Combined Cluch Brake

A combination clutch-brake which includes a clutch unit including a clutch housing, a first hub, an annular clutch piston slidably mounted on said hub, an annular clutch cylinder carried by said clutch housing, a friction disc having fins thereon slidably mounted on and rotatable with the first hub, a brake unit including a disc journal having air passageways extending radially therein and mounted on a second hub, means rotatably mounting said second hub axially on said first hub, spring means normally urging said friction disc out of engagement with said disc journal, a brake housing mounted on said second hub, means connecting said clutch housing with said brake housing said brake housing having an annular cylinder formed therein, an annular piston base having an annular brake piston thereon and slidable within the annular cylinder, the brake piston having a friction facing thereon in axial alignment with the disc journal, means for normally urging the annular brake piston with said friction facing thereon out of engagement with said disc journal.

It means for causing fluid pressure to urge said clutch piston against said friction disc to cause said second hub to rotate, means for causing fluid pressure to urge said brake piston against said disc journal to brake the second hub, the friction disc formed with air passageways extending therethrough, the disc journal formed with air passageways extending therethrough and communicating with said air passageways of said friction disc, the brake piston base formed with air passageways extending therethrough and communicating with said air passageways of said disc journal, and the means connecting said clutch housing with said brake housing being separable. The combination clutch brake relates to an improvement in a combination clutch- brake which is mounted on a prime mover such as an electrical motor and which is used to clutch in or alternately brake a gear reducer for example, connected to the brake unit of the device. With the construction disclosed the brake unit may be easily separated from the clutch unit and the brake unit or module used separately. Alternately the operative portions of the brake unit may be removed and the clutch unit module used separately. The combination clutch- brake includes a construction whereby the brake is cooled both in an operating condition and in an inoperative condition by the rotation of the clutching unit friction disc.

Briefly, the device includes a finned driven friction disc clutching member engageable with a disc journal fixedly connected to a hub for rotation of the hub and a braking member which is engageable with the disc journal for breaking the hub. The friction disc is driven and rotatably mounted in clutch housing, and the disc journal and the braking member are mounted in a brake housing removably attached to the clutch housing. The clutch housing is formed with air passageways as is the disc journal and the passageways communicate.