Rotary shafts – gudgeons – housings – and flexible couplings for ro – Overload release coupling – Torque transmitted via a ball
Patent
1995-10-10
1998-10-13
Dunn, Eileen A.
Rotary shafts, gudgeons, housings, and flexible couplings for ro
Overload release coupling
Torque transmitted via a ball
464 23, 192 5657, F16D 706
Patent
active
058204652
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to an overload clutch of the type having a pair of rotatable coupling elements which are relatively axially moveable and are spring biased toward each other to engage torque transmitting elements on the coupling elements.
In the case of these overload clutches, difficulties exist in handling that lead to unsafe situations during operation. These difficulties comprise the following: the adjusting nut can be adjusted too far on the spring arrangement and this leads to blocking of the spring arrangement so that the clutch no longer responds correctly; when using a plate spring arrangement that has a characteristic curve that initially ascends as one increases the spring path that is traversed and then descends and finally, ascends again, only the descending branch may be utilized in order that the torque should immediately decrease and then increase no further during the response of the clutch; the setting up of other torques and, subsequently, the restoration of the original torque by the user during operation is possible only in an inaccurate manner so that the clutch does not respond reliably at the desired torque; the initial value of the torque that is to be set up is not defined unambiguously, e.g. because reference points on the threads on one component of the clutch and inside the adjusting nut cannot be defined accurately during manufacture and, in addition, an unambiguous assignment of the starting value to a scale on the adjusting nut is not possible, as a result of which accuracy in the adjustment of torque again suffers; with deficient attentiveness, the situation can arise that a clutch of this type is taken into operation in the disengaged state or remains in this state after disengagement; and it is not always immediately apparent why the clutch has been disengaged.
The task that therefore forms the basis of the invention is to provide a remedy for these difficulties and thus to increase operational safety.
The preferred features and advantages of the invention subsequently disclosed can be combined with one another in any desired way and then they cooperate in a supplementary manner in order to improve the accomplishment of the task without mutually hindering one another.
A torque limiting safety clutch is known from German Patent Application DE-OS 30 48 090 in which the plate springs are supported by an adjusting nut that is capable of undergoing screw tightening and, in order to adapt the safety clutch, use can be made of a larger or smaller number of plate springs. After setting up the triggering torque, the adjusting nut is capable of being fixed with a grub screw.
German Patent Application DE-OS 23 41 781 shows a clutch for transmitting a limited torque using several screw-compression springs that are arranged concentrically in pairs and are inserted in the axial holes of a lid, whereby the lid can be adjusted in an axial direction by means of a bush that has been provided with a screw thread. The bush is located adjacent to a snap ring at the rear that limits its movement toward the outside.
By making use of plate springs in accordance with the invention, the arrangement, in accordance with the invention, of a stop in the path of the adjusting nut in the direction away from the spring arrangement results in the advantage that, with certainty, only the ascending branch of the characteristic curve of the plate springs is utilized.
In accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 3,012,456, a torque wrench for tightening screws is equipped with a housing in which a number of plate springs act on the tool via a sheath. The adjustment of the plate springs is brought about via a lid that is adjusted in an axial direction on the housing by means of screw threads. Gaskets are located on the plate springs in a rear sided position at the internal front wall of the lid, whereby the adjustment of the lid relative to the plate springs is transmitted by gaskets. A mark is applied at the circumference of the lid, whereby the mark points in an axial direction and indicates the adjustment
REFERENCES:
patent: 2775327 (1956-12-01), Gearhart
patent: 3012456 (1961-12-01), Dracka
patent: 3429407 (1969-02-01), Orwin et al.
patent: 3441115 (1969-04-01), Gunther
patent: 3695059 (1972-10-01), Laubauch
patent: 4373923 (1983-02-01), Kilwin
patent: 4460077 (1984-07-01), Geistoff
patent: 4538715 (1985-09-01), Konrad et al.
patent: 5005684 (1991-04-01), Fuji
patent: 5092441 (1992-03-01), Fuji
Chr. Mayr GmbH & Co. KG
Dunn Eileen A.
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