A viscous clutch according to the present invention, which is composed of a main body having a fluid storage chamber of a concave shape formed at a central portion thereof and a cover having a concave fluid operation chamber formed at a central portion thereof, comprises: a fan housing in which the main body is stacked on an upper side of the cover so that an opening of the fluid operation chamber can be covered; a drive shaft which extends in a vertical direction and has a lower end inserted through a bottom plate of the main body; a rotor fixedly coupled to the lower end of the drive shaft so as to be rotatable in the fluid operation chamber; a rotary assembly integrally coupled to the main body so as to cover an opening of the fluid storage chamber; a coil core mounted on an upper surface of the rotary assembly and generating an electromagnetic force when an electric current is applied from the outside; and a valve assembly for opening or closing a fluid outlet according to whether or not an electric current is applied to the coil core.

Presented are engine disconnect clutches, methods for making/using such clutch devices, and vehicles with an engine that is coupled to/decoupled from a transmission and motor via a disconnect clutch. A vehicle includes a transmission with an input shaft connected with a transmission gearing arrangement, and an output shaft connecting the gearing arrangement with the vehicle's wheels. A torque converter pump housing drivingly connects to the vehicle's traction motor. A turbine is mounted inside the pump housing in fluid communication with an impeller. A turbine shaft connects the turbine to the transmission's input shaft. A clutch hub of a disconnect clutch drivingly connects to the vehicle's engine and selectively attaches to the pump housing. The disconnect clutch selectively connects the engine to the motor and transmission by drawing oil from the transmission's oil sump, through a turbine shaft channel and a pump housing port, and into a clutch hub cavity.

A device for filling a hydrodynamic coupling with operating fluid and a method for filling a constantly filled hydrodynamic coupling during commissioning and/or for checking or setting a fill level with operating fluid. The device and the method provide the use of image recognition, by way of which an inspection window can be recognized and by way of which a position of the inspection window can be set.

A method of forming a damper assembly is provided. The method includes providing springs into an interior space of a spring retainer such that the springs circumferentially contact carrier pins; compressing the springs via the carrier pins into a preloaded orientation; providing tabs in the interior space of the spring retainer such that each of the tabs is between two of the carrier pins; and removing the carrier pins such that the tabs hold the springs in the preloaded orientation. A damper assembly and a torque converter are also provided.

An example includes a hydraulically controllable coupling to couple a rotating input and to an output to rotate, or to decouple the input and the output, with coupling and decoupling modes selected by switching a hydraulic device such as a vane pump between a pumping mode and a mode in which it does not pump. In an example, the system cooperates with a transmission to increase the number of possible gear ratios in some examples.

An example includes a hydraulically controllable coupling to couple a rotating input and to an output to rotate, or to decouple the input and the output, with coupling and decoupling modes selected by switching a hydraulic device such as a vane pump between a pumping mode and a mode in which it does not pump. In an example, the system cooperates with a transmission to increase the number of possible gear ratios in some examples.

An example includes a hydraulically controllable coupling to couple a rotating input and to an output to rotate, or to decouple the input and the output, with coupling and decoupling modes selected by switching a hydraulic device such as a vane pump between a pumping mode and a mode in which it does not pump. In an example, the system cooperates with a transmission to increase the number of possible gear ratios in some examples.

An example includes a hydraulically controllable coupling to couple a rotating input and to an output to rotate, or to decouple the input and the output, with coupling and decoupling modes selected by switching a hydraulic device such as a vane pump between a pumping mode and a mode in which it does not pump. In an example, the system cooperates with a transmission to increase the number of possible gear ratios in some examples.

A torque converter, including: a cover arranged to receive torque; an impeller including an impeller shell non-rotatably connected to the cover and at least one impeller blade connected to the impeller shell; a turbine including a turbine shell, at least one turbine blade connected to the turbine shell, and a heat treated portion; and a torsional vibration damper including: a cover plate arranged to receive torque from the cover or the turbine; and a spring. The spring is engaged with the cover plate and is arranged to contact the heat treated portion when the spring is compressed.

A drive arrangement for a torque converter is disclosed herein. The drive arrangement includes a first drive plate element configured to be connected to a torque converter cover and configured to secure a rotor of an electric motor against the torque converter cover. A second drive plate element is configured to be connected to a flex plate, and the first and second drive plate elements are connected to each other.