Gkn Automotive Gmbh

Toshiaki Komatsu

Yuu Yaguchi

Kazunobu Takeshita

Masato Horiguchi

Kazuhiro Ohashi

Chikashi Wakamatsu

Toshiyuki Kikuchi

A rotary power transmission device includes a device housing, a clutch, an actuator and a retainer. The device housing has an interior in which multiple components are received for rotation. The clutch is received within the device housing and has a clutch ring selectively engageable with one of said multiple components. The actuator has a coil and a plunger driven for movement along an axis and relative to the clutch. And the retainer has a first portion that engages the device housing and a second portion that radially overlaps the coil and limits axial movement of the coil relative to the device housing.

Rotary power transmission device with actuator retention feature

A drivetrain component includes a first housing arranged to be rotated by a vehicle motive power source, a second housing, differential gears coupled to the second housing, and first and second clutches that define at least part of a disconnect mechanism and a locking mechanism. The first clutch has a disengaged state in which the first housing rotates relative to the second housing, and the first clutch has an engaged state in which the second housing is coupled to and rotates with the first housing. The second clutch has a disengaged state in which a first shaft can rotate at a different speed than a second output shaft, and the second clutch has an engaged state in which the first shaft and the second shaft rotate at the same speed.

Differential with disconnect and locking mechanisms

A rotary power transmission device includes a device housing having an interior in which multiple gears are received for rotation, a clutch received within the device housing and having a clutch ring selectively engageable with one of the multiple gears, and an actuator having a coil and a plunger driven for movement along an axis and relative to the clutch ring. The plunger has a first position and a second position in which the clutch ring is engaged with one of the multiple gears. The plunger includes a first body formed at least partially from a magnetically responsive material, and includes a radially outer surface, a radially inner surface and a front face that is axially variable and arranged so that a radially outer portion of the front face is axially forward of a radially inner portion of the front face.

Electromagnetic actuator for drivetrain system

A rotary power transmission device includes a housing, a clutch, an actuator and a retaining body. The housing has an annular surface and an interior in which multiple components are received for rotation. The clutch is received within the housing and has a clutch ring selectively engageable with one of said multiple components. The actuator has a limit surface, a coil and a plunger driven for movement along an axis and relative to the clutch, and the plunger is received over and movable along the annular surface. The retaining body has a blocking surface radially overlapped with the limit surface and arranged to be contacted by the limit surface to prevent removal of the plunger from the annular surface.

A power transmission device is provided with: a rotary body arranged to receive the torque to rotate about an axis; a clutch including a clutch member engaging with the rotary body and axially movable and clutch teeth connectable with the clutch member to transmit the torque; a solenoid configured to generate a magnetic flux in response to input of electric power; a stator coupled with the solenoid as to conduct the magnetic flux and prevented from rotation about the axis; a rotor arranged to receive the magnetic flux from the stator and, when driven by the received magnetic flux, to create a rotational motion about the axis; and a conversion mechanism drivingly connected with the rotor to convert the rotational motion into a linear motion in a direction along the axis, the conversion mechanism including a thrust member transmitting the linear motion to the clutch member.

Power transmission device

In at least some implementations, a clutch member includes a main body having a central axis, a radially inner surface, a radially outer surface, a rear face and a front face, multiple teeth formed in the front face with adjacent teeth circumferentially spaced apart, and a rim extending axially from the main body and located radially outwardly of the teeth. The rim extends axially farther from the rear face than do the teeth.

Clutch ring and differential with a clutch

A driveline component includes a housing, a first rotating component and a second rotating component, an actuator and a biasing component. The actuator has a body coupled to the first rotating component, the actuator drives the body relative to the second rotating component, and the body is movable between a first position in which the body is not coupled with the second rotating component and a second position in which the body is coupled with the second rotating component. The biasing component has a retainer and a spring, the retainer is in contact with a stop surface that limits movement of the retainer, the spring is fixed to the retainer on one side of the spring and the spring is contacted by the body during at least a portion of the movement of the body to provide a biasing force on the body.

Driveline component with actuator spring

A differential with a clutch is provided with: a differential gear set; a dividable casing defining a chamber accommodating the clutch and the differential gear set; a first member of the casing formed in a unitary body and including an end wall having a window penetrating the end wall, a boss portion projecting axially outward from the end wall, a side wall around the axis and a flange extending radially outward for receiving the torque; a second member of the casing fixed with the side wall to close the chamber; an axially movable clutch member axially movable including a leg portion disposed in the window and transmitting the torque from the end wall to the differential gear set; and an actuator having an axially outward offset from the flange and including a plunger abutting on the leg portion and driven axially by the actuator to thrust the clutch member.

Differential

A vehicle differential may have multiple gears and include a coil, a drive member movable in response to a magnetic field generated by the coil, with the drive member being movable between a first position and a second position. The drive member has an axis and includes a first body that is magnetically responsive, a second body coupled to the first body, an axis, an axially forward face and a stop surface axially spaced from the forward face, where the stop surface is arranged to limit movement of the drive member away from the first position. A lock member is engaged and driven by the forward face of the drive member to engage a gear of the differential when the drive member is in the second position, and the lock member is adapted to be disengaged from the gear when the drive member is in the first position.

Electromagnetic actuator with drive member for a vehicle driveline component

A system for a vehicle differential includes a magnetic field generator, a drive member and a lock member. The drive member is movable in response to a magnetic field between a first position and a second position, and the drive member has at least one contact surface. The lock member adjacent to the drive member and having at least one contact surface that is engaged by at least one contact surface of the drive member so that the lock member is driven by the drive member to engage a gear of the differential when the drive member is in the second position, and the lock member is adapted to be disengaged from the gear when the drive member is in the first position. One or both of the drive member and the lock member has at least one contact surface that is discontinuous.

Magnetically responsive locking mechanism for a vehicle differential

In at least some implementations, a vehicle differential includes a housing having a mounting flange with multiple openings through the flange, an annular gear mounted to the flange by a plurality of fasteners received through the openings, a coil received radially inwardly of the fasteners, and a coupler. The coupler is fixed to the housing and engaged with the coil to retain the position of the coil relative to the housing, and the coupler extends into an area between adjacent fasteners, where the area is circumferentially between adjacent fasteners and radially overlapped with at least a portion of the adjacent fasteners.

Vehicle differential having an electromagnetic actuator

A system for a vehicle differential includes a coil and a drive member movable between a first position and a second position. The drive member has an axis and includes a first body that is magnetically responsive, a second body formed at least partially from a second material that is not magnetically responsive and a third body that defines a radially inner surface of the drive member. The first body, second body and third body are coupled together with the third body being formed from a material having a lower coefficient of thermal expansion than the second body. The system may also include a lock member driven by the drive member to engage a gear of the differential in at least one position of the lock member.

Electromagnetic actuator for a vehicle differential

In at least some implementations, a system for a vehicle differential that has multiple gears may include a coil, a drive member movable in response to a magnetic field generated by application of electricity to the coil and a lock member driven by the drive member to selectively engage a gear of the differential. The drive member is movable between a first position and a second position, has an axis and includes a first body formed at least partially from a first material that is magnetically responsive and a second body formed at least partially from a second material. The first body and second body are coupled together and overlapped in two opposing axial directions to limit or prevent relative axial movement between the first body and the second body.

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West Bloomfield, MI, United States of America

Toshiaki Komatsu