KR20080111459A - Friction clutch - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a friction clutch (1) having a housing (12) and having a pressure plate (2) which is connected to said housing (12) in a rotationally fixed manner but so as to be axially moveable to a limited extent, with a pivotable lever element (3) being provided between the housing and the pressure plate, by means of which pivotable lever element (3) the pressure plate can be actuated in order to engage and disengage the friction clutch, wherein an annular component (19) is operatively connected to the lever element in such a way that said annular component (19) can, as a result of pivoting of the lever element, undergo a radial expansion and diminution. ® KIPO & WIPO 2009

Description

Friction Clutch {FRICTION CLUTCH}

The present invention relates to a friction clutch having a housing and a crimp plate, wherein the crimp plate is integrally rotated to the housing but is movably connected to a limited degree in the axial direction, in which case the pivot between the housing and the crimp plate is pivotable. A lever element is provided, and by using the lever element, the pressing plate can cause the engagement action and the release action of the friction clutch.

The invention relates in particular to a friction clutch which is automatically adjusted as suggested for example by DE 103 16 445 A1.

It is an object of the present invention to produce a friction clutch of the type mentioned in the foreword in which adjustment can be made between two or more parts of such a friction clutch by simple operation of the lever element. A further object of the present invention is to form an adjustment mechanism inside the friction clutch which causes adjustment in the friction clutch by operation of a lever element, which can be formed in the form of a disc spring, for example. Such an adjustment mechanism or adjustment mechanism must be particularly functionally safe and enable simple assembly and economical manufacture of the friction clutch.

The above object and object are solved and attained according to the present invention, in which the ring-shaped component is functionally connected with the lever element, whereby the ring-shaped component can be enlarged and reduced radially as a result of the pivoting operation of the lever element, The ring shaped part is in this case functionally coupled with the lever element via elastically deformable or pivotable tensioning means and / or pressure means acting on the ring shaped part at least in the radial direction, the ring shaped part being furthermore And two end regions, at least one of which end regions operate with respect to the lever element while the ring shaped part is enlarged and / or reduced, by which operation of the adjustment device can be initiated. The adjusting device forms one component of the adjusting mechanism or adjusting mechanism to at least partially compensate for wear occurring in the components of the clutch device. This wear occurs in particular in the friction linings of the clutch plates which are mounted inside the vehicle together with the friction clutch.

Further preferred features and modes of action for improving the subject matter of the invention are described in the dependent claims 2 to 31.

Further advantages of the subject matter of the present invention and preferred structural and functional improvements can be obtained from the following description of the drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing a partially cut friction clutch according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a component of the adjusting device provided in the friction clutch according to FIG. 1 and having a ring-shaped basic structure;

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1,

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 1,

5 and 6 are schematic diagrams showing additional functional or geometrical features of a friction clutch formed in accordance with the present invention.

Reference is first made to PCT / DE 2006/000455 of the past in order to better understand the basic functional mode of the friction clutch according to FIGS. 1 to 4 which will be described in more detail below. The application describes a ring-shaped part, which is a component of the adjusting device capable of operating the compensating device, which at least partly compensates for the wear occurring in the friction lining of the clutch plate inside the friction clutch. By such compensation, a desired relative position or slight position variation between at least a few parts forming the friction clutch can be ensured over the entire life of the friction clutch. The basic functional manner of the ring-shaped component described in the past application is substantially consistent with the functional manner of the component shown in FIG. One of the important differences is that, in particular, the engagement or connection of the lever element with the ring-shaped component to ensure radial expansion and contraction of the ring-shaped component in practice without friction will be optimal in the present invention, which will be described in more detail below. Is that.

The friction clutch 1 shown in FIG. 1 is designed for the purpose of assembling on a corresponding pressure plate that can be formed by a flywheel of an internal combustion engine. As described in connection with the above-mentioned almost PCT-application, the friction lining of the clutch plate can be fixed between the pressing plate 2 of the friction clutch 1 and the corresponding pressure plate.

The position of the individual parts shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to the closed state of the friction clutch 1. The friction clutch 1 can in this case be actuated by a lever element 3 formed of a disc spring 4. The disc spring 4 forms a closing force for the friction clutch 1 in the embodiment shown in this figure. To form this closing force the disc spring 4 has a ring-shaped outer base body 5 which is used as an energy store. An actuating tongue 6 is formed integrally with the base body 5 starting from the inner edge region of the base body 5 and extending radially inward. The peak 7 of the tongue can be moved along the axis in a known manner, for example by means of an actuating element such as a release unit, so that the lever element 3 centers the slewing bearing 8 in the form of a lever with two arms. You can turn As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 3 and 4, in the illustrated embodiment two ring-shaped rolling regions 9, 10 are provided for forming the slewing bearing 8, in this embodiment the rolling region. Was formed from a wire ring. As the tongue peak 7 is actuated and moved along the axis in the direction of the arrow 13 (FIG. 3), the lever element 3 or the disc spring 4 is a pivot bearing 8 in the form of a lever with two arms. ), The pressing plate (2) is released along the axis and is displaced.

