CA2170920A1 - Variable speed gear - Google Patents

Variable speed gear

Info

Publication number
CA2170920A1
CA2170920A1 CA 2170920 CA2170920A CA2170920A1 CA 2170920 A1 CA2170920 A1 CA 2170920A1 CA 2170920 CA2170920 CA 2170920 CA 2170920 A CA2170920 A CA 2170920A CA 2170920 A1 CA2170920 A1 CA 2170920A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
gear
rotator
rotating shaft
variable speed
planetary gears
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA 2170920
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Kenkichi Shimomoto
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
M&C CO Ltd
Original Assignee
M&C CO Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by M&C CO Ltd filed Critical M&C CO Ltd
Publication of CA2170920A1 publication Critical patent/CA2170920A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Abstract

A variable speed gear provided with a rotator having a circumferential wall in which a gear portion is formed on an inner circumferential face of the circumferential wall and a rotating shaft which is inserted into the rotator and freely rotates. A gear is arranged unitedly on the outer circumferential face of the rotating shaft. Planetary gears surrounded by the circumferential wall of the rotator are arranged on an outer circumferential side of the gear. The planetary gears are engaged with the gear of the rotating shaft and the gear portion of the rotator, and are able to revolve on the rotating shaft. An output gear rotates owing to revolution of the planetary gears.

Description

21 709~r~

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

V A R I A B L E S P E E D G E A R

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a variable speed gear which is attached to a bicycle in order to facilitate pedaling.
In conventional variable speed gears of this kind, for example, some groups of big gears and small gears are engaged for changing speed in several stages, some groups of roll friction wheels are combined for changing speed in several stages, or a V-belt and a spring are used for changing speed.
However, the foregoing conventional variable speed gears are extremely complicated in construction and require many parts.
Consequently, it is difficult to assemble the parts, and the parts are fragile even when the respective parts are precise, and moreover, it is bothersome to take charge of the parts before assembly.
It is therefore an obiect of an aspect of the present invention to provide a variable speed gear which accurately changes speed of rotation with a small number of parts and rarely develops trouble.
An aspect of the invention is as follows:
A variable speed gear comprising:

a rotator having a circumferential wall in which a gear portion is formed on an inner circumferential face of the circumferential wall;
a rotating shaft which is inserted into the rotator and freely rotates;
a gear placed unitedly on an outer circumferential face of said rotating shaft;
planetary gears which are arranged on an outer circumferential side of said gear, surrounded by the circumferential wall of said rotator, engaged with said gear and the gear portion of said circumferential wall, and are able to revolve on said rotating shaft; and an output gear which rotates owing to revolution of said planetary gears.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section showing a variable speed gear of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section of the variable speed gear;
Figure 3 is an exploded side elevation partly in section of the variable speed gear;

217092~

Figure 4 is a block diagram of the variable speed gear; and Figure 5 is an explanatory view of the variable speed gear applied to a bicycle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figures 1 to 3 show a variable speed gear according to the present invention, and this variable speed gear is provided with a rotator 3 having a circumferential wall 2 in which a gear portion 1 is formed on an inner circumferential face of the circumferential wall 2, a rotating shaft 4 which is inserted into the rotator 3 and freely rotates, a gear 5 placed unitedly on an outer circumferential face of the rotating shaft 4, and planetary gears 6 engaged with the gear 5. In this illustration, four planetary gears 6 are arranged along the circumferential direction at intervals of 90 between each other.
The rotator 3 is provided with a short cylindrical main body 7, and the gear portion 1 is formed on an inner circumferential face of the main body 7. In other words, this main body 7 becomes the above-mentioned circumferential wall 2. Gear teeth are arranged on an outer circumferential face of the main body 7 to form a sprocket portion 9 (i.e. an input gear), and a side plate 8 is fitted inside of the main 217092~

