Plural Outputs (e.g., Differential) Patents (Class 475/184)
  • Patent number: 10781911
    Abstract: A vehicle including a chassis and a planetary gear assembly supported by the chassis. The planetary gear assembly includes a planetary carrier having a carrier locking feature, at least one planetary gear, at least one pin supporting the at least one planetary gear and including at least one pin locking feature, and at least one thrust washer coupled to and supported by the at least one pin. The at least one thrust washer includes a first locking member engaging with the carrier locking feature, which prevents the at least one thrust washer from rotating, and a second locking member engaging with the at least one pin locking feature such that the at least one thrust washer prevents the at least one pin from rotating and axially sliding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Daniel Payne, Michael Jensen, Brad Banwarth
  • Patent number: 10655711
    Abstract: A planetary traction drive for a driven turbocharger utilizes angular contact ball ramps to provide variable clamping depending on torque throughput. The ball ramps are located between ring rollers and a ring gear, and function to locate the ring gear concentrically to the ring rollers. The angled contact axes of the ball ramps allows use of a low conformity contact between the balls and ball races in the ball ramps to provide efficient movement, while simultaneously locating ring gear concentrically to the traction rings. A variation is shown where only a single angular contact ball ramp is used between the ring gear and a clamping traction ring, and the other traction ring is rigidly fixed to the ring gear to reduce part count and complexity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: SuperTurbo Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Marc Montgomery, Ryan Sherill
  • Publication number: 20150065287
    Abstract: A friction roller planetary gearing includes a first and a second sun which are axially displaceable with respect to one another and at least one of the suns is connected for conjoint rotation to a sun shaft. Stepped planets roll on the suns, on a first annulus and on a second annulus. The suns, the annuluses and the stepped planets are configured as friction rings. The second annulus is axially displaceable relative to the first annulus. A first torque-dependent axial displacement device controls a contact pressure between the suns and contact surfaces of the planets by using a torque-dependent axial displacement of at least one of the suns. A second torque-dependent axial displacement device controls a contact pressure between the annuluses and contact surfaces of the planets by using a torque-dependent axial displacement of at least one of the annuluses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2014
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Inventors: Rainer Petersen, Jörg Möckel, Andreas Lutz, Stefan Hanke
  • Patent number: 8961349
    Abstract: A differential with one or more friction and thrust washer sets so that axially generated thrust forces can be used in certain situations to affect a torque bias ratio of the differential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
    Inventor: Philip R. Kellogg
  • Publication number: 20110143877
    Abstract: A differential device includes a drive gear, which has a gear wheel with a center axle hole and multiple needle rollers radially mounted in the gear wheel, a first coupling device, which has an abutment wall abutted against the needle rollers at one side and a stub axle inserted through the center axle hole of the gear wheel and a coupling tube for coupling to a first external wheel, and a second coupling device, which has an abutment wall abutted against the needle rollers at an opposite side and rotatably coupled to the stub axle of the first coupling device and a coupling tube for coupling to a second external wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2008
    Publication date: June 16, 2011
    Inventor: Hsueh-Jung Lu
  • Patent number: 7749123
    Abstract: A differential is provided comprising a rotatable differential housing, first and second output members, a first cycloid disk having an epitrochoid groove, a second cycloid disk having a hypotrochoid groove, a coupling disk connected having a plurality of holes each containing a sphere, wherein the spheres are engageable with the grooves for transferring torque between the cycloid disks. A method is also provided for distributing torque in a vehicle having two axles including at least one drive axle, including attaching one axle to a cycloid disk having a continuous epitrochoid groove, attaching another axle to a cycloid disk having a continuous hypotrochoid groove, attaching a rotatable housing to a center coupling disk having a plurality of holes, and positioning a torque transfer sphere that is engageable with the grooves in each of the holes, wherein the spheres are configured for distributing torque along the drive axles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations, Inc.
    Inventors: Hsu-Chiang Miao, Chi-Kuan Kao
  • Publication number: 20080188341
    Abstract: A differential is provided comprising a rotatable differential housing, first and second output members, a first cycloid disk having an epitrochoid groove, a second cycloid disk having a hypotrochoid groove, a coupling disk connected having a plurality of holes each containing a sphere, wherein the spheres are engageable with the grooves for transferring torque between the cycloid disks. A method is also provided for distributing torque in a vehicle having two axles including at least one drive axle, including attaching one axle to a cycloid disk having a continuous epitrochoid groove, attaching another axle to a cycloid disk having a continuous hypotrochoid groove, attaching a rotatable housing to a center coupling disk having a plurality of holes, and positioning a torque transfer sphere that is engageable with the grooves in each of the holes, wherein the spheres are configured for distributing torque along the drive axles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2007
    Publication date: August 7, 2008
    Applicant: GM Global Technology Operations, Inc.
    Inventors: Hsu-Chiang Miao, Chi-Kuan Kao
  • Patent number: 7264567
    Abstract: A wedge loading mechanism for an eccentric planetary traction drive in which a roller having a flexibly mounted shaft is positioned between two raceways forming a convergent wedge. Rotation of either of the two raceways wedges the roller within the convergent wedge squeezing the roller between the two raceways thereby transmitting rotational motion and torque between the two raceways. The flexibly mounted shaft generates differences between an effective supporting stiffness of the roller and an contact effective stiffness at the points where the roller contacts the two raceways. The difference in the effective stiffness allow the roller to operate efficiently at smaller convergent wedge angles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2007
    Assignee: The Timken Company
    Inventor: Xiaolan Ai
  • Patent number: 6883616
    Abstract: A walk-behind trenching implement has a side mounted rotary trenching tool for creating a profiled trench into the surface of the earth, which can also be used as an implement to edge landscape beds. The trenching implement is powered by an engine that delivers rotational power in an unbalanced manner to the wheel adjacent to the rotatable trenching tool. The wheel opposite to the trenching tool is can be non-powered to freely rotate as the implement is moved across the surface of the ground, or braked to unbalance power delivery through a differential. This unbalanced propulsion drive induces a skewing action into the operation of the implement that counterbalances the opposite skewing action resulting from the operation of the trenching tool to provide a more smoothly operating implement. A trenching tool having a configuration conducive to profile modification allows flexibility in the desired shape of the trench being formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Turf Teq, LLC
    Inventor: David J. Templeton
  • Patent number: 6780133
    Abstract: A differential gear includes a cylindrical power transmission member, two cam members accommodated in an inner space of the power transmission member, and a plurality of cam follower members. Each of the cam follower elements is fitted to a respective one of a plurality of engagement grooves, formed on an inner peripheral surface of the power transmission member in an axially longitudinal direction thereof, such that the each of the cam follower elements partially sticks out of the inner space. The stick-out portions of the cam follower elements are interposed between cam lobes formed on opposing surfaces of the two cam members. Drive power of the power transmission member is distributed to the two cam members via the cam follower elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshitaka Ohta
  • Publication number: 20030069105
    Abstract: A differential gear includes a cylindrical power transmission member, two cam members accommodated in an inner space of the power transmission member, and a plurality of cam follower members. Each of the cam follower elements is fitted to a respective one of a plurality of engagement grooves, formed on an inner peripheral surface of the power transmission member in an axially longitudinal direction thereof, such that the each of the cam follower elements partially sticks out of the inner space. The stick-out portions of the cam follower elements are interposed between cam lobes formed on opposing surfaces of the two cam members. Drive power of the power transmission member is distributed to the two cam members via the cam follower elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2002
    Publication date: April 10, 2003
    Inventor: Yoshitaka Ohta
  • Publication number: 20020147066
    Abstract: A differential mechanism connecting two shafts and/or wheels, allowing for rotation of these shafts/wheels with different angular speeds, and having frictional connections between its sun gears and planets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2001
    Publication date: October 10, 2002
    Inventor: Evgeny I. Rivin
  • Patent number: 5928101
    Abstract: A differential gear mechanism includes an input member (111) mounted for rotation with respect to output half-shafts (112, 113), each half-shaft fixedly carrying an output member (114, 115). A coupling member (117) mounted for rotation about an axis radial of the half-shafts (112, 113) positively engages the output members (114, 115) and permits relative rotation of the output members (114, 115) on their half-shafts (112, 113). The output members include recesses for receiving teeth of a toothed wheel coupling member. The recesses of the output member comprise indentations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1999
    Inventor: Frank John Thompson Hancock
  • Patent number: 5533424
    Abstract: This invention provides a differential gear that permits a sure differential limitation effect to be obtained with a simple structure and that is both compact in size and low in price. That is, when a rotational difference occurs on a pair of output-side rotary bodies arranged in opposite form to each other on the shaft center of an input-side rotary body, a differential rotation of each output-side rotary body is achieved by interconnecting the rotary motion of each output-side rotary body by means of numerous grooves and numerous balls fitted to these grooves. At this time, when the force necessary to cause a rotational difference is given to each output-side rotary body only from one output-side rotary body, the balls or grooves of the driven side at differential rotation cause the grooves or balls of the driving side to follow their own motion on the other output-side rotary body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1996
    Inventor: Kenji Mimura
  • Patent number: 5507702
    Abstract: A torque proportioning differential mechanism (1) for transmitting drive to at least two wheels of a vehicle. The differential includes a carrier (2) adapted to be rotatably driven about a first axis (3) and a plurality of inner peripherally spaced pinion-locating formations (6) defining respective inwardly directed carrier thrust surfaces (7). A pair of spaced apart bevel side gears (4,5) are respectively adapted for connection to the wheels and supported for rotation about a common axis (3) fixed with respect to the carrier. A plurality of peripherally spaced floating shaftless bevel pinions (8) are disposed in meshing engagement with both the side gears (4,5). Each pinion defines a complementary outer pinion thrust surface (9) nestingly disposed closely adjacent a respective one of the locating formations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 16, 1996
    Assignee: BTR Engineering (Australia) Limited
    Inventors: Clifford A. Joachim, Stanislaw Spryszynski
  • Patent number: 5362283
    Abstract: This invention provides and improved apparatus and an improved method of adjusting the tractive torque at the driven wheels of a scale model vehicle employing an enclosed friction driven differential. The invention's improvements allow this adjustment to be accomplished without disassembly of the driven axles, or removing any member of the differential's enclosure to gain access to the internal adjusting components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 8, 1994
    Assignee: Traxxas Corporation
    Inventor: Jimmy R. Jenkins
  • Patent number: 5104361
    Abstract: This invention provides an improved apparatus and an improved method of adjusting the tractive torque at the driven wheels of a scale model vehicle employing an enclosed friction driven differential. The invention's improvements allow this adjustment to be accomplished without disassembly of the driven axles, or removing any member of the differential's enclosure to gain access to the internal adjusting components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1992
    Inventor: Jimmy R. Jenkins
  • Patent number: 5101685
    Abstract: A differential gear that includes a cage in which there is disposed first and second rotatable cylinders positioned adjacent to one another, each rotatable cylinder having an elliptically-shaped groove in its surface and a sphere in each groove in contact with the cage as the cylinders are rotated. The first and second rotatable cylinders are rotatable only in opposite directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1992
    Inventor: Robert C. Beck
  • Patent number: 4963122
    Abstract: A continuously variable differential (10) uses a continuously variable transmission (50) that is rotated by drive torque and controlled to vary the speed ratio between its outputs. These, which previously transmitted power through the transmission, are connected with a pair of drive shafts such as opposed drive axles (17 and 18) that rotate with the transmission under drive power. Differentiation between the shafts transmits through the transmission via variable speed ratios that control the moment arms, mechanical advantages, and torque bias ratios. This arrangement allows the torque to be distributed according to sensed vehicle conditions. It can apply more torque to a wheel retaining traction when its opposite wheel slips, and it can apply a larger portion of the torque to wheels bearing more weight or to a faster rotating wheel on an outside of a curve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 16, 1990
    Assignee: The Gleason Works
    Inventor: Thomas B. Ryan