Clark Equipment Compnay

Barry L Frost

Theodore A Malott

A manual shift transmission having multiple input and output portions is provided with a control having input and output shift rails. A laterally movable control shaft extends axially through cutouts in respective shift rails and carries cams adapted to cooperate with cam follower surfaces on corresponding cutouts to effect rectilinear movement of the shift rails upon rotation of the control shaft. The cams are arranged on the shaft so that the shaft may be positioned to place respective cams in register with the input and output shift rails while all other cams are out of register with the rail cutouts. The shift movement of respective output and input shift rails is overlapped during the rotation of the control shaft to decrease the throw of the shift lever.

Control for mechanical transmission

A dual path, dual range transmission utilizes two simple planetaries with a sliding shaft shift wherein a first ring gear is in constant mesh with the first planet gear, the second ring gear is connected with the first carrier and the second ring gear is also in constant mesh with the second planet gear. A variable speed device, drivingly connected with the input shaft, controllably varies the rotative speed of a variable speed control shaft which is connected with the first and second sun gears. The input shaft is also independently drivingly connected with the first ring gear and the second planet carrier, with the output shaft being connected with the first carrier. Means are provided for alternately first moving the first sun gear into mesh with the first planet gear, when the pitch line velocity of the first planet gear, relative to the first planet carrier, is substantially the same as the pitch line velocity of the first sun gear, and out of mesh when they are rotating under load, and secondly for moving the second sun gear into mesh with the second planet gear, when the pitch line velocity of the second planet gear, relative to the second planet carrier, is substantially the same as the pitch line velocity of the second sun gear, and out of mesh when they are under load, with this means for moving being activated only when the control shaft is rotating at a selected speed relative to the speed of the two sun gears.

Dual path, dual range transmission

A clutch mechanism of the rocker-shift type has a carrier member interposed between and affixed to one of a rotatable driving and a rotatable driven member. The carrier member has circumferentially spaced rocker arms, having normally self-disengaging clutch portions, that are adapted to be rocked radially, on at least one end thereof, by means of a shift yoke and collar, for selective rocking engagement into coupling engagement with adjacent corresponding normally self-disengaging clutch portions on the other of the driving and driven members. The collar has locked neutral and locked engaged positions on the carrier, with the improvement comprising means for axially shifting the collar to an unlocked engaged position intermediate the locked neutral and locked engaged positions and yieldingly maintaining the collar in this unlocked engaged position at a predetermined torque level, with the collar being axially shifted back into locked neutral position as result of the separation of the self-disengaging clutch portions when the predetermined torque level is exceeded by the torque transfer between the driving and driven members.

Growing community of inventors

Jackson, MI, United States of America

Barry L Frost