Dry Clutch Airflow Venting for Wear Debris Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hybrid driving force transmission devices with multiple-plate dry clutches suffer from poor engagement and release due to accumulated abrasion powder between friction surfaces, causing drag and operational failures.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a dry clutch with a first clutch plate splined to the clutch hub and a second clutch plate splined to the clutch drum, featuring friction facings and a cover member with air intake and discharge holes to create airflow, which carries wear debris out of the sealed space, reducing drag and preventing operational failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the multiple-plate dry clutch is housed in a sealed space, then the clutch is protected from external contamination, but abrasion powder accumulates between friction surfaces causing drag and poor engagement/release
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful abrasion powder from the sealed clutch space by introducing an air flow path that carries the powder out through discharge holes. The cover member is configured with air intake holes and discharge holes that create a directed airflow, removing the harmful particles that would otherwise accumulate and cause drag between friction surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pneumatic principles by utilizing air flow to transport abrasion powder out of the clutch assembly. The cover member's air intake and discharge holes create a controlled airflow field that pneumatically removes harmful particles, preventing their accumulation and the resulting negative effects on clutch operation.
2Power
If friction facings are pressed for repeated connections/disconnections, then the clutch provides reliable torque transmission, but wear debris accumulates causing drag
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of friction (wear debris generation) into a beneficial outcome by using the airflow system to remove the debris. The natural consequence of frictional engagement—wear—is transformed from a harmful accumulation into a manageable byproduct that is continuously evacuated, allowing repeated connections/disconnections without performance degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a continuous discarding mechanism for wear debris through the air flow path. The cover member's discharge holes enable the systematic removal of friction material wear particles, preventing their accumulation and maintaining optimal clutch performance over extended operation cycles.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the clutch is sealed to protect from contamination, then external debris is kept out, but internal wear powder cannot escape
Solution Approach 1:
The cover member is segmented with separate air intake holes and discharge holes, creating distinct pathways for air flow. This segmentation allows the sealed clutch space to simultaneously protect from external contamination while providing an internal circulation path that evacuates wear powder, resolving the contradiction between sealing and debris removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The air flow acts as an intermediary medium that bridges the sealed environment and the external atmosphere. Through the air intake and discharge holes, the airflow mediates between maintaining the sealed protective environment and enabling the removal of internal wear particles, allowing both functions to coexist.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively reduces drag caused by wear debris between clutch plates, preventing poor engagement and release states and extending the lifespan of the dry clutch by removing abrasion powder, thus enhancing the reliability of the driving force transmission.
Implementation Method 1
an airflow occurs in which air moves in the radial direction... wear debris or powders from friction facings move along with this airstream for exiting to the outside
Implementation Method 2
the pressure difference effected by centrifugal force at rotation about the axis of rotation of clutch, air is sent to the clutch drum from the clutch hub, increasing a pressure at the side of clutch drum, while reducing a pressure at the side of the clutch hub
Data Source
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AI summary
The purpose of the invention is to minimize drag caused by abrasion powder between clutch plates that press against each other, with friction facings interposed therebetween, and to prevent a faulty engagement or release of a dry clutch. A hybrid driving force transmission device, wherein a multi-plate dry clutch (7) arranged in a sealed space and used for connecting/disconnecting transmission of a driving force is provided with drive plates (71), driven plates (72), friction facings (73), and a housing cover (60). The drive plates (71) are splined to a clutch hub (3), and have, in the sections thereof that are splined to the clutch hub (3), vent holes (74) for channelling the air flowing in the axial direction. The driven plates (72) are splined to a clutch drum (6). The housing cover (60) has an external air intake hole (66) for drawing external air into the sealed space, and an external air discharge hole (67) for discharging the airflow from the sealed space to the outside.