FRICTION PART FOR A FRICTIONALLY WORKING DEVICE

Abstract

The invention relates to a friction part (15) for a frictionally working device, having friction lining elements (31-33) which are arranged with slots (34, 35) between one another so as to form a friction surface (16) in the form of a circular disk, which slots can be traversed from radially inside to radially outside, in the radial direction with respect to the friction surface (16), by a coolant and/or lubricant, in which context drag losses arise and air is drawn in with the coolant and/or lubricant.

Description

The invention relates to a friction part for a frictionally working device, having friction lining elements which are arranged with slots between one another so as to form a friction surface in the form of a circular disk, which slots can be traversed from radially inside to radially outside, in the radial direction with respect to the friction surface, by a coolant and/or lubricant, in which context drag losses arise and air is drawn in with the coolant and/or lubricant.

The friction lining elements are also referred to as friction segments, friction lining segments or pads. The friction lining elements are preferably attached to a lining carrier on both sides. A variety of slot patterns can be formed via the conformation, size and arrangement of the friction lining elements. By way of example, reference is made to the documents EP 0 625 647 B1, EP 2 066 911 B1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,094,331 and 5,335,765.

The object of the invention is to functionally improve a friction part according to the preamble of claim 1, in particular for use in a wet-running clutch or brake, in particular a wet-running multi-disk clutch or multi-disk brake.

The object is achieved by a friction part for a frictionally working device, having friction lining elements which are arranged with slots between one another so as to form a friction surface in the form of a circular disk, which slots can be traversed from radially inside to radially outside, in the radial direction with respect to the friction surface, by a coolant and/or lubricant, in which context drag losses arise and air is drawn in with the coolant and/or lubricant, characterized in that the conformation of the friction lining elements and the arrangement of the friction lining elements relative to one another are optimized while taking into account the interdependencies between the drawing-in of air and a separation behavior of the frictionally working device with respect to the drag losses. The undesirable drag losses preferably occur in an open state of a frictionally working device that is equipped with the friction part, in particular with several friction parts. As requirements increase, especially in connection with new drive concepts, it is important to minimize drag losses. Various slot patterns are proposed with the claimed friction part, with which the pressure levels and the pressure distributions in the lubricating gaps or in the slots are minimized. In particular, the causal relationships of the drawing-in of air and/or separation behavior and their effect on the drag losses are taken into account.

A preferred exemplary embodiment of the friction part is characterized in that the friction lining elements are designed and relatively spaced apart from one another in such a way that radial slots extend in a diffuser-like manner in the radial direction in relation to the friction surface from radially inside to radially outside. In this way, the pressure in the slot can be reduced during operation of the frictionally working device. This advantageously shifts the drawing-in of air to lower engine speeds.

Another preferred exemplary embodiment of the friction part is characterized in that the friction lining elements are designed and spaced apart from one another in such a way that radial slots narrow in a nozzle-like manner in the radial direction in relation to the friction surface from radially inside to radially outside. This creates a pressure increase in the slots. A uniform distribution of clearances can thus be created in the open state of the frictionally working device.

In a further exemplary embodiment, the two exemplary embodiments with the diffuser-like extended sections and the nozzle-like narrowing sections are combined with one another in a friction part. The exemplary embodiments can, for example, be implemented alternately in the circumferential direction in segments of the friction surface.

Another preferred embodiment of the friction part is characterized in that at least two friction lining elements, which are adjacent in the circumferential direction relative to the friction surface, have bevels radially facing one another on the inside so as to form a type of funnel at the start of a radial slot provided between the adjacent friction lining elements. Thus, in the closed state of the frictionally working device, a lubricating wedge is created, which supports separation when opening. In addition, a gentle closing of the frictionally working device is made possible. A radial slot that is adjacent in the circumferential direction is particularly advantageously equipped without a funnel at its start. As a result, the risk of the friction part undesirably floating when the frictionally working device is closed can be reduced.

