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:
Jan. 20, 2009
Filed:
Mar. 14, 2006
Jürgen Ackermann, Schweinfurt, DE;
Thomas Adelmann, Retzstadt, DE;
Christoph Gajda, Schweinfurt, DE;
Jürgen Ackermann, Schweinfurt, DE;
Thomas Adelmann, Retzstadt, DE;
Christoph Gajda, Schweinfurt, DE;
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Friedrichshafen, DE;
Abstract
A hydrodynamic clutch device has at least one pump wheel, connected to a drive by way of a clutch housing, and a turbine wheel, connected to a takeoff, to form a hydrodynamic circuit. The device also has a bridging clutch with at least one piston, which can shift between a released position and an engaged position, and at least one friction surface acting between this piston and an adjacent support to connect the drive to the takeoff. When the piston is in the released position, the bridging clutch allows the hydrodynamic circuit to be used to transmit at least most of the torque between the drive and takeoff, whereas, when the piston is in the engaged position, the bridging clutch produces a bypass around the hydrodynamic circuit for the transmission of torque. The barrier clutch cooperates with at least one pressure barrier installed between the hydrodynamic circuit and the pressure space. This separation more-or-less completely prevents the exchange of clutch fluid between the hydrodynamic circuit and the pressure space, regardless of the instantaneous position of the piston between its released position and its engaged position and thus regardless of the shift status of the bridging clutch.