TURRET-CARRYING VEHICLE
WITH
ELEUTHERO-STROPHE
There is a patented Mechanism, named "ELEUTHERO" ("ELEUTHERO-STROPHE", that means an independently rotating hub, is the proposed full name for this brand new Mechanism) for the convenience of this presentation, referring to a configuration which transmits endless rotation from a shaft onto a stationary frame to a shaft onto an endlessly rotating carrier, or vice versa, PURELY MECHANICALLY and INDEPENDENTLY (KINEMATICALLY and DYNAMICALLY) of the rotation of the carrier, inserting THREE only additional moving parts between its input and its output.
MORE FOR THE ELEUTHERO MECHANISM AT GREEN ENGINE PROJECT
MORE FOR THE ELEUTHERO MECHANISM AT WIPO
MORE FOR THE ELEUTHERO MECHANISM AT WIPO
A very important application, also, of this Mechanism is to a construction, which is either a building or any other structure with its base stationary with respect to the ground, such as a lighthouse or a rotating tower (the "OTE Tower" of the Thessaloniki International Fair, for example) or a robot, or movable, such as a large excavator or a crane or a battle tank, the structure of which has, at least, two compartments with the possibility of endless angular motion of each compartment with respect to its neighboring one, where the one compartment of the structure, such as the ground or the chassis in these examples, is coincided with the frame of this Mechanism, while the next compartment, such as the tower or the turret in these examples, is coincided with the endlessly rotating central carrier of this Mechanism, with the final result of transmitting endless rotation from a driving shaft on the one compartment to a driven shaft on the next compartment, purely mechanically and independently of the endless relative rotation between these compartments; of course this procedure can be repeated from the one compartment to its neighboring one, as many times as it is required by the number of the compartments.
The most significant advantages for this application are:
- the purely mechanical transmission for the movement of the vehicle -the large excavator or the crane or the battle tank- per se, in space, instead of the hydraulic transmission currently in use,
- the achievement of purely endless rotation of the turret of the large excavator or the crane or the battle tank, with respect to their chassis, while with the existing technology either the rotation is finite and with a significantly shorter angular stroke than a full revolution or it is much more expensive in construction and maintenance if an endless rotation is available but with a special sealing for rotation of the hydraulic piping (rotary union etc) and
- the lowering of the level of the gravity center of the excavator or the crane or the battle tank as much as possible, thus rendering the use of the excavator or the battle tank more safe and effective.
The most significant advantages for this application are:
- the purely mechanical transmission for the movement of the vehicle -the large excavator or the crane or the battle tank- per se, in space, instead of the hydraulic transmission currently in use,
- the achievement of purely endless rotation of the turret of the large excavator or the crane or the battle tank, with respect to their chassis, while with the existing technology either the rotation is finite and with a significantly shorter angular stroke than a full revolution or it is much more expensive in construction and maintenance if an endless rotation is available but with a special sealing for rotation of the hydraulic piping (rotary union etc) and
- the lowering of the level of the gravity center of the excavator or the crane or the battle tank as much as possible, thus rendering the use of the excavator or the battle tank more safe and effective.
More specifically, for the excavator or the crane there are two options:
- either of carrying the engine and the hydraulic equipment onto the turret, as currently happens, and onto the chassis can be the mechanical gearbox, differential and the rest of the purely mechanical power-train in order to mechanically transmit power to wheels or crawlers,
- or of carrying the engine -preferably a boxer one- onto the chassis and carrying all the hydraulic equipment only onto the turret (as it is presented below in a close-up of the turret and the chassis, with the Eleuthero-Strophe between them, in an exaggerated width depiction), keeping, also, the gravity center in the lower possible level and rendering the use of this excavator more safe and effective.
Being, in both options, in accordance with the Golden Rule:
all movements with a FINITE STROKE, via HYDRAULIC MEANS, and
all movements with an ENDLESS STROKE, via PURELY MECHANICAL MEANS.
- either of carrying the engine and the hydraulic equipment onto the turret, as currently happens, and onto the chassis can be the mechanical gearbox, differential and the rest of the purely mechanical power-train in order to mechanically transmit power to wheels or crawlers,
- or of carrying the engine -preferably a boxer one- onto the chassis and carrying all the hydraulic equipment only onto the turret (as it is presented below in a close-up of the turret and the chassis, with the Eleuthero-Strophe between them, in an exaggerated width depiction), keeping, also, the gravity center in the lower possible level and rendering the use of this excavator more safe and effective.
Being, in both options, in accordance with the Golden Rule:
all movements with a FINITE STROKE, via HYDRAULIC MEANS, and
all movements with an ENDLESS STROKE, via PURELY MECHANICAL MEANS.
In close collaboration with the National Technical University of Athens, a Project is running for the designing of a fully operational Prototype, a vehicle with a turret, where power is transmitted from a driving shaft, onto the frame of the vehicle, to a driven shaft onto the turret, independently of the endless rotation of the turret with respect to the frame of the vehicle.
