Manufacture and use of parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator

Abstract

A parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator provides motive power and includes an electric prime mover that drives the reducer's pinion gear. This pinion drives minimum three star gears with stationary shaft bearings. Each shaft contains an eccentric which are completely in parallel with each other. These eccentrics can be thought of as parallel/in-phase driven crankshafts. Each eccentric drives the parallel eccentric (PE) gear through a bearing. The PE gear exhibits a circular motion (without rotation) which in itself is unbalanced. The crankshafts have another eccentric which create an opposite inertia force to balance that of the PE gear. The PE gear contains an external toothed gear on its periphery. It meshes with the internal teeth of the output ring gear. The relative motion between the PE gear and the ring gear is that the PE gear rolls inside the ring gear. This relative motion is called hypo-cycloidal motion.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for using a parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator, comprising the steps of:
 operating an electric prime mover;   driving a pinion gear by said electric prime mover;   driving a plurality of concentric star gears by said pinion gear according to a predetermined reduction ratio;   wherein said star gears uses bearings with stationary shafts, said shafts comprising eccentrics structures;   driving a parallel eccentric (PE) gear through a bearing by said eccentrics, giving said parallel eccentric a circular motion (without rotation);   driving a ring gear by said parallel eccentric gear according to a further reduction by meshing outer and inner teeth of respective gears.   
     
     
         2 . The parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator use method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of operating said parallel eccentric gear in phase with said star gear eccentrics. 
     
     
         3 . The parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator use method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of operating said parallel eccentric gear in phase with said star gear eccentrics in association with a parallel balancing mass. 
     
     
         4 . The parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator use method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of operating said parallel eccentric gear as being split into two gears such that said eccentric gear meshes said same ring gear and further driving said eccentric gears by crankshaft eccentrics approximately 180° out of phase. 
     
     
         5 . The parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator use method of  claim 4 , wherein said eccentric gears operate in balance using said crankshaft eccentrics approximately 180° out of phase. 
     
     
         6 . The parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator use method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of operating said parallel eccentric gear so as to rotate in unison with said three concentric eccentrics. 
     
     
         7 . The parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator use method of  claim 6 , further comprising the step of operating said parallel eccentric gear rotates in unison with said three concentric eccentrics may have idlers gears between said input pinion and said star gears on said concentric shafts. 
     
     
         8 . The parallel eccentric electro-mechanical actuator use method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of operating said parallel actuator may have a pair of dual eccentric gears operating 180° out of phase.