
FLUID COUPLINGS AND TORQUE CONVERTERS 229
14.3 TORQUE CONVERTERS
Torque converters in motor vehicles
About the same time that Daimler introduced the fluid
coupling for their passenger car and bus transmission
systems, A. Lysholm of the Ljungstrom Steam Turbine
Co.
of Sweden developed a relatively small torque
converter drive suitable for use in motor vehicles. This
unit could multiply engine torque up to about five times
with a peak efficiency of just over 80 per cent. It was
further developed under licence by Leyland Motors,
and in 1933 they began manufacturing such a system for
use in buses and railcars, following which it became
known i