329 results about "Torque converter" patented technology

The invention relates to the technical field of torque converters, in particular to a hydrodynamic transmission power chain optimization method and system.The method comprises the steps that a hydrodynamic torque converter parameterized geometric model is built, and a pump impeller blade outflow angle, a guide wheel runner input / output angle, turbine blade geometric parameters and the relative position of a pump impeller and a turbine are set as design variables; based on CFD three-dimensional flow field simulation, a k-epsilon model is adopted for rapid analysis, an SST model is adopted for transient simulation, and simulation data under different variable combinations are obtained; training a BP neural network by using the simulation data, inputting each design variable, and constructing a multi-target optimization model with maximization of efficiency and minimization of noise as targets; a design variable combination is selected in the Pareto optimal solution set, a model is reconstructed, and an optimized hydraulic torque converter is obtained; according to the method, the problems that the design optimization efficiency of the hydraulic torque converter is low, the parameter adjusting period is long, and good compromise between the transmission efficiency and noise suppression is difficult to obtain can be solved.

The invention discloses an engine multi-vehicle-type adaptive NVH quality optimization method and system, and belongs to the technical field of automobile engine debugge.The method comprises the steps that after an engine is installed on a to-be-adapted vehicle, vehicle working condition data are collected in real time, the vehicle working condition data comprises a vehicle speed, an accelerator opening degree, an engine rotating speed, a gear, a hydraulic torque converter locking state and an engine oil temperature signal; the vehicle working condition data is compared with the working condition of the engine noise sensitive working condition, and whether the engine noise sensitive working condition is entered or not is recognized; when the engine has the noise sensitive working condition, an NVH control strategy embedded in an engine electronic control unit is activated; the NVH control strategy comprises adjustment of an engine ignition angle and oil injection parameters; the engine is controlled according to the ignition angle optimization control instruction and the oil injection parameter optimization instruction; and when the vehicle runs out of the working condition of the noise sensitive working condition of the engine or gear shifting is completed, the conventional combustion control logic is recovered. And the rising rate of the pressure in the cylinder is effectively reduced, so that the structural knocking noise within the range of 150-600Hz is inhibited.

The invention discloses a virtual fuel vehicle power assembly mapping method and system. The method comprises the steps that the vehicle speed of an electric vehicle and input signals of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal are received; performing nonlinear mapping on the accelerator pedal input signal to generate a virtual accelerator opening degree, and performing cooperative control in combination with a brake pedal signal; based on the vehicle speed and the virtual accelerator opening degree, a virtual target gear is determined through a multi-dimensional gear shifting diagram and a self-adaptive gear shifting strategy; the method is characterized in that a dynamic slip frequency factor related to the vehicle speed, the virtual accelerator opening degree and the brake pedal opening degree is introduced in the non-gear-shifting state so as to simulate the slip frequency effect of a torque converter; in the gear shifting state, transient smooth transition of the rotating speed is simulated. According to the method, the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the fuel vehicle can be accurately simulated in real time with low calculation overhead, the authenticity and immersion of simulation are remarkably improved, and powerful support is provided for virtual testing, control system development and man-machine interaction application.

The present invention provides a collaborative robot that allows for easy attachment and detachment of the fifth-axis motor and torque converter from the upper arm. [Solution] The output shaft 512 of the fifth-axis motor 51, which rotates the support arm 16 of the collaborative robot 1 around the fifth axis A5, is positioned along the fourth axis A4. Inside the upper arm 15 of the collaborative robot 1, the fifth-axis motor 51 and a torque converter 53 that converts the torque of the output shaft 512 into torque around the fifth axis A5 are housed. The upper arm 15 is a cylindrical housing and has an arm body 151 with an opening 2 for mounting the fifth-axis motor 51 and the torque converter 53, and a cover 152 that covers the opening 2 and is attached to the arm body 151. When viewed from a direction along the fifth axis A5, the fifth-axis motor 51 and the torque converter 53 are housed in the internal region within the opening edge 20 of the opening 2.

