Two-part stator blade

Abstract

The present invention broadly comprises a blade for a torque converter stator including a first blade segment connected to inner and outer circumferential sections of the stator and a second blade segment, separately formed from the first blade segment, and connected to the circumferential sections. In some aspects, the blade segments are: in contact along edges, overlapped, circumferentially misaligned, at least partially folded, stamped, or cast. Configurations of the blade segments can be selected to modify performance characteristics of the stator such as torque ratio, efficiency, and capacity. In some aspects, the blade segments are in a circumferential alignment, and the stator includes an alignment element operatively arranged to control the circumferential alignment, for example, in response to pressure from fluid in the stator upon the blade. In some aspects, the stator includes axial halves, separately formed and fixedly connected and the blade segments are connected to respective halves.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature and mode of operation of the present invention will now be more fully described in the following detailed description of the invention taken with the accompanying drawing figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is front perspective view of a stator with a present invention two-part blade;

FIG. 2 is a front exploded view of the stator in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is front view of the stator in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the stator in FIG. 3 along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional back view of the stator in FIG. 4 along line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6 through 9 are partial cross-sectional views of stators with present invention blades, showing configurations of respective stators and blades;

FIGS. 10 through 17 are top views of present invention blades showing various configurations of the blades;

FIG. 18A is a perspective view of a cylindrical coordinate system demonstrating spatial terminology used in the present application; and,

FIG. 18B is a perspective view of an object in the cylindrical coordinate system of FIG. 18A demonstrating spatial terminology used in the present application.

Claims

1. A blade for a stator in a torque converter, comprising: a first blade segment connected to inner and outer circumferential sections of said stator; and,a second blade segment, separately formed from said first blade segment, and connected to said inner and outer circumferential sections.

2. The blade of claim 1 wherein said first and second blade segments are in contact.

3. The blade of claim 2 wherein said first and second blade segments further comprise respective edges and said first and second blade segments are in contact along said respective edges.

4. The blade of claim 3 wherein at least one of said respective edges is coined.

5. The blade of claim 2 wherein said first and second blade segments further comprise respective surfaces and said respective surfaces are at least partially overlapped.

6. The blade of claim 1 wherein said first and second blade segments are circumferentially off-set.

7. The blade of claim 1 wherein said stator further comprises performance characteristics, said first and second blade segments are in respective configurations, and said respective configurations are selected to modify said performance characteristics.

8. The blade of claim 7 wherein said performance characteristics are selected from the group consisting of torque ratio, efficiency, and capacity.

9. The blade of claim 7 wherein said respective configurations are selected from the group consisting of axial, radial, and circumferential alignment.

10. The blade of claim 1 wherein said first and second blade segments are in a circumferential alignment, and said stator further comprises an alignment element operatively arranged to control said circumferential alignment.

11. The blade of claim 10 wherein said torque converter further comprises fluid and said alignment element is arranged to control said alignment in response to pressure from said fluid upon said blade.

12. The blade of claim 1 wherein said stator further comprises a first axial half and a second axial half, said first and second axial halves are separately formed and fixedly connected, said first blade segment is connected to said first axial half, and said second blade segment is connected to said second axial half.

13. The blade of claim 12 wherein said fixed connection is selected from the group consisting of rivets, folded tabs, welds, adhesive, and crimps.

14. The blade of claim 12 wherein said first blade segment is formed integrally with said first axial half and said second blade segment is formed integrally with said second axial half.

15. The blade of claim 12 wherein said stator further comprises a clutch and said first and second axial halves are arranged to form first and second axial ends of said clutch, respectively.

16. The blade of claim 1 wherein said first blade segment is at least partially folded.

17. The blade of claim 1 wherein said second blade segment is at least partially folded.

18. The blade of claim 1 wherein said blade is stamped.

19. The blade of claim 1 wherein said blade is cast.

20. The blade of claim 1 further comprising: a plurality of blades; and, wherein said first and second blade segments further comprise respective pluralities of said first and second blade segments.

21. A blade for a stator in a torque converter, comprising: a first blade segment integrally formed with inner and outer circumferential sections of said stator; and,a second blade segment, separately formed from said first blade segment, and integrally formed with said inner and outer circumferential sections, wherein said inner and outer circumferential sections define an annulus for said stator and said first and second blade segments and said inner and outer circumferential sections are stamped.

22. A blade for a stator in a torque converter, comprising: a first blade segment integrally formed with a first axial half for said stator and connected to first inner and outer circumferential sections of said first axial half; and,a second blade segment, separately formed from said first blade segment, integrally formed with a second axial half for said stator and connected to second inner and outer circumferential sections of said second axial half, wherein said first and second axial halves are stamped, separately formed, and fixedly connected.