Patent ID: 7758041
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: B65H,F16D

Abstract:
1. A clutch apparatus for connecting or disconnecting power transmission from a drive side gear with gear teeth, which is driven by a drive motor for rotation, to a driven side gear, comprising: a cam which has an inclined face portion and a recessed portion and is provided on a driven rotary shaft of the driven side gear or a gear that is engaged at a downstream side of drive transmission of the driven side gear; a cam follower provided to press contact the cam by the urging force of a torsion spring; a clutch member that has an engaging pawl and a toothed portion that is engageable with the drive side gear, and that is switchable along a pivot locus between a clutch engaged state between the toothed portion and the drive side gear and a clutch non-engaged state therebetween as the clutch member swings; an arm that is pivotable about a pivot fulcrum; a clutch engaging portion that is provided on the arm and engageable with the engaging pawl; and a lever member that swings the clutch member to switch from the clutch engaged state to the clutch non-engaged state in such a manner that the clutch member and the driven side gear engage the engaging pawl with the clutch engaging portion, wherein the toothed portion of the clutch member and the gear teeth of the drive side gear are formed so at least a portion of the pivot locus of the toothed portion of the clutch member engages with the gear teeth of the drive side gear when switching to the clutch non-engaged state, wherein the cam follower slides along the inclined face of the cam and into the recessed portion by the urging force of the torsion spring as the cam rotates, and wherein the cam follower sliding along the inclined face of the cam causes the driven rotary shaft to switch from engaging with the driven side gear to engaging with the drive side gear so that the driving force of the drive motor causes the clutch member to rotate so that the engaging pawl engages the clutch engaging portion in the clutch non-engaged state.