Coupling system with cover-mounted actuating device and support bearing in the form of a cover bearing located in the coupling.

Abstract

Clutch system (1) for a motor vehicle drivetrain, comprising a clutch (2) having a clutch cover (3) and a lever element (5) pivotably mounted on this clutch cover (3) by means of a pivot bearing (4), and an actuating device (6) comprising a housing (7), a slide (8) slidably mounted relative to the housing (7), and an actuating bearing (10) fixedly connected to the slide (8) and acting in an adjusting manner on the lever element (5), wherein a clutch cover-fixed support area (12) is rotatably mounted on the housing (7) by means of a support bearing (13), wherein the support bearing (13) is spaced so far apart in an axial direction of the clutch (2) relative to the actuating bearing (10) that the lever element (5) with an inner area (14) arranged radially within the pivot bearing (4) is pivotable axially over at least a partial area of ​​the support bearing (13),wherein the coupling cover-fixed support area (12) is a connecting element (17) which is attached directly or indirectly to the coupling cover (3) characterized in that the connecting element (17) is attached to a bolt area (18) forming the pivot bearing (4), wherein the bolt area (18) is anchored in the coupling cover (3).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a clutch system for a motor vehicle drive train, i.e. a drive train of a motor vehicle, such as a truck, car, bus or agricultural utility vehicle, with a clutch which has a clutch cover and a lever element pivotally mounted on this clutch cover by means of a pivot bearing, and with an actuating device which has a housing, a slider which is displaceably received relative to the housing and an actuating bearing which is fixedly connected to the slider and acts in an adjustable manner on the lever element, wherein a support region which is fixed to the clutch cover is rotatably mounted / supported on the housing by means of a support bearing. Due to the mounting via the support bearing, the actuating device is fixedly connected to the clutch / clutch cover at least along an axis of rotation / as seen in the axial direction of the clutch.

[0002] Clutch systems of this type, i.e., arrangements / assemblies comprising a clutch and an actuating device, are well known in the art. In this context, DE 10 2014 213 623 A1 discloses a device for disengaging a clutch, in particular a clutch in a drive train of a motor vehicle, comprising a housing arranged rotationally symmetrically about an axis and comprising a pressure chamber in which a piston is axially movably mounted, wherein a release bearing configured to engage a diaphragm spring of the clutch is attached to the piston, and a cover bearing for supporting a clutch cover. The cover bearing is further connected to the clutch cover via a connecting element.

[0003] Furthermore, the state of the art is known from DE 10 2008 021 161 A1, DE 10 2013 209 995 A1 and DE 10 2013 223 653 A1.

[0004] However, it has been shown to be disadvantageous that the previous clutch systems, despite the relocation of the support bearing within the clutch cover / clutch, still take up too much installation space for some applications. If the existing bearings - support bearing and actuating bearing - are arranged radially, for example, at the same height, i.e. axially adjacent to one another, these clutch systems usually take up too much axial installation space. With an alternative arrangement of the two bearings radially nested, the clutch systems usually take up too much radial installation space, and in addition the bearing arranged radially on the outside, for example the support bearing, has to be designed more massive and therefore more expensive. A clutch system according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from EP 1 306 572 A1.Further prior art is disclosed in DE 10 2004 001 569 A1, EP 1 413 795 A2, DE 10 2012 217 216 A1, WO 2011 / 137 889 A1, DE 102 37 797 A1, DE 10 2009 042 224 A1, DE 10 2011 016 996 A1 and DE 102 36 806 A1.

[0005] It is therefore the object of the present invention to eliminate these disadvantages known from the prior art and in particular to provide a coupling system whose installation space is to be further reduced.

[0006] This is achieved according to the invention in that the support bearing is arranged at such a distance in an axial direction of the clutch relative to the actuating bearing that the lever element can be pivoted / moved axially over at least a partial area of ​​the support bearing with an inner area arranged radially inside the pivot bearing.

[0007] Such a relative arrangement between the support bearing and the actuating bearing makes the actuating device and the clutch significantly more compact, particularly in the axial direction, while maintaining the same displacement of the slide. Furthermore, the lever element can be reduced in its radial extension, which in turn allows for a reduction in the transmission ratio. A smaller pivoting of the lever element also significantly reduces the energy loss during pivoting of the lever element.

[0008] Further advantageous embodiments are claimed in the subclaims and explained in more detail below.

