US 6,694,833 B2Granted

Multi-speed worm gear reduction assembly

AssigneeDrive-All Manufacturing Company, Inc.

InventorsRichard T. Hoehn, Barbara P. Boxwell

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A gearbox assembly including a housing supporting an input shaft to drive a first shaft that includes drive gears that correspond to driven gears on a second shaft. The driven gears are movable axially along the second shaft by shift levers such that a desired gear ratio can be selected. The second shaft also includes a worm shaft portion that drives a corresponding worm gear disposed on an output shaft. Another embodiment includes an input shaft driving first and second shafts. A third shaft includes two clutch assemblies with driven gears that engage drive gears of the first or second shafts. A gear on the third shaft drives a gear of an output shaft. The clutch assemblies move one of the driven gears into engagement with one of the first and second drive gears to selectively vary the speed of the output shaft.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A worm drive gearbox assembly comprising;

a housing;
an input shaft supported by said housing, and driven at a first speed;
a first intermediate shaft driven by said input shaft including a first drive gear;
a second intermediate shaft driven by said input shaft including a second drive gear;
a third intermediate shaft driven by one of said first or second intermediate shafts and including first and second driven gears and a final drive gear;
an output shaft including a final driven gear driven by said final drive gear of said third intermediate shaft at a second speed;
at least one clutch assembly disposed on said third intermediate shaft for shifting one of said first and second driven gears into engagement with one of said first and second drive gears to selectively vary said second speed of said output shaft;
and wherein one of said intermediate shaft comprise a worm shaft portion.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/454,272Filed 4 Jun 2003 · division
Priority: 28 Jun 2001
Published: US 2003/0000325 A123 Oct 2003
Granted: 24 Feb 2004
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

F16H 3/24
With gears shiftable only axially: with driving and driven shafts coaxial
F16H 1/16
With non-parallel axes: comprising worm and worm-wheel
Y10T 74/19233
Interchangeably locked: plurality of counter shafts
Y10T 74/19242
Interchangeably locked: combined gear and clutch