Planetary gear motor with two coaxial output shafts

Abstract

The invention relates to a geared motor comprising: an electric motor crossed, through and through, by a rotor shaft, so as to form two motor output shafts, each output shaft has a pinion; at least two planetary gearboxes with at least one stage, each geared with the pinion of a motor output shaft; two geared motor output shafts, each being coupled directly or indirectly to a planetary gearbox, the two geared motor output shafts being coaxial with each other.

Claims

1. Geared motor wherein the geared motor comprises: an electric motor crossed, through and through, by a rotor shaft, so as to form two output shafts of the electric motor, each of the output shafts of the electric motor has a pinion; and at least two planetary gearboxes with at least one stage, each of the at least two planetary gearboxes is geared with the respective pinion of one of the two output shafts of the electric motor; wherein each of the two output shafts of the geared motor is coupled directly or indirectly to one of the at least two planetary gearboxes, wherein the two output shafts of the geared motor are coaxial with each other; wherein the geared motor comprises at least one magnet positioned on a rotating element of the geared motor, and a reed switch positioned on a fixed part of the geared motor, opposite the magnet when the rotating element is driven in rotation, the switch is intended to be actuated when the magnet passes in front of the switch to allow a number of revolutions of the rotating element to be counted; wherein the rotating element is at least one of the output shafts of the geared motor.

2. Geared motor according to claim 1, wherein the planetary gearboxes have at least two stages.

3. Geared motor according to claim 1, wherein the geared motor comprises two planetary gearboxes coupled to each other on each side of the electric motor.

4. Geared motor according to claim 1, wherein the output shafts of the geared motor are each directly coupled to a planetary gearbox, so that the output shafts of the geared motor are coaxial with the rotor shaft of the electric motor.

5. Geared motor according to claim 1, wherein the output shafts of the geared motor are coupled indirectly to the planetary gearboxes and via a single gear train, so that the output shafts of the geared motor are eccentric with respect to the rotor shaft of the electric motor.

6. Geared motor according to claim 1, wherein each planetary gearbox comprises a crown, the crowns being arranged inside a tubular housing.

7. Geared motor according to claim 6, wherein the tubular housings inside which the crowns are arranged extend around the electric motor to directly form a body of the geared motor, the tubular housings being closed by two flanges from which the output shafts of the geared motor project.

8. Geared motor according to claim 7, wherein the flanges are square, with sides of a length equal to a diameter of the tubular housings.

9. Geared motor according to claim 1, wherein the geared motor comprises a tubular outer housing enclosing the components of the geared motor, sealed at both ends by fixing flanges through which the output shafts of the geared motor project in a sealed manner.

10. Geared motor according to claim 9, wherein the fixing flanges are square, with sides of a length equal to a diameter of the outer housing.

11. Geared motor according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of magnets are positioned on the rotating member, evenly distributed about an axis of rotation of the rotating member.

12. Geared motor according to claim 1, wherein a ring is fixed around the output shaft of the geared motor, the ring has a wall receiving the magnets.

13. Geared motor according to claim 12, wherein the magnets are received on a front wall of the ring, orthogonal to the output shaft of the geared motor, so that the magnets are oriented coaxially to the output shaft of the geared motor.

14. Geared motor according to claim 12, wherein the magnets are received on a side wall of the ring, parallel to the output shaft of the geared motor, so that the magnets are oriented radially with respect to the output shaft of the geared motor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other advantages and technical features will emerge better from the following description of the geared motor according to the invention, given as an example without limitation from the attached figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the geared motor according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a similar view of the one of FIG. 1, in exploded perspective;

(4) FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the geared motor in FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is a front view of the electric motor used in the geared motor;

(6) FIG. 5 is a side view of the geared motor in FIG. 1, illustrating a square flange for mounting the geared motor;

(7) FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified shape of the geared motor according to the invention, without a waterproof housing;

(8) FIG. 7 is a detail view of one end of the geared motor, in longitudinal section, illustrating the ring provided with radially oriented magnets;

(9) FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the ring arrangement in FIG. 7.

