Mechanism to selectively fix or free planetary carrier of epicyclic gearbox

[0016] The detailed description of the following embodiments of the disclosed device and method is made here by way of example rather than limitation with reference to the drawings listed above. Although certain embodiments have been shown and described in detail, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The scope of the present disclosure will never be limited to the number of constituent components, their materials, their shapes, their relative configurations, etc., and are disclosed only as exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] As a prelude to the detailed description, it should be pointed out that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the (the)" include plural items unless the context dictates otherwise. There are clear instructions.

[0018] The figure shows an illustrative embodiment of a dual capacity winch 300. These embodiments may each include various structural components and functional components that complement each other to provide the unique functions and performance of the dual-capacity winch 300, the specific structure and function of which will be described in more detail herein. For example, the dual-capacity winch 300 may use two embodiments of the motors 390a and 390b and the locking mechanism 100 to selectively fix or release the planet carrier 240 of the epicyclic gear assembly or the gearbox 312 to selectively drive the dual-capacity winch 300 The different stages 201, 202, and 203 of the epicyclic gear assembly or gearbox 312, as well as various other components that will be described herein.

[0019] Now referring specifically to the attached drawings, figure 1 An example of the epicyclic gear train 200 of the prior art is generally shown and shown in. The epicyclic gear train 200 is composed of at least two gears installed such that the center of one gear revolves around the center of the other gear. A carrier (such as planet carrier 240) connects the centers of the two gears, and can rotate around another gear (commonly referred to as sun gear 214) to carry at least one gear (commonly referred to as planet gear 220). The sun gear is usually coupled to the drive shaft 210. The planet gear 220 and the sun gear 214 are normally meshed so that their pitch circles roll without slipping. As shown, the sun gear 214 is fixed, and the planet gear 220 rolls around the sun gear 214. However, those of ordinary skill in the art understand that other components such as the planet carrier 240 may be fixed. The epicyclic gear train 200 may be assembled such that at least one planet gear 220 rolls on the inner side of the pitch circle of an external gear ring, a gear housing, or a ring gear 260 (sometimes referred to as a ring gear). The combination of the epicyclic gear train 200 and at least one planetary gear 220 engaged with both the sun gear 214 and the ring gear 260 is generally referred to as a planetary gear train 280. Oftentimes, the ring gear 260 is fixed and the sun gear 214 is driven. Those of ordinary skill in the art understand that multiple epicyclic gear trains 200 may be assembled together to form a combined gear assembly having multiple stages, where each stage corresponds to a specific epicyclic gear train.

[0020] With further reference to the attached drawings, figure 2 A side cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a dual capacity winch 300 is shown in. The winch 300 includes a reel or drum 315 that serves as a housing for the epicyclic gear assembly or gear box 312. As shown in the figure, the gearbox 312 may include three stages 201, 202, and 203, where each stage may correspond to a specific epicyclic gear train, the epicyclic gear train having an axial sun gear 214, which is divided by a planet carrier 240 Operable planetary gear 220 surrounds. The epicyclic gear train may work with the outermost ring gear 260, which may be coupled to the spool 315 and used as a drive member. The ring gear 260 may also be an integral part of the drum 315, such as a housing part with teeth inside. The dual-capacity winch 300 has two motors 390a and 390b to selectively drive different components of the winch 300 according to different required functions. The primary sides A and B of the winch 300 are located at opposite ends of the central axis of the drum 315. The winch 300 may also include two brakes 395a and 395b. The drum 315 of the winch 300 may be supported by the winch upright 70, and the pin bolt 33 may be employed to fasten the epicyclic gear assembly or part of the gear box 312.

[0021] The dual capacity winch 300 may include a locking mechanism 100, especially such as image 3 Shown in. The locking mechanism 100 may be arranged and configured to allow the high load/heavy weight mode or the low load/light weight mode of the winch 300 to be operatively selected, where the dual mode may be facilitated by the operation of a single gearbox 312. The locking mechanism 100 can eliminate the need for the brake 395b. The selection of a lifting mode (such as a high load or heavy lifting mode or a low load or light lifting mode) can engage or disengage the locking mechanism 100 and automatically lock or unlock the winch 300 into an appropriate configuration for operation in the selected mode. For example, for the high load mode, the (last stage) planet carrier 240 of the epicyclic gear train associated with stage 203 can be firmly held, and the gearbox 312 input can be associated with the epicyclic gear train 201 (first stage ) Sun gear 214. In this selected high load mode, the winch 300 can be used to lift its highest rated load, for example, to lift between 1000kg and 10000kg.

[0022] The dual function of the dual-capacity winch 300 can be facilitated in part by the operation of the locking mechanism 100. For example, when the user selects the low mode/light weight function, the locking mechanism can be switched so that the sun gear 214 of the first stage 201 can be firmly held, and the planet carrier 240 of the last stage 203 can be an input member. In this selected low-load mode, the winch 300 may be limited to a lower rated load, such as for carrying people less than 1000kg.

[0023] Such as image 3 Shown in perspective and exploded form, an embodiment of the locking mechanism 100 may be composed of various components, such as the shaft 10, the threaded locking plate 20, the threaded coupling 40, the linear actuator 50, and the mechanism housing 60. At the center of the locking mechanism 100 is the shaft 10 which is connected to the spline planet carrier 240 in the gear assembly or gearbox 312. The shaft 10 can be driven by a motor 390b. The shaft 10 has a spline 12 at the end of the shaft to connect to the planet carrier 240 of the third stage 203 of the gearbox 312 of the dual capacity winch 300. The shaft 10 also has an engagement spline 14, which is positioned midway along the length of the shaft 10, which spline is connected to the threaded locking plate 20. The engagement splines 14 may be cut or otherwise formed with tapered edges 16 to help promote smooth engagement and/or separation with complementary features of the threaded locking plate 20 (such as the internal splines 24). The rotation of the threaded locking plate 20 can be prevented in particular by a pin bolt 33 that can be configured to pass through the opening 23 of the threaded locking plate 20 and finally screw into the corresponding base 73 of the winch upright 70. The pin bolt 33 can therefore extend through the entire locking mechanism 100 so that no matter the threaded locking plate 20 is raised or lowered (extended or retracted), it will not rotate, but will be limited only by linear axial movement. The threaded locking plate 20 may be fitted to the threaded coupling 40 such that rotation of the threaded coupling 40 will cause the threaded locking plate 20 to move linearly along the axis of the spline shaft 10 toward or away from the winch upright 70. The threaded locking plate 20 may have a face or side 22 which may face the winch upright 20. The winch upright 70 may include an opening 74, wherein the opening 74 may be coaxially centered with the axis of the shaft 10 and/or the locking mechanism 100 in general, and the opening 74 may be sized to allow at least a portion of the shaft 10 to extend therethrough, To engage with the gear assembly of the winch 300 or the planet carrier 240 of the stage 203 of the gearbox 312. The winch upright 70 may be moderately flat in dimension, and may include a gearbox side 71 and a locking mechanism side 72.

[0024] The locking mechanism 100 may be configured such that the threaded locking plate 20 can be moved axially into engagement with the shaft 10 or disengaged from the shaft 10 to lock the shaft 10 or correspondingly allow the shaft 10 to be free when the shaft 10 is not engaged with the threaded locking plate 20 Rotation. The threaded coupling 40 can be moved by using a linear actuator 50, such as a hydraulic cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, a piezoelectric or electromechanical linear actuator. The linear actuator 50 may be connected to the driving part 45 of the threaded coupling 40, such as a hinge pin connection between the pivot opening 47 of the driving part 45 of the threaded coupling and the corresponding opening 57 of the linear actuator. The threaded coupling 40 may include internally projecting threads 48 that are configured to complementarily engage with the externally projecting threads 28 of the threaded locking plate 20. The interaction of the threads 48 of the threaded coupling 40 and the threads 28 of the threaded locking plate 20 can be used as a screw mechanism that converts rotational motion into linear motion and converts torque (rotational force) into linear force in order to allow the threaded locking plate 20 travels axially relative to the threaded coupling 40. It is possible to prevent the threaded coupling 40 from moving axially, in particular by the register on the spline shaft 10 and by the mechanism housing 60. The mechanism housing 60 can provide structural support for the entire locking mechanism 100, and can also protect the threaded coupling 40 and the threaded locking plate 20 from damage. The housing may include an opening 65 that is sized to allow the drive member 45 of the threaded coupling 40 to extend therethrough, and may be configured to allow the drive member 45 to be driven axially by the linear actuator 50 or otherwise move. Spin.

