Importance

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Abstract

A transmission with a load brake has a ball spline and a stabilizer ring for reducing chatter, a seal for preventing leakage, and an adjustment mechanism for extending the effective life of the brake disk stack. In the past, transmissions equipped with Weston brakes have experienced significant problems with instability and chatter. The present invention overcomes the problems of instability and chatter by introducing a ball spline at the junction between the output shaft and the loading assembly. The ball spline reduces friction caused by the axial movement of the output cam of the loading assembly. Also, the invention introduces a stabilizer ring around the loading assembly to reduce instability and chatter caused by the angular and transverse movement of the loading assembly. The invention also may also utilize a fluid damper in place of the stabilizer ring to reduce instability and chatter caused by the angular and transverse movement of the loading assembly. The invention substantially reduces leakage of transmission fluid by placing a seal including two sealing members around the opening in the casing of the transmission through which the output shaft passes. A layer of relatively high-viscosity grease is introduced between the two sealing members to provide a dam against leakage of transmission fluid. An adjustment mechanism may be used to reconfigure the brake disk stack to its original settings after a pre-determined number of cycles of use of the transmission.

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First Claim