Compliant drive for internal combustion engine cooling fan
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorBruce P. Williams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A compliant drive for powering a cooling fan of an internal combustion engine includes a rotatable fan hub having a running surface for receiving a drive belt powered by the engine and a torque sensing clutch mounted to the hub and having an output flange adapted for mounting a fan thereto. The clutch is adapted to allow the transmission of torque from the hub to the output flange, but not to allow the transmission of torque from the output flange to the hub.
Claims11
A compliant drive system and cooling fan for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a rotatable fan hub having a running surface for receiving a drive belt powered by the engine;
- a fan rotatably mounted upon the hub;
- and
- a clutch interposed between the hub and the fan for locking the fan to the hub when the hub is either increasing the rotational speed of the fan or maintaining the rotational speed of the fan at a constant value, with said clutch unlocking the fan from the hub at least part of any time period in which the rotational speed of the hub is decreasing, with the result that said fan is allowed to rotate at a speed in excess of the rotational speed of said hub during certain engine operating conditions, with said clutch further comprising a thermally responsive element interposed between said fan and said clutch, with said thermally responsive element serving to disengage said fan from said hub in the event that the operating temperature of the engine is below a predetermined value.
An engine driven cooling fan for supplying cooling air to an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a rotatable fan hub having a running surface for receiving a drive belt powered by the engine;
- a fan rotatably mounted upon the hub such that the fan is free to rotate relatively to the hub unless the fan is locked to the hub, with the fan having blading designed to rotate in a design direction so as to supply cooling air to the engine;
- and
- a clutch interposed between the hub and the fan for locking the fan to the hub when the torque transmitted to the clutch by the hub is in the design direction, with said clutch unlocking the fan from the hub when the torque transmitted to the clutch by the hub is in the direction opposite to the design direction, with said clutch transmitting torque pulses thereby causing the fan to turn at an average speed in excess of the speed of the hub during idle operation, with said fan being powered exclusively by the hub during engine operation.
A compliant drive for powering a cooling fan of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a rotatable fan hub having a running surface for receiving a drive belt powered by the engine;
- and
- a torque sensing clutch mounted to the hub and having an output flange adapted for mounting a fan thereto, with said clutch being adapted to allow the clutch to transmit torque from the hub to the output flange, but not to allow the transmission of torque from the output flange to the hub, with said clutch transmitting torque pulses thereby causing the fan to turn at an average speed in excess of the speed of the hub during idle operation, with said fan being powered exclusively by the hub during engine operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.