Drive device for two-shaft extruding machine

In a two-shaft extruding machine, a drive device for driving a first (44) of two screw shafts of said machine directly and driving a second (48) of said screw shafts through an intermediate shaft (46) and a pair of meshed gears (50,52), the improvement wherein said drive device comprises:

• a first shaft (12);
• a second shaft (14) disposed coaxially with said first screw shaft and rotatable integrally therewith;
• a third shaft (16) disposed coaxially with said intermediate shaft and rotatble integrally therewith;
• a first gear (18) rotatable integrally with said first shaft;
• a second gear (20) rotatable integrally with said second shaft and meshed with said first gear;
• a third gear (22) rotatably supported on said third shaft and meshed with said first gear;
• a fourth gear (26) rotatable integrally with said second shaft;
• a fifth gear (28) rotatably support on said third shaft and meshed with said fourth gear;
• a claw clutch (32,34,30,40) for coupling a selected one of said third and fifth gears to rotate integrally with said third shaft, whereby said second screw shaft can be selectively driven in one of the same and the opposite directions as said first screw shaft is driven;
• a casing (10) inside of which portions of said first, second and third shafts which respectively support said first, second and fourth, and third and fifth gears, are rotatably disposed;
• means for rotatably supporting said first, second and third shafts inside said casing and an operating mechanism (42) for operating said claw clutch from outside said casing.