Wet disc brake or clutch with curved stator disc tabs

Claim 1

A multiple disc brake or clutch having an axis and comprising: an outer housing member with an inner coaxial cylindrical surface; a plurality of axially extending grooves in said cylindrical surface, each of said grooves including a pair of spaced apart margins and having a curved shape between said margins; a disc pack located in said housing including a plurality of rotor discs arranged for reversible rotation about said axis and interleaved with a plurality of stator discs; said stator discs each having a plurality of tabs around the periphery extending into said grooves respectively, each of said tabs having a curved outer surface; a predetermined clearance provided between each tab and its respective groove, said clearance permitting reciprocal movement of said tabs in said grooves as a result of reversals in rotation of said rotor discs; means for circulating cooling liquid through said disc pack; and each of said tabs contacting one of said margins when said rotor discs are rotating in a first direction to form a chamber between converging outer surfaces of said respective tabs and grooves for trapping foreign matter found in the cooling liquid, said chamber having an opening between the other margin of each of said grooves and said respective tab where the cooling liquid enters and having a tip defined by the contact between said tab and one margin contact where as a result of centrifugal force said foreign matter accumulates and becomes compacted.