Drehmomentbegrenzende Kupplung

A torque limiting clutch comprises a driving part and a driven part disengagably interconnected in torque transmitting relationship by a torque transmitting element guided by a cage, a spacer movable by the cage into spacing relationship with both the driving and driven parts on disengagement of the clutch by relative movement between the parts in either direction, to maintain the torque transmitting element out of torque transmitting relationship with the parts. The clutch is re-engagable by relative rotation between the driving and driven parts in the opposite direction. The clutch includes two sets of inter-engagable abutments, the abutments of the first set being provided on the cage and the abutments of the second set being provided on one of the parts and being operable to cause abutments of the first and second to inter-engage to cause the cage and one of the parts to rotate together. The clutch further includes a first plurality of abutments of each set operable on relative rotation between the clutch parts in the opposite direction to that in which a second plurality of abutments of each set is operable. The abutments are biased in a direction towards inter-engagement, and inter-engagement of the abutments is controlled to permit disengagement of the clutch and re-engagement on relative rotation between the parts in the reverse direction to the direction of disengagement.