Planetary gearbox and lubricant-collecting tray for a planetary gearbox

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12326191-B2
Application number	US-202218689972-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2022
Priority date	Sep 7, 2021
Publication date	Jun 10, 2025
Grant date	Jun 10, 2025

Abstract

A planetary gearbox includes a shaft, a planetary carrier, first and second planetary pins arranged on the planetary carrier, first and second planetary gears mounted on the planetary pins via respective bearings, and a lubricant collecting tray. The shaft has a shaft channel for radially conducting a lubricant to an outer face of the shaft and the planetary pins have respective pin channels for conducting the lubricant to the respective bearings. The lubricant-collecting tray has a collection space for collecting the lubricant supplied via the shaft channel and hollow feed ports that open into respective pin channels. The hollow feed port closest to the shaft channel, when viewed in a circumferential direction, has an opening cross-section that is less than an opening cross-section of the other hollow feed port.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A planetary gearbox, comprising a shaft having a channel structure for conducting a lubricant, comprising a channel opening on the outer face of the shaft, a planetary carrier, at least two planetary pins which are arranged on the planetary carrier and on which one planetary gear each is mounted, wherein each planetary pin has a channel structure for conducting the lubricant to a bearing of the planetary gear, and a lubricant-collecting tray which has a collection space, for collecting the lubricant supplied via the shaft-side channel, comprising at least two hollow feed ports which each open into a planetary pin-side channel structure for conducting the lubricant into the respective channel structure, wherein a feed port which is positioned, viewed in the circumferential direction, closer to the opening of the channel has a smaller opening cross-section (Q 1 ) than a feed port which is positioned further away.

2. The planetary gearbox according to claim 1 , wherein the feed ports each have a bore, wherein the bore diameter is different in order to vary the opening cross-section (Q 1 , Q 2 ).

3. The planetary gearbox according to claim 1 , wherein one or more feed ports have an orifice which reduces the opening cross-section (Q 1 , Q 2 ) and is provided at the end of the feed port which is open towards the collection space.

4. The planetary gearbox according to claim 1 , wherein the planetary carrier has a cheek extending radially to the shaft, using which it is connected to the shaft and which is adjoined by an annular bottom on which the feed ports project axially.

5. The planetary gearbox according to claim 4 , wherein the cheek has a lubricant guide structure on the side facing the lubricant-collecting tray.

6. The planetary gearbox according to claim 1 , wherein the annular collection space is wider in the radial direction or higher in the axial direction in the region of the feed port having a smaller opening cross-section (Q 1 ) than in the region of a feed port having a larger opening cross-section (Q 2 ).

7. A lubricant-collecting tray for a planetary gearbox according to claim 1 , comprising a collection space delimited by a bottom and at least two hollow feed ports projecting axially from the bottom and communicating with the collection space, wherein the feed ports have at least partially different opening cross-sections (Q 1 , Q 2 ).

8. The lubricant-collecting tray according to claim 7 , wherein the feed ports each have a bore, wherein the bore diameter is different in order to vary the opening cross-section.

9. The lubricant-collecting tray according to claim 7 , wherein one or more feed ports have an orifice which reduces the flow cross-section and is provided at the end of the feed port which is open towards the collection space.

10. The lubricant-collecting tray according to claim 7 , wherein the annular collection space is wider in the radial direction or higher in the axial direction in the region of the feed port having a smaller opening cross-section (Q 1 ) than in the region of a feed port having a larger opening cross-section (Q 2 ).

11. A planetary gearbox, comprising:
a shaft, the shaft comprising a shaft channel for radially conducting a lubricant to an outer face of the shaft;
a planetary carrier;
a first planetary pin arranged on the planetary carrier;
a second planetary pin arranged on the planetary carrier;
a first planetary gear mounted on the first planetary pin via a first bearing, the first planetary pin comprising a first pin channel for conducting the lubricant to the first bearing;
a second planetary gear mounted on the second planetary pin via a second bearing, the second planetary pin comprising a second pin channel for conducting the lubricant to the second bearing; and
a lubricant-collecting tray comprising:
a collection space for collecting the lubricant supplied via the shaft channel;
a first hollow feed port opening into the first pin channel, the first hollow feed port comprising a first opening cross-section; and
a second hollow feed port opening into the second pin channel, the second hollow feed port comprising a second opening cross-section, wherein:

the first hollow feed port is closer to the shaft channel than the second hollow feed port when viewed in a circumferential direction; and
the first opening cross-section is less than the second opening cross-section.

12. The planetary gearbox of claim 11 , wherein:
the first hollow feed port comprises a first bore with a first bore diameter; and
the second hollow feed port comprises a second bore with a second bore diameter, different than the first bore diameter.

13. The planetary gearbox of claim 11 , wherein the first hollow feed port comprises an orifice disposed on an end of the first hollow feed port open towards the collection space, the orifice arranged for reducing the first opening cross-section.

14. The planetary gearbox of claim 11 , wherein:
the planetary carrier further comprises a cheek extending radially to the shaft, the cheek connecting the planetary carrier to the shaft;
the lubricant-collecting tray further comprises an annular bottom, the first hollow feed port and the second hollow feed port projecting from the annular bottom; and
the cheek adjoins the annular bottom.

15. The planetary gearbox of claim 14 , wherein the cheek comprises a lubricant guide structure on a side of the cheek facing the lubricant-collecting tray.

16. The planetary gearbox of claim 11 , wherein the collection space is radially wider or axially higher near the first hollow feed port than it is near the second hollow feed port.

Assignees

• Schaeffler Technologies Ag

Inventors

• Heymel Jan
• Hock Alfred
• Fischer Frederic
• Boehm Florian
• Sauer Dominik

Classifications

• F16H57/082

  Planet carriers · CPC title

• F16H57/0486

  with fixed gear ratio  (axle or inter-axle differentials F16H57/0483) · CPC title

• F16H57/045

  Lubricant storage reservoirs, e.g. reservoirs in addition to a gear sump for collecting lubricant in the upper part of a gear case · CPC title

• F16H57/043 Primary

  within rotary parts, e.g. axial channels or radial openings in shafts · CPC title

• F16H57/0482

  Gearings with gears having orbital motion · CPC title