Adjustable friction clutch for presses

Abstract

A friction clutch assembly, for a press and especially a screw press, includes: a pair of rotating, coaxial, annular, spaced drive members, at least one of which is axially movable toward and away from the other; an off-drive shaft disposed coaxially with the drive members; a spring plate centrally clamped to the off-drive shaft and extending radially on both sides of the shaft to terminate in outer segments, carrying friction coatings, disposed in the space between the drive members, so that, upon movement of one of the drive members toward the other to actuate, or close, the clutch, the friction coatings are clamped between the drive members, elastically deforming the spring plate to adjust to the reduced spacing and to transmit the requisite high torque through the spring plate required to turn the off-drive shaft. Particularly valuable and novel features of the clutch construction are the friction coatings, so arranged on the spring plate that their inside edges, facing toward the off-drive shaft, extend along straight lines perpendicular to a radius starting from the shaft, and means (for clamping the spring plate to the off-drive shaft which have outer edges), also terminating in straight lines parallel to the inside edges of the friction coatings, so that the bending forces applied to the spring plate are along straight lines and in the same direction, thus causing uniform bending of the spring plate and preventing spherical deformations normally obtained with annular drive members and disc-shaped spring plates.