Elastic coupling with shaped elastic members for setting a circumferential/axial elasticity ratio

An elastic coupling for connecting a driving shaft and a driven shaft to transmit power from one shaft to the other shaft, comprising:

• a disc member having a central hole formed therein;
• the disc member having recesses opening outwardly to a periphery of said disc member and extending through said disc member in directions parallel an axis of said central hole to open at opposing surfaces of said disc member;
• elastic members disposed in the recesses;
• first connecting members for connection to the driving shaft, disposed diametrically in the disc member on a circle concentric with the central hole and within alternate ones of said elastic members;
• other connecting members for connection to the driven shaft, disposed diametrically in the disc member on the concentric circle and within other alternate ones of said elastic members, the driving and driven connecting members being alternately and regularly spaced from one another;
• and
• said elastic members surrounding the circumferences of the first connecting members and the other connecting members;
• each of the elastic members defining a gap between an inner side portion of each elastic member facing the center of the concentric circle and the bottom of the respective recess in the disc member to avoid joining each elastic member to the disc member at the gap;
• the elastic members being exposed at respective outermost end portions thereof away from the center of the concentric circle, where the recesses open outwardly, to avoid joining the elastic members to the disc member at the outermost end portion of each elastic member;
• and
• the elastic members being joined to the disc member only at portions other than their respective innermost and outermost portions, whereby the elastic member is elastically harder in a direction circumferentially thereof than axially thereof.