US3768337A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Automatic transmission and centrifugal clutch assemblies
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1972-05-22
•
Granted: 1973-10-30
•
Expires: 1992-05-22
Abstract
Abstract A simple automatic transmission adapted to be used on snowmobiles and other vehicles and to provide low and high speed forward drive, reverse drive and neutral and a centrifugal clutch having radially wedging members and friction discs adapted to be axially displaced by the wedging members in response to centrifugal action on the latter. An automatic transmission including a simple planetary gear assembly having a sun gear driven by the input shaft, a planet carrier rotatably controlled by a centrifugal clutch selectively restrained by a first brake and a ring gear associated to a second brake to be selectively held against rotation to produce forward drive and to be freed to produce reverse drive; a sliding gear unit adapted to transmit the drives to an output shaft and to produce a neutral and a simple shifting control to selectively actuate the sliding gear unit and the brakes.
Inventors
- 👤 D Racicot
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 19:27
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16H; F16H61/00; F16H61/02; F16H61/0293; F16H61/0295; F16H2718/00; F16H2718/08; F16H2718/10; F16H2718/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
395 words
An automatic transmission comprising an input shaft, an output shaft coaxial with said input shaft, a planetary gear assembly including a sun gear fast on said input shaft, a planet carrier, a ring gear, planets carried by said planet carrier and meshing with said sun gear and ring gear, a centrifugal clutch assembly having driving clutch elements connected to said input shaft for rotation therewith and driven elements connected to said planet carrier for rotation therewith and responsive to a predetermined speed of rotation of one of said input shaft and of said planet carrier to clutch said driven to said driving elements, a one-way clutch having a driving element secured to said ring gear and a driven element, a selector rotatably connected to said output shaft and operable to selectively couple with said one-way clutch driven element or with said planet carrier, first and second brake means to selectively stop rotation of said one-way clutch driven element and said planet carrier, and manually-operated means alternatively producing braking action of said first brake means when said selector couples with said planet carrier and of said second braking means when said selector couples with said one-way clutch driven element, said one-way clutch clutching its driven element to its driving element when said driving element tends to rotate in a direction opposite to that of said input shaft so that, when said planet carrier is stopped from rotating by said second brake means and said selector couples said one-way clutch driven element with said output shaft, said sun gear drives said ring gear in reverse through said planets and said one-way clutch clutches said ring gear with said selector, and when said one-way clutch driven element is stopped from rotating by said first brake means and said selector couples said planet carrier with said output shaft and when said centrifugal clutch is declutched, said sun gear drives said planet carrier at lower speed than said sun gear with said ring gear acting as reaction element for said planets, said ring gear being stopped from rotating by said oneway clutch and upon clutching of said planet carrier to said sun gear by said centrifugal clutch, said sun gear drives said planet carrier and ring gear as a unit at the same speed as that of said sun gear, said one-way clutch then allowing rotation of said ring gear.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
395 words
An automatic transmission comprising an input shaft, an output shaft coaxial with said input shaft, a planetary gear assembly including a sun gear fast on said input shaft, a planet carrier, a ring gear, planets carried by said planet carrier and meshing with said sun gear and ring gear, a centrifugal clutch assembly having driving clutch elements connected to said input shaft for rotation therewith and driven elements connected to said planet carrier for rotation therewith and responsive to a predetermined speed of rotation of one of said input shaft and of said planet carrier to clutch said driven to said driving elements, a one-way clutch having a driving element secured to said ring gear and a driven element, a selector rotatably connected to said output shaft and operable to selectively couple with said one-way clutch driven element or with said planet carrier, first and second brake means to selectively stop rotation of said one-way clutch driven element and said planet carrier, and manually-operated means alternatively producing braking action of said first brake means when said selector couples with said planet carrier and of said second braking means when said selector couples with said one-way clutch driven element, said one-way clutch clutching its driven element to its driving element when said driving element tends to rotate in a direction opposite to that of said input shaft so that, when said planet carrier is stopped from rotating by said second brake means and said selector couples said one-way clutch driven element with said output shaft, said sun gear drives said ring gear in reverse through said planets and said one-way clutch clutches said ring gear with said selector, and when said one-way clutch driven element is stopped from rotating by said first brake means and said selector couples said planet carrier with said output shaft and when said centrifugal clutch is declutched, said sun gear drives said planet carrier at lower speed than said sun gear with said ring gear acting as reaction element for said planets, said ring gear being stopped from rotating by said oneway clutch and upon clutching of said planet carrier to said sun gear by said centrifugal clutch, said sun gear drives said planet carrier and ring gear as a unit at the same speed as that of said sun gear, said one-way clutch then allowing rotation of said ring gear.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
