1. A power transmission device comprising:
a first rotary member;
a second rotary member;
a torque transfer mechanism operable for transferring drive torque between said first and second members, said torque transfer mechanism having a transfer clutch disposed between said first and second rotary members and a rotary operator for applying a clutch engagement force to said transfer clutch, said rotary operator including a first component rotatably driven by one of said first and second rotary members and a second component coaxially aligned with said first component so as to define a plurality of actuation chambers therebetween, said second component is adapted to rotate relative to said first component in response to fluid pressure in said actuation chambers for generating said clutch engagement force; and
a hydraulic control system for regulating the fluid pressure supplied to said actuation chambers.
2. The power transmission device of claim 1 wherein said hydraulic control system includes a pump, a motor driving said pump and a control valve disposed in a hydraulic circuit between said pump and said actuation chambers for regulating the fluid pressure supplied to said actuation chambers.
3. The power transmission device of claim 2 wherein angular movement of said second component to a low pressure position relative to said first component causes a minimum clutch actuation force to be applied to said transfer clutch, wherein angular movement of said second component to a high pressure position relative to said first component causes a maximum clutch actuation force to be applied to said transfer clutch, and wherein said second component is moveable between its low pressure and high pressure positions due to the magnitude of the fluid pressure delivered from said pump through said control valve to said actuation chambers.
4. The power transmission device of claim 1 wherein said first component of said rotary operator is a first ring having a plurality of first lugs so as to define a plurality of channels therebetween, and wherein said second component of said rotary actuator is an a second ring having a plurality of second lugs which extend into said channels so as to define a series of said actuation chambers between adjacent pairs of said first and second lugs.
5. The power transmission device of claim 4 wherein said second ring is fixed to a drive component of a thrust mechanism such that rotation of said drive component results in translational movement of a driven component of said thrust mechanism for controlling the magnitude of said clutch actuation force applied to said transfer clutch.
6. The power transmission device of claim 5 wherein said thrust mechanism is a ball ramp unit having a first cam plate as its drive component, a second cam plate as its driven component, and rollers engaging a cam surface formed between said first and second cam plates, and wherein said cam surface is configured to cause translational movement of said second cam plate in response to rotary movement of said first cam plate.
7. The power transmission device of claim 6 wherein an increase in fluid pressure in said actuation chambers causes said second ring and said first cam plate to rotate in a first direction relative to said first ring for causing corresponding translational movement of said second cam plate from a first position toward a second position relative to said transfer clutch, and wherein a decrease in fluid pressure in said actuation chambers causes said second ring and said first cam plate to rotate in a second direction relative to said reaction ring for causing movement of said second cam plate toward its first position.
8. The power transmission device of claim 1 wherein said first rotary member is a first shaft in a transfer case and said second rotary member is a second shaft of said transfer case.
9. The power transmission device of claim 1 wherein said first rotary member is driven by a powertrain of a motor vehicle and said second rotary member is connected to a differential unit of a drive axle assembly.
10. The power transmission device of claim 1 defining a drive axle assembly having a differential unit interconnecting a pair of axleshafts, and wherein said first rotary member is a differential carrier of said differential unit, said second rotary member is one of said axleshafts, and said torque transfer mechanism is arranged to adaptively limit slip between said axleshafts.
11. A power transfer device for use in a motor vehicle having a powertrain and first and second drivelines, comprising:
a first shaft driven by the powertrain and adapted for connection to the first driveline;
a second shaft adapted for connection to the second driveline;
a torque transmission mechanism for transferring drive torque from said first shaft to said second shaft, said torque transmission mechanism including a transfer clutch operably disposed between said first shaft and said second shaft and a clutch actuator for engaging said transfer clutch, said clutch actuator includes a rotary operator and a thrust mechanism, said rotary operator having first and second components which define an actuation chamber that is adapted to receive pressurized fluid, said first component is fixed for rotation with one of said first and second shafts and said second component is adapted to rotate relative to said first component in response to the pressurized fluid in said actuation chamber, said thrust mechanism operable for applying a clutch actuation force to said transfer clutch in response to rotation of said second component relative to said first component; and
a control system for regulating the pressurized fluid supplied to said actuation chamber.
