Aisin Aw Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Aisin-warner Kabushiki Kaisha

Koji Maeda

Kazumasa Tsukamoto

Kazuyoshi Ito

Masahiro Hayabuchi

Akihiro Nagae

Yuito Abe

Yutaka Taga

Kunio Morisawa

Ryoji Habuchi

Kazuaki Watanabe

Yutaka Teraoka

Makoto Yamaguchi

Naohisa Momiyama

Junya Kashimura

Yoshihide Mori

Junji Tanaka

Kunihiro Iwatsuki

Kazunori Ishikawa

Yoshihiro Takikawa

Kazuhiro Itou

Hiroshi Katou

Takuji Taniguchi

Takeshi Hara

Kazuto Maruyama

Takashi Hori

Keizo Araki

Tomohiro Yamashita

Hideji Katoh

Takashi Hara

A lockup clutch mechanism of a hydraulic transmission device includes a lockup piston that is capable of moving toward a front cover to press first and second friction plates, and a flange member that together with the lockup piston defines an engagement-side oil chamber. The front cover and the lockup piston define a first lubricant passage that supplies hydraulic oil to the first and second friction plates. A second lubricant passage communicating with the first lubricant passage is formed in a centerpiece of the front cover. A first shaft oil passage communicating with the engagement-side oil chamber and a second shaft oil passage communicating with the second lubricant passage are formed in an input shaft.

Starting device

A damper device configured with an input element, an intermediate element to which power is transferred from the input element through a first elastic body, and an output element to which power is transferred from the intermediate element through a second elastic body. One of the output element and the intermediate element has a protruding portion projecting in an axial direction. The other one of the output element and the intermediate element has a cutout portion corresponding to the protruding portion. The protruding portion has a restricting portion that is engaged with the cutout portion in a rotation direction so as to restrict rotation of the intermediate element relative to the output element, and a support portion that is engaged with the cutout portion so that the intermediate element is supported by the output element in a radial direction.

Damper device

In a hydraulic transmission apparatus, a lockup piston of a lockup clutch mechanism is placed on the opposite side of first and second friction plates from a sidewall portion of a front cover. A damper device is placed on the opposite side of the lockup piston from the first and second friction plates. An outer peripheral portion of the lockup piston is located closer to the outer periphery than an outer peripheral portion of a flange member. A part of the lockup piston is placed in a region located between first and second springs and a third spring of the damper device in a radial direction and in the range of an axial width of the third spring located closer to the lockup piston.

Starting apparatus

A centrifugal-pendulum vibration absorbing device, including a member attached coaxially with a rotary element; and mass bodies swingably coupled to the support member and disposed adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction. The mass bodies are configured such that when a first mass body, which is one of two mass bodies disposed adjacent to each other, and a second mass body, which is the other of the two mass bodies, move with respect to the support member so as to approach each other, the first mass body and the second mass body overlap each other as seen from an axial direction of the rotary element.

Centrifugal-pendulum vibration absorbing device

A fluidic torque transfer device is configured such that the attachment angle of a turbine blade at a fluid outlet of a turbine runner is smaller than the attachment angle of the turbine blade at a fluid inlet of the turbine runner. Furthermore, the turbine runner is structured so that a cross-sectional area St of a turbine flow path defined by the turbine shell, adjacent turbine blades, and the turbine core, which is perpendicular to a centerline of the turbine flow path, satisfies |St&#x2212;Sref|/Sref&#x2266;0.2, where a reference area Sref is an average of maximum and minimum values of a cross-sectional area of a pump flow path defined by the pump shell, adjacent pump blades, and the pump core of the pump impeller, which is perpendicular to a centerline of the pump flow path.

Fluidic torque transfer device

A fluidic torque transfer device configured with a pump impeller that includes a pump shell, a pump blade attached to the pump shell, and a pump core attached to the pump blade; a turbine runner that includes a turbine shell, a turbine blade attached to the turbine shell, and a turbine core attached to the turbine blade; and a stator that includes a stator blade, and rectifies a flow of a hydraulic fluid from the turbine runner to the pump impeller. The outer contour line of the turbine blade extends outward in an extending direction of a rotation center axis of the pump impeller and the turbine runner on the fluid outlet side of the turbine runner more than an outer contour line of the pump blade on the pump shell side.

A starting device includes a housing; an output side member; a clutch mechanism; a working oil passage that supplies working oil to a hydraulic chamber of the clutch mechanism from an oil pressure source side; and a lubricating oil passage including a supply oil passage that supplies lubricating oil to the housing from the oil pressure source side and a return oil passage for returning the lubricating oil to the oil pressure source side from the housing, wherein the working oil passage and the lubricating oil passage are formed to overlap at least partially in an axial direction.

