March 13, 1945. B. A.

SWENNES 2,371,574
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

. Filed April 23, 1941

?zz/c Pngar'"
I} .Bezy'anzin Qfjwennea
Patented Mar. 13, 1,945
2,371,574.

4, UNITED __ STATES. P-ATEN OFFICE-j

2,371,574".
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIQN
Benjamin A. Swennes, Rockford, Ill., assignor to, '
Borg-Warner Corporatiomchicago, 111., a. cor- '
poratlon of Illinois
Application April 23, 1941, Serial No. 389,850" >
' ' 4 Claims. (01. 74-1895) '
This invention relates to transmissions, and draulic coupling l2, planetary gearing I3, an '
particularly to a transmission utilizing a fluid de overrunning clutch 22', an intermediate shaft l4
vice combined with gearing. ' - connecting-the clutch 22 and gearing l3, an auto?
The inherent smoothness and shock-absorb matic clutch l5 for providing a different connec-;
ing characteristics of ?uid devices such as hy.- ' tion- between gearing l3 and drive shaft, I0, and
draulic couplings of the Fottinger type makes a manually controlled clutch l6 for locking gear
these devices desirable for use in automobile ing l3 with coupling l2 around overrunning clutch
transmissions. A hydraulic coupling, however, 22. Secured toshaft'lll isa fly-wheel housing ll
does not multiply torque, and accordingly, must which-forms a vcontainerv for hydraulic coupling
be used with gearing in order to obtainthe high 10 l2. Saidcoupli'ng l2 hasan impeller member I 8
torque ratios necessary to provide an automobile likewise securedto'drive shaft l0 and a. runner
with a suitable amount of acceleration. This cre is adapted to be driven by impeller l8 through
ates shifting problems, particularly where posi the "mediumof- oil for other ?uid- substantially
tive clutches arev used, since a hydraulic cou ?lling housing l1. Runner. I9 ismounted on a
pling transmits torque as a function of the speed 15 splined hub 20, which is splined to a sleeve 2|.>
of the driving element thereof, and if the driv Theforwardend(to-theleft in Fig. 1) of sleeve
ing element is continuously'rotated as it would 2|, is enlarged to accommodate one-way clutch
be when directly con'nected'with an automobile 22,1which is of'the roller-and-cam type, and '
engine, a certain amount of. torque is always which functions topermit intermediate shaft 14
transmitted to the positive clutch, thereby ren-~ 20 to rotatefaster than sleeve 2|. The rearward
dering shifting either difficult or impossible. end of sleeve 2| is provided with axially ex
This is particularly truewhere a positive clutch tending teeth 23 forming the driving element of
is used to effect a shift from neutral into either clutch l6. {Shaft I4 is provided with splines 24
forward or reverse. When the shifting is to be on which is Tslidably mounted a collar 25 having
done automatically in accordance with present 25 formed at the forward end thereof teeth 26
trends, the problem becomes even more com which are adapted to engage teeth 23 of sleeve
plex. ' ' e ' 2|. , Y. ' - ' . '

The objects of this invention isto provide an Clutch I6 is operated by means of a pin 21 in
automatic transmission employing a fluid device an axially 'slidable collar 28, said pin _2'|~riding in
combined with gearing, wherein under ordinary 30 a groove 29in? collar .25. A yoke 30 cooperates .
