Patent ID: 6425470
Filing Date: 2002-07-30
Classification: F16D,Y10T

Abstract:
A thrust plate assembly for a friction clutch with automatic wear compensation, comprising:a housing arranged for rotation about an axis of rotation; a pressure plate arranged in said housing and operatively connected to said housing so that said pressure plate is fixed with respect to rotation relative to said housing and axially displaceable relative to said housing; an energy accumulator having one side supported on said housing and another side supported on said pressure plate; a wear adjustment device arranged in a support path of said energy accumulator between said energy accumulator and a first component on one of said housing and said pressure plate, said wear adjustment device comprising first and second adjustment elements pretensioned for urging said first and second adjustment elements in a relative adjusting movement in a wear adjustment movement direction; a play sensor arrangement comprising a detection element operatively arrangeable in a first position relative to said wear adjustment device for preventing said relative adjusting movement, wherein said detection element comprises a first application area for acting on said first adjustment element and a second application area for acting on said second adjustment element and wherein the relative adjusting movement of said first and second adjustment elements is prevented when said first and second application areas respectively act on said first and second adjustment elements; a second component displaceable relative to said first component in response to wear of the friction clutch, wherein said detection element comprises a detection portion operatively arranged for interacting with said second component for detecting the wear, said detection element moving to a second position relative to said wear adjustment device in response to the wear for releasing the first and second adjustment elements and thereby allowing the relative adjusting movement of said wear adjustment device; and a stopping element arranged for stopping said detection element in said second position.