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. 20, 2005
Filed:
Oct. 25, 2004
Malcolm E. Kirkwood, Livonia, MI (US);
Thomas C. Bowen, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Malcolm E. Kirkwood, Livonia, MI (US);
Thomas C. Bowen, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Magna Drivetrain of America, Inc., Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A torque transfer mechanism is provided for controlling the magnitude of a clutch engagement force exerted on a multi-plate clutch assembly that is operably disposed between a first rotary and a second rotary member. The torque transfer mechanism includes a clutch actuator assembly for generating and applying a clutch engagement force on the clutch assembly. The clutch actuator assembly includes an electric motor/brake unit, a torque/force conversion mechanism, and a force amplification mechanism. The motor/brake unit can be operated in either of a motor mode or a brake mode to cause bi-directional linear movement of an output member of the torque/force conversion mechanism. The thrust force generated by the torque/force conversion mechanism is increased by the force amplification mechanism with the resultant clutch engagement force applied to the clutch assembly. The dual mode feature of the electric motor/brake unit significantly reduces the power requirements.