Machine element or mechanism – Gearing – Interchangeably locked
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-28
2001-10-02
Herrmann, Allan D. (Department: 3682)
Machine element or mechanism
Gearing
Interchangeably locked
C192S053361
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295885
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is an improvement on U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,972 which issued Jun. 1, 1999 and has common ownership with the present application.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Research and development of the present invention and application have not been Federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automobile and particularly racing car transmissions having manual transmissions with reverse gears.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR §§1.97-1.98
The following patents are cited as being of interest in the field to which the present invention pertains:
U.S. PAT. NOS.:
4,192,410
4,436,904
4,503,957
4,532,821
4,836,041
5,907,972
Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,972 discloses a racing car transmission with a non-rotating reverse gear. The gear does not rotate until it is shifted into the reverse mode. The main shaft splines are shortened to allow the reverse gear to free wheel. The main shaft is machined to accept a needle roller bearing so that the gear can be rotatable about the shaft when free wheeling. This is no longer required with applicant's new designs proposed herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,821 to HAGER discloses a transmission primarily designed for racing cars and includes a disclosure that the reverse gear is operational only as long as the clutch is depressed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,041 to FALZONI, et al discloses a transmission which deactivates the reverse gear when not in use.
The remaining patents cited above relate generally to transmissions having reverse gears and were cited during the prosecution of applicant's earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,972.
While, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,972, the reverse gear does not rotate until the transmission is shifted into the reverse mode, the new designs proposed herein will allow anyone with limited mechanical background to install the proposed reverse gear in the transmission by simply removing the original standard gear and replacing it with the unique gear proposed herein. This results in a considerable savings in time and expense.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to manual transmissions and particularly to racing car transmissions having a non-rotating reverse gear during forward vehicle movement.
Applicant discloses a reverse gear with an internal spline in the front portion of the reverse gear and a needle roller bearing pressed in at the rear portion. The bearing supports the gear and allows the main shaft to rotate without the gear turning when the transmission is not in the reverse mode. A separate splined collar having internal and external splines is slipped onto and secured to the main shaft. The internal splines are the same as the main shaft and the external splines match the reverse gear splines. Using a splined collar allows the use of finer splines for easy engagement. To facilitate alignment of the gear and splined collar, a small spring ball is inserted in the gear just forward of the splines. This spring ball aligns the splines in the front of the gear with the splines on the collar as it engages the main shaft and the reverse idler gear.
An alternate embodiment of the invention comprises a gear with internal splines at the rear portion of the reverse gear which match the splines on the main shaft and the bearing housed in the front end and secured with a snap ring arrangement. The gear engages the main shaft splines from the back end of the splines. A spring ball located just forward of the splines in the reverse gear is used to align the splines in the gear and the main shaft for ease of meshing the gear and the main shaft. A bearing supports the gear and allows it to free wheel when the gear is not in the reverse mode. As the gear is shifted into the reverse mode, the main shaft splines engage first the reverse gear and then the reverse gear meshes with the reverse idler gear.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a new and improved transmission having a non-rotating reverse gear during forward operation.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved manual transmission especially for racing cars wherein a new non-rotating reverse gear is provided which does not require modifying the main shaft of the transmission.
A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved transmission wherein the reverse gear does not rotate until shifting into the reverse mode as a result of replacing the standard gear with said reverse gear in combination with a splined collar to engage the splines on the main shaft.
A more specific object of this invention is to provide a new and improved transmission wherein a new reverse gear and splined collar are utilized together with a spring ball for alignment.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1962191 (1934-06-01), Griswold
patent: 2174148 (1939-09-01), Vincent
patent: 2369848 (1945-02-01), Patterson
patent: 4192410 (1980-03-01), Poirier
patent: 4430904 (1984-02-01), Fogelberg
patent: 4503957 (1985-03-01), Ikemoto et al.
patent: 4532821 (1985-08-01), Hager
patent: 4836041 (1989-06-01), Falzoni et al.
patent: 5907972 (1999-06-01), Del Sole
Herrmann Allan D.
Joel, Esq. Richard A.
LandOfFree
Automobile transmission with non-rotating reverse gear does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Automobile transmission with non-rotating reverse gear, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Automobile transmission with non-rotating reverse gear will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2555876