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Hydrostatic clutch

  • US 4,577,739 A
  • Filed: 12/05/1983
  • Issued: 03/25/1986
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/04/1982
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. In a hydrostatic clutch which comprises:

  • a clutch housing;

    a drive shaft extending into said housing and rotatable about an axis therein;

    an output shaft extending into said housing;

    a casing rotatable in said housing about said axis and connected to one of said shafts;

    a positive displacement gear pump in said casing connecting to the other of said shafts;

    an intake compartment formed in said housing at one side of said casing;

    means in said casing defining a flow path from said compartment through said pump; and

    a throttle valve for controlling the flow of fluid along said path, the improvement wherein;

    said pump is formed with a pump body having an intake passage and a pressure passage;

    said casing is formed with openings communicating with said passages to define said path; and

    said casing and said body are formed with means enabling relative rotation of said body and said casing through an angle less than a full rotation whereby said passages are functionally reversed to enable switchover in the rotational sense of the output shaft upon reversal of the rotational sense of the input shaft, said casing being fixed on said input shaft and said output shaft being connected to gears cooperating with said body to form said pump, said pump having an upstream side in the region of said output shaft and said casing having a downstream side turned toward said input shaft, said casing defining with said output shaft at said upstream side, an annular intake opening around said output shaft of the smallest possible cross section consistent with no significant increase in the flow resistance along said path.

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