Watertight electric actuator for trim tab assembly or wake gate assembly
AssigneeMarine Canada Acquisition Inc.
InventorDavor Baros
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An actuator comprises a housing and a drive tube assembly disposed within the housing. The drive tube assembly includes a drive tube provided with internal threads, a piston nut provided with external threads which threadedly engage the inner threads of the drive tube, and an output shaft connected to the piston nut. A motor rotates the drive tube to cause the piston nut to reciprocate along a length of the drive tube and the output shaft to reciprocate relative to the housing. There are bearings which transmit axial loads from the drive tube to the housing and transmit radial loads from the drive tube to the housing.
Claims18
An actuator comprising:
- a housing;
- a drive tube assembly disposed within the housing, the drive tube assembly including a drive tube provided with internal threads, a piston nut provided with external threads which threadedly engage the internal threads of the drive tube, and an output shaft connected to the piston nut;
- a motor, the motor operable to rotate the drive tube to cause the piston nut to reciprocate along a length of the drive tube and the output shaft to reciprocate relative to the housing;
- and
- first and second axial-only bearings operable to transmit axial loads from the drive tube to the housing;
- the drive tube having a first axial end and a second axial end axially opposite the first axial end,
- the first axial-only bearing positioned at the first axial end of the drive tube, and the second axial-only bearing positioned at the second axial end of the drive tube.
An actuator comprising:
- a housing;
- a drive tube assembly disposed within the housing, the drive tube assembly including a drive tube provided with internal threads, a piston nut provided with internal external threads which threadedly engage the internal threads of the drive tube, and an output shaft connected to the piston nut;
- a motor, the motor operable to rotate the drive tube to cause the piston nut to reciprocate along a length of the drive tube and the output shaft to reciprocate relative to the housing;
- and
- first and second axial-only bearings operable to transmit axial loads from the drive tube to the housing,
- wherein the drive tube having a first axial end and a second axial end axially opposite the first axial end,
- wherein the first axial-only bearing positioned at the first axial end of the drive tube,
- wherein the second axial-only bearing positioned at the second axial end of the drive tube,
- wherein each of the first and second axial-only bearings comprises bearing surfaces and rolling elements positioned between the bearing surfaces, and
- wherein each of the first and second axial-only bearings is devoid of radially opposed bearing surfaces contacting any rolling elements of each of the first and second axial-only bearings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.