A further preferred embodiment of the friction part is characterized in that at least two friction lining elements, which are adjacent in the circumferential direction relative to the friction surface, have bevels radially facing one another on the outside so as to form a type of funnel at the end of a radial slot provided between the adjacent friction lining elements. As a result, the drawing-in of air can be improved with a slight reduction in the frictional contact area, in particular the surface pressure.

A further preferred exemplary embodiment of the friction part is characterized in that the friction lining elements have the conformation of isosceles trapezoids or preferably acute-angled triangles. The desired effect can be further optimized with such friction lining elements or friction lining pads.

A further preferred exemplary embodiment of the friction part is characterized in that the radial slots are connected to one another by tangential slots, wherein the friction lining elements are divided in the radial direction to form the tangential slots. The increased design and manufacturing complexity is consciously accepted in order to produce an improved distribution of the air in the lubricating gap, i.e., in the slots. Adjacent tangential slots are advantageously offset from one another in the radial direction. As a result, the wear during operation of the frictionally working device can be minimized.

A further preferred exemplary embodiment of the friction part is characterized in that the friction lining elements have a recess radially on the outside and/or radially on the inside in relation to the friction surface, which serves to form an additional blind slot. The blind slot on the outer diameter creates a dead center in the medium flow, which improves the drawing-in of air and reduces the drag torque. The blind slot on the inner diameter of the friction surface causes the medium to accumulate in the lubricating gap or in the slots and leads to improved separation of the friction surfaces. In the closed state, the blind slots improve the cooling effect of the medium, since the convective transition is improved in the blind slot.

A further preferred exemplary embodiment of the friction part is characterized in that the recess has the conformation of a rectangle which is rounded off at a blind slot end. This has proven to be advantageous with regard to undesired floating of the friction part.

The invention further relates to a wet-running clutch or brake, in particular a wet-running multi-disk clutch or multi-disk brake, having at least one friction part as described above. Several friction parts are advantageously arranged between two steel disks of a disk clutch or disk brake. The wet-running clutch is designed as a single clutch or as a double clutch. The wet-running clutch or brake is particularly preferred in hybrid modules or in connection with switchable e-axles.

Further advantages, features and details of the invention will be apparent from the following description, in which various exemplary embodiments are described in detail with reference to the drawing. In the figures:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a half section of a frictionally working device designed as a wet-running multi-disk clutch;

FIG. 2 shows three Cartesian coordinate diagrams in which a volume flow, a gap fill level and a drag torque are each plotted against a rotation speed of the frictionally working device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a Cartesian coordinate diagram with an improved drag torque curve over the rotation speed; and

FIGS. 4 to 12 each show a schematic and sectional representation of a friction part with differently designed and arranged friction lining elements in a plan view.

In FIG. 1, a half section of a frictionally working device designed as a wet-running multi-disk clutch 1 is shown schematically. The wet-running multi-disk clutch 1 comprises an inner disk carrier 2 and an outer disk carrier 3. The two disk carriers 2, 3 can be rotated relative to one another about an axis of rotation 4 independently of one another at different rotation speeds, which are indicated by arrows 5, 6.

A disk pack of the wet-running multi-disk clutch 1 comprises steel disks 7 and lined disks 8. The lined disks 8 each comprise a lining carrier 9 which is connected to the inner disk carrier 2 in a rotationally fixed manner radially on the inside of a coupling region 10. The coupling region 10 of the brake pad carrier 9 is designed, for example, as an internal toothing that is meshed with a complementary external toothing of the inner disk carrier 2. Similarly, the steel disks 7 are connected to the outer disk carrier 3 in a rotationally fixed manner radially on the outside.

Friction linings 11, 12 are fastened on both sides of the lining carrier 9, i.e., on the left and right in FIG. 1. The design and function of a wet-running multi-disk clutch 1 are known per se and will not be explained further here. An arrow 13 indicates a cooling and/or lubricating medium which emerges radially on the inside through the inner disk carrier 2 into the disk pack of the wet-running disk clutch 1. An arrow 14 indicates that the cooling and/or lubricating medium exits the outer disk carrier 3 radially on the outside.

