SEGMENTED RING GEAR

Abstract

A floor machine with a segmented ring gear may include a motor operably connected to a planetary driver. The planetary driver may include two or more planet gears engaging a ring gear that at least partially surrounds the planetary driver. The motor may generate rotational motion of the planet gears about a first axis, and the ring gear may cause counterrotation of the planet gears about a second axis. The ring gear may be provided in the form of two or more ring gear segments configured to be detachably coupled together. Thus, in the event that the ring gear is damaged, worn, or malfunctioning, only the affected ring gear segments may be repaired or replaced as opposed to replacing the entire ring gear. In this way, the segmented ring gear may reduce manufacturing costs, repair cost, down time, and/or provide other benefits.

Claims

1. A floor machine, comprising: a handle; a chassis connected to the handle; a motor supported by the chassis; a planetary driver connected to the motor including two or more planet gears; and a ring gear assembly including a ring gear positioned within a shroud, wherein the ring gear includes two or more ring gear segments.

2. The floor machine of claim 1, further comprising an angle adjuster configured to alter an angle of the handle relative to the chassis.

3. The floor machine of claim 1, further comprising a cord holder configured to retain a power cord of the floor machine.

4. The floor machine of claim 1, wherein the motor is mounted substantially above the chassis and the planetary driver is mounted substantially below the chassis.

5. The floor machine of claim 1, wherein the planetary driver is at least partially positioned within the shroud.

6. The floor machine of claim 1, wherein the planetary driver further comprises: a clutch; a drive plate connected to the clutch; and two or more heads coupled to the two or more planet gears.

7. The floor machine of claim 6, wherein the planetary driver comprises four planet gears and four heads.

8. A floor machine, comprising: a chassis supporting a handle and a motor; a ring gear assembly coupled to the chassis; and a planetary driver in communication with the ring gear assembly, the planetary driver further comprising: a clutch; a drive plate connected to the clutch; two or more planet gears positioned around a circumference of the drive plate; and two or more heads coupled to the two or more planet gears.

9. The floor machine of claim 8, wherein the ring gear assembly further comprises: a ring gear; and a shroud detachably coupled to the ring gear.

10. The floor machine of claim 9, wherein: the shroud comprises a plurality of first holes, the ring gear comprises a plurality of second holes, and a plurality of fasteners extend through one of the plurality of first holes and an associated one of the plurality of second holes to couple the shroud and the ring gear together.

11. The floor machine of claim 9, wherein the ring gear comprises two or more ring gear segments configured to be detachably coupled together to form the ring gear.

12. The floor machine of claim 11, wherein: each of the two or more ring gear segments comprises a stud and a connection hole, and the stud is designed to be received by the connection hole of an adjacent ring gear segment in a press fit, a snap fit, or a friction fit.

13. The floor machine of claim 11, wherein the ring gear comprises four ring gear segments, each of the four ring gear segments spanning an arc of 90 degrees.

14. The floor machine of claim 9, wherein the shroud at least partially encompasses the planetary driver.

15. A floor machine, comprising: a chassis supporting a handle and a motor; a ring gear assembly coupled to the chassis, the ring gear assembly further comprising: a ring gear comprising two or more ring gear segments; and a shroud detachably coupled to the ring gear; and a planetary driver operably coupled to the motor, the planetary driver configured to act upon a flooring surface via two or more heads.

16. The floor machine of claim 15, wherein the ring gear comprises four ring gear segments, each of the four ring gear segments spanning an arc of 90 degrees.

17. The floor machine of claim 15, wherein each of the two or more ring gear segments includes a stud and a connection hole, the connection hole designed to receive the stud of an adjacent ring gear segment in a press fit, a snap fit, or a friction fit.

18. The floor machine of claim 15, wherein the planetary driver further comprises: a clutch; a drive plate connected to the clutch; one or more planet gears positioned around a circumference of the drive plate; and one or more heads coupled to the one or more planet gears.

