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One-way clutch bearings allow shafts to be driven in only one
direction; it allows one shaft to "freewheel" if it is spinning in
the opposite direction from the direction at which the clutch is
designed to engage. The one-way clutch bearing is designed very much
like the roller bearing, but the rollers are allowed to move up small
ramps. When the shaft turns in direction that locks the clutch, the
rollers roll up small ramps and wedge into cavities. When this
happens, the clutch locks and the shaft will drive the gear, or the
gear will drive the shaft. These bearings are used extensively in
automatic and manual transmissions-- allowing gears to be engaged
depending on their direction of rotation.
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