The invention discloses a method, a device and equipment for processing clamping stagnation of a hydraulic control loop of a hydraulic torque converter. The method, the device and the equipment are used for realizing self-cleaning of clamping stagnation of the hydraulic control loop of the hydraulic torque converter. The method comprises the steps that vehicle gear information, the vehicle speed, the engine rotating speed and the turbine rotating speed are obtained; when the vehicle gear information, the vehicle speed, the engine rotating speed and the turbine rotating speed meet the target conditions, it is determined that the hydraulic torque converter hydraulic control loop is in a clamping stagnation state; and when the hydraulic control loop of the hydraulic torque converter is in a clamping stagnation state, the hydraulic torque converter is controlled to control the current of the electromagnetic valve to change in a pulse form.

A method for assembling a pilot into a torque converter housing is provided, comprising: (a) providing the pilot having an annular flange in a mating region; (b) forming a torque converter housing with a complementary recess or annular groove in the annular flange in a mating connection region; (c) positioning the pilot in the torque converter housing with the annular flange at least partially engaged in the complementary recess or annular groove; and (d) applying force and energy to the pilot to weld it to the torque converter housing. A torque converter assembly is also provided.

The present invention relates to a torque converter mechanical stop damper that has a simplified manufacturing process and prevents the outer springs from reaching their solid length. To achieve this, a torque converter mechanical stop damper is implemented comprising a drive plate; at least one outer spring; and a driven plate, wherein the driven plate further comprises at least one mechanical stop configured to contact the drive plate when the drive plate compresses each outer spring, and each mechanical stop is positioned to prevent each outer spring from reaching its solid length.

To provide a hybrid vehicle with improved responsiveness in recovering from fuel cut-off. [Solution] The system comprises an engine, a filter for collecting exhaust particulate matter from the engine, a motor provided on a power transmission path between the engine and the drive wheels, a torque converter having a lock-up clutch provided on the power transmission path between the motor and the drive wheels, and a control device, wherein the control device includes a determination unit that determines whether there is a request to return from fuel cut-off in the engine based on accelerator input while performing auxiliary regeneration control in which the motor assists the rotation of the engine while releasing the lock-up clutch to regenerate the filter by cutting off fuel in the engine, and an auxiliary return control unit that, if the determination unit makes an affirmative determination, restarts fuel injection in the engine with the lock-up clutch released and assists the rotation of the engine with the motor.

The invention discloses a punching device and method for a high-precision hydraulic torque converter cover plate, and the punching device comprises a lower die assembly which comprises a lower die barrel, a buffer barrel, a sealing plate and a telescopic unit, the barrel bottom of the lower die barrel is provided with a positioning part and a supporting part, the supporting part is provided with a through hole, and the buffer barrel is provided with a communicating hole; the upper die assembly comprises an upper pressing pipe, a punching rod and a punching unit, and the outer diameter of the punching rod is smaller than or equal to the inner diameter of the corresponding through hole. According to the punching device and method for the high-precision hydraulic torque converter cover plate, after a blank is supported, positioned, locked and fixed, the telescopic unit drives the sealing plate to move upwards, so that after the amount of fine sand in the lower die barrel is increased, the contact area between the fine sand and the lower surface of the blank is increased, and therefore stable supporting of the fine sand is achieved; the deformation of the blank during punching is reduced, and the punching precision is improved, so that the product quality is favorably improved.

A method for controlling a torque output of a hybrid power machine, comprising the following: during a temporary increase in torque in response to a change in the target output torque of a powertrain (200), setting a power machine output torque and a motor output torque in response to a change in the target output torque of the powertrain (200), Adjusting the motor output torque in response to a response to a speed of a drive wheel (285) of a torque converter (206), characterized by Adjusting the power machine output torque for a power machine torque error in response to the settings of a motor torque.

This utility model provides a positioning device for improving the transmission accuracy of a torque converter assembly, belonging to the field of mechanical engineering technology. It includes a mounting mechanism and a mounting component. The mounting component has a chassis and a mounting groove formed on the chassis. The torque converter assembly is detachably mounted in the mounting groove. The positioning mechanism includes a drive component and a limiting component. This utility model, through improved structural design of the positioning device, effectively solves the problems of low positioning accuracy, unstable clamping, and easy damage to the workpiece surface in traditional torque converter assembly positioning methods. It adopts a flexible protection mechanism combining an elastic contact surface and a buffer pad layer, which not only improves clamping stability but also reduces the risk of wear on the torque converter assembly surface. Simultaneously, by using a knob to drive the limiting component, it achieves simultaneous improvement in operational convenience and positioning accuracy, effectively ensuring the transmission performance and service life of the torque converter assembly and meeting the needs of high-precision assembly and efficient production.

The utility model discloses a kind of compactor winch mechanism driven by motor, belong to compactor device technical field.A kind of compactor winch mechanism driven by motor, including reel, further include: motor, the output end of the motor is fixedly connected with torque converter;Planetary reducer, with the output end of torque converter fixed connection, and the planetary reducer is installed in reel;Normally open inner expansion clutch, is installed on the output end of planetary reducer;The utility model drives combination by motor plus torque converter, and working efficiency is higher;Motor is more easily accurate control, conducive to the intelligent development of compactor;Energy conservation and emission reduction, green environmental protection;Motor structure is simple, easy to install and refit.

A torque converter, which may be found in an automotive transmission, is provided. In some examples, the torque converter includes a shell that extends about an axis of rotation, a core that extends about the axis of rotation, and a plurality of curved blades that extend contactedly from the shell to the core. At least one blade of the plurality of curved blades may include a non-ruled surface. The at least one blade of the plurality of curved blades may narrow as it extends from the shell to the core.

To provide an air conditioning system for electric vehicles that does not require a fuel tank. [Solution] The air conditioning unit 38 of the electric vehicle 12 is equipped with a heat generation control unit 84 that, when there is a heat generation demand, drives the second electric motor MG2 with the lock-up clutch 20 released, thereby raising the temperature of the fluid that transmits power in the torque converter 22 and using it as a heat source for the air conditioning unit 38. This provides an air conditioning unit 38 for the electric vehicle 12 that heats up quickly and provides sufficient heating performance.

The invention belongs to the field of hydraulic torque converters, and particularly relates to a CVT (continuously variable transmission) hydraulic torque converter with a projection welding energy gathering ring structure. The hydraulic torque converter comprises a cover wheel hub and a cover wheel shell. An energy gathering ring is arranged on the end face of one end of the cover hub; the end face of one end of the cover hub is further provided with two molten pool grooves. The two molten pool grooves are annular grooves and are oppositely formed in the inner ring and the outer ring of the energy gathering ring on the hub cover; the sides, close to each other, of the two molten pool grooves are connected with the inner ring and the outer ring of the energy gathering ring correspondingly. Gaps are respectively formed between the inner side edge and the outer side edge of the end surface of one end of the cover hub and the other sides of the two molten pool tanks, and the end surface of one end of the cover hub is positioned at the gaps to serve as a supporting surface. According to the invention, the energy-gathering ring is innovatively designed, the bottom supporting surface is increased, and meanwhile, the melting tank is designed at the root part, so that the deflection phenomenon in the welding process is avoided, the form and location tolerance requirements of the perpendicularity and the coaxiality after the hub is welded are met, meanwhile, the welding strength requirement is met, and the welding qualification rate is improved.

The present application relates to the technical field of automatic transmissions, and in particular to a calibration control method and device for an automatic transmission, a vehicle, a medium, and a program. The method comprises: acquiring a basic shift point table and a slope compensation shift point table of an automatic transmission; acquiring a target shift action that requires raising a shift point when a road surface slope exceeds a slope threshold, and calibrating and optimizing the slope compensation shift point table on the basis of the slope threshold, wherein a compensation value that requires raising the shift point and corresponds to the target shift action in the calibrated and optimized slope compensation shift point table is greater than a compensation value before calibration and optimization; and determining a target shift point on the basis of the basic shift point table and the calibrated and optimized slope compensation shift point table, so as to control the automatic transmission to execute the target shift action. In this way, the problem that, when a vehicle equipped with the automatic transmission travels uphill under conditions with many curves, steep slopes, and long distances, continuous oil churning by a torque converter pump leads to transmission overheating, which triggers torque-limiting protection and results in a loss of drivability, is solved.

A torque control system and method for a vehicle include a control system configured to calculate a driver demand torque based on a speed of the vehicle and a driver torque request, predict a net driver demand torque based on the calculated driver demand torque and an opposing net torque for a road that the vehicle is traversing, estimate a turbine speed based on measured turbine and wheel speeds and a lumped vehicle inertia state space model with an observer correction algorithm, calculate a target actuator torque based on the calculated driver demand torque and the estimated turbine speed, and control at least one of an engine and an electric motor of the propulsion system based on the calculated target actuator torque.