(10) FIG. 9 is a detail view of one end of the geared motor, in longitudinal section, illustrating the ring provided with axially oriented magnets;

(11) FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the ring arrangement in FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(12) With reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, the invention relates to a geared motor (1), in particular for applications involving the translational displacement of an element in relation to two parallel guiding or driving means positioned on either side of the element to be moved.

(13) For example, the geared motor (1) can be used to move a gantry by means of two shafts at the end of which are arranged pinions/pulleys, cooperating for example with transmission chains/cables.

(14) The geared motor (1) can, in another application, be used to move a tarpaulin covering a tipper of a tipper truck, a shelter or a pool terrace, for example by means of two shafts at the end of which are arranged drive wheels.

(15) The geared motor (1) according to the invention is preferably tubular and is a planetary geared motor (1) with two coaxial outputs shafts with, as an option, the possibility of eccentrating the output shafts in order to be able to adapt to the size of the pinions/wheels/drives.

(16) More precisely, the geared motor (1) comprises an electric motor (2) crossed, through and through, by a rotor shaft (3) defining two motor output shafts and equipped with pinions (4) at each of its ends.

(17) The pinions (4) of the motor output shafts act as input shafts for two planetary gearboxes (5), symmetrically arranged on either side of the electric motor (2).

(18) The planetary gearboxes (5) are at least one stage, preferably two or more stages, and are each greased with the pinion (4) of a motor output shaft.

(19) For this purpose, and in a known manner, the planetary gearboxes (5) each comprise a crown gear (6) with an inner gear and positioned around a solar pinion, and at least two and preferably three satellite pinions (7) engraved on the one hand with the solar pinion and on the other hand with the crown gear (6). In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the geared motor (1) comprises two planetary gearboxes (5) coupled to each other on each side of the electric motor (2), and the crowns (6) are arranged inside a tubular housing (12).

(20) Each planetary gearbox (5) has an output (8), which, in a particular embodiment, can be directly coupled to a motor gearbox output shaft. In this configuration, not shown, the geared motor output shafts are coaxial with each other and coaxial with the rotor shaft (3) of the electric motor (2).

(21) This embodiment makes it possible to ensure, by means of a geared motor (1) positioned between the two means of guiding or driving the element to be moved, a synchronized and mechanically reliable central drive.

(22) In applications where the space requirement is large, and where it is necessary to lower the axis of the geared motor output shafts (11) as far as possible to bring them closer to the surface or reception plane of the guiding or driving means, in particular to adapt to the size of the pinions/wheels/drive pulleys, the output shafts (8) of the planetary gearboxes (5) are coupled to simple gear trains, in particular constituted by an output pinion (9) of the planetary gearbox (5) engaged with a pinion (10) fixed to the motor gearbox output shaft (11).

(23) Thus, the output shafts (11) of the geared motor are eccentric with respect to the rotor shaft (3) of the electric motor (2).

(24) In this way, and with reference to FIG. 5, the position of the axis of the geared motor output shafts (11) can be moved along and around a circle (C), and in particular around the axis of the rotor shaft (3) of the electric motor (2), depending on the desired distance between the axis of the geared motor output shafts (11) and the surface or reception plane of the guiding or driving means.

(25) Another solution to vary this distance is, for example, to rotate the tubular geared motor (1) directly around the axis of the rotor shaft (3), without changing the position of the output shafts (11) of the geared motor (1).

(26) The geared motor (1) according to the invention therefore makes it possible to lower the axis of the geared motor output shafts (11) as far as possible, in order to bring them closer to the surface or reception plane of the guiding or driving means, and thus to adapt to the diameter of the pinions/wheels/drive pulleys, and thus to be able to reduce the diameter of these driving means.