circumstances no shifting of positive toothed ele with collar '28 to move said collar in an axial di
ments is required-between neutral," forward and rection. Yoke~ 30 Yiscontrolled by means of a
reverse, and which nevertheless does not require spring 89 and a solenoid 3|, which in turn is
any complicated controls. p supplied with electrical energy fromv a battery 32
Another object of this invention is to provide 35 or other source of? electromotive force, througha
a simple, inexpensive two-speed automatic trans switch 33: operated by a button 34. Said switch
mission suitable for use in low-priced cars. > ' > is of such a character that whenwbutton 34 is
Another object of this invention is to provide depressed and then released, a change is effected _
a two-speed automatic transmission with an in in the electrical circuit which obtains until said
termediate manually operated speed available for 40 button 34 is again depressed and released. Spring
use in emergencies. 83 normally biases yoke 30 to .the left (Fig. l)
These and other objects and features of the to engage clutch l6; ~ i
invention will become apparent from the fol ' Planetary gear set I3 is comprised of a sun
lowing description when taken together with gear 35 formed on theiend of vshaft 14, a sun
the accompanying drawing, in which: 45 gear 36 formed on the adjacent end of driven
7 Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevation partly shaft H, a third sun gear: 3l-formed on a sleeve _
in section of one embodiment oftheinvention; 16, which surrounds shaft l4, and one or more
Fig. 2 is, a schematic line drawing. showing sets ofclu'ster gears 38, 39 and 40, meshing re
the principal torque transmitting elements of spectivelywith sun gears 35, 3B, 31. Said clus
the transmission inFignl; " ' ' 50 ter gears are "m'ountedion a'carrier 4| which is
Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section taken along coaxial with'shafts I4 and H. Said carrier 4| is
line 33 of Fig. l. . connected to a flanged hub 43 by means of a
~Referring now to the drawing, and particular one-way clutch 44.1 which permits rotation be
ly to Figs. 1 and 2, the transmission is com tween carrier 4| and hub 43 when carrier 4! tends
prised of a drive shaft 10, a driven shaft I], a hy- ' to rotate ahead of hub 43. Flanged hub 43 is
2 . 2,371,574
provided with a cylindrical brake drum 45, which the car gains momentum. At some predeter
cooperates with a double wrap brake band 46 to mined speed said pawls 18 will move radially
arrest the rotation of hub 43. Brake band 46 is outwardly to contact drum 85. At this time,
suitably anchored by any well known means to a drum 85 is rotating faster than pawls I8 and the
fixed casing'41 surrounding planetary gear set |3. latter, therefore, will not engage slots 86, but will
Thus when brake band 46 is applied, ?anged ratchet over them. This will continue as long
hub 43 will be held against rotation, and if at the as drive shaft H) is driven by the engine, that
time thereaction'in carrier 4| is in a reverse di is, as long as torque is impressed upon drive shaft
rection, said carrier will likewise beheld against m which is greater than: the load on driven shaft
rotation by means of the one-way clutch 44, the 10 |'|, 'Thus, this condition may obtain over a rela
latter under these circumstances acting as a one- . , . tively large range of speeds, and direct drive
way brake. If the reaction is in the opposite di vmay be delayed or accelerated at the will of the
rection, the one-way brake releasesand: carrier ' operator.
4| will rotate even though brake 46 is still ap When the operator wishes to shift into direct
plied. A second brake, operative inboth direc drive, he simply releases the accelerator to decel
tions, is also provided for carrier 41. This brake erate theengine, whereupon drum 85 will proceed
is comprised of a drum I3 rigidly secured to car to slow down with respect to 11, and eventually
rier 4| and a brake band "which ismanually . will. reach a point of synchronism therewith. If
controlled, and which cooperates with drum l3 . at thispoint a pawl is in line with a slot, engage
to arrest the latter. The function of this'brake .20, ment will occur, but if the two are not in align
will be described hereinaiten. ~ . ment, the. continued slowing down of drum 86
Clutch |5iscompri$edof3~a carrier Hill; which will cause; a relative reversalin the direction of
are mountedoneor morezradially movable pawls rotation of drum 85 with respect. to pawl 18, so
l8. Carrier'll alsosupportsa brake; drum 19, that when the next slot. 86 drifts past pawl 18,
which cooperates with" a double-wrapbrake- band 25 the latter will engage the slot due-to theshaperof
51. Housing I12 is attached to: a-toothed: hub the endof the pawl. The resumption of the drive
member 8|, which iistconnectedl through inter in drive shaft 10 will then provide a- drive be
?tting teeth 82 toaicylindrical stamping~83= sur tween shaft' l0 and sun gear. 3'1. Clutch |.5 will
rounding shafti |4'. Sa'idzstamping 83:is.connected remain engaged until. the speed of sun gear 31
through a-vibration-Iabsorbing:device84 toa drum . falls below a predetermined speed, whereupon
85 having slots 83.; in: axial; alignment vwith radi the release of clutch l5 isautomatically e?ected
ally movable pawls 118'... The-.pawls-are normally by springs 81. I
held'in retracted position by means of a. biasing Thus, sun gear 31., will be driven, at engine
