Hi,

Interesting stuff here.

I wonder what ever happened to the cone drive transmission if it is still around or not. That was a 'gear' in the shape of a cone with another meshing gear that could travel laterally in order to change the gear ratio. I suppose two interconnected cones could do it too. Dont remember all the details now though.

 

Hi,

Interesting stuff here.

I wonder what ever happened to the cone drive transmission if it is still around or not. That was a 'gear' in the shape of a cone with another meshing gear that could travel laterally in order to change the gear ratio. I suppose two interconnected cones could do it too. Dont remember all the details now though.

I refurbished a bandsaw couple of years ago that had a cone Drive. The band saw was probably from the 80s. The cone Drive was a cone, and the drive was a rubber ball on the end of a shaft that contacted the inner diameter of the cone. to adjust the speed you turn a screw which changes the position of the rubber ball inside the cone.

My impression of this transmission method is that is limited in the amount of torque that it can transfer, because there really isn't much surface area and the whole thing is dependent on friction. I think it is limited in its application, probably why it didn't take off.

 

There is another type of cone Drive, where two cones are arranged 180 degrees apart and a round belt is wrapped around both of them and to change the speed you shift the belt from one side to the other. This one also is dependent on friction over a small surface area and would be particularly ineffective at transferring torque when the belt is near either end of the cones.

 

Hi,

Interesting stuff here.

I wonder what ever happened to the cone drive transmission if it is still around or not. That was a 'gear' in the shape of a cone with another meshing gear that could travel laterally in order to change the gear ratio. I suppose two interconnected cones could do it too. Dont remember all the details now though.

It's still in use in some car transmissions, after a fashion.. Called a CVT. And I had a snow blower that used it to control the wheel speeds. In that one reverse was made by going past the center of the drive disc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuously_variable_transmission