Patent Application
20070119676
The present invention relates to a frictionally engaging overrunning clutch having an annular space formed between an inner raceway and an outer raceway, in which annular space are arranged clamping bodies which are held in a cage.
An overrunning clutch of the type mentioned in the introduction is, for example, known from DE 1 142 254 B. Two cages, which are provided for guiding the clamping bodies, are arranged in the annular space of said overrunning clutch, one of which cages is embodied as a ring made from resiliently elastic sheet metal. Said cage has cut-outs which are separated from one another by transverse webs which are arranged one behind the other in the peripheral direction and are arranged in the axial direction of the overrunning clutch. A resilient tongue extends from a transverse web into each cut-out, said tongue in each case exerting a force on a clamping body. The entire cage, which is manufactured from resilient sheet metal, is mounted radially within a second cage. The overall cage design of the known overrunning clutch is complex.
The invention is based on the object of specifying a frictionally engaging overrunning clutch which, while providing unrestricted functionality, is distinguished in that it is particularly simple to assemble.
Said object is achieved according to the invention by means of an overrunning clutch having the features of claim 1. Said overrunning clutch has, in a manner known per se, an inner raceway and an outer raceway, between which is formed an annular space in which are guided individual clamping bodies which are arranged one behind the other in the peripheral direction in cut-outs of the cage. Individual transverse webs, which run in the axial direction, are situated between the cut-outs. Spring elements project from the transverse webs into the respectively adjacent cut-out in order to exert a force on the clamping bodies. The transverse webs can be part of the cage and/or of the spring elements. According to the invention, at that side of the transverse web which faces away from the spring element, at least one retaining lug, which serves to retain a clamping body, extends into the adjacent cut-out of the cage in the peripheral direction.
Here, the transverse web, the spring element and the at least one retaining lug are preferably manufactured in one piece, in particular from a resilient metal sheet. Said single-piece spring retaining element thus interacts, in one case resiliently and in the other case not resiliently or resiliently to only a negligible degree, with two clamping bodies which are arranged one behind the other in the peripheral direction. In a preferred embodiment, one separate spring retaining element of said type, which is attached to the cage as a so-called spring carrier, is situated in each case between two adjacent cut-outs of the cage. The overall number of spring carriers in the overrunning clutch therefore corresponds to the number of clamping bodies. Clamping rollers are preferably used as clamping bodies, said clamping rollers being distinguished in that they are particularly economical to produce, in particular in contrast to custom-made clamping bodies which are known in principle, for example, from DE 1 142 254 B. In addition, the clamping rollers are distinguished in that they have a particularly small spatial requirement in the radial direction. The cage which serves to guide the clamping bodies and to retain the spring carrier is preferably manufactured from plastic, in particular from fibre-reinforced plastic.
According to one preferred embodiment, the spring element is fastened to, that is to say integrally formed with, the transverse web in the central region of the latter and has two spring limbs which project out axially from said fastening region. The spring limbs are formed from a strip-shaped material portion which is angled so as to be approximately perpendicular, in particular at an angle of more than 60°, to the transverse web, and therefore runs approximately in a plane in which the rotational axis of the overrunning clutch lies. The spring element therefore has only a small spatial requirement within the annular space in the peripheral direction. This favours the close arrangement of clamping bodies in the annular space, and therefore the transmission of high torques, with a relatively compact design.
The width of the spring limb does not deviate from the width of the transverse web by any more than 50%, in particular by any more than 20%. With a narrow design of the transverse webs, the spring element therefore also has only a low spatial requirement within the annular space in the radial direction.
In the axial direction of the overrunning clutch, the spring limbs which are held on a transverse web preferably extend in total over at least 70% of the length of the transverse web, the transverse web being longer than the clamping bodies, in particular clamping rollers. The available axial installation space is therefore largely taken up by the spring elements.
The retaining lugs which adjoin the transverse webs have the particular advantage that they prevent the clamping bodies falling out of the cage during assembly, in particular when the cage without the outer raceway is placed on the inner raceway. The retaining lugs, however, should not only contribute to holding the clamping body in the cage, but should also simultaneously allow the clamping bodies to be inserted into the cage from the outside. In a preferred embodiment, allowance is made for these contradictory requirements in that the length, measured in the peripheral direction, of a retaining lug does not exceed 1.5 times the width, likewise measured in the peripheral direction, of a transverse web. This applies both to embodiments having one retaining lug and also to embodiments having two or more retaining lugs per transverse web. In any case, it is possible for the clamping bodies, in particular clamping rollers, to be automatically inserted into the cage of the overrunning clutch radially from the outside in a simple manner.
Two exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in the following on the basis of a drawing, in which:
Situated axially adjacent to the cage 5 which guides the clamping bodies 2 is a further cage 7 in which cylindrical roller bodies 8 are guided, so that a rolling bearing arrangement is provided between the inner raceway 3 and the outer raceway. Like the cage 5 for the clamping rollers 2, the cage 7 for the rolling bodies 8 is also preferably manufactured from plastic, for example from glass-fibre-reinforced plastic. It is also possible to manufacture one single-piece plastic cage which performs the function of both cages 5 and 7.
The individual spring elements 6 are in each case part of a spring carrier 9 which is illustrated in detail in
Two retaining arms 13 are attached, so as to be angled away, to the transverse web 10 at the side which faces away from the transition piece 11 and at the outer sides, that is to say in the vicinity of the end sides of the clamping rollers 2, with said retaining arms 13, when viewed axially, completing a retaining contour which allows the spring carrier 9 to be clipped onto the cage 5. The spring elements 6 are placed onto the cage 5 before the latter is filled with clamping bodies 2. The width BQ of the transverse webs 10 approximately corresponds to the width of the plastic transverse webs of the cage 5 between adjacent cut-outs 4. The width of the spring limbs 12 is denoted by BF and approximately corresponds to the width BQ of the transverse web 10.
When the cage 5, which has been provided with the spring carriers 9 and placed on the inner raceway 3, is filled with clamping bodies 2, a force is exerted on said clamping bodies 2 primarily in the tangential direction by means of the spring limbs 12. As can be seen in particular from
In the exemplary embodiment according to
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2005 056 220.5 | Nov 2005 | DE | national |
