Disclosure of Invention
The object of the invention is to indicate a measure by which a friction clutch can be produced at low cost.
According to the invention, the object is achieved by a pressure tank having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims and in the following description, which can each show the inventive idea alone or in combination.
According to the invention, the pressure tank for actuating the friction clutch is provided with a force introduction element for introducing an actuating force generated by the actuating system and aligned in the axial direction, a pressing element for fixing the pressure plate of the friction clutch and a restoring spring for moving the pressing element into an initial position remote from the pressure plate, wherein the restoring spring is embodied in one piece with the force introduction element and the pressing element.
The pressure cylinder is usually moved axially in the axial direction without an intermediate lever transmission ratio by means of an operating system which has a piston which can be extended in the axial direction of the friction clutch, so that an operating force which is introduced in particular radially inwards can be transmitted axially outwards by means of the pressure cylinder to the pressure plate in order to close the friction clutch. For this purpose, a force introduction element which is radially inward, in particular in the radially inner edge region of the pressure tank, and a pressing element which is radially outward, in particular in the radially outer edge region of the pressure tank, can be provided. The force introduction element and the pressure element can be connected to one another via a disk-shaped intermediate region, the shape of which can be freely designed within specific limits. The pressure tank is preferably made of steel, which is substantially rigid at low manufacturing costs, except for slight elastic deformation under the load of the introduced operating forces. It is known that for the transmission of force between the force introduction element and the pressure element, a completely closed annular intermediate region is not required at all in the circumferential direction, so that the return spring can be formed by a disk body of the pressure tank which surrounds both the force introduction element and the pressure element. It is also known that the restoring spring, which saves design space, does not have to be formed by a disk spring, but can also be provided by elastically deformable webs which can be bent out of the material surrounding the pressure tank disk body. In particular when the pressure tank has a greater material thickness than a typical cup spring, to ensure that the integrated restoring spring in the shape of an overhanging tab can easily have a suitable spring characteristic, which spring characteristic has sufficient strength to be able to correspond to the spring characteristic of a separately arranged cup spring, only to a negligible extent at the expected maximum operating force. By integrating the return spring in the pressure tank, the number of components and the assembly effort can be reduced, as a result of which a friction clutch with low production costs is achieved.
The return spring is designed in particular as a leaf spring. The return spring can thus be designed with webs of the remaining pressure tank material thickness. The restoring spring can rest and/or bear against a component of the friction clutch which is not movable in the axial direction with a flat side and can be elastically bent significantly in the direction of its surface normal. The restoring spring, which is designed as a one-piece leaf spring, can thus be acted upon in the manner of a bending beam, so that local stress peaks are avoided and a change in the spring characteristic of the restoring spring can also be avoided by a partial plastic deformation. The longitudinal direction of the restoring spring can extend at least partially in the radial direction and/or in the tangential direction, so that a given design space ratio can be achieved in a particularly simple manner.
The return spring preferably protrudes from a disc body which can be produced by a stamping and forming process. The disc body constituting the pressure tank may be manufactured at low cost from a metal plate, where the disc body is stamped out of the metal plate and then processed into a final shape by a non-cutting plastic forming process, in particular forging, deep drawing, bending, etc. In this case, the restoring spring, which is designed in particular to connect the leaf spring, can be separated from the surrounding material part of the disk body by a separating seam in the stamping step, and then bent out of the layer surrounding the restoring spring by plastic deformation in the shaping step. The return spring is thus protruding from the surrounding material before, strong enough to take on the spring function.
It is particularly advantageous if a plurality of return springs are arranged distributed in the circumferential direction. The spring force acting on the return spring can thus be supported with a uniform force, so that stress peaks in the corresponding return spring can be avoided and/or reduced. In particular, at least three return springs are provided, so that a three-point support can be achieved by the return springs.
The invention further relates to a friction clutch for connecting an engine shaft of a motor vehicle engine to a transmission input shaft of a motor vehicle transmission, comprising a top plate for introducing torque from the engine shaft, a pressure plate which can be displaced axially relative to the top plate and which is used for pressing a friction disk which can be connected to the transmission input shaft between the top plate and the pressure plate in a friction fit manner, and a pressure pot which can be designed and improved as described above and which is used for pressing the pressure plate against the top plate when an operating force is introduced and for automatically canceling the pressure between the pressure plate and the top plate when no operating force is applied. By integrating the return spring in the pressure tank, the number of components and the assembly effort can be reduced, as a result of which a friction clutch with low production costs is achieved.
In particular, a support washer is provided, which is connected indirectly or directly to the top plate and is not movable in the axial direction, in particular in the form of a clutch cover, wherein the return spring of the pressure tank is supported on the support washer. The support washer can be arranged in particular in the axial direction between the pressure plate and the majority of the pressure tank, wherein the support washer has a through-hole for the passage of a pin provided for the respective pressure element, so that the pressure tank can reach the pressure plate with the pressure element behind the support washer via the pin passing through the support washer. Thereby, it is possible to press the return spring against the axial side of the support washer facing the majority of the pressure tank, thereby pressing the pressure tank back into an axial position corresponding to the friction clutch open position when the operating force is no longer present. As an alternative, it is also possible to position the support washer in the axial direction in the manner of a clutch cover, with the pressure tank being arranged in the axial direction between the support washer and the pressure plate. In this case, a restoring spring formed by the pressure pot can be suspended in a projecting catch of the support washer on the side of the pressure pot facing away from the pressure plate, so that the pressure pot can be pressed back into the axial position corresponding to the friction clutch open position by the restoring spring when the operating force is no longer present.
