Hydraulic clutch assembly
AssigneeEaton Corporation
InventorsMartin Eugene Kummer, Mark Charles Barnholt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wet clutch assembly has an inner housing configured for rotation with an input torque member to the clutch assembly. The inner housing has a series of splines to support a portion of the plates in a clutch pack. Each spline defines a single aperture in fluid communication with at least one plate of the clutch pack, and apertures on adjacent splines are offset to distribute cooling fluid nearly equally between friction surfaces. Uniform flow distribution ensures efficient use of cooling fluid and prevents overheating of plates receiving lesser fluid flow.
Claims20
A wet clutch assembly comprising:
- an inner housing supporting a series of splines, the inner housing configured for rotation with an input torque member to the clutch assembly;
- an outer housing configured for rotation with an output torque member from the clutch assembly;
- and
- a clutch pack interposed between the inner and outer housing for selectively transferring torque from the input member to the output member, the clutch pack having a series of plates, a portion of the plates supported by the splines;
- wherein each spline defines a single aperture in fluid communication with at least one plate of the clutch pack;
- and
- wherein the aperture on each splines is offset relative to apertures on adjacent splines.
A dual clutch assembly comprising:
- a first clutch configured to selectively transfer torque from an input torque member of the clutch assembly to a first output torque member of the clutch assembly, the clutch having a first series of plates and a first series of cooling channels, each cooling channel defining a single port in fluid communication with at least one plate, wherein the port on each cooling channel is offset relative to ports on adjacent cooling channels;
- and
- a second clutch configured to selectively transfer torque from the input torque member of the clutch assembly to a second output torque member of the clutch assembly, the clutch having a second series of plates and a second series of cooling channels, each cooling channel defining a single port in fluid communication with at least one plate, wherein the port on each cooling channel is offset relative to ports on adjacent cooling channels.
An inner housing for a clutch comprising:
- a generally cylindrical housing formed about a longitudinal axis;
- a first series of cooling channels supported by the housing and configured for flow along the longitudinal axis, each cooling channel defining a single aperture on an outer surface of the housing at a first position along the axis;
- and
- a second series of cooling channels supported by the housing and configured for flow along the longitudinal axis, each cooling channel defining a single aperture on the outer surface of the housing at a second position along the axis.
- wherein a cooling channel from the first series alternates with a cooling channel from the second series about the circumference of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.