body 7 and covers an opening end of the main body 7.
The rotating shaft 4 is, for examPle, a crank axle (a pedal axle) of a crank 12 connected to a pedal 11 of a bicycle 10 (see Figure 5).
A pair of circumferential depressed grooves 13, 14 are formed on the outer circumference of the rotating shaft 4, and a big diameter portion is arranged between the circumferential depressed grooves 13, 14, and the gear 5 described above is formed on an outer circumferential face of the big diameter portion. This gear 5 is placed inside of the main body 7 of the rotator 3, and an outer diameter of the gear 5 is arranged to be sufficiently smaller than an inner diameter of the gear portion 1.
An end portion 4a of the rotating shaft 4 is fitted inside of a through hole 24 of an output gear 15 (a big gear). The output gear 15 is, as shown in Figure 5, engaged with a chain 16 which is engaged with a small gear (not shown in the attached drawings), and when the output gear 15 rotates and the small gear rotates, a rear wheel 17 of a bicycle 10 rotates and this bicycle 10 moves.
The side plate 8 corresponds to the circumferential depressed groove 14, the output gear 15 corresPonds to the circumferential depressed groove 13, and the planetary gears 6 are arranged between the side plate 8 of the rotator 3 and the output gear 15. The side plate 8 and the output gear 15 are respectively provided with through holes 18, 19, and the end portions 20a of a shaft 20 of each planetary gear 6 are fitted inside of the facing through holes 18, 19 and the gear 5 is ~17~20 arranged between the side plate 8 and the output gear 15. The planetary gears 6 surrounded by the circumferential wall 2 are respectively engaged with the gear 5 and the gear portion 1. By way of parenthesis, 25 in the attached drawings indicates a through hole of the side plate 8 where the rotating shaft 4 is inserted.
If the rotating shaft 4 rotates while the rotator 3 is halted, the planetary gears 6 engaged with the gear portion 1 and the gear 5 rotate along with the gear 5. As shown in Figure 1, when the rotating shaft 4 rotates toward right (clockwise) as shown with an arrow A, the planetary gears 6 rotate toward left (counterclockwise) as shown with an arrow B
and revolve on the rotating shaft 4 along the inner circumferential face of the circumferential wall 2 because the planetary gears 6 are engaged with the gear portion 1. When the planetary gears 6 revolve on the rotating shaft 4, the side plate 8 and the output gear 15, which hold the shafts 20 of the planetary gears 6, rotate. The rotating shaft 4 and the output gear 15 decelerate in the ratio of the distances to the center line between the crests and the bottoms of the gear teeth.
When the rotator 3 rotates synchronously with the rotating shaft 4, the planetary gears 6 do not rotate, and the rotating shaft 4 and the output gear 15 rotate in the ratio of one to one, and the rotator 3 and the big gear 15 unitedly rotate. That is to say, when the rotator 3 rotates toward right, deceleration ratio of the rotating shaft 4 and the output gear 15 changes due to a rotating speed of the rotator 3.

2170~

The above-mentioned rotator 3 is driven to rotate by driving force of an electric motor 21 as shown in Figure 4. This electric motor 21 is driven by current supply from, for example, a charging battery (such as a lead storage battery, a nickel-cadmium battery). An output shaft of the electric motor 21 and the rotator 3 are connected through an interlock connecting member. It is possible to arrange so that a sprocket is attached to the output shaft of the electric motor 21 and an endless chain is suspended at this sprocket and the sprocket portion 9 of the rotator 3, or that a pulley is attached to the output shaft of the electric motor 21 and an endless belt is suspended at the pulley of the electric motor 21 and a pulley portion which is substituted for the sprocket portion 9 and formed on the rotator 3. The battery is not restricted to a charging battery.
When the electric motor 21 drives and the output shaft of the electric motor 21 rotates, the rotator 3 rotates through the interlock connecting member. As shown in Figure 5, the electric motor 21 and the battery are contained in a case 27 attached to a frame 26 of the bicycle 10.
A controlling means 22 arranged in the case 27 (see Figure 4) controls a number of revolution of the output shaft of the electric motor 21. A sensor 23 detects a number of revolution of a pedal 11 of the bicycle, the number of revolution is inputted into the controlling means 22, and on the basis of this number of revolution, the -~1 7Q~2~

controlling means 22 decides a number of revolution of the electric motor 21. A tachometer is used as the sensor 23.
According to the variable speed gear composed as described above, when the pedal 11 of the bicycle is worked and the rotating shaft 4 rotates, the sensor 23 detects the number of revolution of the pedal 11 The controlling means 22 drives the electric motor 21 on the basis of this number of revolution, and the rotator 3 rotates. The electric motor 21 rotates the rotator 3 owing to change in a rotation speed (a number of revolution) of the pedal 11, transmission gear ratio of the pedal 11 and the output gear 15 is changed, and the output of the electric motor 21 can be combined with the rotation of the rotating shaft (the pedal shaft) 4. This makes it easier to pedal this bicycle on an uphill road.
It is possible to change transmission gear ratio when the bicycle is loaded heavily, for example, when starting to pedal the bicycle or pedaling on an uphill road, and the electric motor 21 can be used under an effective situation (a number of revolution). Therefore, it is possible to effectively use battery capacity and lower maximum output of the electric motor 21.
According to the present invention, transmission gear ratio of rotating speed is accurately changed, and moreover, only small number of parts are required and the parts can be assembled easily, and occurrence of trouble is prevented to the utmost. It is possible to 21 7~92f~

