ISSN 1068-798X, Russian Engineering Research, 2008, Vol. 28, No. 9, pp. 845–848. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2008.
Original Russian Text © V.P. Bondaletov, 2008, published in Vestnik Mashinostroeniya, 2008, No. 9, pp. 10–13.
Ratchet Mechanisms for High-Speed Transmissions
V. P. Bondaletov
Kovrov State Technical Academy, Kovrov, Russia
DOI: 10.3103/S1068798X08090025
In engineering, machines that alternately turn and
stop often employ ratchet mechanisms – in particular,
free-play ratchet mechanisms. They are used, for
instance, in hoists, transport mechanisms, supply
mechanisms for metal-cutting machines, hydrody-
namic transmissions, starting systems for internal-com-
bustion engines and gas turbines, bicycle and helicopter
transmissions, pulsed mechanical transmissions, and
continuous mechanical transmissions.
Such mechanisms operate at speeds between ωmin =
1 rad/s and ωmax = 400 rad/s. The design of a free-play
mechanism with frictional locking is shown in Fig. 1.
Despite their wide range of applications, free-play
mechanisms of any design perform the following func-
tions: connecting and releasing shafts with different
speed ratios; converting oscillatory to translational
motion; and converting oscillatory motion to continu-
ous rotation.
The free-play mechanism has four operating peri-
ods: closure, a closed state (tightness), opening (loos-
ening), and free play. Closure may either be due to fric-
tion (frictional mechanisms) or due to engagement
(ratchet mechanisms). Frictional free-play mechanisms
have a number of benefits (such as closure with any
mutual position of the elements and noise-free opera-
Fig. 1. Frictional free-play mechanism.
845
tion with no load), but also serious deficiencies: the
normal forces in the contact zone during closure are an
order of magnitude greater than the transmitted forces;
and the opening forces are comparable with the trans-
mitted forces. In closure, the mutual inverse rotation of
the rings due to elastic deformation is 6°–9°. These fea-
tures of frictional mechanisms limit their applicability
in high-speed and heavy-duty transmissions [1].
With the continuing increase in transmitted power
and speed, it is important to increase the load capacity
of the mechanisms—in particular, free-play mecha-
nisms. One method of doing so is to replace frictional
mechanisms with ratchet mechanisms.
The main benefit of ratchet-type free-play mecha-
nisms in relation to frictional mechanisms is that the
normal forces in closure are equal to the transmitted
forces, which significantly reduces the stress in closure
and results in smaller mechanisms. Another benefit is
the absence of opening forces.
The disadvantages of ratchets of traditional design
include increased noise, the impossibility of operating
at high speeds, and the possibility of closure only with
a certain mutual position of the ratchet and rings (a
fixed closure configuration). Some ratchet-type free-
play mechanisms are shown in Fig. 2 [2].
846
(a)
γ O t
h
O1
Fig. 2. Ratchet (a, b) and microratchet (c) free-play mechanisms.
t 1
2
Rp
θ
R0
Fig. 3. Ratchet free-play mechanism of modular type.
The need for a fixed closure configuration is due to
the fixed tooth spacing of the ratchet, which is deter-
mined by its strength and cannot be less than a specific
value. The minimum gap between the ends of the
ratchet teeth and the pawl depends on this spacing. It
also determines the loads on the pawl and teeth and
hence their strength. These loads may be decreased by
distributing them within multiple-ratchet free-play
machines with engagement between several elastic
plates [1]. The simultaneous engagement of several
elastic plates is technologically complex. In such mech-
anisms, consequently, the whole load is applied to one
of the pawls, which quickly fails, resulting in overload
of the next pawl. Reducing the tooth spacing in a tradi-
tional ratchet reduces the tooth spacing and impairs the
pawl kinematics with ratchet rotation at ω > 10 rad/s. In
the pawl geometry, irregularities are unavoidable, with
the appearance of angles γ > 15° (Fig. 2). This creates
additional loads on the pawl and the shaft bearings.
BONDALETOV
(b) (c)
ϕ
These problems and the mutually exclusive require-
ments on traditional ratchet mechanisms in high-speed
continuous transmissions may be resolved by means of
modular free-play ratchet mechanisms (Fig. 3) [3].
Such mechanisms consist of several disks 1 with uni-
formly spaced teeth whose profile is formed by an arc
of a circle. The radius Rp of this circle is close to the
radius R0 of the ratchet depression; its center is shifted
from the axis of the ratchet. (The position of the center
determines the radius D and angle θ.) The disks are rig-
idly connected so that the tooth of each disk is dis-
placed by an amount t (the spacing of the mechanism in
one direction) relative to its predecessor. Each disk cor-
responds to the pawl 2 pressed against the ratchet tool
by means of springs. When the number of disks is nd,
the number of teeth is z, and the number of pawls is z ± 1,
the minimum possible spacing in the ratchet mecha-
nism is
t = 2π/ ( n d z ( z ± 1 ) ).
RUSSIAN ENGINEERING RESEARCH Vol. 28 No. 9 2008
 RATCHET MECHANISMS FOR HIGH-SPEED TRANSMISSIONS 847