sprlnglll. Aislot 1'2 instamping 83 allows pin=2l speed, and sun gear 35 will tend to rotate at
to pass through thestamping to groove~29. some speed. greater than engine speed because
The operation of the. transmission is as fol of the di?erence in the: size of planet gears 38
lows: , . and 40. It will be assumed for the present that
Assuming that" the engine. isrrrotating and that lock-out clutch |6 has been. operated to by-pass
drive shaft In is, therefore, likewise rotating, overrunning. clutch 22 and that the tendency to
housing ||,"impeller'1|8Land clutch. drum 85-. will rotate gear 35 faster than the engine. will be
be rotated simultaneously with drive shaft l0, prevented. by fluid coupling I2, which. at these
since they are all connected together; These speeds is operating at substantially one-to-one
elements, therefore, rotate whether the engine is ratio. With both sun gears rotating at ap
developing driving torque"orisimerelyiidling. If proximately the same speed, the planetary gear
it" is desiredito test. or warm up the engine. with set will be locked up and driven shaft II will
out transmitting any torque to:v driven shaft, HY, rotatev at substantially engine speed. -
brake bands 46, 51 and H are released to condi To obtain reverse, brake band 46 is released
tion the transmissionfor: neutral. Any driving and brake. band 5'! is applied. The. drive is again
torque-transmitted throughncoupling I2: to sun through coupling l2 and by-pass clutch Hi to
gear 35' is? thereby. dissipated-by the rotation of sun gear 35, butsun gear 31 is locked to housing
carrier 4| aboutfsun gear 38 'ondriven-.shaft ||_. . 4.~|:' through brake band 57. Due to thedi?erence
Sun gear 31 a'ndfits associated carrier I'l- and in. size of sun gears. 35and. 3'1, carrier 4| will be
pawls l8v will likewise be; rotated, but due tolthe driven; in a reverse direction with respectto sun
planet'ating action'. ofgear" 40-; ,the actual. speed gear 35, and will carry with,it.sun gear 36 and. its
of sun gear "31 will not. be" suf?ci'ent to- cause.- pawls associated driven shaft H. This results in a
I8 to move outwardly tovengage the clutcln , reverse rotation of driven shaft. H at a reduced
Assuming that-the driver wishes to put the car speed.
in motion in "a? forward direction, brake band~46 It'will be apparent. thus far that the trans
will be applied? to arrest the-rotation of him 43. mission just described can be operated as an
Since there isva. load on driven. shaft. H, the 60 automatic two-speed transmission. , In some
torque transmitted through coupling: l2, rover cases, however, two speeds are. not. sufficient,
running clutch 22 and sun gear: 35 will cause the and it is. desirable to provide an intermediate
carrier 4| to lean. on. one-wayl brake 44,. which speed. corresponding to second speed in. the
in turn reactslagainstc- hub 43'; and brake band standard transmission. This is accomplished by
56. a The net: result,1there'fore;; is torarrest the _. a the means now tobe described. . .
rotation of carrier 41': so?that-it becomes a coun It. will benoted that when. the. transmission is
tershait, and driven shaft =| t will berotated. at. a operated asa two-speedtransmission, jaw clutch
reduced speed- through sun. gear. .35,_.planet gears |6is engaged to. make overrunning. clutch 22 in
38 andl39 and sun 'geanii?; This-drivewillbe effeetive. This prevents sungear 35 from ro
a 100 per cent. fluidrdrivetthat'isi tosay, all the tating faster than drive-shaft. 1,, and as a. con
engine torque 'WiH' be transmitted; through sequence, the planetary gear. set. is. locked up in
coupling l2. "Simultaneously with. the. rotation one-to-one drive when clutch I5 is engaged. To
of planet gear 33, planet-gear 40,-will-1ikewise be secure an. intermediate second speed,.itis neces
rotated, which-inpturn wilhdrive sungear. 3?! and sary to. release clutch Hi. to permit sun gear 35
its associated: pawls 18atran increasing speed as 7,5 to rotate. freely. Under these conditions the
 ' 2,371,574
engagement of automatic clutch - l5 transfers the .
drivefrom sun gear 35'to the smaller sun gear 31,
the reaction in carrier 4| remaining in a reverse
direction, and a higher speed ratio drive than
results.-
' The release
, e - of' clutch | 6 to secure second
I speed
e rect and that button 34 has been depressed to
drive is effected by depressing button 34 to break
the circuit through solenoid 3|-. This causes
spring 89 to disengage clutch l6 by suitably oper
ating yoke 30 and slidable collar 28. I Said collar
28 is, of course, rotated with sleeve 83 by reason
of the pin.2'| which passes throughslot 12 in
sleeve '83. Button 34 may be depressed while
the transmission is in neutral to cause second
speed to become effective immediately after the" : may be slowed down, as for example by release
?rst speed, orit may be depressed while the
transmission is in direct, to provide a down shift.
Assuming first that it hasv been depressed while
the transmission is ingneutral, clutch | 6 is thereby
released and sun gear 35 is driven initially froni ~
coupling >|?._ through overrunning clutch 22, the ,
transmission having been previously conditioned
for low speed by operating brake 48 to arrest
carrier 4| through one-way brake 44 to causefit
to act as a countershaft. Sun'gear 31 is likewise
rotated, and when the speed 'for which clutch
I5 is set is reached, said clutch will engage so
that the sun gear 31 is driven at engine speed.
