Retarder control

Claim 2

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providing retarder circulation and power capacity increasing as a function of rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and control means connected to said inlet and outlet passages and said governor means and having restriction means connecting the outlet passage to the inlet passage and fluid supply and pressure regulating means for supplying fluid under pressure and regulating the fluid pressure value in the inlet passage in response to said fluid pressure value in the inlet passage and said rotor speed signal to control inlet pressure as a function of rotor speed to reduce the increase of power capacity with rotor speed.

Claim 3

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providing retarder circulation and power capacity increasing as a function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and control means connected to said inlet and outlet passages and said governor means and having a restriction and connecting the outlet passage through the restriction to the inlet passage forming a loop circuit, supplying fluid under pressure to said loop circuit and regulating the fluid pressure value in the inlet passage by variably exhausting excess fluid from said inlet passage in response to inlet pressure and said rotor speed signal to control inlet pressure as a function of said rotor speed signal to provide a reduced increase of power capacity with rotor speed.

Claim 4

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providing retarder circulation and power capacity increasing as a function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and control means connected to said inlet and outlet passages and said governor means and having a restriction and connecting the outlet passage through the restriction to the inlet passage forming a loop circuit, supplying fluid under pressure to said loop circuit and regulating the fluid pressure value in the inlet passage by variably exhausting excess fluid from said inlet passage in response to inlet pressure and said rotor speed signal to control inlet pressure as a function of said rotor speed signal to provide a reduced increase of power capacity with rotor speed.

Claim 5

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet pasSage and providing retarder circulation and power capacity increasing as an exponential function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal varying as an exponential function essentially solely to rotor speed similar to the power capacity exponential function of rotor speed and control means connected to said inlet and outlet passages and said governor means and having a restriction and connecting the outlet passage through the restriction to the inlet passage forming a loop circuit, supplying fluid under pressure to said loop circuit and regulating the fluid pressure value in said inlet passage in response to inlet pressure and said rotor speed signal to control inlet pressure as a similar exponential function of said rotor speed signal to provide power capacity increasing substantially as a straight line function of rotor speed.

Claim 6

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet pasSage and providing retarder circulation and power capacity increasing as an exponential function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal varying as an exponential function essentially solely to rotor speed similar to the power capacity exponential function of rotor speed and control means connected to said inlet and outlet passages and said governor means and having a restriction and connecting the outlet passage through the restriction to the inlet passage forming a loop circuit, supplying fluid under pressure to said loop circuit and regulating the fluid pressure value in said inlet passage in response to inlet pressure and said rotor speed signal to control inlet pressure as a similar exponential function of said rotor speed signal to provide power capacity increasing substantially as a straight line function of rotor speed.

Claim 7

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providing retarder power capacity increasing as a function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and fluid supply control means connected to said retarder inlet and outlet passages and said governor means and having a manual control movable between a minimum position and a maximum position of a retarding demand range of positions and a manually controlled valve means controlled by said manual control and operative to supply fluid to said inlet passage at a pressure limited to a low range of values so that the employed minimum to maximum retarder power capacity range is limited to the lower portion of the available retarder power capacity increasing with a moderate increase approaching maximum employed power capacity with increasing retarder speed and to regulate the inlet pressure value in response to inlet pressure, retarding demand position of said manual control and said rotor speed signal between a minimum and a maximum pressure value varying with manual control position and varying as a function of said rotor speed signal to provide an employed power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor speed.

Claim 8

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providing retarder power capacity increasing as a function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and fluid supply control means connected to said retarder inlet and outlet passages and said governor means and having a manual control movable between a minimum position and a maximum position of a retarding demand range of positions and a manually controlled valve means controlled by said manual control and operative to supply fluid to said inlet passage at a pressure limited to a low range of values so that the employed minimum to maximum retarder power capacity range is limited to the lower portion of the available retarder power capacity increasing with a moderate increase approaching maximum employed power capacity with increasing retarder speed and to regulate the inlet pressure value in response to inlet pressure, retarding demand position of said manual control and said rotor speed signal between a minimum and a maximum pressure value varying with manual control position and varying as a function of said rotor speed signal to provide an employed power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor speed.

Claim 9

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providng retarder power capacity increasing as an exponential function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal varying as an exponential function essentially solely to rotor speed similar to the power capacity exponential function of rotor speed and fluid supply control means connected to said retarder inlet passage and said governor means and having a manual control movable between a minimum position and a maximum position of a retarding demand range of movement and a manually controlled valve means controlled by said manual control and operative to supply fluid to said inlet passage at a pressure limited to a low range of values so that the employed minimum to maximum retarder power capacity range is limited to the lower portion of the available retarder power capacity increasing with a moderate exponential increase approaching maximum employed power capacity with increasing retarder speed and to regulate the inlet pressure value and chamber fill in response to inlet pressure, retarding demand position of said manual control and saId rotor speed signal between a minimum and a maximum retarder inlet pressure value with manual control movement and varying the retarder inlet pressure value inversely exponentially as a function of rotor speed to provide an employed power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor sped.

