Method and device for power transmission transfer

Claim 1

Apparatus for effecting power transmission transfer from a rotary drive input shaft to a rotatably driven output shaft, comprising: a. a transmission support housing; b. a rotary input drive shaft and a rotatable driven output shaft mounted in parallel in said support housing; c. a plurality of different diameter rotary drive members axially spaced upon and connected to and for continuous rotation with said input drive shaft; d. a like plurality of different diameter driven members having means for freely mounting same in an idle manner on said driven shaft, said driven members being mounted thereon in a predetermined complemental sequence to and in interengaging relation with the respective drive members; and e. means including tapered, transveRse groove and related wedging or locking means, and selectively actuatable, axial directed, laterally notched shifting means in cooperation therewith interposed between said output driven shaft and the driven members overlying said groove and wedging means as mounted thereon for selectively coupling a predetermined set of engaged drive and driven members with said output shaft and thereby imparting the rotation of the drive shaft to that of the output driven shaft; f. said selectively actuable shifting means of paragraph (e) further including a plurality of longitudinally extended grooves and lands forming circumferentially spaced, axially directed, splines on the outer periphery of said output driven shaft and radially underlaying said plurality of freely rotatable driven members mountable thereon; g. said splines being longitudinally interrupted by a plurality of axially spaced transverse slots or grooves constituting sets of the transverse tapered grooves formed in circumferential alignment around said output shaft to coincide radially with the position of said respective overlying rotatable driven members, and said grooves being considered tapered by their formation such that the base thereof preferably at its opposite ends provides a diminishing radial distance therefrom relative to the I.D. of the respective overlying rotatable driven member, as compared with the corresponding radial distance from the intermediate deepest part of said groove; h. means supporting said driven rotatable members on said shaft so that the I.D. of said members is radially spaced outwardly of said splines; i. said wedging means of paragraph (e) include a wedging member inserted in each of said transverse tapered grooves, and each wedging member being of a cross-sectional dimension greater than the radial dimension of said groove depth, but slightly less than that between the base of said groove and the I.D. of said overlying rotatable member when said wedging member is substantially centered or retained in a deepest portion thereof relative to the I.D. of said overlying rotatable member; j. said shifting means of paragraph (e) further including a plurality of elongated slide members having parallel opposed longitudinal side edges, and disposed complementally to fit for relatively sliding movement in an axial direction between said circumferentially spaced splines of paragraph (f); each slide member having axially spaced sets of opposed lateral notches formed therein with the notches being of a size to at least partially receive said wedging members therein when a predetermined set thereof is selectively aligned with the corresponding set of transverse grooves and wedging means; k. means for collectively shifting said slide members between a non-operative power transmitting position, whereby 1. when in the neutral position the slides are positioned so that none of the sets of lateral notches are in circumferential alignment with the transverse grooves and the wedging members are retained by the opposed parallel slide sides in a non-wedging deepest portion of said grooves so as to not engage the I.D. of said overlying rotatable driven members and 2. when in the operative power transmitting position a selected set of said lateral notches are selectively aligned with the transverse grooves and wedging members of a predetermined one of said overlying driven members; and l. whereby in the latter condition said wedging members are circumferentially moveable toward and at least partially into said lateral notches whereupon due to the diminishing radial distances between them and the I.D. of said overlying driven member, said wedging members become compressed or wedged into tight frictional interengagement with the I.D. of said member by a continuing servo-like camming action of the interrelated components responsive to continuing drag torque by the continuing rotation of the rotative drive part, on the input shaft, in engagement With its associated driven part relatively engaged with said wedging member, whereby the rotary power of the input drive shaft is transferringly imparted to the output driven shaft.