111 words
An automatic transmission as claimed in claim 1, further including an additional centrifugal clutch assembly carried by the input end of said input shaft and having driven clutch elements connected to said input shaft for rotation therewith and driving clutch elements adapted to be connected to a driving shaft of a power source for rotation thereby, said additional clutch assembly responsive to a predetermined speed of rotation of said driving shaft to clutch said input shaft to said driving shaft, the speed of rotation at which clutching of said additional clutch assembly takes place being lower than the speed or rotation at which clutching of said first-named clutch assembly takes place.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
112 words
An automatic transmission as claimed in claim 1, further including an intermediate shaft coaxial with said input and output shafts and to which said planet carrier is secured, a first gear fast on said intermediate shaft, a second gear fast on said one-way clutch driven element, said first And second gears being axially spaced, said selector mounted for axial shifting and rotation on said intermediate shaft between said first and second gears and axially shiftable relative to said output shaft, said selector having gear means meshing with said first and second gears, said manually-operated means including means to shift said selector simultaneously with the operation of said first and second brake means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
111 words
An automatic transmission as claimed in claim 3, wherein said manually-operated means include an axially shiftable and rotatable control rod, extending along an axis parallel to said shafts, a fork member rotatably carried by said control rod, means to prevent movement of said fork member axially of said control rod, said fork member rotatably engaging said selector to axially shift the latter and said first and second brake means including arms fixed to said control rod at opposite sides thereof, whereby rotation of said control rod in one direction will actuate one brake means and release the other, and vice versa, when the control rod is rotated in the opposite direction.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
An automatic transmission as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first-named centrifugal clutch assembly is responsive to a predetermined speed of rotation of said planet carrier.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
160 words
An automatic transmission as claimed in claim 5, wherein said first-named centrifugal clutch assembly includes a cylindrical rotor portion secured to said planet carrier and coaxial with said shaft and having interior splines, said input shaft extending within said rotor portion and having external splines, said driving and driven clutch elements including interengageable friction discs stacked within said rotor portion and alternately splined to said rotor portion and to said input shaft, an axially displaceable pusher plate splined to said rotor portion and having one face engageable with an adjacent friction disc, and its other face formed as frusto-conical surface radially outwardly inclined in a direction away from said friction discs, a reaction plate carried by said rotor portion and spaced from said frusto-conical surface, and centrifugal weights located between and engaging said frusto-conical surface and reaction plate, and radially displaceable under centrifugal force to wedge said pusher plate towards said friction discs and cause clutching of said friction discs.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
An automatic transmission as claimed in claim 6, wherein said centrifugal weights have a segmental shape with a frusto-conical surface to conform to the frusto-conical surface of said pusher plate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
65 words
An automatic transmission as claimed in claim 7, wherein the face of said reaction plate engaging said centrifugal weights is substantially flat and radial and said centrifugal weights carry spring-pressed balls contacting said reaction plate face, the latter having an annular groove receiving the balls of said centrifugal weights in a radially inward limit position of said weights in which they release said friction discs.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
72 words
An automatic transmission as claimed in claim 1, wherein said centrifugal clutch includes centrifugal weights movable radially outwardly under centrifugal force from a radially inward limit position in which they release the clutch assembly, and further including elastic retaining means retaining said centrifugal weights in said limit position against radial movement and releasing said weights when the centrifugal force exerted thereon is sufficient to cause said weights to clutch the clutch assembly.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-10-29 | 1977-04-30 | 1977-10-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-10-29 | 1981-04-30 | 1981-10-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-10-29 | 1985-04-30 | 1985-10-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |