Improvements in Friction-clutches.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Apr., 1895-4ccepted, 18th May, 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Friction-clutches.
I, JOHN WALKER, of 576 West Adams Street, in the City of Chicago, County
of Cook and State of Illinois, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer,
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 :-
My invention relates to that class of friction-clutches in which one member is
moved lengthwise of the shaft toward another member for the purpose either of
causing the engagement of said members or of causing them to grasp an interposed
drum, disk, or series of disks. Devices of the above class may be employed either
to frictionally couple together two independent shafts arranged in the same
axial line or to connect at will a shaft and a pulley or gear loosely mounted
thereon.
My invention, hereinafter described and claimed, relates to the mechanism with
which the movable friction member is caused to slide toward and from the fixed
member of a clutch of the above-described class.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a clutch provided with my invention, the left half
of the view being a longitudinal section in the plane indicated by line 1, 1,
in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 is an end view of said clutch from the under side of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view in the plane indicated by line 33 of
Fig. 2 through the sliding clutch member and the parts on the left of said member,
as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the wedge and its operating toggle, showing the
movements of the parts.
Fig. 5 is a view of the parts shown in Fig. 4, viewed from the under side of
said figure.
Fig. 6 is a detached view of the link G2, and
Fig. 7 is a detached view of one of the links G.
Referring now to the parts by letters, A represents the shaft, and B a sleeve
keyed thereto, having the flange b, which lies in a plane at right angles to the axis
of the shaft.
. C represents a sleeve, which surrounds and is slidable on the sleeve B, but is
compelled to revolve with it by reason of a tongue-and-groove connection between
them. The sleeve C is provided with a flauge c, which is parallel to the flange b.
The sleeve C and its flange constitute the movable, clutch member and the
flange is the fixed clutch member. The movement of the flange c toward the
flange 6 causes the interposed loose part or parts, which are shown in the drawings
in the form of a series of disks J K, to be grasped between them.
A collar D surrounds the sleeve B, and is held in fixed relation to the sleeve B
(and consequently to the shaft A) during the clutching and unclutching movements
of the sleeve C. At suitable intervals the proximate faces of the collar D and
sleeve C are provided with oppositely-bevelled surfaces, against which the
wedges E act.
c represents a bracket, which is rigid with the flange cand projects therefrom
over the rear end of the sleeve C. There are as many of these brackets as there
are wedges employed.

page_text: F represents a jaw-piece. There are several of these jaw-pieces, one of which
is secured by means of the threaded stud f¹ and nut f to each of said brackets,
aud extends therefrom inward toward the axis of the shaft. These jaw-pieces
may be adjusted by the insertion of metallic packing between them and the
brackets to which they are attached, whereby the wedges E are moved farther
inward when the toggle is straightened, as hereinafter explained.
E represents a wedge which is adapted to be thrust inward toward the axis of the
shaft between and in engagement with the bevelled surfaces above mentioned on
the faces of the sleeve Cand collar D, thereby causing the sleeve C to move away
from the collar D and consequently toward the flange b.
Each of the wedges E is moved outward and inward between the sleeve C and
collar D by means of a toggle. The inner link G of the toggle is pivoted to the
wedge E, and the outer link G' is pivotally connected to one of the jaw pieces F.
When the toggle is straightened, the wedges are forced inward between the
faces of the fixed collar D and movable sleeve C, with the result herein before
set forth.
G2 represents a link which connects the toggle joint with the longitudinally-
sliding sleeve L, whereby when the sleeve is moved in one direction its movement,
transmitted through the link G2, straightens the toggle, while its motion in the
opposite direction bends the toggle, which thereby draws the wedge outward.
The sleeve L, as shown, is mounted on the collar D, with which it is connected by
means of a tongue and groove.
The means provided for positively moving the sleeve C and its flange c away
from the flange consists of the rods M, which slide through suitable orifices
parallel with the axis of the shaft formed in the sliding sleeve L and which screw
into a lug c on the sleeve C or are connected therewith in some other suitable
manner.
m m¹ are nuts adjustable upon the rod M, lying on opposite sides of the sleeve L.
