The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 08, 1998
Filed:
Oct. 30, 1996
Shinichi Kawada, Atsugi, JP;
Kenji Ohhara, Atsugi, JP;
Hirofumi Katoh, Kiyokawa, JP;
Yasuo Fujita, Atsugi, JP;
Unisia Jecs Corporation, Atsugi, JP;
Abstract
A viscous fluid clutch includes a housing rotatably mounted to a drive shaft and a clutch plate attached to the drive shaft. These relatively rotatable members have a fluid shear space therebetween and cooperable with a fluid medium in the shear space to provide a shear-type fluid drive therebetween. The housing includes a reservoir, an operating chamber and a pump outlet opening communicating between the operating chamber and the reservoir. An annular wall is secured at its inner and outer peripheral edges to the clutch plate and includes an annular bend between the outer and inner peripheral edges to define an annular auxiliary reservoir in cooperation with the clutch plate. The housing has an annular recess accommodating the annular bend. The annular recess is defined by a cylindrical inner surface. This cylindrical inner surface and the opposed surface of the annular bend define therebetween an annular passage communicating with the operating chamber. A plurality of blades are arranged in this passage for urging viscous fluid to move toward the operating chamber out of the annular passage.