An Improved Friction Clutch.
Year: 1897

page_text: An Improved Friction Clutch.
We, THOMAS ROBERT ROSSITER, of Kingshill Villa, Knowle, in the County of
Somerset, Engineer, and DONALD NOBLE, of 87, Victoria Street, Bristol, in the
County of Gloucester, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
This invention relates to an improved Friction Clutch applicable to main driving
shafts, and to various other purposes where friction clutches can be employed.
The said invention is designed more particularly to overcome the objection which
applies to such clutches as usually constructed from the fact that the pressure of
the loose portion of the clutch against the fast portion thereof is apt to throw
a considerable strain upon the shaft bearings or upon the mechanism being
driven.
Now according to our invention the fast portion of the clutch comprises two
parts in rotary connection with each other but so arranged side by side that the
distance between them can be varied. These two parts are acted on by springs
which tend to press them together and between them is situated the frictional
device of the loose portion of the clutch. The arrangement is such that they
normally press equally in opposite directions against the said friction device and
so form a driving connection therewith. The pressure of one part thus counter-
acts that of the other and a balanced action is obtained, entirely obviating any
strain or endwise pressure on the shaft or bearings.
Means are provided whereby the fast parts can be caused to open or separate
when it is desired that the driving connection should cease.
The friction device of the loose portion of the clutch may consist of an annular
disc of any suitable metal or material but the said device may be in the form
of a double cone or a conical ring, or it may be of any other suitable shape, the
two parts of the fast portion of the clutch being correspondingly shaped.
The driving power is transmitted to a pulley, cone or the like connected with
the aforesaid loose portion in any convenient manner.
According to one arrangement the fast portion of the clutch comprises a pair
of discs which can be moved apart slightly by means of a forked lever (or other
equivalent separating device) on one of them, the end of which lever projects from
the side of the disc in which it is mounted. The two discs are kept in rotary
connection say by a pin on one projecting into a hole in the other. They are also
normally pressed together by springs which may be coiled round bolts secured in
one disc and extending through holes in the other.
The loose portion of the clutch comprises an annular disc or washer of leather
or other suitable material carried by a metal ring secured to the driving pulley
or cone, the said ring revolving outside the fast parts of the clutch and the washer
projecting into the space between the said parts. The latter are so arranged that
when they are in the normal position they grip the washer, but when moved

page_text: apart by the separating device they release it and allow it to revolve freely
without transmitting any motion to the shafting or machinery.
The separating device if it be a pivotted lever such as referred to, may be
operated by a wedge shaped projection adapted to engage with its extremity as
the fast portion of the clutch revolves. Obviously however if some other device
than a pivotted lever were employed, the means for operating the same would be
modified accordingly. For example the separation of the two fast parts of the
clutch might be effected in some cases by means of hand levers each connected
with one of the parts by a pin and groove connection.
Dated this 22nd day of February 1897.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
We, THOMAS ROBERT ROSSITER, of Kingshill Villa, Knowle, in the County of
Somerset, Engineer, and DONALD NOBLE, of 87, Victoria Street, Bristol, in the
County of Gloucester, 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:-
This invention relates to an improved friction clutch applicable to main
driving shafts, and to various other purposes where friction clutches can be
employed. The said invention is designed more particularly to overcome the
objection which applies to such clutches as usually constructed from the fact that
the pressure of one portion of the clutch against the other portion thereof is apt
to throw a considerable stress upon the shaft bearings or upon the mechanism
being driven.
Now according to our invention one portion of the clutch, that is to say the
gripping portion or device, comprises two parts in rotary connection with each
other, but so arranged side by side that the distance between them can be varied.
These two parts are acted on by springs which tend to press them together and a
between them is situated the friction device of the other portion of the clutch.
The arrangement is such that the gripping parts normally press equally, in
opposite directions, against the said friction device and so form a driving con-
nection therewith. The pressure of one part thus counteracts that of the other
and a balanced action is obtained, entirely obviating any stress or endwise a
pressure on the shaft or bearings.
Means are provided whereby the said gripping parts can be caused to open or
separate when it is desired that the driving connection should cease.
The friction device of the clutch may consist of an annular disc of any suitable
metal or material, or the said device may be in the form of a double cone or a
conical ring, or it may be of any other suitable shape, the aforesaid parts of the
gripping portion of the clutch being correspondingly shaped.
The driving power is transmitted to a pulley, cone or the like connected with
the friction device, in any convenient manner.
In order that our invention may be clearly understood and readily carried 4
into effect we will proceed to describe the same by aid of the accompanying
drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of one construction of clutch, showing
the parts in their inoperative position and

