JP2003156069A - Clutch device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a clutch device using a direct push type clutch cover assembly, improving its clutch control reliability. SOLUTION: The clutch device 1 for transmitting and cutting off torque from a flywheel 6 to a shaft 3 of a transmission comprises a clutch disc assembly 7, the clutch cover assembly 8, and a clutch operation mechanism 9. The clutch disc assembly 7 has a friction connection portion 12 arranged adjacent to the flywheel 6 and is connected to the shaft 3. The clutch cover assembly 8 has a pressure plate 17 for thrusting the friction connection portion 12 against the flywheel 6. The clutch operation mechanism 9 for directly granting a thrusting load to the pressure plate 17 has a bearing 56 for abutting on the pressure plate 17 and a hydraulic cylinder 51 for moving the bearing 56 to the axial direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clutch device, and more particularly to a device for directly applying a pressing load to a pressure plate of a clutch cover assembly without using the elastic force of a spring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A clutch device is a device mounted on a crankshaft of an engine of a vehicle for transmitting torque from the engine to a transmission and interrupting the transmission.
The clutch device includes, for example, a flywheel fixed to the tip of a crankshaft, and a clutch disc assembly having a friction coupling portion arranged in proximity to a friction surface of the flywheel and coupled to a main drive shaft of a transmission. A clutch cover assembly mounted on the flywheel and capable of pressing the friction coupling portion toward the flywheel, and a clutch operating mechanism for applying an operating load to the clutch cover assembly to perform a clutch operation. The clutch operating mechanism is, for example, a hydraulic cylinder, and is composed of an annular housing fixed to the wall surface of the transmission housing, and a piston movably arranged in the annular housing in the annular housing. The piston can apply an operating load to a part of the clutch cover assembly, and moves in the axial direction when hydraulic pressure is externally supplied to the oil chamber in the annular housing.

A spring-press type clutch cover assembly includes a clutch cover fixed to a flywheel, a pressure plate disposed in the clutch cover and close to a friction coupling portion, and a pressing load supported by the clutch cover to apply a pressing load to the pressure plate. It is composed of a spring that has been added. In this case, the clutch operating mechanism is
By applying a release load to the clutch cover assembly, the pressing of the pressure plate by the spring is released.

In the spring pressing type clutch device, when controlling the pressing load from the diaphragm spring, it is necessary to control two amounts at the same time. The first is the stroke amount of the inner peripheral end of the diaphragm spring. The second is the load from the clutch operating mechanism to the diaphragm spring. Controlling these two amounts complicates the structure of the control unit and reduces the reliability of clutch control.

[0005]

A direct push type clutch cover assembly has been developed as a structure for improving the reliability of clutch control. This clutch cover assembly does not use a spring such as a diaphragm spring but directly applies a pressing load from the clutch operating mechanism to the pressure plate. More specifically, the direct-pressing clutch cover assembly includes a clutch cover fixed to the flywheel, a pressure plate disposed inside the clutch cover and adjacent to the friction coupling portion, and a pressure plate supported by the clutch cover. And a lever that abuts. In this case, the clutch operating mechanism applies a pressing load to the pressure plate by pushing the lever plate.

However, even in the case of the direct push type clutch cover assembly, the lever plate rotates at a high speed in a state in which the posture is changed and the lever plate itself is elastically deformed, and a centrifugal force acting on the lever plate is generated. Due to this, the pressing force of the pressure plate may fluctuate.
An object of the present invention is to further improve the reliability of clutch control in a clutch device using a direct-pressing type clutch cover assembly.

