FRICTION BEVEL COUPLING WITH DOUBLE CONES PARTICULARY FOR USE IN DRIVE MECHANISMS OF SHIPS

摘要

Coupling apparatus for rotatably coupling an input shaft to an output shaft includes an outer assembly having a pair of inner conic friction surfaces mounted for rotation with the input shaft, a pair of opposed annular piston members located within the outer assembly defining a space between them, each of the annular piston members being connected to the output shaft and one of a pair of friction elements having outer conic friction surfaces. A pressurized fluid is directed into the space between the annular piston members to move the same away from each other against the force of respective cup-shaped springs whereby the outer friction surfaces of the friction elements engage the inner friction surfaces of the outer assembly to engage the coupling. A pin-fork arrangement is utilized to interconnect the output shaft with each of the annular piston members in a manner such that the output shaft, which is mounted in a bearing housed within the outer assembly, can be centered with respect to the outer assembly.