GB931836A - Flexible couplings - Google Patents

Abstract

931,836. Universal joints. G. S. McLAY. Sept. 28, 1961 [Nov. 15, 1960; Feb. 22, 1961; April 5, 1961], Nos. 39221/60, 6511/61 and 12207/61. Class 80 (2). To obtain more even loading of rubber &c. pads 42 in a universal joint of the type comprising interdigitating axial fins 34, 36 on hubs fast with driving and driven shafts, the pads are formed with opposite smooth faces lying in planes which intersect in lines 44, 45 parallel to but beyond the axis 43 of the joint. In the form shown, two pads 42 and a solid wedge 41 between each pair of fins 34, 36 form a resilient element 37, outwards movement of the rubber pads being prevented by a cap plate 39 bolted in position. A tie-rod 38 connects the resilient element 37 to a similar diametrically opposite element (not shown). The fins 34, 36 are so spaced that the hubs can easily be separated by relative radial movement. The pads 42 may be bonded &c. to the wedge 41. In one modification, Fig. 4 (the second Provisional Specification) (not shown), the pads are bonded to the solid wedge and are formed with inner projections abutting plates bolted to the driving and driven fins. In another modification, Figs. 5, 6 (the third Provisional Specification) (not shown), two pads are bonded to opposite sides of a parallel-sided plate to make each resilient element, and a cylindrical shroud bolted to one of the hubs surrounds the joint to prevent the elements flying radially outwards. The plates may alternatively be wedge-shaped, the greatest thickness of these wedges lying towards the joint axis. Figs. 1, 2 (the first Provisional Specification) (also not shown) illustrate a known similar universal joint having the planes containing the smooth side faces of the resilient pads intersecting in a line coincident with the axis of the joint.