Hydrodynamic machine, especially hydrodynamic retarder

Abstract

The invention relates to a hydrodynamic machine, especially a hydrodynamic retarder, comprising two blade wheels which are opposite of one another in such a way that they jointly form a toroidal working chamber which can be filled with a working medium in order to hydrodynamically transfer torque by means of a cycle flow of the working medium in the working chamber from the first blade wheel to the second blade wheel, with the first blade wheel rotating about a rotation axis and the second blade wheel rotating about the same rotation axis in the same direction of rotation or opposite of the direction of rotation of the first blade wheel, or being held in a stationary manner. The invention is characterized in that at least one of the two blade wheels is subdivided in the region of its blades into at least two concentric rings and/or ring segments which can be twisted with respect to one another in the circumferential direction of the blade wheel in order to interrupt individual or all blades of the blade wheel in their surface progression by offset optionally in a first state by relative twisting with respect to one another and to align the same in a second state into a common continuous surface, with the blades of at least the subdivided blade wheel in the state aligned into a common continuous surface or both blade wheels extending in a top view as seen in the direction of the rotation axis to the respective blade wheel from a radially inner blade end on a radially inner wall of the working chamber in an arc to a radially outside blade end on a radially outside wall of the working chamber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.