Back to results
US 4,907,684 AGranted
Ball drain valve for the piston space of a rotary multi-disc clutch
AssigneeZahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen AG
InventorHarald Breisch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeZahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen AG
InventorHarald Breisch
Estimating the term…
A ball drain valve (2), for the piston space (33) of a rotary clutch disc (3) for releasing the clutch disc piston (32) from pressure generated by rotation of pressurized oil remaining in the piston space when it is bled, including an opening (220), at least two ball spaces (25, 26) and a ball valve (23) actuated by rotation and control pressure. The ball drain valve (2) has two stages coordinated with the engaged and the disengaged positions of the clutch and the two ball spaces (25, 26) have outer diameters (D1, D2) of different sizes so that the ball valve (23), when the multi-disc clutch (3) is engaged, is in ball space (25) of large diameter (D1) and, when the clutch is disengaged, the ball valve is in ball space (26) of small diameter (D2). This arrangement achieves a quick drainage of the piston space (33) past a large gap (250) when the clutch is disengaged and prevents very little pressurized oil from escaping past a small gap (260) when the clutch (3) is engaged.
A ball drain valve (2), for a piston space (33) of a rotary multi-disc clutch (3) which includes a piston (32), to release the piston (32) from pressure generated by rotation of pressurized oil remaining in the piston space (33) when bled, comprising a housing (21), an opening (220) and a valve ball (23) actuated by centrifugal force and oil pressure, said valve ball (23) being disposed in interconnected ball spaces (25, 26) of different diameters (D1, D2), and the space occupied by said valve ball (23) being determined by the axial position of said piston (32) relative to the valve (2), wherein said valve ball (23) occupies the ball space (25) of relatively large diameter (D1) when said multi-disc clutch (3) is engaged and said ball drain valve (2) is closed and said valve ball (23) occupies the ball space (26) of relatively small diameter (D2) when said multi-disc clutch (3) is disengaged and said ball drain valve (2) is open.
A ball drain valve (2), for a piston space (33) of a rotary multi-disc clutch (3) which includes a piston (32), to release the piston (32) from pressure generated by rotation of pressurized oil remaining in the piston space (33) when bled, comprising a housing (21), an opening (220) fixed relative to said housing (21) and a valve ball (23) actuated by centrifugal force and oil pressure to open and close the opening, said valve ball (23) being disposed within an axially movable sleeve (24) containing two interconnected ball spaces (25, 26) of different diameters (D1, D2), wherein the ball space (25 or 26) to be occupied by said valve ball (23) is determined by the axial position of the sleeve (24) as controlled by interaction of said piston (32) and said sleeve (24) relative to the opening (220).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.