[0007]

A clutch device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a device for transmitting and interrupting torque from a flywheel to a main drive shaft of a transmission, which comprises a clutch disc assembly and a clutch cover assembly. A solid body and a clutch operating mechanism are provided. The clutch disc assembly has a friction coupling located proximate to the flywheel and is coupled to the main drive shaft. The clutch cover assembly has a pressure plate for pressing the friction coupling against the flywheel. The clutch operating mechanism is a mechanism for directly applying a pressing load to the pressure plate,
It has a bearing that abuts the pressure plate and a drive unit that moves the bearing in the axial direction. Here, "the bearing comes into contact with the pressure plate" means that a member such as a lever plate is not arranged therebetween,
In addition to the case where each race of the bearing is in direct contact with the pressure plate, even if the bearing has high rigidity and centrifugal force is applied as the clutch rotates, it affects the pressing force of the clutch. It also includes the case where it is in contact with the pressure plate through a member that does not exist.

In this clutch device, when the drive mechanism of the clutch operating mechanism moves the bearing in the axial direction to apply a pressing load to the pressure plate, the friction coupling portion of the clutch disc assembly is formed between the flywheel and the pressure plate. It is sandwiched and the clutch is connected. In the clutch connecting operation described above, a pressing load is applied to the pressure plate directly from the bearing of the clutch operating mechanism. Therefore, not only the spring but also the lever plate are omitted, and the influence of the centrifugal force due to the elastic deformation of the members themselves or the change in the posture thereof does not adversely affect the clutch control.

In the clutch device according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the pressure plate has an annular pressing portion that presses the friction coupling portion, and the bearing of the clutch coupling mechanism that extends inward from the pressing portion contacts the bearing portion. And a driven part. According to a third aspect of the clutch device of the present invention, in the second aspect, the driven portion is formed with a penetrating portion that penetrates in the axial direction.

In this clutch device, air can be supplied from the outside to the inside of the clutch device by the penetrating portion of the driven part to cool the clutch connecting portion.
As a result, the friction coupling portion of the clutch disc assembly has a longer life. According to a fourth aspect of the clutch device of the present invention, in the second aspect, the driven portion is a plurality of protrusions that extend inward from the pressing portion with a circumferential gap.

In this clutch device, air is supplied from the outside to the inside of the clutch device by the circumferential gaps of the plurality of projections, and the clutch connecting portion can be cooled. As a result, the friction coupling portion of the clutch disc assembly has a longer life. In the clutch device according to claim 5,
In any one of claims 2 to 5, the pressing portion and the driven portion are separate members, and both are fixed to each other.

In this clutch device, since the pressing portion and the driven portion are separate members, for example, a material having good wear resistance is used for the pressing portion, and the driven portion has good heat dissipation and is lightweight. An optimal pressure plate can be realized by using the material. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the pressing portion and the driven portion are separate members, and the two are fixed to each other. The driven part is
The disc-shaped member has an annular portion connected to the pressing portion, and a plurality of protrusions extending inward from the annular portion in the circumferential direction with gaps therebetween.

In this clutch device, since the pressing portion and the driven portion are separate members, for example, a material having good wear resistance is used for the pressing portion, and the driven portion has good heat dissipation and is lightweight. An optimal pressure plate can be realized by using the material. Furthermore, air can be supplied from the outside to the inside of the clutch device by the circumferential gaps of the plurality of protrusions, and the clutch connecting portion can be cooled. As a result, the friction coupling portion of the clutch disc assembly has a longer life.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 1. First Embodiment (1) Structure FIG. 1 shows a clutch device 1 as an example of the present invention. Here, O-O is the rotation axis of the clutch device 1. The clutch device 1 is a device for transmitting and interrupting torque from the crankshaft 2 on the axial engine side (left side in FIG. 1) to the main drive shaft 3 on the axial transmission side (right side in FIG. 1). The clutch device 1 mainly includes a flywheel 6, a clutch disc assembly 7, a clutch cover assembly 8, and a hydraulic pressing device 9. A transmission housing (not shown) is provided on the engine side of the clutch device 1.
Are arranged.

The flywheel 6 is a disk-shaped member, the inner peripheral portion of which is fixed to the tip of the crankshaft 2 by a plurality of bolts 11. Also, flywheel 6
An annular and flat friction surface 6a facing the transmission side in the axial direction is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the. The clutch disc assembly 7 includes a friction coupling portion 12 that is disposed on the outer peripheral side and that includes a friction facing, a damper mechanism 13 that includes a clutch plate and a retaining plate that are fixed to the friction coupling portion 12, and a coil spring, and a damper. And a hub flange 14 connected to the mechanism 13. The friction coupling portion 12 is the friction surface 6a of the flywheel 6.
It is arranged corresponding to. The inner peripheral portion of the hub flange 14 is spline-engaged with the main drive shaft 3.

The clutch cover assembly 8 is a mechanism mounted on the flywheel 6 for pressing and releasing the friction coupling portion 12 of the clutch disc assembly 7 against the flywheel 6. The clutch cover assembly 8 mainly includes a clutch cover 16 and a pressure plate 17. The clutch cover 16 is dish-shaped and has a large-diameter hole formed in the center. The outer peripheral end of the clutch cover 16 is fixed to the flywheel 6 by a plurality of bolts 19. Further, the clutch cover 16 is formed with an inner peripheral portion 16a extending toward the inner peripheral side and close to a hydraulic pressing device 9 described later. In this embodiment, the inner peripheral portion 16a has a plurality of protrusions formed side by side in the circumferential direction and extending toward the inner peripheral side.

The pressure plate 17 is a member for sandwiching the friction coupling portion 12 of the clutch disc assembly 7 with the friction surface 6a of the flywheel 6. The pressure plate 17 is an annular member arranged inside the clutch cover 16, and is composed of an annular pressing portion 17a and a driven portion 17b extending from the pressing portion 17a toward the inner peripheral side. An annular and flat pressing surface 17c is formed on the engine side of the pressing portion 17a in the axial direction. The pressing surface 17c is
The friction surface 6a of the flywheel 6 is axially opposed to the friction surface 6a, and the friction coupling portion 1 of the clutch disc assembly 7 is interposed therebetween.
Sandwiching two. In the present embodiment, the driven portion 17b is a disk-shaped member that is continuous in the circumferential direction, covers the axial transmission side of the damper mechanism 13 of the clutch disc assembly 7, and the tip thereof is the main drive shaft 3.
It extends to the vicinity. The axial transmission side surface of the driven portion 17b is a flat surface perpendicular to the axis OO, but the axial engine side surface is an inclined surface such that the axial thickness decreases from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side. Has become.

The pressure plate 17 is connected by the strap plate 20 to the clutch cover 16 at three positions in the circumferential direction such that the pressure plate 17 cannot rotate relative to the clutch cover 16 but can move in the axial direction within a predetermined range. In particular,
One end of each strap plate 20 is the clutch cover 1
6 and the pressure plate 17 at the other end.
It is fixed to the pressing portion 17a. The strap plate 20 is the pressure plate 1 when the clutch is engaged.
7 is biased toward the transmission side in the axial direction.

The hydraulic pressing device 9 shown in FIG. 2 is a mechanism for applying an operating load to the clutch cover assembly 8 (specifically, applying a pressing load to the pressure plate 17). The hydraulic pressing device 9 also has a function of applying a canceling load to the clutch cover 16 on the side opposite to the pressing load when applying the pressing load. in this way,
The clutch operation load is balanced as the internal force of the clutch device 1 to reduce or eliminate the load burden on the engine side. As a result, the load on the thrust bearing of the crankshaft 2 of the engine is small.

The hydraulic pressing device 9 is arranged on the outer periphery of the main drive shaft 3 and on the axial transmission side of the inner peripheral edge of the driven portion 17b of the pressure plate 17. The hydraulic pressing device 9 is mainly composed of a hydraulic cylinder 51. The hydraulic cylinder 51 is mainly
It is composed of an annular housing 52 and an annular piston 53. The annular housing 52 is arranged so as to be movable in the axial direction with respect to the transmission housing, the main drive shaft 3, etc., and is arranged concentrically with the rotation axis O-O of the clutch device 1. Annular housing 52
Mainly has an annular block 57, an inner wall surface member 58, and an outer wall surface member 59. The inner wall surface member 58 and the outer wall surface member 59 are tubular members, and the ends in the axial direction of the transmission are fixed to the annular block 57. Therefore, an annular space extending in the axial direction is formed between the members. Note that the annular space is closed on the axial transmission side, but is open on the engine side.

The annular piston 53 extends in the axial direction in a cylindrical shape and is arranged in the annular space, but the end portion on the engine side in the axial direction projects from the annular space. The annular piston 53 is axially movable not only with respect to the transmission housing and the main drive shaft 3 but also with respect to the annular housing 52. An annular seal member 60 is fixed to the end of the annular piston 53 on the axial transmission side. The seal member 60 is in contact with the inner side surfaces of the wall surface members 58 and 59 so as to seal both sides in the axial direction. As a result, in the annular space, the oil chamber 61 is provided on the axial transmission side of the seal member 60.
Is secured. An oil passage 57a communicating with the oil chamber 61 is formed in the annular block 57.

A support portion 54 extending on the outer peripheral side of the main drive shaft 3 is formed in the transmission housing. The support portion 54 is a tubular member, and its tip extends to the inner peripheral side of the driven portion 17b of the pressure plate 17. The inner peripheral surface of the inner wall surface member 58 of the annular housing 52 is supported on the outer peripheral surface of the support portion 54 so as to be slidable in the axial direction and constrained in the rotational direction. By this support, the hydraulic pressing device 9 is positioned in the radial direction with respect to the transmission housing.

A bearing 56 is attached to the end of the annular piston 53 on the axial transmission side. Bearing 56
Is a ball bearing having a thrust capacity, and is composed of an inner race 64, an outer race 65, and a plurality of rolling elements 66 arranged between them. The inner race 64 is attached to the tip of the annular piston 53 from the axial engine side, and receives the load from the annular piston 53 to the axial engine side.
Specifically, the inner peripheral surface of the inner race 64 is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the tubular portion at the tip of the annular piston 53, and the axial transmission side surface thereof abuts the axial engine side end surface of the annular piston 53. A part of the outer race 65 is in contact with the tip end surface of the driven portion 17b of the pressure plate 17 from the axial transmission side. An annular plate member 67 is attached to the outer peripheral side of the outer race 65. The plate member 67 covers not only the outer peripheral side of the outer race 65 but also the axial transmission side of the rolling element 66. Bearing 5 described above
6, the annular piston 53 can apply a load to the pressure plate 17 toward the engine side in the axial direction without being affected by the rotation from the pressure plate 17.

The bearing 5 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the annular housing 52.
5 is installed. The bearing 55 is a ball bearing having a thrust capacity, and includes an inner race 69, an outer race 70, and a plurality of rolling elements 71 arranged therebetween.
It consists of and. The inner race 69 is fitted on the outer wall surface member 59 of the annular housing 52, and the raised portion 59a formed on the outer wall surface member 59 is in contact with the axial engine side surface thereof. As a result, the inner race 69 receives the load from the annular housing 52 toward the transmission side in the axial direction. A plate member 72 is fixed to the outer peripheral side of the outer race 70. The plate member 72 covers the outer peripheral side of the outer race 70 and the axial direction engine side of the rolling elements 71.

On the inner peripheral portion 16a of the clutch cover 16,
The locking portion 16b is formed. The locking portion 16b is the bearing 5
A bent portion 16c is formed at the tip end of the outer peripheral side of the shafts 5, 56, and is in contact with the side surface of the outer race 70 of the bearing 55 on the axial transmission side. A coil spring 73 is arranged between the bearing 55 and the bearing 56, specifically between the plate member 67 and the plate member 72. Coil spring 73
Is a weak spring member for preventing axial rattling of both bearings 55 and 56 and for eliminating an ineffective stroke of the piston by constantly weakly abutting them.

Since the bearings 55 and 56 have substantially the same radial position and are arranged side by side in the axial direction, the radial size of the hydraulic pressing device 9 is small. The hydraulic pressing device 9 described above forms one unit, and can be independently transported or replaced. Further, the hydraulic pressing device 9 can form an assembly integral with the clutch cover assembly 8, and in that case, one clutch cover assembly is formed as a whole to realize modularization. As a result, the number of assembly steps at the assembly site is reduced, and the assemblability of the clutch device 1 is improved. Also,
By integrating the hydraulic pressing device 9 and the clutch cover assembly 8, the overall size can be reduced and space can be saved.

The clutch device 1 further includes a hydraulic control device 10. The hydraulic control device 10 is a device for controlling the load applied from the clutch cover assembly 8 to the clutch disc assembly 7 by controlling the hydraulic pressure supplied to the hydraulic pressing device 9. The hydraulic control device 10 is
A control unit 46 including a microcomputer, a hydraulic pressure supply unit 47 including a master cylinder or a hydraulic pump,
A pressure sensor 48 for detecting an in-cylinder oil pressure as a substitute characteristic value of the load applied to the pressure plate 17. The control unit 46 uses the pressure sensor 4
The hydraulic pressure supplied from the hydraulic pressure supply unit 47 is controlled based on the detected amount from 8.

(2) Operation Next, the operation will be described. When the clutch coupled driver operates, for example, a clutch pedal or the like, a signal is sent from the control unit 46 of the hydraulic control device 10 in synchronism with the movement of the clutch pedal, and the hydraulic chamber of the hydraulic cylinder 51 is transmitted from the hydraulic supply unit 47 via the hydraulic supply pipe. The hydraulic oil is supplied into 61.
As a result, the annular piston 53 moves toward the engine in the axial direction, and the bearing 56 moves accordingly. At this time, the bearing 5
6 applies a constant load to the inner peripheral edge of the pressure plate 17. As a result, the pressing surface 17c of the pressure plate 17 pushes the friction coupling portion 12 toward the engine in the axial direction, and frictionally engages the friction coupling portion 12 and the flywheel 6.
As a result, the torque from the flywheel 6 is transmitted to the clutch disc assembly 7 and the main drive shaft 3
Is output to.

In this clutch connected state, the annular housing 52 of the hydraulic cylinder 51 is urged toward the transmission in the axial direction by the hydraulic pressure generated in the oil chamber 61. Therefore, via the bearing 55, the clutch cover 1
A load is applied to the inner peripheral portion 16a of 6 toward the transmission side in the axial direction. In this way, the flywheel 6 has
A load (operating load) is applied from the pressure plate 17 and the friction coupling portion 12 to the axial engine side, but at the same time, a load (cancellation load) is applied from the clutch cover 16 to the axial transmission side. The load acting on the crankshaft 2 from the flywheel 6 is at least reduced, or is offset to approach zero.

When the driver disengages the clutch, for example, operates a clutch pedal or the like, a signal is sent to the control unit 46 in synchronism with the movement of the clutch pedal. Disappear. As a result, the pressing load applied from the hydraulic pressing device 9 to the pressure plate 17 disappears. At this time, the pressure plate 17 moves toward the transmission side in the axial direction by the urging force from the strap plate 20. As a result, the friction coupling portion 12 of the clutch disc assembly 7 separates from the flywheel 6, and the clutch coupling is released. In addition, the annular housing 52 releases the urging force to the clutch cover 16 at the time of the clutch release described above.

In the clutch operation described above, the conventional elastic member is not used to apply the pressing load to the pressure plate 17. That is, the hydraulic pressing device 9
The pressing load applied from the bearing 56 to the pressure plate 17 is determined only by the load applied from the bearing 56 to the inner peripheral end of the pressure plate 17. In this way
The bearing 56 is used to control the clutch pressing load.
Since it suffices to control only the load applied to the pressure plate 17, the reliability of controlling the transmission torque of the clutch is improved.

