Priority is hereby claimed to European Patent Application No. 07014701.2, filed on Jul. 26, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a disc carrier of a friction clutch and to a friction clutch.
The ongoing diversification of model ranges of carmakers on the worldwide car market has spurred the movement toward increasingly smaller numbers of pieces for individual models. In addition, trends continue toward shorter life cycles of models due to regular model revisions. As a result, frequent design changes for subassemblies in the drive trains of vehicles (cars and/or motorcycles) are common, because increasingly greater torques must be transmitted, or weights must be reduced.
In the case of friction clutches in drive trains of vehicles, the casings of conventional prior-art clutch systems are, for example, produced by steel shaping processes, by casting processes or by light-metal die-casting processes. These methods require cost- and time-intensive tooling. When vehicle models are revised, high tooling costs arise in the event of design changes (e.g., smaller or larger diameters or smaller or larger overall lengths).
Particularly with a design of the light-metal casting type, torque transmission to the shaft with the given installation space cannot be realized with light metal. In these cases a hub element of a more rigid material, such as steel, is nowadays cast into the light-metal part. This solution is complicated in terms of its technical process and thus expensive and entails the drawback of thermal stresses in the component due to different coefficients of expansion.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a disc carrier of a friction clutch which permits a flexible design that simultaneously provides low tooling costs and ensures fast availability, while being competitive with respect to known disc carriers with regard to component part prices.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a disc carrier of a modular structure is created in the form of a subassembly of usable component parts that can be assembled in a flexible manner. The component parts can be mounted in different combinations to obtain disc carriers that are usable in many ways. The component parts can be produced for prototypes and in very small quantities by way of suitable methods, for instance laser cutting, in a fast way and at low costs and are thus available. Where greater numbers of pieces are desired, correspondingly advantageous methods can be adopted, for instance punching, without any change in design. By virtue of the multiple-use of the component parts for mounting the disc carrier, low production costs are achieved.
One advantage of the invention over known solutions is the possibility of integrating additional functions, such as torsional dampers in clutches for motorcycles. Production costs and installation space are thereby reduced due to the absence of separate components that assume this function in the conventional design. The construction according to the invention permits the use of materials that allow an increased surface pressure of the discs. The thickness of the discs can thus be reduced, thereby conserving installation space.
The design concept of the friction clutch according to some embodiments of the present invention is ideal for use in motorcycles, but is basically not limited to specific applications and can also be used in any type of vehicle (e.g., also tractors, agricultural machines, construction machines). Furthermore, it is possible according to the present invention to provide both dry and wet multi-disc clutches.
To be more specific, a hub for connection to a gear shaft is provided as a component part. The hub is connected to a base plate, for which purpose different methods, such as shaping processes, thermal joining processes, press connections or also positive connections, are suited. To connect the hub to the gear shaft in a positive way, said hub comprises a hub body with internal teeth that can be brought into engagement with corresponding external teeth of the gear shaft.
The following advantages are achieved according to various embodiments of the present invention over known solutions:
Further details, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.
The construction of a disc carrier 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention and of its modular subassembly 3, which is illustrated in
Tabs 12 and 13 are arranged at the narrow sides 10 and 11 of the respective webs 5, said webs 5 forming a planar flat member in the illustrated embodiment with their tabs. Said tabs 12 and 13 serve to fasten the webs to the holding ring 4 and to the base plate 6, respectively.
The holding ring 4 is configured by way of example and comprises a plurality of inwardly oriented lugs 14. As shown in
Finally
The joining locations between the component parts 4, 5, 6 can be formed for achieving the necessary stiffness and strength of the disc carrier 1 (e.g., by shaping processes, thermal joining processes, adhesive connections or press connections).
The friction clutch 2 in the illustrated embodiment is provided with a torsional damper 17, which comprises a plurality of springs, of which
Furthermore,
In the assembled state of the friction clutch 2 shown in
Furthermore, with an appropriate selection of the material for the base plate 6, no special anti-wear measures are needed between springs 18 and base plate 6, as is required in conventional clutches, for instance in motorcycles.
This is also true for the contact region between base plate 6 and primary wheel 16 (also shown in
With a suitable selection of the material for the webs 5, increased surface pressures are possible between the webs 5 and the friction discs 15, whereby for instance in comparison with clutches in motorcycles the carrier material 20 of the friction lining of the friction discs 15 can be made much thinner and axial installation space can thus be saved to a considerable degree.
In addition to the above-explained components of the modular subassembly, the disc carrier 1 according to the embodiment of
This embodiment of the disc carrier 1 according to the invention with integrated hub function is particularly suited for vehicles with special demands on high torques and tight package, where suitable materials, such as particularly high-strength metals, for instance steel, may additionally be used for satisfying these demands.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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07014701.2 | Jul 2007 | EP | regional |