Claim 10

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providng retarder power capacity increasing as an exponential function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal varying as an exponential function essentially solely to rotor speed similar to the power capacity exponential function of rotor speed and fluid supply control means connected to said retarder inlet passage and said governor means and having a manual control movable between a minimum position and a maximum position of a retarding demand range of movement and a manually controlled valve means controlled by said manual control and operative to supply fluid to said inlet passage at a pressure limited to a low range of values so that the employed minimum to maximum retarder power capacity range is limited to the lower portion of the available retarder power capacity increasing with a moderate exponential increase approaching maximum employed power capacity with increasing retarder speed and to regulate the inlet pressure value and chamber fill in response to inlet pressure, retarding demand position of said manual control and saId rotor speed signal between a minimum and a maximum retarder inlet pressure value with manual control movement and varying the retarder inlet pressure value inversely exponentially as a function of rotor speed to provide an employed power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor sped.

Claim 11

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providing retarder power capacity increasing as an exponential function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and fluid supply control means connected to said retarder inlet passage and said governor means and having a manual control movable between a minimum position and a maximum position of a retarding demand range of positions and manually controlled valve means controlled by said manual control and operative to supply fluid to said inlet passage to regulate the inlet pressure value in response to inlet pressure, retarding demand position of said manual control and said rotor speed signal by said manually controlled valve means between a minimum and a maximum regulated pressure and chamber fill with manual control movement from minimum to maximum position and decreasing the regulated pressure as a function of said rotor speed signal with increasing rotor speed to provide a power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor speed.

Claim 12

In a retarder: retarder means having an inlet passage, an outlet passage, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said inlet passage connected to supply fluid to said chamber, and said outlet passage connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage and providing retarder power capacity increasing as an exponential function of chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and fluid supply control means connected to said retarder inlet passage and said governor means and having a manual control movable between a minimum position and a maximum position of a retarding demand range of positions and manually controlled valve means controlled by said manual control and operative to supply fluid to said inlet passage to regulate the inlet pressure value in response to inlet pressure, retarding demand position of said manual control and said rotor speed signal by said manually controlled valve means between a minimum and a maximum regulated pressure and chamber fill with manual control movement from minimum to maximum position and decreasing the regulated pressure as a function of said rotor speed signal with increasing rotor speed to provide a power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor speed.

Claim 13

The retarder described in claim 6 and said governor means providing a rotor speed signal varying as an exponential function essentially solely to rotor speed similar to the power capacity exponential function of rotor speed and said manually controlled valve means being operative to regulate the inlet pressure value in response to sid rotor speed signal with an inverse exponential relation to the increasing power capacity with the rotor speed to provide power capacity increasing substantially as a straight line function relative to rotor speed.

Claim 14

In a transmission: a sump; a torque converter having an inlet and outlet; means to supply fluid from said sump under pressure to said torque converter inlet; a cooler having an inlet connected to the torque converter outlet and an outlet; a low pressure relief valve; retarder means having an inlet, an outlet, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said retarder inlet connected to supply fluid to said chamber, said retarder outlet connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said retarder inlet to said retarder outlet; control means having a manual control movable from a retarder off position through a minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions, a manually controlled valve means connected to said retarder inlet and outlet, said cooler inlet and outlet, said relief valve and said sump and controlled by said manual control in said retarder off position to connect said cooler outlet through said low pressure relief valve to sump, to block said retarder inlet and to connect said retarder outlet to sump and controlled by said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions to connect said retarder outlet to said cooler inlet, to block said cooler outlet from said relief valve and to connect said cooler outlet to supply fluid to said retarder inlet and pressure regulating means connected to said retarder inlet to regulate the retarder inlet pressure value in response to the retarder inlet pressure and the minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions of said manual control to control retarder inlet pressure by said manual control between a minImum and a maximum controlled pressure value with valve movement of said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions.