The present disclosure relates to a hydraulic torque converter, which includes: a housing for receiving input torque; a pump wheel, which is integrated with the housing and can rotate around a rotation axis; a turbine, which can rotate around the rotation axis, the turbine is arranged axially opposite to the pump wheel and can be hydraulically driven by the pump wheel, and the turbine includes a turbine housing and a plurality of turbine blades; a vibration damper, which includes a driving plate, a driven plate and a plurality of elastic members between the driving plate and the driven plate; an output hub, which can rotate around the rotation axis and is connected to the turbine housing and the driven plate of the vibration damper for outputting torque; the turbine housing and the driven plate are mounted to the output hub by rivets, wherein the output hub includes a first centering surface for the driven plate, the first centering surface is an axially extending surface, and the driven plate includes a second centering surface that cooperates with the first centering surface.

An assembly for transmitting rotational torque between an output of a drive engine and a transmission input of a transmission includes a torque converter and a clutch assembly. The torque converter includes a rotatable torque converter input member and a torque converter output member. The torque converter output member is configured to transmit rotational torque to the transmission input. The clutch assembly includes a decoupling clutch having an engaged position and a disengaged position. The clutch assembly further includes a clutch housing that rotatably couples the clutch input member to the torque converter input member when the decoupling clutch is in the engaged position. One of the clutch housing and the torque converter input member includes a retention slot and the other of the clutch housing and the torque converter input member includes a retention post that is disposable in the retention slot to axially retain the clutch assembly.

The application provides a hydraulic torque converter control method and device, and belongs to the field of automobile gearbox control. When current vehicle parameters meet preset conditions, especially when the current vehicle speed is within a preset vehicle speed range, the clutch in the hydraulic torque converter is controlled to switch to a sliding friction state, that is, a semi-linked state. In this state, the engine can stop fuel injection, and the engine can also be prevented from stalling due to low wheel speed dragging the engine or the engine losing connection with the wheels. In summary, the engine can continue to be fuel cut on the basis of avoiding engine stall, the fuel cut time is prolonged, and oil consumption is further reduced.

Motor vehicle drive train with an internal combustion engine (250) designed as a 3-cylinder engine, which has a maximum engine torque M mot,maxand having an engine output shaft or crankshaft (18) and a transmission input shaft (66), and having a torque converter device (1) which has a converter housing (16) which is coupled, in particular in a rotationally fixed manner, to the engine output shaft or crankshaft (18), wherein this torque converter device (1) has a converter lock-up clutch (14), a torsional vibration damper (10) and a converter torus (12) formed by a pump wheel (20), a turbine wheel (24) and a stator wheel (22), wherein the torsional vibration damper (10) further has a first energy storage device (38) which has one or more first energy stores (42), and a second energy storage device (40) which has one or more second energy stores (44) and which is connected in series with the first energy storage device (38),and wherein between said first (38) and said second energy storage device (40) a first component (46) is provided which is connected in series with said two energy storage devices (38, 40), and wherein the turbine wheel (24) has an outer turbine shell (26) which is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the first component (46), wherein the torque converter device (1) further has a third component (62) which is coupled, in particular in a rotationally fixed manner, to the transmission input shaft (66), which is in particular adjacent to the torque converter device (1), and is connected in series with the second energy storage device (40) and the transmission input shaft (66), so that a torque can be transmitted from the second energy storage device (40) to the transmission input shaft (66) via the third component (62),wherein, when a torque is transmitted via the first component (46), a first mass moment of inertia J1 counteracts a change in this torque transmitted via the first component (46), and wherein, when a torque is transmitted via the third component (62), a second mass moment of inertia J2 counteracts a change in this torque transmitted via the third component (62), characterized in that the spring rate c1 [in the unit Nm / °] of the first energy storage device (38) is greater than or equal to the product of the maximum engine torque M, mot,max [in the unit Nm] of the internal combustion engine (250) and the factor 0.03 [1 / °] and less than or equal to the product of the maximum engine torque Mmot,max [in the unit Nm] of the internal combustion engine (250) and the factor 0.05 [1 / °], and that the spring rate c2 [in the unit Nm / °] of the second energy storage device (40) is greater than or equal to the product of the maximum engine torque M mot,max[in the unit Nm] of the internal combustion engine (250) and the factor 0.06 [1 / °] and is less than or equal to the product of the maximum engine torque M mot,max [in the unit Nm] of the internal combustion engine (250) and the factor 0.1 [1 / °], and that the spring rate c1 [in the unit Nm / rad] of the first energy storage device (38) and the spring rate c2 [in the unit Nm / rad] of the second energy storage device (40), on the one hand, and the first mass moment of inertia J1 [in the unit kg*m 2 ], on the other hand, the quotient formed is greater than or equal to 9993 N*m / (rad*kg*m 2 ) and less than or equal to 27758 N*m / (rad*kg*m 2 ); and that the spring rate c2 [in the unit 1 / rad] of the second energy storage device (40) and the spring rate c GEW [in the unit 1 / rad] of the transmission input shaft (66), on the one hand, and the second mass moment of inertia J2 [in the unit kg*m 2], on the other hand, the quotient formed is greater than or equal to 789568 N*m / (rad*kg*m 2 ) and less than or equal to 3158273 N*m / (rad*kg*m 2 ) is.

