Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Robert H Schaefer

Carl A Lentz

Ted M McQuinn

James C Polak

Walter Eric Palmer

Harry Fackenthal

A retarder and friction brake system having vehicle service brakes and a shaft brake unit having a hydrodynamic retarder and friction brake. Manual brake controls provide for initial brake apply of the brake unit and then apply of the service brakes or independent apply of the service brakes. The brake unit has a dual chamber, hydrodynamic retarder with opposed bladed stators and a central rotor member having opposed bladed rotors mounted between the stator members for limited axial movement and rotation with a drum fixed to the shaft, and a friction brake having plates located concentrically within the retarder chambers on opposite sides of the rotor and splined to the drum and stators and a brake apply motor. In response to brake demand, the brake controls provide air pressure proportional to brake demand to the brake apply motor and fluid pressure proportional to brake demand and, in a low speed range limited to lower values with decreasing speed, to a brake chamber to provide a release pressure on the brake apply motor and flow through the constant restriction cooling passages in the brake plates to the retarder chambers for retarder braking and pumping through a cooler to provide with increasing speed in the low speed range, decreasing friction braking and increasing retarder braking having a total value proportional to brake demand, and in the higher speed range low friction braking and high retarder braking having a total value proportional to brake demand and increasing in a substantially straight line with increasing speed.

Retarder and friction brakes

A multiratio powershift transmission having fluid operated drive devices including a forward clutch with an apply chamber supplied with fluid apply pressure to engage the clutch for forward drives and exhausted to disengage the clutch for reverse drive. The apply chamber is in a housing rotating at input speed during forward and reverse drive. In forward drive, a dump valve mounted on the rotating housing is biased closed by a spring, static fluid apply pressure, and centrifugal pressure head, in the rated input speed range. At a higher speed, centrifugal force on the dump valve element opens the dump valve to exhaust the apply chamber and disengage forward drive. In reverse drive, the dump valve is biased closed only by the spring which at idle speed closes the dump valve, and at a low speed used in reverse drive, centrifugal force opens the dump valve to flush the dump valve during reverse drive.

Transmission and control with centrifugal dump valve

A multiratio powershift transmission having automatic speed and torque demand responsive shift controls providing a normal shift program when the sump oil level is in the normal operating range. When the sump oil level is in an abnormal operating range, either lower or higher than the normal operating range, a sump oil level responsive control acts on the shift controls to provide an abnormal shift program preventing drive in the highest gear ratio and providing normal operation in the other gear ratio.

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Westfield, IN, United States of America

Robert H Schaefer