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:
Feb. 22, 2011
Filed:
Apr. 29, 2008
Andrew Joseph Mcdaniel, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Andrew Joseph McDaniel, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
Magneto-rheological brake-clutch apparatuses and methods are provided. According to one aspect, a magneto-rheological brake-clutch can include a drive member and a driven member spaced from the drive member with a gap defined between the drive and driven members. A first quantity of MR fluid can be disposed in the gap. A brake assembly can define a chamber having a second quantity of MR fluid disposed therein and having a braking structure positioned in the chamber and connected to the driven member. A magnetic field generation assembly can be configured to selectively apply a magnetic field to the first quantity of MR fluid for controlling engagement of the driven member with the drive member. The assembly can be configured to selectively apply a magnetic field to the second quantity of MR fluid for controlling engagement of the braking structure with the brake assembly to brake the driven member. A magnet can be used and selectively positioned for applying a magnetic field to the first and second quantities of MR fluid.