Elastomerically Damped Self-Aligning Gear for Misalignment Stress Relief
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gear transmissions suffer from misalignment issues that lead to premature wear, failure, and reduced efficiency due to stress concentration and inadequate load-bearing capabilities, with conventional solutions failing to effectively compensate for misalignment while maintaining high torque transfer.
Innovation Solution
A self-aligning gear design incorporating a toothed ring gear, spline gear, and curved-faces pin assembly with elastomeric material, allowing controlled tilting and damping to accommodate misalignments while maintaining structural integrity and torque transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional rigid gear designs are used, then manufacturing precision can be maintained, but misalignment causes stress concentration and premature failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from rigid to elastomeric, allowing the gear tooth to deform elastically under load. This parameter change enables the gear to accommodate misalignment by deforming in controlled ways, distributing contact stress more evenly across the tooth surface and preventing stress concentration that leads to premature failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction by combining elastomeric material with rigid structural elements. The elastomeric gear tooth is mounted on a rigid hub or arbor, creating a composite structure that benefits from both the compliance of elastomers (for stress distribution) and the strength of rigid materials (for structural integrity and torque transmission).
2Reliability
If flexible couplings or crowned gear teeth are used to accommodate misalignment, then gear reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding complex mechanical elements like flexible couplings or crowned teeth, the patent achieves misalignment compensation by changing the fundamental material parameter from rigid to elastomeric. This single material change provides inherent compliance that accommodates misalignment without requiring additional complex structural features.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastomeric gear tooth is self-aligning through its material properties. When engaged with the mating gear, the elastomeric tooth naturally deforms to conform to the contact surface, automatically compensating for misalignment without requiring external alignment mechanisms or complex geometric features.
3Reliability
If safety factors are increased to account for misalignment, then gear reliability improves, but torque transfer capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By changing from rigid to elastomeric material, the patent eliminates the need for conservative safety factors. The elastomeric material's ability to deform and distribute stress allows the gear to operate at higher load levels without premature failure, thereby increasing effective torque capacity while maintaining or improving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastomeric material exhibits curved deformation patterns under load, naturally distributing contact stresses in a more favorable pattern compared to rigid contact. This curved compliance effect allows higher loads to be sustained without stress concentration, effectively increasing torque capacity while maintaining reliability.
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 self-aligning gear effectively compensates for misalignments, ensuring reliable power transmission by minimizing stress concentrations and preventing premature wear, while maintaining high torque transfer capacity and structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
curved-faces pin assembly with elastomeric material, allowing controlled tilting and damping
Implementation Method 2
curved-faces pin assembly with elastomeric material, allowing controlled tilting and damping
Data Source
AI summary
A self-aligning gear includes a toothed ring gear having inner gear teeth alternating with inner grooves on an inner circumference and outer gear teeth on an outer circumference, a spline gear having spline teeth alternating with spline grooves on an outer circumference, wherein the spline teeth fit in the inner grooves of the toothed ring gear, and a curved-faces pin assembly including a cylindrical pin having semicircular ends and an elastomeric material pattern which conforms to the shape of the spline grooves and inner grooves. The grooves have either trapezoidal walls or semicylindrical walls. The self-aligning gear also includes a locking assembly with a flanged hub and threaded disc to secure the components. The elastomeric material provides alignment compensation through controlled deformation while maintaining torque transfer capability. The self-aligning gear compensates for misalignment in gear transmissions, extending operational life while maintaining power transmission efficiency.