US 5,833,567 AGranted

Inertial power transmission

OwnerAngel Fernandezinventor

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Abstract

A ring gear and a plurality of planet gear carriers diametrically disposed, at substantially equal angles to each other, in a plane therewithin, each carrier rotatably supporting a separate one of a pair of planet gears at each opposite end thereof. The planet gears engage with and are rotated by the ring gear. Each planet gear has an eccentrically disposed mass that revolves about the center of rotation of the planet gear while revolving about the center of rotation of the planet gear carrier, creating centrifugal and Coriolis forces that are additive. An instant angular disposition, with respect to its planet gear carrier, of the center of mass of one of a pair of planet gears is always the same as that of the other of the pair but does not coincide with that of any other planet gear. This creates a couple that is applied to an output shaft when the force of the former and the rotation of the latter are in the same direction. When they are not, the couple is applied to a reaction plate. The angular disposition between the planet gear carriers ensure that torque pulses applied to the output shaft by the couples are not applied simultaneously but are equally separated in time to provide a relatively smooth output torque.

An inertial power transmission apparatus, comprising:

a stationary support;
an input shaft rotatably mounted on the stationary support and having a longitudinal axis of rotation;
an output shaft rotatably mounted on the stationary support and having a longitudinal axis of rotation coincident with a central axis;
an input member disposed in a plane perpendicular to the central axis for rotation thereabout;
first coupling means for communicating rotation of the input shaft to the input member;
a ring gear disposed in a plane parallel to and spaced from that of the input member and being affixed thereto for rotation therewith about the central axis;
a stationary member disposed in a plane parallel to and spaced from that of the input member;
second coupling means for coupling the stationary member to the stationary support;
a forward drive member disposed in a plane parallel to and spaced from that of the input member for rotation about the central axis;
third coupling means for communicating rotation of the forward drive member to the output shaft;
a plurality of planet gear carriers each extending diametrically across the ring gear for rotation in a carrier plane about the central axis, adjacent planet gear carriers defining substantially equal angles therebetween;
one of a plurality of planet gear shafts mounted proximate a separate end of each of the plurality of planet gear carriers, each planet gear shaft having a longitudinal axis of rotation mutually parallel to and spaced from the central axis;
one of a plurality of planet gears mounted on each of the planet gear shafts for rotation thereabout and for engagement with the ring gear, the mass of each of the two planet gears supported by any planet gear carrier being eccentrically distributed so that the rotational moment of each of the two planet gears is equal and opposite to that of the other, the eccentric distribution of the masses of the planet gears supported by a planet gear carrier being disposed such that the peaks of resultant rotational moments contributed by the planet gear carriers are separated by substantially equal time intervals;
a stationary ring assembly affixed to the stationary member and having an axis of symmetry coincident with the central axis;
a drive ring assembly affixed to the forward drive member for rotation therewith about the central axis;
a stationary ring clutch disposed in cooperation with each end of each of the planet gear carriers and the stationary ring assembly to allow the former to rotate relative to the latter in only a first direction;
and
a drive ring clutch disposed in cooperation with the drive ring assembly and each end of each of the planet gear carriers to allow the former to rotate relative to the latter in only the same first direction.

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Abstract

Claims11