Rotary shafts – gudgeons – housings – and flexible couplings for ro – Torque transmitted via flexible element – Plural flexible links connected to circumferentially spaced...
Patent
1986-10-06
1988-05-17
Stodola, Daniel P.
Rotary shafts, gudgeons, housings, and flexible couplings for ro
Torque transmitted via flexible element
Plural flexible links connected to circumferentially spaced...
464160, F16D 360
Patent
active
047447826
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to torsionally soft couplings of the type comprising input and output members respectively connectible to driving and driven shafts and interconnected by coupling elements which are flexible in the plane of rotation by torque transmitted by the coupling and by centrifugal force acting on the coupling elements such that the two members are relatively rotatable.
Such a coupling is relatively soft over a range of speeds and torques so that vibrations and fluctuations in torque on one side of the coupling are not transmitted to the other side.
BACKGROUND ART
European published application No. 34440 describes such a coupling where the coupling elements each comprise two pivoted links carried on cantilevered pins secured in the rigid flanges of the input and output members. A similar tandem arrangement is disclosed in European published application No. 95264. To be sufficiently rigid and strong such an arrangement is found in practice to be very heavy and the flanges account for about 80% of the weight of the coupling.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a coupling which is relatively light by comparison with the art but not any weaker or less capable in terms of torque, speed and stiffness characteristics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A centrifugal coupling comprises:
(i) an input member connectible to a driving shaft;
(ii) an output member connectible to a driven shaft; and,
(iii) coupling elements interconnecting said input and output members and being flexible in the plane of rotation of the coupling such that said input and output members are relatively rotatable, and in a first aspect of the invention is characterised in that one member comprises: a disc which is secured to one shaft and a ring which is axially spaced from the disc, is concentric therewith, and is connected thereto by a substantially cylindrical section, and in that pins, about which said coupling elements are arranged to pivot between the disc and ring, are supported in both the disc and ring such that radial loads imposed by the pins are shared substantially equally between the disc and ring.
The disc, cylindrical section and ring may be constructed from two substantially L-shaped section sheet-metal spinnings welded together to give a substantially U- or J- shaped section which is substantially tire-shaped.
This arrangement is much stronger than a simple flange with cantilevered pins. Firstly the pins are supported at both ends and thus are not subject to such high bending loads which can lead to distortion of any bearings on which the coupling elements may be mounted. Secondly the local moment on the flange in the region of and due to the cantilevered pin is removed, or at least substantially so and the only stresses which the flange, that is, the disc, must withstand are torsional in the plane of rotation of the coupling. It is for these reasons that the thick heavy flange used hitherto can be replaced by a sheet metal pressing or spinning.
In a second aspect of the invention the coupling is characterised in that the other member comprises:
(i) a hub for connection to the shaft;
(ii) two cup-shaped sheet metal spinnings each with a central aperture in its base of diameter equal to the diameter of the hub and welded open end to open end to each other and to the hub around the aperture; and,
(iii) bushes set and welded in axially oriented slots in, and equally distributed about, the spinnings, through which bushes the coupling elements are connected to said other member.
Each bush may comprise two half-bushes set coaxially in said axially oriented slots and between which may be formed axially perpendicular chordal slots in the spinnings, each coupling element being carried between said half-bushes on a pin supported in both half-bushes.
The hub preferably has a portion having an outside diameter larger than said apertures and each metal spinning is thus fitted onto the hub at either end of said portion before being welded together at its ends.
Such an arrangement of said other
REFERENCES:
patent: 2653457 (1953-09-01), Guernsey et al.
patent: 2837901 (1958-06-01), Chapman
patent: 3246485 (1966-04-01), Chapman
patent: 4019346 (1977-04-01), Fukuda
patent: 4031714 (1977-06-01), Faust
Harrington John P.
Wallace Neil M.
Flexibox Ltd.
Stodola Daniel P.
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