(3) Advantages of the structure of the pressure plate Conventionally, when there is a lever plate, it changes its posture and rotates at a high speed in a state where it is elastically deformed. Therefore, the centrifugal force acting on the lever plate causes the pressure to increase. The pressing force of the plate sometimes fluctuated. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the lever plate is omitted and the pressing load is directly applied to the pressure plate, so that the pressing load of the pressure plate is stable. As a result, the reliability of clutch control is further improved.

Since the lever plate is omitted and the pressure load is directly applied to the pressure plate, the axial dimension of the clutch cover assembly 8 can be shortened. Conventionally, when there is a lever plate, the stroke amount of the pressing bearing of the clutch operating mechanism is large because it corresponds to the lever ratio and the deflection of the lever itself. However, in this embodiment, the stroke amount of the hydraulic pressing device 9 is significantly smaller than that of the conventional one, and as a result, the axial size of the hydraulic pressing device 9, specifically, the hydraulic cylinder 51 can be shortened.

Since the pressing load is directly applied to the pressure plate by omitting the lever plate, the number of parts of the clutch cover assembly 8 is reduced. This allows
Cost reduction is achieved. The pressure plate 17 has a driven portion 17b as well as a pressing portion 17a, and the driven portion 17b is arranged in a space portion occupied by a conventional lever plate. Therefore, the heat capacity of the entire pressure plate increases. As a result, the life of the friction facing on the pressure plate 17 side of the friction coupling portion 12 is improved.

The clutch operating mechanism is not limited to the hydraulic type and may be a mechanical type. 2. Second Embodiment FIG. 3 shows a clutch device 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. This embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment, and only different points will be described here.

In the pressure plate 17, the driven portion 17b and the pressing portion 17a have a projection shape extending inward in the radial direction side by side in the circumferential direction. Therefore, a gap is secured between the driven portions 17b in the circumferential direction, and the portion is penetrated on both sides in the axial direction. Therefore, air on the transmission side in the axial direction of the pressure plate 17 is supplied to the clutch disc assembly 7 side, and the friction facing of the friction coupling portion 12, the friction surface 6a of the flywheel 6 and the pressing surface 17c of the pressure plate 17 are cooled. It As a result, the life of the friction facing of the friction coupling portion 12 is extended.

Further, since the driven portion 17b is provided with the axial penetrating portion, the weight of the pressure plate 17 can be reduced. The axial penetrating portion provided in the driven portion 17b is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be a hole or a notch penetrating in the axial direction. 3. Third Embodiment FIG. 4 shows a clutch device 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. This embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment, and only different points will be described here.

The pressure plate 17 has a pressing portion 31.
And the driven portion 32 and the rivet 33 that firmly fixes the both.
It consists of and. The pressing portion 31 is an annular and disk-shaped member, and has an annular and flat pressing surface 31a that faces the engine side in the axial direction. The driven portion 32 is the pressing portion 3
1 is arranged on the axial transmission side. The driven part 32 is an annular and disk-shaped member, the inner peripheral part of which is in contact with the axial transmission side surface of the pressing part 31, and is firmly fixed by a plurality of rivets 33 arranged in the circumferential direction. . The inner diameter of the driven portion 32 is smaller than the inner diameter of the pressing portion 31, covers the axial transmission side of the damper mechanism 13 of the clutch disc assembly 7, and its tip extends to the vicinity of the main drive shaft 3. The side surface of the driven portion 32 in the axial direction of the transmission has an axis O-.
Although it is a flat surface perpendicular to O, the axial engine side surface is an inclined surface such that the axial thickness decreases from the inner peripheral side toward the outer peripheral side.

