Patent Application
20140309044
Power transmission joints are designed to transmit rotational power through an angle. In such power transmission joints, a drive shaft must be allowed to pivot in two axes. This is generally easy to accomplish, despite several drawbacks when such transmission joints are used repeatedly. Nevertheless, because of the general ease of producing an enormous power benefit, power transmission joints have been in widespread use for a long time.
Typically, the better the power transmission joint, the more expensive it is. Thus, a range of quality exists among a range of power transmission joint offerings in the market. Many of the most expensive power transmission joints are of a quality that would satisfy most of the consuming public. However, not every customer is willing to pay the price for an expensive power transmission joint. One of the least expensive types is the pinned drive shaft, drive cup system. However, these drive shafts and their corresponding drive cups typically wear out prematurely. Premature wear-down causes several problems with the power drive train. Furthermore, drive train inefficiency is almost always a result of the power transmission joint and drive cup wearing out. Thus, before purchasing a drive train system, a person seeking to save money would need to be aware that existing low-cost power transmission joints wear out quickly and that when the system is worn out, the amount of wear renders the system too inefficient. Regaining efficiency is a difficult and expensive process in which the entire drive shaft system typically must be replaced. Because consumers tend to be interested in maintaining efficiency of most things (including drive shaft/drive cup systems), the frequency of replacing these drive shafts and their corresponding drive cups results in major increases in overall ownership costs, mostly due to the added maintenance costs. This is problematic for consumers who intend to save money by purchasing an inexpensive power transmission joint. In the end, the consumers who take the inexpensive route typically spend more money maintaining a poor system. Therefore, what is needed is a component-based drive train system with a pivoting pin that provides a second pivot axis while simultaneously allowing for a flat contact area with the drive cup in order to reduce the wear and tear that results in inefficiencies of the system.
Some embodiments of the invention include a novel power transmission joint system that is low in cost and can withstand extended wear. The power transmission joint system of some embodiments comprises a plurality of components including at least a drive cup, a drive shaft pin, and a large contact area between the drive cup and the drive shaft pin. In some embodiments, the drive shaft pin is a pivoting pin that provides a second pivot axis to reduce wear on the system. In some embodiments, the large contact area is larger than a corresponding contact area of an existing low-cost pinned drive shaft, drive cup system. In some embodiments, the large contact area significantly reduces pressure on the system. The power transmission joint system in some embodiments can withstand extended wear and tear. Each component of the power transmission joint system of some embodiments is individually replaceable.
The preceding Summary is intended to serve as a brief introduction to some embodiments of the invention. It is not meant to be an introduction or overview of all inventive subject matter disclosed in this specification. The Detailed Description that follows and the Drawings that are referred to in the Detailed Description will further describe the embodiments described in the Summary as well as other embodiments. Accordingly, to understand all the embodiments described by this document, a full review of the Summary, Detailed Description, and Drawings is needed. Moreover, the claimed subject matters are not to be limited by the illustrative details in the Summary, Detailed Description, and Drawings, but rather are to be defined by the appended claims, because the claimed subject matter can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the subject matter.
Having described the invention in general terms, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
In the following detailed description of the invention, numerous details, examples, and embodiments of the invention are described. However, it will be clear and apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth and that the invention can be adapted to work for a variety of joint systems.
Some embodiments of the invention include a novel power transmission joint system that is low in cost and can withstand extended wear. The power transmission joint system of some embodiments comprises a plurality of components including at least a drive cup, a drive shaft pin, and a large contact area between the drive cup and the drive shaft pin. In some embodiments, the drive shaft pin is a pivoting pin that provides a second pivot axis to reduce wear on the system. In some embodiments, the large contact area is larger than a corresponding contact area of an existing low-cost pinned drive shaft, drive cup system. In some embodiments, the large contact area significantly reduces pressure on the system. The power transmission joint system in some embodiments can withstand extended wear and tear. Each component of the power transmission joint system of some embodiments is individually replaceable.
The power transmission joint system of some embodiments further includes a main drive shaft comprising a set of holes for slide fitting a set of pivoting pins having flattened contact areas and a typical low-cost power transmission joint drive cup. The pivoting pins fit into the holes of the main drive shaft in some embodiments.
By way of example,
Power transmission joints are designed to transmit rotational power through an angle. In some embodiments, the drive shaft 12 of the power transmission joint 10 can pivot in two axes. In some embodiments, this is accomplished by the pivoting pin 24 which provides the second pivot axis while simultaneously providing a flat contact area with the drive cup to reduce wear.
By way of example,
A typical drive shaft system involves drive shaft pins that slide back and forth within a slot in a drive cup. These existing drive shaft systems include low-cost power transmission joints that rely on a point of contact between the drive shaft and drive cup, through which power is channeled. Because of its very small surface area, this contact point yields immense pressure. The immense pressure then accelerates wear on the drive cup as the drive shaft's pin slides back along the slot on the drive cup. In some embodiments, the pivoting pin 24 allows the flat contact areas 26 to be the contacts between the drive shaft 12 and the drive cup 14. As a result, the wear and tear on the system is reduced. Additionally, in some embodiments the contact areas 26 provide for an overall larger contact surface area between the drive shaft pin 24 and drive cup 14, and therefore, reduces wear. Accordingly, the power transmission joint 10 of some embodiments improves upon existing systems because providing a larger contact area between the drive cup and drive shaft pin significantly reduces the pressure and thus extending wear of the system.
In another aspect of the power transmission joint 10, in some embodiments, the pivoting pin 24 provides a second pivot axis for the drive shaft 12. By way of example,
In
Next,
While all elements are necessary for this system to work, implementation is elementary. Simply insert the pivoting pins into the holes in the drive shaft and then slide this shaft/pin assembly into the drive cup with the flat areas on the pin aligned with the slot in the drive cup. Additionally, using lubricant on the pins can increase performance and longevity. Overall, the range of movement of the drive shaft 12 is shown by the circular dashed line in
In addition, when the time comes to refresh or rebuild the system, the user only needs to replace the relatively inexpensive worn out components instead of the entire system. Thus, in addition to reducing the cost of maintaining a power transmission joint and extending the life of a power transmission joint's components compared to existing systems, this invention will also have lower maintenance costs because the disposable parts that need to be replaced are limited to the pin and drive cup only. All other components can be reused. Thus, the power transmission joint of these embodiments provides a low-cost and long-life alternative to existing systems.
The above-described embodiments of the invention are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. While the invention has been described with reference to numerous specific details, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. Some embodiments of the power transmission joint can be installed in applications where rotational power must be transmitted through an angle, for example through universal joints or constant velocity joints, including (i) power drive trains for cars, trucks, and other automotive vehicles, (ii) tools which need to transmit rotational torque at one or more angles, and (iii) motorized toys that require power transmission from a motor. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details, but rather is to be defined by the appended claims.
This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/811,014, entitled “IMPROVED LOW COST POWER TRANSMISSION JOINT WITH A PIVOTING PIN THAT PROVIDES A SECOND PIVOT AXIS,” filed Apr. 11, 2013. The U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/811,014 is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61811014 | Apr 2013 | US |
