GB2165919A - Improvements in drive mechanisms - Google Patents

Improvements in drive mechanisms Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2165919A
GB2165919A GB08426426A GB8426426A GB2165919A GB 2165919 A GB2165919 A GB 2165919A GB 08426426 A GB08426426 A GB 08426426A GB 8426426 A GB8426426 A GB 8426426A GB 2165919 A GB2165919 A GB 2165919A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
shaft
drive
drive shaft
input shaft
driven
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB08426426A
Inventor
John Eptas
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.)
Vinters Ltd
Original Assignee
Vickers PLC
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 Vickers PLC filed Critical Vickers PLC
Priority to GB08426426A priority Critical patent/GB2165919A/en
Publication of GB2165919A publication Critical patent/GB2165919A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16D—COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES
    • F16D3/00—Yielding couplings, i.e. with means permitting movement between the connected parts during the drive
    • F16D3/16—Universal joints in which flexibility is produced by means of pivots or sliding or rolling connecting parts
    • F16D3/18—Universal joints in which flexibility is produced by means of pivots or sliding or rolling connecting parts the coupling parts (1) having slidably-interengaging teeth
    • F16D3/185—Universal joints in which flexibility is produced by means of pivots or sliding or rolling connecting parts the coupling parts (1) having slidably-interengaging teeth radial teeth connecting concentric inner and outer coupling parts

