Automotive driveline disconnect assembly
AssigneeGKN Driveline North America, Inc.
InventorsPaul F. Reichert, Robert Nelson, Samuel J. Oram
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automotive driveline disconnect assembly includes a first clutch part and a second clutch part, and is designed and constructed to preclude an occupant-audible noise from being made between components of the disconnect assembly. The preclusion of the occupant-audible noise can be effected via one or more dampers, a non-flat tooth profile, or a combination of these measures. The disconnect assembly can be equipped in a larger automotive driveline component such as a power transfer unit (PTU), a final drive unit (FDU), a rear drive module (RDM), or an electronic differential locker (EDL).
Claims20
An automotive driveline component, comprising:
- a disconnect assembly including a first clutch part and a second clutch part, said first clutch part having a first set of teeth including multiple individual teeth each having a tip face and with a root between adjacent teeth, said second clutch part having a second set of teeth including multiple individual teeth each having a tip face and with a root between adjacent teeth, said disconnect assembly including a damper situated between said first clutch part and said second clutch part, wherein a) at least a portion of the damper is placed within a root of the first clutch part, the damper is arranged to be engaged by the tip face of a tooth of the second clutch part when the disconnect assembly is in a connected state, or b) the damper is received radially inwardly of the teeth or radially outwardly of the teeth without extending radially between the teeth;
- and
- wherein, when said disconnect assembly is brought into the connected state, said first clutch part or said second clutch part comes into contact with said damper before full engagement is made between said first and second sets of teeth.
An automotive driveline component, comprising:
- a disconnect assembly including a first clutch part, a second clutch part, and a damper, said damper situated at least partly around an exterior surface of said first clutch part or said second clutch part;
- and
- a cam assembly located at an exterior of said disconnect assembly and interacting with said disconnect assembly in order to bring said disconnect assembly to a connected state and a disconnected state, said damper being disposed radially between said cam assembly and said first clutch part or said second clutch part;
- wherein, when said disconnect assembly is brought into the connected state and to the disconnected state, direct abutment between said first clutch part or said second clutch part and said cam assembly is at least minimized at said damper.
An automotive driveline component, comprising:
- a disconnect assembly including a first clutch part, a second clutch part, a first damper, and a second damper, said first clutch part having a first set of teeth, said second clutch part having a second set of teeth, said first damper being situated between said first clutch part and said second clutch part, said second damper being situated at least partly around an exterior surface of said first clutch part or said second clutch part;
- and
- a cam assembly located at an exterior of said disconnect assembly and interacting with said disconnect assembly in order to bring said disconnect assembly to a connected state and a disconnected state, said second damper being disposed radially between said cam assembly and said first clutch part or said second clutch part;
- wherein, when said disconnect assembly is brought into the connected state and into the disconnected state, said first clutch part or said second clutch part comes into contact with said first damper before complete meshing is made between said first and second sets of teeth, and direct abutment between said first clutch part or said second clutch part and said cam assembly is at least minimized at said second damper.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.