| 摘要 |
A fail-safe ball screw assembly has a double-start screw and a corresponding nut. The screw has a first helix with a truncated, smaller diameter flat and an intertwined second helix with an extended, larger diameter flat. Similarly, the corresponding nut has a first helix with an extended, larger diameter flat and an intertwined second helix with a truncated, smaller diameter flat. When the screw is inserted with the nut, the screw's truncated first helix is paired with the nut's extended first helix, and the screw's extended second helix is paired with the nut's truncated second helix. The nut and screw helixes combine to form channels in which bearings balls travel. The bearings allow the fail-safe ball screw assembly to operate with high efficiency and precision, while the overlapping structure of the helixes prevents catastrophic failure caused by the removal or loss of the bearing balls. In particular, the extended, larger diameter flats of second screw helix and the first nut helix interact, similar to commonly threaded screws, to prevent the unintended separation of the screw and nut. Another implementation of the present invention connects a torque sensor to the ball screw assembly to detect deterioration.
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