Patent ID: 7552664

Claim:
A harmonic drive gear assembly comprising: a circular spline formed as a hollow cylinder having a first plurality of inner gear teeth formed to extend around an inner circumferential portion of the hollow cylinder; a flexspline formed as a thinwalled hollow cylinder having an outer circumference smaller than that of the inner circumferential portion of the circular spline, the flexspline having a plurality of outer gear teeth extending around an outer circumferential portion of the thin walled hollow cylinder, the flexspline being formed to be placed inside the circular spline such that a portion of the inner gear teeth and portion of the outer gear teeth are meshed; and a wave generator formed for placement within the flexspline, the wave generator including a plug having a first side region formed to have a semi-ellipsoidal configuration having a semi-elliptical end having a major axis of a selected length and a second side region having formed to have a semi-cylindrical configuration having a semicircular end having a diameter that coincides with the major axis of the semi-elliptical end of the first side region, and a bearing assembly placed around a peripheral portion of the plug such that the bearing assembly extends around both the first and second side regions and conforms to the semi-ellipsoidal configuration of the first side region and conforms to the semi-cylindrical configuration of the second side region, the wave generator being arranged to fit closely within the flexspline such that the flexspline has first and second side regions that have the same configurations as the first and second side regions of the plug, respectively, the gear teeth of the flexspline and the circular spline being meshed in a first angular zone of the circular spline and being completely disengaged in a second angular zone of the circular spline.