Due to the overrunning clutch 22, the resulting
high, speed rotation ofsun gear 35'has no- effect 30 the bene?t of the smooth start which is inherent
upon the drive, and planet gear 39 being smaller
than planet gear 40, an intermediate speed ratio
will be effected between drive shaft I 0 and driven
shaft II. This drive is a purely mechanical
drive and is independent of ?uid coupling | 2.
The transmission will remain in second speed
until the driver again depresses foot button 34
to operate solenoid 3|. This will cause yoke .30
and its associated elements to be biased to the
left, that is, toward the engaged position of
clutch I6. If, at this instant the clutch teeth
'23 and 26 are in alignment, the clutch will en?
gage immediately, thereby connecting runner
l9 around overrunning clutch 22 tointermediate
shaft l4 and sun gear 35. Sun gear 35 will then
be
gear
rotated
31 andat the
substantially
gear set will
the be
same
conditioned
speed as for
direct drive. If, however, clutch teeth 23 and 2
are not in, alignment, but are butt-ended, the
operator may release the accelerator so as to
slow down the engine, and the momentum of
the car will then drive sun gear 36 and planet
gears 39, 38 and 40. Clutch l5 having previously
been engaged will remain engaged, thereby caus
ing sun gear 3'! to rotate 'at the same speed as "' released to permit shaft M to overrun runner
drive shaft l0. With the drive reversed, how-.
ever, so that sun gear 36 is a driving member and '
sun gear 3! is the reaction member, sun gear
35 and intermediate shaft M will tend to rotate
backwardly, but will be limited in their backward
tendency by overrunning clutch 22, which will
then cause these elements to rotate at' the same
speed as runner l9. At these speeds of the en
gine. the drive through coupling l2 will be sub
stantially a direct drive, and the car will there
. fore coast in direct drive. This means that there
will be no relative rotation between teeth 23
and 26, and the problem of synchronizing them
prior to engagement is- eliminated. Upon the
next torque reversal, that is, when the acceler
ator is again depressed to cause drive shaft
II! to rotate-faster than driven shaft H, the re
action of the load on gear 36 will tend to again
rotate gear 35 faster than runner l9, but due
to the bias on teeth 26, this rotation will last for
3
only a fraction of a tooth and will cease when
clutch teeth 23 and 26 are aligned and become
engaged. The resulting drive will then be a die
rect drive.
Assuming'now thatthe transmission is in di-
effect a down shift, a releasing bias will be im
pressed upon clutch l6. If this bias is greater
than the torque load on the clutch, thelatter
will release and sun gear 35 will spin freely
ahead of runner I9. Carrier 4| will then assume.
the resulting backward reaction and transfer it
through one-way brake 44 to brake band 46. If,
however, the bias is not sufficient, the engine
ing the accelerator, to decrease the torque, and
during the momentary torque reversal which
ensues, the load onclutch IE will be relieved
sufficiently to permit teeth 26 to be disengaged.
Upon a resumption of the drive, sun gear 35 will
be freed because of overrunning clutch 22 and
the transmission will be in second speed. The
shift back to direct will be made as described
above. ' > ' ' @ .i
In direct drive,vonly a fraction ofv the torque
is transmitted through the coupling, the re+v
m'aincler being transmitted through clutch, I5;
which-is a mechanical drive. Thus, in low speed
the drive is purely hydraulic, giving the operator.
in a '?uid drive, and in direct drive, the torque
is divided so that the couplingtransmits only, a
fraction of the total torque, which results: in
maximum e?iciency at the speeds at which-the
35 transmission will-be operated the greaterl portion
of the time. In second speed the drive is apuree
lymechanical drive, which eliminates excessive
slipping of the coupling under heavy load con~
ditions, suchas long inclines, and prevents undue
heating
vWhereofalong
the coupling.
and steep downgrade is encoun
teredso as to make desirable the use of the en
gine as a brake,vthe second brake. mentioned is
provided for carrier 4|. This is necessary be
-cause one-way brake 44 will release underv these
. conditions, and the transmission will be coasting
in direct. It will be recalled that the second
brake. for carrier 4|. is comprised of a drum 13
which is riveted directly to carrier 4|, and a
suitable brake band 14, which is adapted to em .
operate with drum 13 to arrest'therotation
thereof. _ When it is desired to. coast in second
against the engine, brake 74 is applied to arrest
the rotation of carrier 4| and clutch IE will be
19 through overrunning clutch 22. When power
is again applied to drive driven shaft II, the
transmission will be in second speed, and will
remain so conditioned until brake band 14 is re
leased and clutch | 6 is, subsequently reengaged.
