Kamatics Corporation

Charles J Wirth

A flexible coupling includes a quadrilateral, flex member, which coupling rotatably couples a driving shaft to a driven shaft and accommodates endwise, parallel or angular misalignment between the shafts. The flex member includes corner portions each having one substantially aligned face and a raised face created by thickening of each corner portion. The substantially aligned faces of two diagonally opposed corner portions face in one generally axial direction and the substantially aligned faces of the other corner portions face in a direction generally opposite to that of the substantially aligned faces of the two diagonally opposed corner portions to minimize the endwise spacing required between the driving shaft and the driven shaft needed to insert the coupling. The decreased endwise spacing minimizes the bending moment on the flex member and facilitates the identification of the proper assembly orientation of the flex member within the flexible coupling. The decreased endwise spacing also increases the lateral stiffness of the coupling arrangement and the maximum operating speed of the coupling.

Rotary drive coupling

A flexible coupling for drivingly connecting two rotatable shafts or the like, and for use in applications where torque is transmitted only in one direction of rotation or where the torque transmitted in one direction of rotation is significantly greater than the torque transmitted in the other direction of rotation, includes a flex member consisting of four elongated flex elements fixedly joined together in a unitary rectangular arrangement. The two elements positioned on opposite sides of the rectangular arrangement are of substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape along a major portion of element length, and the elements of one such pair are thicker than the elements of the other pair. The flex member is connected between the two rotatable shafts in a manner which causes the thicker elements to be in compression and the thinner elements to be in tension during torque transmission in the favored direction. The difference in element thickness provides a more stable flex member structure, reducing unwanted spurious deflections and thereby improving the capacity for useful deflections associated with driving and driven member misalignments. The coupling may include only a single flex member or may have a number of such members connected in series to increase its misalignment capabilities.

A flexible coupling for drivingly connecting driving and driven members and for accommodating both angular and endwise misalignment of such members comprises a plurality of quadrilateral flex frames arranged face-to-face along the central axis of the coupling. The two end frames are connected respectively to the driving and driven members through opposite corner portions of each such frame. Among the flex frames themselves, each frame is connected to the next adjacent frame by having two of its opposite corner portions rigidly connected to two opposite corner portions of the adjacent frame. The joint between each pair of connected corner portions is of an improved construction which maximizes the flexing length of the flex frame legs and otherwise provides benefits resulting in the coupling having improved performance and reliability, particularly with regard to applications requiring the transmission of high levels of torque at high rotational speeds and with possibly high amounts of angular and endwise misalignment.

Growing community of inventors

West Granby, CT, United States of America

Charles J Wirth