[0009] If the support bearing is arranged radially inside the actuating bearing, the clutch in particular is designed to save space.

[0010] Furthermore, it is advantageous if the support bearing and the actuating bearing are designed as rolling bearings, and several rolling elements of the support bearing are arranged radially within several rolling elements of the actuating bearing. This further simplifies the manufacture of the clutch system.

[0011] If the actuating bearing is larger than the inner diameter of the clutch cover-mounted support area, the transmission ratio of the lever element can be further reduced. Alternatively, it is also possible to design the actuating bearing larger than the outer diameter of the clutch cover-mounted support area.

[0012] If the clutch cover-fixed support area is also a one-piece component of the clutch cover, i.e. the clutch cover-fixed support area is formed directly from a one-piece / integral component of the clutch cover, the manufacturing effort is further reduced because the number of components is kept low.

[0013] According to the invention, the clutch-fixed support area is a connecting element that is attached directly or indirectly to the clutch cover. This simplifies the assembly of the clutch system.

[0014] In this context, it is also advantageous that the connecting element is attached to a bolt area forming the pivot bearing (preferably a separate bolt / rivet bolt), with the bolt area being anchored in the clutch cover. This allows the connecting element to be attached to existing clutch elements in a particularly space-saving manner.

[0015] If the connecting element is fixed on an axial side of the bolt area facing away from the clutch cover, the connecting element's geometric shape is particularly simple. This further reduces manufacturing costs.

[0016] If the lever element is expediently designed as a disc spring, a particularly compact design of the coupling system is achieved, since the lever element also snaps around in a spring-elastic manner when pivoting.

[0017] Furthermore, it is advantageous if the lever element is formed on the inner region by several elastically pivotable spring tongues (also referred to as disc spring tongues in the case of the disc spring) arranged at a distance from one another in the circumferential direction. This enables a particularly space-saving design of the lever element.

[0018] In this context, it is also advantageous if the clutch cover-mounted support area has several circumferentially distributed through-holes that are aligned with the spring tongues in such a way that the lever element, at least with parts of the spring tongues, can be pushed through the through-holes (over the entire pivoting path of the lever element during operation). This makes the clutch cover particularly space-saving.

[0019] In other words, a cover-mounted actuating device, preferably in the form of a releaser, is thus implemented with a support bearing located in the clutch, which is also referred to as a cover bearing. In the prior art, cover-mounted releasers (abbreviation: DFA) are already supported on the clutch cover by means of support bearings or cover bearings. This requires a relatively large radial and / or axial installation space. According to the invention, the cover-mounted releaser is mounted more compactly. For this purpose, the support bearing is laid purely in the axial direction of the clutch and is preferably fastened to bolts (bolt areas) of the clutch cover via a carrier plate (connecting element). This allows the diaphragm spring / lever element to run past the support bearing during disengagement without hitting it. This saves axial installation space.The two bearings are thus arranged with a radial offset to each other and the disc spring tongue can be moved axially past the support bearing when actuated.

[0020] The invention will now be explained in more detail below with reference to figures, in which context various embodiments are also explained.

[0021] They show: Fig. 1 a longitudinal sectional view of a clutch system according to the invention according to a first advantageous embodiment, wherein a clutch cover-fixed support region of a clutch is formed as a connecting element designed separately from a clutch cover and fastened to the latter, and Fig. 2 a longitudinal sectional view of a clutch system according to the invention according to a second embodiment, wherein the clutch cover-fixed support region is now a one-piece component of the clutch cover.

[0022] The figures are merely schematic in nature and serve exclusively to understand the invention. The same elements are provided with the same reference numerals. Furthermore, the different features of the various embodiments can be freely combined with one another.

[0023] In Fig. Figure 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the clutch system 1 according to the invention. The clutch system 1 is intended in particular for a motor vehicle drive train. For this purpose, the clutch system 1 has a clutch 2, which is designed here as a friction clutch. The clutch 2 serves in the usual way as a separable coupling element for transmitting torque between an output shaft 21 of an internal combustion engine, such as a gasoline or diesel engine, and a transmission shaft, for example a transmission input shaft of a transmission, which is not shown in more detail here for the sake of clarity. The clutch 2 is actuated during operation via an actuating device 6, as described in more detail below.

