| 摘要 |
A torque transmitting assembly including three telescopically arranged shafts is formed with an interlocking ball device which releasably axially locks the shaft members together. The ball device may include one or more balls which are movable radially of an intermediate shaft member, with the balls locking the intermediate shaft member with an inner shaft member when the balls are in a radially inward position and releasing said axial interlocking when the balls are permitted to move to a radially outward position by engagement within a recess of the outer of the three shaft members. The inner shaft member is formed with a conically shaped attachment member which operates to tend to urge the ball into the recess to release axial interengagement between the inner and intermediate shaft member and to permit the ball to move along the conical surface thereof back to its radially inward position when said locking engagement is to be re-established. The balls are held within apertures formed in the intermediate shaft member and a spring loaded control ring actuated by the conically shaped attachment member operates to hold the balls in their radially outward position when the shafts are in their telescopically extended state. |
