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US 5,848,679 AGranted
Two-way differential clutch
AssigneesNtn Corporation, Aichi Kikai Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsMasaaki Saiko, Isao Mikuriya
Life of this patent
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AssigneesNtn Corporation, Aichi Kikai Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsMasaaki Saiko, Isao Mikuriya
Estimating the term…
A two-way differential clutch having sprags. It includes a mechanism that permits the sprags to be inclined instantly in the opposite direction when the rotating direction of an input gear changes over. Two cages having different diameters are mounted between the cylindrical inner surface of an input gear and the cylindrical outer surface of a rotary shaft. The large-diameter cage is fixed to the input gear while the small-diameter cage is rotatably mounted on the rotary shaft. Sprags are received in pockets formed in both cages. A friction plate is rotatably mounted on the small-diameter cage near its end. It is pressed by a resilient member against a flange of the small-diameter cage. The friction plate is nonrotatably coupled to a gear case through a rotation stopper. With this arrangement, it is possible to create a large rotating speed difference between the large-diameter cage and the small-diameter cage when the rotating direction of the input gear changes over. Thus, the sprags can be instantly inclined in the opposite direction.
A two-way differential clutch comprising an input gear having a cylindrical inner surface, a rotary shaft extending through said input gear and having a cylindrical outer surface, a large-diameter cage and a small-diameter cage mounted between said cylindrical inner surface of said input gear and said cylindrical outer surface of said rotary shaft, said larger-diameter cage being fixed to said input gear, said small-diameter cage being rotatably supported on said rotary shaft, sprags mounted in pockets formed in said cages so as to engage said cylindrical inner surface of said input gear said cylindrical outer surface of said rotary shaft when said large-diameter cage and said small-diameter cage rotate relative to each other, a friction plate rotatably mounted on said small-diameter cage at one end thereof, a resilient member biasing said friction plate against a flange provided on said small-diameter cage, and a rotation stopper means for nonrotatably coupling said friction plate to a stationary member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.