[0024] The clutch 2 has a first rotating part 22 and a second rotating part 23. These rotating parts 22, 23 are connected to one another in a rotationally fixed manner (in an engaged position of the clutch 2) or are arranged separately from one another without transmitting torque (in a disengaged position of the clutch 2), depending on the position of a pressure plate 24 of the clutch 2. The first rotating part 22 is designed here as a flywheel, also referred to as a pressure plate. The first rotating part 22 is also directly connected to the output shaft 21 in a rotationally fixed manner.

[0025] The second rotating part 23 is designed as a clutch disc and consequently has a friction lining 25 arranged axially between the pressure plate 24 and the first rotating part 22. In addition to this friction lining 25, the clutch disc / second rotating part 23 has a hub part 26, which is arranged on the transmission shaft / transmission input shaft in a rotationally fixed manner during operation, but axially displaceable. Like the second rotating part 23, the pressure plate 24 is displaceable in the axial direction of the clutch 2, i.e., along a rotational axis 34 of the clutch 2, relative to the first rotating part 22. Fig. 1 shows an engaged position of the clutch 2, wherein the pressure plate 24 is pressed against the second rotating part 23, and thereby the second rotating part 23 is pressed against the first rotating part 22, in turn, such that a frictional connection exists between the first rotating part 22 and the second rotating part 23. In a disengaged position of the clutch 2, the rotating parts 22, 23 are again spaced apart from one another, so that no torque is transmitted between them.

[0026] The axial contact force of the pressure plate 24 against the second rotating part 23, which is necessary for the engaged position, is transmitted to the pressure plate 24 by means of a lever element 5, which is designed as a disc spring. The lever element 5 is pivotally mounted relative to the pressure plate 24 via a pivot bearing 4. This pivot bearing 4 is attached to a clutch cover 3 of the clutch 2. The clutch cover 3 is designed as a substantially pot-shaped sheet metal part. The clutch cover 3 is fastened with a first axial side to an end face of the first rotating part 22 and, on a second axial side opposite this first axial side, is formed with a disc-shaped side wall region 27, which extends inwards, in particular in the radial direction. The pivot bearing 4 is in turn arranged on the side wall region 27.This side wall region 27 adjoins a sleeve region 28 of the clutch cover 3 in the axial direction, whereby the clutch cover 3 encloses a receiving space 29. Within the receiving space 29, i.e., in particular radially within the sleeve region 28, the second rotating part 23, the pressure plate 24, and the lever element 5 are arranged during operation.

[0027] The pivot bearing 4 of the lever element 5 is designed in a conventional manner on a bolt region 18 firmly anchored in the clutch cover 3. The bolt region 18 is part of a rivet bolt 31, which is riveted to a first axial end region in an opening in the clutch cover 3. A second end region, which is opposite this first end region, projects into the receiving space 29 in the axial direction and penetrates the lever element 5 in the axial direction. A wire ring 33 is inserted on each axial side, i.e. between the clutch cover 3 and the lever element 5 and between a collar 32 of the bolt region 18 and the lever element 5, which two wire rings together form two pivot points for the pivot bearing 4 of the lever element 5.

[0028] In an area arranged radially outside the pivot bearing 4, the lever element 5 rests against the pressure plate 24 and, depending on the position of this outer area, specifies the position of the pressure plate 24 relative to the first rotating part 22. Radially inside the pivot bearing 4, the lever element 5 merges into a plurality of spring tongues 19, which are arranged at a distance from one another in the circumferential direction via a through opening each. These spring tongues 19 are designed as tab-shaped projections extending radially inwards, which uniformly / in cooperation form a radial inner area 14 of the lever element 5. On this radial inner area 14, i.e. on a radial inner side of the spring tongues 19, a nose 30 extending in the axial direction / bent over is attached. One nose 30 is formed for each spring tongue 19, so that all noses 30 of the spring tongues 19 are aligned along a uniform plane / axial plane.

[0029] An actuating device 6 is provided for pivoting the lever element 5 to actuate the clutch 2 between the engaged and disengaged positions. This actuating device 6 is preferably constructed and functions as a fluidic (hydraulic or pneumatic) slave cylinder of an actuating system. Consequently, this actuating device has a substantially ring-shaped housing 7 and a slide 8 in the form of a piston that is displaceably arranged in this housing 7. The slide 8 is thus received in the housing 7 so that it can be displaced in the axial direction, i.e. along the axis of rotation 34 of the clutch 2. The slide 8 is connected to an actuating bearing 10 by an end region that projects out of the housing 7 in the axial direction. In particular, a first bearing ring 9, namely an inner bearing ring, is connected to the slide 8 in a displacement-proof and preferably also rotationally fixed manner.The actuating bearing 10 is designed as a roller bearing and thus also has a second bearing ring 11, which is supported by a plurality of rolling elements (second rolling elements 16) relative to the first bearing ring 9. During operation, the second bearing ring 11, in turn, rests on the end face of an axial side of the lever element 5 facing away from the first rotating part 22, against the inner region 14 / the lugs 30 of the spring tongues 19. Thus, the pivot position of the lever element 5 is predetermined by this actuating device 6, namely by the position of the slide 8.

