Viscous clutch and method of operation
US10941819B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 11, 2018 |
| Grant date | Mar 9, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 27, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/49071
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A viscous clutch includes a shaft, a rotor disk, a housing having a base, a working chamber, a reservoir fluidically connected to the working chamber, a valve, an electromagnetic coil, and a flux guide that passes through the housing. The rotor disk includes a conductive portion made of a magnetic flux conductive material that forms a hub of the rotor disk that contacts the shaft and another portion. The base includes a hub with an axially-extending ring, and an armature of the valve is located radially outward of the axially-extending ring. The electromagnetic coil is located at an opposite side of the rotor disk from the reservoir. A magnetic flux circuit extends from the electromagnetic coil to the flux guide, then to the armature of the valve, then to the conductive portion of the rotor disk, then to the shaft, and then back to the electromagnetic coil.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.