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Whatever happened to the Torsen Track Steering System?
This is late, but in case of searchs for it, the inventor was Vernon
Gleasman back in 1950s, his company made them until the 80s when they sold the Patents to Gleason Works when the Hummer contract was to much for production. As the the tracked vehicle steer drive, thats still around and has been improved. Look at Torvec Inc. the company Vernon later founded, they are working on the next Gen. Torsen and the FTV which uses the steer drive. Website www.torvec.com |
This is late, but in case of searchs for it, the inventor was Vernon
Gleasman back in 1950s, his company made them until the 80s when they sold the Patents to Gleason Works when the Hummer contract was to much for production. As the the tracked vehicle steer drive, thats still around and has been improved. Look at Torvec Inc. the company Vernon later founded, they are working on the next Gen. Torsen and the FTV which uses the steer drive. Website www.torvec.com |
In article ,
wrote: On 22 Dec 2004 12:22:11 -0800, wrote: This is late, but in case of searchs for it, the inventor was Vernon Gleasman back in 1950s, his company made them until the 80s when they sold the Patents to Gleason Works when the Hummer contract was to much for production. As the the tracked vehicle steer drive, thats still around and has been improved. Look at Torvec Inc. the company Vernon later founded, they are working on the next Gen. Torsen and the FTV which uses the steer drive. Website www.torvec.com Please enlighten me about what makes this system so unique. Differential steeting for tracked vehicles has been around since about WWI. I assume this system is different somehow. IIRC, the gear angles are such that it puts the same torque on both wheels. so if one is on ice the other still has traction. -- Free men own guns, slaves don't www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ |
The Torsen track steering system is not the same as the Torsen differential,
which you are describing. The Torsen track steering system originally used two conventional differentials, both hooked to the same output halfshafts. One differential is driven by the engine output and its output is connected to the left and right halfshafts in the normal way. The second differential is driven by a "steering" motor, and its halfshafts are also connected to the first differential's halfshafts, but with one key difference. On one side, say the left side, the halfshafts are connect together with a chain drive, or with gears through an idler gear, so that the two halfshafts turn in the same direction. On the opposite side, say the right side, the two halfshafts are connected together through a pair of gears, so that the two halfshafts on that side turn in the opposite direction. If the steering motor is not turning, the system of differentials and driven halfshafts guarantee that the halfshafts of the first (engine-driven) differential turn at exactly the same speed. If these halfshafts drive the left and right tracks of a vehicle, the vehicle will go straight ahead. If, however, the steering motor turns, the differential action of the two differentials will cause the tracks to turn at different speeds, causing the vehicle to turn. The faster the steering motor turns, the greater the differential speed and the tighter the turning radius. The direction of turn is determined by the direction the turning motor turns. If the engine and steering motor are both turning at the same speed (assuming 1:1 ratios of the connecting chain/gears) the tracks will turn at the same speed in the opposite direction, and the vehicle will spin around its center. This is a much more precise method of steering a tank or other tracked vehicle (or skid-steered vehicle) than the conventional individual clutches and brakes. The original version also was potentially much stronger and cheaper, since it used standard, high volume truck parts. I see from the website that rcook5 posted that the system has now been intergrated so that steering apparently no longer requires a separate motor. Looks very interesting. -- Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways) I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love America "Nick Hull" wrote in message ... In article , wrote: On 22 Dec 2004 12:22:11 -0800, wrote: This is late, but in case of searchs for it, the inventor was Vernon Gleasman back in 1950s, his company made them until the 80s when they sold the Patents to Gleason Works when the Hummer contract was to much for production. As the the tracked vehicle steer drive, thats still around and has been improved. Look at Torvec Inc. the company Vernon later founded, they are working on the next Gen. Torsen and the FTV which uses the steer drive. Website www.torvec.com Please enlighten me about what makes this system so unique. Differential steeting for tracked vehicles has been around since about WWI. I assume this system is different somehow. IIRC, the gear angles are such that it puts the same torque on both wheels. so if one is on ice the other still has traction. -- Free men own guns, slaves don't www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/ |
wrote:
On 22 Dec 2004 12:22:11 -0800, wrote: This is late, but in case of searchs for it, the inventor was Vernon Gleasman back in 1950s, his company made them until the 80s when they sold the Patents to Gleason Works when the Hummer contract was to much for production. As the the tracked vehicle steer drive, thats still around and has been improved. Look at Torvec Inc. the company Vernon later founded, they are working on the next Gen. Torsen and the FTV which uses the steer drive. Website www.torvec.com Please enlighten me about what makes this system so unique. Differential steeting for tracked vehicles has been around since about WWI. I assume this system is different somehow. --RC "Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr. While the concept of a controlled differential has indeed been known since "about W.W.I", they didn't come into common usage until well after W.W.II. Few W.W.II tanks used the idea, most using various clutch and brake systems, rather like most bulldozers (note that this, in a primitive way, does 'control' the differential). The lack of a properly "controlled differential", of course, usually made 'neutral steer' turns impossible (though there ARE other ways to accomplish this). Many, probably most, modern vehicles can execute such turns. Dan Mitchell ============ |