Claim 15

In a transmission: a sump; a torque converter having an inlet and outlet; means to supply fluid from said sump under pressure to said torque converter inlet; a cooler having an inlet connected to the torque converter outlet and an outlet; a low pressure relief valve; retarder means having an inlet, an outlet, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber with said retarder inlet connected to supply fluid to said chamber, said retarder outlet connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said retarder inlet to said retarder outlet; control means having a manual control movable from a retarder off position through a minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions, a manually controlled valve means connected to said retarder inlet and outlet, said cooler inlet and outlet, said relief valve and said sump and controlled by said manual control in said retarder off position to connect said cooler outlet through said low pressure relief valve to sump, to block said retarder inlet and to connect said retarder outlet to sump and controlled by said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions to connect said retarder outlet to said cooler inlet, to block said cooler outlet from said relief valve and to connect said cooler outlet to supply fluid to said retarder inlet and pressure regulating means connected to said retarder inlet to regulate the retarder inlet pressure value in response to the retarder inlet pressure and the minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions of said manual control to control retarder inlet pressure by said manual control between a minImum and a maximum controlled pressure value with valve movement of said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions.

Claim 16

In a transmission: a sump; a torque converter having an inlet and outlet; means to supply fluid from said sump under pressure to said torque converter inlet; a cooler having an inlet connected to the torque converter outlet and an outlet; a low pressure relief valve; retarder means having an inlet, an outlet, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber, said retarder inlet connected to supply fluid to said chamber, said retarder outlet connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said retarder inlet to said retarder outlet and providing retarder power capacity increasing as a function of retarder chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed; control means having a manual control movable from a retarder off position through a minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions, manually controlled valve means connected to said retarder inlet and outlet, said cooler inlet and outlet, said relief valve and said sump and controlled by said manual control in said retarder off position to connect said cooler outlet through said low pressure relief valve to sump, to block said retarder inlet and to connect said retarder outlet to sump and controlled by said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions to connect said retarder outlet to said cooler inlet, to block said cooler outlet from said relief valve and to connect said cooler outlet to supply fluid to said retarder inlet and pressure regulating means connected to said governor means and said manual control and said retarder inlet to regulate the retarder inlet pressure in response to the retarder inlet pressure, the minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions of said manual control to control retarder inlet pressure by said manual control between a minimum and a maximum controlled pressure value to control retarder chamber fill with movement of said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions and said rotor speed signal for reducing said controlled pressure value as a function of said rotor speed signal with increasing rotor speed.

Claim 17

In a transmission: a sump; a torque converter having an inlet and outlet; means to supply fluid from said sump under pressure to said torque converter inlet; a cooler having an inlet connected to the torque converter outlet and an outlet; a low pressure relief valve; retarder means having an inlet, an outlet, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber, said retarder inlet connected to supply fluid to said chamber, said retarder outlet connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said retarder inlet to said retarder outlet and providing retarder power capacity increasing as a function of retarder chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed; control means having a manual control movable from a retarder off position through a minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions, manually controlled valve means connected to said retarder inlet and outlet, said cooler inlet and outlet, said relief valve and said sump and controlled by said manual control in said retarder off position to connect said cooler outlet through said low pressure relief valve to sump, to block said retarder inlet and to connect said retarder outlet to sump and controlled by said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions to connect said retarder outlet to said cooler inlet, to block said cooler outlet from said relief valve and to connect said cooler outlet to supply fluid to said retarder inlet and pressure regulating means connected to said governor means and said manual control and said retarder inlet to regulate the retarder inlet pressure in response to the retarder inlet pressure, the minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions of said manual control to control retarder inlet pressure by said manual control between a minimum and a maximum controlled pressure value to control retarder chamber fill with movement of said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions and said rotor speed signal for reducing said controlled pressure value as a function of said rotor speed signal with increasing rotor speed.

Claim 18

In a transmission: a sump; a torque converter having an inlet and outlet; means to supply fluid from said sump under pressure to said torque converter inlet; a cooler having an inlet connected to the torque converter outlet and an outlet; a low pressure relief valve; retarder means having an inlet, an outlet, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber, said retarder inlet connected to supply fluid to said chamber, said retarder outlet connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said retarder inlet to said retarder outlet and providing retarder power capacity increasing as an exponential function of retarder chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal varying as an exponential function essentially solely to rotor speed similar to the power capacity exponential function of rotor speed and control means having a manual control movable from a retarder off position through a minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions, manually controlled valve means connected to said retarder inlet and outlet, said cooler inlet and outlet, said relief valve and said sump and controlled by said manual control in said retarder off position operative to connect said cooler outlet through said low pressure relief valve to sump, to block said retarder inlet and to connect said retarder outlet to sump and controlled by said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions operative to connect said retarder outlet to said cooler inlet, to block said cooler outlet from said relief valve and to conNect said cooler outlet to supply fluid to said retarder inlet and pressure regulating means connected to said governor means, said manual control means and said retarder inlet to regulate the retarder inlet pressure in response to the retarder inlet pressure and the minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions of said manual control to control retarder inlet pressure by said manual control between a minimum and a maximum controlled pressure valve to control retarder chamber fill with movement of said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions and said speed signal for reducing said controlled pressure value responsive to said rotor speed signal inversely exponentially as a function of rotor speed to provide an employed power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor speed.

