Claims
- 1. An engageable and disengageable friction clutch, comprising: a housing rotatable about a predetermined axis; a pressure plate; means for non-rotatably connecting said pressure plate to said housing with limited freedom of movement in the direction of said axis; an axially stressed diaphragm spring between said housing and said pressure plate; an annular seat mounting said diaphragm spring for tilting movements relative to said housing; a counterpressure plate rotatable with by said housing; a clutch disc having friction linings between said plates, said diaphragm spring being arranged to bias said pressure plate and to thus clamp the friction linings between said plates in the engaged condition of the clutch and at least said linings being subject to wear as a result of the engagement and disengagement of the clutch; means for compensating for wear at least upon said linings, said compensating means being disposed between said pressure plate and said diaphragm spring and including at least one locating element movable in the direction of said axis and biased by said diaphragm spring; and arresting means including means for limiting and for maintaining at least substantially constant the extent of axial movement of said pressure plate away from said counterpressure plate, said limiting means being disposed between said pressure plate and at least one axially fixed part of the clutch and said limiting means including means for limiting the axial movability of said locating element relative to said pressure plate at least during disengagement of the clutch.
- 2. A clutch aggregate comprising a twin-mass flywheel including a first rotary mass connectable to an output shaft of a combustion engine and a second mass rotatable relative to said first mass, an oscillation damper having means for opposing rotation of said masses relative to each other, and a torque transmitting friction clutch including: a counterpressure plate forming part of said second mass, a pressure plate, means for non-rotatably connecting said pressure plate to said counterpressure plate with limited freedom of axial movement, a torque transmitting clutch disc between said plates, at least one resilient device acting upon said pressure plate to bias said clutch disc against said counterpressure plate, said clutch disc having friction linings engageable with and disengageable from at least one of said plates and being subject to wear as a result of repeated engagement with and disengagement from said . at least one plate, an adjusting unit including means for compensating at least for wear upon said linings to thereby maintain the bias of said at least one resilient device upon said pressure plate at a substantially constant value, means for engaging and disengaging the friction clutch including mobile actuating means arranged to disengage the friction clutch, and means for gradually reducing the torque which is transmittable by at least one of the friction clutch and clutch disc during a portion of movement of said actuating means in a direction to disengage the friction clutch.
- 3. A clutch aggregate for use with a combustion engine, including a torque transmitting friction clutch comprising a pressure plate; a counterpressure plate rotatable about a predetermined axis; means for non-rotatably connecting said pressure plate to said counterpressure plate with limited freedom of axial movement; a torque transmitting clutch disc between said plates; at least one resilient device acting upon said pressure plate to bias said clutch disc against said counterpressure plate, said clutch disc having friction linings engageable with and disengageable from at least one of said plates and being subject to wear as a result of repeated engagement with and disengagement from said at least one plate; an adjusting unit including means for compensating at least for wear upon said linings to thereby maintain the bias of said at least one resilient device upon said pressure plate at a substantially constant value during the useful life of the friction clutch; means for engaging and disengaging the friction clutch, including mobile actuating means arranged to disengage the friction clutch; means for gradually reducing the torque which is transmittable by at least one of the friction clutch and the clutch disc during a portion of movement of said actuating means in a direction to disengage the friction clutch; and axially elastic means for coupling the friction clutch with an output shaft of the combustion engine, said coupling means having a stiffness selected in such a way that any axial, wobbling and/or flexing vibrations induced by the output shaft and transmitted to the friction clutch by said coupling means are damped and/or suppressed to a degree which ensures proper operation of the friction clutch, especially of said adjusting unit.
- 4. An engageable and disengageable friction clutch for utilization with a clutch disc having friction linings which are subject to wear in response to repeated engagement and disengagement of the clutch, comprising a counterpressure plate rotatable about a predetermined axis; a rotary pressure plate coaxial with and movable axially toward and away from said counterpressure plate to urge the clutch disc against the counterpressure plate in the engaged condition of the clutch; a diaphragm spring arranged to apply to said pressure plate a first force in a direction to urge said pressure plate axially toward said counterpressure plate; a seat for said diaphragm spring; means for compensating for wear at least upon said friction linings; and energy storing means arranged to exert a second force which is superimposed upon said first force during a portion at least of disengagement of the clutch to thus produce a resultant of said first and second forces at least during said at least one portion of disengagement of the clutch.
- 5. The friction clutch of claim 4, wherein said friction linings include first and second friction linings which are respectively contacted by said counterpressure plate and said pressure plate in the engaged condition of the clutch, said clutch disc further comprising resilient means between said first and second friction linings.
- 6. The friction clutch of claim 5, wherein said energy storing means forms part of said compensating means and is integrated into the clutch.
- 7. The friction clutch of claim 4, wherein said energy storing means comprises a diaphragm spring.
- 8. The friction clutch of claim 4, wherein during disengagement of the clutch, said pressure plate moves away from said counterpressure plate and from torque transmitting contact with the clutch disc to and beyond a position in which said torque transmitting contact is reduced to a value at which the transmission of torque between said pressure plate and the clutch disc is at least substantially interrupted, said energy storing means and said diaphragm spring having force-to-distance characteristic curves with curvatures which are different upon reduction of said contact to said value and during further movement of said pressure plate away from said counterpressure plate.
- 9. The friction clutch of claim 8, wherein said characteristic curves slope in opposite directions during said further movement of said pressure plate away from said counterpressure plate.
- 10. The friction clutch of claim 4, wherein said energy storing means exerts upon said diaphragm spring a negligible force or no force in the engaged condition of the clutch.
- 11. The friction clutch of claim 4, wherein said friction linings include first and second friction linings which are respectively contacted by said counter-pressure plate and said pressure plate in the engaged condition of the clutch, said clutch disc further comprising resilient means for biasing said friction linings against the respective plates in the engaged condition of the clutch.
- 12. The friction clutch of claim 4, wherein said energy storing means is arranged to operate in parallel with said diaphragm spring.
- 13. The friction clutch of claim 4, wherein said energy storing means is arranged to undergo elastic deformation by said diaphragm spring during at least one of operations including engagement and disengagement of the clutch.
- 14. The friction clutch of claim 4, wherein said energy storing means bears upon said diaphragm spring in the direction of said axis.
- 15. An engageable and disengageable diaphragm spring clutch, comprising a flywheel arranged to be connected to a crankshaft of a combustion engine for rotation about a predetermined axis; a clutch housing affixed to said flywheel; a pressure plate connected for rotation with and being movable axially of at least one of said flywheel and said housing; a deformable mobile diaphragm spring reacting against said housing and arranged to carry out a movement during engagement and disengagement of the clutch and to urge said pressure plate toward said flywheel in the engaged condition of the clutch; a clutch disc having friction linings disposed between and being contacted by said flywheel and said pressure plate in the engaged condition of the clutch; means for influencing a characteristic curve of said diaphragm spring as a function of the extent of movement of said diaphragm spring; clutch actuating means including means for deforming said diaphragm spring, said characteristic curve having a portion with a transition through a zero value to a negative value; and means for assisting a clutch disengaging force of said diaphragm spring, said means for assisting being disposed in a force transmitting path between said clutch actuating means and said pressure plate and being operative when the clutch is disengaged and in the region of said zero value of said portion of said characteristic curve.
- 16. The diaphragm spring clutch of claim 15, wherein said assisting means comprises at least one resilient element which bears upon said diaphragm spring during at least one of operations including engagement and disengagement of the clutch.
- 17. The diaphragm spring clutch of claim 15, wherein said actuating means comprises means for disengaging the clutch, said means for disengaging cooperating with said means for assisting.
- 18. The diaphragm spring clutch of claim 17, further comprising a form-locking connection between said disengaging means and said diaphragm spring.
- 19. The diaphragm spring clutch of claim 15, further comprising a Belleville spring between said diaphragm spring and said housing.
- 20. The diaphragm spring clutch of claim 15, wherein said diaphragm spring includes a radially outer portion abutting said pressure plate at least in the engaged condition of the clutch, a radially median portion and a radially inner portion including a plurality of substantially radially extending resilient prongs, and further comprising distancing means for centering said diaphragm spring on said housing and for securing said median portion to said housing, said prongs being engageable by a clutch disengaging means of said clutch actuating means and further comprising a Belleville spring coaxial with said diaphragm spring, reacting against said housing and arranged to bear against said diaphragm spring upon partial disengagement of the clutch.
- 21. The diaphragm spring clutch of claim 15, wherein said diaphragm spring comprises a radially outer portion which bears upon said pressure plate at least in the engaged condition of the clutch, a radially median portion and a radially inner portion comprising substantially radially disposed resilient prongs, and further comprising distancing means for centering said diaphragm spring relative to said housing and for securing said median portion to said housing, said prongs being engageable by a clutch disengaging means of said clutch actuating means and further comprising a resilient component supported by said housing and engaging said radially outer portion of said diaphragm spring.
- 22. The diaphragm spring clutch of claim 15, wherein said friction linings are subject to wear in response to repeated engagement and disengagement of the clutch, and further comprising means for automatically compensating, at least in part, for wear upon said friction linings.
- 23. The diaphragm spring clutch of claim 22, further comprising means for yieldably urging said pressure plate axially and away from said flywheel, said compensating means including means for adjusting the axial position of at least one of said diaphragm spring and said pressure plate so that the frictional engagement of said pressure plate and said flywheel on the one hand, and said friction linings on the other hand, in the engaged condition of the clutch remains at least substantially unchanged in spite of the wear upon said friction linings.
- 24. A method for forming a friction clutch, particularly for motor vehicles, comprising the steps of:
providing a housing that is rotatable about a predetermined axis; connecting a pressure plate to said housing in a non-rotatable manner with freedom of movement in the direction of said axis; mounting a rotary counterpressure plate adjacent said pressure plate; inserting a torque transmitting clutch disc between said plates, the clutch having friction linings which are subject to wear in response to repeated engagement and disengagement of the friction clutch; inserting a diaphragm spring between said housing and said pressure plate to normally bias said pressure plate toward said clutch disc so that said friction linings are clamped between said plates; and automatically compensating for wear at least upon said friction linings with a compensating member being disposed between said diaphragm spring and said housing.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
P 43 17 586.4 |
May 1993 |
DE |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 07/982,184 filed Nov. 25, 1992 by Wolfgang Reik, Karl-Ludwig Kimmig, Christopher Wittmann and Ed Maucher, of commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 08/026,588 filed Mar. 5, 1993 by Paul Maucher, of commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 07/982,178 filed Nov. 25, 1992 by Paul Maucher, of commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 08/211,020 filed Mar. 11, 1994 by Wolfgang Reik, Paul Maucher, Karl-Ludwig Kimmig, Christopher Wittmann and Rolf Meinhard, and of commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 08/171,662 filed Dec. 21, 1993 by Paul Maucher.
Divisions (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09502639 |
Feb 2000 |
US |
Child |
09921687 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Parent |
08250760 |
May 1994 |
US |
Child |
09502639 |
Feb 2000 |
US |