Patent ID: 8656959

Claim:
A hydraulic accumulator for a motor vehicle transmission, the motor vehicle including an engine operatively connected to a Pump that supplies hydraulic fluid to the transmission when the engine is operating and is idle when the engine is turned off, the hydraulic accumulator comprising: a housing with a first end and a second end and an interior surface that defines an interior space; a piston slidably disposed within the interior space of the housing, the piston including a face that with the interior surface of the housing defines a fluid chamber; a first biasing member that urges the piston towards the first end of the housing; a pressure sensor in communication with the fluid chamber; and a fluid control device that controls the amount of the hydraulic fluid entering and exiting the fluid chamber as the piston reciprocates within the interior space, wherein the amount of the hydraulic fluid entering and exiting the fluid chamber achieves a desired pressure within the fluid chamber as determined by the pressure sensor, and wherein the hydraulic accumulator collects the hydraulic fluid when the motor vehicle's engine is operating, retains the hydraulic fluid under pressure when the engine is turned off, and discharges the hydraulic fluid when the engine is restarted.