19. The floor machine of claim 18, wherein: the motor causes the drive plate to generate rotational motion in a first rotational direction of the one or more planet gears about a primary rotational axis, and the ring gear causes the one or more planet gears to counterrotate in a second rotational direction about a secondary rotational axis.

20. The floor machine of claim 15, wherein the shroud at least partially encompasses the planetary driver and is designed to shield the planetary driver from collisions and to contain debris produced by operation of the floor machine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary floor machine constructed according to the principles of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the floor machine of FIG. 1 with a motor and a shroud removed.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a planetary driver of the floor machine of FIG. 1.

[0012] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a ring gear assembly of the floor machine of FIG. 1.

[0013] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of two ring gear segments of the ring gear assembly of FIG. 4.

[0014] FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the ring gear segments of FIG. 5.

[0015] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the planetary driver of FIG. 3 engaging a ring gear of the ring gear assembly of FIG. 4.

[0016] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific example of a device according to the present disclosure is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular example disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.

[0018] Referring first to FIG. 1, an exemplary floor machine 1 may include a handle 5 extending between a first end 10 and a second end 15 opposing the first end 10. The handle 5 may include one or more grips 20 positioned at the first end 10 thereof. The grips 20 may enable an operator to control and maneuver the floor machine 1. The second end 15 of the handle 5 may be connected to a chassis 25 arranged to be positioned adjacent to a floor surface. The chassis 25 may be formed integrally with the handle 5 or may be coupled thereto. One or more wheels 30 may be coupled to the chassis 25 and may further enable an operator to control and maneuver the floor machine 1.

[0019] An angle adjuster 35 and a cord holder 40 may be connected to the handle 5 proximate to the second end 15 and may extend outwardly therefrom. The angle adjuster 35 may be configured to enable an operator to alter an angle of the handle 5 (e.g., relative to the chassis 25). The cord holder 40 may provide a convenient way to store a power cord (not shown) of the floor machine 1 when the floor machine 1 is not in use. Additionally, the cord holder 40 may enable an operator to retain a portion of the power cord coiled around the cord holder 40 when the floor machine 1 is in use but the entire length of the power cord is not required. In this way, the cord holder 40 may prevent tangling of and/or damage to the power cord or other components of the floor machine 1.

[0020] The chassis 25 may support one or more operative components of the floor machine 1. For example, the chassis 25 may support a motor 45 and a planetary driver 50 operably connected with the motor 45. The planetary driver 50 may be at least partially positioned within or surrounded by a shroud 55. The shroud 55 may be configured to, for example, protect or shield the planetary driver 50 from collisions or damage and/or to contain dust or debris produced by operation of the floor machine 1. The planetary driver 50 may be configured to act upon (e.g., clean, polish, buff, scrub, sand, etc.) a flooring surface such as hardwood, tile, concrete, marble, and the like. In the case of the floor machine 1, the motor 45 is mounted substantially above the chassis 25 and the planetary driver 50 is mounted substantially below the chassis 25. However, the motor 45 and planetary driver 50 may be mounted on or connected to the chassis 25 in any suitable manner.

[0021] Turning to FIG. 2, the motor 45, the shroud 55, and/or other components of the floor machine 1 are substantially hidden (e.g., only an outline of the motor 45 and the shroud 55 is depicted) such that the planetary driver 50 can be seen integrated into the floor machine 1.

[0022] FIG. 3 depicts the planetary driver 50 isolated from the floor machine 1. The planetary driver 50 may include a clutch 60, a drive plate 65 connected to the clutch 60, one or more planet gears 70, and one or more heads 75 connected to the planet gears 70. The planet gears 70 and heads 75 may be positioned around a circumference 85 of the drive plate 65. The illustrated example depicts a planetary driver 50 having four planet gears 70 and four heads 75. However, the planetary driver 50 may include any number of planet gears 70 and heads 75, and the planet gears 70 and heads 75 may be arranged in any suitable configuration.

