Daimler-benz Ag

Johann Weintz

Andreas Braatz

Wolf-Dieter Kurz

A fluid-friction clutch for a cooling fan of an internal combustion engine, the clutch being fitted on the water-pump shaft which drives the impeller of a water pump for the internal combustion engine and being controlled by an expansion-type thermostat element which is located in a longitudinal bore through the water-pump shaft. Cooling water of the internal combustion engine is applied directly to the expansion-type thermostat element, this water being continuously conveyed through the longitudinal bore in the water-pump shaft by utilizing the pressure-difference created in the cooling water by the impeller of the water pump. In order to cool both the working chamber of the fluid-friction clutch and the clutch-bearing, a cooling line is arranged inside the working chamber and connected to the cooling-water circulation inside the longitudinal bore through the water-pump shaft.

Fluid-friction clutch

A rotating fluid shear friction coupling with at least one shear friction gap formed by a wall rotating along with the input side and by a wall rotating along with the output side, and with two spaces in communication with the working gap, one on the inlet side and one on the outlet side; the radially outermost passage of the inlet side space into the working gap has radially a larger spacing from the center of rotation than the radially outermost passage from the outlet side space whereby the two spaces are separated from one another by a wall provided with controllable passages; the working gap is also provided with means, for example, in the form of a helical feed groove for the continuous automatic feed of the working medium through the working gap in the direction toward the space on the outlet side; the space on the outlet side has thereby a space portion which is delimited radially outwardly by walls that preferably rotate with one another as a unit, and is disposed radially outwardly of the radius of the radially outermost passage from the gap to the outlet side space whereby the volume of this space portion is such as to be sufficient for accommodating at least the predominant part of the volume of the working medium.

Growing community of inventors

Munich, Georgia

Johann Weintz