Mechanical Structure Analysis and Kinematic Simulation of the Satellite Star Gear Continuously Variable Transmission System

Nowadays more and more in-depth study and continuous investigation is being carried out in the continuously variable transmission (CVT) field. A good continuously variable ratio changing action would greatly improve the performance of the transmission and offer a high fuel economy. So it would save energy and protect environment, furthermore it would reduce the working intensity and demands of driving skill on the driver. Therefore, a high efficiency and good performance continuously variable transmission (CVT) is urgently needed.

This paper presents a new Satellite Star Gear (SSG) Continuously Variable Transmission System. It was created based on the Pulse Stepless Transmission with some improvements on the overrunning clutch, stepless speed change device etc. This paper introduces the basic mechanical structure and kinematical principle of a double eccentricity stepless speed change device, overrunning clutch and the whole mechanism (SSG). A 3D CAD model and kinematical simulation model of this mechanism (SSG) based on ADAMS are simply built, the kinematical simulation is carried out, finally the kinematical characteristic curves is derived. With the analysis of the motion characteristic curves, we developed an optimized mechanical structure size with the optimizing target of a lowest output speed fluctuation rate (pulse stepless) and a smallest structure size. This optimized results offered theoretical basis to the dynamical analysis and optimization. The mechanism in this paper has lots of advantages as follows:

1. 1
   Large continuously variable ratio range;
2. 2
   Kinematic “gear neutral” output without clutch and without recirculating power flow;
3. 3
   Simple structure and easy to produce;
4. 4
   Ratio changing at both static and moving state;
5. 5
   High torque density and high efficiency.