The cooling and/or lubricating medium is primarily used for cooling in the wet-running multi-disk clutch 1. The lining disk 8 with the lining carrier 9 and the two friction linings 11, 12 is also referred to as the friction part 15. The friction part 15 has a friction surface 16 shown on the right in FIG. 1, facing the steel disk 7.

The friction surface 16 is delimited radially on the inside by an inner radius r_i. The friction surface 16 is delimited radially on the outside by an outer radius r_a. On the left of FIG. 1, the friction part 15 comprises a further friction surface, not designated in any further detail, which faces the adjacent steel disk. For torque transmission, the friction part 15 can be clamped with its annular disk-like friction surfaces 16 in each case between two adjacent steel disks 7.

In FIG. 2, three Cartesian coordinate diagrams are shown one above the other. A rotation speed during operation of the wet-running multi-disk clutch 1 with the friction part 15 is plotted in a suitable unit on an x-axis 20. A volume flow is plotted in a suitable unit on a y-axis 21. A gap fill level is plotted in a suitable unit on a y-axis 22. A drag torque is plotted in a suitable unit on a y-axis 23.

FIG. 2 illustrates how air is drawn in 26 by a drawn-in volume flow 24 when this exceeds the supplied volume flow 25. From this limit, the gap fill level 26 decreases and the lubricating gap between the disks contains air. Above this limit, a supplied volume flow contains 25 air. The bottom of FIG. 2 shows that the drawing-in of air 26 occurs at a maximum drag torque 27.

FIG. 3 shows how a displacement of the drawing-in of air 28 to a low rotation speed in a drag torque curve 30 is achieved with the claimed friction part 15. The conveying effect of the cooling and/or lubricating medium can be improved by the slot pattern shown in FIGS. 4 to 12.

In each of FIGS. 4 to 12, a section of the friction surface 16 of the friction part 15 of FIG. 1 is shown schematically in a plan view. An inner diameter of the friction surface 16 is denoted by Di. An outer diameter of the friction surface 16 is denoted by Da.

The friction part 15 shown in FIG. 4 comprises three friction lining elements 31 to 33 in the section of the friction surface 16 depicted. The friction lining elements or friction lining pads 31 to 33 have the conformation of isosceles trapezoids, the dimension of which in the circumferential direction decreases from the inner diameter Di to the outer diameter Da of the friction surface 16.

Radial slots 34, 35 between the friction lining elements 31, 32 and 32, 33 therefore extend in a diffuser-like manner from radially inside to radially outside. As a result, an additional pressure reduction in the slots 34, 35 is generated. In this way, the drawing-in of air (28 in FIG. 3) can be shifted toward low rotation speeds. This significantly reduces the drag torque (30 in FIG. 3).

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, tangential slots 37, 38, 39 are provided in addition to the radial slots 34, 35. The friction lining elements 31 to 33 are interrupted to show the tangential slots 37 to 39.

The additional tangential slots 37 to 39 produce an improved distribution of air in the slots, which are also referred to as a lubricating gap in their entirety. In order not to worsen the contact pattern in the friction surface 16, the tangential slot 38 is offset radially inward in the radial direction relative to the tangential slots 37, 39.

FIG. 6 shows that the trapezoidal friction lining elements 31 to 33 shown in FIG. 4 can also be replaced by triangular friction lining elements 41 to 43 in extreme cases. The resulting radial slots 44, 45 extend radially outwards much more than in FIG. 4. Contrary to what is shown, the slots 44 and 45 in FIG. 6 can also be combined with tangential slots (37 to 39 in FIG. 5).