In the illustrated embodiment, a compensation device 14 is provided in the axial direction between the lever element 3 and the pressing plate 2, by means of which the clutch plate at least interacts with the friction clutch 1. Wear occurring in the friction lining can be at least partially compensated. Such wear is preferably compensated at least completely, such that the lever element 3 or the disc spring 4 maintains at least a nearly constant conical shape over the entire life of the friction clutch 1. Thereby, the working area of the disk spring used as the energy store is also kept substantially constant. The compensating device 14 has at least one adjusting ring 15, which adjusts the pressing plate 2 in the axial direction with respect to the lever element 3 by rotation, and the moving operation is preferably Substantially in particular corresponds to the wear occurring in the aforementioned friction linings. For this purpose, the adjustment ring may comprise a ramp 16 ramping in the axial direction, which proceeds directly or indirectly in the circumferential direction, by means of which the aforementioned axial position variation of the crimp plate 2 is changed. This can be done.

In the embodiment shown, the adjustment ring 15 is directly supported by the crimping plate 2, which is preferably crimped on the lamp 16 to integrally form a corresponding lamp 17 which interacts with the lamp. can do. However, a second ring may be provided disposed between the adjusting ring 15 and the pressing plate 2 to form the corresponding lamp 17. In the case of the later mentioned embodiment, the second ring can also be rotated in the circumferential direction, and the adjustment ring 15 can be fixed to rotate integrally with respect to the crimp plate 2.

Application DE 42 associated with a friction clutch that is automatically adjusted, at least in terms of the mode of operation, arrangement and formability of the above-described lamp set to compensate for wear, formed by at least the lamp 16 and / or the corresponding lamp 17. As reference can be made to 39 291 A1, DE 42 39 289 A1, DE 43 22 677 A1, DE 195 24 827 A1 and DE 199 11 667 A1, such lamps are hereby incorporated in the context of this application. Or the specific possibility of forming a lamp set will no longer need to be mentioned in detail.

Since the lever element is pivotally supported by the clutch bearing 12 in the form of a lever 3 with two arms, the compensating device 14 is arranged outside the radial direction of the swing bearing 8.

The compensating device 14 is operated for the purpose of adjusting the wear by the adjusting device 18 when the wear occurs.

At the same time, the adjusting device 18 forms a wear sensor device that detects wear occurring.

The compensating device 14 and the adjusting device 18 jointly form one wear adjusting device 1418.

The adjusting device 18 which acts as a wear sensor device comprises a ring shaped part 19 shown in detail in FIG. 2. The ring shaped part is supported by the lever element 3 or the disc spring 4. The ring shaped part 19 has a radially outer region 20 in the form of a ring with an open outer circumference. One end region 21 of both end regions 21, 22 of the ring-shaped region 20 formed by opening the outer circumference is fixedly connected to rotate integrally with the lever element 3, and the other end region Reference numeral 22 forms one component part of a device similar to a free running, referred to hereinafter as a free running device. The free running device, together with the adjustment ring 15, the manner in which the above-mentioned free running device 27 of the PCT-application acts between the parts 8 and 4 which can rotate relative to each other described in this embodiment. It works in a similar way.

The end region 22 has an elongate arm 23 which can be elastically deformed in the radial direction, running substantially in the circumferential direction, the arm having at least one toothed cutting 24, and The toothed cut is in engagement with the toothed cut 25 provided in the adjustment ring 15. In this case, the toothed cutting portion 25 was formed by a plurality of shaped portions similar to the teeth arranged successively in the circumferential direction, running in the axial direction. The circumferential extension length of the toothed cutting portion 25 is then long enough to ensure wear compensation over the entire life of the friction clutch 1 by rotation of the adjustment ring 15.

