One-way pawl clutch with backlash reduction means and without biasing means
First Claim
1. A one-way clutch mechanism composed of a driving ring, a driven ring, and a pawl ring, where the said three rings are concentric, the driven ring encircles the driving ring, the pawl ring encircles the driven ring, and the driven ring'"'"'s inside radius is larger than the driving ring'"'"'s outside radius;
- and furthermore, the driving ring includes a key, resembling a gear tooth, on its outer cylindrical surface, the driven ring includes a notch on its inner cylindrical surface, and the pawl ring includes an axial pivot hole on its mean radius;
and furthermore, the mechanism includes a generally L-shaped pawl having, therefore, an arm, a corner, and a stem, where the arm includes a cutout near one end closest to the corner, the free end of the stem includes a pivot hole normal to the plane of the pawl, and the corner end of the stem overlaps the corner end of the arm;
and furthermore, the pawl arm is disposed tangentially on the outer cylindrical surface of the driving ring in the radial space between the driving ring and the driven ring such that the key on the driving ring is inserted in the pawl arm'"'"'s cutout while the free end of the pawl stem is pivoted to the pawl ring through their respective pivot holes;
and furthermore, when the driving ring rotates in a first rotational direction, the key on the driving ring contacts the pawl arm'"'"'s cutout and rotates the pawl with respect to the pawl ring until the pawl arm touches either the inner cylindrical surface of the driven ring or the surface of the notch on the driven ring, whereupon the pawl arm stays in touch with the driven ring until the pawl arm fully engages with the notch on the driven ring, causing the entire mechanism to rotate in unison in the engaged mode;
but conversely, when the driving ring rotates in a second rotational direction, opposite to the first rotational direction, the key on the driving ring contacts the pawl arm'"'"'s cutout and rotates the pawl with respect to the pawl ring until the pawl arm touches the outer cylindrical surface of the driving ring, whereupon, as the driven ring remains stationary, the driving ring, the pawl, and the pawl ring rotate in unison in the freewheeling mode;
and evidently, while in freewheeling mode, the mechanism does not require the pawl to be biased toward engaging the notch on the driven ring by any means, which eliminates the noise, wear, and heat associated with biasing, and which constitutes a unique feature of the present invention attributed firstly to the ability of the pawl arm to rotate about a pivot centered outside the arm'"'"'s line of thrust and secondly to the said geometrical and kinematical relationships that govern the interplay among the constituent components of the mechanism.
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Accused Products
Abstract
One-way clutches primarily employ a driving ring, a driven ring, and a number of identical connectors. The driving ring and the driven ring are rotationally detached, are concentric, and are configured to house the connectors between them. In one rotational direction, the connectors engage the driving and the driven rings, causing them to rotate in unison. In the opposite rotational direction, the connectors disengage the driving and the driven rings, causing them to freewheel. All existing one-way clutches are aided by means that bias the connectors toward engagement, introducing noise, wear, and heat while freewheeling. Additionally, existing one-way clutches that utilize relatively more efficient pawls as connectors, undergo relatively more backlash from freewheeling to engagement, introducing operational imprecision. The one-way clutch in the present invention utilizes pawls for maximum mechanical efficiency. Furthermore, this invention does not require any biasing means, and its backlash can be reduced to any desirable degree.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A one-way clutch mechanism composed of a driving ring, a driven ring, and a pawl ring, where the said three rings are concentric, the driven ring encircles the driving ring, the pawl ring encircles the driven ring, and the driven ring'"'"'s inside radius is larger than the driving ring'"'"'s outside radius;
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and furthermore, the driving ring includes a key, resembling a gear tooth, on its outer cylindrical surface, the driven ring includes a notch on its inner cylindrical surface, and the pawl ring includes an axial pivot hole on its mean radius;
and furthermore, the mechanism includes a generally L-shaped pawl having, therefore, an arm, a corner, and a stem, where the arm includes a cutout near one end closest to the corner, the free end of the stem includes a pivot hole normal to the plane of the pawl, and the corner end of the stem overlaps the corner end of the arm;
and furthermore, the pawl arm is disposed tangentially on the outer cylindrical surface of the driving ring in the radial space between the driving ring and the driven ring such that the key on the driving ring is inserted in the pawl arm'"'"'s cutout while the free end of the pawl stem is pivoted to the pawl ring through their respective pivot holes;
and furthermore, when the driving ring rotates in a first rotational direction, the key on the driving ring contacts the pawl arm'"'"'s cutout and rotates the pawl with respect to the pawl ring until the pawl arm touches either the inner cylindrical surface of the driven ring or the surface of the notch on the driven ring, whereupon the pawl arm stays in touch with the driven ring until the pawl arm fully engages with the notch on the driven ring, causing the entire mechanism to rotate in unison in the engaged mode;
but conversely, when the driving ring rotates in a second rotational direction, opposite to the first rotational direction, the key on the driving ring contacts the pawl arm'"'"'s cutout and rotates the pawl with respect to the pawl ring until the pawl arm touches the outer cylindrical surface of the driving ring, whereupon, as the driven ring remains stationary, the driving ring, the pawl, and the pawl ring rotate in unison in the freewheeling mode;
and evidently, while in freewheeling mode, the mechanism does not require the pawl to be biased toward engaging the notch on the driven ring by any means, which eliminates the noise, wear, and heat associated with biasing, and which constitutes a unique feature of the present invention attributed firstly to the ability of the pawl arm to rotate about a pivot centered outside the arm'"'"'s line of thrust and secondly to the said geometrical and kinematical relationships that govern the interplay among the constituent components of the mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification