GEAR TRAINS

• US 3,633,441 A
• Filed: 04/01/1970
• Issued: 01/11/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Raymond John Hicks
• Original Assignee: Raymond John Hicks
• Inventors: Hicks, Raymond John
• Primary Examiner(s): McKeon, Arthur T.
• Application Number:
  US05/024,770
• Time in Patent Office: 650 Days
• Field of Search: 74/801,410,411
• US Class Current: 475/334
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 1/2809 with means for equalising the distribution of load on the planet-wheels
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 57/02004 the gears being positioned relative to one another by rolling members or by specially adapted surfaces on the gears, e.g. by a rolling surface with the diameter of the pitch circle
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19628 Pressure distributing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19633 Yieldability in gear trains

Abstract

An epicyclic gear train of the type where the planets, instead of being mounted on the spindles of a carrier, float between the annulus and sun gear and also mesh with toothed reaction rings. The latter are resiliently mounted and arranged to have limited freedom of rotational movement about the axis of the gear to ensure even load sharing in the gear.

Claims

1. An epicyclic gear train comprising an annulus;

a sun gear;

a plurality of planet gears meshed therebetween; and

a toothed reaction structure comprising an annular internally toothed ring on each side of said annulus coaxial with said annulus, each said ring engaging each of said planet gears, the planet gears being carrierless and floating in the gear train, and the engagement of the annulus and of the reaction structure with each planet gear being balanced and in the same radial plane through the axis of the epicyclic gear train;

a spider of resilient flexible fingers for each said toothed ring; and

a rigid mounting, said fingers radially extending from said mounting, said mounting supporting said rings so as to mount the reaction structure permitting the structure limited rotational movement about said axis.

2. A gear train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portions of the planets that engage the annulus and the rings are divided by annular grooves and two resilient flexible rings, surrounding the shaft that carries the sun gear, enter said grooves where the latter are adjacent said shaft and press the planets radially outwards from said shaft.

3. A gear train as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portions of the planets that engage the annulus and the rings are uniformly toothed, the number of teeth on the annulus differing from the number of teeth on each ring.