US 7,458,453 B2Granted

Disk clutch and method for operating same

AssigneeChristian Bauer GmbH + Co.

InventorsLothar Brückner, August Kästner

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Abstract

The invention relates to a clutch, particularly a multi-disk clutch, of an, in particular, manual transmission for, in particular, vehicles having a spring force of a spring device, said spring force influencing the adjusting force, which is produced in a power source and which serves to actuate the clutch. This clutch should be able to operated while maintaining predetermined closing and/opening times that are as precise as possible. In addition, the closing and/or opening times should be independent of possible changes in properties of the spring device. To this end, a clutch of the aforementioned type is characterized in that the spring device (3) and/or at least one of its thrust bearings is provided with a sensor (4), which detects solid body changes and which serves to determine the spring force exerted by the spring device (3), and a device for transmitting the determined measured values for controlling and/or regulating the adjusting power source.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A disk clutch, with which a first body (1) and a second body (2) in which a piston (5) to which a hydraulic pressure is applied is mounted in a rotationally fixed but axially displaceable manner, are connected to one another in a non-positive manner via intermeshing disks that can be acted upon by the force of the piston (5), of a manual transmission for motor vehicles,

with a spring force of a spring mechanism which influences an adjusting force produced by a power source for operation of the clutch,
wherein the spring mechanism (3) and/or at least one of a plurality of thrust bearings (6) associated with the spring mechanism is provided with a sensor (4) which detects solid-state changes for determining the spring force emanating from the spring mechanism (3) and
a device for transmitting the measured values thus determined for regulating the adjusting power source,
whereby a deceleration force of the hydraulic pressure applied to the piston (5) counteracting the spring mechanism in the opening of the clutch is part of the adjusting force or thrust force acting on the clutch;
and
wherein the sensor (4) is designed as a piezoresistive, amorphous carbon layer applied permanently to a surface area of the spring mechanism (3) or the thrust bearing (6).

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.