US 4,088,210 AGranted

Clutches with brake for implements

AssigneeHoffco, Inc.

InventorStephen J. Hoff

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Abstract

A coil spring clutch connects a driving hub to a driven sleeve rotatable on the hub and the sleeve drives an output or second driven member through a torque limiting clutch. The spring is readily declutched by arresting rotation of its leading end, as by interposing a stop in the path of an out-turned tang on that end, and is re-engaged by releasing the leading end. Re-engagement is characteristically abrupt and harsh, and the torque-limiting clutch in series with the spring clutch limits torque stress on the spring so that the series assembly is usable in applications which would destroy the spring clutch alone. The torque-limiting clutch may be a fully-releasable centrifugal clutch, in which case, the spring declutching mechanism may be actuated in common with or in response to application of a brake to stop the second driven member, or may be a frictionally-engaged centrifugal clutch or a spring-biased friction clutch. The driven members are desirably mounted on the driving hub in a compact unitary assembly.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A clutch assembly for the drive train of a power driven implement, comprising,

a rotary driving member comprising a hub adapted to be mounted on a shaft and having a first cylindrical portion forming a clutch face thereon,
said hub having a first reduced diameter portion adjacent said first cylindrical portion, a first driven member comprising a sleeve rotatably mounted on said first reduced portion and having a cylindrical clutch face in alignment with that on the driving member,
a helical clutch spring in clutching engagement with said clutch faces and arranged with its leading end overlying the driving member, so as to form a forward-drive clutch between the members,
a clutch release collar surrounding the clutch spring and engaged with the leading end thereof, said collar, when stopped, being operative to stop rotation of the leading end of the spring and thereby declutch the spring from the driving member,
said hub also having a second reduced portion, there being a second driven member rotatably mounted on said second reduced portion coaxially with said first driven member and including a drum,
centrifugal clutch shoes carried by said first driven member and arranged for engagement with said drum to transmit torque from the first driven member to the second driven member,
said shoes being operative on initial engagement of said spring clutch to transmit not more than a limited torque from the first driven member to the second and thereafter to transmit increased torque in response to centrifugal force.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.