The Gates Corporation

Keming Liu

Alexander Serkh

Dean J Schneider

Imtiaz Ali

Peter Ward

John Harvey

Xiaohua Joe Chen

Jing Yuan

Yahya Hodjat

Marc R Cadarette

Lin Zhu

Anthony R Mora

Ilya Kleyman

Arnaud Martinez

Enrico Wick

Francesco Bassi

Rudy Pupulin

Min Chun Hao

Jin Zhan

Joe Chen

Marc Cadarette

John T Harvey

Rudy Papulin

An isolator comprising a pulley having a pulley stop, a plate attached to the pulley, a shaft, the pulley journalled to the shaft, a torsion spring attached to the shaft, a damping member attached to the torsion spring, the damping member disposed between the plate and the pulley, and the damping member compressing a damping fluid against the pulley stop.

Isolator

A tensioner comprising a base defining a hole, the hole having a center C, the hole having a diameter sufficient to receive a driven pulley, a rotary arm engaged with the base by a retaining member connected to the base, the rotary arm rotatable about the center C, a pivot arm mounted to the rotary arm on a pivot, the pivot offset from center C, a first pulley journalled to the rotary arm, a second pulley journalled to the pivot arm, a torsion spring engaged between the rotary arm and the pivot arm for biasing the second pulley toward the first pulley, a damping member frictionally engaged between the base and the rotary arm, and the rotary arm defining a portion for receiving a first pulley fastener whereby a first pulley position is adjustable.

Tensioner and method

A motor-generator system comprising an internal combustion engine, a motor-generator in driven engagement with the internal combustion engine by an endless belt, the motor-generator, a controller detecting a speed signal of the internal combustion engine, a driver input signal, a battery state signal and a motor-generator signal, the motor-generator operable to provide a motoring torque or a load torque to the internal combustion engine at a predetermined frequency according to a controller command, and the controller controlling the motor-generator torque at a frequency greater than 1 Hz such that when the internal combustion engine accelerates the motoring torque is applied to speed the motor-generator rotation and when the internal combustion engine decelerates the load torque is applied to slow motor-generator rotation such that motor-generator rotation is controlled to attenuate a system vibration.

Motor-generator system

A starter generator system comprising an engine driving a first belt and engaged with a second belt through a one-way clutch, a starter generator configured to be driven by the engine through the second belt or to drive the engine through the second belt according to an engine condition, and an accessory engaged with the second belt through an accessory clutch, the accessory drivable by the first belt or the second belt.

Accessory belt drive system with multiple ratios and torque reversal

An accessory drive tuning device with a torsion spring for angular vibration isolation and having a spring pocket that frictionally engages the end of the torsion spring. The engagement may be with a wedge-shape on either the spring end or the pocket or both, adapted so that the spring end wedges into the pocket. The engagement may be by interference fit. One or both ends of the spring may be engaged in respective pockets.

Accessory tuning device with spring lock

An isolating pulley comprising a hub comprising an inertia carrier, the inertia carrier having an inner surface, a spring carrier journalled to the hub, the spring carrier having a releasable driving engagement with the inertia carrier, a pulley journalled to the hub, a spring drivingly engaged between the spring carrier and the pulley, a clutch spring having a frictional engagement with the inner surface, and which frictional engagement is partially releasable upon a temporary, pressing contact of the pulley upon the clutch spring.

Crankshaft isolating pulley

An isolator decoupler comprising a shaft, a pulley journalled to the shaft, a clutch carrier journalled to the shaft through a one-way clutch, a torsion spring engaged between the pulley and the clutch carrier, the torsion spring loadable in an unwinding direction, the torsion spring and the pulley having a predetermined clearance between a torsion spring outside diameter surface and a pulley inside diameter surface, and whereby the torsion spring outside diameter surface and a pulley inside diameter surface come into a progressive frictional engagement by torque load dependent radial expansion of the torsion spring.

Isolator decoupler

A coupling sleeve for use in a sleeve-type, flexible, shaft-coupling device, having a generally annular body portion with one or more axially extending, polymeric or elastomeric teeth on at least one of its inner and outer periphery and having a rigid support band with a rigid, axially extending fin protruding radially into at least one of the teeth. The coupling sleeve has a cross sectional area with a rigid band portion that occupies the minor portion of the cross section relative to the polymeric portion. Torque applied to the teeth of the coupling sleeve during use is resisted by the fins and the tooth material is thus placed in compression.

Sleeve-type flexible shaft coupling

A transducer for detecting a shaft dynamic behavior. The transducer comprises an arcuate sensor member supported between an inner member and an outer member. At least one strain gage is attached to a surface of the arcuate sensor member to detect a surface strain caused by a shaft dynamic behavior. The inner member, outer member and arcuate sensor member are substantially coplanar. The inner member comprises a means for attaching the transducer to a mounting surface. The inner member may also comprise a self-aligning feature to optimize a sensor sensitivity.

Transducer

The invention comprises a method of using tensioners to tune a belt drive system. A tensioner having a damping rate is used on an accessory belt slack side and a tensioner having a having a damping rate is used on an accessory belt tight side. Outside of a predetermined engine speed range, the tight side tensioner arm does not move because the dynamic tension in the span is less than the tight side tensioner friction damping. Within a predetermined engine speed range the tight side tensioner arm moves in order to damp a belt drive system vibration.

Method of tuning a belt drive system

The invention comprises an asymmetric damping tensioner system for belt drives on an engine. A belt is connected between a driver pulley on a crankshaft and any number of driven pulleys. Each driven pulley is connected to an accessory such as an alternator, power steering pump, compressor or the like. The tensioner is placed anywhere before the first component of significant effective inertia, in the belt movement direction. A biasing member in the tensioner is used to maintain a tension in the belt. The tensioner further comprises a damping mechanism to damp belt vibrations caused by the operation of the engine. Tensioner damping friction is unequal or asymmetric, depending upon the direction of movement of the tensioner arm. During acceleration the damping friction of the tensioner in the unloading direction is significantly lower than the damping friction in the opposite, or loading direction, as is the case during deceleration. Lower damping friction during acceleration allows the tensioner arm to quickly adjust to the increase in belt length caused by acceleration. Higher damping friction during deceleration prevents the tensioner arm from being moved too far in the loading direction thereby causing slipping and noise. Asymmetric damping also significantly diminishes overall vibration in the belt during all phases of operation.

Growing community of inventors

Sterling Heights, MI, United States of America

Keming Liu