It will be noted that with the pawl type of
clutch the diameter of the housing at the clutch
' is small, and the transmission as a whole is short
and compact.
No controls are shown here for the various
brake bands, it being assumed that suitable con
trols can be designed to meet the particular re
quirements of the manufacturer or user. It is
contemplated, however, that the controls be
manually operated so that the brakes may be
applied whether or not the engine or car is in
operation. With manually operated controls it
' is possible to apply brake 4B of Fig. 1 when the.
engine is not running, and thereby crank the
engine by pushing the car. For this type of
 4 assume.
cranking, jaw clutch It must, beoperated so as shaft, said brake and said last named means
to drive the: runner of the coupling from driven cooperating to provide a lowv speed drive through
shaft II, and thereby drive the impeller audits the transmission, coupling means' including a
associated crank shaft I0. This operation will slotted rotatable element and a radially slid/a.
be e?ected by means of spring 89 in Fig. 1. ble pawl adapted to engage the slotted element,
It is understood that the foregoing description said coupling means being connected in series
is merely illustrative of one embodiment of this with said other sun gear and adapted to com
invention and that the scope of the claims is not plete a higher speed ratio train through the
, to'be, limited thereto, but is to be determined by transmission, and a one-way coupling device op
the appended claims. 10 erative to establish said high speed ratio when
I claim: - , the torque is reversed.
1. A transmission comprising a drive shaft, a 3.- In a variable speed transmission, the com
driven. shaft, a gear on said driven shaft, an in bination vof drive and driven shafts, planetary
termediate shaft, a; gear on said intermediate gearing including at least a pair of sun gears,v a
shaft, a hydraulic coupling having an impeller planet gear in mesh with each of the sun gears
connected to the drive shaft and a runner, a and a carrier for the planet gears, said driven
sleeve surrounding the intermediate shaft and shaft being connected with one of the elements
connected to rotate with the runner, an overrun of said gearing, a roller and cam typeone-way
ning clutch connecting the sleeve to the inter brakefor one ofv the elements of ~ the planetary
mediate shaft in a manner permitting the shaft 20 gearing and means for driving one of said sun
to rotatewahead of the sleeve, a positive clutch gears from said drive shaft, said brake and said
for connecting the sleeve and intermediateshaft last named means cooperating to provide a low
for two-way drive around the overrunning speed- drive throughthe transmission and said
clutch, a gear concentric with the intermediate brake being adapted to release upon a reversal
shaft, a positive clutch vcomprising a slotted of torque through the transmission, coupling
drum, a slotted cylindrical element connected to means including a slotted rotatable element and
rotate with the drive shaft andtransmitting the a radially slidable pawl adapted to engage the
drive to the drum and a radially movable cens slotted element, said coupling means being con
trifugally controlled pawl in axial alignment .nected in series with the'other sun gear and
with the slots in the drum; a sleeve connected to 30 adapted to complete a higher speed ratio train
rotate with the concentric gear, a carrier for the through the transmission, and a one-way cou
pawl driven by the sleeve, an axially shiftable pling device automatically operable upon a re
collar surrounding the cylindrical element, a lease of the one-way brake to establish said
connection between the collar and positive clutch higher speed ratio when the torque is reversed.
to control the operation of the positive clutch, - 4.iA transmission comprising a drive shaft, a
manually controlled means for shifting the col driven'shaft, and change speed mechanism con
lar, planet gears cooperating, with each of the nectable between said shafts including means
gears, a carrier for the planet gears, one-way for driving the driven shaft at ?rst, second and
brake means for arresting the rotation of the thirdspeed ratios, said second speed means com~
carrier for low speed drive, two-way brake means 40 prising a speed controlled positive clutch element
for driving the drive shaft from the driven shaft rotatable in timed relation with the driven shaft
in a geared ratio, and two-way brake means as- ' and a cooperating clutch element associated with
sociated with the concentric gear for reverse the drive shaft, said speed controlled element
drive. ' being dependent upon substantial synchroniza
2. In-a. variable speed transmission, the com 45 tion with the cooperating element before ef
bination of drive and driven shafts, planetary fecting engagement'therewith, said speed con
gearingincluding a pair of sun gears and planet trolled clutch element comprising a radially mov
gears in mesh with the sun gears, said driven able pawl, and said cooperating clutch element
shaft being connected with one of the elements comprising a drum having slots in axial align
of said gearing, a one-way brake for one of the ment with the pawl.
elements of the planetary gearing and means for BENJAMIN A. SWENNES.
driving one of said sun gears fromsaid drive