Planetary gear transmission systems or components – Nonplanetary variable speed or direction transmission... – Plural power paths to planetary gearing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-21
2001-07-10
Marmor, Charles A (Department: 3681)
Planetary gear transmission systems or components
Nonplanetary variable speed or direction transmission...
Plural power paths to planetary gearing
C475S091000, C475S208000, C475S219000, C475S302000, C475S330000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06258004
ABSTRACT:
PRIOR ART
A patent search was not conducted on this invention. The applicant herein has obtained 1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,180 issued Jul. 9, 1991, entitled “Variable Transmission Apparatus”; 2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,985, issued Apr. 5, 1994, entitled “Continuously Variable Transmission Apparatus”; and 3) U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,108, issued Jun. 16, 1998, entitled “Continuously Variable Transmission Utilizing Variable Viscous Coupling”.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
In one preferred embodiment of this invention, a constant output transmission apparatus utilizes one or more variable viscous clutch couplings with one or more power planetary gear set means to achieve a constant RPM power output from a variable RPM power input.
As noted in
FIG. 1
, the constant output transmission apparatus includes 1) an input drive and gear shaft assembly; 2) a sun gear and clutch assembly; 3) a low range gear and clutch assembly; 4) a high range gear and clutch assembly; 5) a ring gear and carrier assembly; 6) an output ring gear assembly; and 7) an output shaft assembly.
The input drive and gear shaft assembly includes 1) an input shaft member mounted on bearing members for ease of rotation thereof; 2) an input carrier plate assembly integral with the input shaft member; and 3) an input gear drive assembly integral with an outer end of the input shaft member.
The input carrier plate assembly includes 1) an input plate member extended laterally of and integral with the input shaft member; 2) input planet support shafts formed in and extended laterally from an outer portion of the input plate member; and 3) input planet gear members rotatably mounted on respective ones of the input planet support shafts.
It is found that the use of no less than two (2) of the input planet gear members are necessary to provide the required support to a ring gear member engaging the planet gear members as will be described.
Each planet gear member includes outer input gear tooth members thereon and mounted by a bearing member to the respective ones of the input planet support shafts.
The input gear drive assembly includes 1) a low range gear drive section; 2) a high range gear drive section; and 3) a bearing member which provides support and ease of rotation to an outer end of the input shaft member.
The low range gear drive section is provided with a low gear drive member having gear tooth members thereon. The high range gear drive section is provided with a high gear drive member having gear tooth members thereon.
The low range and high range gear drive sections are each operable to provide respective power input to a first portion of a clutch means as will be explained.
The sun gear and clutch assembly includes 1) a sun gear support body; 2) a sun gear member integral with the sun gear support body; and 3) a clutch support body.
The sun gear support body is mounted on bearing members mounted between itself and the input shaft member to allow relative rotation therebetween.
The sun gear member has a pair of adjacent sun planet drive gear teeth thereon.
The clutch support body is provided with 1) a low range clutch section; and 2) a high range clutch section which is part of a respective clutch means as will be explained.
The low range clutch section is provided with low range clutch plates and the high range clutch section is provided with high range clutch plates which are operable in a manner to be explained.
The low range gear and clutch assembly includes 1) a low range input gear assembly; and 2) a low range clutch assembly which is part of the clutch means.
The low range input gear assembly includes a low range shaft member mounted on a bearing member for ease of rotation. This low range shaft member is integral with a low range gear member and can be rotatably connected to a transmission housing or the like and operable to transfer power input from the input gear drive assembly to the low range clutch assembly as will be explained.
The low range gear member has a driven gear section and a drive gear section. The driven gear section has driven gear tooth members thereon and the drive gear section has drive gear tooth members thereon. Power is being transferred from the input gear drive assembly and the input shaft member through the driven gear section and drive gear section to the low range clutch assembly.
The low range clutch assembly includes a clutch support body having mounted thereon low range viscous clutch plates which are activated by a low range clutch piston as will be explained.
The clutch support body is mounted on bearing members between itself and the input shaft member to achieve relative rotation therebetween.
The activation of the low range clutch piston is controlled through a governor or speed monitoring device that is known in the prior art which will achieve a constant rotational speed output (revolutions per minute or RPM) in the output shaft assembly. This will be through the use of the low range and high range gear and clutch assemblies as will be explained.
The high range gear and clutch assembly includes 1) a high range input gear assembly; and 2) a high range clutch assembly. The high range input gear assembly includes a high range shaft member having an integral high range gear member on an outer end thereof.
The high range shaft member is mounted on a bearing member for ease of rotation and may be mounted on a part of the transmission housing in a conventional manner.
The high range gear member is provided with a driven gear portion and a drive gear portion. The driven gear portion had driven teeth members which are engaged and rotated through the high range gear drive section. This results in output in the driven gear portion which drives the high range clutch assembly which is part of a clutch means.
The high range clutch assembly includes 1) a high clutch support body mounted on a bearing member about a central portion of the input shaft member; 2) high range viscous clutch plates connected to the high clutch support body; and 3) a high range clutch piston engageable with the high range viscous clutch plates in a manner to be explained to form a portion of the clutch means.
The ring gear and carrier assembly includes a ring carrier plate member having integral therewith a ring gear member and ring carrier planet support shafts, each respectively having an output planet gear member connected thereto.
The ring gear member has ring gear tooth members on an inner surface thereof engageable with the respective input planet gear members cooperating in a manner to be explained.
The output planet gear members, mounted on respective bearing members, are formed with planet gear tooth members which are engageable with the output ring gear assembly as will be explained.
The output planet gear members are driven through engagement with the sun gear teeth on the sun gear member as will be explained.
The output ring member assembly includes an output support plate member having integral on one side thereof an input drive ring gear member and, on an opposite side, an output drive gear member.
The input drive ring gear member includes input gear tooth members driven by the output planet gear members. The output drive gear member has output gear tooth members operable to engage and drive the output shaft assembly.
The output shaft assembly includes an output driven gear member integral with an output shaft member. The output driven gear member has a plurality of drive gear tooth members thereon. The output shaft member is mounted on bearing members connected to a transmission housing or similar structure.
The output shaft member is maintained as a constant output, such as a constant RPM, which is monitored by a known constant speed measuring device such as a governing device or other similar electronic structure which can be driven by connection to the output drive gear member.
The main purpose of maintaining the constant output of the output shaft member is to drive a device that benefits from the constant input. In fact, the input to the input shaft member may be constantly variable, such
Ho Ha
Marmor Charles A
Rein Phillip A.
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