Disengageable drive arrangement for an all terrain vehicle having both tracks and wheels
AssigneeNorthrup Grumman Corporation
InventorsLawrence M. Garrett, Bart Weaver
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drive arrangement for a remotely controlled unmanned ground vehicle which has both tracks and wheels. The track drive and the wheel are both connected to a drive shaft assembly which includes a spring loaded axially movable splined shaft engagable and disengagable with a motor driven gear train. A ball lock key assembly is mateable with an extraction knob located at the end of the splined shaft to quickly and effortlessly disengage the shaft to allow for free-wheeling in the event of a power failure, or like problem, and to thereafter reengage the shaft for normal operation after the problem is remedied.
Claims13
A disengagable drive arrangement for an all terrain vehicle having both tracks and wheels, comprising:
- (A) a drive assembly;
- (B) a drive shaft assembly including a drive shaft which is engageable and disengageable with said drive assembly;
- (C) a wheel connected to said drive shaft assembly and adapted to be rotated thereby;
- (B) a track drive sprocket connected to said drive shaft assembly and adapted to be rotated thereby;
- (E) a key assembly insertable into said drive shaft assembly and operable to move said drive shaft into a selected one of an engageable and disengageable positions with said drive assembly;
- and
- (F) said key assembly having a quick release mechanism to allow said key assembly to be completely removed from said drive shaft assembly.
A disengagable drive arrangement for an all terrain vehicle having both tracks and wheels, comprising:
- (A) a drive assembly;
- (B) a drive shall assembly extending along a longitudinal axis and including i) a drive axle having a flange portion and ii) a coaxial sleeve portion;
- (C) a drive shaft axially moveable within said sleeve portion and including means at an end thereof which is engageable and disengagable with said drive assembly;
- (D) an extraction knob connected to said drive shaft and axially moveable from a first position, where said drive shaft is engaged with said drive assembly, to a second position, where said drive shaft is disengaged with said drive assembly;
- (E) means for retaining said extraction knob in a selected one of said first and second positions;
- (F) said extraction knob having a wall portion defining a central aperture, with said wall portion including at least one radially extending cavity;
- (G) a key assembly having an end which includes at least one radially moveable projection, and which is insertable into said central aperture, whereby said projection extends into said cavity in said wall portion, allowing said extraction knob to be axially moved and rotated about said axis by said key assembly;
- (H) said key assembly including a release mechanism allowing inward radial movement of said projection to permit decoupling of said key assembly from said extraction knob;
- (I) a wheel connected to said drive axle to be rotated thereby;
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- (J) a track drive sprocket connected to said drive axle to be rotated thereby.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.