Flexible drive mechanism

• US 3,347,061 A
• Filed: 01/11/1965
• Issued: 10/17/1967
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/1965
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert E. Stuemky
• Original Assignee: Robert E. Stuemky
• Inventors: Stuemky, Robert E.
• Application Number:
  US04/424,785
• Time in Patent Office: 1,009 Days
• US Class Current: 464/58
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 3/72 with axially-spaced attachments to the coupling parts F16D3/56 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49844 Through resilient media

Claims

1. A DRIVE MECHANISM TO BE POSITIONED BETWEEN DRIVING AND DRIVEN MEMBERS TO TRANSMIT TORQUE THEREBETWEEN AND PERMIT RELATIVE MOVEMENT THEREBETWEEN DUE TO EXTERNAL FORCES ACTING THEREON COMPRIISNG AT LEAST TWO COIL SPRING SLEEVES ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID DRIVING AND DRIVEN MEMBERS, EACH COIL SPRING SLEEVE HAVING A PREDETERMINED AXIAL EXTENT IN THE ABSENCE OF EXTERNAL FORCES ACTING THEREON AND INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF COIL SPRING MEMBERS HAVING A COILS THEREOF INTERDIGITATED, THE COIL SPRINGS OF ONE SLEEVE BEING WOUND IN ONE DIRECTION AND THE COIL SPRINGS OF THE OTHER SLEEVE BEING WOUND IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION, SAID SLEEVES HAVING A NESTED TELESCOPED RELATION WITH COILS THEREOF IN RADIAL PRESSURE CONTACT THROUGHOUT THEIR CIRCUMFERENCE, AND THE AXIALLY ADJACENT COILS OF EACH SLEEVE HAVING SPACES THEREBETWEEN AT LEAST WHEN SAID SLEEVES ARE AT SADI PREDETERMINED AXIAL EXTEND AND WHICH SPACES EXTEND COMPLETELY CIRCUMFERENTIALLY AROUND THE SLEEVE.