Abstract:

In order to improve the mechanical performance and transmission efficiency of the traditional pulsed mechanical continuously-variable transmission (CVT) , a novel pulsed CVT is proposed according to the linear characteristic of hypocycloid at specific parameters and by combining the planet gear transmission mechanism with the crank slide block mechanism. Then , the structure of the proposed CVT is designed and the corresponding characteristic parameters are investigated. Analytical results show that (1) the proposed pulsed CVT is of slight fluctuation in the output rotational speed when the output rotational speed is high , while it is of strong fluctuation when the speed is low; (2) as compared with the traditional CVT , the proposed CVT is of less transmission mechanisms and simple structure due to the application of the positive and negative work strokes; and (3) with the proposed CVT, a transmission ratio varying from one to infinite can be achieved , and the output shaft may stop revolving without stopping the machine , which means that the proposed CVT can concurrently serve as a clutch.

Key words: continuously variable transmission, hypocycloid, planet gear, crank slide block mechanism, pulse