(27) According to one embodiment, in particular that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, it is sometimes necessary to ensure a certain tightness of the geared motor (1). In this situation, the geared motor (1) comprises, for example, a tubular outer housing (14), preferably made of PVC, enclosing the various components of the geared motor (1), and sealed at both ends by fixing flanges (15), also preferably made of PVC, through which the geared motor output shafts (11) project in a sealed manner. More precisely, the geared motor output shafts (11) are passed through ball bearings (16) and a lip seal (17) to ensure tightness. A cable gland (19) is used to seal the power cables of the electric motor (2).

(28) For the maximum fixing and lowering of the axis of the geared motor output shafts (11), the fixing flanges (15) have a square shape with sides of a length substantially equal to the diameter of the outer casing (14), to allow fixing by means of screws (20) at the corners of this square shape.

(29) Thus, the flanges (15) do not raise the geared motor (1), and the fixing can be carried out via, for example, fixing screws positioned at the corners of the square flanges (15).

(30) According to another embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, and when the sealing is not important, the tubular housing (12) inside which the crowns (6) are arranged can be extended around the electric motor (2) to form directly the body (12a) of the geared motor (1).

(31) In this configuration, the tubular housing (12) are closed by flanges (13) from which the geared motor output shafts (11) project.

(32) Depending on the application, the flanges (13) can be used to secure the geared motor (1) in its environment. The flanges (13) can, of course, be of any suitable shape. However, if it is necessary to lower the axis of the geared motor output shafts (11) as far as possible, the flanges (13) should preferably be square in shape with sides of a length substantially equal to the diameter of the tubular housing (12).

(33) It follows from the foregoing that the invention does indeed provide a geared motor (1) which can be used in applications intended to displace in translation an element with respect to two parallel guiding or driving elements, positioned on either side of the displaced element, greatly reducing the risks of blocking or deterioration, while being economical, and while allowing the distance between the output shafts (11) of the geared motor and the surface or plane of reception of the guiding or driving means to be reduced to a minimum.

(34) In addition, depending on the application, it is sometimes necessary to count the number of revolutions of the geared motor (1).

(35) For example, the invention may be used to make a motorization assembly for driving a cover of a swimming pool, immersed or near the pool.

(36) For this purpose, the geared motor (1) includes position sensors to determine the number of revolutions performed by the geared motor unit (1) and to manage the limit switches of the pool cover.

(37) For example, the geared motor (1) comprises at least one magnet (21) positioned on a rotating member of the geared motor (1), and a flexible blades switch (22) positioned on a fixed part of the geared motor (1), opposite the magnet (21) when the rotating member is driven in rotation, the switch (22) is intended to be operated when the magnet (21) passes in front of the switch (22) to allow the number of revolutions of the rotating member to be counted.

(38) More precisely, and with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10, the geared motor (1) comprises a ring (23) fixed around the rotating element of the geared motor (1), such as around at least one of the output shafts (11).

(39) The ring (23) has a wall, lateral or frontal, receiving a plurality of magnets (21) evenly distributed around the output shaft (11).

(40) When rotating the output shaft (11), the magnets (21) are intended to pass successively in front of the soft blades switch (22), activated by the passage of the said magnets (21), to know the position of the output shaft (11) and to count the number of revolutions used, for example, to determine the end positions of the cover of a swimming pool.

(41) The flexible blades switch (22) is positioned on a fixed part of the geared motor (1), facing alternately and successively with each magnet (21) when the output shaft (11) is driven in rotation.

(42) With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, when the magnets (21) are received on the side wall of the ring (23), parallel to the output shaft (11), the magnets (21) are oriented radially with respect to the output shaft (11). The switch (22) is then positioned facing each other and oriented radially.

(43) With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, when the magnets (21) are received on the front wall of the ring (23), orthogonal to the output shaft, the magnets (21) are oriented coaxially to the output shaft. The switch (22) is then positioned facing each other and oriented axially.

(44) In either configuration, the switch (22) is mounted on any fixed part opposite the passage of the magnets (21), such as for example fixed or embedded in a fixed flange (24) around the output shaft, or fixed or embedded in a side flange (13, 15).