US 7,000,747 B2Granted

Torque transmitting apparatus

AssigneeLuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG

InventorsGunnar Back, Hubert Friedmann, Paul Granderath, Jean-Francois Heller, Stephan Maienschein, Marc Meisner, Bruno Müller, Wolfgang Reik

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Abstract

A hydrokinetic torque converter with a built-in bypass clutch is provided with an arrangement which regulates the cooling of the clutch at a rate dependent upon the slip between the coaxial driving and driven parts of the clutch, and hence upon the quantity of generated friction heat. The cooling unit for the driving and/or driven part of the clutch can employ, for example, one or more pumps; a supply of a substance which changes its aggregate state from liquid to gaseous or from solid to flowable in response to heating, and vice versa in response to cooling; one or more porous washers in the path for the flow of hydraulic fluid between the customary plenum chambers provided in the housing of the torque converter to move a piston of the driven part of the clutch into and from frictional engagement with the housing; and/or a system of recesses, grooves, channels and/or other passages serving to convey fluid between the chambers at a rate which is higher or highest when the clutch operates with maximum slip. Such rate can decrease to zero when the torque converter is idle or the clutch is fully engaged to operate without slip.

Claims26

Dependent claims

A hydrokinetic torque converter, comprising:

a housing rotatable about a predetermined axis;
a pump rotatable by said housing about said axis;
a turbine rotatable in said housing about said axis by and relative to said pump;
means for rotating said housing;
an output element rotatable about said axis and arranged to receive torque from said turbine;
a fluid-operated bypass clutch disposed in said housing and arranged to transmit variable torque between said housing and said output element, said clutch including a driving component rotatable with said housing and a driven component rotatable with said output element and movable axially of said housing into and from frictional engagement—with and without slip—with said driving component;
means for moving said driven component, including first and second plenum chambers containing bodies of hydraulic fluid at variable pressure with the provision for fluid flow between said chambers through said clutch;
and
at least one active means for regulating the fluid flow between said chambers in dependency upon the magnitude of torque being transmitted by the clutch, wherein the at least one active means permits the hydraulic fluid to intermittently flow through grooves formed in a friction lining associated with one of the components so as to regulate fluid flow between said chambers.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/996,333Filed 23 Nov 2004 · division
Priority: DE 100 20 90728 Apr 2000
Published: US 2005/0126874 A116 Jun 2005
Granted: 21 Feb 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 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 2045/021
With mechanical clutches for bridging a fluid gearing of the hydrokinetic type: three chamber system, i.e. comprising a separated, closed chamber…
F16H 2045/0278
Characterised by the type of the friction surface of the lock-up clutch: comprising only two co-acting friction surfaces
F16H 2045/0289
Characterised by the type of the friction surface of the lock-up clutch: details of friction surfaces of the lock-up clutch

Family

Application09/842,362Parent of this division · filed 25 Apr 2001
US 2005/0126874 A1Pre-grant publication · published 16 Jun 2005
US 6,851,532 B2Parent of this division
US 2002/0027053 A1Published application
US 7,000,747 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.