An electrified powertrain that generates and transfers drive torque to a driveline of a hybrid electric vehicle is provided. The powertrain includes an engine, an electric motor, a clutch, a torque converter and a controller. The clutch selectively disengages an engine output from a remainder of the electrified powertrain. The torque converter transfers rotating power from at least one of the engine and the electric motor to a transmission. The controller is configured to: receive an impeller speed and a turbine speed of the torque converter; determine a target turbine torque; determine, coefficients as a function of the impeller speed, turbine speed and target turbine torque; update an adaptive lookup table based on the coefficients; and determine an adapted turbine torque based on the updated adaptive lookup table.

A structure and method of assembly of a torque converter assembly can independently set a clutch disengagement distance (CL) without being affected by axial clearance. The assembly includes a torque converter cover having a first axially extending flange, a reaction ring having a second axially extending flange, and a torque converter pump having a third axially extending flange. The first axially extending flange, the second axially extending flange and the third axially extending flange are interconnected by a single connection point, and the second axially extending flange and the third axially extending flange are provided with interworking structures for limiting relative axial movement between the reaction ring and the torque converter pump prior to connection.

Torque converter (10) which includes: a rotation axis (A); a stator assembly (26, 226) comprising a side plate (36, 236) with a first radial surface and a thickness (t); a turbine (20) containing a plurality of blades (79); an impeller (18) comprising a plurality of blades (81) and an impeller housing (16) with a second radial surface facing the first radial surface of the side plate (36, 236); a hydrodynamic thrust bearing (50, 250) arranged between the stator side plate (36, 236) and the impeller housing (16) and comprising: a pressure surface (52, 252) facing the first radial surface or the second radial surface, with a fluid channel in between; a bearing surface (54, 254) which is opposite the pressure surface (52, 252) and faces the other radial surface, the first radial surface or the second radial surface; an inner circumferential surface (56, 256) that defines an opening concentric to the axis of rotation (A); an outer circumferential surface (58, 258); and an axial retaining means (60) for attachment to the stator side plate (26, 236) or the impeller (18), comprising at least two elastic tongues (60), each tongue comprising: a bendable section (262); a lockable section (264); and an axial section (266) with a first width (w2) connecting the bendable section (262) and the lockable section (264), wherein the bendable section (264) also serves as a lockable section (264), and wherein the axial section (266) with a width (w2) connects the bendable section (264) to the radial surface (254).

The utility model relates to the field of bolt machining devices, and discloses a hydraulic torque converter bolt derusting and polishing device which comprises a bottom plate, two inner vertical plates are symmetrically mounted on the two sides of the upper surface of the bottom plate, a first limiting column and a second limiting column are rotationally mounted on the opposite sides of the two inner vertical plates correspondingly, and a hexagonal notch is formed in the end face of the first limiting column; a second motor is installed on the side face of the inner vertical plate on the same side with the first limiting column, the output end of the second motor is fixed to the corresponding end of the first limiting column, outer vertical plates are installed on the edges of the two sides of the upper portion of the bottom plate, and the first motor drives the two-way lead screw to rotate and drives the two inner vertical plates to drive the first limiting column and the second limiting column to move. The bolt is clamped and limited between the first limiting column and the second limiting column, and the second motor is matched, so that the rotating first limiting column can be matched with the second limiting column to drive the clamped and limited bolt to continuously rotate, the threaded end of the bolt continuously makes contact with abrasive paper, and automatic polishing of the bolt is achieved.

