US 6,915,886 B2Granted

Bridging clutch

AssigneeZF Sachs AG

InventorsJürgen Dacho, Peter Frey, Ralf Rönnebeck, Georg Mencher, Bernd Schöder, Horst Breier, Hermann Schleicher

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A bridging clutch is installed in a fluid medium-filled housing of a hydrodynamic coupling device located between a drive shaft and a transmission input shaft, the coupling device also containing a pump wheel and a turbine wheel. The bridging clutch is provided with a piston, which, when moved into a first axial position, brings at least one friction element into working connection with at least one friction surface, and when moved into a second axial position, at least partially releases this working connection, and with a torsional vibration damper, which is designed with at least one drive element and with at least one takeoff element, at least one of which has openings for circumferential springs and actuating areas for these springs. At least one of the takeoff elements acts a carrier element for the turbine wheel, which is held otherwise without radial support in the housing. At least one of these elements, namely, either the drive element or the takeoff element, has at least one radial area which is brought up in the axial direction essentially without play to the other one of the elements in question, which radial area serves as axial support for the positioning of the turbine wheel in this direction with respect to the housing of the coupling device.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A bridging clutch for installation in a hydrodynamic coupling device having a housing, a pump wheel, and a turbine wheel, said bridging clutch comprising:

a torsional vibration damper comprising a drive element for connecting to a drive shaft, a take-off element for connecting to a transmission input shaft, and a plurality of circumferential springs between said elements, each said element having openings for receiving said springs, each said element having at least one pass-through opening, each said element having at least one axial support area which is in contact with the at least one axial support area of the other said element for axially positioning the turbine wheel with respect to the housing;
at least one friction element and at least one friction surface for providing a working connection between said drive element and said drive shaft;
a piston which can move axially between a first axial position, wherein said at least one friction element engages said at least one friction surface to make said working connection, and a second axial position, wherein said working connection is released;
a housing hub and a retaining element fixed to said housing hub, said piston being mounted non-rotatably but with freedom of axial movement to said retaining element, said retaining element having at least one pass-through opening aligned with said pass-through openings in said drive element and said take-off element.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/660,245Filed 11 Sep 2003
Priority: DE 102 42 85614 Sep 2002
Published: US 2004/0060793 A11 Apr 2004
Granted: 12 Jul 2005
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

F16H 45/02
Combinations of fluid gearings for conveying rotary motion with couplings or clutches: with mechanical clutches for bridging a fluid gearing of…
F16H 2045/0247
With damping means: having a turbine with hydrodynamic damping means
F16H 2045/0284
Characterised by the type of the friction surface of the lock-up clutch: multiple disk type lock-up clutch
F16H
Gearing