Flexible rotary drive cable - has inner and outer coils spaced by bearings freely slidable axially and spaced by springs

摘要

The flexible shaft (6) is arranged inside a flexible duct (4) and is supported against the wall of the duct by a number of ball bearings (7) spaced apart along the length of the shaft. The spacing of te bearings is ensured by coiled springs (8) between them. The outer races (41) of the bearings have a small clearance with the inside of the duct and the inner races (42) have a small clearance with the shaft. In this way the bearings are easily assembled on the shaft and in the duct. The springs may be between the inner or between the outer races of the bearings.