Eaton Corporation

Borgwarner Inc.

Gerard M Light

Neil E Robb

Donald E Buckley

James R DeBrabander

Clinton J Gautsche

Grover C DeHart

Thomas A Gee

Jonathan Bradley Stagg

Stephen M Clancey

James Ignatovich

LeRoy E Rocco

A viscous fluid shear device having a housing, a rotor, which is rotatable in the housing, and a wiper that is coupled to the housing. The housing defines a scavenge conduit and a nozzle. Viscous fluid that clings to the circumference of the rotor during operation of the viscous fluid shear device is driven through the nozzle and directed by the wiper into the scavenge conduit.

Viscous fluid shear device having wiper fixedly coupled to housing assembly

Valve disk

A viscous fan drive having improved pumping efficiency from removing fluid from a fluid operating chamber to a fluid reservoir chamber is achieved by providing a wiper element that is located within the radial clearance between the clutch and the housing that effectively seals leakage paths leading (upstream) and trailing the wiper. The wiper element includes a radial tang that is positioned within a corresponding slot of the cover wall. The wiper element also has a pair of spaced apart arms extending from the radial tang portion each having a radial outer surface that has a similar radius as the cover wall and a radial inner surface has a similar radius as the clutch. The wiper element also preferably includes details designed to seal the radial inner surface to the outer periphery of the clutch during fan drive operation and a locating detail to aid in assembly.

OD wiper

A viscous fan drive in which the output drive to the fan is controlled by the movement of viscous fluid from a fluid reservoir and into the operating and working chamber of the coupling during normal operation. The input-coupling assembly and cover member are formed with a unique combination of continuous and non-continuous radially extending lands and grooves designed to distribute the viscous fluid in a continuous film throughout the shear zone so as to maximize output fan speed at a given input speed. An armature-venting feature is designed to simplify the opening and closing of the valve disk in an electronic version of the viscous fan drive depending upon the desired operating condition.

Viscous fan drive having modified land design and armature venting

An electronically-controlled viscous coupling is coupled to a water pump to control the coolant flow rate of engine coolant to an engine at a given engine speed to maximize fuel economy and minimize emissions. The viscous coupling has a stationary electrical coil that, when excited by electrical current, induces the driven disk to flex away from an input disk within the viscous, thereby increasing the size of the shear area, thereby decreasing the amount of torque produced to drive the water pump shaft and impellers that control the coolant flow rate. A carrier coupled to the back of the driven disk maximizes the amount of flex allowed to the driven disk, thereby assuring a maximum decrease in rotational speed of the impellers at a given engine speed and ensuring that the driven disk does not contact the stationary coil.

Water pump with electronically controlled viscous coupling drive

A fan drive assembly including a cooling fan ( ) and a fluid coupling device ( ). The cooling fan includes a fan hub ( ), a spider ( ), and a plurality of fan blades ( ). The coupling device has an output coupling assembly ( ) including a body ( ) and a cover ( ). The body ( ) includes preferably only three mounting portions ( ), each being disposed immediately adjacent an outer periphery of the body. Each of the mounting portions ( ) defines the necessary machining chucking surfaces ( ), and a spider mounting surface ( ) including a pilot surface ( ) engaging the pilot diameter ( ) of the spider ( ). The body ( ) includes cooling fins ( ) covering substantially all of the rearward surface ( ) of the body not covered by the mounting portions. The fan hub ( ) also includes a rearwardly extending air dam portion ( ), limiting localized radial air flow. The fan drive is able to improve the radial air flow through the body cooling fins and achieve substantially greater heat dissipation from the fan drive assembly, thus permitting greater fan speed for a given input speed.

Enhanced fan and fan drive assembly

A fan drive assembly including a cooling fan ( ) and a fluid coupling device ( ). The cooling fan includes a fan hub ( ), a spider ( ), and a plurality of fan blades ( ). The coupling device has an output coupling assembly ( ) including a body ( ) and a cover ( ). The body ( ) includes preferably only three mounting portions ( ), each being disposed immediately adjacent an outer periphery of the body. Each of the mounting portions ( ) defines the necessary machining chucking surfaces ( ), and a spider mounting surface ( ) including a pilot surface ( ) engaging the pilot diameter ( ) of the spider ( ). The body ( ) includes cooling fins ( ) covering substantially all of the rearward surface ( ) of the body not covered by the mounting portions. The fan hub ( ) also includes a rearwardly extending air dam portion ( ), limiting localized radial air flow. The fan drive is able to improve the radial air flow through the body cooling fins and achieve subatantially greater heat dissipation from the fan drive assembly, thus permitting greater fan speed for a given input speed.

A fan drive assembly including a cooling fan (,) and a fluid coupling device (,). The cooling fan includes a fan hub (,), a spider (,), and a plurality of fan blades (,). The coupling device has an output coupling assembly (,) including a body (,) and a cover (,). The body (,) includes preferably only three mounting portions (,), each being disposed immediately adjacent an outer periphery of the body. Each of the mounting portions (,) defines the necessary machining chucking surfaces (,), and a spider mounting surface (,) including a pilot surface (,) engaging the pilot diameter (,) of the spider (,). The body (,) includes cooling fins (,) covering substantially all of the rearward surface (,) of the body not covered by the mounting portions. The fan hub (,) also includes a rearwardly extending air dam portion (,), limiting localized radial air flow. The present invention is able to improve the radial air flow through the body cooling fins and achieve substantially greater heat dissipation from the fan drive assembly, thus permitting greater fan speed for a given input speed.

