What is claimed is:
1. A method of making a motor vehicle powertrain comprising an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft coupled to a transmission through an assembly comprising a rotary electric machine and an engine disconnect clutch, and wherein the rotary electric machine comprises a stator and a rotor that are separated by a radial air gap and the rotary electric machine is selectively operable as an electric motor to source torque to the powertrain and as an electric generator to sink torque from the powertrain, the method comprising:
assembling a ring that comprises a circular pilot surface to a face of the engine in surrounding relation to the crankshaft to establish concentricity of the circular pilot surface to an axis of rotation of the crankshaft;
assembling the stator to the face of the engine to establish concentricity of the stator and a circular pilot surface of the stator to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft;
assembling the rotor into the powertrain, including piloting a circular pilot surface of an engine side bracket that is disposed over an engine side of the rotor facing the engine to the circular pilot surface of the ring via an engine side bearing assembly to establish concentricity of the engine side of the rotor to the crankshaft axis;
assembling a transmission side bracket having a circular pilot surface to an output of the clutch to couple the clutch output and the transmission side bracket for rotation in unison;
then assembling the clutch and transmission side bracket into the powertrain by disposing the clutch within a space surrounded by the rotor and coupling an input of the clutch to the crankshaft to couple the clutch input and the crankshaft for rotation in unison, and disposing the transmission side bracket over a transmission side of the rotor opposite the engine side;
fastening the two brackets and the rotor for rotation in unison about the crankshaft axis of rotation; and
assembling the transmission into the powertrain including the steps of establishing a coupling of the input of the transmission to the output of the clutch to couple the transmission input and the clutch output for rotation in unison about the crankshaft axis of rotation, of piloting a first circular pilot surface of the transmission that is concentric with the transmission input to the circular pilot surface of the stator, and establishing concentricity of the transmission side bracket to the transmission through a transmission side bearing assembly disposed between the pilot surface of the transmission side bracket and a second circular pilot surface of the transmission that is concentric with the transmission input.
2. A method as set forth in claim 1 including a circular seal disposed on and concentric with the ring, and wherein the step of assembling the ring to the face of the engine includes placing a circular periphery of the seal in sealing relation to a circular periphery of the crankshaft to prevent escape of lubricant from the engine between the seal and the crankshaft.
3. A method as set forth in claim 1 in which the step of assembling the ring to the face of the engine to establish concentricity of the circular pilot surface of the ring to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft comprises using a first tool to establish concentricity, and the step of assembling the stator to the face of the engine to establish concentricity of the stator and the circular pilot surface of the stator to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft comprises using a second tool to establish concentricity.
4. A method as set forth in claim 1 in which the pilot surface of the engine side bracket comprises an adjacent circular groove containing an O-ring that is concentric with, and has an inner periphery protruding from, the groove, and wherein the engine side bearing assembly is related to the engine side bracket by interference fitting an outer race of the engine side bearing assembly within the protruding inner periphery of the O-ring.
5. A method as set forth in claim 4 in which the pilot surface of the transmission side bracket comprises an adjacent circular groove containing an O-ring that is concentric with, and has an inner periphery protruding from, the transmission side bracket groove, and wherein the transmission side bearing assembly is related to the transmission side bracket by interference fitting an outer race of the transmission side bearing assembly within the protruding inner periphery of the transmission side bracket O-ring.
6. A method as set forth in claim 1 in which the pilot surface of the transmission side bracket comprises an adjacent circular groove containing an O-ring that is concentric with, and has an inner periphery protruding from, the groove, and wherein the transmission side bearing assembly is related to the transmission side bracket by interference fitting an outer race of the transmission side bearing assembly within the protruding inner periphery of the O-ring.
7. A method as set forth in claim 1 in which the step of assembling the rotor into the powertrain includes piloting a first circular pilot surface on the rotor to a further circular pilot surface on the engine side bracket and piloting a second circular pilot surface on the rotor to a further circular pilot surface on the transmission side bracket.
8. A method as set forth in claim 7 including headed fasteners comprising shanks having threaded ends for fastening the two brackets and rotor together for rotation in unison, and wherein the step of fastening the two brackets and the rotor together for rotation in unison comprises clamping the rotor between the two brackets by passing the shanks through through-holes in one of the brackets and in the rotor and threading the threaded ends into threaded holes in the other of the brackets to develop sufficient tension in the fasteners to force mutually abutted surfaces of the engine side bracket and the rotor and mutually abutted surfaces of the transmission side bracket and the rotor together to develop sufficient friction for torque transfer via the respective mutually abutted surfaces.
9. A method as set forth in claim 1 in which the step of assembling the stator to the face of the engine to establish concentricity of the stator to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft comprises disposing a spacer ring between an engine side face of the stator and the face of the engine.
