Oil cooled and fluid pressure operated clutch assembly
First Claim
1. An oil cooled and fluid pressure operated clutch assembly for use in a vehicle drive line, said clutch assembly being characterized by;
- an encapsulating clutch housing, capable of containing oil, one end of the housing being secured to a rotatable component of a vehicle drive line for rotation therewith and an opposite end of the housing being provided with an aperture having an annular periphery;
an output shaft extending through said aperture;
a non-rotatable support member having an annular portion extending through said aperture and being disposed about said output shaft;
sealing means operable to provide an oil seal between the periphery of the output shaft and the periphery of said aperture;
at least one axially movable clutch disk disposed within said clutch housing and connected with said output shaft for rotation therewith;
first fluid means including a piston chamber within said clutch housing, a piston within said piston chamber and axially movable between engaged and disengaged positions, said piston when in its engaged position causing said clutch disks to be held for rotation with said clutch housing, and first conduit means extending to the piston chamber through which fluid under pressure may be introduced to cause the piston to move to its engaged position;
second fluid means capable of introducing cooling oil into said clutch housing to be used for cooling said clutch disks, said second fluid means including second conduit means; and
scavenger means capable of scavenging the oil used for cooling the clutch disks and causing it to be removed from said clutch housing.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An oil cooled and hydraulically operated clutch assembly (10) in which the cooling oil is contained within the clutch housing (18) after cooling and is scavenged by scavenger means including a pitot-like tube (94) during rotation of the clutch housing (18). An output shaft (20) passes through an aperture in the rear of the housing (18), the forward end of which is secured to an engine flywheel (12). Sealing means (52, 84) provide an oil seal between the periphery of the output shaft and the aperture. An annular piston (56) is disposed within the housing and is caused to be moved between disengaged and engaged positions and is operable when in the engaged position to cause clutch disks (26) to be held between the piston (56), a reaction surface (76) on the clutch housing and steel plates (28) for rotation therewith. A non-rotatable annular member (24) extends between the lip (50) which forms the aperture and the output shaft (20) and provides various passageways.
60 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An oil cooled and fluid pressure operated clutch assembly for use in a vehicle drive line, said clutch assembly being characterized by;
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an encapsulating clutch housing, capable of containing oil, one end of the housing being secured to a rotatable component of a vehicle drive line for rotation therewith and an opposite end of the housing being provided with an aperture having an annular periphery; an output shaft extending through said aperture; a non-rotatable support member having an annular portion extending through said aperture and being disposed about said output shaft; sealing means operable to provide an oil seal between the periphery of the output shaft and the periphery of said aperture; at least one axially movable clutch disk disposed within said clutch housing and connected with said output shaft for rotation therewith; first fluid means including a piston chamber within said clutch housing, a piston within said piston chamber and axially movable between engaged and disengaged positions, said piston when in its engaged position causing said clutch disks to be held for rotation with said clutch housing, and first conduit means extending to the piston chamber through which fluid under pressure may be introduced to cause the piston to move to its engaged position; second fluid means capable of introducing cooling oil into said clutch housing to be used for cooling said clutch disks, said second fluid means including second conduit means; and scavenger means capable of scavenging the oil used for cooling the clutch disks and causing it to be removed from said clutch housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An oil cooled and fluid pressure-operated clutch assembly for use in a vehicle drive line having:
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an encapsulating clutch housing capable of containing a coolant and provided with attachment means for securing the housing to a rotatable vehicle drive transmitting component for rotation therewith, the housing also having an aperture through which an output shaft is arranged to extend when the assembly is mounted in its operational position; a non-rotatable support member having an annular portion arranged to extend through the aperture to surround the output shaft when the assembly is mounted in its operational position; sealing means operable to prevent escape of oil from the housing via the aperture; at least one first clutch element disposed within and operatively associated with the housing for rotation therewith;
at least one second clutch element disposed within and arranged to be operatively associated with the output shaft for rotation therewith;fluid pressure-operated engaging means disposed within the clutch housing and movable between disengaged and engaged positions, and first conduit means entering said housing via the non-rotatable support member for supplying fluid under pressure to said engaging means for the operation thereof, said engaging means when in said engaged position bringing said first and second clutch elements into engagement to provide drive between the housing and the output shaft; second conduit means entering said housing via the non-rotatable support member and separate from said first conduit means for introducing coolant fluid into said housing, said second conduit means allowing cooling of the first and second clutch elements when the engaging means is moving between its disengaged and engaged positions; and scavening means for scavening and removing coolant from the housing. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An oil cooled and fluid pressure-operated clutch assembly for use in a vehicle drive line having:
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an encapsulating clutch housing capable of containing a coolant and provided with attachment means for securing the housing to a rotatable vehicle drive transmitting component for rotation therewith, the housing also having an aperture through which an output shaft is arranged to extend when the assembly is mounted in its operational position; a non-rotatable support member having an annular portion arranged to extend through the aperture to surround the output shaft when the assembly is mounted in its operational position; sealing means operable to prevent escape of oil from the housing via the aperture; at least one first clutch element disposed within and operatively associated with the housing for rotation therewith; at least one second clutch element disposed within and arranged to be operatively associated with the output shaft for rotation therewith; fluid pressure-operated engaging means disposed within the clutch housing and movable between disengaged and engaged positions, and first conduit means entering said housing via the non-rotatable support member for supplying fluid under pressure to said engaging means for the operation thereof, said first conduit means including an annular passageway disposed between the external surface of the output shaft and the internal surface of the annular portion of the support member, said engaging means when in said engaged position bringing said first and second clutch elements into engagement to provide drive between the housing and the output shaft; second conduit means entering said housing via the non-rotatable support member and separate from said first conduit means for introducing coolant fluid into said housing, said second conduit means allowing cooling of the first and second clutch elements when the engaging means is moving between its disengaged and engaged positions; and scavenging means for scavenging and removing coolant from the housing, said scavenging means comprising a pitot-like tube supported within the housing from the annular portion of the support member and a fluid conduit means extending from the pitot-like tube through the support member to a location external of the clutch housing. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification