Clutch

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9494202-B2
Application number	US-201414906388-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 18, 2014
Priority date	Jul 25, 2013
Publication date	Nov 15, 2016
Grant date	Nov 15, 2016

Abstract

An annular groove is provided in a driving-side rotor of a clutch. Guide grooves are provided on a driven-side rotor of the clutch. By moving the driving-side rotor relative to the driven-side rotor, balls are moved that are accommodated in the spaces provided by the sections where the guide grooves and the annular groove face each other. Moving the balls toward the sections where the gap between the driving-side rotor and the driven-side rotor is narrow causes the balls to engage with the driving-side rotor and the driven-side rotor to achieve an engaged state. A disengaged state, in which engagement is cancelled, is achieved by moving the balls to the sections where the gap is wide.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A clutch comprising:
a rotary shaft;
an outer wheel and an inner wheel both rotational about an axis of the rotary shaft; and
an engagement element arranged between the outer wheel and the inner wheel, wherein
an inner circumferential surface of the outer wheel and an outer circumferential surface of the inner wheel face each other,
the inner circumferential surface of the outer wheel has an annular groove extending circumferentially along the entire circumference of the inner circumferential surface,
the outer circumferential surface of the inner wheel has a guide groove extending in a direction intersecting a plane perpendicular to the axis of the rotary shaft,
a space configured to accommodate the engagement element is provided in a section in which the guide groove and the annular groove face each other,
the engagement element is moved in the guide groove and the annular groove by moving the outer wheel and the inner wheel relative to each other in the axial direction of the rotary shaft,
by moving the engagement element toward a section in which a gap between the outer wheel and the inner wheel is smaller than a diameter of the engagement element to clamp the engagement element between the outer wheel and the inner wheel, a coupled state is achieved, in which the outer wheel and the inner wheel are coupled to each other,
by moving the engagement element to a section in which the gap between the outer wheel and the inner wheel is greater than the diameter of the engagement element, a decoupled state is achieved, in which the outer wheel and the inner wheel are decoupled from each other,
the outer wheel is a driving-side rotor and the inner wheel is a driven-side rotor,
the guide groove is a curved groove extending in the outer circumferential surface of the inner wheel in a curved manner,
the guide groove is shallower in a section in which the engagement element is arranged when in the coupled state than a section in which the engagement element is arranged when in the decoupled state, and
the guide groove is configured such that, when the decoupled state is switched to the coupled state, the engagement element moves along the guide groove in a rotating direction of the outer wheel.

2. The clutch according to claim 1 , wherein in addition to the guide groove, a helical groove extending about the axis of the rotary shaft is provided in the outer circumferential surface of the inner wheel, the clutch further comprises a locking member and an urging member configured to urge the inner wheel from a decoupling position, at which the inner wheel is decoupled from the outer wheel, toward a coupling position, at which the inner wheel is coupled to the outer wheel, and an engagement member is inserted into the helical groove and engaged with a side wall of the helical groove to move the inner wheel to the decoupling position against an urging force of the urging member.

3. The clutch according to claim 1 , wherein the curved groove is curved such that an inclination of the curved groove with respect to the rotating direction of the outer wheel becomes gradually smaller from the section in which the engagement element is arranged when in the decoupled state toward the section in which the engagement element is arranged when in the coupled state.

4. The clutch according to claim 1 , wherein the engagement element is a ball.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Sunada Hirotaka
• Nakano Shintaro
• Kobayashi Daisuke
• Oosugi Akifumi

Classifications

• F16D41/086

  the intermediate members being of circular cross-section and wedging by rolling (F16D41/10 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16D41/08

  with provision for altering the freewheeling action · CPC title

• F16D27/10

  with an electromagnet not rotating with a clutching member, i.e. without collecting rings {(F16D27/004 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• F16D15/00

  Clutches with wedging balls or rollers or with other wedgeable separate clutching members (freewheels, freewheel clutches F16D41/00) · CPC title

• F16D41/066 Primary

  all members having the same size and only one of the two surfaces being cylindrical · CPC title