10. A motor vehicle powertrain comprising:
an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft that rotates about an axis of rotation and that is coupled to a transmission through an assembly comprising a rotary electric machine and an engine disconnect clutch;
wherein the rotary electric machine comprises a stator and a rotor that are separated by a radial air gap, the stator is assembled to the face of the engine to establish concentricity of the stator to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft, and the rotary electric machine is selectively operable as an electric motor to source torque to the powertrain and as an electric generator to sink torque from the powertrain;
a circular pilot surface disposed on a face of the engine in surrounding relation to the crankshaft and concentric with the crankshaft;
an engine side bracket that is disposed over an engine side of the rotor facing the engine and comprises a circular pilot surface;
a transmission side bracket that is disposed over a transmission side of the rotor opposite the engine side, that is coupled with an input of the transmission for rotation in unison with the transmission input, and that comprises a circular pilot surface;
fasteners fastening the two brackets and the rotor together for rotation in unison and with the circular pilot surfaces of the two brackets concentric;
the clutch being disposed within a space surrounded by the rotor and comprising an input coupled to the crankshaft for rotation in unison with the crankshaft and an output coupled to the transmission side bracket for rotation in unison with the transmission side bracket and the transmission input;
an engine side bearing assembly comprising inner and outer races, wherein one of the races is piloted on the circular pilot surface on the engine surrounding the crankshaft and the other of the races is piloted on the circular pilot surface of the engine side bracket to establish concentricity of the engine side of the rotor to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft; and
a transmission side bearing assembly comprising inner and outer races, wherein one of the races of the transmission side bearing assembly is piloted on a circular pilot surface of the transmission that is concentric with the transmission input and the other of the races is piloted on the circular pilot surface of the transmission side bracket.
11. A motor vehicle powertrain as set forth in claim 10 in which the circular pilot surface disposed on a face of the engine in surrounding relation to the crankshaft and concentric with the crankshaft is disposed on a ring that is fastened to the face of the engine.
12. A motor vehicle powertrain as set forth in claim 11 including a circular seal that is disposed on, and concentric with, the ring, and that comprises a circular periphery in sealing relation to a circular periphery of the crankshaft to prevent escape of lubricant from the engine between the seal and the crankshaft.
13. A motor vehicle powertrain as set forth in claim 10 in which the transmission comprises a housing, a portion of which extends toward the engine in covering relation to the rotary electric machine, and including a circular pilot surface on the housing that is concentric with the input of the transmission and that pilots on a circular pilot surface of the stator that is concentric with the crankshaft.
14. A motor vehicle powertrain as set forth in claim 10 in which the pilot surface of the engine side bracket comprises an adjacent concentric groove containing an O-ring having an inner periphery protruding from the groove, and the outer race of the engine side bearing assembly is interference fit within the protruding inner periphery of the O-ring.
15. A motor vehicle powertrain as set forth in claim 14 in which the pilot surface of the transmission side bracket comprises an adjacent concentric groove containing an O-ring having an inner periphery protruding from the transmission side bracket groove, and the outer race of the transmission side bearing assembly is interference fit within the protruding inner periphery of the transmission side bracket O-ring.
16. A motor vehicle powertrain as set forth in claim 10 in which the pilot surface of the transmission side bracket comprises an adjacent concentric groove containing an O-ring having an inner periphery protruding from the groove, and the outer race of the transmission side bearing assembly is interference fit within the protruding inner periphery of the O-ring.
17. A motor vehicle powertrain as set forth in claim 10 in which the rotor comprises a first circular pilot surface piloted to a further circular pilot surface on the engine side bracket and a second circular pilot surface piloted to a further circular pilot surface on the transmission side bracket.
18. A motor vehicle powertrain as set forth in claim 10 including headed fasteners comprising shanks having threaded ends for fastening the two brackets and rotor together for rotation in unison by clamping the rotor between the two brackets, wherein the shanks pass through through-holes in one of the brackets and in the rotor and the threaded ends thread into threaded holes in the other of the brackets with sufficient tension in the fasteners to force mutually abutted surfaces of the engine side bracket and the rotor and mutually abutted surfaces of the transmission side bracket and the rotor together to develop sufficient friction for torque transfer via the respective mutually abutted surfaces.
19. A motor vehicle powertrain comprising:
an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft that rotates about an axis of rotation and that is coupled to a transmission through an assembly comprising a rotary electric machine and an engine disconnect clutch;
wherein the rotary electric machine comprises a stator and a rotor that are separated by a radial air gap concentric to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft, and the rotary electric machine is selectively operable as an electric motor to source torque to the powertrain and as an electric generator to sink torque from the powertrain;
an engine side bracket disposed over an engine side of the rotor facing the engine and a transmission side bracket disposed over a transmission side of the rotor opposite the engine side that are fastened together to clamp the rotor between them;
the transmission having an input to which the transmission side bracket is coupled for rotation in unison with the transmission input;
the clutch being disposed within a space surrounded by the rotor and comprising an input coupled to the crankshaft for rotation in unison with the crankshaft and an output coupled to the transmission side bracket for rotation in unison with the transmission side bracket and the transmission input;
wherein the coupling of the clutch input to the crankshaft provides axial lost-motion that does not interfere with axial play of the crankshaft relative to the engine;
an engine side bearing assembly comprising inner and outer races, wherein one of the races is piloted on a circular pilot surface on the engine surrounding the crankshaft and the other of the races is piloted on a circular pilot surface of the engine side bracket to establish concentricity of the engine side of the rotor to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft;
a transmission side bearing assembly comprising inner and outer races, wherein one of the races of the transmission side bearing assembly is piloted on a circular pilot surface of the transmission that is concentric with the transmission input and the other of the races is piloted on a circular pilot surface of the transmission side bracket; and
wherein the bearing assemblies axially capture the brackets and rotor while providing axial lost-motion play of the brackets and rotor relative to the bearing assemblies that allows the rotor to position itself axially with respect to the magnetic field of the stator for most efficient operation.
20. A motor vehicle powertrain comprising:
an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft that rotates about an axis of rotation and that is coupled to a transmission through an assembly comprising a rotary electric machine and an engine disconnect clutch;
wherein the rotary electric machine comprises a stator and a rotor that are separated by a radial air gap, the rotor is supported for rotation concentric with the axis of rotation of the crankshaft, and the rotary electric machine is selectively operable as an electric motor to source torque to the powertrain and as an electric generator to sink torque from the powertrain;
an engine side bracket that is disposed over an engine side of the rotor facing the engine and comprises a circular pilot surface;
a transmission side bracket that is disposed over a transmission side of the rotor opposite the engine side, that is coupled with an input of the transmission for rotation in unison with the transmission input, and that comprises a circular pilot surface;
fasteners fastening the two brackets and the rotor together for rotation in unison and with the circular pilot surfaces of the two brackets concentric;
the clutch being disposed within a space surrounded by the rotor and comprising an input coupled to the crankshaft for rotation in unison with the crankshaft and an output coupled to the transmission side bracket and to the transmission input for rotation in unison with the transmission side bracket and the transmission input;
wherein the rotor is supported for rotation by an engine side bearing assembly comprising inner and outer races, wherein one of the races is piloted on a circular pilot surface on the engine surrounding the crankshaft and the other of the races is piloted on the circular pilot surface of the engine side bracket to establish concentricity of the engine side of the rotor to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft, and by a transmission side bearing assembly comprising inner and outer races, wherein one of the races of the transmission side bearing assembly is piloted on a circular pilot surface of the transmission that is concentric with the transmission input and the other of the races is piloted on the circular pilot surface of the transmission side bracket;
wherein the pilot surface of each bracket comprises an adjacent concentric groove containing an O-ring having a periphery protruding from the groove, and one race of each bearing assembly is interference fit to the protruding periphery of the respective O-ring;
and wherein each O-ring is asymmetric, in the axial direction, to a respective set of bearing elements captured between the races of the respective bearing assembly. 21. A motor vehicle powertrain comprising:
an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft that rotates about an axis of rotation and that is coupled to a transmission through an assembly comprising a rotary electric machine and an engine disconnect clutch;
wherein the rotary electric machine comprises a stator and a rotor that are separated by a radial air gap concentric to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft, and the rotary electric machine is selectively operable as an electric motor to source torque to the powertrain and as an electric generator to sink torque from the powertrain;
wherein the clutch comprises an input that rotates in unison with the crankshaft and an output that rotates in unison with the rotor; and
a single sensor comprising dual sensing elements is disposed such that a first sensing element can sense crankshaft rotation and a second sensing element can sense rotor rotation.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. Nursing bed (1) comprising a base (2) supported on the ground and a sleeping surface (3) supported by said base (2) and comprising a back rest (4), a seat part (5) and a leg rest (6), said nursing bed being characterized in that it comprises means for clearance with a lateral movement of translation (20), used to enable the leg rest (6) to move laterally in relation to the seat part (5), or vice versa, the seat part (5) in relation to the leg rest (6), according to a movement of translation oriented in a direction which is essentially transversal to the sleeping surface (3), in such a way as to clear the front access to said seat part (5), and seat regulating means (21) for varying the seat of the seat part (5) andor the leg rest (6) in relation to the ground.
2. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said means for clearance with a lateral movement of translation (20) and the seat regulating means (21) have a common member (22) both for guiding the seat part (5), or the leg rest (6), in lateral movement, and enabling the modification of the seat of said seat part (5), or of said leg rest respectively.