On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 22:03:44 -0500, "Bob Chilcoat"
wrote: The Torsen track steering system is not the same as the Torsen differential, which you are describing. The Torsen track steering system originally used two conventional differentials, both hooked to the same output halfshafts. One differential is driven by the engine output and its output is connected to the left and right halfshafts in the normal way. The second differential is driven by a "steering" motor, and its halfshafts are also connected to the first differential's halfshafts, but with one key difference. On one side, say the left side, the halfshafts are connect together with a chain drive, or with gears through an idler gear, so that the two halfshafts turn in the same direction. On the opposite side, say the right side, the two halfshafts are connected together through a pair of gears, so that the two halfshafts on that side turn in the opposite direction. If the steering motor is not turning, the system of differentials and driven halfshafts guarantee that the halfshafts of the first (engine-driven) differential turn at exactly the same speed. If these halfshafts drive the left and right tracks of a vehicle, the vehicle will go straight ahead. If, however, the steering motor turns, the differential action of the two differentials will cause the tracks to turn at different speeds, causing the vehicle to turn. The faster the steering motor turns, the greater the differential speed and the tighter the turning radius. The direction of turn is determined by the direction the turning motor turns. If the engine and steering motor are both turning at the same speed (assuming 1:1 ratios of the connecting chain/gears) the tracks will turn at the same speed in the opposite direction, and the vehicle will spin around its center. This is a much more precise method of steering a tank or other tracked vehicle (or skid-steered vehicle) than the conventional individual clutches and brakes. The original version also was potentially much stronger and cheaper, since it used standard, high volume truck parts. I see from the website that rcook5 posted that the system has now been intergrated so that steering apparently no longer requires a separate motor. Looks very interesting. Ah. Thanks for the explanation --RC "Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr. |
I've now looked over the patent that is cited on the Torvec site, and it
DOES still use a steering motor. It does not use differentials, however, but two sets of planetary gears. Neat device and very clever. Doesn't look as strong as the original, but accomplishes exactly the same thing in a much smaller package. -- Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways) "Bob Chilcoat" wrote in message ... snip standard, high volume truck parts. I see from the website that rcook5 posted that the system has now been intergrated so that steering apparently no longer requires a separate motor. Looks very interesting. -- |
In article ,
wrote: On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 22:03:44 -0500, "Bob Chilcoat" wrote: The Torsen track steering system is not the same as the Torsen differential, which you are describing. The Torsen track steering system originally used two conventional differentials, both hooked to the same output halfshafts. One differential is driven by the engine output and its output is connected to the left and right halfshafts in the normal way. The second differential is driven by a "steering" motor, and its halfshafts are also connected to the first differential's halfshafts, but with one key difference. On one side, say the left side, the halfshafts are connect together with a chain drive, or with gears through an idler gear, so that the two halfshafts turn in the same direction. On the opposite side, say the right side, the two halfshafts are connected together through a pair of gears, so that the two halfshafts on that side turn in the opposite direction. If the steering motor is not turning, the system of differentials and driven halfshafts guarantee that the halfshafts of the first (engine-driven) differential turn at exactly the same speed. If these halfshafts drive the left and right tracks of a vehicle, the vehicle will go straight ahead. If, however, the steering motor turns, the differential action of the two differentials will cause the tracks to turn at different speeds, causing the vehicle to turn. The faster the steering motor turns, the greater the differential speed and the tighter the turning radius. The direction of turn is determined by the direction the turning motor turns. If the engine and steering motor are both turning at the same speed (assuming 1:1 ratios of the connecting chain/gears) the tracks will turn at the same speed in the opposite direction, and the vehicle will spin around its center. This is a much more precise method of steering a tank or other tracked vehicle (or skid-steered vehicle) than the conventional individual clutches and brakes. The original version also was potentially much stronger and cheaper, since it used standard, high volume truck parts. I see from the website that rcook5 posted that the system has now been intergrated so that steering apparently no longer requires a separate motor. Looks very interesting. Ah. Thanks for the explanation Illustrations: http://www.gizmology.net/tracked.htm The torsen track steering patent is basically a double differential steering system with the steering input to two separate gears joined by a chain instead of a shaft. Probably to get around a patent. The units I've seen inside of some Cats are double differential, but use a more convoluted arrangement of gears so two large ring gears are side-by-side. Makes it more compact than what you see in these pictures. Also gives the steering motor really good leverage, so it can be smaller too. Can't find a picture of that, though. BTW, found an interesting page during my search: http://tinyurl.com/6t85h I like the half track near the bottom! -- B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net http://web2.airmail.net/thegoat4/ |
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