US 2025/0334151 A1 · RIGID-FLOATING FLEXIBLE TORQUE COUPLER

Abstract

A rigid-floating flexible torque coupler includes a pair of ball-and-socket joints attached to opposite ends of a rigid shaft that form a single torque shaft. Each socket is configured to be rigidly attached, and possibly integrally formed, to a drive/driven shaft. Each ball-and-socket has opposing ball and socket surfaces that interfere and to prevent rotation of the ball relative to the socket to transfer torque upon rotation of the drive shaft while allowing the ball to pivot within the socket to tolerate lateral or angular offsets of the drive and driven shafts. Each socket may have sufficient depth to allow the ball (single torque shaft) to be displaced axially to tolerate axial misalignment of the drive and driven shafts. The single torque shaft is not rigidly attached. At rest in a nominally aligned state, the single torque shaft and balls “float” within the pair of sockets. In operation, the points of interference of the opposing surface may be constantly changing depending on the misalignment while maintaining the transfer of torque.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A rigid-floating flexible torque coupler to couple torque from a drive shaft that rotates about an axis to a driven shaft, the flexible coupler comprising:

a single torque shaft including first and second balls rigidly attached at opposing ends of a rigid shaft;
a first socket configured to be rigidly attached to the drive shaft, said first socket configured to receive the first ball;
a second socket configured to be rigidly attached to the driven shaft, said second socket configured to receive the second ball;
wherein said first socket and first ball and said second socket and second ball are each configured with opposing ball and socket surfaces that interfere to transfer torque upon rotation of the drive shaft about the axis while allowing the ball to pivot within the socket to tolerate lateral or angular offset of the drive and driven shafts.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Rigid-floating flexible torque coupler

Life of this patent

Rigid-floating flexible torque coupler

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims19