Inline Gearbox Fast-Change Assembly for Torque-Speed Tuning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current automotive gearbox designs are limited to narrow performance bands, making them unsuitable for various vehicle applications, requiring multiple gearbox designs for different uses and necessitating costly and time-consuming changes when performance characteristics need to be modified.
Innovation Solution
An inline gearbox design with a fast-change gear assembly that allows for easy removal and replacement of gears, enabling adaptation to different performance requirements without altering the primary gear train, thus accommodating a wide range of applications from street to off-road use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a gearbox is designed for a specific performance band, then it achieves optimal performance for that application, but it cannot be used for other applications requiring different performance characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal gearbox design where the primary gear train remains fixed while a removable fast-change gear assembly allows the same gearbox housing to accommodate different gear ratios for various applications (street, track, off-road). This multi-functionality approach enables one gearbox platform to serve multiple performance bands through gear swaps rather than requiring separate gearbox designs for each application.
Solution Approach 2:
The gearbox is segmented into two independent functional modules: a fixed primary gear train and a removable fast-change gear assembly. This segmentation allows the fast-change gears to be easily swapped out without affecting the primary gear train, enabling quick adaptation to different performance requirements while maintaining the integrity of the overall gearbox structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If different gearbox designs are provided for different applications, then each application gets optimized performance, but the manufacturer must maintain multiple gearbox designs and inventories
Solution Approach 1:
By designing a universal gearbox platform with a standardized primary gear train and interchangeable fast-change gear assemblies, the manufacturer can produce one base gearbox design and then create specialized versions by assembling different fast-change gear sets. This reduces the number of unique gearbox designs that must be manufactured and maintained in inventory, while still providing application-optimized performance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If performance characteristics are changed by installing a different gearbox, then the vehicle performance is optimized, but the process requires substantial time and expense
Solution Approach 1:
The gearbox is divided into a permanent primary gear train and removable fast-change gear assemblies. This segmentation enables enthusiasts to change performance characteristics by simply swapping the fast-change gear assembly rather than replacing the entire gearbox, dramatically reducing modification time and expense while maintaining optimal performance for different applications.
Data Source
AI summary
An inline gearbox for a land vehicle that includes an engine having a clutch housing for the transmission of rotational force from the engine to one or more wheels for propelling the land vehicle, wherein the inline gearbox includes a gearbox housing having a front end, a side and a rear end, with the front end adapted to be joined to the clutch housing. There is an input shaft contained at least in part within the gearbox housing proximate to the front end of the gearbox housing, and a primary gear train that includes (a) a lay shaft; (b) a drive shaft; and (c) a plurality of selectively engaged meshed gear pairs respectively mounted on the lay shaft and the drive shaft for transmitting rotational force from the lay shaft to the drive shaft. The inline gearbox also includes an output shaft contained at least in part within the gearbox housing proximate to the rear end of the gearbox housing, with the output shaft rotationally coupled to the drive shaft. The inline gearbox features a fast-change gear assembly contained within the gearbox housing, where the fast-change gear assembly is positioned proximate the front end of the gearbox housing and interposed between the input shaft and the lay shaft, with the fast-change gear assembly comprising a first fast-change gear and a second fast-change gear meshing with the first fast-change gear, and with the first fast-change gear and the second fast-change gear each having an axis generally parallel to the axis of the input shaft. The first fast-change gear is rotationally coupled to the input shaft so as to rotate with the rotation of the input shaft, and translationally uncoupled to the input shaft to permit removal of the first fast-change gear from the gearbox housing; and the second fast-change gear is rotationally coupled to the lay shaft so as to rotate the lay shaft upon rotation of the second fast-change gear, and translationally uncoupled to the lay shaft to permit removal of the second fast-change gear from the gearbox housing.