Rotary shafts – gudgeons – housings – and flexible couplings for ro – Torque transmitted via flexible element – Plural circumferentially spaced elements
Patent
1990-08-22
1993-05-25
Stodola, Daniel P.
Rotary shafts, gudgeons, housings, and flexible couplings for ro
Torque transmitted via flexible element
Plural circumferentially spaced elements
464 87, 464 89, F16D 368
Patent
active
052135446
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a torsionally elastic shaft coupling.
BACKGROUND ART
Known couplings of this kind comprise stop elements engaging one another from behind in the direction of rotation of two coupling parts, with a rubber buffer being inserted between the elements to achieve torsional elasticity. These rubber buffers are blocks of full-rubber of comparatively small size compared to the couplings, whereby they are at least substantially and possibly totally stressed by pressure or tension by the mutually rotatable stops of the coupling parts.
The operational range of these couplings is characterized by only a very small angle of rotation. Moreover, such couplings are generally very noisy, that is, they transmit acoustic waves at the linkage which are practically unattenuated from one shaft to the other shaft which are connected together.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a torsionally elastic shaft coupling having large angles of rotation and compliant characteristics, while simulataneously acoustically de-coupling the input and output shafts.
Accordingly the essence of the invention rests on using comparatively bulky rubber elements instead of compact rubber buffers in order to achieve torsional elasticity, said bulky elements being inserted in cages or chambers formed in the support plates of the coupling. By making the chamber oversized, the required escape space is provided for the rubber elements. These steps result in high uniformity of the deformation stresses in the rubber elements, whereby on one hand a significant enlargement is achieved in the useful angle of rotation of such a torsionally elastic coupling, and on the other hand a service life hitherto not available with torsionally elastic couplings based on rubber elements is achieved.
The torsionally elastic properties of this coupling may be significantly improved when the rubber element comprises equally spaced cavities assuming the shape of polyhedra or spheres and of which the cross-sections are larger than the cross-sections of hollow ducts passing centrally through a series of these cavities and extending at least essentially axially over at least substantially the total height of the rubber elements. Preferably the cavities are arrayed in the manner of a cubic, inner-centered ball packing of highest density, where the distribution density decreases from the radial inside to the radial outside and preferably in at least four, preferably at least five superposed layers arranged axially in relation to the coupling or the rubber elements.
Such hollow structure of the rubber element provides both improved, compliant and wide operational ranges of the characteristic spring line on the one hand, and on the other hand and even more importantly, also improved acoustic de-coupling between the input and the output shafts.
The torsionally elastic shaft coupling of the invention may be designed both as a permanent coupling and as a detachable coupling, further as a conventional detachable coupling with a friction lining.
In the drive train of motor vehicles, the coupling preferably shall be used both as a clutch between the engine and the transmission and as a permanent coupling in the drive shaft.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is an axial topview of an opened and partly sectioned shaft coupling,
FIG. 2 is a section along II--II of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a view in the direction III of FIG. 2, and
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 1.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The torsionally elastic shaft-coupling shown in FIG. 1 consists of two coupling parts, namely the hub part 1 which is connected to a first of two shafts (not shown) to be linked, co-rotational to this shaft, and a drive part 4, which is co-rotationally connected to the other shaft.
A groove-spring collar 3 serves in known manner to connect the hub part 1 to one of the shaft. Slide bearing elements 2 secure the support plates 5 (FIG. 2) to the hub part 1.
In the embodiment of a de
REFERENCES:
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patent: 4795402 (1989-01-01), Reichardt
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Pletsch Hubert
Wolf Franz J.
Battista, Jr. William G.
Stodola Daniel P.
WOCO Franz-Josef Wolf & Co.
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