英文翻译原文.docx

英文翻译原文.docx

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英文翻译原文

CLUTCHASSEMBLYCOVER,METHODOFMAKINGSAME,ANDOPTIONALHEATMANAGEMENT

CROSS-REFERENCETORELATEDAPPLICATIONS

[0001]Thisapplicationclaimspriorityunder35U.S.C.§119ofaprovisionalapplicationSer.No.61/436,433filedJan.26,2011,whichapplicationisherebyincorporatedbyreferenceinitsentirety.

FIELDOFTHEINVENTION

[0002]Thepresentinventionisgenerallyrelatedtoaclutchassembly.Moreparticularly,butnotexclusively,theinventionrelatestoanimprovedclutchassemblycoverandamethodofmakingthecover,aswellasanoptionalheatmanagementfeaturethatcanbeincludedwiththecover.

RACKGROIJNDOFTHEINVENTION

[0003]Asiswellknown,clutchesforvehiclesoperatetoselectivelycoupleanddecoupleanenginetoatransmissionforthepurposeofstartingthevehiclemovementwhiletheengineisingear,bringingthevehicletoastopwhiletheengineisrunning,changinggearswhilethevehicleisinmotionandputtingthevehicleinmotionfromadeadstop.Conventionalclutchesincludeacoverassemblyhavinganannularcoverorhousingandanannularpressureplateconnectedtothecoverforconjointrotationwiththecover.Thecoverisfixedlyattachedtoaflywheeldrivenbythevehicleengine,sothatthepressureplateislocatedbetweenthecoverandtheflywheel.Attachmentofthecovertotheflywheelisbyapluralityofbolts,whichspacethecoverandpressureplatefromtheflywheel.

[0004]Adriveshaftisreceivedthroughthecoverassemblyandflywheelfreeoffixedconnectiontoanyofthesesothatabsentactionoftheclutch,thedriveshaftandflywheelrotateindependentlyofeachother.Thedriveshaftissplinedandoneormoreclutchfrictiondiscsaremountedonthesplinesforconjointrotationwiththedriveshaft,whilebeingfreetoslidelongitudinallyonthedriveshaft.Theclutchfrictiondiscsarepositionedbetweenthepressureplateandthefly-wheel.Heatshieldsaredisposedbetweenthepressureplateandnearestfrictiondisc,andalsobetweentheflywheelandnearestfrictiondisc.Floaterplatesaredisposedbetweenadjacentfrictiondiscs.

[0005]Springsbetweenthecoverandpressureplateforcearingawayfromthecovertoclampthefrictiondiscsagainsttheflywheel.Theclampingactionmatesthedriveshaftandflywheelforconjointrotationsothatthedriveshaftisdrivenbytheengine.However,somerelativerotationorslidingbetweenthefrictiondiscsandflywheeldesirablyoccursbeforethereisconjointrotationtoreducetheimpactloadsontheengineanddriveshaftaswellastomakethemotionofthevehiclesmoother.

[0006]Theclutchisreleasedtopermitindependentrotationoftheflywheelanddriveshaftbyamechanicallinkage.Leverspivotallymountedonthecoverareconnectedtopinsfixedlyattachedtothepressureplate.Theleversmaybeengagedbyareleasememberofthemechanicallinkagetopullthepressureplatetowardthecoveragainsttheforceofthespringstoreleasetheclutch.

[0007]Thecoverprotectstheclutchandflywheelfrombeingobstructedbyforeignelements.Thecoveralsoprovidesabarriertoaccesswithintheclutchassemblytopreventaccidentalcontactwiththefast-spinningpartswithintheclutchassembly.Atypicalclutchcoverisstampedorcastmetal.Theshapescanvarydependingonanumberoffactorsincludingtypeandmanufacturerofclutch.

[0008]However,castingandstampingrequirestheuseofanexpensivemold,andanewmoldisrequiredforeachtypeorstyleofcover.Onetypeorstyleofcastorstampedcoveronlyfitsonetypeorbrandofmotororcar,andisnottransferrablebetweendifferentautomobilesorengines.Multiplemoldsincreasecostsgreatly.Inaddition,specialstrengtheningmethodsmustbeincorporated,suchashavingagreaterthicknessofmetal,moremetalmaterial,specialstructuralfeatures,orthelike.Thestrengtheningisduetocastingorstampingandthestressesexperiencedbythecover.Thestrengtheningmethodscanaddweight,increasethesize,andotherwisebeantagonistictoefficiencyandeconomyofmanufacturingthecover,useofspaceontheautomobile,andoperationoftheautomobile.

[0009]Itisthereforeaprimaryobject,feature,and/oradvantageofthepresentinventiontoprovideanapparatusandmethodthatimprovesoverthedeficienciesintheart.

[0010]Itisanotherobject,feature,and/oradvantageofthepresentinventiontoprovideanimprovedclutchcoverandmethodofmakingthesamethatislighterinweightthanpriorartclutchcovers.

[0011]Itisanotherobject,feature,and/oradvantageofthepresentinventiontoprovideanimprovedclutchcoverandmethodofmakingthesamethathasasmallerprofilefromtheplaneofamountingflangetotheplaneattheoppositesideofthecover.

