Patent GB-663704-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to transmissions for automotive vehicles
IPC: F16H61/02
Filed: 1949-12-22
Abstract: 663,704. Variable-speed gearing. BORGWARNER CORPORATION. Dec. 22, 1949 [Dec. 30, 1948], No. 32824/49. Class 80 (ii) A variable-speed vehicle transmission gear comprises a hydraulic torque converter 13, Fig. 4, in combination with a planetary gear 15 which provides a low and two higher speed drives of a driven shaft 11 from the output shaft 12 of the converter 20. The stator 21 of the converter is provided with a unidirectional brake device 31 and the shaft 12 of the runner 20 is adapted to be clutched to either a shaft 40 or a shaft 42 by means of a sliding clutch sleeve 38 engaging teeth 39 or 41 for forward or reverse drive respectively. The shafts 40 and 42 carry sun gears 53 and 56 which engage respectively with intermeshing planet gears 55 and 54 of the planetary gear 15. These planet gears are mounted upon a carrier 57 and the gears 54 are also in engagement with a ring gear 52 connected to the driven shaft 11 of the gear. A brake 11 is provided for holding the planet carrier 57 and a brake 17 for holding the shaft 42 on which the sun gear 56 is carried whilst a clutch 18 is adapted to lock the shaft 42 and carrier 57 together. With the clutch sleeve 38 engaged with the teeth 39 on shaft 40 low speed forward drive is obtained by engagement of the brake 16 to hold the planet carrier 57. The second or intermediate speed is obtained by disengaging brake 16 to free the carrier 57 and engaging the brake 17 to hold the shaft 42 and sun gear 56. High speed or direct drive is obtained by disengaging brake 17 and engaging the clutch 18 by fluid pressure on a piston 66 to lock the planetary gear solid. Reverse drive is obtained by sliding clutch sleeve 38 to engage the teeth 41 of shaft 42 so that the sun gear 56 drives and holding the carrier 57 by the brake 16. Fluid pressure motors are provided for actuating the brakes .17 and 16, and a supply of pressure fluid for actuating these motors and the piston 66 for the clutch 18 is derived from a pump which is adapted to be driven from either or both of the driving and driven shafts of the gear through the differential gearing 78, 76, 75, 74, 73, 72. Figs. 8, 8a and 8b shows a control mechanism for the transmission which comprises a manually operable selecter valve 200 having reverse, neutral and high and low speed positions, a relay valve 248, throttle operated valves 223 and 228, an automatically operating second to third speed shift valve 280 and a low speed lockout valve 316. These valves control the supply of pressure fluid to motors 69 and 70 for operating the brakes 17 and 16 respectively and to the motor 66 for operating the clutch 18. The supply of pressure fluid is obtained from a pump 71 and the pressure regulated by a valve 99 before delivery to the valve mechanism through a conduit 219. Surplus fluid from the valve 99 is taken by a conduit 107 to maintain the converter 13 full and also to lubricate the gearing. A governor device 79 is also driven from a gear 73 of the pump drive and has a centrifugal valve 117 which is adapted to regulate a supply of pressure fluid in a conduit 127 in proportion to the governor speed, which pressure controls the operation of the second to third speed shift valve 280. This pressure during ordinary operating conditions approximates to the speed of the driven shaft 11 and hence the vehicle speed. In operation, for the forward high speeds the valve 200 is moved by a selecter lever 221 to the " high " position, the clutch sleeve 38 also being moved to its " forward " position either separately or by interconnection with the lever 221. The valve 200 then supplies pressure fluid from the conduit 219 to a piston 165 of the motor 79 for operating the brake 17 through a conduit 184. At the same time the valve 228 which is actuated by the accelerator 246 supplies fluid pressure in proportion to the throttle opening to a second piston 166 of the motor 79 through a conduit 182 to assist in this actuation of the brake 17 so that a braking pressure proportional to the throttle opening or engine torque is obtained. The lower of the two high speeds or second speed is thus obtained through the planetary gear 15 as previously described. The valve 280 acts automatically to control the change of speed from second to third or direct high speed when the governor pressure from the conduit 127 acting on the left-hand end of the valve moves it to the right against the throttle regulated pressure which acts on the right hand end of the valve. When this occurs pressure fluid is directed through a conduit 183 to the top of pistons 164, 166 of the motor 79 to overcome the existing pressures and disengage the brake 17 whilst pressure is also directed to a conduit 310 to actuate the piston 66 to engage the clutch 18 to lock the planetary gear solid for the direct high speed drive. A restriction 330 is provided in the conduit 183 to regulate the engagement of the clutch 18 and disengagement of brake 17 and provide a smooth upshift to direct drive. The action of the throttle regulated. pressure on the right hand end of valve 280 varies the vehicle speed at which this upshift occurs according to the throttle opening so that at large throttle openings the shift is delayed until a greater vehicle speed is attained. The downshift from third to second is adapted to be forced by depression of the accelerator to a fully open throttle position when the valve 223 is positively moved to the right to supply pressure fluid to the right hand end of valve 280 through conduit 243 and to move it against the governor pressure back to its second speed position in which the clutch 18 is disengaged and the brake 17 is re-engaged. The fall in governor pressure alone will also bring about a downshift from third to second but only when the speed of the vehicle has fallen to a low speed. For low speed the valve 200 must be shifted manually to the " low position in which it supplies pressure fluid through conduit 218 to move the low range valve 316 to the right and pass into conduit 152 to act on the top of piston 139 of the motor 70 for the brake 16. This pressure is also applied through conduit 152a to the end of the relay valve 248 to move it to the right and admit the throttle regulated pressure in conduit 245 to pass to conduit 153 and act upon a second piston 140 of the motor 70. 'Thus both the pump pressure and the throttle regulated pressure acts in motor 70 to apply the brake 16 which holds the carrier 57 of the planetary gear for the low speed drive. A restriction 331 is provided in the conduit 218 to control the movement of the piston 139 of the motor 70 and the application of the brake 16. The movement of valve 316 to obtain this low speed is opposed by the governor pressure in conduit 127 acting on its right hand end so that if the speed of the vehicle and the governor pressure is too high a shift from the high range to low speed is prevented. In order to provide a smooth transition from one speed to another it is necessary that some overlap is provided between the engagement and disengagement of the clutch 18 and the brakes 16, 17 and this is obtained through the action of the relay valve 248. For example, in changing from the high range to low speed fluid pressure is supplied to the piston 139 of motor 70 through conduit 152 to partially apply brake 16 before this same pressure acts to move the relay valve from its high to low position to release the pressure on piston 165 and the brake 17. This overlap action is modified in accordance with the throttle opening by the throttle regulated pressure in conduit 245 acting on valve 248 to give a larger overlap with longer throttle openings. In a shift from low speed to high range the relay valve 248 will move in the opposite direction to that for a downshift at about the same fluid pressure acting on the piston 139. Thus, in this case the valve 248 is not operated and the pressure fluid is not supplied to piston 165 to operate the brake 17 until the brake 16 is partially disengaged to a predetermined extent. To obtain reverse speed the selector valve 200 must be moved to its "reverse" position together with movement of the clutch sleeve 38 of the planetary gear. The valve 200 then directs pressure fluid from conduit 219 to conduits 217 and 218 and past valve 316 to conduit 152 for operating the motor 70 to apply the brake 16, the throttle regulated pressure also assisting in this application.