Patent ID: 7318511

Claim:
A coupling device including a rotatable housing defining a clutch cavity; a clutch assembly disposed in said clutch cavity and including a first clutch member fixed to rotate with said housing, and a second clutch member fixed to rotate with an output; said housing defining an apply chamber, and a clutch apply member disposed in said apply chamber and being operable to bias said first and second clutch members into torque transmitting relationship in response to the presence of pressurized fluid in said apply chamber; said coupling device including a source of said pressurized fluid, and control valve means operable to vary the fluid pressure in said apply chamber in response to variations in an input; and a stationary plenum assembly operably associated with said rotatable housing and cooperating therewith to define a high pressure fluid passage disposed between said source of said pressurized fluid and said apply chamber; characterized by: (a) said source of pressurized fluid comprising a pumping element includin rotor operable to pump pressurized fluid in response to rotation of said rotor; (b) said stationary plenum assembly defining a pumping chamber, and said pumping element being operably disposed within said pumping chamber to pump pressurized fluid into said high pressure fluid passage; and (c) drive means operable to transmit rotational movement of said rotatable housing to said rotor of said pumping element.