DESC:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 23

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
A GEAR ADAPTER IMPLEMENTED IN A MECHANICAL GEARED ASSEMBLY FOR REPLACEMENT OF A GEAR
APPLICANT:
ELECTROMOTION E-VIDYUT VEHICLES PVT. LTD.,
a startup incorporated in India having address as:
AIC@36INC, 3rd Floor, City Center Mall,
Pandri, Raipur, Chhattisgarh- 492001, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
The present application being a complete after provisional application claims priority from a provisional application having application number 202221041646 filed on 20th July 2022.
TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure in general relates to gear assemblies, and more particularly relates to a gear adapter implemented in a gear assembly for replacement of a gear.

BACKGROUND

Gears are essential parts of a mechanical systems used for efficient and reliable power delivery. Automotive systems such as multi-speed gearbox systems extensively utilize gears transmitting power from a driving source to a driven component. In internal combustion engine (ICE) systems, usually a multi-gear drivetrain is deployed in order to deliver optimum torque as per the speed of the vehicle. In abstract, such a setup may involve several gears with different teeth count attached axially on a single shaft. This collection of gears is interfaced indirectly with a differential gear arrangement which delivers the power to the wheels. Such a system also requires a clutch plate which engages and disengages the required gear ratio for a particular speed. If such a system is required to be converted to a different powertrain; for instance, to an electrical drive powertrain; the several gears employed in the multi-gear system may not be needed. However, in such a system-conversion, the differential may be re-utilized along with the gear which interacts with the differential directly. But in such a conversion, it is likely that the mechanical power
generating device; like a motor in case of electrical drivetrain; may have a gear with a different tooth profile and/or made with a different material composition than the original gears or differential existing in the original vehicular drivetrain. As a result, direct interaction of these gears may be damaging to either of the gears due to tendency of wear because of varying material strengths.
Through time, gears may be subjected to mechanical pressure and ultimately wear out through usage or mishandling. In a system with a fixed compound gear-train setup employing two or more gears attached on a single shaft axially, if one of the gears wear out over time, it may require to replace to complete arrangement, which may prove to be much more expensive than replacing a single gear from this setup.

Hence, a pinion arrangement with an interchangeable or replaceable gear adapter (101) disclosed in the document may prove to be useful in order to reduce cost of conversion from one powertrain setup to another as discussed in and also facilitate life-time replacement of worn-out gears from a compound, multi-element axially attached gear systems as discussed in Consequently, it will be easier to retrofit and maintain internal combustion engine to alternate means of power such as electrical motor using the disclosed invention. This would directly lead to reduction of carbon footprint in terms of manufacture of extra components.

SUMMARY

Before the present apparatuses, methods and systems along with components related thereto are described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular methods, apparatuses, systems and their arrangement as described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments which are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosure but may still be practicable within the scope of the invention. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the subject matter nor it is intended for use in detecting or limiting the scope of the subject matter.

In an embodiment, a gear adapter is disclosed. The gear adapter may comprise a bore through which the gear adapter is mounted over a shaft. The gear adapter may further comprise a flange with a gear attachment section, the gear attachment section on which a gear is inserted from an open end of the attachment section and attached over the attachment section. The gear attached on the gear attachment section is replaceable by the gear adapter by attachment of a new gear selected from a plurality of gears.
In another embodiment, the point of the attachment section with the flange may be the closed end.
In another embodiment, the attached gear may be fixed on the attachment section over the closed end.
In another embodiment, the replacement of the attached gear may be replaced by any new gear having different size.
In another embodiment, the plurality of gear may comprise a combination of gears with different sizes and different types.
In another embodiment, any gear from the plurality of gear may be engaged and disengaged on the gear adapter through sliding over the gear attachment section.
In another embodiment, the gear adapter is mounted on the shaft by a keyhole and pin locking arrangement.
In another embodiment, a power transmission assembly is disclosed. The power transmission assembly may comprise a shaft over which at least one gear is fixed and at least one gear adapter is mounted. The gear adapter may comprise a gear attachment section on which a gear is inserted from an open end of the attachment section and attached over the attachment section. The assembly may comprise at least one gear fixed on the gear engaging profile of the gear adapter. The gear attached on the gear attachment section may be replaceable by the gear adapter by attachment of a new gear selected from a plurality of gears.
In an embodiment, One or more shortcomings of the conventional prior art may be overcome by various embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, the basic object of the present invention is to facilitate power delivery across different gear material compositions in a gear train setup. Another object of the present invention is to facilitate replacement of worn out or damaged gears in a multi-gear pinion arrangement with two or more gears attached in a fixed configuration axially to a single shaft. Another object of the present invention is to facilitate re-use of existing gears from the gear train of the original vehicle in case of a power-device change such as in case of a retrofit from ICE to Electrical motor drive while fulfilling the objective illustrated in. The present disclosure describes the design and usage of the apparatus for attaining objects described above. The apparatus consists of a machine-turned and profiled shaft with a fixedly fitted gear and a separate gear adapter in order to slide into the shaft profile and fix the second gear axially into the shaft. The resultant apparatus, after assembly, will act as a two-element, axially-centric gear setup on a single shaft. The two gears may have different material compositions and/or tooth profile and/or gear angle and/or gear widths and may interact with different gear types on the driving and driven ends.

In another embodiment, the profile shape of the shaft described in may be independent of the inner profile shape of the gear to which it may be attached through the adapter introduced in. The adapter may have a fixed inner profile to slide and fit into the shaft. The outer profile of the adapter may be selected according to the inner profile of the gear to which it is attached. The adapter may have a pair of grub screws in order to fix the shaft in place at a distance from the fixed gear as appropriate. The size and shape of the adapter may be dependent on the size and shape of the inner profile of the gear through which it will be attached. The size of the portion of the shaft to which the adapter is attached will, in turn, be dependent on the size of the adapter, but may be constant for a given range of sizes of gears attached to the adapter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying Figures. In the Figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the Figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer like features and components.

Figure 1 illustrates an assembly (100) is illustrated with a gear adapter in an assembled position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
Figure 2 illustrates a side view of the assembly (100), in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
Figure 3 illustrates a sectional view of the assembly (100), in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
Figure 4 illustrates an exploded view of the gear assembly (100) arranged with the gear adapter, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to the field of mechanical assemblies in which gears are utilized and more particularly relates to a gear adapter implemented in a gear assembly for replacement of a gear. The gear adapter is specifically assembled for enabling replacement of gears as and when required based on the application in the gear assembly.

Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.

Referring now to Figure 1, an assembly (100) is illustrated with a gear adapter (101) in an assembled position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The assembly (100) comprises a shaft (102) on which the gear adapter (101) is mounted wherein the gear adapter (101) may be fixed with on the shaft (102).

Referring now to Fig. 2, a side view (200) of the assembly (100) is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The side view (200) is disclosed from the gear adapter (101) side wherein the attachment of the gear adapter (101) over the shaft (102) with a locking pin (201) is illustrated.

Referring now to Fig. 3, a sectional view (300) of the assembly (100) is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The sectional view (300) is illustrated along the section A-A as labelled in Figure 2. The sectional view (300) of the assembly (100) along the axis A-A illustrates engagement details of the components of the assembly (100).

Referring now to Fig. 4, an exploded view (400) of the assembly (100) is disclosed, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The exploded view (400) is specifically illustrated to disclose all parts of the assembly (100) illustrated in Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3. The exploded view discloses all parts of the gear adaptor (101) and the other components of the assembly (100).

The further description discloses the assembly (100) taking in reference of all the Figures comprising Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4.

The gear adapter (101) comprises a hole (401) through which it is mounted over the shaft (102). A gear (103) is engaged over the gear adapter (101) and specifically over the gear attachment section (301). The locking pin (201) may be engaged firmly by insertion within a locking groove (302) of the gear adapter (101) and a locking groove (303) of the shaft (102). The gear adapter (101) further comprises a flange (104) and a gear attachment section (301).

A gear (103) may be mounted on the gear attachment section (301) of the gear adapter (101) which may be replaced with an another gear or separate gear or a new gear. The another gear which replaces the gear (101) may be referred as separate gear or as new gear throughout the specification. In an embodiment, when any alteration is made in the assembly (100) and there is a requirement of a different gear with different size and different profile at the position of the gear adapter (101), then the gear (103) which is mounted on the gear adapter (101) is replaced with a desired new gear as per the requirement. In an example, a spur gear with a diameter of 50 mm attached on the gear adapter may be replaced by a helical gear with a diameter of 70 mm.

The present disclosure is directed to a gear adapter (101) implemented in a mechanical geared assembly (100) for replacement or interchanging one gear with an another gear, which may also be referred as another gear or a separate gear. There may a plurality of conditions or requirements for replacing an existing gear (103) assembled in the mechanical geared assembly (100) with a different gear. In an embodiment, when there is any requirement of any changes in the output of the mechanical assembly (100) for different application there may be one or more points where there is need to change the existing gears (103). In yet another embodiment, when any one or more existing gears (103) are worn out and turns out of order and impacts the total efficiency of the assembly (100), then there is a requirement of the existing gears (103) with the new one.

In an embodiment, the new gear which is to be replaces the existing gear (103) may be of different size, a different profile and different or advanced material composition. The new gear is selected as per the application within the gear assembly (100). In the cases where the gear (103) is to be replaced because the existing gear (103) is worn out, then the new gear has the same size and the same profile.

In another embodiment, the assembly (100) further comprises a fixed gear (105) which is attached directly on the shaft (102) and thus the fixed gear (105) always rotates along with the shaft (102).

Although the assembly (100) of Figure 1, as an embodiment discloses a single shaft (102) having one gear adapter (101) and a single or one fixed gear (105) on the shaft (102) but there may be implementation of plurality of gear adapters (101) with plurality of gears (105) on the shaft (102). Furthermore, the assembly (100) may further comprise multiple fixed or attached gears (105).

The fixed gear (105) is illustrated in the side view (200) which is shown behind the gear adapter (101). In the conditions of change of gear (103) required in the assembly (100), the gear adapter (101) may be removed and the gear (103) may be slid out from the gear attachment section (301) and new gear may be slid in till it touches the flange (104).