12. The power transfer device of claim 11 wherein angular movement of said second component to a low pressure position relative to said first component causes said thrust mechanism to be located in a first position for causing a minimum clutch engagement force to be applied to said transfer clutch, wherein angular movement of said second component to a high pressure position relative to said first component causes said thrust mechanism to move to a second position for causing a maximum clutch engagement force to be applied to said transfer clutch, and wherein said second component is moveable between its low pressure and high pressure positions due to the magnitude of the pressurized fluid delivered from a pump through a control valve to said actuation chamber.
13. The power transfer device of claim 12 wherein said first component of said rotary operator is a reaction ring having a first body segment and a plurality of first lugs which define a series of channels therebetween, wherein said second component is an actuator ring having a second body segment and a plurality of second lugs which extend into said channels so as to define a plurality of said actuation chambers between said first and second lugs, and wherein said actuator chambers are in fluid communication with an outlet of said control valve and said fluid pump is operable to draw low pressure fluid from a sump and deliver high pressure fluid to said control valve such that selective control of said control valve results in rotary movement of said actuator ring relative to said reaction ring.
14. The power transfer device of claim 13 wherein said actuator ring is fixed to a drive component of said thrust mechanism such that rotation of said drive component results in translational movement of a driven component of said thrust mechanism for exerting said clutch actuation force on said second friction clutch.
15. The power transfer device of claim 14 wherein said thrust mechanism is a ball ramp unit with a first cam ring as its drive component, a second cam ring as its driven component, and rollers retained in cam tracks formed between said first and second cam rings, and wherein said cam tracks are configured to cause translational movement of said second cam plate relative to said transfer clutch in response to rotary movement of said first cam plate.
16. A power transfer device for use in a motor vehicle having a powertrain and first and second drivelines, comprising:
an input member adapted to receive drive torque from said powertrain;
a first output member adapted to provide drive torque to the first driveline;
a second output member adapted to provide drive torque to the second driveline;
a gearset operably interconnecting said input member to said first and second output members;
a torque transmission mechanism for limiting speed differentiation between said first and second output members, said torque transmission mechanism including a transfer clutch operably disposed between any two of said input member and said first and second output members and a clutch actuator for controlling engagement of said transfer clutch, said clutch actuator including a rotary operator and a thrust mechanism, said rotary operator having first and second components defining an actuation chamber therebetween that is adapted to receive pressurized fluid, said first component is fixed for rotation with one of said input and output members and said second component is adapted to rotate relative to said first component in response to the pressurized fluid in said actuation chamber, said thrust mechanism operable for applying a clutch actuation force to said transfer clutch in response to rotation of said second component relative to said first component; and
a hydraulic control system for regulating the pressurized fluid supplied to said actuation chamber.
17. The power transfer device of claim 16 wherein movement of said second component to a low pressure position relative to said first component causes said thrust mechanism to be located in a first position for applying a minimum actuation force to said transfer clutch, wherein movement of said second component to a high pressure position relative to said first component causes said thrust mechanism to move to a second position for applying a maximum actuation force to said transfer clutch, and wherein said second component is moveable between its low pressure and high pressure positions due to the magnitude of the pressurized fluid delivered from a pump through a control valve to said actuation chamber.
18. The power transfer device of claim 17 wherein said first component of said rotary operator is a reaction ring having a plurality of first lugs which define a series of channels therebetween, and said second component is an actuator ring having a plurality of second lugs which extend into said channels so as to define a plurality of said actuation chambers between said first and second lugs, wherein said actuator chambers are in fluid communication with an outlet of said control valve, and wherein said fluid pump is operable to draw fluid from a sump and deliver fluid through said control valve to said actuation chambers for causing rotary movement of said actuator ring relative to said reaction ring.
