Updated May 30, 2023
Gearbox Mechanism
For decades, gearbox or manual transmissions have served an incalculable purpose in the automotive industry. It is the most famous form of communication, even today. For various driving situations, such as starting from a standstill, climbing a hill, or commuting on a flat surface, the gearbox offers a variety of gears. The power generates in the engine and flows through the transmission to reach the drive wheels. In different driving conditions, the primary function of a gearbox is to maintain the speed and torque of the drive wheels. For example, you need more torque to climb a hill. Thereby reducing the transmission’s speed, we can achieve the required torque and vice versa.
As far as the inner workings of the gearbox are concerned, the simple principle of the gearbox is the gear ratio, i.e., N1/N2 = T2/T1, where T = Number of Teeth and N = Speed. It is fascinating that we can achieve different transmission ratios by sliding the gears.
The smaller gear connected to the input shaft rotates at double the speed of the larger gear attached to the output shaft. The input and output shafts in a gearbox connect through a countershaft, and this transmission is called a sliding mesh transmission. Even though this transmission helps control speed, there will be some inherent disadvantages. It’s quite a challenge to slide from one gear to another.
The permanent solution is a constant mesh transmission system, where the gears connect to mesh but with a slight difference. Here, the output gears loosely connect to the shaft. If only one gear connects to the shaft at a time, the speed of the shaft is equal to the connected gear. The input and output gears connect to the 4th gear.
Arrange a manual transmission around the fourth gear by the following steps:
- Firstly, the main shaft gears have a synchronizer cone-teeth arrangement and fix a hub to the shaft.
- Use a free sleeve to slide over the hub in this system. If the sleeve connects with the synchronizer cone’s teeth, the gear and the shaft will turn together and achieve the desired locking action.
- The shaft and the gear will rotate at different speeds during the gearbox operation, making the locking system difficult.
- The synchronizer ring can slide axially and rotate freely with the hub to match the speed of the gear to the shaft.
- Before moving the sleeve, press the clutch pedal to discontinue the power flow to the gear.
- When we move the sleeve, the sleeve presses the synchronizer ring opposite the cone.
- The frictional force of the synchronizer ring and the cone equates to the speed of the gear and shaft.
- The sleeve can move further to lock with the gear. Thus, the gear and the shaft close efficiently and smoothly.
The exact mechanism is employed to shift other gears. Turn the output shaft faster than the input shaft using the fifth gear. The reverse gear uses a three-year arrangement, including the idle gear. The output shaft will turn to reverse when the idle gear is pushed and connected to the other two gears, i.e., the input and output shafts. The reverse gear lacks the synchronizer ring mechanism. It means the gearbox rotation must stop before applying the reverse gear.
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