Six-Shaft Modular Gearbox Layout for Flexible Gear Range
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gearboxes for construction machinery face challenges in providing a flexible range of gears and transmission ratios while minimizing parts and production costs, as they need to cater to various main engine products with diverse requirements, and current designs either result in excessive gears leading to inefficiency or insufficient gears leading to high design and production costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular gearbox design utilizing six shafts and seven clutches, allowing for up to eight forward gears and four backward gears, with adjustable speed ratios, achieved by strategically placing two clutches on each of the drive and intermediate shafts, enabling flexible gear engagement and reducing component count.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the number of gears is increased to improve smoothness and reduce sensitivity to external load, then the operation smoothness is improved, but the structure complexity and parts quantity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission system is segmented into multiple independent clutch packs (first clutch pack, second clutch pack, third clutch pack, fourth clutch pack) that can be engaged or disengaged independently to achieve different gear ratios. This allows the system to provide multiple gears without requiring a completely complex mechanical gear train, thereby improving operation smoothness while controlling structure complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The gearbox employs dynamic clutch engagement and disengagement to switch between different transmission paths and gear ratios during operation. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the system to adapt to different operating conditions and maintain smooth operation without requiring a fixed complex mechanical structure for all gear configurations.
2Ease of operation
If the number of gears is increased to reduce shifting impact and improve shifting smoothness, then the shifting smoothness is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission system is divided into multiple independent clutch packs that can be engaged or disengaged sequentially to achieve gear shifts. This segmentation allows for smoother shifting by enabling progressive engagement rather than abrupt gear changes, thereby improving shifting smoothness while managing structural complexity through modular clutch design.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dynamic control of multiple clutch packs to manage the shifting process. By controlling the engagement timing and sequence of different clutch packs, the system can reduce shifting impact and improve shifting smoothness without requiring a completely complex mechanical shifting mechanism.
3Productivity
If fewer gears are used to improve work efficiency and reduce tedious operations, then the work efficiency is improved, but the adaptability to different main engine products decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The gearbox design incorporates multiple clutch packs that can be engaged or disengaged to provide different gear ratios and transmission paths. This multi-functionality allows a single gearbox design to adapt to different main engine products and working conditions, thereby maintaining universality while enabling efficient operation with fewer actively used gears for specific applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic clutch control system allows the gearbox to adapt its gear configuration based on the specific main engine product and working conditions. This dynamic adaptability enables the system to optimize for work efficiency in specific applications (using fewer gears when sufficient) while maintaining the capability to provide more gears when needed for different products, thus balancing productivity and versatility.
4Quantity of substance
If a multi-gear gearbox is used to suppress clutch coupling and achieve fewer gears, then the number of gears is reduced, but the actual number of parts is not reduced causing unnecessary waste
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission system is segmented into multiple clutch packs that share common mechanical components such as shafts and gear sets. This segmentation allows the system to achieve multiple gear ratios without proportionally increasing the total number of parts, as the clutch packs utilize shared mechanical infrastructure, thereby reducing parts waste while providing gear variety.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple clutch packs are merged into a single integrated transmission system that shares common shafts, gear sets, and housing. This merging approach allows the system to provide multiple gear ratios through clutch engagement combinations rather than requiring separate mechanical gear trains for each ratio, thereby reducing the actual number of parts and avoiding unnecessary waste while achieving the goal of suppressing clutch coupling.
5Quantity of substance
If redesigning and developing a new structure for a less-gear gearbox is performed, then the number of gears is reduced, but the design cost increases and universality to original components is difficult to ensure
Solution Approach 1:
The gearbox design maintains universality by using a standardized clutch pack module that can be applied across different gear configurations. The same basic clutch pack design can be used to achieve different gear ratios through different engagement combinations, ensuring that original multi-gear gearbox components remain universally applicable while achieving a reduced gear configuration for specific applications, thereby controlling design and production costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission system is segmented into standardized, modular clutch packs that can be independently designed and manufactured. This modular segmentation allows for cost-effective production through standardization while enabling flexibility in gear configuration. The modular design ensures that original components can be universally applied across different gear configurations, controlling design and production costs while achieving the reduced gear goal.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a modular design gearbox and a gear implementation method. The gearbox includes a body, a drive shaft, four intermediate shafts, and an output shaft. The gearbox is of a six-shaft layout. The drive shaft S1, the intermediate shaft S4 and the intermediate shaft S5 are each provided with two clutch packs, and the intermediate shaft S2 is provided with one clutch pack. According to such a structure, a transmission path is short, and stability is better. By means of six shafts and seven clutches, the gearbox achieves a mode of up to eight forward gears and four backward gears, a speed ratio range is wide, and the gearbox can be adjusted flexibly, a less-gear mode can be achieved by reducing some of components, modularization is achieved, universality is improved, and the production cost and use cost of the gearbox are reduced. Moreover, each forward gear is achieved by coupling two clutches and conducting gear engagement four times, each backward gear is achieved by coupling two clutches and conducting gear engagement three times, the transmission path is short, and the reliability is high.