The ring shaped part 19 is supported or centered radially with respect to the lever element 3 or the disc spring 4 and guided in the circumferential direction. For this purpose, the ring shaped component 19 has a plurality of long arms 26 provided in a ring-shaped arrangement, which arms are formed integrally with the ring shaped region 20 in the illustrated embodiment. The arm 26 extends radially inward starting from the inner contour of the ring shaped region 20. The arm 26 acts in the manner of a bending bar because it can be elastically deformed. The radially inner regions 27 of the arm 26 are in this case connected to one another via a section 28 formed in a V or U shape. The section 28 is in this case likewise formed integrally with the ring shaped part 19. In the illustrated embodiment a section 28 is provided between each of the two circumferentially continuous arms 26, which can likewise be elastically deformed, that is to say having spring properties. However, in the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the second section 28 can be omitted, respectively. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the radially outwardly directed section 28 forms a star-shaped inner region 29.

The radially outer region 30 of the U- or V-shaped section 28 is connected to the lever element 3 via the spacing member 31 as can be seen from FIG. 3. This connection is made by the gap retaining rivets 31 in the illustrated embodiment. In this case the connection of the lever element 3 and the radially outer region 3 is made in the region of the actuating tongue 6. The arm 26 forms an elastic shape with the section 28, which enables the diameter variation of the ring-shaped region 20 when the lever element 3 pivots.

The adjusting device 18 actually forms a conveying device which, in combination with the conical shape change or pivoting action of the lever element 3, causes a rotational motion of the adjusting ring 15 relative to the crimp plate 2. .

In the illustrated embodiment, the ring shaped part 19 forms a spring ring, the radially outer area 20 of the ring shaped of the spring ring being adapted to the conical shape variation of the lever element 3 or the disc spring 4. As a result, the diameter may vary.

The ring-shaped part 19 is mounted in the state where the friction clutch 1 is tightened so that the inner region 27 of the arm 26 is free of wear of the friction clutch 1 or in a state where the wear is compensated for. At least some compressive stress causes contact with the stopper region or the support region 32. The support region 32 was formed by a spacing rivet 33 in the embodiment shown, which spacing rivets are connected to the actuating tongue 6 with a rivet head, forming a rivet head that forms the support region 32. Include.

At the time of operation of the friction clutch 1 by the swinging operation of the disk spring 4 centered on the swing bearing 8, the diameter of the ring-shaped region 20 at least increases according to the intention.

If the wear of the friction clutch does not occur if the wear is not large enough to ensure the operation of the toothed cut 24 that rotates by at least one tooth pitch with respect to the toothed cut 25. The diameter of the ring-shaped part 19 can be varied, in which case the flanks of the toothed cuttings 24 move to the side of the teeth of the toothed cuttings 25. This shift does not cause adjustment.

In particular, when the wear size in the friction lining of the clutch plate is large enough, the pressing plate 2 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is moved downward, so that the lever element 3 or the disc spring 4 has a larger conical shape. In other words, the shape of the cone changes due to wear. This conical shape variation causes the ring-shaped part 19 coupled with the lever element 3 to contract radially as described above. Thereby at least the ring-shaped region 20 is reduced in diameter, and this diameter reduction allows the end region 22 having the long arm 23 to be fixed so as to rotate integrally with the lever element 3. By approaching 21, the circumferential spacing between the two end regions 21 and 22 is also reduced. By this approaching operation between the two end regions 21 and 22, the toothed cutting portion 24 of the radially elastic arm 23 is provided with the toothed cutting portion 25 when the amount of wear is large enough. At least one tooth pitch. As described above, the elastic arm 23 has a predetermined radial compressive stress, and this compressive stress is an operation in which the toothed cutting portion 24 radially pushes into the toothed cutting portion 25 in accordance with the intention. Guarantees. The compensation device 14 cannot be adjusted when the friction clutch 1 is engaged because the adjusting ring 15 is fixed axially between the pressing plate 2 and the lever element 3. . When the release action of the friction clutch 1 takes place in the adjustment step of the adjustment device 18 just mentioned, the diameter of the ring shaped part 19, in particular the ring shaped area 20 of the ring shaped part, is intended. Will be enlarged to match. However, because the adjustment ring 15 is fixed in the axial direction, at least the arm 26 and the section 28 are elastically deformed because such diameter enlargement cannot be made first. This deformation causes the radial magnification force to act on the ring-shaped region 20 again, and this magnification force is absorbed by the tooth engaging cutting portions 24 and 25, among other things, because the tooth This is because the mating cuts act as blocking in the corresponding direction of rotation. The elastic deformation of the region of the ring shaped component 19 described above causes the inner region 27 to be lifted from the support region 32. As the release distance increases, the blocking force exerted on the adjusting ring 15 by the disc spring 4 decreases, and consequently the energy or adjusting force temporarily stored inside the ring-shaped part 19 compensates for the wear that occurs. To cause rotation of the adjustment ring 15. At the same time, at least partial relaxation of the ring-shaped component 19 is brought into contact with the support region 32. By this adjacent action the adjustment is limited to the defined size. In other words, the adjacent action between the inner region 27 and the support region 32 determines the maximum adjustment distance.