Abstract

A drive mechanism particularly suitable for a retractible azimuth thruster includes a vertical output shaft (10) keyed at (12) to hub (14) of a rotary coupling. The hub (14) is connected via spacer (16) to a sleeve (18) having splines (22) engaged by crowned teeth (36) of an inner hub (24) that rotates with the hub (14) whilst accommodating a limited degree of misalignment. The hub (24) is shrunk onto an upper portion (28) of a telescopic drive shaft which is suspended by a flexible tie wire (30) from the output shaft (10). Abnormal upward loads on the shaft (28) tending to buckle the wire (30) are resisted by distance piece (40). The weight of the shaft (28) is carried simply as a tensile load in the wire (30) without the need for bearing surfaces and misalignment is accommodated simply by bending of the wire (30). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in drive mechanisms This invention relates to a drive mechanism that is particularly, though not exclusively intended for use in marine azimuth thrusters.
Retractable azimuth thrusters are described in Schottel's Patent Specification No. GB-A2005516 and employ a telescopic transmission shaft to enable the thruster to retract with the motor remaining static and with the transmission shaft remaining in place. With such a telescopic transmission shaft the shaft weight cannot be supported from the thruster and accordingly Schottel build up a hollow end cap on their vertical drive input shaft and suspend the upper part of their transmission shaft from a spherical footstep bearing within the end cap. This arrangement is complex to manufacture and it is an object of this invention to provide a simplified but equally effective way of supporting the weight of the transmission shaft.
Broadly stated the invention provides a drive mechanism in which an otherwise unsupported vertical drive shaft is suspended between a vertical driven input shaft and a mechanism driven by the lower end of the drive shaft wherein the upper end of the drive shaft is coupled to the driven input shaft by means of a coupling that permits misalignment between the driven input shaft and the drive shaft and the weight of the drive shaft is transmitted to the driven input shaft through a load transmitting member that accommodates the misalignment simply by bending.
Preferably the drive shaft is hung from the driven input shaft by means of a depending flexible tie such as a wire rope between the driven input shaft and the driven portion of the rotary coupling. The tie rope may have swaged terminals at its ends that locate in upper and lower plates respectively fastened to the input shaft and to the drive shaft and/or shaft hubs. Advantageously a distance piece surrounds the tie to prevent an abnormal upwards thrust on the drive shaft from over-flexing the tie and limits upward travel of the drive shaft. The distance piece is preferably fastened to the driven portion of the rotary coupling.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a side view of a drive coupling and upper part of a telescopic drive shaft according to the invention.
In the drawing an electric motor (not shown) has a vertical output shaft 10 keyed at 12 to a hub 14 of a rotary coupling. The hub 14 is bolted to spacer 16 which in turn is bolted to a sleeve 18 having a seal 20 and internal splines 22. An inner hub 24 has crowned teeth 26 engaged with the splines 22 so that the inner hub 24 rotates with the hub 14 but can accommodate a limited degree of misalignment. The inner hub 24 is a shrink fit onto a solid upper portion 28 of a telescopic drive shaft whose lower hollow portion connects to a marine azimuth thruster. The weight of the telescopic shaft 28 is carried by a tie wire 30 which has swaged terminals 32 at its upper and lower ends received in sockets in upper and lower end plates 33, 34.The upper plate 33 is bolted to the output shaft 10 and the lower plate 34 is bolted to the shaft 28 which is formed with an end cavity 36 to accommodate a ferrule receiving boss 38 of the plate 34. Abnormal loads on the shaft 28 tending to displace it upwards are resisted by a distance piece 40 of generally C-section that is bolted to the plate 34 and has a spherical upper end that bears against boss 38 of the upper plate 33. Thereby the weight of the drive shaft 28 is carried simply as a tension in the wire 30 without the need for any bearing surfaces and misalignment is accommodated simply by bending of the wire 30.
1. A drive mechanism in which an otherwise unsupported vertical drive shaft is suspended between a vertical driven input shaft and a mechanism driven by the lower end of the drive shaft wherein the upper end of the drive shaft is couplied to the driven input shaft by means of a coupling that permits misalignment between the driven input shaft and the drive shaft and the weight of the drive shaft is transmitted to the driven input shaft through a load transmitting member that accommodates the misalignment simply by bending.
2. A drive mechanism according to Claim 1, wherein the coupling is a gear coupling and the drive shaft is hung from the driven input shaft by means of a depending flexible tie between the driven input shaft and the driven portion of the rotary coupling.
3. A drive mechanism according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the tie comprises a wire rope.
4. A drive mechanism according to Claim 3, wherein the tie rope has swaged terminals at its ends that locate in upper and lower plates respectively fastened to the input shaft and to the drive shaft and/or shaft hubs.
5. A drive mechanism according to any of Claims 2-4 wherein a distance piece surrounds the tie to prevent an abnormal upwards thrust on the drive shaft from overflexing the tie and limits upward travel of the drive shaft.
6. A drive mechanism according to Claim 5 wherein the distance piece is fastened to the driven portion of the rotary coupling.
7. A drive mechanism according to any preceding claim wherein the drive shaft is telescopic.
8. A drive mechanism according to any
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (9)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Improvements in drive mechanisms This invention relates to a drive mechanism that is particularly, though not exclusively intended for use in marine azimuth thrusters. Retractable azimuth thrusters are described in Schottel's Patent Specification No. GB-A2005516 and employ a telescopic transmission shaft to enable the thruster to retract with the motor remaining static and with the transmission shaft remaining in place. With such a telescopic transmission shaft the shaft weight cannot be supported from the thruster and accordingly Schottel build up a hollow end cap on their vertical drive input shaft and suspend the upper part of their transmission shaft from a spherical footstep bearing within the end cap. This arrangement is complex to manufacture and it is an object of this invention to provide a simplified but equally effective way of supporting the weight of the transmission shaft. Broadly stated the invention provides a drive mechanism in which an otherwise unsupported vertical drive shaft is suspended between a vertical driven input shaft and a mechanism driven by the lower end of the drive shaft wherein the upper end of the drive shaft is coupled to the driven input shaft by means of a coupling that permits misalignment between the driven input shaft and the drive shaft and the weight of the drive shaft is transmitted to the driven input shaft through a load transmitting member that accommodates the misalignment simply by bending. Preferably the drive shaft is hung from the driven input shaft by means of a depending flexible tie such as a wire rope between the driven input shaft and the driven portion of the rotary coupling. The tie rope may have swaged terminals at its ends that locate in upper and lower plates respectively fastened to the input shaft and to the drive shaft and/or shaft hubs. Advantageously a distance piece surrounds the tie to prevent an abnormal upwards thrust on the drive shaft from over-flexing the tie and limits upward travel of the drive shaft. The distance piece is preferably fastened to the driven portion of the rotary coupling. An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a side view of a drive coupling and upper part of a telescopic drive shaft according to the invention. In the drawing an electric motor (not shown) has a vertical output shaft 10 keyed at 12 to a hub 14 of a rotary coupling. The hub 14 is bolted to spacer 16 which in turn is bolted to a sleeve 18 having a seal 20 and internal splines 22. An inner hub 24 has crowned teeth 26 engaged with the splines 22 so that the inner hub 24 rotates with the hub 14 but can accommodate a limited degree of misalignment. The inner hub 24 is a shrink fit onto a solid upper portion 28 of a telescopic drive shaft whose lower hollow portion connects to a marine azimuth thruster. The weight of the telescopic shaft 28 is carried by a tie wire 30 which has swaged terminals 32 at its upper and lower ends received in sockets in upper and lower end plates 33, 34.The upper plate 33 is bolted to the output shaft 10 and the lower plate 34 is bolted to the shaft 28 which is formed with an end cavity 36 to accommodate a ferrule receiving boss 38 of the plate 34. Abnormal loads on the shaft 28 tending to displace it upwards are resisted by a distance piece 40 of generally C-section that is bolted to the plate 34 and has a spherical upper end that bears against boss 38 of the upper plate 33. Thereby the weight of the drive shaft 28 is carried simply as a tension in the wire 30 without the need for any bearing surfaces and misalignment is accommodated simply by bending of the wire 30. CLAIMS
1. A drive mechanism in which an otherwise unsupported vertical drive shaft is suspended between a vertical driven input shaft and a mechanism driven by the lower end of the drive shaft wherein the upper end of the drive shaft is couplied to the driven input shaft by means of a coupling that permits misalignment between the driven input shaft and the drive shaft and the weight of the drive shaft is transmitted to the driven input shaft through a load transmitting member that accommodates the misalignment simply by bending.
2. A drive mechanism according to Claim 1, wherein the coupling is a gear coupling and the drive shaft is hung from the driven input shaft by means of a depending flexible tie between the driven input shaft and the driven portion of the rotary coupling.
3. A drive mechanism according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the tie comprises a wire rope.
4. A drive mechanism according to Claim 3, wherein the tie rope has swaged terminals at its ends that locate in upper and lower plates respectively fastened to the input shaft and to the drive shaft and/or shaft hubs.
5. A drive mechanism according to any of Claims 2-4 wherein a distance piece surrounds the tie to prevent an abnormal upwards thrust on the drive shaft from overflexing the tie and limits upward travel of the drive shaft.
6. A drive mechanism according to Claim 5 wherein the distance piece is fastened to the driven portion of the rotary coupling.
7. A drive mechanism according to any preceding claim wherein the drive shaft is telescopic.
8. A drive mechanism according to any preceding claim wherein the drive shaft drives a marine azimuth thruster.
9. A drive mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
GB08426426A 1984-10-19 1984-10-19 Improvements in drive mechanisms Withdrawn GB2165919A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB08426426A GB2165919A (en) 1984-10-19 1984-10-19 Improvements in drive mechanisms