[0012]Itisanotherobject,feature,and/oradvantageofthepresentinventiontoprovideanimprovedclutchcoverandmethodofmakingthesamethatoccupieslessspacetobeabletofitmoreclutchlininglayersontheclutchdisctobetterhandlehigherhorsepowerengines.

[0013]Itisanotherobject,feature,and/oradvantageofthepresentinventiontoprovideanimprovedclutchcoverandmethodofmakingthesamethatislessexpensivethanadiecaststamp,mold,orform.

[0014]Itisanotherobject,feature,and/oradvantageofthepresentinventiontoprovideanimprovedclutchcoverandmethodofmakingthesamethatincludesanoptionalheatmanagementfeaturethatcandeterdamageordeteriorationoftheclutchplatesduetoincreasedheat.

[0015]Theseand/orotherobjects,features,andadvantagesofthepresentinventionwillbeapparenttothoseskilledintheart.Thepresentinventionisnottobelimitedtoorbytheseobjects,featuresandadvantages.Nosingleembodimentneedprovideeachandeveryobject,feature,oradvantage.

SUMMARYOFTHEINVENTION

[0016]Accordingtooneaspectofthepresentinvention,aclutchcoverforconnectingaclutchassemblytoaflywheelofanengineisprovided.Theclutchcoverincludesabowl-shapedmemberhavinganaxis,awideend,anarrowend,andanaperturethroughthenarrowendalongtheaxis.Thebowl-shapedmemberisformedbydeformingaspinningsheetofmetal.Aflangeextendsaboutthewideendofthebowl-shapedmember.Arimisformedatthenarrowendofthebowl-shapedmemberadjacenttheaperture.Apatternofholesismachinedintheflangeandtherim,withthepatternofholesdeterminedbythetypeofengineused.Apluralityofaperturesisformedthroughthebowl-shapedmemberandisconfiguredtohousereleaseleversofapressureplateassembly.

[0017]Accordingtoanotheraspectofthepresentinvention,amethodofformingauniversalclutchcoverforusewithaclutchassemblyusedwithvirtuallyanymakeofvehicleengineisprovided.Themethodincludesdeterminingthemakeofthevehicleengine.Aforceisappliednormaltoaspinningsheetofmetalhavinganaperturetherethroughtoformagenerallybowl-shapedmemberwithaflangeatawideendandarimatanarrowendofthebowl-shapedmember.Apatternofholesismachinedintheflangeofthebowl-shapedmember,withthepatternofholescorrespondingtothemakeofthevehicleengine.Apluralityofaperturesismachinedthroughthebowl-shapedmemberbetweentheflangeandtherim.

[0018]Accordingtoyetanotheraspectofthepresentinvention,amethodofformingaclutchcoverforaclutchassemblyofanengineisprovided.Themethodincludesformingaholeinasheetofmetal.Thesheetofmetalisspunonaspin-castingmachineaboutthecentralaxisofthehole.Aforceisappliednormaltothesheetofmetalstartingatapredetermineddistancefromtheedgeoftheholetoformabowl-shapedmemberhavingarimadjacentanarrowendandaflangeadjacentawideend,withtherimandflangebeinggenerallyperpendiculartotheaxisofthehole.Apatternofflangeholesismachinedintheflange,whereinthepatternofflangeholesareconfiguredtooperablyattachtheclutchassemblytotheengine.Apluralityofaperturesiscutinthebowl-shapedmember,theaperturesadaptedtohousereleaselevers.

BRIEFDESCRIPTIONOFTHEDRAWINGS

[0019]FIG.1isanexplodedviewofcomponentsofavehicleengine,includinganengineblock,flywheel,clutchassembly,andbellhousing.

[0020]FIG.2isaperspectiveviewofaclutchassemblyusedinvehicles.

[0021]FIG.3isanexplodedviewoftheclutchassemblyofFIG.2.

[0022]FIG.4isaperspectiveviewofaclutchcoveraccordingtothepresentinvention.

[0023]FIG.5isabottomviewoftheclutchcoverofFIG.4.

[0024]FIG.6isasideviewoftheclutchcoverofFIG.4.

[0025]FIG.7Ashowsamethodofformingtheclutchcoverbyuseofaninternalspinformingmachine.

[0026]FIG.7Bshowsamethodofformingtheclutchcoverbyuseofanexternalspinformingmachine.

[0027]FIG.8showsthestepsofaprocessofformingtheclutchcoveraccordingtothepresentinvention.

DETAILEDDESCRIPTIONOFTHEPREFERREDEMBODIMENTS

[0028]FIG.1isanexplodedviewofcomponentsofavehicleengine,includinganengineblock30,aflywheel32,aclutchdisc28,aclutchassembly10,andabellhousing31.Theflywheel32isconnectedtotheengine30andtheclutchassembly10isconnectedtotheflywheel32withtheclutchdisc28therebetween.Asisknownintheart,theclutchassembly10workswiththeclutchdisc28toselectivelypresstheclutchdisc28againsttheflywheel32inordertopoweravehicle.Furthermore,theflywheel32,clutchdisc28andclutchassembly10areconfinedwithinthebellhousing31,whichisattachedtotheengine30.Therefore,itshouldbeunderstoodthattheclutchassembly10ideallyhasalowheightinordertotak