[0023] The heads 75 may be arranged to contact the floor or surface being acted upon by the floor machine 1. Thus, the heads 75 may be provided in different forms and may be selected depending on the operation to be performed by the floor machine 1 or the surface to be acted upon. For example, softer heads 75 may be used to polish a smooth floor to produce a shiny finish, whereas more abrasive heads 75 may be used to sand a floor or remove one or more upper layers of a floor.

[0024] The clutch 60 may connect the motor 45 to the planetary driver 50. For example, the motor 45 may be configured to generate rotational motion (e.g., by rotating an output shaft or in another manner) about a primary rotational axis A of the planetary driver 50. The clutch 60 may be configured to translate the rotational motion generated by the motor 45 to the planetary driver 50. In the illustrated example, the clutch 60 may be fixedly coupled to the drive plate 65 via a plurality of links 80. Thus, the motor 45 may be configured to generate rotational motion of the clutch 60 and the drive plate 65 about the axis A when the floor machine 1 is in use.

[0025] Each of the planet gears 70 may include a plurality of first teeth 90 and may be connected to the associated head 75 via a connector 95. For example, the connectors 95 may be provided in the form of a pin, screw, bracket, rivet, fastener, and the like. Each connector 95 may be configured to extend through an opening (not shown) in the drive plate 65 such that a first end of the connector 95 can be fixedly coupled to the planet gear 70 positioned above the drive plate 65 and a second end of the connector 95 can be fixedly coupled to the head 75 positioned beneath the drive plate 65. The connectors 95 may fixedly couple each planet gear 70 to the associated head 75 such that the planet gear 70 and head 75 are configured to rotate in unison. In other words, rotation of the planet gear 70 may drive rotation of the associated head 75 when the floor machine 1 is in use. Each of the planet gears 70 and the associated head 75 may be configured to rotate about a secondary axis of rotation B extending along a length of the connector 95.

[0026] Turning to FIG. 4, the floor machine 1 may include a ring gear assembly 100 including the shroud 55 and a ring gear 105 configured to engage the planet gears 70 of the planetary driver 50. For example, the ring gear 105 may include a plurality of second teeth 110 extending inwardly therefrom. The plurality of second teeth 110 of the ring gear 105 may be configured to engage the plurality of first teeth 90 of the planet gears 70. The ring gear 105 can be made of various plastics and/or metals and can be manufactured via a variety of processes including machining, casting, injection molding, compression molding, and the like.

[0027] The shroud 55 and the ring gear 105 may be detachably coupled together to form the ring gear assembly 100. For example, the shroud 55 may include a plurality of first holes 115a and the ring gear 105 may include a plurality of second holes 115b arranged to align with the plurality of first holes 115a. Thus, the shroud 55 may be coupled to the ring gear 105 via a plurality of fasteners 120. Each of the fasteners 120 may be configured to extend through one of the first holes 115a and the associated second hole 115b. For example, the fasteners 120 may be provided in the form of a screw, pin, or other fastening mechanism provided that at least an end of the fastener 120 is configured to be fixedly received within the second hole 115b.

[0028] The ring gear 105 may be provided in the form of two or more ring gear segments 125 configured to be detachably coupled together to form the ring gear 105. In the illustrated example, the ring gear 105 may include four substantially equal ring gear segments 125 spanning an arc of approximately 90 degrees. However, the ring gear 105 may include any number of ring gear segments 125. The ring gear segments 125 may be substantially similar to one another, or one or more ring gear segments 125 may be uniquely designed with respect to one or more other ring gear segments 125 (e.g., each ring gear segment 125 may have a unique shape, size, or other characteristic). The sum of the arcs spanned by all of the ring gear segments 125 may be substantially equal to 360.

[0029] Turning to FIG. 5, each ring gear segment 125 may extend between a segment first end 130 and a segment second end 135 opposing the segment first end. The ring gear segments 125 may be couplable by joining the segment first end 130 of a first ring gear segment 125 with the segment second end 135 of an adjacent ring gear segment 125. Thus, the segment first end 130 may be configured to mate with an adjacent segment second end 135. For example, in the illustrated example, the segment first end 130 is provided in the form of a rectangular protrusion positioned at a lower edge 140 of the ring gear segment 125, and the segment second end 135 is provided in the form of a complementary rectangular protrusion positioned at an upper edge 145 of the ring gear segment 125. However, the segment first end 130 and the segment second end 135 may be provided in other forms provided that the segment first end 130 and the segment second end 135 are configured to mate and facilitate coupling between adjacent ring gear segments 125.

[0030] In the illustrated example, the ring gear segments 125 may each include a stud 150 positioned at the segment first end 130 and a recessed feature or connection hole 155 positioned at the segment second end 135. The stud 150 and the connection hole 155 may be configured to facilitate a connection between adjacent ring gear segments 125. For example, the connection hole 155 may be configured to receive the stud 150 in a press fit, snap fit, friction fit, etc. However, the segment first end 130 and the segment second end 135 may be provided in other forms not specifically described herein, provided that the segment first end 130 and the segment second end 135 are configured to facilitate coupling between adjacent ring gear segments 125.

[0031] When the ring gear segments 125 are assembled to form the ring gear 105, the second teeth 110 of each of the ring gear segments 125 may align to complete the ring gear profile. As a result, the ring gear 105 may function in substantially the same manner as a single-piece ring gear when the floor machine 1 is in use.

[0032] Turning to FIG. 6, an alternatively configured ring gear segment 160 may be substantially similar in form and function to the ring gear segment 125 discussed above. For example, the ring gear segments 160 may each include a plurality of second teeth 165 positioned on an interior surface thereof. However, the ring gear segment 160 may include a stud 170 positioned at a segment first end 175 and a connection hole 180 positioned at a segment second end 185. The stud 170 may include an opening 190 arranged to align with the connection hole 180 of an adjacent ring gear segment 160.

[0033] The fastener 120 (e.g., a pin, screw, etc.) may facilitate coupling between adjacent ring gear segments 160. For example, the fastener 120 may extend through the connection hole 180 of the ring gear segment 160 and may be securely received (e.g., via a press fit, threaded engagement, etc.) within the opening 190 of the stud 170 of an adjacent ring gear segment 160. However, the segment first end 175 and the segment second end 185 may be provided in other forms not specifically described herein, provided that the segment first end 175 and the segment second end 185 are configured to facilitate coupling between adjacent ring gear segments 160.

[0034] Turning to FIG. 7, the planetary driver 50 may be positioned at least partially within the ring gear 105 when the floor machine 1 is assembled. The first teeth 90 of each of the planet gears 70 may mesh with or engage the second teeth 110 of the ring gear 105. The ring gear assembly 100 may be fixedly coupled to the chassis 25, or to another portion of the floor machine 1, such that the ring gear 105 may be stationary with respect to the planetary driver 50 when the floor machine 1 is in use. As a result, the rotational motion generated by the motor 45 may be translated to the planet gears 70 via the clutch 60, drive plate 65, and/or links 80 such that the planet gears move in a circular path along the interior edge of the ring gear 105.

[0035] As the drive plate 65 causes the planet gears 70 to rotate about the primary rotational axis A, engagement between the first teeth 90 and the second teeth 110 may cause the planet gears 70 to counterrotate about the secondary rotational axis B. In other words, the planet gears 70 may be configured to rotate about the primary rotational axis A in a first direction and to rotate about the secondary rotational axis in a second direction (e.g., opposite to the first direction) simultaneously.

[0036] As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications, applications, variations, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. Many such changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications of the present constructions will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. All such changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present inventions are deemed to be covered by the inventions which are limited only by the claims which follow.