Patent ID: 6168000
Filing Date: 2001-01-02
Classification: F16D

Abstract:
A hydraulically operated clutch for connecting and disconnecting a driving force between a drive and a driven member and gradually applying a load to the driven member in engine-propelled vehicles, the clutch comprising: a housing, the housing having an internal elliptical opening and first and second openings provided in side walls of the housing; a triangular rotor installed in the internal elliptical opening of the housing, the triangular rotor having a plurality of radial openings and a central opening; a power input member, the power input member connected to an engine; an eccentric shaft having a central opening, a plurality of radial openings extending outward from the central opening, and a plurality of internally engraved notches in the central opening, the eccentric shaft firmly connected to the power input member, extending through the first opening in the housing, and being rotatably inserted in the central opening of the triangular rotor; a main shaft having first and second ends, a central opening, a first set of radial openings and a second set of radial openings wherein both said sets of the radial openings extending outward from the central opening, the main shaft rotatably inserted through the central opening in the eccentric shaft and extending through the first and second openings in the housing, wherein the second end of the main shaft is firmly connected to the second opening in the housing; a shifting piston having first and second ends, a depressed section, a central opening, and a plurality of radial openings wherein a plurality of radial openings extend outward from the central opening, the shifting piston slidably received within the central opening in the main shaft; a spring for operating the shifting piston, the spring located within the central opening of the main shaft and adjacent to the shifting piston; a cover unit for enclosing the second end of the main shaft and providing a connection between the main shaft and the housing, said cover unit having a central opening adjacent to the central opening of the main shaft and being firmly connected to the housing; a unit for driving the shifting piston, said unit slidably received in the central opening of the cover unit; a unit for enclosing the clutch, said unit comprising a sleeve for supporting the unit for driving the shifting piston; a means for operating the unit for driving the shifting piston, said means incorporated into the unit for enclosing the clutch; a plurality of lock-up means slidably received within the first set of radial openings in the main shaft, wherein the lock-up means are displaced by the shifting piston into the internally engraved notches in the central opening of the eccentric shaft to provide a firm connection between the eccentric shaft and the main shaft.