Fluid friction clutch
First Claim
1. A fluid friction clutch comprising:
- a clutch disk which serves as a primary part and is connected firmly with a driven shaft for rotation about a clutch axis;
a housing that serves as a secondary part and has a working chamber narrowly surrounding the clutch disk and a storage chamber for the clutch fluid which is separated from this working chamber by a dividing wall; and
an inflow opening provided in the dividing wall which leads from the storage chamber to the working chamber, and is controllably opened or closed by means of a valve member;
wherein said chamber includes a front working chamber part formed between the clutch disk and the dividing wall and a rear working chamber part formed between a clutch disk and a rear wall of the housing,wherein the front and rear working chamber parts are separated from one another by means of a sealing arrangement between the clutch disk and the housing,wherein a first damming body means and a deflecting duct are provided for guiding flow of clutch fluid from the front working chamber part to the rear working chamber part,wherein a surrounding flow duct is provided which surrounds the disks and rear working chamber part, said deflecting duct being connected with the surrounding flow duct,wherein a second damming body means and a return flow duct are provided for guiding flow of clutch fluid from the rear working chamber part to the front working chamber part with respect to the disk,and wherein said return flow duct is sealed off with respect to the deflecting duct and leads out into a return flow passage leading to the storage chamber, thereby facilitating flow of clutch fluid at both sides of the clutch disk even with low clutch fluid flow volumes through the inflow opening in the dividing wall.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Fluid friction clutches tend to operate discontinuously when the performance requirement is low and therefore the filling ratio in the working chamber is also low. This so-called "surging" is to be avoided. According to the invention, a forced guiding is provided for the clutch fluid from a front part of the working chamber into the rear part of the working chamber, and only then is the return flow provided to the storage chamber which is achieved by a sealing-off of the working chamber into these two areas by means of the clutch disk and by means of the arrangement of a fluid deflector with damming bodies at a part of the circumference. The resulting forced distribution of clutch fluid on both sides of the clutch disk permits a smooth operation of the clutch and, when pumping elements are arranged, also a reduction of the hysteresis. Fluid friction clutches of this type are particularly suitable for fan drives for cooling devices of motor vehicles.
12 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A fluid friction clutch comprising:
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a clutch disk which serves as a primary part and is connected firmly with a driven shaft for rotation about a clutch axis; a housing that serves as a secondary part and has a working chamber narrowly surrounding the clutch disk and a storage chamber for the clutch fluid which is separated from this working chamber by a dividing wall; and an inflow opening provided in the dividing wall which leads from the storage chamber to the working chamber, and is controllably opened or closed by means of a valve member; wherein said chamber includes a front working chamber part formed between the clutch disk and the dividing wall and a rear working chamber part formed between a clutch disk and a rear wall of the housing, wherein the front and rear working chamber parts are separated from one another by means of a sealing arrangement between the clutch disk and the housing, wherein a first damming body means and a deflecting duct are provided for guiding flow of clutch fluid from the front working chamber part to the rear working chamber part, wherein a surrounding flow duct is provided which surrounds the disks and rear working chamber part, said deflecting duct being connected with the surrounding flow duct, wherein a second damming body means and a return flow duct are provided for guiding flow of clutch fluid from the rear working chamber part to the front working chamber part with respect to the disk, and wherein said return flow duct is sealed off with respect to the deflecting duct and leads out into a return flow passage leading to the storage chamber, thereby facilitating flow of clutch fluid at both sides of the clutch disk even with low clutch fluid flow volumes through the inflow opening in the dividing wall. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification