Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Albert D Johnston

Frederick E Lederman

Steven F Baker

Edward W Molloy

Joseph L Tengowski

Ellen Christine Stanton

Ernest G Steele

A roller control car type roller clutch with simplified installation of cars to cage. Each cage pocket includes a pair of parallel, axially flexible side rails arrayed generally along the shallow arcuate travel path of a roller. Each control car fits closely between the side rails, in their free and unflexed state, and includes a track which forces the rails axially apart when the cars are pushed radially in between the rails in a straight line motion. The rails snap back and into the track to slidably capture the cars. Neither the roller nor the spring is necessary to the retention of car to cage, and the car need not be carefully aligned with the rails before installation.

Roller clutch with snap fit roller control cars

A one piece, molded plastic roller clutch cage has the heavy, rigid cross bars of adjacent pockets joined together by circumferentially flexible connecting members. The connecting members are located entirely within the space between pockets, and have no effect of the shape or structure of either the side rails or the cross bars of the pockets. When the cage expands or contracts with rising or falling temperatures, the curved connecting members can open or close, allowing the adjacent cross bars of adjacent pockets to move together or apart, thereby avoiding excess compression or tension in the cage.

Temperature compensating roller clutch cage

A dual roller clutch assembly with cages and cam races that cooperate to assure both that the cages are properly installed to the cam races and that the cam races are properly assembled relative to each other. The same structure also retains the cam races and cages together as a secure subassembly. Stops molded to the cages prevent incorrect installation of the cages to the cam races by blocking axial insertion in the incorrect direction. Locating notches in selected cam race end faces prevent incorrect relative positioning of the cam race-roller cage subassemblies by engaging a two-sided rib on the cages only when the cam races are properly oriented. The same two-sided rib retains the cam races axially together.

Dual roller clutch assembly with assembly integrity assurance

An improved twist lock installed roller clutch cage uses axially central ribs on the bottom of the journal blocks that move into matching grooves in the bearing surfaces of the cam race when the cage is twisted into place. This retains the cage axially to the cam race, but leaves the end faces of the cam race totally unobstructed.

Roller clutch with improved installation

A self seating roller clutch cage is molded with lead in ramps next to its cam hook engaging reacting faces, so that the cage need only be partially registered with the cam race before it is pushed in. Pushing the cage straight in alone acts to twist the cage to the point where the reaction faces and cam hooks are fully aligned.

Roller clutch with simplified installation

Roller control cars are securely retained to a cage by using the crush length of the roller energizing springs to prevent guide tabs of the cars from backing out of guide tracks on the cage.

Overrunning roller clutch with improved shipping retention

A ratchet device is provided in a roller clutch that acts between the ends of the rollers so as to allow the rollers to turn only in the wind up direction, thereby allowing quick change from overrun to lock up, but preventing roller spin and cam wear curing overrun.

Roller clutch with roller spin control

A roller clutch cage combines the advantages of easily molded plastic cross bars with the strength of steel side rails, but is assembled without the need for any rivets or the deformation of any metal part. Cooperating flexible arms and fulcrum surfaces molded to each end of each plastic cross bar tightly grip the side rails, providing a very rigid structure.

Metal and plastic combination roller clutch cage

A thrust type one-way roller clutch includes a means to assure that the centrifugal force of rotation does not destabilize the ready position of the rollers. The cam ramp surfaces are angularly offset from a radial line in a direction opposite to the allowed direction of relative race rotation. The energizing springs bias the rollers toward a ready position of light engagement with the cam ramp surfaces, thus maintaining the rollers with their individual axes similarly angularly offset. As a consequence, the centrifugal force of rotation will cause the rollers to move in a direction toward ready position only.

Thurst type one-way roller clutch

An overrunning roller clutch with a double row of rollers has an increased load bearing capacity, substantially equivalent to that of a clutch having a single row of rollers of double the length, but without the end loading problems that could occur from single, longer rollers. The clutch uses specially designed unitary energizing springs with resilient elements located by a base of the spring, in cooperation with the cage, so as to act independently on each roller of each pair.

Overrunning roller clutch with increased load capacity

A one-way clutch of the type having a spring biased roller engaged with inclined ramps has a roller retention cage with spring mounting blocks mounted thereto by inclined tracks. The spring mounting blocks are movable along the track under the centrifugal force of the over-running clutch to further compress the spring to provide increased energizing force to in turn prevent roller drift along the inclined ramp.

Roller clutch adjustable force spring mount

A fuel cap assembly has a handgripping cover portion, a threaded closure portion and a ring portion. The ring portion has an inwardly facing lip for axially supporting the closure and a flexible skirt depending from the inwardly facing lip and terminating in an outwardly facing lip. The inwardly facing lip flexes outwardly during assembly of the closure into the ring and the skirt flexes inwardly during assembly of the ring and closure into the cover. An annular groove is formed in the cover at a location aligned with the outwardly facing lip such that the skirt can assume its unflexed position and thereby secure the fuel cap assembly.

Fuel cap assembly

A fuel cap has a locking mechanism for preventing unauthorized removal of the fuel cap from the fuel fill tube. The lock mechanism includes a cam structure which is operable to provide a selective drive connection, depending upon the condition of the lock mechanism, between the hand grip portion and the threaded closure portion of the fuel cap during rotation of the hand grip in the cap removal direction. The cam mechanism is operable to provide a drive connection in the cap insertion direction regardless of the condition of the lock mechanism.

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Huron, OH, United States of America

Albert D Johnston