The application discloses a hydraulic torque converter power gear shifting mechanism and relates to the technical field of gear shifting mechanisms.The hydraulic torque converter power gear shifting mechanism comprises a hydraulic torque converter body, a gear shifting structure cover plate is fixedly installed at the top of the hydraulic torque converter body, a through groove is formed in the inner wall of the gear shifting structure cover plate, a locking device is arranged at the left end of the top of the hydraulic torque converter body, and a liquid scraping device is arranged at the top of the hydraulic torque converter body.The locking device is arranged so that the sliding block, the gear shifting rod, the water absorbing sleeve, the sliding plate, the pressing plate, the pressing rod, the rebound plate, the locking rod and the limiting frame can be used to absorb sweat on the hands of the driver when the driver's palms sweat or when water splashes on the hands, so that the comfort and controllability of the user are improved, the service life of the gear shifting rod is prolonged, the influence of daily wear and tear on the rod is reduced, and safer and more reliable driving experience is provided for the driver.

The invention relates to the field of hydraulic torque converters, and provides a hydraulic torque converter transmission system with graded power takeoff, one end of a cover wheel is in clutch connection with a planetary gear mechanism through a first clutch mechanism, the other end of the cover wheel is in clutch connection with a pump wheel through a third clutch mechanism, the pump wheel is in transmission connection with a turbine, the turbine is connected with the planetary gear mechanism, and the planetary gear mechanism is connected with an output shaft. The pump wheel is connected with a common power take-off port, the cover wheel is connected with an engine and a steady-speed power take-off port, and the steady-speed power take-off port is connected with a power take-off port accessory through a fourth clutch mechanism in a clutch mode. The cover wheel and the engine have the same rotating speed, the rotating speed of the steady-speed power take-off port and the power take-off port accessory is linearly related to the rotating speed of the engine, and the rotating speed of the general power take-off port is linearly related to the rotating speed of the pump wheel. The rotating speed and torque transmission relation between the engine and the torque converter pump wheel is actively adjusted by controlling the first clutch mechanism and the third clutch mechanism, it is ensured that the rotating speed of the engine does not drop under the working conditions of vehicle starting, gear shifting and the like, and then a common power take-off opening and a steady-speed power take-off opening are formed in the torque converter.

The application provides a loader with an AT transmission shovel loading condition identification method and system, the method comprising: obtaining the turbine speed and the pump speed of the hydraulic torque converter in the loader; determining the stall torque of the loader according to the turbine speed and the pump speed; obtaining the input shaft speed of the AT transmission; when the stall torque and the input shaft speed both satisfy the preset condition, determining that the current condition of the loader is the shovel loading condition; and then the shovel loading condition of the loader can be identified through the determination logic according to the turbine speed, the pump speed and the input shaft speed, the turbine speed, the pump speed and the input shaft speed are relatively stable and continuous, and are less affected by environmental factors, so that the influence of the unstable change rate caused by the output shaft speed fluctuation is avoided; the identification error is reduced, and the accuracy of the condition identification is improved.

The present invention discloses a hydraulic torque converter, comprising an impeller disc having impeller blades; a turbine disc having a support portion, wherein the support portion supports the turbine blades, and the turbine blades are driven by the impeller blades via a fluid to rotate around a rotation axis. The turbine disc also has a flange portion, which is located radially outside the support portion and extends outward, and is integrally formed with the support portion. The hydraulic torque converter also includes a vibration damping device, wherein a mass block of the vibration damping device is mounted on the flange portion and is configured to be movable relative to the flange portion and to absorb torque fluctuations on the turbine disc, thereby reducing torque vibrations on the turbine disc. In addition, the present invention also discloses a vehicle including the hydraulic torque converter.

An improved torque converter may include a front cover and a piston disposed for movement within an internal bore of the front cover between unlocked and locked positions. The piston includes at least one one-way flow device disposed in the piston. The at least one one-way flow device permits fluid flow therethrough from a rear side of the piston to a forward side of the piston when in in an open position and restricts fluid flow therethrough from the forward side of the piston to the rear side of the piston when in a closed position. A clutch assembly is disposed between the rear side of the piston and the top plate that is disposed within and secured to the front cover. The clutched assembly is engaged to the top plate when the piston is in its locked position, and disengaged when the piston is in its unlocked position.