19. The power transfer device of claim 18 wherein said actuator ring is fixed to a drive component of said thrust mechanism such that rotation of said drive component results in translational movement of a driven component of said thrust mechanism for controlling the magnitude of said clutch actuation force applied to said transfer clutch.
20. The power transfer device of claim 19 wherein said thrust mechanism is a ball ramp unit with a first cam ring as its drive component, a second cam ring as its driven component, and rollers retained in cam tracks formed between said first and second cam rings, said cam tracks configured to cause translational movement of said second cam ring in response to rotary movement of said first cam ring, and wherein such movement of said second cam ring causes said clutch actuation force to be applied to said transfer clutch.
21. The power transfer device of claim 20 wherein an increase in pressure of the pressurized fluid in said actuation chambers causes said actuator ring and said first cam ring to rotate in a first direction relative to said reaction ring for causing said second cam ring to axially move from a retracted position toward an extended position relative to said transfer clutch, and wherein a decrease in pressure of the pressurized fluid in said actuation chambers causes said actuator ring and said first cam ring to rotate in a second direction relative to said reaction ring for causing said second cam ring to axially move toward its retracted position.
22. A torque transfer mechanism for controlling transfer of drive torque between first and second rotary members comprising:
a transfer clutch operably disposed between the first and second rotary members;
a rotary clutch operator having coaxially aligned first and second components defining a plurality of actuation chambers therebetween; and
a hydraulic control system operable for controlling fluid pressure delivered to said actuation chambers so as to control angular movement of said second component relative to said first component for controlling the magnitude of a clutch engagement force applied to said transfer clutch.
23. The power transmission device of claim 22 wherein said hydraulic control system includes a pump, a motor driving said pump and a control valve disposed in a hydraulic circuit between said pump and said actuation chambers for regulating the fluid pressure supplied to said actuation chambers.
24. The power transmission device of claim 22 wherein angular movement of said second component to a low pressure position relative to said first component causes a minimum clutch actuation force to be applied to said transfer clutch, wherein angular movement of said second component to a high pressure position relative to said first component causes a maximum clutch actuation force to be applied to said transfer clutch, and wherein said second component is moveable between its low pressure and high pressure positions due to the magnitude of the fluid pressure delivered from said pump through said control valve to said actuation chambers.
25. The power transmission device of claim 22 wherein said first component of said rotary operator is a reaction ring having a body segment and plurality of first lugs so as to define a plurality of channels therebetween, and wherein said second component of said rotary actuator is an actuator ring having a body segment and a plurality of second lugs which extend into said channels so as to define a series of said actuation chambers between adjacent pairs of said first and second lugs.
26. The power transmission device of claim 25 wherein said actuator ring is fixed to a drive component of a thrust mechanism such that rotation of said drive component results in translational movement of a driven component of said thrust mechanism for controlling the magnitude of said clutch actuation force applied to said transfer clutch.
27. The power transmission device of claim 26 wherein said thrust mechanism is a ball ramp unit having a first cam plate as its drive component, a second cam plate as its driven component, and rollers retained in cam tracks formed between said first and second cam plates, and wherein said cam tracks are configured to cause translational movement of said second cam plate in response to rotary movement of said first cam plate.
28. The power transmission device of claim 22 wherein the first rotary member is a first shaft in a transfer case and the second rotary member is a second shaft of said transfer case.
29. The power transmission device of claim 22 wherein the first rotary member is driven by a powertrain of a motor vehicle and the second rotary member is connected to a differential unit of a drive axle assembly.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A device for manufacturing nanostructures consisting of carbon, such as monolayers, multilayer sheet structures, tubes, or fibers, having a gas inlet element (2) having a housing cavity (5) enclosed by housing walls (3, 3\u2032, 3\u2033), into which a gas feed line (6) opens, through which a gaseous, in particular carbonaceous starting material can be fed into the housing cavity (5), having a plasma generator, which has components (8, 9, 10) arranged at least partially in the housing cavity (5), which has at least one plasma electrode (9), to which electrical voltage can be applied, to apply energy to the gaseous starting material by igniting a plasma and thus convert it into a gaseous intermediate product, and having a gas outlet surface (4) having a plurality of gas outlet openings (7), through which the gaseous intermediate product can exit out of the housing cavity (5), characterized by a gas heating unit (11) for assisting the conversion, which is arranged downstream of the components (8, 9, 10).