[0030] In this embodiment, the actuating device 6 is designed as a release device / a releaser, which can be seen from the fact that the slide 8 in its unactuated position according to Fig. 1, i.e., in its retracted position into the housing 7, it is arranged such that the lever element 5 presses the pressure plate 24 against the first rotating part 22, thus forcing the engaged position. For disengagement, the slide 8 is then driven and pushed axially out of the housing 7 toward the lever element 5, thereby pivoting the lever element 5 clockwise at its inner region 14, thereby disengaging / unengaging the clutch.

[0031] The housing 7 of the actuating device 6 has a sleeve section 35 which, during operation, is arranged coaxially to the transmission shaft. The sleeve section 35 extends axially into the clutch 2, i.e., into the receiving space 29, to such an extent that at least one axial end region 36 of the sleeve section 35 projects into the clutch 2. A support bearing 13 is provided at this end region 36, which is arranged radially inside the sleeve region. This support bearing 13 serves to rotationally support the clutch cover 3 relative to the housing 7. The support bearing 13 is also designed as a rolling bearing. An inner bearing ring 37 of the support bearing 13 is connected to the housing 7 in a rotationally fixed / fixed manner. A bearing outer ring 38, which is mounted rotatably relative to this bearing inner ring 37 via (first) rolling elements 15 and arranged radially outside the bearing inner ring 37, is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the support region 12 fixed to the clutch cover.In this exemplary embodiment, the clutch cover-fixed support region 12 is designed as a separate component, namely as a connecting element 17. The connecting element 17 is preferably made of sheet metal. The connecting element 17 has, on a radial inner side, a hub region 39 in the form of an axially extending bent portion that rests flatly on an outer side of the bearing outer ring 38. The connecting element 17 is fastened to the bolt region 18 by a radially outer disc region 40. In particular, the disc region 40 in this exemplary embodiment is fastened to an end face of the bolt region 18 / bolt 31 facing the first rotating part 22 during operation.

[0032] According to the invention, the position of the support bearing 13 relative to the actuating bearing 10 in the radial direction and in the axial direction is selected such that the inner region 14, ie a radial inner side of the lever element 5, can be displaced / pivoted in the axial direction over a part / partial area of ​​the support bearing 13. This is particularly true in Fig. 1. Due to the radially outer arrangement of the actuating bearing 10, the inner region 14 can be pivoted relative to the support bearing 13 during its clockwise pivoting over at least a partial range of the length of the support bearing 13. Therefore, there is no collision with the support bearing 13 when the lever element 5 pivots between the engaged and disengaged positions. Even if an axial end face of the second bearing ring 11 and the slide 8 correspond here, it is also possible in further embodiments to allow the end face of the second bearing ring 11 to protrude further towards the first rotating part 22 than that of the slide 8, whereby further pivoting ranges beyond the support bearing 13 are possible.

[0033] This is particularly facilitated by the fact that the first rolling elements 15 of the support bearing 13 are arranged completely within the second rolling elements 16 of the actuating bearing 10. This allows the respective bearing rings 9 and 11 to be particularly cleverly adapted to the inner and outer bearing rings 37 and 38 of the support bearing 13, so that they do not touch each other when the lever element 5 pivots. In other words, the actuating bearing 10 is thus larger than a radial inner diameter of the clutch cover-fixed support area 12.

