US 3,946,843 AGranted

Mechanical torque transmitting device

OwnerDavid C. Downsinventor

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Abstract

A mechanical torque transmitting device such as a one-way clutch comprising a cylindrical engagement surface and one or more disc elements having members extending therefrom and flexibly attached thereto. The members are adapted to edgewise frictionally engage the cylindrical surface whereby relative rotation between the cylindrical surface and the disc elements in one direction causes frictional slippage of the members and relative rotation in the opposite direction causes tight driving engagement. In a preferred embodiment the flexible attachment of a member is spaced from the radial plane intersecting the engagement thereby providing compressive loading at the attachment during tight driving engagement. The attachment is relatively stiff in compression and flexible in bending, a bending load being applied thereto during frictional slippage. The preferred embodiments disclose versatile and economical constructions possible with the invention.

Claims23

Dependent claims

Torque transmitting means comprising, a first element having cylindrical engagement means, a second element coaxial with the first element and rotatable relative thereto;

a plurality of members integrally connected to the second element and extending therefrom, surfaces on the members adapted to frictionally engage the cylindrical engagement means, the integral connections adapted to flexibly urge the members into contact with the first element, whereby relative rotation between the first element and the second element in one direction causes slippage of the frictional engagement and opposite relative rotation causes tight frictional driving engagement;
and characterized by, the surfaces having radii of curvature substantially different from the radius of the cylindrical engagement means and the corresponding integral connections being displaced from the corresponding radii joining the frictional engagements to the cylindrical axis whereby the respective vector sums of the normal and tangential forces on the members are directed along imaginary chordal lines joining the respective frictional engagements and the centers of the integral connections during tight frictional driving engagement.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.