Conical Pulley Transmission Slide Rails for Compact Belt Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The reduction in installation space for belt-driven conical pulley transmissions in motor vehicles necessitates shorter guide lengths for slide rails, which compromises their stiffness and alignment with other components, affecting the efficient guidance of the belt means.
Innovation Solution
Designing the traction and thrust slide rails differently, with varying geometric designs and materials, to optimize their length and stiffness while adapting to the available installation space and surrounding components, ensuring maximum filling of the cross-sectional area and improved structural support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the installation space for the belt-driven conical pulley transmission is reduced to make the transmission more compact, then the overall size of the transmission is reduced, but the guide length of the slide rails must be reduced which compromises their stiffness and guidance efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing the slide rails with varying cross-sectional areas along their length. The slide rails have a larger cross-sectional area at the ends where they connect to the pulley sheaves, providing maximum stiffness where it is most needed for force transmission. The middle section has a reduced cross-sectional area to minimize material usage and fit within the compact installation space. This gradient design allows the slide rails to maintain adequate stiffness for belt means guidance while accommodating the reduced installation space constraints.
2Length of stationary object
If the guide length of the slide rails is reduced to fit the compact installation space, then the transmission becomes more compact, but the alignment and structural support for the belt means are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials by combining different materials in the slide rail construction. The slide rails feature a metallic core structure providing mechanical strength and stiffness, while the outer surface is equipped with acoustic optimization elements that may consist of different material properties. This composite approach allows the slide rails to achieve the necessary structural support and alignment precision within a shorter guide length, thereby maintaining reliability for belt means guidance despite the reduced installation space.
3Strength
If the slide rails are designed with different geometric designs and materials for traction and thrust strands, then the stiffness and guide length are optimized for each strand, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the slide rail system into distinct components for the traction strand and thrust strand. Each slide rail is designed as a separate element with its own optimized geometry and material properties tailored to the specific loading conditions of each strand. The traction slide rail is optimized for tensile forces while the thrust slide rail is optimized for compressive forces. This segmentation allows each component to be independently optimized for stiffness and guidance performance, while the modular nature of the segmented design actually simplifies manufacturing and assembly compared to a monolithic design that would need to accommodate all loading conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A belt-driven conical pulley transmission includes a first pulley sheave pair arranged on the first shaft, a second pulley sheave pair arranged on the second shaft, a belt means, a first slide rail, and a second slide rail. Each pulley sheave pair includes a first conical pully displaceable along a respective shaft axis and a second conical pulley fixed along the respective axis. The belt means is displaceable in a radial direction along respective contact faces of the pulley sheave pairs from an inner position to an outer position. The belt means includes a traction strand extending through an intermediate space between the first pulley sheave pair and the second pulley sheave pair, and a thrust strand extending through the intermediate space. The first slide rail is guides the traction strand and the second slide rail is designed different from the first slide rail and guides the thrust strand.