MOVEMENT TRANSFER MECHANISM, DRIVE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A MOVEMENT TRANSFER MECHANISM AND A SYSTEM FOR GENERATING POWER FROM A PLURALITY OF LINEAR MOVEMENTS WITH THE MOVEMENT TRANSFER MECHANISM

Abstract

Disclosed is a movement transfer mechanism, a drive assembly and a system for transferring reciprocating linear movements into a rotary movement of a shaft. The transfer mechanism comprising a connecting member, first and second engaging means fixedly connected to the connecting member and first and second drive units, each comprising ball bearings with respective inner rings and outer rings, wherein the outer rings are fixedly attached to gear wheels. Each gear wheel is engaged with the respective engaging means. The invention is characterized by that the respective inner ring of the respective ball bearing is arranged to be fixedly connected to a first shaft, and further that the first drive unit and the second drive unit are arranged with a backstop and by that the respective outer ring is locked relative to the respective inner ring in a first rotational direction and unlocked in a second rotational direction which is an opposite direction relative to the first direction.

Claims

1. A movement transfer mechanism for transferring a reciprocating linear movement of a reciprocating means into a rotary movement of a first shaft, the movement transfer mechanism comprising: a connecting member to be connected to the reciprocating means so as to follow the reciprocating linear movement of the reciprocating means, a first engaging means and a second engaging means fixedly connected to the connecting member, a first drive unit comprising a first ball bearing and a first gear wheel, and the first ball bearing comprising an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein the outer ring is fixedly attached to the first gear wheel, and the first gear wheel is in engaging contact with the first engaging means, and the first ball bearing is arranged with a backstop such that the outer ring is locked in one rotational direction relative the inner ring and unlocked in the opposite rotational direction relative the inner ring, a second drive unit comprising a second ball bearing and a second gear wheel, and the second ball bearing comprising an inner ring and an outer ring, wherein the outer ring of the second ball bearing is fixedly attached to the second gear wheel, and the second gear wheel is in engaging contact with the second engaging means, and the second ball bearing is arranged with a backstop such that the outer ring of the second ball bearing is locked in one rotational direction relative the inner ring of the second ball bearing, and unlocked in the opposite rotational direction relative the inner ring of the second ball bearing, wherein the inner ring of the first ball bearing and the inner ring of the second ball bearing are arranged to be fixedly connected to the first shaft, and the outer ring of the of the first ball bearing is locked in a first rotational direction relative the inner ring, and unlocked in a second rotational direction which is an opposite direction relative to the first direction, and the outer ring of the second ball bearing is locked in the first rotational direction relative the inner ring of the second ball bearing, and unlocked in the second rotational direction and in that the first and second engaging means are separate engaging means, and are fixedly arranged at a distance from each other on the connecting member, and the first and the second drive units are arranged approximately with the same distance from each other on the first shaft as the distance between the first and second engaging means.

2. The movement transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first engaging means is in engaging contact with the first gear wheel at least on one side of the first shaft, and the second engaging means is in engaging contact with the second gear wheel at least on the opposite side of the first shaft.

3. The movement transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is to be arranged on the reciprocating means perpendicular relative to the reciprocating linear movement of the reciprocating means, and the connecting member has a width corresponding at least approximately with the diameter of at least one of the first gear wheel or second gear wheel, and a length corresponding at least approximately with the distance between the first and second engaging means.

4. The movement transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first engaging means is a first gear rack, and the second engaging means is a second gear rack.

5. The movement transfer mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the first gear rack and the second gear rack each comprises a toothed side facing towards the first shaft, which respective toothed side is engaged with the respective gear wheel.

6. The movement transfer mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the first and second gear racks are attached at respective diagonally opposite ends of the connecting member.

7. The movement transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first engaging means is a first chain, and the second engaging means is a second chain.

8. The movement transfer mechanism according to claim 7, wherein a second and third shaft are arranged parallel with the first shaft and at a distance from the same, and a respective third and fourth gear wheel are rotatably arranged at the respective second and third shaft, and the connecting member is arranged between the first shaft and the second/third shaft, and the first and second chains are fixedly connected to the connecting member and runs like continuous chains around the gear wheels, wherein the first chain is running around the first and third gear wheels and the second chain is running around the second and fourth gear wheels.

9. The movement transfer mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the respective chain is attached at respective diagonally opposite ends of the connecting member.

10. The drive assembly, comprising: a first shaft, and a first movement transfer mechanism for transferring a reciprocating linear movement of a reciprocating means into a rotary movement of the first shaft, according to claim 1.

11. The drive assembly according to claim 10, comprising at least one second movement transfer mechanism connected to the first shaft.

12. The system for generating power from a plurality of linear movements from a plurality of reciprocating means, comprising: a drive assembly according to claim 10, a generator coupled to the first shaft, a control system for controlling the generator such that a number of revolutions per minute of the first shaft is kept within a predetermined span.

13. The system for generating power from a plurality of linear movements from a plurality of reciprocating means, comprising: a drive assembly according to claim 10, activation means for activating and for stopping the movement of each individual reciprocating means, measuring means for measuring the number of revolutions per minute of the first shaft, a control system for controlling the movement of the reciprocating means.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] The solution will now be described in more detail by means of exemplary embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0027] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a drive assembly according to the invention, comprising a shaft and a movement transfer mechanism, and which embodiment has a gear rack design.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a detail view of an upper part of the movement transfer mechanism according to FIG. 1.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a drive assembly according to FIG. 1-2, comprising a plurality of movement transfer mechanisms connected to a common shaft.

[0030] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the drive assembly which comprising chains instead of gear racks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Briefly described, a drive assembly is provided that gives a cost-efficient and well-functioning solution for transferring one or several reciprocating linear movements of one or more reciprocating means, into a rotary movement of a first shaft. The solution comprises one or several movement transfer mechanisms for the transfer of linear motion to rotation of the shaft, and the invention is able to transfer linear movements from different directions to one rotational direction of a shaft, and at the same time take care of a plurality of asynchronous movements by connecting a plurality of transfer mechanisms to the common shaft.

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a drive assembly 100, which comprises a movement transfer mechanism 1 and a first shaft 2. The movement transfer mechanism 1 comprises a connecting member 10, which is fixedly connected to a reciprocating means 20 so as to follow a reciprocating linear movement Y of the reciprocating means 20. The connecting member 10 is in this embodiment a plate with a substantially perpendicular extension relative to the reciprocating means 20. Further, the movement transfer mechanism 1 comprises first engaging means 30 and second engaging means 31, in the form of gear racks 30, 31, fixedly arranged at the connecting member, for example at respective diagonal ends or corners of the plate-shaped connecting member 10, and with an extension substantially parallel with the extension of the reciprocating means. The movement transfer mechanism 1 further comprises a first drive unit 50 and a second drive unit 60. The first drive unit 50 comprises a first ball bearing 51 and a first gear wheel 54, and the first ball bearing 51 comprises an inner ring 52 and an outer ring 53. The outer ring 53 is fixedly attached to the first gear wheel 54. The first gear wheel 54 is in engaging contact with the first gear rack 30, which means that when the first gear rack 30 moves for example upwards Y1, the first gear wheel 54 as well as the outer ring 53 moves in direction a. The first ball bearing 51 is arranged with a backstop such that the outer ring 53 is locked in one rotational direction, relative the inner ring 52 and unlocked in the opposite rotational direction, relative to the inner ring 52. This means that in the locked direction, the outer ring 53 will drive the inner ring 52 to rotate and by that also the first shaft 2. For example, if the first ball bearing 51 is locked in direction a, the first shaft 2 will be driven in the same direction a, while the outer ring 53 will run free and not drive the inner ring 52 in the unlocked direction b.

[0033] The second drive unit 60 comprises a second ball bearing 61 and a second gear wheel 64, and the second ball bearing 61 comprises an inner ring 62 and an outer ring 63. The outer ring 63 is fixedly attached to the second gear wheel 64. The second gear wheel 64 is in engaging contact with the second gear rack 31, which means that when the second gear rack 31 moves for example downwards Y2, the second gear wheel 64 as well as the outer ring 63 of the second gear wheel 64 moves in direction a. The second ball bearing 61 is arranged with a backstop such that the outer ring 63 of the second ball bearing 61 is locked in one rotational direction, relative the inner ring 62 and unlocked in the opposite rotational direction, relative the inner ring 62 of the second ball bearing 61. This means that in the locked direction, the outer ring 63 of the second gear wheel 64 will drive the inner ring 62 to rotate and by that also the first shaft 2. For example, if the second ball bearing 61 is locked in direction a, the first shaft 2 will be driven in the same direction a, while the outer ring 63 of the second gear wheel 64 will run free and not drive the inner ring 62 of the second gear wheel 64 in the unlocked direction b.

[0034] According to the invention, the respective inner ring 52, 62 of the respective ball bearing 51, 61 is arranged to be fixedly connected to the first shaft 2, and further that the first drive unit 50 is locked in the first rotational direction a, and unlocked in the second rotational direction b, which is an opposite direction relative to the first direction a. The second drive unit 60 is also arranged with its backstop in the same direction such that the second drive unit 60 is locked in the first rotational direction a, and unlocked in the second rotational direction b. With this constructional design the first shaft 2 is driven in the first rotational direction a, independently of whether the linear movement is going upwards Y1, referring to FIG. 1 or 2, or downwards Y2. In the solution, the first ball bearing 51 and the second ball bearing 61 are similar ball bearings, mounted on the common shaft 2 in the same direction after each other. The first gear wheel 54 and the second gear wheel 64 are attached to the respective ball bearing 51, 61 in reversed manner due to practical reasons. However, it is to be understood that the first drive unit 50 and the second drive unit 60 as well could be exact copies of each other, mounted in line and after each other on the shaft 2.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 2, which is a zoomed perspective view of the engagement between the gear racks 30, 31 and the gear wheels 54, 64, it can be seen that the first and second gear racks 30, 31 are separate gear racks, fixedly arranged at a distance I from each other on the connecting member 10. Corresponding to this distance I, the first and the second drive units 50, 60 are arranged approximately with the same distance I from each other on the first shaft 2. As seen in the figure, the first gear rack 30 is in engaging contact with the first gear wheel 54 at one side of the first shaft 2, while the second gear rack 31 is in engaging contact with the second gear wheel 64 the opposite side of the first shaft 2. Further, the respective gear rack 30, 31 comprises a respective toothed side 32, 33 facing towards the first shaft 2, which respective toothed side 32, 33 is engaged with the respective gear wheel 54, 64.

[0036] The respective gear racks 31, 31 are fixedly connected to the connecting member 10, and thus follows the reciprocating movement of the reciprocating means 20. The connecting member 10 is arranged perpendicular relative to the reciprocating linear movement of the reciprocating means 20, and the connecting member 10 has a width corresponding at least approximately with the diameter of at least one of the first gear wheel 54 or the second gear wheel 64, and a length corresponding at least approximately with the distance I between the first and second gear racks 30, 31.

[0037] As mentioned above, the inner rings 52, 62 of the first and second ball bearings 51, 61 is fixedly attached to the first shaft 2, and since the drive unit 50 has a backstop in one rotational direction a, and is free in the opposite rotational direction b, and the second drive unit 60 is arranged in the same way, the driving of the first shaft 2 in one single direction a is possible, regardless of the direction of the linear movement. So, if the linear movement is upwards Y1, referring to the figure, and the wanted rotational direction of the shaft is in the first direction a, the outer ring 53 of the first drive unit 50 is locked in the first direction a relative the inner ring 52, This means that the outer ring 53 drives the inner ring 52, and thus the first drive unit 50 is rotating in the first direction a and therefore drives the first shaft 2 in this direction, while the second drive unit 60 is rotating in the opposite direction b, and therefore is running free. And if the linear movement is downwards Y2, the outer ring 63 of the second drive unit 60 is locked in the first rotational direction a relative the inner ring 62 of the second drive unit 60, and therefore the second drive unit 60 is rotating in the first direction a and drives the first shaft 2 in this direction, while the first drive unit 50 is rotating in the opposite direction b, and therefore is running free.

[0038] FIG. 3 shows the drive assembly 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. This setup discloses a plurality of movement transfer mechanisms 1, 1, 1 arranged on a common first shaft 2. It should be mentioned that the common first shaft 2, instead could be a plurality of first shafts 2, connected at their ends to one common first shaft 2. The function of each individual movement transfer mechanism 1, 1, 1 is the same as described above. It can be understood by studying FIG. 3 and the above description of one individual transfer mechanism 1, 1, 1, that the reciprocating movement of the individual reciprocating means 20, 20, 20 is allowed to vary in terms of magnitude, speed, move or stand still, change direction (up/down) etc. without affecting each other, If the rotational speed of the first shaft 2 is uncontrolled, only the drive unit 50, 50, 50, 60, 60, 60 with the highest speed is driving the first shaft 2. Since all inner rings 52, 62, 52, 62, 52, 62 are rotating with the first shaft 2, each outer ring 53, 63, 53, 63, 53, 63 which not has reached the rotating speed of the shaft 2, relatively seen runs in the opposite direction relative to the respective inner ring, and thus, all drive units are in a freewheeling state relative to the first shaft 2, until reaching the highest speed. In this way, a number of asynchronous linear movement can be utilized for driving the first shaft 2. If the rotational speed of the first shaft 2 is controlled, for example by means of a generator and a control system, for keeping the speed at a certain level, or in a span, only the drive units 50, 50, 50, 60, 60, 60 which reaches the predetermined speed contributes to the driving force on the first shaft 2. By that, the driving arrangement 100 can be used as a self-regulating arrangement or a controlled arrangement with connecting/disconnecting of the reciprocating means 20, 20, 20 if wanted.

[0039] FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a drive assembly 100 compared with the earlier presented embodiment. In FIG. 4 this embodiment is exemplified with two movement transfer mechanisms 1, 1, arranged on the common first shaft 2. Below, this embodiment will be described for one of these movement transfer mechanisms 1, to make the referring numbers clearer, but it is understood that the embodiment is scalable, as in the figure with two movement transfer mechanisms 1, 1, or a plurality of movement transfer mechanisms 1, 1, 1. Therefore, the singular numbers referred to below should be understood to be plural numbers, by adding one or more apostrophes to the number, for example 30, 30, etc.

[0040] According to this embodiment the first engaging means 30, is a first chain 30, and the second engaging means 31 is a second chain 31. In the illustrated example, the drive assembly 100 is mounted in a frame, which comprises a second and third shaft 55, 65, arranged parallel with the first shaft 2 at a distance from the same, in FIG. 4 below the connecting member 10. On the respective second and third shaft 55, 65, is a respective third and fourth gear wheel 56, 66, rotatably arranged. The first and second chains 30, 31 are attached with a respective first end on an upper side of the connecting member 10, which facing the first shaft 2. Further, the respective chain 30, 31, is running from the upper side of the connecting member 10, and further to the respective gear wheel 54. 64, and around the same approximately 180 and back in direction towards the connecting member 10 and also passing the same. The respective chain 30, 31 is further running to the respective third and fourth gear wheel 56, 66, and around the same approximately 180, and back in direction towards the connecting member 10. Finally, the respective chain 30, 31 is attached with its second end on an underside of the connecting member 10, which underside facing the respective second and third 55. 65. By that, the respective chain is arranged like continuous chains attached at the connecting member 10 for driving the gear wheels 54, 64 in response to the reciprocating linear movement of the reciprocating means 20.

[0041] Although the description above contains a plurality of specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the concept described herein but as merely providing illustrations of some exemplifying embodiments of the described concept. It will be appreciated that the scope of the presently described concept fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the presently described concept is accordingly not to be limited. Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean one and only one unless explicitly so stated, but rather one or more. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described embodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein and are intended to be encompassed hereby.