Patent ID: 6083130
Filing Date: 2000-07-04
Classification: F02B,F16D,F16H

Abstract:
A serpentine belt drive system for an automotive vehicle comprising:a drive assembly including an internal combustion engine having an output shaft with a driving pulley thereon rotatable about a driving pulley axis, a sequence of driven assemblies each having a driven pulley rotatable about an axis parallel with said driving pulley axis, and a serpentine belt mounted in cooperating relation with said driving pulley and with said driven pulleys in a sequence which corresponds with the sequence of said driven assemblies when related to the direction of movement of the belt to cause said driven pulleys to rotate in response to the rotation of said driving pulley,said sequence of driven assemblies including an alternator assembly including an alternator shaft mounted for rotation about a shaft axis,a hub structure fixedly carried by said alternator shaft for rotation therewith about the shaft axis; anda spring and one-way clutch mechanism coupling said alternator pulley with said hub structure,said spring and one-way clutch mechanism comprising a resilient spring member formed separately from and operatively connected in series with a one-way clutch member,said resilient spring member being constructed and arranged to transmit the driven rotational movements of said alternator pulley by said serpentine belt to said hub structure such that said alternator shaft is rotated in the same direction as said alternator pulley while being capable of instantaneous relative resilient movements in opposite directions with respect to said alternator pulley during the driven rotational movement thereof; andwherein said resilient spring member is operatively connected at one end thereof to said hub structure and operatively connected at an opposite end thereof to said one-way clutch member,said one-way clutch member being spring biased radially outwardly so as to have a portion thereof disposed in frictional engagement with said alternator pulley when said alternator pulley is in a static condition,said one-way clutch having increasing portions thereof moved radially outwardly into friction locking engagement with said alternator pulley when said alternator pulley is rotatably driven by said belt to drive said alternator shaft,said one-way clutch member being constructed and arranged to allow said hub structure and hence the alternator shaft to rotate at a speed in excess of the rotational speed of the alternator pulley when the speed of the engine output shaft is decelerated to a predetermined extent.