Torsionally elastic shaft coupling with gas-spring bellows

摘要

On the inside, a torsionally elastic shaft coupling 1 has five gas-spring bellows 3 acting as spring elements which are arranged in a cicular arc at a uniform angular spacing alpha . The gas-spring bellows 3 are connected, on the one hand, to first cantilevers 8 of the driving side 11 of the coupling and, on the other hand, to second cantilevers 9 of the driven side 12 of the coupling. Stops 21b of rubber-like elasticity are mounted on the circumferential side 25 of the cantilevers 8, 9 remote from the gas-spring bellows 3, the stops 21b of adjacent cantilevers 8, 9 lying opposite one another. The internal pressure of the gas-spring bellows 3 can be varied during operation so that the cantilevers 8, 9 touch one another at the stops 21b at high pressure, giving a relatively inflexible torque transmission characteristic to the shaft coupling 1. It is thus possible to avoid passing through operating points of critical resonance during the process of starting up drive systems by varying the pressure. The ability of such shaft couplings to reduce high alternating torques from the engine is valued particularly when used with diesel engine drives. IMAGE