The prior art discloses clutches or drives in which a drive and driven shaft may be misaligned as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,607. Moreover, the prior art also shows ball drives in a slip mechanism as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,502. There is a need for small clutches, brakes, and rotary holding devices in many applications such as tension control for material being wound or unwound, hinges and various other applications.
The present invention provides a new and improved slip clutch in which the two shafts may be mis-aligned and still one may drive the other and further provides a simplified and low cost clutch or brake mechanism.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds