow outlet section of the turbine and enters the fluid inlet section of the impeller. The stator 20 has an axis which is formed with internal connecting teeth or keys 38 adapted to be received in axial recesses or spaces for teeth 40 in an outer track 2 of the conventional overdrive coupling 28. As can be seen in the schematic view of FIG. FIGURE 3a, the prior art coupling 28 comprises a series of cam notches 44 at angularly spaced locations. Each notch receives a coupling roller 46. A roller spring 48 urges each roller 46 into engagement with the cam surface defined by its associated notch 44 so that the rollers remain in wedge engagement with the periphery of the inner race 32.

The free movement of the outer race relative to the inner track can thereby take place in one direction, but relative rotation is prevented by the wedge rolls when a stator torque reversal occurs 20. In FIGURE 3b a schematic representation of an overdrive coupling of the prior art, the inner track and the outer track are represented by numbers 32 'and 42', respectively, which correspond to the symbols identifying corresponding parts in FIGURE 3a. The fork bearings 52 and 54 are used to fork the outer race 42 'relative to the inner race 32'. The clutch bearings 46 'are received in the roller notches in the outer race 42' as in the case of the schematic illustration of FIGURE 3a. FIGURE 3 shows a prior art construction of a blade stator having a stator shaft 42"with a central opening 56. The shaft 42" can be attached to the outer track 58 of an overdrive coupling assembly. of conventional rollers. The track 58 is guided with respect to the track 60 by a cage assembly having end rings 62 and 64, which serve as guide bearings corresponding to the bearings 52 'and 54' of the embodiment of FIGURE 3b. Captive rings 66 and 68 retain the axially fixed coupling assembly on the stator shaft. The improvement of the present invention avoids the need to have a large number of components as in the prior art constructions of FIGS. 2, 3, 3a and 3b. It also makes possible a reduction in the axial length of the stator shaft. The reduced number of parts in the improved stator assembly of the invention also contributes to a reduction in manufacturing costs, as well as a reduction in assembly time. It is further characterized by a significant reduction in machining operations and machining time during manufacturing. As can be seen in FIGURE 4, the blade stator of one embodiment of the invention includes stator blades 70 angularly spaced about the axis of the stator 72. The blades 70, the stator casing 74, which surrounds the outer margin of the blades, and the axis of the stator can be formed as a unitary drain or as a unitary molding. The same material can be used in the formation of the blades 70, the casing 74 and the shaft 72. The material from which the blades, the casing and the shaft are formed, for example, can be a casting of an aluminum alloy or a phenolic molded by injection. The shaft 72 of the stator assembly of the present invention, as seen in FIGURE 4, has an annular groove 76. An annular pocket plate 78 is received in the groove 76, as seen in FIGURE 4. The plate The annular bags 78 can be emptied or molded onto the stator shaft 72 within the notch 76 as part of the casting operation if the material selected for the stator assembly is cast aluminum, or as part of the injection molding operation if The material selected for the stator assembly is a phenolic. The bag plate 78 itself can be a powder metal part. During the operation of casting the powder metal for the formation of the plate 78, the bag notches 80, also shown in FIGURE 5, are formed at angularly spaced locations. Each bag receives a reinforcement, generally indicated in FIGS. 7, 7a and 7b with the reference number 82. As shown in FIGURE 4, a notch plate 84 is located within the annular opening 86 of the stator shaft 72. The notch plate 84 includes an end face 88 located in close relation juxtaposed with respect to the axial face 90 of the bag plate 78. The axis of the stator 72 rotates relative to the notch plate 84, but the plate of notches 84 is fixed axially by a captive ring or other additional holding device, as seen at 92. Suitable spaces are provided between the stator axis 72 the notch plate 84 and between the faces 88 and 90 of the notch plate 84 and the bag plate 78, respectively. The notch plate 84 is formed with a central opening in which internal connecting teeth 94 are formed. These teeth provide a connection with the stationary stator arrow as described with reference to FIGURE 1. Although the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURE 4 includes a bag plate emptied or molded as an integral part of the shaft, it would be feasible to empty or mold the notch plate within the shaft and secure the plate of bags on the arrow of the stationary stator. The functions of the plates would be the same although their positions would be exchanged. FIGURE 5 shows an isometric view, in partial section, of a stator shaft portion of FIGURE 4. As seen in FIGURE 5, the bag plate 78 has a plurality of pockets 80 formed on the face 90. Bag plate 78 is annular and has an inner marginal portion 96 in which channels 98 are formed. When bag plate 78 is emptied or molded onto the stator shaft, channels 98 help secure the plate of bags in place. to allow the bag plate and the shaft to act as an integral, unitary sub-assembly. FIGURE 5a shows an embodiment of the invention having a modified bag plate 78 'which corresponds to the bag plate 78 of FIGURE 5. The bag plate 78' has a reduced radial thickness in each region between bag recesses 80. 'angularly separated. The reduced radial thickness defines arc-shaped spaces as shown at 114 and 116. This discontinuous shape of the bag plate 78 'makes it possible to reduce the amount of material during the casting process as well as the mass of the assembly without affecting the durability or the operation. FIGURE 6 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention, wherein the bag plate is replaced by a plurality of bag members or segments 100. Each segment has formed therein a reinforcing bag 102 corresponding to and similarly formed to the bags 80 formed in the bag plate 78 in FIGURES 4 and 5.

