Drive Mechanism Gear Alignment via Ball-and-Socket Pivot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drive mechanisms for large toothed rings in applications like rotatable drums and bascule bridges face issues with tooth surface alignment due to non-parallel axes, leading to point-like power transmission and increased wear, and existing solutions complicate maintenance with integrated structures.
Innovation Solution
A drive mechanism featuring a gear supported by two support arms and a ball-and-socket joint pivot point, allowing the gear to twist and maintain parallel alignment with the toothed ring, ensuring linear tooth contact and reducing wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the gear and toothed ring are integrated into one another, then the structure is compact, but the structure becomes complex and difficult to service
Solution Approach 1:
The drive mechanism is divided into separate functional components: the gear assembly (with bearing support) and the toothed ring assembly. This segmentation allows independent servicing of each component while maintaining operational integration, directly resolving the contradiction between structural compactness and serviceability.
2Reliability
If the axes of the gear and toothed ring are kept constantly parallel, then the tooth contact remains linear and endurance is improved, but the structure requires additional supports that interfere with free turning
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing support is designed to change its orientation parameter dynamically, allowing the gear axis to self-adjust and maintain parallelism with the toothed ring axis during operation. This parameter change enables linear tooth contact without requiring additional rigid supports that would constrain free turning.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing support automatically maintains the correct angular relationship between gear and toothed ring through its own structural design and motion characteristics, without requiring external adjustment mechanisms or additional supporting structures. The system self-regulates to maintain optimal tooth contact.
3Manufacturing precision
If additional support structures are added to maintain parallel alignment, then tooth surface alignment is improved, but the structure becomes more complex and maintenance becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment function is extracted from the overall support structure and concentrated into the bearing support component. This eliminates the need for multiple separate support structures, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining precise tooth surface alignment through the specialized bearing support design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution maintains constant parallel alignment of the gear and toothed ring, reducing wear and simplifying maintenance by eliminating the need for additional supports, allowing for efficient and easy service and repair.
Implementation Method 1
The third pivot point is formed by a ball-and-socket joint
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a drive mechanism for a toothed ring including a power machine (1), a transmission (2) and a gear (4) fitted with a bearing to a bearing support (3) and provided in tooth contact with the toothed ring (5). According to the invention, the bearing support (3) is supported in its place to a base structure (6) by two support arms (7,8) and a third pivot point (9) so that the virtual extensions of the support arms intersect with a line (10) passing through the center point (11) of the tooth contact between the toothed ring (5) and the gear (4), and the third pivot point (9).