Eaton Corporation

John Gerard Mulvihill

James D Gluys

Terry E Teeter

Dazy O Ozomaro

Gerald E Maddocks

A transmission range valve replaces a traditional spring bias with a pressurized fluid bias to prevent an unintended range change in the event of a significant fluid pressure decrease or loss. Because pressurized fluid is used both for biasing the range valve and for shifting the range valve to effect an auxiliary section range change, a pressure drop or loss of supply pressure will not result in a change of state of the range valve as may occur with prior art spring biased valves.

Fluid biased transmission range valve

An apparatus for venting a transmission is disclosed which provides a transmission breather for allowing pressure equalization between the interior and exterior of a transmission while reducing or eliminating fluid expulsion from the transmission due to bridging of a fluid film across the breather. The breather includes a standpipe disposed within a housing which contains a filter. Air, transmission fluid, mist, and vapor flow through the standpipe and through the filter which captures the fluid, mist and vapor while allowing filtered air to be vented to the environment through at least one aperture in the housing. The filter facilitates coalescence of the transmission fluid which is returned to the transmission via at least one space formed between the standpipe and the housing. In one embodiment, the breather is mounted to a shift bar housing of the transmission. The shift bar housing includes an annular protrusion for shielding the breather from excessive exposure to the fluid while also resisting formation of a fluid film across its opening.

Growing community of inventors

Portage, MI, United States of America

John Gerard Mulvihill