In moving the sleeve L forward to straighten the toggle the nut in acts as a stop
to limit this forward movement. When the sleeve L is moved backward, it first
bends the toggle, and thereby causes the withdrawal of the wedges, which leaves
the sleeve C free to be moved backward. A further movement of the sleeve L
brings. it against the nut m', whereby as the sleeve L is still further moved, its
movement is transmitted through the rod M to the sleeve C, which is thereby
drawn positively backward. As many of these rods M and their nuts may be
employed as desired, and the same statement may be made relative to the wedges
and their operating-toggles. I have shown six systems of mechanisms for moving
the sleeve C in both directions; but this number may be varied, as circumstances
require.
For the purpose of making the invention herein before explained, as inexpensive
and as durable as possible, I have devised the specific construction shown in the
drawings that is to say, the links G G¹ are both alike, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7.
The ends of said links, which are connected together, are made as shown at the
top of Fig. 7-that is, they have an extension g half as wide as said link, which is
finished in cylindrical form. The other half of the end of said link is finished
with a concave cylindrical surface g'. The extension on each link rests and
operates against the concave surface gl on the other link. The opposite ends of
the said links are finished in cylindrical form and set between ears e e on the
wedges E and between ears ff on the jaw-piece F, respectively, and bear against
concave cylindrical surfaces on said parts between said ears. The link G is
bifurcated, as shown in Fig. 6, and the toggle-joint lies between the two ears g³ g³.
The cylindrical ends of the links G G bear against a concave cylindrical surface g
on the link G2 between said ears 'g. The three pivot-bolts G, which connect
the toggle links with each other, with the link G2, with the wedge E, and with
the jaw-piece F, are, by reason of the above-described construction, of the same
length, and while they serve to hold the parts in place they are not called upon to
bear any of the strain incident to straightening the toggle-joint.

page_text: 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:
1. In a friction-clutch, in combination, a longitudinally-movable clutch member,
a fixed collar, a wedge interposed between the proximate faces of said clutch
member and collar, a toggle, one arm of which is pivoted to said wedge and the
other arm to the clutch member, and means for operating said toggle, substantially
as set forth.
2. In a friction-clutch, in combination, a longitudinally-movable clutch member
having a flange at its forward end, a bracket on said flange extending rearward
over the rear end of said clutch member, a fixed collar, a wedge interposed between
said fixed collar and the rear end of the movable clutch member, a toggle, one link
of which is pivoted to said wedge and the other link to said bracket, a sliding
sleeve L, and a link connecting said sleeve and the toggle, substantially as set
forth.
3. In a friction-clutch, a sleeve C, having a flange c, which surrounds the shaft
and is adapted to be moved lengthwise thereof, a bracket c', rigid with said flange,
a collar D, fixed with relation to said shaft, and a movable wedge interposed
between the proximate faces of said sleeve and collar, combined with a toggle,
one arm of which is adjustably connected with the said bracket, the other arm
being connected to said wedge, a sliding sleeve L, and a link pivotally connected
with said sleeve and toggle, substantially as set forth.
4. In a friction-clutch, a longitudinally-movable clutch member, a sliding sleeve,
and mechanism operated by said sliding sleeve, whereby the said clutch member is
moved in the clutching direction, combined with rods secured to such clutch
member, lying parallel to the axis of the shaft on which the clutch mechanism is
supported and extending through said sleeve, and adjustable stops secured to said
rods on both sides of said sleeve, substantially as set forth.
5. In a friction-clutch, a fixed collar D, a longitudinally-movable clutch member,
wedges inserted between the proximate faces of said collar and clutch member, said
wedges having the ears e e and a concave bearing-surface between them, and the
jaw-pieces F, each having ears ff and a concave bearing-surface between them,
combined with toggles consisting each of the similar links G G¹, having one
cylindrical end, and having at the other end the cylindrical extension g and the
concave bearing-surface g, the bifurcated link G2, having the concave bearing-
surface g, the pins G', connecting said links with each other and with said wedges
and jaw-pieces, respectively, and a sliding sleeve, to which the link G' is pivotally
connected, substantially as set forth.
Dated the 28th day of March 1905.
UT
JOHN WALKER.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.