Because of its shape this is described as a diaphragm spring, but in general engineering, it is perhaps better known as a Belleville spring, so named after the French civil engineer Julian Belleville who obtained a British patent for this form of spring as long ago as 1866. Basically, this spring comprises an annular disc initially dished to a conical shape. A compressive load applied to the disc tends to flatten it out, and a spring action is provided as the disc tries to regain its shape. Unlike a coil spring, the compressive load first increases with deflection of the disc and then, as the disc becomes more nearly flat, the load actually decreases with increased deflection, a characteristic unique to this type of spring. In practice, it means that the load may be held constant over a considerable range of deflections. This is a particularly useful attribute as far as the motor vehicle clutch is concerned since it can be arranged for the clamping force on the Centre plate to be l
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