Figure 5 shows another clutch structure in which the adjustment principle according to the invention is used.

The clutch device 101 shown in FIG. 5 forms a so-called double clutch together with the first friction clutch 102 and the second friction clutch 103. Regarding the basic structure and function of the clutch device as described above, reference is made to the publications DE 102 37 797 A1, DE 102 38 118 A1 and DE 10 2004 034 392 A1 and DE 12 92 962.

The clutch device 101 comprises an intermediate plate 104, which is used as a corresponding pressure plate for the friction clutches 102 and 103 arranged on both sides thereof. The friction clutch 102 is in this case coupled to the lever element 107 via a tension member 106 made of sheet metal and disposed on the other side of the intermediate plate 104 in the axial direction. The ring-shaped lever element 107 is rotatably supported in the axial direction with respect to the intermediate plate 104, and in particular in this case has the form of a lever having two arms. A pivot bearing 108 has been provided for such a pivotable support operation, which pivot bearing is axially supported by the clutch housing 109 of the friction clutch 103. The clutch housing 109 is fixedly connected to the intermediate plate 104. The lever element is formed, arranged, and pivotally supported so that the friction clutch 102 is closed by the axial force provided by the actuator to the tongue peak of the lever 111. The lever element 107 has a component 119 which serves the same function as the component 19. However, unlike the part 19, since the radial interior of the arm 126 is formed only in the shape of a hairpin, consequently the circumferentially continuous arm 126 is radially internal as in the case of the ring shaped part 19. There is no connection portion in the. The ring shaped part 120 has at its one end 122 an arm 123 which can likewise be elastically deformed in the radial direction. The arm 123 has a toothed cut 124. The toothed cutting portion 124 is coupled to the toothed cutting portion 125 supported by the adjustment ring 115. The adjustment ring 115 is rotatable relative to the lever element 107 and the tension member 106. In the illustrated embodiment, a ramp device 116 is provided between the tension member 106 and the adjustment ring 115. The lamp device 116 is formed by a lamp supported by the adjustment ring 115 and a corresponding lamp supported by the tension member 106.

As the adjustment ring 115 is rotated by the ring shaped component 119, wear compensation can be made in a manner similar to that described with respect to FIGS. 1 to 4. Adjustment or rotation of the adjustment ring 115 causes the tension member 106 and the crimp plate 105 to move to the right, at least correspondingly to wear caused by the friction lining of the clutch plate 130.

6 shows one functional model of a ring shaped component 219 having a modified shape. It can be seen that the radial inside of the arm 226 proceeding radially is formed differently. The radial interior of the arm provided radially inside the radially elastic arm 223 was formed similar to that in FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1: friction clutch 2: crimp plate

3: lever element 4: disc spring

5: base body 6: working tongue

7: tongue peak 8: slewing bearing

9, 10: rolling area 11: fixed member

12: clutch housing 13: actuator

14: compensation device 15: adjustment ring

16: lamp 17: corresponding lamp

18: adjusting device 19: ring-shaped parts

20: ring-shaped region 21, 22: end region

23: (long) arm 24, 25: toothed cut

26: arm 27: inner region

28: Section 29: Internal Area

30: area 31: spacing member

32: support member 33: spaced rivets

1418: wear adjustment device

101: clutch device 102, 103: friction clutch

104: intermediate plate 105: crimp plate

106: tension member 107: lever element

108: slewing bearing 109: clutch housing

110: tongue peak 111: lever

115: adjusting ring 116: lamp unit

119: part 120: ring-shaped area

122: end 123: arm

124, 125: toothed cut 126: arm

130: clutch plate 219: ring-shaped parts

223, 226: cancer

Claims (31)

