Patent ID: 7017725

Claim:
A centrifugal clutch comprising: a housing which is rotatable about an axis, said housing having a plurality of first support areas which each extend radially with respect to said axis; a pressing plate which is axially movable with respect to said housing and is coupled to said housing for rotation about said axis; a supporting element which is axially movable with respect to said housing, said support element having a plurality of second support areas which each extend radially with respect to said axis, each said second support area being separated from a respective said first support area by an axial distance which decreases with radial distance from the axis; a plurality of centrifugal members supported between respective pairs of first and second support areas, each said centrifugal member being radially displaceable by centrifugal force along the respective pair of support areas to exert force along a force transmission path between the supporting element and the pressing plate; an energy accumulator arrangement acting between the supporting element and the pressing plate to load the pressing plate away from the supporting element in a clutch engaging direction; and a clutch release arrangement for providing a releasing force in opposition to the loading of the energy accumulator arrangement.