The engagement of the locking pin (201) in the locking groove (303) of the shaft (102) and the locking groove (302) of the gear adapter (101) further illustrates the firm locking of the gear adapter (101) over the shaft (102). The gear attachment section (301) is illustrated which is engaged by the gear (103).

The gear adapter (101) comprises two ends further comprising a closed end and an open end. The point at which the adapter comprises the flange (104) is the closed end and the end which is opposite is the open end through which the gear (101) is inserted and slid over the attachment section (301) till the flange (104). The fixed gear (105) is illustrated with any of the fixing arrangements

The gear (103) is mounted on a gear adapter (101) which is attached to the shaft (102). A fixed gear (105) is attached fixedly on the shaft (102). The shaft (102) consists of two ends and turned in order to slide-fit ball bearings suitable for the respective application. The flanged profile (304) is machined on the shaft (102) body in order to mate with the gear attachment section (301) of the gear adapter (101). The gear attachment section (301) is machined on the gear adapter (101) according to the internal profile (402) on the gear (103). The Gear adapter (101) consists of the flange (104) which holds the gear (103) on one end from slipping out from the gear attachment section (301). The flange (104) consists of a threaded hole (106) for inserting a grub screw. The flanged profile (304) of the Shaft (102) and Gear adapter (101) respectively are constant for the design in the present invention. These flanged profile (304) secure the gear adapter (101) on the shaft (102) from sliding on application of torque. The gear attachment section (301) is machined on the gear adapter (101) based on the profile (402) present within the gear (103) and may vary with different profiles in the gear (103). The gear adapter (101) enables to combine various kinds of gear profiles, gear sizes and/or material compositions with the fixed gear (105) axially. Hence, the driving and driven gears mated with and need not be of the same material composition for avoiding damage. Also, since this Gear adapter (101) is detachable from the shaft (102), it will be easier to replace the gear in case of damage or wear.

Do not print or obtain any copies of this documents in any form. In a case where the inner profile of the gear (103) is different, a Gear adapter (101) with a different outer profile can be used, thereby avoiding the cost of replacement of the complete dual-gear pinion setup shown in Fig. 1. The tooth profiles of gears (101) are independent of the apparatus disclosed. These are representative of flexibility in choice of gear setups that can be formed using the disclosed apparatus.

In another embodiment, a helical profile for the fixed gear (105) and a spur profile for the gear (103) represents the Hybrid nature of the apparatus. One application of the disclosed invention is in an electric retrofitted vehicle converted from an ICE drive to full-electric drive where some of gears from the original gear train can be re-used to transmit power from the shaft (102) of the electric motor to the differential without any extra levels of gears. In this application, the gear on the motor shaft is likely to be of a different material composition than the differential gear or any intermediary gears. Using the apparatus disclosed in the invention, gear damage due to interface of dissimilar gears can be avoided in an economical way. Another application is in an existing gear-train setup with dual axially attached gears, which is prone to wear and may require relatively frequent replacement of either of the two gears on the pinion shaft. In such an application, the cost of the other gear or the pinion shaft assembly can be avoided if one of the gears fail

Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs or the description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination. Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible.

,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:

1. A gear adapter (101) comprising:
a bore (401) through which the gear adapter (101) is mounted over a shaft (102);
a flange (104) with a gear attachment section (301);
the gear attachment section (301) on which a gear (103) is inserted from an open end of the gear attachment section (301) and attached over the gear attachment section (301);
wherein the gear (103) attached on the gear attachment section (301) is replaceable by attachment of an another gear selected from a plurality of gears.

2. The gear adapter (101) of claim 1, wherein the point of the gear attachment section (301) with the flange (104) is the closed end.

3. The gear adapter (101) of claim 2, wherein the gear (103) is fixed on the attachment section (301) over the closed end.

4. The gear adapter (101) of claim 1, wherein the replacement of the gear (103) is replaced by any another gear having different size.

5. The gear adapter (101) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of gears comprise a combination of gears with different sizes and different types.

6. The gear adapter (101) of claim 1, wherein any gear from the plurality of gears can be engaged and disengaged on the gear adapter (101) through sliding over the gear attachment section (104).

7. The gear adapter (101) of claim 1, wherein the gear adapter (101) is mounted on the shaft (102) by a locking pin (201) inserted within a locking groove (302) and locking groove (303).

8. A power transmission assembly comprising:
a shaft (102) over which at least one gear (105) is fixed and at least one gear adapter (101) is mounted;
the gear adapter (101) comprising a gear attachment section (301) on which a gear (103) is inserted from an open end of the gear attachment section (301) and attached over the gear attachment section (301);
wherein the gear (103) attached on the gear attachment section (301) is replaceable by attachment of an another gear selected from a plurality of gears.

9. The gear assembly of claim 8, wherein the shaft (102) comprises a locking groove (303) and the gear adapter (101) comprises a locking groove (302).

10. The gear assembly of claim 9, wherein the shaft (102) and gear adapter (101) are engaged together by insertion of a locking pin (201) with the locking groove (302) and locking groove (303).

Dated this 15th Day of November 2022