Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7178656 | Hydraulic controlled fan clutch with integral cooling A hydraulically controlled fan drive system (12) having a method of engagement includes a housing assembly (20) containing a hydraulic fluid (48) and an engaging circuit (36). The engaging circuit (36) includes a pitot tube (152... | 02/20/2007 |
| 6978874 | Starting clutch In the starting clutch, an electrical pump or an engine pump is omitted and a substitutive pump mechanism is obtained with a simple construction thereby to circulate lubricating oil within the starting clutch. There is provided a starting clutch in which lubricating... | 12/27/2005 |
| 5033598 | Mechanical/fluid actuated slider clutch An improved motorcycle slider clutch which utilizes several original equipment manufacturers components, also an aftermarket basket (34), housing gear assembly (44) and a pressure plate (74). The pressure plate engages the nest of discs (32) when compress... | 07/23/1991 |
| 5014841 | Clutch adjustment and lockup system A clutch adjustment and lockup system is disclosed. The system is adapted for use with a centrifugally actuated friction clutch of the type wherein clutch plates and clutch disks are engageable with each other. The conventional friction clutch includes a ... | 05/14/1991 |
| 4989711 | Centrifugal clutch controller A controller for a centrifugal clutch with circumferentially spaced actuating weights having radially inwardly projecting actuating arms that pivot rearwardly as the rate of rotation of the clutch accelerates and the weights move to increase actuating pre... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4986403 | Multi-stage motorcycle slider clutch An improved motorcycle slider clutch which utilizes several original equipment manufacturers components, also an aftermarket basket (34) and a housing gear assembly (44). A pressure plate (100) engages the nest of discs (32) when compressed by a number of... | 01/22/1991 |
| 4842115 | Hydraulic clutch A hydraulic clutch for transmitting torque from an input rotating member to an output rotating member when friction plates are brought into engagement with each other. Hydraulic fluid having pressure depending upon rotational speed of an input shaft is su... | 06/27/1989 |
| 4719821 | Creep preventive arrangement in automatic transmission A creep preventive arrangement wherein a start-up pressure regulating valve discharges fluid from a servo chamber of a start-up clutch when a clutch piston assumes a predetermined creep preventive position, and a start-up detecting valve prohibits the flu... | 01/19/1988 |
| 4708231 | Centrifugal clutch A centrifugal clutch employing a clutch outer, a clutch inner and an arrangement of alternating clutch outer and clutch inner plates. The clutch is actuated by means of an annular piston residing within a cylinder which accumulates oil. Centrifugal forces... | 11/24/1987 |
| 4632233 | Torque converter equipped with lockup control unit A torque converter equipped with a lockup control unit providing a hydraulic clutch in the torque converter, utilizing a hydraulic power supply for the hydraulic clutch as a feed pump for circulating oil in the torque converter, and providing a control va... | 12/30/1986 |
| 4586594 | Clutch assembly capable of being engaged by fluid pressure depending on centrifugal force A clutch assembly is preferably designed as a multiple-disc clutch. Rotating with one clutch half (22) is a clutch-engaging piston (26) and a pressure chamber (25) into which fluid may be admitted. Against the force of a spring (29), the piston may be sub... | 05/06/1986 |
| 4570771 | Viscous fluid coupling having centrifugal valve means The viscous fluid coupling is comprised of a drive shaft having a hollow casing rotatably mounted thereon with one end of the drive shaft extending into the hollow casing. The interior of the casing is divided into a reservoir chamber and an operating cha... | 02/18/1986 |
| 4541513 | Fluid power transmission A fluid power transmission adapted for combination with an engine to drive auxiliary equipment thereto including a rotor arrangement for direct driving connection to the engine crankshaft and a housing assembly rotatably supported on the rotor arrangement... | 09/17/1985 |
| 4502582 | Wet clutch assembly A hydraulically-actuated wet clutch assembly which is responsive to torque or speed and is adapted to be utilized as a starting clutch for a continuously variable transmission or similar item. This clutch connects the continuously varying means to the dri... | 03/05/1985 |
| 4263997 | Vehicular single shaft gas turbine engine power system A vehicular gas turbine engine power system includes an engine, an automatic clutch, a service clutch and an infinitely variable transmission coupled successively along a power train. A vehicle control system controls engine speed, transmission ratio and ... | 04/28/1981 |
| 4248332 | Fluid gear coupling The present invention is drawn to a fluid gear coupling in which the lock up RPM between the drive member or power input shaft and the driven member or power output shaft is variable depending on the torque or power applied to the drive member or power in... | 02/03/1981 |
| 4238020 | Centrifugal clutch with an overspeed relief valve and clutch modulation A fluid pressure operated clutch which transmits torque from an engine output shaft to a transmission input shaft, including a rotatable flywheel connected to the output shaft, an adapter connected to the flywheel for rotation with the flywheel, the adapt... | 12/09/1980 |
| 4144958 | Device to effect control over the friction clutch of a transport vehicle A device comprising a motor housing communicating with a pressure source and with the atmosphere through a traversable valve member operatively interlinked with the engine crankshaft, a link accommodated in the hollow space of the housing traversably in r... | 03/20/1979 |
