Warner Electric Brake & Clutch Company

J G MacDonald

A helical spring loosely surrounds the input hub of a clutch and is adapted to be wrapped down on the input hub to couple the input hub to an output hub. Wrap down torque is applied to the spring through the tang thereof by an operating spring which acts through an axially shiftable actuator adapted to turn the tang as an incident to being shifted axially by the operating spring. If the tang of the helical spring breaks, the spring automatically unwinds and releases the input hub to effect automatic disengagement of the clutch.

Clutch with fail-safe helical spring

A helical spring clutch-brake unit in which the spring is prevented from wrapping down and momentarily engaging the clutch if the output member of the clutch is manually turned while the clutch is disengaged.

Anti-kickback clutch-brake unit

Pilot torque is transmitted from the input member to the output member of a clutch when a shoe is pressed axially against the input member. When initially turned by the input member, the shoe causes a helical spring to wrap down on angularly spaced shoe segments and to contract the shoe segments into radial gripping engagement with the input member. The shoe segments engage angularly spaced drive lugs on the output member to transmit torque to the output member.

Amplifying clutch with radially contractible shoe

Torque is transmitted from the input member of a clutch to a primary shoe when the primary shoe is pressed into frictional engagement with the input member by compression springs. When initially turned by the input member, the primary shoe moves a series of balls angularly along inclined ramps to cause a secondary shoe to shift into frictional engagement with the input member and transmit torque to the output member of the clutch. A brake acts through the shoes to retard the output member when the clutch is disengaged.

Amplifying clutch

Torque is transmitted between the driving and driven members of the clutch by a helical spring and a friction shoe. When an electromagnet is excited, pilot torque is applied to the spring to cause the spring to clamp downwardly around the shoe and cause the shoe to contract radially around the driving member and transmit torque to the driven member. The driving member, the driven member, the spring and the friction shoe are arranged in such a manner that the spring effects soft engagement of the clutch while amplifying the pilot torque sufficiently to enable a relatively small and light weight clutch to produce ample output torque.

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Detroit, MI, United States of America

J G MacDonald