An improved Universal Joint.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 11th May, 1895
An improved Universal Joint.
1, WILHELM KRITZLER Jr., Manufacturer of Gummersbach in the Province
of Rhineland and Kingdom of Prussia do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The attempt has long been made, to construct a joint-coupling possessing the
qualities of the universal joint, without having its drawbacks. It is well known,
that in the universal joint the uniform motion, which is to be transferred does not
remain uniforin and besides. that the projecting parts form a danger for a person
engaged at the gearing.
In the joint-coupling represented in the accompanying drawing in Figs. 1 to 4
these drawbacks are avoided.
The arrangement and manner of acting of this coupling are as follows:
The head of the one shaft bears a hollow spherical piece a having the size of
more that half a sphere, in which the strong bolt 6 lies at. right angles to the axle
of the shaft and having the same axis as the diameter of the ball. This spherical
piece a may either be wedged on or, as is shown in the drawing, be pressed on the
shaft, or be secured in any other way to it, and may also be made of one piece with
the end of the shaft. At the end of the other shalt there is also a hollow spherical
picce c, the inside diameter of which corresponds to the outside diameter of a,
Secured in a similar manner. This piece e, is however distinguished from the
spherical a by the straight-socket-shaped marginal ring d, in which a ring d, turned
hollow on the inner side also towards the radius of the sphere may be put in and
fastened, in order thereby to hold fast the spherical piece a placed in c as Figs. 2
and 3 show. Inside the half-sphere c the shaft e projects and is formed as an
eye, the opening of which is oval in the direction of the shaft e and receives the
bolt while allowing it a free motion in the longitudinal direction of the opening.
If we assume that the shaft e is driven direct, the eye will take along the
bolt 6 and 6 the half-sphere a attached to the other shaft e, and the motion starting
from a will be transmitted in the reverse manner when e, is the driving shaft. If
the shaft, that is driven forms an angle with the driving shaft, the bolt b will,
while the spherical piece a is rotating in c, sometimes lay itself in the diagonal of
the opening of the eye f, sometimes rotate about its own axis and sometimes perform
both motions at the same time. These motions of the bolt b gradually merge one
into the other, so that as a result the shaft end e̟ is uniformly moved and taken
along by the shaft c.
This coupling allows of an angle of deflection of the one shaft towards the other
of about 45° from one side to the other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare, that what I
claim is :-
Joint-coupling, distinguished by the arrangement of the hollow bodies a and c of
more than a balt sphere size in each other, a bearing at the outside the one shaft ei,
inside however at right angles to e₁ and having the same axis with a diameter of

page_text: the sphere, the pivot-bolt b, while c has inside a continuation of the shaft e in the
shape of an eye f, in the slit of which the bolt 6 can play and turn.
Dated this 21st day of March 1895.
For WILHELM KRITZLER, JR.,
Bernhard
Brockhues.