A fluid coupling device (11) of the type including an input coupling member (35) having a cover member (49), which together define a reservoir (51) disposed within the input. The cover member (49) defines a fill port, through which flow is controlled by means of a valve arm (55). The input coupling (35) cooperates with a housing (41) and cover (43) (which comprise the output coupling) to define an operating chamber (47). Discharge fluid is pumped from the operating chamber through passages (63) and (65) to a passage (67) disposed approximately on the axis of rotation (A) of the coupling device. The passage (67) is defined by a cylindrical portion (69) which extends through an opening (71) in the cover member (49). Thus, discharge flow is communicated back into the reservoir (51) at the axis, and after the vehicle engine and fan drive have been shut down for a period of time, fluid does not bleed back from the reservoir into the operating chamber.

Heavy duty viscous fan drive and bracket mounting assembly therefor

A cooling system is disclosed in which a radiator (21) includes a coolant outflow tank (29) having separate compartments (39,41L,41R) in series with core portions (35,37L,37R) of the radiator. A temperature-responsive fan clutch (13) is adjacent the center core portion (35) and flow through that core portion is controlled by a thermostatic valve (49) which is operated between open (FIG. 3) and closed (FIG. 4) positions in response to the temperature of coolant flowing through one of the other (37L) core portions. With the thermostatic valve closed, and no flow through the center core portion, the temperature of air passing therethrough does not rise as it normally would with the vehicle stopped. Therefor, the fan clutch remains in the disengaged condition at a time when operation in the engaged condition would be both unnecessary and somewhat objectionable to the vehicle operator.

Temperature-responsive cooling system

A rotary fluid coupling device is provided of the type including a first rotatable coupling assembly (13) comprising a housing member (15) and a die cast cover member (17). An input coupling member (11) is disposed in a fluid operating chamber (33) and cooperates with an adjacent surface of the cover member (17) to define a viscous shear space therebetween. When the shear space is filled with viscous fluid, torque can be transmitted from the input coupling to the output coupling, such torque transmission resulting in the generation of a substantial amount of heat adjacent the front surface of the cover member. The cover member (17) includes a generally annular portion (36) defining therein a reservoir chamber (35). Disposed within a recessed area defined by the annular portion (36) is a bimetal coil (45) which defines a coil circle C. The annular portion (36) of the cover includes a plurality of blower fin members extending radially inward to a location adjacent the coil circle C, each having an axial height H1 which is a major portion of an axial distance X from the forward surface of the cover member to the bimetal coil. The blower fins (71) generate a radially outward flow of air, thus resulting in an axial flow of air through the bimetal coil, to improve the temperature responsiveness of the coupling device.

Fluid coupling device having improved temperature responsiveness

A fluid coupling device is disclosed of the type including an input coupling member (11) rotatably disposed within an output coupling assembly (13). A portion of the output coupling assembly comprises a cover member (17) which cooperates with a housing member (15) to define an operating chamber (31). A valve plate (29) separates the operating chamber (31) from a fluid reservoir chamber (33) and defines a fill opening (41) to permit fluid flow from the reservoir chamber into the operating chamber. In a primary embodiment, the cover member (17) defines a radial passage (79) which is disposed to communicate fluid from the reservoir chamber (33) to the operating chamber (31). Such flow through the radial passage (79) may be controlled by a manual control member (65) which may be disposed in either a normal operation position, blocking flow through the passage (79), or may be rotated to a fluid engaged position in which fluid flows through the passage (79) and into the operating chamber ( 31), independent of the temperature condition being sensed by a temperature-responsive bimetal coil (43).

Fluid coupling device including manual engagement means

A rotary fluid coupling device is provided of the type including a first rotatable coupling assembly (13) comprising a housing member (15) and a die cast cover member (17). An input coupling member (11) is disposed in a fluid operating chamber (33) and cooperates with an adjacent surface of the cover member (17) to define a viscous shear space therebetween. When the shear space is filled with viscous fluid, torque can be transmitted from the input to the output, such torque transmission resulting in the generation of a substantial amount of heat. The cover member (17) includes a plurality of cooling fins which are divided into a plurality of regions (61). Within each of the regions (61) is a radially-extending cooling fin (63) and a plurality of full-length, parallel cooling fins (65). Also included within each region (61) is a plurality of shorter cooling fins (67) and (69) which are also parallel to the radially-extending cooling fins (63). The parallel fin pattern results in greater total cooling fin length within a given finned area, thus substantially improving the heat dissipation capability of the cover member (17) and the torque-transmitting capability of the coupling device.

Fluid coupling device having improved heat dissipation

An improved fluid coupling device is disclosed of the type including modulating valving. The coupling device includes an input coupling member (11) and an output coupling member (13) which cooperate to define a plurality of annular lands (57 and 59). The input member defines a rearward surface (61) and the output member defines an adjacent surface (63), thus forming a bottom end clearance within the coupling. The input coupling member further defines an annular transverse surface (71) and a cylindrical surface (73) which cooperate to define an annular recess (75). As the air temperature is increasing, and the operating chamber (33) is being filled with fluid, the annular recess (75) prevents the bottom end clearance from filling with viscous fluid in a way which results in an undesirably rapid rate of increase of the speed of the output coupling member (13). As another feature of the present invention, the lands (57) defined by the input member include a plurality of radially outer lands (57a, 57b, and 57 c) having an axial length less than the nominal axial length L of the remaining lands (57), to further reduce the rate of increase of viscous shear torque transmitted to the output coupling member.

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Marshall, MI, United States of America

Gerard M Light