Forced-cooling friction brake or clutch

Abstract

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.