Patents by Inventor Andreas Pottharst

Andreas Pottharst has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7993233
    Abstract: A friction coupling assembly includes: an actuator in the form of a ball ramp assembly, a plate package, and a ball bearing. The actuator has two coaxial discs, wherein the faces of the two discs each have ball grooves of increasing depth. Pairs of opposed ball grooves hold balls to axially support the two discs. The plate package is arranged coaxially relative to the discs and has outer plates for fixing to a coupling carrier and inner plates for fixing to a coupling hub. The ball bearing is for axially supporting the at least one rotatingly drivable disc, wherein a first bearing race of the ball bearing is integrally formed with the at least one rotatingly drivable disc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: GKN Driveline International, GmbH
    Inventors: Theodor Gassmann, Mark Schmidt, Andreas Pottharst, Kurt Mueller
  • Publication number: 20100222175
    Abstract: A friction coupling assembly includes: an actuator in the form of a ball ramp assembly, a plate package, and a ball bearing. The actuator has two coaxial discs, wherein the faces of the two discs each have ball grooves of increasing depth. Pairs of opposed ball grooves hold balls to axially support the two discs. The plate package is arranged coaxially relative to the discs and has outer plates for fixing to a coupling carrier and inner plates for fixing to a coupling hub. The ball bearing is for axially supporting the at least one rotatingly drivable disc, wherein a first bearing race of the ball bearing is integrally formed with the at least one rotatingly drivable disc.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2010
    Publication date: September 2, 2010
    Inventors: Theodor Gassmann, Mark Schmidt, Andreas Pottharst, Kurt Müller
  • Patent number: 7699740
    Abstract: A friction coupling assembly includes: a ball ramp assembly (2) with two coaxial discs (6, 7), wherein the faces (8, 9) of the two discs (6, 7) each have ball grooves (12, 13) of increasing depth, wherein pairs of opposed ball grooves hold balls to axially support the two discs (6, 7); a plate package (3) arranged coaxially relative to the discs (6, 7) and having outer plates (24) for fixing to a coupling carrier (40) and inner plates (25) for fixing to a coupling hub (56); and a plate spring (5) for introducing force into the plate package (3), the plate spring (5) is arranged coaxially relative to the discs (6, 7), is axially pretensioned and, functionally, is arranged in series with the plate package (3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: GKN Driveline International GmbH
    Inventors: Theodor Gassmann, Mark Schmidt, Andreas Pottharst, Kurt Müller
  • Publication number: 20070155573
    Abstract: A friction coupling assembly includes: a ball ramp assembly (2) with two coaxial discs (6, 7), wherein the faces (8, 9) of the two discs (6, 7) each have ball grooves (12, 13) of increasing depth, wherein pairs of opposed ball grooves hold balls to axially support the two discs (6, 7); a plate package (3) arranged coaxially relative to the discs (6, 7) and having outer plates (24) for fixing to a coupling carrier (40) and inner plates (25) for fixing to a coupling hub (56); and a plate spring (5) for introducing force into the plate package (3), the plate spring (5) is arranged coaxially relative to the discs (6, 7), is axially pretensioned and, functionally, is arranged in series with the plate package (3).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2006
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Inventors: Theodor Gassmann, Mark Schmidt, Andreas Pottharst, Kurt Muller