FIG. 7 shows how triangular friction lining elements 47 to 49 can also be arranged the other way round than in FIG. 6, with their tip radially on the inside. The resulting radial slots 50, 51 narrow in a nozzle-like manner from radially inside to radially outside. The narrowing, nozzle-like slot cross-section on the outer diameter Da of the friction surface 16 generates an increase in pressure in the lubricating gap.

If there is no corrugation in the carrier disk, this can lead to improved separation behavior of the disks. The drag torque can be effectively reduced by an optimal distribution of the disks in the open state of the multi-disk clutch 1.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. Friction lining elements 53, 54, 55 are each equipped with two bevels 56, 57; 58, 59; 60, 61 on the outer diameter Da. The resulting radial slots 61, 62 formed between the friction lining elements 53 to 55 extend in the region of the bevels 57, 58; 59, 60 on the outer diameter Da of the friction surface 16 in a funnel-like manner. This improves the drawing-in of air with a slight reduction in frictional contact area.

FIG. 9 shows that friction lining elements 64, 65, 66 can also be provided with bevels 67,68,69 on the inner diameter Di of friction surface 16. The bevels 67, 68 of the friction lining elements 64, 65 face one another in such a way that a radial slot 70 formed between the friction lining elements 64 and 65 extends in the conformation of a funnel on the inner diameter Di. A radial slot 71 between the friction lining elements 65, 66, on the other hand, is designed without bevels.

The slot 70 with the funnel-like extension on the inner diameter Di creates a lubricating wedge when the multi-disk clutch 1 is closed and supports the separation of the disks when opening. The slot 71 without bevels helps to reduce the risk of the friction part 15 floating when closing. The radial slot 71 thus contributes to ensuring that the multi-disk clutch 1 closes gently.

In FIGS. 10 to 12, three rectangular friction lining elements 73, 74, 75 are spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction in such a way that radial slots 76, 77 are formed. The friction lining elements 73 to 75 are provided with recesses on the outer diameter Da in FIG. 10, on the inner diameter Di in FIG. 11 and on both the inner diameter Di and the outer diameter Da in FIG. 12, in order to form blind slots 78, 79, 80; 81 to 86.

The blind slots 78 to 80 in FIG. 10 are open radially on the outside. The blind slots 78 to 80 in FIG. 11 are open radially on the inside. The blind slots 81 to 83 in FIG. 12 are also open radially on the inside. The blind slots 84 to 86 in FIG. 12 are open radially on the outside.

With the blind slots 78 to 80 in FIGS. 10 and 84 to 86 in FIG. 12 on the outer diameter Da, a dead center with a corresponding pressure reduction is produced in the medium flow. This improves the drawing-in of air and leads to reduced drag torque.

The blind slots 78 to 80 in FIGS. 11 and 81 to 83 in FIG. 12 on the inner diameter Di cause the medium to accumulate in the lubricating gap. This leads to improved separation behavior. At the same time, the cooling effect of the medium is improved when the multi-disk clutch 1 is in the closed state, since the convective heat transfer in the blind slots is improved.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

