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US 5,672,110 AGranted
Torque limiter having automatic reset function
AssigneeNtn Corporation
InventorsMasahiro Kurita, Syoji Itomi, Yuji Okamoto
Life of this patent
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AssigneeNtn Corporation
InventorsMasahiro Kurita, Syoji Itomi, Yuji Okamoto
Estimating the term…
A torque limiter adapted to be automatically reset after a long period of time. The inner ring (1) has a cylindrical surface (5). A polygonal engaging surface (9) is formed on the outer ring (2) by a leaf spring in the shape of a polygonal ring. A cage (11) having pockets is provided between the inner and outer rings (1, 2). Rollers (13) received in the pockets are adapted to engage the cylindrical surface (5) and the engaging surface (9) at the narrowest portions. The inner ring (1) has an eccentric surface (15) on which is supported a bearing (16) which holds the cage (11) in a diametrically offset position. An annular portion (20) of the cage (11) is brought into contact with an annular portion (19) of the outer ring (2). As the torque increases with the rollers (13) engaged, the leaf spring (8) is deformed and the rollers (13) pass through the engaging positions, so that the clutch is disengaged. The cage (11) is further rotated by the torque transmitted from the inner ring, kept in contact with the annular portion (19) of the outer ring. Creeping thus occurs and the cage and thus the rollers are moved slowly to the next engaging positions.
A torque limiter having an automatic reset function comprising two bearing rings fitted one on the other, one of said bearing rings being connected to a driving side member and the other to a driven side member, said bearing rings having surfaces opposed to each other, one of said opposed surfaces being a cylindrical surface, the other of said opposed surfaces being engaging surfaces, a cage formed with a plurality of pockets and mounted between said bearing rings, elastically deformable engaging elements each received in said pockets and adapted to engage said cylindrical surface and said engaging surfaces, said engaging surfaces having their portions to be brought into contact with said engaging elements, and a decelerating means comprising an annular portion provided on said bearing ring connected to said driving side member and an annular portion formed on said cage, said two annular portions being kept in rolling contact with each other so that the cage is rotated at a lower speed than the bearing ring connected to the driven side member while said engaging elements are not in engagement with said bearing ring connected to said driving side member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.