192 clutches and power-stop control – Clutches – Operators
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-12
2003-04-01
Bonck, Rodney H. (Department: 3681)
192 clutches and power-stop control
Clutches
Operators
C192S03000R, C192S070130, C192S090000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06540058
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an actuation device for a friction clutch which is arranged in a drivetrain of a motor vehicle between a drive unit and a transmission in a housing, particularly in a housing bell or housing cover, and which includes a pressure medium force cylinder arrangement which is arranged in the housing and which preferably comprises a pressure medium force ring cylinder. The friction clutch can be actuated by means of this pressure medium force cylinder arrangement via a release bearing arrangement which is movable coaxial to the friction clutch. A measuring arrangement associated with the release bearing arrangement or a release bearing arrangement side of the pressure medium force cylinder arrangement or friction clutch detects an actual disengagement or release and has a plurality of measurement receivers arranged in the housing so as to be distributed about the clutch axis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Actuation devices of the type mentioned above are known, for example, from DE 197 16 600 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,788, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. In the known actuation devices, the measurement receivers are formed by hydraulic measurement cylinders. In order to prevent the hydraulic measurement cylinders from exerting any substantial tilting moments on the release bearing arrangement or release bearing arrangement side of the pressure medium force cylinder arrangement (especially a pneumatic force cylinder arrangement), U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,788 discloses constructing the hydraulic measurement cylinders (or, generally, a measurement receiver arrangement or transmitter element arrangement) essentially symmetric to the clutch axis. Especially in case of a plurality of hydraulic measurement cylinders, the cylinders are arranged so as to be distributed about the clutch axis at the same circumferential angle and at the same radial distance, so that transverse forces which are exerted by the individual measurement cylinders and which derive from the actual release compensate one another. Accordingly, on the whole, there is no substantial tilting moment acting on the release bearing arrangement or on the release bearing arrangement side of the pressure medium force cylinder arrangement (for example, a pneumatic ring piston). The risk of self-locking of the pressure medium force cylinder arrangement or pneumatic force cylinder arrangement is reliably prevented in this way.
The disadvantage in this kind of arrangement of hydraulic measurement cylinders (generally, measurement receivers) in the housing cover is in that the measurement receivers in the housing cover are hardly accessible, if at all, as long as the engine and transmission are connected, that is, while the drivetrain is not interrupted. In particular, it is not possible to remove or reinstall—possibly in the form of an exchangeable measurement sensor the measurement receivers for repair purposes or for exchanging a defective measurement receiver without disconnecting the drivetrain. However, disconnection of the drivetrain requires extensive disassembly and assembly and is consequently costly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, the actuation device is constructed in such a way that—with a housing having at least one housing opening—at least several, preferably all, of the measurement receivers can be removed from the housing interior and reinstalled—possibly in the form of an exchangeable measurement sensor—through the at least one housing opening without disconnecting the drivetrain.
Conceivably, the housing (housing cover) could be constructed with a plurality of housing openings or a very large housing opening to enable removal and installation of the measurement receivers without disconnecting the drivetrain. However, this solution is disadvantageous insofar as the housing cover is weakened structurally by a corresponding quantity of housing openings or by a very large housing opening, which is not desirable especially for utility motor vehicles. Moreover, a plurality of housing openings are not always possible. Therefore, in a preferred further development a transporting device is provided by means of which at least one of the measurement receivers can be transported from an operating position farther from an associated housing opening to a disassembly or removal position closer to the associated housing opening. In this connection, at least one of the measurement receivers can preferably be transported by the transporting device from an installation position which is closer to an/the associated housing opening and which possibly corresponds to the removal position to the operating position which is farther from the associated housing opening. By the terms operating position and installation or removal position is meant, on the one hand, the position usually occupied by the measurement receivers during driving operation in order to detect the actual release and, on the other hand, a position to which the measurement receiver is transported by means of the transporting device and from which the measurement receiver can be removed from the housing through the associated housing opening, or a position occupied by the measurement receiver in the housing after installation before it is transported to its operating position for normal driving operation.
It may be advisable that a plurality of measurement receivers can be transported by means of the transporting device—possibly successively in time—to a housing opening assigned jointly to these measurement receivers. A transporting device constructed in this way is advisable in particular when more than two measurement receivers are provided. A shared transporting device can then be provided for the measurement receivers.
There may be assigned to at least one measurement receiver an operating position in which the measurement receiver is associated with respect to position with a/the housing opening in such a way that it can be removed from the interior of the housing and can be installed again—possibly in the form of an exchangeable measurement sensor—without disconnecting the drivetrain. In this case, the operating position and the removal and installation positions coincide to a certain extent.
According to a preferred embodiment for the transporting device, it is suggested that this transporting device has at least one measurement receiver carrier which is movably mounted in the housing and which carries at least one measurement receiver and serves to transport the measurement receiver between an/the operating position which is farther from the housing opening and a/the removal or installation position which is nearer to the housing opening. In operation, the movably mounted measurement receiver carrier can also carry the measurement receiver which is removable from its operating position and is associated with the housing opening with respect to position. Alternatively, however, it is also possible that during operation the measurement receiver which is removable proceeding from its operating position and which is associated with the housing opening with respect to position is arranged at a measurement receiver carrier, preferably the pressure medium force ring cylinder, which is separate from the movably mounted measurement receiver carrier.
If it is desirable that a control/regulating valve arrangement which is associated with the pressure medium force cylinder arrangement and by means of which the pressure medium force cylinder arrangement can be actuated is arranged in comparatively close proximity to the pressure medium force cylinder arrangement, it may be advisable that the control/regulating valve arrangement is integrated in an actuation unit together with a measurement receiver. While it would be possible also to arrange the actuation unit in the housing so that it can be transported between an operating position and a removal and installation position by means of the transporting device, it seems particularly advisable to remove the
Drexl Hans-Jürgen
Otto Thomas
Weidinger Reinhold
Bonck Rodney H.
Cohen & Pontani, Lieberman & Pavane
Mannesmann Sachs AG
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