Borg-warner Automotive Gmbh

Borg-warner Automotive Transmission & Engine Components Corporation

John P Yanko

Kenneth C Yuergens

Malcolm E Kirkwood

David A Hall

A torque converter includes a subassembly that comprises a lock up clutch and a torsional damper. The torsional damper has an input plate that is part of the lock up clutch. Front and back sheet metal retainers are attached to the input plate to retain a plurality of torque transmitting springs. An outer castellated margin of an output plate is disposed between the front and back sheet metal retainers and engages the torque transmitting springs for being driven by the input plate via the sheet metal retainers. In one embodiment the plates are also connected by a lost motion drive connection that limits relative angular travel to protect the torque transmitting springs from being overloaded. In another embodiment two identical sheet metal retainers are flange driven to simplify construction further and conserve more space.

Torsional damper for a torque converter

A torsional vibration damper (1) has an input assembly (2,6,7) and a reactor plate (25) with coil springs (40) circumferentially spaced about a center axis of the damper to absorb vibration between the input assembly and reactor plate. Each coil spring (40) includes a plurality of active coils (50) and partial end coils (44). The active coils have a pitch greater than the diameter (d) of the wire (11) and the partial end coils have a pitch equal to the diameter of the wire. A flattened arcuate surface (42) is formed on the partial end coil which spans less than a full coil turn. A distal tip (46) of the end coil has a thickness that is a fraction of the diameter of the wire that is inversely proportional to the amount of arcuate flattened surface of the end coil section. The gap (66) between the tip and the adjacent coil is also inversely proportional to the amount of arcuate spanning surface of the end coil section.

Torsional vibration damper having helical torsion springs

The two-stage torsional vibration damper includes an outer hub driven by a orque input drive member, a ring member, rotatably supported in the outer hub, an inner hub rotatably supported in the ring member, and a torque output member at the center of the inner hub. A front spring retainer plate is attached to one side of the ring member and a rear spring retainer plate is attached to the other side of the ring member. The spring retainer plate retains outer spring assemblies in spring assembly apertures in the outer hub and retain inner spring assemblies in spring assembly apertures in the inner hub. Torque is transmitted from the outer hub to the outer spring assemblies to the spring retainer plates to the inner spring assemblies to the inner hub. The outer spring assemblies can be compressed until rotation of the inner hub relative to the ring member is stopped. Increases in torque after rotation between the outer hub, the ring member and the inner hub is stopped, is transferred from the outer hub, to the ring member and to the inner hub. The ring member can be an integral part of the front and rear spring retainer plates rather than a separate piece, if desired.

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Shelby Township, MI, United States of America

John P Yanko