Patent Application
20200182346
The present disclosure generally relates to a gear assembly, and more specifically to an arrangement for mounting a gear to a shaft in an oil scavenge pump.
Oil pumps are traditionally known for the purpose of drawing up the lubricating oil from an oil collector device. The pump has an oil pump housing wherein at least two pairs of gears are disposed. The pairs of gears may be connected on the suction side to a suction passage formed in the oil pump housing and on the delivery side to a delivery passage.
A gear oil pump for the supply of lubricating oil to an internal combustion engine are generally implemented in vehicles wherein the lubricating oil is delivered from a rear oil suction space of an oil collector housing of the internal combustion engine via a first pumping stage into the actual oil sump in order to be supplied from there via a second pumping stage to the main bearings of the crankshaft or the bearings of the camshaft, etc. Typically, an oil pump includes driving gear 118 affixed on shaft 112 as by drive key 130 in order to mount the driving gear 118 onto the shaft 112. (See
The present disclosure provides a gear assembly which may be implemented in various components, including but not limited to an oil scavenge pump. The gear assembly includes a primary shaft, a driving gear, a driven gear, a secondary shaft, and a key wherein the primary shaft and the driving gear define a keyway for housing the key. The primary shaft defines a lower region of the keyway while the driving gear defines an upper region of the keyway. The driving gear may be mounted on the primary shaft such that the upper region and the lower regions of the keyway are aligned with each other in order for the keyway to house the key. The driven gear may be mounted on the secondary shaft such that the driven gear may be in meshing engagement with the driven gear. The aforementioned keyway defines a peninsula in a center portion of the upper region defined by the driving gear. The peninsula is configured to abut a key disposed within the keyway.
The gear assembly of the present disclosure defines a first load distribution region integral to a first side of the peninsula and a second load distribution region integral to a second side of the peninsula. The first load distribution region defines a first recess within the driving gear and the second load distribution region defines a second recess within the driving gear.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the key may define a first chamfer, a second chamber, and an upper surface disposed between the first and second chamfers. The upper surface of the key may be configured to abut the peninsula.
As indicated, the gear assembly of the present disclosure may be implemented in a variety of different components which include but are not limited to an oil scavenge pump.
The present disclosure and its particular features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings.
These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description, best mode, claims, and accompanying drawings in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the description of several views of the drawings.
Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred compositions, embodiments and methods of the present disclosure, which constitute the best modes of practicing the present disclosure presently known to the inventors. The figures are not necessarily to scale. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the present disclosure that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for any aspect of the present disclosure and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure.
Except in the examples, or where otherwise expressly indicated, all numerical quantities in this description indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word “about” in describing the broadest scope of the present disclosure. Practice within the numerical limits stated is generally preferred. Also, unless expressly stated to the contrary: percent, “parts of,” and ratio values are by weight; the description of a group or class of materials as suitable or preferred for a given purpose in connection with the present disclosure implies that mixtures of any two or more of the members of the group or class are equally suitable or preferred; the first definition of an acronym or other abbreviation applies to all subsequent uses herein of the same abbreviation and applies to normal grammatical variations of the initially defined abbreviation; and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, measurement of a property is determined by the same technique as previously or later referenced for the same property.
It is also to be understood that this present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments and methods described below, as specific components and/or conditions may, of course, vary. Furthermore, the terminology used herein is used only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to be limiting in any way.
It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular form “a,” “an,” and “the” comprise plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, reference to a component in the singular is intended to comprise a plurality of components.
The term “comprising” is synonymous with “including,” “having,” “containing,” or “characterized by.” These terms are inclusive and open-ended and do not exclude additional, un-recited elements or method steps.
The phrase “consisting of” excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim. The phrase “consisting essentially of” limits the scope of a claim to the specified materials or steps, plus those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed subject matter.
The terms “comprising”, “consisting of”, and “consisting essentially of” can be alternatively used. Where one of these three terms is used, the presently disclosed and claimed subject matter can include the use of either of the other two terms.
Throughout this application, where publications are referenced, the disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application to more fully describe the state of the art to which this present disclosure pertains.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure or the application and uses of the present disclosure. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description.
The present disclosure provides a gear assembly 10 which reduces the stress applied to a driving gear 18 wherein the driving gear 18 is mounted to a primary shaft 12 via a key 30. With respect all embodiments of the present disclosure, it is understood that key 30 is used to connect a rotating machine element (or torque transmitting component) shown as example element 18 in
Referring again to
Moreover, as also shown in
With reference to
With reference to
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
