Patent ID: 8051969

Claim:
An actuator for use in an automotive torque coupling device, comprising: an actuator plate; a pressure plate fixed with respect to rotation; a plurality of actuator pins with respective first and second ends pivotally secured to said actuator plate and said pressure plate, respectively; a first disc-shaped ramp with a first surface orthogonal to the axis of rotation for the actuator; a second disc-shaped ramp with a second surface orthogonal to the axis of rotation and facing the first surface in a direction orthogonal to the axis of rotation; and a third disc-shaped ramp disposed between the first and second ramps in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation, wherein: an axial thickness of the first disc-shaped ramp varies along a circumference at a first radius; an axial thickness of the second disc-shaped ramp varies along a circumference at a second radius; the actuator plate is rotatable to apply a circumferential force to the respective first ends of the plurality of pins; the respective second ends of the plurality of pins displace axially away from the actuator plate in response to the circumferential force; the pressure plate displaces axially, while remaining rotationally fixed, in response to the axial displacement of the respective second ends of the plurality of pins; and, the first and second ramps are axially displaceable in response to the axial displacement of the pressure plate.