Self-aligning coupling

A self-aligning coupling comprising a driving part and a driven part, said parts having grooves oriented at right angles to one another with planar flanks parallel to the axis of the respective part and planar faces perpendicular to said axes;

• a cross-disk member received between said parts and having a pair of prismatic ledges oriented at right angles to one another and respectively received in said grooves, said ledges having planar flanks each parallel to and spacedly juxtaposed with a flank of the respective groove, said member having planar faces adjoining said ledges and spacedly juxtaposed with and parallel to a respective face of one of said parts whereby each flank of a groove and an adjoining face of one of said parts is paired with a juxtaposed flank of a respective ledge and an adjoining face of said member;
• and a respective bearing element comprising a linearly extending L-profile and linearly movable cage, with legs lying between the paired faces and flanks, disposed between said parts and said members, each of said bearing elements being formed with an array of a multiplicity of thrust needle bearings in each leg engaging the paired surfaces and paired flanks with the axes of the needle bearings of one leg of each element orthogonal to the axes of the needle bearings of the other leg thereof.