[0034] In Fig.2 shows a further, second exemplary embodiment, which is fundamentally constructed and functions in the same way as the first exemplary embodiment. Therefore, only the essential differences will be discussed below. The support region 12 is, unlike in the first exemplary embodiment, now designed as a one-piece component of the clutch cover 3. The clutch cover 3 thus has, in the region of its side wall region 27, an arcuate region 41 bent back towards the first rotating part 22. The arcuate region 41, in turn, has the hub region 39 on its radial inner side, by means of which it is attached to the bearing outer ring 38 in a rotationally fixed manner. Furthermore, due to the design of the arcuate region 41, the respective spring tongues 19 are guided axially through the clutch cover 3 in the region of its arcuate region 41.The curved region 41 is therefore also designed as a region with several lugs extending in the radial direction. Through-openings 20 are formed in the curved region 41 in the circumferential direction between each individual lug. These through-openings are matched to the spring tongues 19 in such a way that the spring tongues 19 and the curved region 41 do not collide when the lever element 5 pivots between the engaged and disengaged positions. Thus, in this exemplary embodiment, the support bearing 13 is also arranged such that the inner region 14 can always be pivoted over a partial length / partial region of the support bearing 13.

[0035] In other words, according to the invention, the support bearing 13 is provided within the clutch 2 and attached to the inner side of the bolts 31 by means of a carrier plate (connecting element 17), whereby the support bearing 13 is mounted on the carrier plate 17 and can therefore be designed very small, whereby the release bearing (actuating bearing 10) can also be designed larger than the inner / outer diameter of the carrier plate 17. The carrier plate 17 can also be designed as a part molded directly from the clutch cover 3. With this bearing arrangement, the clutch 2 has a smaller gear ratio, which in turn reduces the release travel because the gear ratio is smaller and because the loss due to the tongue deflection of the diaphragm spring 5 is smaller. This makes the DFA / clutch system 1 significantly more compact. List of reference symbols 1 coupling system 2 clutch 3 clutch covers 4 swivel bearing 5 lever element 6 Actuating device 7 housings 8 sliders 9 first bearing ring 10 actuating bearings 11 second bearing ring 12 Support area 13 support bearings 14 Interior 15 first rolling element 16 second rolling element 17 Connecting element 18 Bolt area 19 Spring tongue 20 passage opening 21 Output shaft 22 first turned part 23 second turning part 24 Pressure plate 25 Friction lining 26 Hub part 27 Side wall area 28 Sleeve area 29 Recording room 30 Nose 31 rivet bolts 32 collars 33 Wire ring 34 axis of rotation 35 sleeve section 36 End area 37 Bearing inner ring 38 Bearing outer ring 39 Hub area 40 disc area 41 Arch area

Claims

[1] Clutch system (1) for a motor vehicle drive train, with a clutch (2) which has a clutch cover (3) and a lever element (5) pivotably mounted on this clutch cover (3) by means of a pivot bearing (4), and with an actuating device (6) which has a housing (7), a slide (8) which is displaceably received relative to the housing (7), and an actuating bearing (10) which is connected in a displaceably fixed manner to the slide (8) and acts in an adjusting manner on the lever element (5), wherein a support region (12) which is fixed to the clutch cover is rotatably mounted on the housing (7) by means of a support bearing (13), wherein the support bearing (13) is arranged at such a distance in an axial direction of the clutch (2) relative to the actuating bearing (10) that the lever element (5) can be axially displaced over at least a partial region of the support bearing (13) with an inner region (14) arranged radially inside the pivot bearing (4). is pivotable,wherein the clutch cover-fixed support region (12) is a connecting element (17) which is attached directly or indirectly to the clutch cover (3), characterized by that the connecting element (17) is fastened to a bolt region (18) forming the pivot bearing (4), wherein the bolt region (18) is anchored in the clutch cover (3). [2] Coupling system (1) according to claim 1, characterized by that the support bearing (13) is arranged radially inside the actuating bearing (10). [3] Coupling system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the support bearing (13) and the actuating bearing (10) are designed as rolling bearings and a plurality of rolling elements (15) of the support bearing (13) are arranged radially within a plurality of rolling elements (16) of the actuating bearing (10). [4] Coupling system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized bythat the actuating bearing (10) is larger than an inner diameter of the clutch cover-fixed support area (12). [5] Coupling system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that the lever element (5) is designed as a disc spring. [6] Coupling system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by that the lever element (5) is formed on the inner region (14) by a plurality of elastically pivotable spring tongues (19) arranged spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction. [7] Coupling system (1) according to claim 6, characterized by that the clutch cover-fixed support region (12) has a plurality of through-openings (20) distributed in the circumferential direction, which are matched to the spring tongues (19) in such a way that the lever element (5) can be pushed or is pushed through the through-openings (20) at least with parts of the spring tongues (19).

Images