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US 4,926,992 AGranted
Electromagnetically operable friction-disk clutch
OwnerKarl-Heinz Linniginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electromagnetically operable friction-disk clutch for an impeller of a fan, in particular of motor vehicle internal-combustion engines, is proposed, in which the impeller can be driven at engine speed and two different windmilling speeds. To produce the engine speed, a first electromagnetic friction-disk clutch (4) is provided, which drives the impeller (2) via an armature ring (15) and an impeller hub (17). A lower windmilling speed is generated by a second electromagnetic friction-disk clutch (6) via an eddy-current coupling (7). A special, integral stepped ball bearing (19) serves for this purpose, the intermediate ring (22) of which serves as drive flange (22) for the eddy current coupling (7).
Claims10
A torque-transmitting assembly comprising
- (a) a drive shaft adapted to be rotated by external power;
- (b) an output member mounted on the shaft for rotation thereon;
- (c) an eddy-current coupling mounted on said shaft for rotation thereon and including
- (1) a rotatable driving member;
- (2) a rotatable driven member being unitary with said output member;
- and
- (3) magnetic force-transmitting means for applying a driving torque from the driving member to the driven member upon rotation of the driving member;
- (d) a ball bearing mounted on said shaft for rotation thereon and including
- (1) a series of radially inner bearing balls;
- (2) a series of radially outer bearing balls;
- (3) an inner ring surrounded by said series of radially inner bearing balls and being seated on said shaft;
- (4) an outer ring surrounding said series of radially outer bearing balls and supporting said output member;
- and
- (5) a rotary intermediate ring extending between and being in a contacting relationship with the radially inner bearing balls and the radially outer bearing balls;
- the intermediate ring being affixed to said rotatable driving member of the eddy-current coupling;
- and
- (3) a clutch mounted on said shaft and having an engaged state in which said clutch maintains a torquetransmitting connection between said shaft and said intermediate ring, whereby said shaft drives the rotatable driving member of said eddy-current coupling through said clutch and said intermediate ring;
- said clutch further having a disengaged state in which said torque-transmitting connection between said shaft and said intermediate ring is absent.
15 more elements
An electromagnetically operable torque-transmitting assembly comprising
- (a) a drive shaft adapted to be rotated by external power;
- (b) a fan impeller unit, forming an output member of said assembly, mounted on said shaft for rotation thereon;
- (c) an eddy-current coupling mounted on said shaft for rotation thereon and including
- (1) a rotatable driving member;
- (2) a rotatable driven member unitary with said fan impeller unit;
- and
- (3) magnetic force-transmitting means for applying a driving torque from the driving member to the driven member upon rotation of the driving member;
- (d) a ball bearing mounted on said shaft for rotation thereon and including
- (1) a series of radially inner bearing balls;
- (2) a series of radially outer bearing balls;
- (3) an inner ring surrounded by said series of radially inner bearing balls and being seated on said shaft;
- (4) an outer ring surrounding said series of radially outer bearing balls and supporting said fan impeller unit;
- and
- (5) a rotary intermediate ring extending between and being in a contacting relationship with the radially inner bearing balls and the radially outer bearing balls;
- the intermediate ring being affixed to said rotatable driving member of the eddy-current coupling;
- (e) a first electromagnetically operable clutch mounted on said shaft and having an engaged state in which said first clutch maintains a torque-transmitting connection between said shaft and said fan impeller unit, whereby said shaft directly drives said fan impeller unit through said first clutch;
- said first clutch further having a disengaged state in which said torque-transmitting connection between said shaft and said fan impeller unit is absent;
- and
- (f) a second electromagnetically operable clutch mounted on said shaft and having an engaged state in which said clutch maintains a torque-transmitting connection between said shaft and said intermediate ring, whereby said shaft drives the rotatable driving member of said eddy-current coupling through said second electromagnetically operable clutch and said intermediate ring;
- said second electromagnetically operable clutch further having a disengaged state in which said torque-transmitting connection between said shaft and said intermediate ring is absent.
17 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.