US 12,135,074 B1
Electromagnetic actuator for drivetrain system
Toshiaki Komatsu, Commerce Township, MI (US)
Assigned to GKN Automotive Limited, Birmingham (GB)
Filed by GKN Automotive Limited, Birmingham (GB)
Filed on Nov. 24, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/518,661.
Int. Cl. F16H 48/24 (2006.01); F16H 48/34 (2012.01)
CPC F16H 48/24 (2013.01) [F16H 2048/346 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A rotary power transmission device, comprising:
a device housing having an interior in which multiple gears are received for rotation;
a clutch received within the device housing and having a clutch ring selectively engageable with one of said multiple gears; and
an actuator having a coil and a plunger driven for movement along an axis and relative to the clutch ring, the plunger has a first position in which the clutch ring is not engaged with said one of said multiple gears, and the plunger has a second position in which the clutch ring is engaged with said one of said multiple gears, and the plunger includes a first body formed at least partially from a first material that is magnetically responsive and a second body formed at least partially from a second material, and wherein the first body includes a radially outer surface, a radially inner surface and a front face that is axially variable and arranged so that a radially outer portion of the front face is axially forward of a radially inner portion of the front face, wherein the front face of the first body includes a nose portion that extends to the front face from a transition spaced axially from the front face, and wherein the radially outer surface in the nose portion is inclined toward the radially inner surface so that the radial dimension of the first body decreases from the transition to the front face.