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AssigneeDaimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsWolfgang Kizler, Wolfgang Sieder, Hans-Joachim Schopf, Helmut Dobler, Roland Gluck
Estimating the term…
An axially flexible drive disc of sheet-metal for vehicle propulsion includes a centrally disposed flange for attachment to the end of the drive shaft of the vehicle propulsion engine and is connected at its external circumference at a few, preferably three, fastening points, located evenly distributed around the periphery, to the input element of the adjacent gearbox. The gear box includes a hydrodynamic torque converter as the input element with the converter housing simultaneously assuming the flywheel function for the vehicle propulsion engine. In order to increase the strength of the drive disc with respect to axial fatigue loads, to smooth offset and swash and to reduce frettage corrosion at the fastening elements, the force path from the central flange connection to the radially outwardly located fastening points is given a spiral shape to assure greater bending lengths, by kidney-shaped cutouts disposed between the fastening points and the flange connection so that, as a rough approximation, T-shaped spring elements are left between neighboring cutouts.
An axially flexible drive disc made of sheet metal, which is flangedly connected centrally thereof to an end of a drive shaft of a vehicle engine and which is connected radially outwardly at a plurality of fastening points spaced circumferentially substantially evenly to an input element of an adjacent transmission, said drive disc including a plurality of kidney-shaped cutouts corresponding in number to the number of the plurality of fastening points, each of said plurality of kidney-shaped cutouts being associated with a respective fastening point of the plurality of fastening points and disposed in the same area as the respective fastening point radially between the respective fastening point and the central flange connection, each of said kidney-shaped cutouts extending in both circumferential directions with spoke-type webs remaining between adjacent kidney-shaped cutouts, each of said webs extending from said flange connection to a circumferential rim and being at least approximately twice and at most approximately three times as wide as the minimum width of the circumferential rim of the drive disc which extends toward the fastening points, each of said kidney-shaped cutouts being contoured along a radially inner contour generally in the shape of an arc having a radius of curvature from 1.5 to 4 times that of a circumferential circle of the central flange, the inner contour of each of the plurality of kidney shaped cutouts touching the circumferential circle of the central flange at a peripheral position generally coinciding with the intersection of a line passing through the corresponding fastening point and the central axis of the drive disc.
An axially flexible drive disc made of sheet metal, the disc being connected to the end of a drive shaft of a vehicle engine by a centrally disposed flange and to an input element of an adjacent transmission radially outwardly by three fastening points spaced circumferentially substantially evenly, said drive disc including three kidney-shaped cutouts, each of the kidney-shaped cutouts being associated with a respective fastening point and disposed in the same area as the respective fastening point radially between the respective fastening point and the centrally disposed flange, each of said kidney-shaped cutouts extending in both circumferential directions with spoke-type webs remaining between adjacent kidney-shaped cutouts, each of said webs extending from said flange connection to a circumferential rim of the drive disc and being at least approximately twice and at most approximately three times as wide as a minimum width of the circumferential rim of the drive disc which extends toward the fastening points, each of said kidney-shaped cutouts being contoured along a radially inner contour generally in the shape of an arc having a radius of curvature from 1.5 to 4 times that of a circumferential circle of the centrally disposed flange, the inner contour of each of the plurality of kidney-shaped cutouts touching the circumferential circle of the centrally disposed flange at a peripheral position generally coinciding with the intersection of a line passing through the corresponding fastening point and the center of the drive disc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.