A NEW AND SIMPLE AMERICAN CLUTCH.
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By Henry Sturmey.
UNDER, THE NAME of "Hoosier," a new clutch of great simplicity, as regards construction, operation and adjustment, has been introduced in America, where, since the success of the Borg-Beck dry-plate clutch during the past three years, a considerable amount of attention has been given to this type of construction. As with its precursor, the Hoosier clutch employs a pair of asbestos cloth rings to take the actual wear, interposing them on each side of a single-drive plate-2 in the annexed illustration—attached to the transmission, which is clamped between the face of the flywheel and a spring and pedal-operated clamping-plate (3). This clamping plate or ring is forced into contact with the drive plate, -and in its turn jams the latter up against the
c36 face of the flywheel by means of three shoes (17) mounted on the centre joint pins of three pairs of toggle levers which take. their fixed bearing against the inside of the cover (1), which, bolted to the face of the flywheel, forms with it a dust-proof casing for the clutch. The movable ends of the toggle system are mounted on a. -collar on the -end of a. sleeve (a) encircling the transmission shaft and aliciable longitudinally upon it, which sleeve is normally kept forced inwards towards the flywheel by means of a strong helical spring (7) taking its resistance against a thrust collar (8) set snug within the end of the housing. This, by tending to straighten the toggles, forces the attached shoes into contact with the clamping plate and by forcing them forward jams the drive plate with its protecting asbestos rings up _ against the face of the flywheel and so secures the drive.
Clutch release is effected in the usual manner by a pedal lever with yoke, operating against the collar -and ball-bearing thrust block (10, 11, 18) which, by drawing back the sleeve, bends the toggles and brings the clutch shoes out of contact Clutch adjustment to compensate for wear is easily effected by means of adjusting bushing (4),. the adjustment being locked when made by the spring detent, or bushing lock (16), and when it is pointed out that there is no need to release the clutch for this to be done and that the position of the adjusting mechanismis most accesa sibly placed, it will be seen that the matter of adjustment for Nvear is a very simple and easy Matter. As the whole of the. wear is taken by the loose asbestos rings, when the limit of adjustment has been reached it is an easy matter, by taking down the clutch and replacing the worn rings with new ones and resetting the adjusting -mechanism, to restore the clutch faces to their original condition and practically . get a new clutch. This is certainly about the simplest clutch -of this type we have yet seen.