Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen, Ag.

Hubert Sailer

Friedrich J Ehrlinger

Herbert Simon

Franz Muller

Josef Dietenberger

Erwin Baur

In a mechanism for driving motor vehicles having a synchromesh gearbox with a friction clutch for each of two power branches with at least four power shiftable speeds and consecutive speeds are alternatively present on each one of the two power branches. Each friction clutch is a wet disc clutch with its inner discs having continuous radial grooves for a cooling oil flow supplied from a bore in a shaft. A switch piston shuts off the flow of cooling oil when the friction clutch is disengaged or almost completely disengaged. A prestressed cup spring in a compensating cylinder serves as a strong return spring thereby accelerating disengagement or delaying engagement of the friction clutch. Corrugated spring rings, axially situated between the inner discs and radially within the outer discs, serve as additional return springs. The wet clutch operates as a dry clutch and only has a low torque when it is disengaged. A large flow of cooling oil flows to the friction clutch and cools it as it engages and when it is engaged. The wet friction clutch replaces a conventional dry friction clutch, especially when starting up the motor vehicle.

Vehicle driving mechanism having a synchromesh gearbox with an

Powershift gearbox/transmission

All-wheel drive for a vehicle

A forced cooling friction brake or clutch apparatus which has a plate stack of interleaved plates including at least one plate rotatable with a shaft and axially shiftable thereon, and at least one plate axially shiftable on a housing. A pressure plate is axially juxtaposed with the stack and axially shiftable on the housing and defines a pressurizable compartment which can be subjected to fluid pressure to urge the pressure plate against the stack. An annular carrier on the shaft inwardly of the stack engages plates of the stack rotatable with the shaft, the carrier having an annular cavity opening axially to one side thereof and being formed with radial passages communicating with the cavity and opening toward the stack. A coolant channel is formed in the housing and opens toward the side of the carrier and into the cavity for delivering a forced flow of a coolant thereto. A plurality of open-ended tubular members extend parallel to an axis of the shaft and arrayed around the axis, the pressure plate having an inwardly extending collar juxtaposed with the open side of the cavity and engaging the tubular members for axial entrainment thereof by the collar upon movement of the pressure plate toward the stack, one end of each of the tubular members opening toward the cavity, the housing having a radial wall formed with a respective bore receiving each of the tubular members and defining the channel with coolant feeders in the wall communicating with the bores and a coolant inlet communicating with the coolant feeders, another end of each of the tubular members blocking coolant flow through the tubular members in the initial position of the pressure plate.

Forced-cooling friction brake or clutch

A friction clutch or brake includes at least one friction disk which is engageable by a piston to provide a braking effect of the disk. In order to cool the friction disk when the piston engages with the disk, a valve arrangement is arranged which injects oil onto the disk and through an opening provided in the disks. The actuation of the valve arrangement is provided in response to the piston, i.e. when the piston is moved towards the brake disks, the valve arrangement opens a channel through which the oil is injected toward the disks. In order to avoid a collection of oil in the vicinity of the disks after the braking action is terminated, the disks are provided with a toothed profile which discharges continuously oil to an external space and thus away from the friction disk. Thus no drag moments occur which are caused through oil adhering between the friction areas.

Friction device

Growing community of inventors

Markdorf, Germany

Hubert Sailer