Patent ID: 7077754

Claim:
A guard for covering the union of mating first and second shafts that extend from respective first and second bell housings and that are rotatable about and relatively telescopic along a shaft axis, the guard comprising: an inner guard sleeve extending along the shaft axis and linked to the first bell housing; an outer guard sleeve extending along the shaft axis radially outside of the inner guard sleeve and linked to the second bell housing; and a center guard sleeve extending along the shaft axis radially between the inner and outer guard sleeves, the center guard sleeve being overlapped by the outer guard sleeve and overlapping the inner guard sleeve along the shaft axis and being biased axially toward one of the inner and outer guard sleeves so as to move axially in response to telescopic movement and bridge any gap between the ends of the inner and outer guard sleeves; wherein the center guard sleeve is slideably linked to one of the inner and outer guard sleeves; wherein the center guard is linked in a tab and slot retention arrangement.