Patent ID: 7972121
Filing Date: 2011-07-05
Classification: F04D,F16D,H02K

Abstract:
1. A limited free-motion coupling device coupling an impeller to a shaft of a rotor, the coupling device comprising a first part and a second part which are axially engaged for relative angular displacement about a rotational axis, and two spherical coupling members for engaging the first and second parts to prevent the said relative angular displacement, one of the first and second parts being provided on the shaft of the rotor, and the other of the first and second parts being provided on the impeller, the first part comprising two spaced coupling member arms which extend in the axial direction of the coupling device and which project radially, the second part comprising a cylindrical wall extending coaxially with the rotational axis of the coupling device, and two spaced arcuate channels which are formed in the cylindrical wall, each said coupling member being received in and projecting radially from a respective said arcuate channel and being freely movable between ends of the arcuate channel, so that, as one of the first and second parts rotates relative to the other of the first and second parts, the coupling member arms of the first part engage and move the coupling members along the respective arcuate channels until the coupling members abut the ends of the arcuate channels, thus locking the first and second parts relative to each other.