The pressure plate 17 is connected by a strap plate 20 to the clutch cover 16 at three positions in the circumferential direction such that the pressure plate 17 cannot rotate relative to the clutch cover 16 but can move in a predetermined range in the axial direction. In particular,
One end of each strap plate 20 is the clutch cover 1
6 and the pressure plate 17 at the other end.
The rivet 33 is fixed to the pressing portion 17a. That is, in this embodiment, the rivet 33 has a function of fixing the pressing portion 31 and the driven portion 32 and fixing the strap plate 20 to the entire pressure plate 17. The strap plate 20 biases the pressure plate 17 toward the transmission side in the axial direction when the clutch is engaged.

Since the pressing portion 31 is, for example, cast iron, the pressure plate 17 is secured with friction characteristics, wear resistance and mechanical strength. Further, since the driven portion 32 is made of a material having a high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper, the pressure plate 17 ensures the improvement of the heat radiation efficiency and the weight reduction. Conventionally, by increasing the weight of the pressure plate to increase the heat capacity, the absorption of frictional heat generated by the clutch disc by the pressure plate is improved to prevent the clutch disc from being deteriorated or destroyed. However, in that case, the weight of the pressure plate itself and its supporting member is increased, and the material cost is increased. That is, the improvement of the heat radiation efficiency and the weight reduction are not compatible. On the other hand, in the present invention,
Since the pressure plate is composed of two members and the driven part is made of a material having good heat dissipation and a light weight, it is possible to improve the heat dissipation efficiency and reduce the weight.

The method and means for fixing the two members to each other may be bolts, caulking, welding or the like. The driven part may be composed of an annular part fixed to the pressing part and a plurality of protrusions extending from the annular part to the inner peripheral side. That is, the plurality of protrusions are connected to each other next to each other,
The driven part as a whole has a disc shape. In this case, the effect of cooling the clutch friction coupling portion can be obtained by the circumferential clearance between the protrusions.

[0042]

In the clutch device according to the present invention, the pressing load is applied to the pressure plate directly from the bearing of the clutch operating mechanism during the clutch connecting operation. Therefore, not only the spring but also the lever plate is omitted, and the deflection of these members does not affect the clutch control.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a clutch device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1, which is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a clutch operating mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a clutch device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a clutch device according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 clutch device 2 crankshaft 3 Main drive shaft 6 flywheel 7 Clutch disc assembly 8 Clutch cover assembly 9 Hydraulic pressure device (clutch operation mechanism) 16 clutch cover 17 Pressure plate 51 Hydraulic cylinder (drive unit) 56 bearing

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 3J056 AA34 AA58 AA62 BA05 BE12                       CA05 GA02 GA12                 3J057 AA03 AA06 BB03 CB04 CB21                       FF11 GA12 GA49 HH01 JJ01

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A clutch device for transmitting and interrupting torque from a flywheel to a main drive shaft of a transmission, the clutch device having a friction coupling portion arranged in proximity to the flywheel, A coupled clutch disc assembly, a clutch cover assembly having a pressure plate for pressing the friction coupling portion against the flywheel, and a mechanism for directly applying a pressing load to the pressure plate, A clutch device including: a bearing that abuts the pressure plate; and a clutch operating mechanism that includes a drive unit that moves the bearing in an axial direction. 2. The pressure plate has an annular pressing portion that presses the friction connecting portion, and a driven portion that extends inward from the pressing portion and is in contact with a bearing of the clutch connecting mechanism. The clutch device according to claim 1. 3. The clutch device according to claim 2, wherein a penetrating portion that penetrates in the axial direction is formed in the driven portion. 4. The clutch device according to claim 2, wherein the driven portion is a plurality of protrusions extending inward from the pressing portion in a circumferential direction with a gap therebetween. 5. The clutch device according to claim 2, wherein the pressing portion and the driven portion are separate members and are fixed to each other. 6. The pressing portion and the driven portion are formed as separate members, and are fixed to each other. The driven portion includes an annular portion connected to the pressing portion and an annular portion. The clutch device according to claim 2, wherein the clutch device is a disc-shaped member having a plurality of protrusions that extend inwardly with a gap in the circumferential direction.