3. Nursing bed according to claim 2 in which said common member (22) forms a sliding pivot joint wherein the axis (Y1Y1\u2032) corresponds to the direction of lateral movement of the seat part (5), or of the leg rest (6) respectively.
4. Nursing bed according to claim 3 in which said common member (22) comprises firstly a tubular element (23) substantially oriented along the axis (Y1Y1\u2032) of the sliding pivot joint and having one or a plurality of openings (24) provided through the thickness of the wall thereof, and, secondly, a slide (25), such as a billet, arranged to be inserted into said tubular element (23), said slide being provided with one or a plurality of projecting fixing elements (26) devised to pass through the tubular element (23) via the opening(s) (24) so as to connect said slide (25) to a mechanical member of the bed, such as the seat part (5) or leg rest (6).
5. Nursing bed according to claim 4 in which said opening (24) extends substantially parallel to the axis (Y1Y1\u2032) of the sliding pivot joint and extends over the main part, and preferably all, of the length of the tubular element (23).
6. Nursing bed according to claim 2 in which said common member (22) is at least partly rigidly connected to the seat part (5).
7. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said seat regulating means (21) comprise a popliteal joint (27) enabling the tilting of the leg rest (6) with respect to the seat part (5).
8. Nursing bed according to claim 7 in which said common member (22) forms the popliteal joint (27).
9. Nursing bed according to claim 7 in which said seat regulating means (21) are devised to enable the free selection by the user of the tilting angle (13) formed between the seat part (5) and the leg rest (6) within a range between 0\xb0 and 60\xb0, and preferably between 0\xb0 and 90\xb0.
10. Nursing bed according to claim 7 in which said seat regulating means (21) and the lateral clearance means (20) are devised to enable holding a tilting angle (13) between the seat part and the leg rest substantially between 50\xb0 and 70\xb0, and preferably substantially between 0\xb0 and 90\xb0, during the relative lateral movement of the seat part (5) with respect to the leg rest (6).
11. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said seat regulating means (21) are devised to enable the free selection by the user of the angle of elevation (a) of the seat part (5) within a range between 0\xb0 and 30\xb0, and preferably substantially between \u221210\xb0 and +45\xb0.
12. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said seat regulating means (21) and the lateral clearance means (20) are arranged to enable holding a positive angle of elevation (a) of the seat part (5), preferably between 0\xb0 and 30\xb0, during the relative lateral movement of said seat part with respect to the leg rest.
13. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said seat regulating means (21) are devised to enable the straightening of the back rest (4) with respect to the seat part (5), along a straightening angle (\u03b3) substantially between 0\xb0 and 45\xb0, and preferably between 0\xb0 and 90\xb0.
14. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said seat regulating means (21) and the lateral clearance means (20) are devised to enable the adjustment of the angle of elevation (\u03b1) of the seat part (5) andor the straightening angle (\u03b3) of the back rest (4) when the bed is in the open configuration, the front access to the seat part being cleared.
15. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said seat regulating means (21) comprise one or a plurality of support members (40, 40\u2032, 40\u2033) of variable length, including cylinders (41, 41\u2032, 41\u2033) or notched rods, each connecting a support element (42, 42\u2032, 42\u2033) rigidly connected to the base (2) to a respective lift element (43, 43\u2032, 43\u2033) rigidly connected to the seat part (5) andor the leg rest (6).
16. Nursing bed according to claim 15 in which said support member (40, 40\u2032, 40\u2033) is mounted mobile in translation with respect to the support element (42, 42\u2032, 42\u2033) andor the lift element (43, 43\u2032, 43\u2033) so as to be able to accompany at least partially the lateral movement of the leg rest (6) with respect to seat part (5) or vice versa.
17. Nursing bed according to claim 16 in which said support member (40, 40\u2032, 40\u2033) is provided with a guiding reinforcement (45, 45\u2032, 45\u2033) to prevent the flexion or buttressing of said support member during the movements thereof with respect to the support element (42, 42\u2032, 42\u2033) andor the lift element (43, 43\u2032, 43\u2033), said guiding member (45, 45\u2032, 45\u2033) being extendable along the same direction as the support member.
18. Nursing bed according to claim 17 in which said guiding reinforcement (45, 45\u2032, 45\u2033) is formed by a telescopic frame.
19. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said means for clearance with a lateral movement of translation (21) are two-directional and arranged to enable alternately the movement of the seat part (5) andor the leg rest (6) on the left-hand side or right-hand side of the bed.
20. Nursing bed according to claim 1 in which said base (2) comprises a lower frame (11) supported on the ground, an upper frame (14) whereon the sleeping surface (3) is fastened, and lifting means (10) providing the vertical mobility of the upper frame (14) with respect to the lower frame (11), the seat regulating means (21) being used to vary the seat of the seat part (5) andor the leg rest (6) with respect to said upper frame (14).