Patent ID: 8056696

Claim:
An assembly for opening and closing a drive connection in an automatic transmission comprising: a first member including a first spline directed along an axis; a second member including a second spline; a first ring displaceable along the axis, engaged with the first spline and including first serrations; a second ring engaged with the first spline and including second serrations; a third ring engaged with the second spline and including third serrations for alternately engaging with the first and second serrations and disengaging from the first and second serrations; an actuator for displacing the first ring along the axis from a disengaged position to a stroked position and an engaged position; a first clip supported on the first ring and including a surface that elastically resists displacement of the first ring relative to the second ring when the first ring is in the stroked position and permits displacement of the first ring relative to the second ring when the first ring moves from the stroked position to the engaged position; and a second clip supported on the second member and resiliently engaging the third ring with an elastic force that tends to move the third ring toward the disengaged position.