Mack Trucks, Inc.

Victor Kronstadt

Richard Duane Schnurr

Earl E Duffey

Oliver R Goetz

A manual transmission with a gearshift locking arrangement includes a rail having a shifter having a slot between forward and rear ears of the shifter, the rail being movable between rail forward and rear positions. The manual transmission with a gearshift locking arrangement also includes forward and rear engagement members disposed at positions corresponding to the rail forward and rear positions. A shift lever is also provided, an engaging portion of the shift lever being adapted to be disposed in the slot, the shift lever being adapted to move the rail between the rail forward and rear position, the engaging portion being engageable with the forward engagement member when the rail is in the rail forward position and the engaging portion being engageable with the rear engagement member when the rail is in the rail rear position.

Manual transmission with a gearshift locking mechanism and method

A clutch brake is provided for a motor vehicle transmission clutch assembly having a brake disc within a rotatable transmission input shaft axially received within a central opening in the disc. The disc is connected to the input shaft for concurrent rotation therewith. The input shaft has a first end extending into a transmission housing member for connecting the input shaft to a transmission assembly, and an opposite second end extending into a clutch assembly for releasably connecting the input shaft to an adjacent engine crankshaft. A clutch housing member is connected to the clutch assembly which moves along the input shaft in an axial direction toward the transmission housing member during release of the clutch assembly from the input shaft. The brake disc is located along the input shaft between the transmission housing member and the clutch housing member. A clutch brake assembly is connected to the transmission housing member, the clutch brake assembly having a first caliper brake pad located on one rotational side of the disc and a second caliper brake pad located on an opposite rotational side of the disc. The first caliper brake pad is connected to an engagement member extending toward and being in engageable alignment with the clutch housing member. During movement of the clutch housing member toward the transmission housing member, the clutch housing member engages the engagement member of the first caliper brake pad so as to squeeze the disc between the first and second pads and thereby slow rotation of the disc.

Transmission clutch brake

A very low spring rate vibration-damping clutch and pinion assembly for lowering the resonance of a power train to below the resonant speed of the engine includes a vibration damping clutch with two circumferential rows of springs and a necked-down pinion shaft. The vibration damper is preferably connected to both the pinion shaft and the clutch disk by spline connections.

Vibration damping clutch and pinion assembly

Oil shut-off in a wet clutch is performed by the sliding movement of an actuator collar during engagement with pressure plate release levers. An end lip portion of the actuator collar slides over radial openings in a coaxial oil feed tube to terminate oil flow after the clutch plates have been disengaged. Complete oil shut-off substantially reduces viscous drag between the clutch plates during disengagement. Oil flow is restored prior to complete engagement of the clutch plates by return movement of the actuator collar exposing the openings in the coaxial feed tube to the interior oil feed channel in the actuator collar.

Oil shut-off device for wet clutches

A clutch release assist mechanism for avoiding excessive clutch pedal efforts. The assist mechanism includes a spring-loaded apparatus to bias the clutch toward a release disposition, but the assist function is not activated until after initial movement of the release mechanism has been effected by the operator through pedal displacement. The amount of spring bias to assist the mechanism is less than that of the clutch to permit the clutch to revert to a closed or engaged position once the release mechanism has been deactivated. This mechanism includes a rack operated in conjunction with a piston and cylinder arrangement to provide for 'free travel' before activation of an assist spring. The rack in turn operates through a sector or pinion to rotate a clutch release shaft between a clutch disengaged and engaged positions.

Clutch assist apparatus

A mechanical shift control system, for use on manual transmissions, employing a number of shifter forks mounted on a single stationary rail. The shifter forks engage sleeves, clutches or other similar elements of a transmission to shift the transmission between selected gear shift ratios. A set of stacked levers movable in parallel planes drive respective gear shift forks reciprocally along the stationary rail. For actuation of a lever, a selector shaft is employed extending in a plane perpendicular to the movement of the levers. The selector shaft reciprocates laterally through the various planes of lever movement to positions corresponding to a particular lever actuation and rotates in each plane to move a selected lever in a direction corresponding to a selected gear ratio.

Growing community of inventors

Hagerstown, MD, United States of America

Victor Kronstadt