Clutch

摘要

An annular groove is provided in a driving-side rotor of a clutch. Guide grooves are provided on a driven-side rotor of the clutch. By moving the driving-side rotor relative to the driven-side rotor, balls are moved that are accommodated in the spaces provided by the sections where the guide grooves and the annular groove face each other. Moving the balls toward the sections where the gap between the driving-side rotor and the driven-side rotor is narrow causes the balls to engage with the driving-side rotor and the driven-side rotor to achieve an engaged state. A disengaged state, in which engagement is cancelled, is achieved by moving the balls to the sections where the gap is wide.

主权项

1. A clutch comprising:
a rotary shaft; an outer wheel and an inner wheel both rotational about an axis of the rotary shaft; and an engagement element arranged between the outer wheel and the inner wheel, wherein an inner circumferential surface of the outer wheel and an outer circumferential surface of the inner wheel face each other, the inner circumferential surface of the outer wheel has an annular groove extending circumferentially along the entire circumference of the inner circumferential surface, the outer circumferential surface of the inner wheel has a guide groove extending in a direction intersecting a plane perpendicular to the axis of the rotary shaft, a space configured to accommodate the engagement element is provided in a section in which the guide groove and the annular groove face each other, the engagement element is moved in the guide groove and the annular groove by moving the outer wheel and the inner wheel relative to each other in the axial direction of the rotary shaft, by moving the engagement element toward a section in which a gap between the outer wheel and the inner wheel is smaller than a diameter of the engagement element to clamp the engagement element between the outer wheel and the inner wheel, a coupled state is achieved, in which the outer wheel and the inner wheel are coupled to each other, by moving the engagement element to a section in which the gap between the outer wheel and the inner wheel is greater than the diameter of the engagement element, a decoupled state is achieved, in which the outer wheel and the inner wheel are decoupled from each other, the outer wheel is a driving-side rotor and the inner wheel is a driven-side rotor, the guide groove is a curved groove extending in the outer circumferential surface of the inner wheel in a curved manner, the guide groove is shallower in a section in which the engagement element is arranged when in the coupled state than a section in which the engagement element is arranged when in the decoupled state, and the guide groove is configured such that, when the decoupled state is switched to the coupled state, the engagement element moves along the guide groove in a rotating direction of the outer wheel.