[0025] Continue to refer Figure 1-3 The locking mechanism 100 is further described as being operable by the control system so that only two different modes of operation are available. Generally, a control system or controller may include a piece of equipment or a set of equipment, which may manage the command, guide, or adjust the behavior or operation of other equipment and/or systems associated with and/or including the winch 300. Specific details related to the embodiment of one or more component parts of the controller can be found in the serial number of the applicant’s co-pending US patent application entitled "DUAL CAPACITY WINCH USING TWO MOTORS AND A SINGLE GEARBOX ANDDRUM" belonging to Stephen Snider Found in 15/333,002, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For example, the controller may include a linear actuator 50 of the locking mechanism 100, or otherwise operate with the linear actuator 50. The linear actuator 50 may be connected to the controller so that the linear actuator 50 functions in some manner similar to a switch or a lever to initiate the operation of the winch 300. The linear actuator 50 can be manually and/or automatically extended or retracted based on the selected lifting mode. In the high load or heavy lift mode, the linear actuator 50 can be set in the first position associated with a configuration that allows a motor 390a to drive the sun gear 214 of the first stage 201 to obtain the maximum torque Multiplying, and the high-efficiency ability to enhance heavy loads. In the low load or light lift mode, the linear actuator can be set in a second position associated with a certain configuration that allows the use of the second motor 390b to drive the last stage 203 planet carrier 240, resulting in a minimum Torque doubling and high-efficiency ability to improve lighter loads. Each mode can automatically lock the other mode, making it impossible for the two motors 390a/390b to act on the gear assembly or gearbox 312 at the same time. The linear actuator 50 may have an internal spring or other urging device, or be operated with it, to maintain the linear actuator 50 in a specific position without a control signal, such as a fully extended first position. When the user selects the practical high load or heavy lifting mode, the linear actuator 50 can be fully extended so that the threaded coupling 40 will act on the locking plate 20, thereby allowing the locking plate 20 to move axially to its fully lowered state, by This engages the outer splines 14 of the shaft 10 with the inner splines 24 of the locking plate 20, and by doing so, attaches the orientation of the spline shaft 10 to the fixed winch upright 70. In addition, when the user selects the light load mode, the power applied to the linear actuator 50 (such as electrical signals, air pressure, hydraulic pressure) will cause it to retract, thereby rotating the threaded coupling 40 and raising the locking plate 20, This separates the locking plate 20 from the spline shaft 10 and allows the spline shaft 20 to rotate freely.

[0026] Such as Figure 4 As shown in, the embodiment of the locking mechanism 100 can be set in the locked position 100b and used to selectively fix the gear assembly of the dual-capacity winch 300 or the planet carrier shaft 240 of the last stage 203 of the gearbox 312. Therefore, when the winch 300 is used in the high-capacity heavy lifting practical mode, the planet carrier shaft 240 is firmly held in the orientation corresponding to the winch upright 70, thereby preventing the planet carrier 240 from rotating relative to the drum 315, and The large load torque is transmitted to the winch upright 70. Since the large load torque is directed to the winch upright, the brake 395a on the low torque side "A" can be appropriately sized for lower loads. The torque transmission to the fixed winch upright 70 (by engaging the locking mechanism 100 in the locked position 100b) helps promote the efficient use of the three-stage gear assembly or gear box 312, and can be achieved through a certain gear reduction ratio such as 64:1 The output torque is obtained while allowing the maximum input torque generated by the motor 390a to be doubled. In some embodiments of the winch 300, a second brake may be included, such as a counterbalance valve.

[0027] For an ordinary dual-capacity winch, when selectively driving different components of the epicyclic (planetary) gear assembly or gearbox 312, the fixed component must be able to maintain a torque equal to the torque applied to the output member plus the input member. That is, if the ring gear is the output member and the sun gear is the input device, the planet carrier is fixed and the load must be kept equal to the torque on the ring plus the torque on the sun gear. For an ordinary dual-capacity winch, this would mean that the brake closest to the motor used to lift the lowest load (such as brake 395b) would have to maintain the highest torque. This type of brake is very large, especially when compared to the motors required to lift low loads. However, the inclusion of the locking mechanism 100 (which is engaged or disengaged according to the required operating mode of the winch 300) alleviates the need for such large brakes. If the user selects the heavy load mode, the locking mechanism 100 firmly holds the planet carrier 240 to the winch upright 70, thereby preventing it from rotating relative to the drum 315, and withstanding all the required reaction torque. This is Figure 5 Is shown schematically in, which shows Figure 4 The operation of the input torque on the gear assembly shown in.

[0028] Such as Image 6 As shown in, the embodiment of the locking mechanism 100 can be set in the unlocked position and used to selectively separate the planet carrier shaft 240 of the last stage 203 of the gearbox 312 of the dual capacity winch 300. Therefore, when the winch 300 is used in a low-capacity light load (for example, personnel) lifting mode, the locking mechanism 100 will release the planet carrier 240 from the winch upright 70, thereby allowing the second motor 390b to rotate the planet carrier and lift the lighter load load. In the low load or light lift mode, the brake 395a holds an input device (such as the spool shaft 102a) in place, while the motor 390b on the opposite side of the gearbox 312 is powered. The low-load motor 390b is connected to the separated and self-rotating spline shaft 10 of the locking mechanism 100, and the spline shaft 10 is in turn connected to the planet carrier 240 of the last stage 203 of the gear box 312, thereby allowing the motor to rotate and connect to the gear box 312 of the reel 315. The spline shaft 10 is therefore part of the locking mechanism 100, while also serving as a drive component coupled to the low-load motor 390b. Therefore, during low-load operation, the locking mechanism 100 on the low-load side “B” is opened, and the motor 390b rotates the drive shaft 10, which is directly coupled to the planet carrier 240 of the last stage 203 of the gearbox 312. The sun gear 214 of the first stage 201 is fixed, for example, by coupling the spool 395a to the spool shaft 102a connected to the sun gear 214. The other gears and frames of the gearbox 312 rotate at various speeds, but the end result is that the ring gear 260 (directly coupled to the drum 315) rotates at a lower gear reduction ratio, which provides a lower output torque. This lower output torque may be lower than the output torque obtained by using the motor 390a, as described herein. For example, in this particular low-load light lifting mode, the gear reduction ratio can be very close to 1:1, and the reel 315 is only slightly faster than the output speed of the motor 390b. This is Figure 7 Is shown schematically in, which shows Image 6 The operation of the input torque on the gear assembly or gearbox 312 shown in.

[0029] In addition to automatically setting the locking state of the locking mechanism 100 to match the load pattern, it may also be possible to have an interlocking device on the locking mechanism 100, in case the mechanism is not fully engaged/disengaged, or in the wrong state The case prevents the winch from moving. One way to achieve this could be to install a plunger type normally open limit switch at each end of the stroke of the linear actuator 50. Therefore, when the linear actuator 50 is fully extended, a limit switch will be closed and the heavy duty mode control will be activated. In addition, when the linear actuator 50 is fully retracted, the other limit switch will be closed and the light load mode control will be activated.

[0030] The construction material of the winch 300 and its various parts (and/or including the locking mechanism 100 and its various parts) can be formed by any of many different types of materials or combinations thereof, which can be easily formed into shaped objects, provided The selected components are consistent with the expected operation of a winch of the type disclosed herein. For example, a multi-stage epicyclic gear box similar to a gear assembly or gear box 312 is printed in plastic. The plastic gearbox similar to the gearbox 312 is selectively driven by different components of the gearbox to confirm that rotating the [first stage] sun gear while limiting the [last stage] planet carrier will get the maximum torque through the gearbox Doubled. The test of this plastic embodiment confirmed that rotating the [last stage] planet carrier while fixing the [first stage] sun gear will result in a lower torque multiplication. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the structure and composition of the parts can be formed from the following materials: rubber (synthetic and/or natural) and/or other similar materials; glass (such as glass fiber), carbon fiber, aramid fiber, Any combination thereof, and/or other similar materials; polymers, such as thermoplastics (such as ABS, fluoropolymer, polyacetal, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polysulfone, and/or the like), Thermosetting materials (such as epoxy resin, phenolic resin, polyimide, polyurethane, silicone and/or the like), any combination thereof, and/or other similar materials; composite materials and/or other similar materials; metals, such as Zinc, magnesium, titanium, copper, iron, steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, tool steel, stainless steel, aluminum, any combination thereof, and/or other similar materials; alloys, such as aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, magnesium alloy, copper alloy , Any combination thereof, and/or other similar materials; any other suitable materials; and/or any combination thereof.

[0031] In addition, the components defining the above-mentioned winch 10 and its various component parts may be purchased in advance or manufactured separately and then assembled together. However, any or all components can also be manufactured at the same time and integrally joined to each other. Manufacturing these components individually or simultaneously can involve: extrusion, pultrusion, vacuum forming, injection molding, blow molding, resin transfer molding, casting, forging, cold rolling, milling, drilling, reaming, turning, grinding , Stamping, cutting, bending, welding, soldering, hardening, riveting, stamping, electroplating, three-dimensional printing and/or similar methods. If any of the components are manufactured separately, they can be coupled to each other in any way, such as by adhesives, welding, fasteners (such as bolts, nuts, screws, nails, rivets, pins and/or the like ), wires, any combination thereof, and/or the like, for example, depending on the specific material forming the part (among other considerations). Other feasible steps may include, for example, sandblasting, polishing, powder coating, galvanizing, anodizing, hard anodizing, and/or painting on the part.

[0032] Although the present disclosure has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments given above, it is obvious that various alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure as given above are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as required by the appended claims. The claims provide the coverage of the present disclosure and should not be limited to the specific examples provided herein.