A housing and a crimp plate, the crimp plate being integrally connected to the housing but movably connected to a limited degree in the axial direction, and a pivotable lever element is provided between the housing and the crimp plate, the lever element In the friction clutch, wherein the pressing plate is configured to cause the engagement and release operation of the friction clutch, By the ring-shaped part 19 being functionally connected with the lever element 3, the ring-shaped part 19 can be enlarged and reduced radially as a result of the pivoting operation of the lever element 3, The ring shaped part 19 is connected to the lever element via at least elastically deformable or pivotable tensioning means and / or pressure means 26, 28 acting on the ring shaped part 19 in at least the radial direction. Functionally combined with 3), The ring shaped part 19 has two end regions 21, 22, at least one end region 22 of which is the lever element 3 while the ring shaped part is enlarged and / or reduced. Friction clutch, characterized in that the actuation of the adjusting device (18) can be initiated by such an action. The method of claim 1, The lever element (3) is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of levers (6) arranged in a ring form around a rotation axis of the friction clutch (1). The method according to claim 1 or 2, A friction clutch, characterized in that the other end region (21) of the ring shaped part (19) is fixed at least in the circumferential direction with respect to the lever element (3). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, One end (22) of the ring shaped part (19) is characterized in that it carries out a movement which is substantially linear and / or circumferential while the ring shaped part is enlarged and / or reduced. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, Friction clutch, characterized in that the adjusting device (18) is a component of a compensating device (14, 1418) that compensates for at least wear arising from the friction lining of the clutch plate interacting with the friction clutch. The method of claim 5, wherein Friction clutch, characterized in that the compensation device (14) acts between the lever element (3) and the housing (12). The method of claim 5, wherein Friction clutch, characterized in that the compensation device acts between the lever element (107) and the pressing plate (105). The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, Friction clutch, characterized in that the ramp device (16 + 17) of the compensating device (14) can be adjusted by the operation of one end (22) of the ring shaped part (19). The method of claim 8, Friction clutch, characterized in that the lamp device is supported by at least a rotatable adjustment ring (15). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The adjusting device (18) is characterized in that it acts between the ring shaped part (19) and an additional part (15) of a friction clutch that is rotatable with respect to the lever element (3). The method according to any one of claims 2 to 10, The lever (6) is connected to each other to form a ring-shaped part (3), characterized in that the conical shape of the ring-shaped part can be varied by the turning action of the lever. The method of claim 11, Friction clutch, characterized in that the lever element (3) forms a disc spring (4). The method according to claim 11 or 12, The lever element (3) is elastic, characterized in that it generates at least partly the closing force of the friction clutch when a friction ready clutch is fitted. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, Friction clutch, characterized in that the ring shaped part (19) is at least locally supported radially with respect to the lever element (3) and guided in the circumferential direction. The method of claim 14, The support and the guide of the ring shaped part 19 are made by an arm 26, which arm is connected to the lever element 3 and has at least an area in the form of a reservoir. , Friction clutch. The method of claim 15, A friction clutch, characterized in that there are a plurality of arms 26 provided in a ring-shaped arrangement. The method according to claim 15 or 16, Friction clutch, characterized in that the arm (26) is formed integrally with the sheet metal material forming the lever element (3) or the ring-shaped part (19). The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, Friction clutch, characterized in that the arms are formed by separate parts. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, And the arms have regions connected to the lever element. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, Friction clutch, characterized in that the tension- or pressure means is formed by an arm (26). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, Friction clutch, characterized in that the tension- and / or pressure means has a region (26, 28) similar to the bending bar, which is elastically deformable at least in the circumferential direction. The method of claim 21, Friction clutch, characterized in that the region (26, 28) similar to the bending bar is formed by an arm. The method of claim 21 or 22, Friction clutch, characterized in that the operation of one end (22) of the ring-shaped part (19) is made possible by the elastic deformation of the area similar to the bending bar (26, 28). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, Friction clutch, characterized in that the ring shaped part (19) has an area (28, 30) at least axially away from the lever element. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24, The lever element 3 is fixed with respect to the slewing bearing 8 supported by the housing 12, at least in a state where the friction clutch is engaged, and the ring-shaped part 19 is the slewing bearing 8. And an area axially displaced relative to the friction clutch. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 25, Friction clutch, characterized in that the adjustment device (18) acts similar to free running and blocks the reverse rotation of the ramp device (16 + 17). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 26, At least the adjustment ring (15) or the housing (12) or the pressing plate (2) is characterized in that it supports a ramp that is axially raised, running in the circumferential direction. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 27, The crimping plate 2 and / or the housing 12 and / or the lever element 3 support the corresponding lamp, said corresponding lamp interacting with the lamp of the adjusting ring (for example 15) of the compensating device. Friction clutch. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 28, The adjusting device 18 has a cutting portion 24 and a corresponding cutting portion 25, which interlock with each other, which cuts the friction clutch 1 against the housing 12 and / or the lever element 3. A friction clutch, characterized in that it allows rotation of the part 15 in only one direction of rotation, but causes a blocking action in another possible direction of rotation. The method of claim 29, Friction clutch, characterized in that the cutting portion (24) and the corresponding cutting portion (25) is elastically fixed. The method of claim 29 or 30, The cutting clutch and the corresponding cutting portion are formed by teeth.

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