Claim 19

In a transmission: a sump; a torque converter having an inlet and outlet; means to supply fluid from said sump under pressure to said torque converter inlet; a cooler having an inlet connected to the torque converter outlet and an outlet; a low pressure relief valve; retarder means having an inlet, an outlet, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber, said retarder inlet connected to supply fluid to said chamber, said retarder outlet connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said retarder inlet to said retarder outlet and providing retarder power capacity increasing as an exponential function of retarder chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal varying as an exponential function essentially solely to rotor speed similar to the power capacity exponential function of rotor speed and control means having a manual control movable from a retarder off position through a minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions, manually controlled valve means connected to said retarder inlet and outlet, said cooler inlet and outlet, said relief valve and said sump and controlled by said manual control in said retarder off position operative to connect said cooler outlet through said low pressure relief valve to sump, to block said retarder inlet and to connect said retarder outlet to sump and controlled by said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions operative to connect said retarder outlet to said cooler inlet, to block said cooler outlet from said relief valve and to conNect said cooler outlet to supply fluid to said retarder inlet and pressure regulating means connected to said governor means, said manual control means and said retarder inlet to regulate the retarder inlet pressure in response to the retarder inlet pressure and the minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions of said manual control to control retarder inlet pressure by said manual control between a minimum and a maximum controlled pressure valve to control retarder chamber fill with movement of said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions and said speed signal for reducing said controlled pressure value responsive to said rotor speed signal inversely exponentially as a function of rotor speed to provide an employed power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor speed.

Claim 20

In a transmission: a sump; a torque converter having an inlet and outlet; means to supply fluid from said sump under pressure to said torque converter inlet; a cooler having an inlet connected to the torque converter outlet and an outlet; a low pressure relief valve; retarder means having an inlet, an outlet, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber, said retarder inlet connected to supply fluid to said chamber, said retarder outlet connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said retarder inlet to said retarder outlet and providing retarder power capacity increasing as an exponential function of retarder chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and control means connected to said governor means, said retarder inlet and outlet, said cooler inlet and outlet, said relief valve and said sump, having a manual control having a retarder off position and a minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions and manually controlled valve means operative in a retarder off position of said manual control to connect said cooler outlet through said low pressure relief valve to sump, to block said retarder inlet and to connect said retarder outlet to sump and in said retarder on positions to connect said retarder outlet to said cooler inlet, to block said cooler outlet from said relief valve and to connect said cooler outlet to supply fluid to said retarder inlet at a pressure limited to a low range of values so that the employed minimum to maximum retarder power capacity range is limited to the lower portion of the available retarder power capacity increasing with a moderate exponential increase approaching maximum employed power capacity with increasing retarder speed and regulating the retarder inlet pressure between a minimum and a maximum pressure in response to movement of said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions and varying the retarder inlet pressure inversely exponentially as a function of rotor speed in response to said rotor speed signal to provide an employed power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor speed.

Claim 21

In a transmission: a sump; a torque converter having an inlet and outlet; means to supply fluid from said sump under pressure to said torque converter inlet; a cooler having an inlet connected to the torque converter outlet and an outlet; a low pressure relief valve; retarder means having an inlet, an outlet, a bladed stator and a bladed rotor forming a retarder chamber, said retarder inlet connected to supply fluid to said chamber, said retarder outlet connected to said chamber and said rotor during rotation circulating fluid from said retarder inlet to said retarder outlet and providing retarder power capacity increasing as an exponential function of retarder chamber fill and rotor speed; governor means operatively connected to said rotor providing a rotor speed signal proportional essentially solely to rotor speed and control means connected to said governor means, said retarder inlet and outlet, said cooler inlet and outlet, said relief valve and said sump, having a manual control having a retarder off position and a minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions and manually controlled valve means operative in a retarder off position of said manual control to connect said cooler outlet through said low pressure relief valve to sump, to block said retarder inlet and to connect said retarder outlet to sump and in said retarder on positions to connect said retarder outlet to said cooler inlet, to block said cooler outlet from said relief valve and to connect said cooler outlet to supply fluid to said retarder inlet at a pressure limited to a low range of values so that the employed minimum to maximum retarder power capacity range is limited to the lower portion of the available retarder power capacity increasing with a moderate exponential increase approaching maximum employed power capacity with increasing retarder speed and regulating the retarder inlet pressure between a minimum and a maximum pressure in response to movement of said manual control in said minimum to maximum range of retarder on positions and varying the retarder inlet pressure inversely exponentially as a function of rotor speed in response to said rotor speed signal to provide an employed power capacity increasing as a straighter line function relative to manual control movement and rotor speed.