effectively use battery capacity and lower maximum output of the electric motor 21, and the variable speed gear becomes extremely effective. Besides, the apparatus as a whole is light and simple as compared with a conventional variable speed gear of this kind, therefore it can be easily applied to an ordinary bicycle without a large-scale remodeling, and the cost is low. A number of revolution of the rotator 3 changes owing to a number of revolution of the pedal 11, therefore power to work the pedal 11 does not change on a plane and on an uphill road, and it is possible to work the pedal 11 of the bicycle 10 under a stable situation.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in this specification, it is to be understood that the invention is illustrative and not restrictive, because various changes are possible within the spirit and indispensable features.
That is to say, the number of the planetary gears 6 can be freely increased or decreased, and it is possible to change the gear 5 and the planetary gears 6 in numbers of teeth and diameters of pitch circles, and in conformity with this, it is possible to change the gear of the gear portion 1 of the circumferential wall 2.

Claims (6)

1. A variable speed gear comprising:
a rotator having a circumferential wall in which a gear portion is formed on an inner circumferential face of the circumferential wall;
a rotating shaft which is inserted into the rotator and freely rotates;
a gear placed unitedly on an outer circumferential face of said rotating shaft;
planetary gears which are arranged on an outer circumferential side of said gear, surrounded by the circumferential wall of said rotator, engaged with said gear and the gear portion of said circumferential wall, and are able to revolve on said rotating shaft;
and an output gear which rotates owing to revolution of said planetary gears.
2. The variable speed gear as set forth in claim 1, wherein the planetary gears are four and arranged along a circumferential direction on the outer circumferential side of the rotating shaft at intervals of 90° between each other.
3. A variable speed gear for applying to a bicycle, comprising:
a rotator having a circumferential wall in which a gear portion is formed on an inner circumferential face of the circumferential wall;

an electric motor for rotating said rotator;
a rotating shaft which rotates unitedly with a pedal of said bicycle and is inserted into the rotator and freely rotates;
a gear unitedly placed on an outer circumferential face of said rotating shaft;
planetary gears which are arranged on an outer circumferential side of said gear, surrounded by the circumferential wall of said rotator, engaged with said gear and the gear portion of said circumferential wall, and are able to revolve on said rotating shaft;
an output gear which rotates owing to revolution of said planetary gears;
a sensor detecting a number of revolution of said pedal; and a controlling means for controlling a number of revolution of said electric motor on the basis of the number of revolution detected by said sensor.
4. The variable speed gear as set forth in claim 3, wherein the electric motor is a charging battery.
5. The variable speed gear as set forth in claim 3, wherein the planetary gears are four and arranged along a circumferential direction on the outer circumferential side of the rotating shaft at intervals of 90° between each other.
6. The variable speed gear as set forth in claim 3, wherein a tachometer is used as the sensor.
CA 2170920 1995-10-11 1996-03-04 Variable speed gear Abandoned CA2170920A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP29028995A JPH09104384A (en) 1995-10-11 1995-10-11 Transmission for conveyance
JP7-290289 1995-10-11

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2170920A1 true CA2170920A1 (en) 1997-04-12

Family

ID=17754221

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 2170920 Abandoned CA2170920A1 (en) 1995-10-11 1996-03-04 Variable speed gear

Country Status (3)

Country Link
JP (1) JPH09104384A (en)
CA (1) CA2170920A1 (en)
MX (1) MXPA96004701A (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
KR100899635B1 (en) * 2008-03-18 2009-05-27 최태수 Continuously variable transmission
WO2016108299A1 (en) * 2014-12-29 2016-07-07 주식회사 씨티에스 Continuously variable transmission device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
MXPA96004701A (en) 2005-03-09
JPH09104384A (en) 1997-04-22

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
FZDE Dead

Effective date: 19990304