The return spring is preferably designed such that it is compressed in the axial direction when the pressure plate is moved towards the top plate in order to build up pressure. Therefore, the reset spring is prevented from being hung on the supporting gasket, and the installation is simplified.
The invention further relates to a double clutch for connecting an engine shaft of a motor vehicle engine to a first transmission input shaft and/or to a second transmission input shaft of a motor vehicle transmission, comprising a first friction clutch which can be designed and improved as described above for connecting the engine shaft to the first transmission input shaft, and/or a second friction clutch which can be designed and improved as described above for connecting the engine shaft to the second transmission input shaft. By integrating the restoring springs in the pressure tank of the respective friction clutch, the number of components and the assembly effort can be reduced, as a result of which a friction clutch with low production costs is achieved.
It is particularly advantageous if the pressure tank return spring of the first friction clutch and the pressure tank return spring of the second friction clutch are supported directly or indirectly on the same component that cannot be moved axially. Thereby reducing the number of components and reducing installation costs. And further, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.
In particular, it is provided that the first friction clutch and/or the second friction clutch are designed as a diaphragm clutch. Thereby saving radial design space. In addition, the maximum torque to be transmitted can be set for the corresponding diaphragm clutch easily by the number of friction pairs in the corresponding diaphragm clutch. Furthermore, it is also possible to cool the friction clutch with a coolant, in particular oil, wherein the reduction in the coefficient of friction caused by the coolant can be easily compensated for by increasing the number of friction pairs.
Detailed Description
The dual clutch 10 according to the invention shown in fig. 2 has a first friction clutch 12 and a second friction clutch 14, which are each designed as a diaphragm clutch. For actuating the respective friction clutch 12, 14, a pressure tank 16 is provided which can be moved axially by the actuating system and which can be moved against the spring force of a return spring 18 formed by the pressure tank 16 itself in order to close the associated friction clutch 12, 14. In order to provide a restoring force when closing the associated friction clutch 12, 14, a restoring spring 18, which is designed as a bending beam and/or leaf spring, is compressed between the axially fixed support washer 20 and the pressure tank 18.
The pressure tank 16 shown in fig. 3 has a force introduction element 22 in the radially inward direction, by means of which an actuating force directed in the axial direction can be introduced by a hydraulically extendable piston of the actuating device, for example. The force introduction element 22 is connected via a disk-shaped, but bent-over intermediate region 24 of the integrated disk body 26 to pins 28 which protrude in the axial direction and which each form a pressing element 30 at their protruding ends.
As shown in fig. 2, the pin 28 may pass through the through-hole of the support washer 20 and, in turn, the hold-down element 30 may act on the hold-down plate 32 of the respective associated friction clutch 12,14 to close the friction clutch 12, 14. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the pressure plate 32 is formed from an axially outer steel sheet which can be pressed against an axially fixed top plate 36, for example, formed from an outer friction plate carrier 34, in order to establish friction pairs between friction plates which are connected alternately in a rotationally fixed manner to the outer friction plate carrier 34 and the inner friction plate carrier 38, but which can be moved axially. The torque transmitted in the friction clutches 12,14 can be further guided via the respective inner friction plate carrier 38 to the first or second transmission input shaft of the dual clutch transmission. The support washer 20 may be connected to the top plate 36 in a torque-proof manner, for which purpose in the embodiment shown the outer friction plate carrier 34 of the friction clutch 12,14 may be inserted in a torque-proof manner into a corresponding opening of the support washer 20. For introducing torque into the friction clutches 12,14, it can be provided, for example, that the support washer 20 is coupled in a torsion-proof manner to a flywheel 40 which is connected to the engine shaft of the motor vehicle engine.
As shown in fig. 3, the return spring 18 protrudes integrally from the disk body 26 and is therefore also of integral design with the radially inner force introduction element 22 and the radially outer pressure element 30. For this purpose, the return spring 18 is formed by plastic bending out of the material of the intermediate region 24 in the form of a connecting leaf spring, which can be compressed with a flat side directly or indirectly against the support washer 20 and for spring force when closing the friction clutch 12, 14. If no actuating force is introduced into the pressure tank 16, the spring force of the return spring 18 can press the pressure tank 16 into an open position of the friction clutch 12, 14, so that the friction clutch is "normally open".
List of reference numerals
10. Dual clutch
12. First friction clutch
14. Second friction clutch
16. Pressure tank
18. Reset spring
20. Support gasket
22. Force introduction element
24. Intermediate region
26. Disc body
28. Pin shaft
30. Compression element
32. Compacting plate
34. Outer friction plate support
36. Top plate
38. Internal friction plate support
40. Flywheel