GB867974A - A power driven transmission device - Google Patents

Abstract

867,974. Variable-speed gear. SALOMON, F. M. M. B. May 15, 1958 [May 16, 1957], No. 15682/58. Addition to 792,762. Class 80 (2). Torque is transmitted at variable ratio between an input driven wheel 9 and an outputmounted shell 17 on a vehicle by the penetration of internal axial vanes 16 on the shell 17 into a group of small spherical or hemispherically ended elements 10 carried by the wheel 9 and maintained centrifugally in a radially outer position in which they form a spherical surface. Variation.is effected by turning the output shell 17 about an axis 24, 27 from a position, shown, in which the vanes 16 are parallel with the axis of the input wheel 9 giving one-to-one drive, to a right-angle position giving zero output, the speed ratio in intermediate settings being proportional to the cosine of the angle of the axes of the disc 9 and shell 17. The input wheel 9 is driven through a bevel meshing a bevel 5 on its shaft 6, and drive issues from the shell 17 through bevels 25, 26 and a final output shaft 27. The driven shell 17 may be tilted beyond the zero position in which case the output shaft would rotate in the reverse direction. The spherical or hemispherically ended elements 10 may have depending tails with spherical enlargements pivotally and frictionally retained in circumferential grooves in the flanged surface of the wheel 9 and pressed together axially by resilient side flanges, or the tails may comprise loops frictionally retained by circular or ovoid-sectioned peripheral threads, or the tails may be apertured to receive axial locating pins and be pressed outwards by springs. The ends of the vanes 16 may be radially tapered to-reduce shock at entry and lubricating oil may be centrifuged over them. The shell 17 may be turned to vary the ratio by a crank 23 which may be controlled manually (with or without servo assistance and/or automatically using output torque and/or input speed-responsive means e.g. a spring-opposed centrifugal governor (Fig. 9, not shown) driven from, say, the input shaft 2 (not shown) and linked by a floating lever to both a manual lever and the crank 23. In Fig. 15, a gearless drive comprises two stages each of which is similar to that shown in Fig. 2, the input shaft 60 carrying the first stage driving wheel 60a and the coaxial output shaft 61 carrying the second stage driven wheel 80. The first stage driven wheel 65 and the second stage driving wheel 77 rotate together on an intermediate shaft 63, journalled in a yoke 68 which is tilted to vary the overall speed ratio in proportion to the square of the cosine of the angle between the axes of the shaft 63 and the shafts 60, 61. The second stage blades 79 are pivoted in the rim of the driven wheel 80 and are adjusted to vary the penetration depth by an annular wedge 84 which is axially moved by a rod 91 (not shown) through a fork 89.