Chrysler Corporation

Daimlerchrysler Corporation

New Venture Gear, Inc.

David A Salvatori

Jason Frisch

Matthew Svoboda

David Rygiel

Edward Perosky

Frank T Frederick

David Earl Spieth

Jermanjit S Dhillon

Timothy A Puente

Henry L Stewart, Jr

Thaddeus S Zaydel

Jeff Japinga

Michael Bowen

Ed Perosky

Kenneth L Sailler, Jr

A self-locking, twist & lock, system for attachment of an engine flexplate to a torque converter mounting plate including a plurality of lugs carried on the end surface of the torque converter mounting plate in a circumferentially spaced-apart relationship to one another. A snap-lock spring retainer is releasably secured to each of the lugs. The flexplate has a plurality of retainer receivers in a circumferentially spaced-apart relation identical to the placement of the lugs. Each of the retainer receivers defining a retainer bar segment and openings for receiving the lugs and spring retainers. Each spring retainer has a flexible head portion adapted to engage a corresponding retainer bar segment to secure the plates together.

Self-locking flexplate

A grommet includes a hollow cylindrical body that is positionable in a bore hole of a transmission case and into which an oil fill tube can be advanced, to thereby establish a seal between the tube and case. The grommet defines an open top end, and a scored membrane is formed integrally with the body to cover the top end. Consequently, the grommet can be positioned in the bore hole to cover the bore hole prior to engaging the oil fill tube with the bore hole, thereby permitting pressure testing of the transmission case and preventing contaminants from entering the case. The oil fill tube can then be advanced through the membrane and into the bore hole.

Grommet for transmission oil fill tube

A synchronizer mechanism for synchronizing the rotation of gears between a power input shaft and a power output shaft in a manual transmission includes a hub and a synchronizer sleeve disposed about the hub and moveable relative thereto into and out of engagement with adjacent gears to synchronize the rotation of the adjacent gears with the rotation of the power input shaft. An indexing mechanism is employed for indexing the synchronizer sleeve into and out of engagement with adjacent gears. The indexing mechanism includes a retaining mechanism and a detent portion having a pair of gear engagement positions and a neutral position disposed therebetween. The retaining mechanism is receivable in the gear engagement positions and the neutral position to positively hold the synchronizer sleeve in these positions thereby preventing errant movement of the sleeve as it is moved into and out of engagement with adjacent gears.

Transmission synchronizer mechanism

An improved arrangement for retaining a cross shaft within a differential gear mechanism is disclosed. The differential gear mechanism includes a differential casing supported for rotation about an axis. The cross shaft is disposed within the differential casing so as to be perpendicular to the axis of rotation. Semi-cylindrical slots are formed within facing surface portions of the cross shaft and the differential casing. Upon aligning the cross shaft slots and casing slots, a lock pin is inserted within the elongated cylindrical lock channel formed thereby, to retain the cross shaft within the differential gear mechanism.

Differential mechanism

An automobile transmission shift fork has its free branch ends formed with diametrically opposed notches with each notch engaging an improved plastic insert adapted to be received in an annular groove of a shift element. The insert has individual side walls interconnected by an intermediate spacer block designed for fixed conforming reception in an associated branch end notch. This arrangement substantially increases the effective insert side wall thrust face area relative to the groove abutting radial side thrust surface obviating the need to increase the depth of an existing shift element groove. The insert has an indented stop wall which engages its associated notch back wall upon fixed reception in its notch. The spacer block exceeds the notch depth by a predetermined differential dimension establishing paired insert raised edges adapted to ride on the annular groove base surface eliminating metal-to-metal contact therebetween. Each insert side wall thrust face is formed with mirror image convex curved surface portions at its ends providing rolling line contact with its groove thrust side surface during shift element tilting thereby increasing insert service life. The convex curved surface portions define, with their opposed shift element groove radial side thrust surface, lubricating oil reservoirs thereby improving oil distribution to the thrust surface.

Gear shift fork insert

Growing community of inventors

South Lyon, MI, United States of America

David A Salvatori