As in the case of the bag plate 80 formed in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bag segments 100 of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 6 are preferably formed of powdered metal. They are cast or molded onto the stator shaft 72 during the aluminum casting operation or during the injection molding operation a phenolic is selected as the material of the stator assembly. It would be feasible to form notches in the segments instead of bags. In that case, the plate of bags would be located adjacent to the segments and secured on the arrow of the stationary stator instead of the plate of notches. FIGURE 7, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane of the section line 7-7 of FIGURE 4, shows a reinforcement 82. The reinforcements 82 are received in the bags 80. A reinforcement is presented. in detail in FIGURES 7a and 7b. A margin 104 of the reinforcement 82 rotatably engages at one end of the bag 80. Springs 106 located in the spring notches 108 push the reinforcement 2 upwards, as seen in FIGURE 7, so that each reinforcement can enter the notch 110 formed in the notch plate 84. Each spring notch 108 forms a part of the reinforcement bag 80. The other margin 112 of the reinforcement 82, as seen in FIG. 7, engages on one edge of the notch 110. , which allows the torsion to be transmitted between the plate of notches and the plate of bags. For a description of the operation of the overdrive flat clutch assembly of the type shown in FIGURE 7, reference may be made to the copending patent application incorporated herein by reference. FIGURES 8, 8a and 9 show an embodiment of the invention that includes a flat ring 118 which is located at the base of the annular groove 76", best seen in FIGURE 9, formed in the ring bag plate 78 '. ', which corresponds to the annular bag plate 78' of the embodiment of FIGURE 5a. The flat ring 118, which would preferably be formed of die-cut carbon steel, has a plurality of reaction shoulders or pins 120 which are preferably drilled in the annular body of the ring 118 with a drilling tool during the die cutting operation. the ring 118. These pins are spaced angularly about the axis of the bag plate, a pin is located on the edge of each bag 80". The bag plate is formed with openings 123 receiving the pins 120. A margin of each peg 122 engages an adjacent peg 120, as best seen in FIGURE 8. A spring 106 ', which corresponds to the spring 106 of the embodiment of FIGURE 7, is located below each pin 122 to normally push the opposite margin of the reinforcement into engagement with the accompanying notch in the notch plate, not shown, which corresponds to the notch plate 84 of the embodiment FIG. 7. The pins 120, which form an integral part of the die-cut ring 118, add strength and durability to the coupling assembly. FIGURE 8a, which is a plan view of the die-cut ring 118 of FIGURE 8, shows openings 124 that are formed in the ring 118 when the pins 120 are punched during the punching operation. The numbers used to identify the elements of the structures presented in FIGS. 5a, 8, 8a and 9 are the same numbers used to identify corresponding elements in FIGURES 5, 7, 7a and 7b, although premium notations are added. Although FIGURE 9 shows a plate of bags corresponding to the bag plate of FIGURE 5a, a die-cut ring and reaction pins as seen in FIGS. 8, 8a and 9 can be used with a continuous annular bag plate of the type shown at 78 in FIGURE 5. Although the invention is disclosed as part of a torque converter shaft assembly, it can also be used on a gear shaft or shaft of the Catarina where torque transmission is required in one way. In addition, the invention is useful in torque transmission mechanisms other than power transmission mechanisms for automotive vehicles.

