Wheel Drive Coupling Lubrication for Spline Wear Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traveling devices for wheeled vehicles, such as dump trucks, face issues with lubricant degradation in spline couplings, leading to reduced lubricating performance and the need for frequent grease replacement, while using keys for shaft jointing compromises joint accuracy and assembly/disassembly workability.
Innovation Solution
A lubricating oil circulation circuit is introduced to supply lubricating oil directly to the coupling section between the motor shaft and the coupling, ensuring continuous lubrication and improving power transmission accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a coupling is disposed between the motor shaft and the rotation shaft to allow misalignment, then the reliability is improved, but the lubricant degrades and requires periodic replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful elements (abrasion powder and degraded lubricant) from the coupling section by introducing a lubricating oil circulation circuit. The circulation system continuously supplies fresh lubricating oil to the coupling section, removing contaminated oil and preventing lubricant degradation, thereby maintaining reliability without requiring periodic replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous lubrication by establishing a circulation circuit that continuously supplies lubricating oil to the coupling section. This continuous supply prevents lubricant degradation and maintains effective lubrication indefinitely, eliminating the need for periodic maintenance while preserving the reliability benefits of the coupling.
2Manufacturing precision
If a key is used for jointing the two shafts, then the joint accuracy is ensured, but the workability at disassembling/assembling deteriorates and the shaft diameter becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a spline coupling instead of a rigid key connection, allowing dynamic adjustment and misalignment accommodation. The spline structure provides both accurate joint positioning and ease of assembly/disassembly, as the splined interfaces can engage and disengage smoothly without requiring precise alignment or increasing shaft diameter.
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
This solution maintains effective lubrication of the spline coupling sections, enhances power transmission durability, and simplifies maintenance by reducing the need for frequent lubricant replacement and improving assembly/disassembly workability.
Implementation Method 1
A spline coupling section of the two shafts jointed by the spline coupling is usually lubricated by a lubricant
Data Source
AI summary
A traveling device (11) includes a cylindrical spindle (12) that rotatably supports a wheel attaching cylinder (17) to which a wheel (7) is attached, an electric motor (13) attached to the spindle (12), a motor shaft (14) that projects from the electric motor (13) and outputs rotation of the electric motor (13), a rotation shaft (15) to which the rotation of the motor shaft (14) is transmitted, a gear reduction mechanism (21) that decelerates rotation of the rotation shaft (15) and transmits the decelerated rotation to the wheel attaching cylinder (17), a lubricating oil circulation circuit (50) that repeatedly supplies lubricating oil (L) to the gear reduction mechanism (21), and a coupling (38) disposed for the joint between the motor shaft (14) and the rotation shaft (15). A lubricating oil passage (43) is disposed in the coupling (38), and the lubricating oil passage (43) supplies part of the lubricating oil (L), which is supplied to the gear reduction mechanism (21) by using the lubricating oil circulation circuit (50), to a coupling section between the motor shaft (14) and the coupling (38).