2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas inlet element (2) is arranged in a process chamber of a CVD reactor (1), which has a heatable susceptor (17), which is a carrier for accommodating one or more substrates (16), wherein the susceptor (17) is associated with the bottom of a process chamber and the gas outlet surface (4) is associated with the cover of the process chamber, which process chamber is implemented so that the gaseous intermediate products exiting from the gas outlet surface (4) are transported to the at least one substrate (16), on which the nanostructures are deposited.
3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the plasma electrode (9) has the form of a lattice or a plate, which is arranged in the flow path of the gaseous starting material or on the upper wall (3) of the gas inlet element (2).
4. The device according to claim 3, characterized by one or more guard electrodes (10, 19) in the form of a lattice arranged in the flow path of the gaseous starting material or a plate (10, 19) having passage openings (10\u2032, 19\u2032), wherein at least one guard electrode (8) is arranged upstream andor wherein at least one guard electrode (10, 19) is arranged downstream of the plasma electrode (9).
5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas heating unit (11) has the form of a plate, a lattice, a meander, or a coil, which heating unit being arranged in particular in a plane extending transversely to the flow in the flow path of the gaseous starting material, wherein the gas heating unit (11) has terminal electrodes (12, 13) for conducting an electric current through the gas heating unit (11).
6. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that the guard electrodes (8, 10), the plasma electrode (9), andor the gas heater (11) are formed by plates, which each have a plurality of openings, wherein the openings of adjacent plates are arranged offset to one another for the purpose of gas mixing.
7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that one or more plates, which form the electrodes (8, 9, 10), andor the inner side of the wall of the gas inlet element (2) having the gas outlet openings (7) have heat-reflective properties.
8. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the gas heating unit (11) arranged in a plane is arranged directly behind the gas outlet surface (4) in the flow direction of the gas andor a guard electrode (8) is directly opposite to the substrate (16), wherein the guard electrode (8) has openings (8\u2032) for the gas passage.
9. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper wall (3) of the gas outlet element (2) is an insulator plate (18), along which the plasma electrode (9) extends.
10. The device according to claim 1, characterized by two guard electrodes (10, 19), which are spaced apart from one another and arranged inside the housing cavity (5), and which are connected using electrically conductive holding rods (20, 21) to a grounded electrode (8).
11. A method for manufacturing nanostructures consisting of carbon, such as monolayers, multilayer sheet structures, tubes, or fibers, in particular in a device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, optionally together with a carrier gas, a mixture containing at least one oxidizing or reducing or carbonaceous gaseous starting material or a cleaning gas is fed through the gas feed line (6) into the housing cavity (5), wherein energy is applied to the gas mixture both by the plasma generator (8, 9, 10) and also by the gas heater (11).
12. The method as recited in claim 11, characterized in that the gaseous starting material is activated and dissociated in the housing cavity simultaneously by supply of heat generated by the heating unit (11) and by a plasma generated by the plasma generator (8, 9, 10), so that atomic or ionized radicals, gaseous polymers, or aromatic intermediate products form, in particular in the form of radicals.
13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the plasma is generated continuously andor in pulsed form, andor the gaseous starting material is fed continuously or in pulsed form into the gas inlet element (2).
14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, before or after a method step in which nanostructures consisting of carbon are deposited on the substrate (16) arranged in the process chamber, a cleaning step is carried out, during which a cleaning gas fed into the housing cavity (5) is activated by application of a plasma andor by heating, wherein the cleaning step is carried out in particular periodically before or after a deposition step.
15. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that using elements, which are grounded in particular and are arranged downstream of the plasma electrode (9) andor the heating unit (13), such as a guard electrode (10) andor the grounded gas outlet surface (4), particles forming during the conversion reaction are captured.