US2062627A

US2062627A - Pinion for clocks and the like and process of making the same

Info

Publication number: US2062627A
Application number: US55161A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard H Whitehead
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1935-12-19
Filing date: 1935-12-19
Publication date: 1936-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 1953-12-01

Description

Dec. 1, 1936. w n- 2,062,627

PINION FOR CLOCKS AND THE LIKE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 19, 19354 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2.

ATTORNEY Dec. 1, 1936. H, wHlTEHEAD 2,062,627

PINION FOR CLOCKS AND THE LIKE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 19, 1935 2 SheetsSheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PINION FOR CLOCKS AND THE LIKE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME 6 Claims.

This invention relates to pinions for clocks and the like, and the process of making the same.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved method of making a pinion for clocks which will be inexpensive and suitable for quantity production and yet which will result in a rigid, accurate and reliable pinion.

Other objects of the invention will in part cc obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

This invention accordingly comprises the several steps and relation and order of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the article possessing the features,

properties, and the relation of elements, and the scope of the application of which will be in- (heated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pinion during the process of construction.

Figure 2 is a similar view with the tools used in carrying out the first step in the process in, the act of being removed.

Figure 3 is a similar view of a slightly modi fied construction with an end plate in place.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a pinion in its completed state.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the tool used in the construction of the pinion.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the pinion shown in Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of pinion. Figure 8 is a longitudinal section and Figure 9 is a cross section of the same on the line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a longitudinal section of a further modification.

In the making of pinions for clocks, it has heretofore involved expensive machines which individually drill holes for the various pins and insert the pins one at a time placing them by means of a dividing head which results in a relatively high cost of manufacture and which requires the maintenance of a high accuracy iri the machinery in order that the errors in the resultant pinions might not be beyond the permissible tolerance.

In accordance wtih this invention, these various steps are dispensed with and the pins are automatically spaced and fastened in place by a single operation. To achieve this there is forced upon the shaft ill a collar ii which may comprise a circular disc of soft steel or iron which is a driving fit upon the shaft to retain the pinion in place. Next there is inserted up" on the shaft H] a cylindrical tool or block iii, 5 having a central opening 13 affording a tight but slidable fit upon the shaft in and a pin rality of circumferentially spaced openings it adapted to receive and accurately to position the various pins which are to comprise the w pinion. The block i2 is then moved along the shaft to a point adjacent to but not in contact with the collar ii and in each of the holes it is inserted a pin it, the holes l4 being so spaced that the pins IE) will be in proper position 35 around the shaft to form the pinion.

The block i2 is arranged to insulate the pins I5 from the shaft ll] except through the collar ii. It is either of an insulating mater s as bakelite or else it contains an ii material between the pins and the shaft that the pins are not short circuited to the shaft by means of the block l2. After the pins are inserted in the block'l2, a head l6 comprising a welding electrode ,is inserted over t e shaft ill but insulated from it so as to conl M the ends of each of the pins 85. This electrode, however, is made of a material which will not Weld to the pins. Thereafter, while the elec trode is firmly held against the ends of the W3 pins, an electric current from any source, here diagrammatically illustrated as a generator H, is passed between the electrode l8 and the collar ii so that the pins and the collar H where they are in contact with each other are heated to welding temperature, whereupon the electrode i5 is pressed against the ends of the pins firmly to weld them to the collar. As soon as the welding is completed, the electrode 16 and the block l2 may be re moved.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures '7, 8, and 9, a shaft 20 is turned about its pivots to form accurately concentric shoulders 2i and 22 of a diameter equal to the pitched diameter of the finished pinion less the diameter of the pinion pins. Between these shoulders, the shaft is cut away as shown at 23 to provide a clearance for the ends of the teeth of the mating gear. The pins 24 forming the teeth of the pinion are laid upon the shoulders 2i and 22 and welded in place. These pins may be spaced from each other with a dividing head or they may be spaced by a suit-- able jig.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 10, there is provided upon the outside of the shaft 30 a pair of spaced collars SI and 32 which are turned upon the outside to a diameter equal to the pitched diameter of the final pinion less the diameter of the pins to be used. Upon these collars the pins are welded as shown in the modiflcation of Figures 7 and 8.

The modifications shown in Figures '7 to 10, possess the distinct advantage that they have a minimum outside diameter compared to the pitched diameter and hence they may be placed in a gear train with the maximum compactness and conveniences The pinion resulting from the foregoing process is accurate and rigid by reason of the fact that each of the pins is firmly welded to the collar and has been held in its accurate position until it has cooled sufliciently to prevent displacement.

By reason of the fact that the parts are welded together, for most purposes, it would be unnecessary to provide any support for the outer ends of the pins. It will thus be seen that by this simple welding operation all individual drilling for the pins is dispensed with and brass spools or brass collars are unnecessary. Thus the cost of the pinion is very greatly reduced.

Since certain changes in carrying out the above process and certain modifications in the article which embody the invention may be made without departing from its scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in thev accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of making pinions for clocks and the like which comprises forming upon a rotatable member. shoulders, concentric with the axis of rotation of said rotatable member, and welding to said shoulders at circumferentially equally spaced points, pins for forming the teeth of the pinion.

2. The method of making pinions for clocks and the like which comprises forming upon a rotatable member, shoulders, each having a peripheral surface concentric with the axis of rotation of said member and welding a plurality of pins to said peripheral surface at equally spaced points to form the teeth of the pinion.

3. The method of making pinions for clocks and the like which comprises forming upon a rotatable member, shoulders, concentric with the axis of rotation of said rotatable member, there being formed also between the said shoulders a groove to give clearance for the ends of the teeth .of said gear, and welding to said shoulders at circumferentially equally spaced points, pins for forming the teeth of the pinion.

4. The method of making pinions for clocks and the like which comprises forming upon a rotatable member, shoulders, each having a peripheral surface concentric with the axis of rotation of said member, there being formed also between the said shoulders a groove to give clearance for the ends of the teeth of said gear. and welding a plurality of pins to said peripheral surface at equally spaced points to form the teeth of the pinion.

RICHARD H. WHITEHEAD.