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB08426426A GB2165919A (en) 1984-10-19 1984-10-19 Improvements in drive mechanisms

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB2165919A true GB2165919A (en) 1986-04-23

Family

ID=10568417

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB08426426A Withdrawn GB2165919A (en) 1984-10-19 1984-10-19 Improvements in drive mechanisms

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2165919A (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102009043057A1 (en) * 2009-09-28 2011-04-07 Sew-Eurodrive Gmbh & Co. Kg Coupling for reconciliation of axial tolerance between driving and driving-off shafts, has intermediate shaft equipped with internal teeth between coupling parts, and leading-through part that is varied in length
EP2922179A1 (en) * 2014-03-17 2015-09-23 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Rotor of a rotating electric machine

Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3635048A (en) * 1968-12-24 1972-01-18 Siai Marchetti Spa Universal gear coupling
GB1274590A (en) * 1969-09-26 1972-05-17 Ford Motor Co Flexible coupling assembly
GB1315786A (en) * 1970-09-22 1973-05-02 Ford Motor Co Bellows flexible joint
GB1315787A (en) * 1970-09-22 1973-05-02 Ford Motor Co Bellow flexible joint
GB1366627A (en) * 1971-08-10 1974-09-11 Lamburn A S Universal coupling
US4187698A (en) * 1978-06-12 1980-02-12 Ohlson John F Coupling for misaligned shafts
US4280339A (en) * 1979-04-27 1981-07-28 The Gates Rubber Company Torque transfer device for flexible shaft couplings
GB2113349A (en) * 1982-01-14 1983-08-03 Gordon Howard Townend Universal joints
GB2128291A (en) * 1982-10-01 1984-04-26 British Leyland Cars Ltd Improvements relating to driveline couplings
GB2133858A (en) * 1983-01-14 1984-08-01 Pirelli Drive transmission joint

Patent Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3635048A (en) * 1968-12-24 1972-01-18 Siai Marchetti Spa Universal gear coupling
GB1274590A (en) * 1969-09-26 1972-05-17 Ford Motor Co Flexible coupling assembly
GB1315786A (en) * 1970-09-22 1973-05-02 Ford Motor Co Bellows flexible joint
GB1315787A (en) * 1970-09-22 1973-05-02 Ford Motor Co Bellow flexible joint
GB1366627A (en) * 1971-08-10 1974-09-11 Lamburn A S Universal coupling
US4187698A (en) * 1978-06-12 1980-02-12 Ohlson John F Coupling for misaligned shafts
US4280339A (en) * 1979-04-27 1981-07-28 The Gates Rubber Company Torque transfer device for flexible shaft couplings
GB2113349A (en) * 1982-01-14 1983-08-03 Gordon Howard Townend Universal joints
GB2128291A (en) * 1982-10-01 1984-04-26 British Leyland Cars Ltd Improvements relating to driveline couplings
GB2133858A (en) * 1983-01-14 1984-08-01 Pirelli Drive transmission joint

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102009043057A1 (en) * 2009-09-28 2011-04-07 Sew-Eurodrive Gmbh & Co. Kg Coupling for reconciliation of axial tolerance between driving and driving-off shafts, has intermediate shaft equipped with internal teeth between coupling parts, and leading-through part that is varied in length
EP2922179A1 (en) * 2014-03-17 2015-09-23 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Rotor of a rotating electric machine
WO2015139933A2 (en) 2014-03-17 2015-09-24 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Rotor of a rotating electric machine
WO2015139933A3 (en) * 2014-03-17 2015-12-17 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Rotor of a rotating electric machine

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WAP Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1)