which resembles the circle of the tooth channel in the

ratchet, ensures stable slipping of the pawl over the tool
profile and relatively low noise. Third, on account of
the stable slip, the force on the pawls is low, which
reduces the mechanical losses in the absence of a load.
Fourth, the closure increment of such mechanisms
depends not only the tooth spacing of the ratchet but
also on the number of pawls and the number of ratchet
disks, which permits the selection of the best design in
(‡) (b) each particular case and minimization of the closure
increment, to levels impossible in other types of mech-
anism. The ratchet geometry permits the use of a linear
pawl, without projections, inclined at the minimum
angle γ ≈ 0°–3°, with considerable decrease in the load
on the bearing.
Free-play ratchet mechanisms of modular type are
used in high-speed pulsed transmissions. The free-play
(c) (d) mechanisms in such transmissions experience large
loads. Modular ratchet mechanisms with external and
internal engagement are shown in Fig. 4. In such
Fig. 4. Modular ratchet mechanism with internal (a, b) and
external (c, d) engagement. designs, a small spacing of any specified magnitude
may be employed, without loss of strength. Depending
on the design requirements or the operating conditions,
The relation between the geometric parameters of different configurations of such mechanisms are possi-
the ratchet is as follows ble. In particular, where a compact transmission along
the shaft is required, we may use a modular mechanism
2
2R 0 H + H with a single ratchet disk, in which the ring includes
D = ------------------------------------------------------------------
-; several pawls arranged in a single plane so that ratchet
2 [ ( R 0 + H ) cos θ – R 0 cos ϕ ]
rotation by one step is associated with the engagement
of a single pawl (Fig. 5a). In other cases, the modular
R 0 + D – 2R 0 D cos ϕ ,
2 2 design ensures minimum closure angle when using sev-
Rp =
eral ratchet disks (Fig. 5b).
where H is the tooth height. All free-play ratchet mechanisms are very rigid
A modular mechanism with an angular spacing ϕ < when closed. A modular design with elastic teeth may
1°–2° is possible here; it may operate at ω = 400 rad/s. be used to reduce the rigidity (Fig. 6).
The modular ratchet-type free-play mechanism has It is of interest to compare the strength and reliabil-
a number of advantages over traditional versions. First, ity of free-play mechanisms of roller, modular, and
each ratchet disk has a small number of teeth (z ≤ 6), microratchet type, in pulsed transmissions, where
which ensures their strength. Second, the tooth profile, they experience large loads. The geometry of such

(a) (b)
t+∆
2∆
t+

Fig. 5. Modular free-play mechanisms.

RUSSIAN ENGINEERING RESEARCH Vol. 28 No. 9 2008

848 BONDALETOV

(‡) (b)

Fig. 6. Ratchet free-play mechanism with elastic teeth (a) and section with elastic teeth (b).

(a) (b) (c)

α ϕ N

P 3

N
N
24

T
T
Ø 65 Ø60 Ø 60
3
4
20

R35
Ø6
20

25

20

12
Ø8

Fig. 7. Geometry of closure elements in roller (a), modular ratchet (b), and microratchet (c) free-play mechanisms.

mechanisms is illustrated in Fig. 7. The reliability of REFERENCES

the components under the greatest load is estimated by
the method in [4]. The reliability is estimated for the
closure elements of the mechanism: the cylindrical
roller in the roller mechanism; the linear pawl in the
modular ratchet mechanism; and the elastic rod in the
microratchet mechanism. The dimensions of these
elements are indicated in Fig. 7. For identical loading
conditions and transmitted loads, the following oper-
ational margins of the mechanisms are obtained: 0.99
for the roller mechanisms; 1.9 for the modular ratchet
mechanisms; and 0.75 for the microratchet mecha-
nisms.
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khoda (Microratchet Free-Play Mechanisms), Moscow:
Mashinostroenie, 1982.
2. Mal’tsev, V.F., Rolikovye mekhanizmy svobodnogo
khoda (Free-Play Roller Mechanisms), Moscow: Mashi-
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mekhanizm blochnogo tipa: Monografiya (Ratchet
Mechanism of Modular Type: A Monograph), Kovrov:
KGTA, 2004.
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stoikost detalei mashin (Strength and Wear Resistance of
Machine Parts), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1991.

RUSSIAN ENGINEERING RESEARCH Vol. 28 No. 9 2008