Rolling traction planetary drive
First Claim
1. A traction-drive system, comprising:
- a generally tubular idler rotatable about a longitudinal axis;
a plurality of rotatable and generally disc-shaped planet rollers each having a first contact surface, a second contact surface and a third contact surface, the first contact surface being of a first diameter, the second contact surface being of a second diameter, and the third contact surface being of a third diameter, the planet rollers distributed about the idler and each planet roller contacting the idler at its respective third contact surface, wherein the first, second, and third diameters are all different sizes from each other;
an inner ring rotatable about the longitudinal axis and in contact with the first contact surface of each of the planet rollers; and
a case ring in contact with the second contact surface of each of the planet rollers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A traction-drive system that in one embodiment comprises an idler rotatable about a longitudinal axis, a plurality of rotatable and generally disc-shaped planet rollers each having an inner contact surface, a case contact surface and an idler contact surface, the inner contact surface being of a first diameter, the case contact surface being of a second diameter, and the idler contact surface being of a third diameter, the planet rollers distributed about the idler and each planet roller contacting the idler at its respective idler contact surface. The traction drive system of this embodiment also comprises an inner ring rotatable about the longitudinal axis adapted to contact the inner contact surface of each of the planet rollers, and a case ring adapted to contact the case contact surface of each of the planet rollers. In some embodiments, the inner contact surface of each roller only contacts the inner ring, the case contact surface of each roller only contacts the case ring and the idler contact surface of each roller only contacts the idler.
243 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A traction-drive system, comprising:
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a generally tubular idler rotatable about a longitudinal axis; a plurality of rotatable and generally disc-shaped planet rollers each having a first contact surface, a second contact surface and a third contact surface, the first contact surface being of a first diameter, the second contact surface being of a second diameter, and the third contact surface being of a third diameter, the planet rollers distributed about the idler and each planet roller contacting the idler at its respective third contact surface, wherein the first, second, and third diameters are all different sizes from each other; an inner ring rotatable about the longitudinal axis and in contact with the first contact surface of each of the planet rollers; and a case ring in contact with the second contact surface of each of the planet rollers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A planetary traction-drive system operating about a longitudinal axis, comprising:
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a generally tubular idler positioned coaxially about the longitudinal axis; a plurality of generally disc-shaped planet rollers distributed about and in contact with the idler, the planet rollers distributed in a plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, and the planet rollers each rotating about a respective planet axis; an inner ring positioned coaxially about the longitudinal axis and that contacts each of the planet rollers; a tubular case positioned coaxially about the longitudinal axis that at least partially encloses and surrounds the idler, the inner ring and the planet rollers, and that has a case ring on its inner surface that contacts each of the planet rollers; wherein for at least one operating condition the inner ring has a rotational speed about the longitudinal axis that is different from a rotational speed of the case ring about the longitudinal axis; and wherein each of the planet axes are parallel to the longitudinal axis. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of transmitting rotational energy, comprising:
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supplying input torque along a longitudinal axis to a ramp disc configured to convert torque into a torque component and a force component; converting the input torque into a rotational torque component and an axial contact force component; transmitting the rotational torque component and the contact force component to an inner ring; distributing the rotational torque component from the inner ring to a plurality of planet rollers via a first contact surface of each of the planet rollers; and distributing a rotational torque from each planet roller to a surrounding case via a second contact surface of each of the planet rollers and to a central idler via a third contact surface of each of the planet rollers, wherein the contact force component aids with the transmission and distribution of the rotational torque. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification