Experimental study of novel clutch utilizing self-locking property of belt

Abstract

By utilizing the self-locking property of belt, a novel one-way clutch was developed. This device uses a steel belt. It can transmit torque even under off-centered conditions. Some experiments were carried out under several off-centered conditions. The relation between the angular velocities ratio [Formula: see text] and the magnitude of off-centered distance δ was investigated. Here, the subscripts i and P denote the inner shaft and the power ring, respectively. The angular velocities obtained from the experiments were compared with the theoretical values. The experimental results almost corresponded to the theoretical calculations. When there is a parallel misalignment between input and output shafts, the belt is automatically coiled or uncoiled around the shaft with rotation. Some endurance tests on the clutch were also carried out by changing the magnitude of off-centered distance δ under a constant brake torque. The fatigue life of the belt was shortened by an increment of the off-centered distance.

Novel coupling applicable in off-centered condition

“…Rotational angle of each shaft was measured by the angular position sensor (MIDORI Orange Pot α, CP-45H) with sampling rate 2ms. Angular velocity was calculated by an areal velocity method (Imado, 2013b) which gave a mean angular velocity in rotating angle within about 10˚.…”

“…The fluctuation in angular velocity was caused by the change in the belt length between the power ring and the inner shaft of the clutch. Paying careful attention to this fact, the fluctuation of angular velocity was analyzed and compared with some experimental values in the previous paper (Imado, et al, 2013b). In terms of practical use, the fluctuation in angular velocity is undesirable.…”

“…He devised a one-way clutch by utilizing the self-locking property of belt (Imado, et al, 2010;Imado, et al, 2013b). This clutch can transmit torque even under some off-centered conditions.…”

Design and Simulation Analysis of an Energy-Saving Type of Overrunning Clutch Life Testing Device

“…However, the whole testing device is bulky, has a slow response speed, requires extra load and has a large energy consumption. Burgess [3] and Imado [4] used brake to load in their clutch testing devices. In these testing device, the load is adjustable but it costs much energy.…”

Study of Euler’s Belt Formula

“…A one way clutch utilizing the self-locking property of belt was devised [5]. The effectivenss of such a clutch was confirmed even in an off-centered condition [6]. The belt equation for any profiled surface was examined in the previous paper [7].…”