A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does the work.
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
George "Gogu" Constantinescu was a Romanian scientist, engineer, and inventor. During his career, he registered over 130 inventions. Constantinescu was the creator of the theory of sonics, a new branch of continuum mechanics, in which he described the transmission of mechanical energy through vibrations.
An automatic transmission is a multi-speed transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions.
A torque converter is a device, usually implemented as a type of fluid coupling, that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque converter connects the prime mover to the automatic gear train, which then drives the load. It is thus usually located between the engine's flexplate and the transmission. The equivalent device in a manual transmission is the mechanical clutch.
A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is an automated transmission that can change through a continuous range of gear ratios. This contrasts with other transmissions that provide a limited number of gear ratios in fixed steps. The flexibility of a CVT with suitable control may allow the engine to operate at a constant angular velocity while the vehicle moves at varying speeds.
A semi-automatic transmission is a multiple-speed transmission where part of its operation is automated, but the driver's input is still required to launch the vehicle from a standstill and to manually change gears. Semi-automatic transmissions were almost exclusively used in motorcycles and are based on conventional manual transmissions or sequential manual transmissions, but use an automatic clutch system. But some semi-automatic transmissions have also been based on standard hydraulic automatic transmissions with torque converters and planetary gearsets.
Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD), also known as Toyota Hybrid System II, is the brand name of Toyota Motor Corporation for the hybrid car drive train technology used in vehicles with the Toyota and Lexus marques. First introduced on the Prius, the technology is an option on several other Toyota and Lexus vehicles and has been adapted for the electric drive system of the hydrogen-powered Mirai, and for a plug-in hybrid version of the Prius. Previously, Toyota also licensed its HSD technology to Nissan for use in its Nissan Altima Hybrid. Its parts supplier Aisin offers similar hybrid transmissions to other car companies.
Hydramatic is an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the Hydramatic was the first mass-produced fully-automatic transmission developed for passenger automobile use.
TorqueFlite is the trademarked name of Chrysler Corporation's automatic transmissions, starting with the three-speed unit introduced late in the 1956 model year as a successor to Chrysler's two-speed PowerFlite. In the 1990s, the TorqueFlite name was dropped in favor of alphanumeric designations, although the latest Chrysler eight-speed automatic transmission has revived the name.
Dynaflow was the trademarked name for a type of automatic transmission developed and built by General Motors Buick Motor Division from late 1947 to mid-1963. The Dynaflow, which was introduced for the 1948 model year only as an option on Roadmaster models, received some severe early testing in the M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, which were built in Buick's Flint Assembly plant during World War II. It was also used in the 1951 Le Sabre concept car.
Roto Hydramatic was an automatic transmission built by General Motors and used in some Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Holden models between 1961 and 1965. It was based on the earlier, four-speed Hydramatic, but was more compact, providing only three forward speeds plus a small 8" fluid coupling with a stator inside of the fluid coupling. Oldsmobile, one of the companies that used this transmission in some of its cars, called the fluid couplings stator the "Accel-A-Rotor." The lightweight, aluminum-cased transmission was sometimes nicknamed the "Slim Jim." HydraMatic Division calls the Roto a four-range, three-gear HydraMatic.
A fluid coupling or hydraulic coupling is a hydrodynamic or 'hydrokinetic' device used to transmit rotating mechanical power. It has been used in automobile transmissions as an alternative to a mechanical clutch. It also has widespread application in marine and industrial machine drives, where variable speed operation and controlled start-up without shock loading of the power transmission system is essential.
The power band of an internal combustion engine or electric motor is the range of operating speeds under which the engine or motor is able to output the most power, that is, the maximum energy per unit of time. This usually means that maximum acceleration can be achieved inside this band. While engines and motors have a large range of operating speeds, the power band is usually a much smaller range of engine speed, only half or less of the total engine speed range.
Turbo transmissions are hydrodynamic, multi-stage drive assemblies designed for rail vehicles using internal combustion engines. The first turbo-transmission was developed in 1932 by Voith in Heidenheim, Germany. Since then, improvements to turbo-transmissions have paralleled similar advances in diesel motors and today this combination plays a leading role worldwide, second only to the use of electrical drives.
A cross-drive steering transmission is a transmission, used in tracked vehicles to allow precise and energy-efficient steering.
The theory of sonics is a branch of continuum mechanics which describes the transmission of mechanical energy through vibrations. The birth of the theory of sonics is the publication of the book A treatise on transmission of power by vibrations in 1918 by the Romanian scientist Gogu Constantinescu.
ONE of the fundamental problems of mechanical engineering is that of transmitting energy found in nature, after suitable transformation, to some point at which can be made available for performing useful work. The methods of transmitting power known and practised by engineers are broadly included in two classes: mechanical including hydraulic, pneumatic and wire rope methods; and electrical methods....According to the new system, energy is transmitted from one point to another, which may be at a considerable distance, by means of impressed variations of pressure or tension producing longitudinal vibrations in solid, liquid or gaseous columns. The energy is transmitted by periodic changes of pressure and volume in the longitudinal direction and may be described as wave transmission of power, or mechanical wave transmission. – Gogu Constantinescu
9G-Tronic is Mercedes-Benz's trademark name for its 9-speed automatic transmission, starting off with the W9A 700 as core model. The transmission debuted on the E 350 BlueTEC in 2013, and successively replaced both the 7-speed 7G-Tronic (PLUS) transmission and the 5-speed 5G-Tronic transmission. It includes versions for a maximum input torque of 1,000 N⋅m (738 lb⋅ft).
