US Patent 11407302 Torque transfer assembly and vehicle including the same

A torque transfer assembly includes an engine starter, an electric machine, a torque converter, and a disconnect clutch further defined as a mechanical clutch. The vehicle includes an internal combustion engine including an output shaft, and a transmission. The engine starter is adapted to be rotatably coupled to the output shaft for rotating the output shaft to start the internal combustion engine. The electric machine is adapted to be rotatably coupled to the transmission for delivering rotational torque to the transmission. The torque converter is rotatably coupled to the electric machine and adapted to be rotatably coupled to the transmission. The mechanical clutch is adapted to be rotatably coupled to the output shaft and the torque converter. The mechanical clutch is adapted to selectively rotatably couple the output shaft to the torque converter and is adapted to selectively rotatably decouple the output shaft from the torque converter.