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS A stator assembly comprising a non-ferrous stator shaft and non-ferrous stator blades extending from said shaft in a generally radial direction; said stator shaft has a central opening, a stationary stator arrow extending through said opening in the shaft; an annular ferrous coupling bag plate formed independently of said stator axis before assembly and integrated to said stator shaft and positioned concentrically with respect to said arrow; said plate of ferrous bags, and said non-ferrous stator shaft and said non-ferrous stator blades have a common central axis forming a unitary integral unfilled assembly; a plate of notches on said shaft positioned in face-to-face relationship with respect to said bag plate; said plate of bags have reinforcing bags placed in angularly spaced positions about said axis; said notch plate has notch recesses in positions angularly spaced about said axis and placed in juxtaposed relation with respect to said reinforcement pockets; and torsion-transmitting reinforcements in said reinforcement bags, rotatably anchored at one edge thereof in said bags, a spring secured in each bag, each spring pushing one of said separate reinforcements toward said notch plate, the opposite edge of each reinforcement being engageable with one of said notch recesses with which the transfer of torque in one direction between the plates can occur. A stator assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said stator shaft is molded with an annular recess having an axis coincident with said central axis, said axis defining an axial end wall of said recess; said plate of bags being molded in said annular recess and having an annular end surface; said plate of bags and said axis having attachable parts with said said bag plate being fixed to said axis, thereby avoiding an angular displacement of said bag plate relative to said axis; The stator assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said stator is a recess with an annular recess having an axis that coincides with said central axis, said axis defining an axial end wall of said recess; said plate of bags being emptied in said annular recess and having an annular end surface; said plate of bags and said axis having coupled parts, thereby avoiding the angular displacement of said bag plate relative to said axis. A stator assembly for a hydrokinetic torque converter comprising a non-ferrous stator shaft and non-ferrous stator blades extending from a stator shaft in a generally radial direction; said stator shaft has a central opening, a stationary stator arrow in said central opening; ferrous coupling members with radial flat surfaces positioned in said central opening for relative angular movement, one coupling member having notch recesses in its flat surface and the other coupling member having reinforcing bags formed in its planar surface; and torsion-transmitting reinforcements in said reinforcing bags, said reinforcements being rotatably coupled independently, one with respect to the other, in one of their margins in said coupling member in said bag, the opposite margins of said reinforcements being coupled with said notch recesses in said coupling member with which the torque is transmitted between said coupling members; said non-ferrous shaft, said stator blades and said other coupling member form an integral unitary emptying assembly, the coupling member having means for anchoring said stator shaft; said other coupling member is formed independently of said stator axis before assembly. The stator assembly indicated in Claim 4 including a plurality of said reinforcing bags and a plurality of said notch recesses angularly spaced about said axis. A method for manufacturing a stator assembly with a torque transmitting shaft comprising the steps of: forming said shaft with a central opening; forming ferrous coupling members having radial flat surfaces with reinforcement bags and recesses; forming said non-ferrous shaft and one of said ferrous coupling members as a unitary integral unfilled subassembly; assemble reinforcements in said bags; assembling a separate spring in each bag, each spring pushing one of said separate reinforcements towards said recesses; and assembling the other of said coupling members in said central opening with said reinforcing bags and recesses in close correspondence with what the reinforcements in said bags are engageable with said recesses to effect the transfer of twisting torque in only one direction between said coupling members. A method for manufacturing a flat clutch shaft of stator assembly comprising the steps of: forming ferrous coupling members having radial flat surfaces with reinforcement bags and recesses; forming a non-ferrous portion of said shaft and one of said coupling members as a unitary integral unfilled subassembly; assemble reinforcements in said bags; assemble a separate spring in each bag, each spring pushing one of said separate reinforcements towards the recesses; and assembling the other of said coupling members on said shaft with said reinforcing bags and recesses in close correspondence whereby the reinforcements in said bags are engageable with said recesses to effect the transfer of twisting torque in only one direction between said members. coupling. A stator assembly comprising a non-ferrous stator shaft and non-ferrous stator blades extending from said shaft in a generally radial direction; said stator shaft has a central opening, a stator arrow extending through said central opening; an annular ferrous coupling bag plate integrated with said stator shaft and positioned concentrically with respect to said arrow; said plate of bags is formed independently of said stator axis before assembly; said bag plate, said non-ferrous stator shaft and said non-ferrous stator blades have a common central shaft and form a unitary integral unfilled assembly; said plate of bags has reinforcement bags placed in angularly spaced positions about said axis; said shaft has an annular recess that receives said plate of bags, said annular recess having a flat radial base surface, a flat annular ring in said annular recess between said plate of bags and said radial base surface; a plate of notches having notch recesses in angularly spaced positions about said axis and juxtaposed with respect to said reinforcement bags; said annular ring having formed on it the reaction pins which extend through said plate of bags adjacent said reinforcement bags; torsional transmission reinforcements in said reinforcement bags; a spring located separately in each bag, each spring pushing a separate reinforcement towards the notch plate; said reinforcements are rotatably anchored in said reinforcement pockets in a reinforcement edge adjacent to said pegs, the opposite edge of each reinforcement being engageable with said notch recesses whereby the transfer of torque in one direction can occur between said reinforcements. plates, said annular ring reinforcing said coupling and improving the duration. The stator assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein said bag plate is formed with a reduced radial thickness at intermediate locations in said angularly spaced reinforcement bags whereby the mass of said bag plate is reduced without affecting the durability . . A stator assembly comprising a non-ferrous stator shaft and non-ferrous stator blades extending from said shaft in a generally radial direction; said stator shaft has a central opening, a stator arrow extending through said central opening; multiple recesses formed in the axis of the stator concentrically placed around said axis; multiple segments of ferrous bags in said recesses, each segment has a reinforcing bag, the bag segments being formed independently of the stator axis before assembly; said non-ferrous stator shaft, said bag segments and said non-ferrous stator blades have a common central axis and form a unitary integral unfilled assembly; a plate of notches on said shaft with notch recesses; said reinforcement bags being placed in angularly spaced positions about said axis and juxtaposed with respect to said notch plate; Torque transmitter reinforcements in said reinforcement bags, said reinforcements being rotatably anchored in said reinforcement bags at one edge thereof, the opposite edge of each reinforcement being independently engageable, one with respect to the other, with one of said reinforcements. notch recesses whereby one-way torque transfer can occur between said notch plate and said bag segments; and a spring secured in each bag, each spring pushing one of said spaced reinforcements toward said notch plate.