A torque converter including a one-way clutch for supporting a stator radially on a fixed member in such a manner that the stator is rotatable in one direction, and a pair of thrust bearings for supporting the stator axially between a pump impeller and a turbine runner, wherein the diameters of the one-way clutch and both of the thrust bearings are different, and the thrust bearings do not axially overlap at least side bearings of the one-way clutch. With this arrangement, thrust force is not applied to the side bearings, and thus, the side bearings are thinner than conventional side bearings. Accordingly, the area radially inside of the stator in the torque converter is axially shortened.

Torque converter

In a torque converter, in order to reduce the cost, simplify the manufacturing process and ensure the centering precision of of the stator relative to the outer race of a one-way clutch, the stator and the outer race of the one-way clutch have first engaging surface portions preventing relative rotation therebetween and second engaging surface portions providing concentricity therebetween. The first and second surface portions are axially offset from each other.

Stator and one way clutch assembly for a torque converter

A hydraulic power transmission, such as a torque converter, has a pump impeller and a turbine runner with inclined blades having edge portions bent to form right angle connections to shells and cores of the pump impeller and the turbine runner. The inclination of the blades relative to the shells and cores provide improved transmission performance while the bent connecting edges forming right angles with the shells and cores eliminate gaps and secondary flows from acute angles between between the blades and the shells and cores to reduce oil leakage and the occurrence of secondary flows caused by such gaps. These blades have ample strength without central strengthening ribs to eliminate secondary flows caused by such ribs.

Hydraulic power transmission

A hydraulic power transmission unit includes a casing connected to an engine, a pump member fixed to the interior of the casing and a turbine mounted within the casing and connected to an output shaft, whereby the output torque of the engine is transmitted to the output shaft through fluid in the casing. A damper mechanism includes damper springs mounted directly on the inner face of the casing at its outer circumference. A damper disc serves to transmit the power of the engine to the output shaft through the damper springs. A lock-up clutch mechanism is also housed within the casing and includes a frictional engagement element arranged between the damper disc and the output shaft. The lock-up clutch mechanism is operated, i.e. frictional engagement element selectively applied and released, by a clutch piston slidably mounted within a cylinder defined by the damper disc.

Hydraulic power transmission unit

A fluid coupling has capacity coefficients in forward and reverse driving which can be arbitrarily selected to comply with demand for a wide variety of characteristics in accordance with the intended application. Pump blades Bp and/or turbine blades Bt are inclined in the direction of rotation of pump impeller P and a turbine runner T with inclination angles .theta..sub.2p and .theta..sub.2t with respect to normal lines Lp and Lt of the pump and turbine, respectively. Transfer of working fluid between the pump impeller P and the turbine runner T is thereby smoothened or suppressed in accordance with the inclination angles .theta..sub.2p and .theta..sub.2t, and thus the capacity coefficients in both forward and reverse driving can be arbitrarily selected and fixed.

Fluid coupling

Herein disclosed is a fluid coupling which comprises: a pump impeller connected to the output shaft of an engine; and a turbine runner for transferring a working fluid to and from the pump impeller. On the pump impeller and the turbine runner, respectively, there are arranged a pump blade and a turbine blade without any inner core for guiding the flow of the working fluid inside of the pump impeller and the turbine runner. By bending at least one of the working fluid outlet side of the pump blade and the working fluid inlet side of the turbine blade, there is formed transfer limit means for limiting the transfer of the working fluid when the fluid coupling is in a stalling state.

A lock-up apparatus in a torque converter includes a first oil chamber (25) and a second oil chamber (26) delimited by a lock-up piston (21), a first oil line system (A) communicating with the first oil chamber (25), and a second oil line system (B) communicating with the second oil chamber (26). An orifice (36) and an oil line (37) for directly communicating the first oil line system (A) and the second oil chamber (26) are provided in an output shaft (20) and a turbine hub (19), respectively. Accordingly, the first oil chamber (25) and the second oil chamber (26) are not directly communicated. As a result, not only is shock produced at release from the locked up state mitigated by the orifice (36) and oil line (37), but it is also possible to reliably prevent a decline in transmission torque capacity in the lock-up ON state.

Lock-up apparatus in torque converter

A direct coupling clutch being assembled within a casing of a fluid coupling having an impeller mounted on the casing and a turbine supported on an output shaft of the fluid coupling. The direct coupling clutch includes a piston mounted slidably on a turbine hub in axial direction for engaging with and disengaging from a front cover of the casing and a damper device resiliently connecting the turbine hub and piston. The damper device includes an annular driven plate consisting of two guide plates secured concentrically with each other and having a first set and a second set of spaces arranged in double rows along two concentric circles, an annular drive plate having a set of openings arranged in a row along a first circle, a set of projections arranged in a row along a second circle, a first coil spring inserted in each of the first set of spaces and within each of the set of openings and a second coil spring inserted in each of the second set of spaces and between the projections. The first coil spring is continually compressed by the relative rotation of the drive and driven plates and the second coil spring having a greater spring constant than that of the first coil spring is compressed after the first coil spring has been compressed in a predetermined value.

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Anjo, Japan

Koji Maeda