Frictional torque transferring apparatus with a liquid mercury cooling system

Claim 1

Apparatus for transferring torque from a rotating driving mechanism to a driven mechanism without overheating of the apparatus or destruction of the frictional characteristics therein, and comprising: a. a plurality of frictional plates, each plate having frictional surfaces, b. at least one of said plurality of frictional plates being a driving plate operatively coupled to the driving mechanism; c. at least one of said plurality of frictional plates being a driven plate operatively coupled to the driven mechanism; d. said plurality of frictional plates having alternatively placed driving and driven frictional plates, whereby the frictional surfaces of said driving and driven frictional plates may frictionally engage each other in a frictional contact relationship; e. a cooling system for cooling heated frictional surfaces of at least one selected cooled frictional plate, said cooling system including liquid mercury as the coolant, said liquid mercury coolant having the desirable coolant properties of not destroying the frictional contact relationship between the frictional surfaces of said driving and driven frictional plates, having a low viscosity which allows thin interface films between the liquid mercury and other surfaces with which the mercury is exchanging heat, and having a high coefficient of thermal conductivity making it an efficient coolant; f. said cooling system further including a centrally disposed passageway in each cooled frictional plate for supplying liquid mercury coolant to each cooled plate and cooling passageways extending from said centrally disposed passageway in each cooled plate to the periphery of each cooled plate whereby liquid mercury coolant may flow from the center to the periphery of each cooled plate while in intimate cooling relationship with the heated frictional surfaces of each cooled plate; g. said cooling system further including means for supplying liquid mercury to said centrally disposed passageway in each cooled frictional plate whereby the liquid mercury coolant will flow along said cooliNg passageways to the periphery of each cooled plate; and h. said cooling system further including means for discharging heat from the heated liquid mercury coolant and away from the apparatus.