• • 1 Wet-running multi-disk clutch
  • 2 Inner multiple disk carrier
  • 3 Outer multiple disk carrier
  • 4 Axis of rotation
  • 5 Rotation speed
  • 6 Rotation speed
  • 7 Steel disk
  • 8 Lined disk
  • 9 Lining carrier
  • 10 Coupling region
  • 11 Friction lining
  • 12 Friction lining
  • 13 Arrow
  • 14 Arrow
  • 15 Friction part
  • 16 Friction surface
  • 20 X-axis
  • 21 Y-axis
  • 22 Y-axis
  • 23 Y-axis
  • 24 Drawn-in volume flow
  • 25 Supplied volume flow
  • 26 Drawing-in of air
  • 27 Drag torque
  • 28 Drawing-in of air
  • 30 Drag torque curve
  • 31 Friction lining element
  • 32 Friction lining element
  • 33 Friction lining element
  • 34 Slot
  • 35 Slot
  • 37 Tangential slot
  • 38 Tangential slot
  • 39 Tangential slot
  • 41 Friction lining element
  • 42 Friction lining element
  • 43 Friction lining element
  • 44 Slot
  • 45 Slot
  • 47 Friction lining element
  • 48 Friction lining element
  • 49 Friction lining element
  • 50 Slot
  • 51 Slot
  • 53 Friction lining element
  • 54 Friction lining element
  • 55 Friction lining element
  • 56 Bevel
  • 57 Bevel
  • 58 Bevel
  • 59 Bevel
  • 60 Bevel
  • 61 Slot
  • 62 Slot
  • 64 Friction lining element
  • 65 Friction lining element
  • 66 Friction lining element
  • 67 Bevel
  • 68 Bevel
  • 69 Bevel
  • 70 Slot
  • 71 Slot
  • 73 Friction lining element
  • 74 Friction lining element
  • 75 Friction lining element
  • 76 Slot
  • 77 Slot
  • 78 Blind slot
  • 79 Blind slot
  • 80 Blind slot
  • 81 Blind slot
  • 82 Blind slot
  • 83 Blind slot
  • 84 Blind slot
  • 85 Blind slot
  • 86 Blind slot

Claims

1. A friction part (15) for a frictionally working device, having friction lining elements (31-33;41-43;47-49;52-55;64-66;73-75) which are arranged with slots (34,35;44,45;50,51;61,62;70,71;76,77) between one another so as to form a friction surface (16) in the form of a circular disk, which slots can be traversed from radially inside to radially outside, in the radial direction with respect to the friction surface (16), by a coolant and/or lubricant, in which context drag losses arise and air is drawn in with the coolant and/or lubricant, characterized in that the conformation of the friction lining elements (31-33;41-43;47-49;52-55;64-66;73-75) and the arrangement of the friction lining elements (31-33;41-43;47-49;52-55;64-66;73-75) relative to one another are optimized while taking into account the interdependencies between the drawing-in of air and a separation behavior of the frictionally working device with respect to the drag losses.

2. The friction part according to claim 1, characterized in that the friction lining elements (31-33;41-43) are designed and relatively spaced apart from one another in such a way that radial slots (34,35;44,45) extend in a diffuser-like manner in the radial direction in relation to the friction surface (16) from radially inside to radially outside.

3. The friction part according to claim 1, characterized in that the friction lining elements (47-49) are designed and relatively spaced apart from one another in such a way that radial slots (50,51) narrow in a nozzle-like manner in the radial direction in relation to the friction surface (16) from radially inside to radially outside.

4. The friction part according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two friction lining elements (64,65), which are adjacent in the circumferential direction relative to the friction surface (16), have bevels (67,68) radially facing one another on the inside, so as to form a type of funnel at the start of a radial slot (70) provided between the adjacent friction lining elements (64,65).

5. The friction part according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least two friction lining elements (53,54), which are adjacent in the circumferential direction relative to the friction surface (16), have bevels (57,58) radially facing one another on the outside so as to form a type of funnel at the end of a radial slot (61) provided between the adjacent friction lining elements (53,54).

6. The friction part according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the friction lining elements (31-33;41-43;47-49) have the conformation of isosceles trapezoids or preferably acute-angled triangles.

7. The friction part according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the radial slots (34,35) are connected to one another by tangential slots (37-39), wherein the friction lining elements (31-33) are divided in the radial direction to form the tangential slots (37-39).

8. The friction part according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the friction lining elements (73-75) have a recess radially on the outside and/or radially on the inside in relation to the friction surface (16) which serves to form an additional blind slot (78-80;81-76).

9. The friction part according to claim 8, characterized in that the recess has the conformation of a rectangle which is rounded off at a blind slot end.

10. A wet-running clutch or brake, in particular a wet-running multi-disk clutch (1) or multi-disk brake, having at least one friction part (15) according to one of the preceding claims.