This invention generally relates to torsion bar type springs and more specifically to packs of torsion bars connected in parallel and/or series and torsion bar packs interconnected into torsion bar assemblies.
Many types of springs are available for energy storage. For example, coil springs store energy by compressing a helically wound wire. Other types of conventional springs include torsion springs and torsion bars. All spring systems can be characterized by how much energy can be stored per unit volume. Another property by which springs can be characterized is by how much energy can be stored per unit mass (or weight). The performance of devices which utilize springs for energy storage are improved through utilization of a torsion bar type spring, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,505,888, entitled “Tubular Torsion Bar”, issued Aug. 13, 2013, by increasing the amount of energy which can be stored per unit volume and per unit mass. The performance of devices which utilize springs for energy storage can be further improved through use of the torsion bar pack of the present invention.
The present invention is a modification of the torsion bar type spring disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,505,888. The tubular torsion bar in the patent includes an elongated inner tube of flexible material having a proximal end and a distal end, an elongated outer tube of flexible material having a proximal end and a distal end, a joiner bushing fixedly attached to the distal end of the inner tube and to the distal end of the outer tube with the inner tube and outer tube positioned in coaxial and substantially coextensive concentric nesting positions, mounting apparatus fixedly attached to the proximal end of the outer tube, and output apparatus fixedly attached to the proximal end of the inner tube.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved torsion bar pack.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved torsion bar pack with improved energy storage potential per unit mass and volume.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved torsion bar pack that increases the angular deflection while maintaining the same maximum torque as an individual spring.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved torsion bar pack that increases the maximum torque while maintaining the same angular deflection as an individual spring.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved torsion bar assembly that is simple to manufacture and use.
Briefly, to achieve the desired objects of the instant invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment a torsion bar pack is provided. The torsion bar pack includes a plurality of torsion bars, each torsion bar including at least an elongated inner tube of flexible material having a proximal end and a distal end, an elongated outer tube of flexible material having a proximal end and a distal end, and a joiner bushing fixedly attached to the distal end of the inner tube and to the distal end of the outer tube with the inner tube and outer tube positioned in coaxial and concentric nesting positions. Two or more of the torsion bars are connected in one of a torsion bar pack parallel connection or a torsion bar pack series connection.
In a specific embodiment, the two or more torsion bars of the plurality of torsion bars are connected at the proximal ends in one of the torsion bar pack parallel connection or the torsion bar pack series connection and the torsion bar pack parallel connection or the torsion bar pack series connection includes input/output apparatus coupled to the proximal ends of the two or more torsion bars.
Briefly, to achieve the desired objects of the instant invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment a new and improved torsion bar assembly is provided that includes a plurality of torsion bars, each torsion bar of the plurality of torsion bars including at least an elongated inner tube of flexible material having a proximal end and a distal end, an elongated outer tube of flexible material having a proximal end and a distal end, and a joiner bushing fixedly attached to the distal end of the inner tube and to the distal end of the outer tube with the inner tube and outer tube positioned in coaxial and concentric nesting positions. A common elongated mounting element mounts one end of each of the plurality of torsion bars in one of a torsion bar pack parallel connection or a torsion bar pack series connection so that the torsion bars of each of the plurality of torsion bars extend in a common direction, parallel and spaced apart along the length of the common elongated mounting element. Each of the plurality of torsion bars has input and output gears coupled therein with gears of adjacent torsion bars meshed together so that the input of each torsion bar pack along the elongated mounting element is connected to the output of the adjacent torsion bar pack, except for end packs.
The foregoing and further and more specific objects and advantages of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
Turning now to
Mounting apparatus, which in this example includes a mounting ferrule 22, is attached to a proximate end 24 of outer tube 14 for fixedly attaching tubular torsion bar 10 to a component of a device (not shown) requiring some spring action. Output apparatus, which in this example includes an output ferrule 26, is attached to the proximate end of inner tube 12 and is designed to be coupled to a second component of the device. Here it should be noted that the term “output apparatus” is used to denote apparatus that not only provides an output torque but that also is used to apply input torque to tubular torsion bar 10. Also, in some special applications the mounting and output apparatus could be reversed.
Torsional or spring energy is stored in torsion bar 10 by rotating inner tube 12 relative to outer tube 14 that is by rotating output ferrule 26 as illustrated by arrow 28. Also, it will be understood that the torsional or spring energy stored in torsion bar 10 is applied to output ferrule 26. Generally, torsion bars utilized in the present invention may include any or all of the components, characteristics, materials and/or structure of torsion bar 10 as disclosed in the above identified U.S. patent.
Referring now to
While the present description describes a torsion bar as including two parallel nested tubes it will be understood that the inner tube can in fact have an inner diameter at or approaching zero, i.e., a bar or rod, all of which are included in the term “Inner tube”. It should also be understood that while two torsion bars are illustrated and described in this example, as many additional torsion bars can be connected in parallel in a similar fashion as needed to fulfill any storage capacity required. Further, while torque is applied to the outer tube and the inner tube is fixed to base 36 in this example, it will of course be understood that base 36 could be fixed to the outer tube and torque could be applied to the inner tube. As an example (not illustrated), the outer tubes of each torsion bar 32 and 33 could be fixedly mounted by common mounting element or base 36 and the inner tubes could extend through an opening through common mounting element or base 36 and gears could be attached to the outwardly extending ends of the inner tubes.
Referring now to
As explained above with reference to the parallel connected torsion bars, in the series connected torsion bars, as an example (not illustrated), the outer tubes of each torsion bar 42 and 43 could be mounted for full floating movement by bearings in a common mounting element or base 46 and the inner tubes could extend through an opening through common mounting element or base 46 and an interconnection element 48 could be attached to the outwardly extending ends of the inner tubes similar to the example illustrated in
Turning now to
In this specific example, assembly 50 includes a second plurality 56 of torsion bar packs 40 with the base 46 of each pack 40 fixedly mounted on a common elongated mounting element 58 so that the torsion bars 42 and 43 of each pack 40 extend downwardly (in
Referring additionally to
Referring additionally to
Thus, the torsion bar pack and the torsion bar assembly are ways of combining individual tubular torsion bars together to manipulate performance characteristics. The torsion bar pack combines tubular torsion bars together in series or in parallel in an energy storage module. The packs or modules can then be combined together in series and/or parallel to manufacture extremely large assemblies for high capacity energy storage applications. It will be understood that large assemblies can include any combination of series and/or parallel tubular torsion bars to provide the desired characteristics. The large assemblies increase the energy storage capacity while maintaining a single input/output interface, several of which might be included. In the series connection the tubular torsion bars are combined in an assembly that increases the angular deflection while maintaining the same maximum torque as an individual spring. In the parallel connection the tubular torsion bars are combined in an assembly that increases the maximum torque while maintaining the same angular deflection as an individual spring. In a combination of series and parallel connections of tubular torsion bars increases of the maximum torque and the angular deflection could be achieved.
Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof which is assessed only by a fair interpretation of the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/899,363, filed 4 Nov. 2014.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61899363 | Nov 2013 | US |