192 clutches and power-stop control – Clutches – Operators
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-22
2004-04-13
Rodriquez, Saul (Department: 3681)
192 clutches and power-stop control
Clutches
Operators
C192S11000B
Reexamination Certificate
active
06719117
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the priority of German Patent Application Serial No. 101 14 846.1, filed Mar. 24, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, in general, to a clutch release bearing, and more particularly to a clutch release bearing for use in a clutch mechanism for motor vehicles.
A clutch release bearing is typically intended for actuation of a clutch mechanism, e.g. separating clutch, disposed between the internal combustion engine and a gearbox, and is configured as a tapered roller bearing which includes a non-rotatable outer bearing ring, a revolving inner bearing ring, and rolling members, received in a cage and guided between the bearing rings. Operatively connected to the inner ring is an adjustment ring, which establishes a connection between a disk spring of the clutch mechanism and the release bearing. The adjustment ring is configured to allow a relative movement of the adjustment ring and the inner ring so as to implement a self-adjusting or self-aligning release bearing.
Such a release bearing is able to compensate shocks generated by axial misalignment with the disk spring that is connected directly to the clutch mechanism. The axial misalignment, caused by the disk spring, increases wear and thus reduces the service life of the release bearing and triggers the so-called clutch judder that adversely affects the overall riding comfort.
German Pat. No. DE 72 45 141 U describes a release bearing which includes an adjustment ring disposed between the disk spring or arms of the disk spring of the clutch mechanism and the inner ring of the release bearing. The contact zone between the adjustment ring and the inner ring is hereby configured with complementing spherical surfaces of the adjustment ring and the inner ring so as to allow a relative movement and alignment between these structural parts. The inner ring and the adjustment ring are designed as massive parts which are made through a material-removing process and expensive and require a fairly large space for installation.
German Pat. No. 199 12 432 A1 describes a self-aligning release bearing with a revolving inner ring. Provided between the disk spring or arms of the disk spring of the clutch mechanism and the inner ring is an adjustment ring, which together with the inner ring is supported by complementary calotte-shaped segments. The bearing rings of the release bearing as well as the adjustment ring are made through a deep-drawing process without material removal.
Common to both, German Pat. No. DE 72 45 141 U and German Pat. No. 199 12 432 A1, is the fact that the adjustment ring and the inner ring are made of same material. As a consequence, rust formation caused by friction can be experienced, resulting in greater wear, so that the service life of these release bearings is insufficient to meet the demands by vehicle manufactures.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved release bearing, which obviates prior art shortcomings and which exhibits a long service life, is maintenance-free and cost-efficient to produce while still being reliable in operation to effectively dampen or compensate axial misalignments, to prevent clutch judder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, a release bearing includes a rolling-contact bearing having a non-rotatable outer ring, a rotating inner ring, and plural rolling members located between the outer and inner rings; an adjustment ring having a ring flange for abutment against a disk spring of a clutch mechanism; and a sliding element made of bearing material and disposed in a support zone defined between the inner ring and the adjustment ring and configured in the form of complementary calotte-shaped portions so that the adjustment ring and the inner ring are movable relative to one another for effecting a self-adjustment of the release bearing.
The present invention resolves prior art problems by providing a sliding element in the contact zone between the adjustment ring and the revolving inner ring of the release bearing. As a result of the reduction in friction, the self-adjusting feature of the components, inner ring and adjustment ring, is significantly improved. The optimized self-adjustment is further able to significantly dampen the axial shocks generated by the disk spring or arms of the disk spring as a result of axial oscillations of the internal combustion engine and transmitted via the clutch mechanism into the release bearing.
According to another feature of the present invention, the sliding element may be made of a bearing material or a suitable friction-reducing and wear-resistant material to ensure a maintenance-free and long service life. Thus, a direct support of the inner ring and the adjustment ring, which are both made of steel, is prevented. By sandwiching the sliding element in the support zone between the inner ring and adjustment ring, the latter components are effectively decoupled from one another so that noise development is suppressed and friction-based rust formation as well as clutch judder is prevented. The sliding element can be connected to either one of the carriers, i.e. inner ring or adjustment ring, without requiring any modification of the carrier that is selected to bear against the sliding element, so that existing installation space can be used.
It is to be understood by persons skilled in the art that the term “carrier” is used in the following description to refer to the inner ring of the release bearing or to the adjustment ring.
The wear of the spherical contact zones of the sliding elements by the inner ring and the adjustment ring is comparably small. The sliding element can be produced in great numbers cost-efficiently and requires no particular handling for installation and attachment to the inner ring of the release bearing or the adjustment ring. The securement of the sliding element can be implemented in any suitable manner known to the artisan and includes force-fitting and/or positive connections. During operation, the sliding element separates the inner ring of the release bearing from the adjustment ring and allows a maintenance-free self-adjustment between the inner ring and the adjustment ring. The self-adjustment, which is realized at low friction and exhibits damping characteristics at the same time, is implemented with little wear and may be effected together with a self-alignment in radial direction.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the sliding element may be connected to the adjustment ring. A largest possible contact surface can be realized, when the sliding element embraces the entire side of the adjustment ring, directed to the inner ring of the release bearing. In this way, a direct contact between the inner ring and the adjustment ring is prevented, even at extremely tilted positions. The support of the sliding element over a large area improves further the securement of the sliding element to the adjustment ring. As an alternative, the sliding element may also be connected over a large area to the inner ring of the release bearing at the side facing the adjustment ring. In either case, the large-area contact of the sliding element upon the adjustment ring or inner ring results in a sufficient support in each and every position, i.e., also when the adjustment ring occupies an extremely tilted disposition. At the same time, the large-area contact of the sliding element ensures a reduced surface pressure so that the strength and rigidity of the sliding element is not adversely affected.
According to another feature of the present invention, the sliding element may also be configured in segments to thereby improve the adhesion of the sliding element because tension as a consequence of different coefficients of thermal expansion between the carrier, i.e. adjustment ring or inner ring, and the sliding element is effectively eliminated. Of course, the sliding element may also be configured with at least one longitude slot, which coincides with the sym
Dittmer Steffen
Klöpfer Bernhard
Winkelmann Ludwig
Feiereisen Henry M.
INA-Schaeffler KG
Rodriquez Saul
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