page_text: Figure 2 is an end view of the said clutch.
aa are the two parts of the gripping portion of the clutch and b is the shaft
or spindle on which they are free to revolve, but on which the part a is prevented
from moving endwise by a collar a².
This shaft is hollow and has oil-holes or passages 61 for admitting lubricant to
the interior thereof and thence to the parts mounted thereon. The shaft itself is
rigidly secured in a bracket or bearing 6 fixed say to some convenient stationary
part of the machine frame and has an oil hole 62 corresponding to one of the oil
holes . The part a¹ of the clutch consists of an annular disc and is connected
by bolts c with a corresponding disc d situated on the opposite side of the part a
and surrounding the boss a³ of the said part.
ee are the springs which tend to press the parts a a¹ together so as to produce
the gripping action.
These springs surround the bolts c and, being compressed between the ring d
and the part a, tend to force the said ring away from the part a and draw the
part a up to it through the medium of the bolts c.
f is the friction device forming the other portion of the clutch, which device
in this case consists of a leather washer secured by screws f¹ to a loose speed cone
or driving pulley g, on the shaft b, this cone receiving the driving belt leading
from the source of power.
The edge of the cone g to which the washer f is fastened, revolves outside the
parts aa of the clutch, and the said washer extends inward between the said
parts and is normally held or nipped between them, so providing a driving con-
nection between the speed cone, and the gripping portion of the clutch.
In the arrangement shown, the part a of the said gripping portion of the clutch
has a grooved periphery a adapted to receive a band to transmit the motion
received from the washer f to the apparatus to be driven. It will be readily
understood however that such motion may be transmitted by gearing or otherwise
or be taken from the said shaft direct, if the latter be arranged to revolve with
the gripping portion of the clutch.
The means for separating the gripping parts a al of the clutch, so as to cause
the driving connection to cease, consists of a forked lever h pivotted at h¹ to the
bracket or to some other suitable stationary part near the clutch. The shorter
forked arm of this lever is bent over the clutch at right angles, the two parts of
fingers situated at opposite sides of the centre of the ring d and provided on
the sides adjacent to the said ring with leather or other suitable pads h³.
The lever his operated in any suitable manner say by links, cords, or levers
(not shown) connected to an eye on one end of the longer portion of the lever,
the arrangement being such that the lever will press the pads h³ laterally against
the ring when desired.
When the lever is thus operated, the ring d is pressed towards the parts a of
the clutch, and at the same time moves the part a¹ away from the said part a
into the position shown in Figure 1, thus releasing the leather washer f and so
interrupting the driving connection with the speed cone; at the same time the
pads act very efficiently as brakes upon the ring d and thus serve to bring the
parts a al positively and instantaneously to rest.
The lever may be acted on by a spring such as 5, which tends to constantly
move it in such a direction as to throw the clutch out of action, the said spring
being sufficiently powerful to overcome the action of the smaller springs e.
It will also be obvious that, any other suitable separating device may be
employed instead of the lever h, for causing the gripping portion of the clutch to
release the washer f.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
1. A friction clutch, one portion of which comprises two parts adapted to press

page_text: equally in opposite directions against the other portion of the clutch, substantially
as and for the purpose described.
2. A friction clutch one portion of which comprises two parts in rotary con-
nection with each other, the said parts being acted on by springs which tend to
press them together so as to grip the opposite sides of an annular friction ring
forming the other portion of the clutch, substantially as and for the purposes
described.
3. A friction clutch constructed and operating substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 17th day of December 1897
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.