Damped isolation pulley having an electro-adhesive clutch
AssigneeAmerican Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorSteven Chevalier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A damped isolation pulley having a hub, a pulley disposed concentrically about the hub, an isolation spring, an inertia ring and an electro-adhesive clutch. The hub is configured to be mounted to a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine. The isolation spring is formed of an elastomeric material and couples the pulley to the hub. The inertia ring is resiliently coupled to the hub and is rotationally de-coupled from the pulley. The electro-adhesive clutch has a clutch input member that is coupled to the pulley and can be operated to form an alternate torque path between the pulley and the hub that does not include the isolation spring.
Claims26
A damped isolation pulley comprising:
- a hub that is adapted to be mounted to a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine;
- a pulley disposed concentrically about the hub;
- an isolation spring coupling the pulley to the hub;
- a torsional vibration damper rotationally coupled to the hub and rotationally decoupled from the pulley;
- and
- an electro-adhesive clutch having a clutch input member that is coupled to the pulley, the electro-adhesive clutch being selectively operable for forming an alternate torque path between the pulley and the hub that does not include the isolation spring;
- wherein the electro-adhesive clutch comprises a set of discrete electro-adhesive clutch segments having a first clutch segment, which is coupled for rotation with the pulley, and a second clutch segment, which is coupled for rotation with the hub;
- and
- wherein the first clutch segment is disposed concentrically about the second clutch segment.
A damped isolation pulley comprising:
- a hub that is adapted to be mounted to a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine;
- a pulley disposed concentrically about the hub;
- an isolation spring coupling the pulley to the hub;
- a torsional vibration damper rotationally coupled to the hub and rotationally decoupled from the pulley;
- and
- an electro-adhesive clutch having a clutch input member that is coupled to the pulley, the electro-adhesive clutch being selectively operable for forming an alternate torque path between the pulley and the hub that does not include the isolation spring;
- wherein the electro-adhesive clutch comprises a plurality of sets of discrete electro-adhesive clutch segments, wherein each set of discrete electro-adhesive clutch segments comprises a first clutch segment, which is coupled for rotation with the pulley, and a second clutch segment, which is coupled for rotation with the hub, and wherein the sets of discrete electro-adhesive clutch segments are selectively energize-able to vary a torque capacity of the electro-adhesive clutch.
A damped isolation pulley comprising:
- a hub that is adapted to be mounted to a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine;
- a pulley disposed concentrically about the hub;
- an isolation spring coupling the pulley to the hub;
- a torsional vibration damper rotationally coupled to the hub and rotationally decoupled from the pulley;
- and
- an electro-adhesive clutch having a clutch input member that is coupled to the pulley, the electro-adhesive clutch being selectively operable for forming an alternate torque path between the pulley and the hub that does not include the isolation spring;
- wherein the electro-adhesive clutch comprises a set of discrete electro-adhesive clutch segments having a first clutch segment, which is coupled for rotation with the pulley, and a second clutch segment, which is coupled for rotation with the hub;
- and
- wherein the first and second clutch segments are disposed parallel to one another, extend radially between the hub and the pulley, and are spaced apart from one another along a rotational axis of the hub.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.