Belt transmission

• US 5,665,018 A
• Filed: 08/08/1995
• Issued: 09/09/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bando Chemical Industries Limited
• Original Assignee: Bando Chemical Industries Limited
• Inventors: Miyata, Hirofumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Schoeppel, Roger J.
• Application Number:
  US08/512,650
• Time in Patent Office: 763 Days
• Field of Search: 474/13-15, 474/29, 474/70, 474/74
• US Class Current: 474/74
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 2075/027 four
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 67/06 driven by means of chains, belts, or like endless members
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 43/18 with friction clutching members

Abstract

In a belt transmission device for preventing a slip of a belt, the belt is wound between a crank pulley of an engine and an alternator pulley on an alternator shaft connected to an alternator as an auxiliary for making belt transmission. The alternator pulley is attached to the alternator shaft through a one-way clutch for connecting the alternator pulley and the alternator shaft only at the time of increase in angular velocity of a crank shaft. A centrifugal clutch which becomes engaged by the increase in centrifugal force accompanied with rotation of the alternator shaft is arranged in parallel with the one-way clutch. When the angular velocity is small, the centrifugal clutch is disconnected but only the one-way clutch is connected. When the angular velocity becomes larger than an allowable frequency of the one-way clutch, the centrifugal clutch operates to block the function of the one-way clutch.

Claims

1. A belt transmission method of transmitting a rotational force of a driving rotary shaft which rotates constantly in a single angular direction with variations in angular velocity, to a driven rotary shaft having rotational inertia, said transmitting being conducted through a transmission belt running constantly in a single angular direction and connected between said driving rotary shaft and said driven rotary shaft, comprising the steps of:

selectively breaking the transmission of rotation from one to the other between said belt and said driven rotary shaft through a clutch means only at a time of decrease in angular velocity of said driving rotary shaft and only when one of said driving and driven rotary shafts is rotating at an angular velocity that is smaller than a set value; and

allowing a continuous transmission of rotation from one to the other between said belt and said driven rotary shaft through said clutch means when one of said driving and driven rotary shafts is rotating at an angular velocity that is greater than said set value in order to reduce the wear of said clutch means.

2. A belt transmission device comprising:

pulleys provided with a driving rotary shaft accompanied with a slight variation in angular velocity and a driven rotary shaft having rotational inertia respectively;

a transmission belt wound between both said pulleys; and

a clutch device through which at least one of said pulleys on said driving and driven rotary shafts is attached to said rotary shaft,

said clutch device comprising;

a one-way clutch for connecting said pulley and said rotary shaft so as to integrally rotate them only in the case of increase in angular velocity of said driving rotary shaft; and

a centrifugal clutch, provided in parallel with said one-way clutch on a transmission path, for disconnecting said pulley and said rotary shaft when the angular velocity of one of said rotary shafts is smaller than a set value and for connecting said pulley and said rotary shaft so as to integrally rotate them when the angular velocity of said driving rotary shaft is the set value or more.

3. A belt transmission device according to claim 2, wherein

said clutch device is interposed between said driven rotary shaft and said pulley on said driven rotary shaft,

said one-way clutch of said clutch device is disposed between said driven rotary shaft and said pulley rotatably supported on said driven rotary shaft via a bearing,

said centrifugal clutch comprises a clutch connection part which is formed on said driven rotary shaft so as to rotate integrally with said driven rotary shaft and has a friction surface at an inner periphery thereof, at least one weight which is supported to said pulley so as to be movable in a radial direction of said pulley and has a friction surface engageable with the friction surface of said clutch connection part at an outer periphery thereof, and pressing means for forcibly pressing said weight radially inward, and

said weight moves radially outward by a centrifugal force so that the friction surface thereof is engaged with the friction surface of said clutch connection part.

4. A belt transmission device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein

said driving rotary shaft is composed of a crank shaft of an engine, and

said driven rotary shaft is composed of a shaft connected to an auxiliary driven by the engine.

5. A belt transmission device according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary is an alternator.