192 clutches and power-stop control – Vortex-flow drive and clutch – Including drive-lockup clutch
Patent
1996-03-06
1998-09-22
Bonck, Rodney H.
192 clutches and power-stop control
Vortex-flow drive and clutch
Including drive-lockup clutch
192205, F16H 4502
Patent
active
058101403
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns locking clutches, notably for motor vehicles, operating between the casing and the turbine wheel of a hydrokinetic coupling mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such a clutch is described for example in the document FR-A-2 488 362. In the latter the clutch includes a torsion damper, a piston mounted so as to be able to move axially and at least one friction lining associated with the piston and able to be clamped between the said piston and a counter-piston formed in this case by a transverse wall of the casing.
The torsion damper has an inlet part and an outlet part and springs interposed circumferentially between the said inlet and outlet parts in order to connect them.
This damper is positioned at the external periphery of the casing and thus has two coaxial parts mounted so as to move with respect to each other counter to circumferentially acting springs, namely an inlet part provided with a continuous-guidance washer and an outlet part provided with a web.
The guidance washer is fixed to the piston and the web is joined to the turbine wheel.
The guidance washer has a U-shaped profile to guide springs radially internally and externally. Moreover this guidance washer has stops or support portions, radially offset, to cooperate with the circumferential ends of the springs to immobilise the latter in the peripheral direction. The web has support portions in the form of lugs to support the springs.
As a result the guidance washer has a complicated shape and is difficult to produce on a press.
In FIG. 5 of the document U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,562 the inlet part of the torsion damper consists of a plurality of guidance plates attached fixedly to the piston of the locking clutch, each guidance plate having two lateral wings and a central section projecting radially with respect to the said wings and inserted between the circumferential ends of two consecutive springs.
In this embodiment each lateral wing has a holding portion to hold the springs radially on the inside and the piston is provided on its external periphery with an axially orientated annular shoulder shaped to retain the springs radially on the outside. This piston has the projections for supporting the springs.
In practice each lateral wing is extended circumferentially in order to have a second central part. As a result a great deal of material is used and there are difficulties in fitting the plates. Moreover, the piston does not have a simple shape.
The object of the present invention is to reduce these drawbacks and therefore to create a simplified locking clutch which is easy to manufacture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention a locking clutch of the above-mentioned type is characterised in that each lateral wing has a second support portion extending its holding portions to give support to the relevant circumferential end of the springs, in that the central part has a first support portion, offset radially towards the outside with respect to the second support portions, to provide a support for the facing circumferential ends of consecutive springs.
By virtue of the invention the guidance plates have a simple shape because they do not have to retain the springs on the outside, and the piston has a simpler shape because it is the support plate which has a first support portion for the springs.
These plates are easy to make by cutting and bending on a press. The piston also has a simple shape and is stiffened by its shoulder. This shoulder enables the springs to be held without having to provide supports for them. This piston is therefore easy to manufacture.
Moreover, because of the plates, a saving is made in material, since they act as simple shims between two facing circumferential ends of two consecutive springs.
In addition, by virtue of the invention, balancing plates can be interposed radially between the shoulder of the piston and the first support portions of the guidance plates.
Advantageously, to do this, the first support p
REFERENCES:
patent: 2158244 (1939-05-01), Mistretta et al.
patent: 4274519 (1981-06-01), Moroto et al.
patent: 4875562 (1989-10-01), Fujimoto
patent: 4890706 (1990-01-01), Miura et al.
patent: 5020647 (1991-06-01), Fujimoto et al.
patent: 5105921 (1992-04-01), Fujimoto
patent: 5447218 (1995-09-01), Tauvron
Annic Pascal
Billet Rene
Bonck Rodney H.
Valeo
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