🔍 Key Concepts

• Overrunning (one-way) clutch operation: which member is the driver and which is the driven part • How rollers wedge between an eccentric inner race and an outer race in one direction but roll freely in the other • The arrows on A and B and the direction of the inner cam’s rotation shown in the illustration

💭 Think About

• When the inner cam (attached to one member) turns in the direction shown, do the rollers get squeezed tighter or looser against the outer race? • If member A were trying to turn member B in the indicated direction, would the rollers lock (transmit torque) or simply roll (no drive)? • In an overrunning clutch, in which direction is power transmitted, and in which direction is it allowed to freewheel?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which piece (A or B) is the outer race and which is the inner eccentric/cam attached to the shaft • Observe whether the wedge shape ahead of each roller (in the direction of rotation) would cause the roller to jam and transmit torque, or back away and allow overrunning • Confirm that an overrunning clutch only drives in one relative direction and freewheels when the driven member tries to go faster than the driver