US3069977A

US3069977A - Gear shaving or gear finishing machines

Info

Publication number: US3069977A
Application number: US23507A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mills John Alfred
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-02-03
Filing date: 1960-04-20
Publication date: 1962-12-25
Anticipated expiration: 1979-12-25

Description

J. A. MILLS GEAR SHAVING OR GEAR FINISHING MACHINES 0 Dec. 25, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 20. 196

Dec. 25, 1962 J. A. MILLS 3,069,977

GEAR srmvmc OR GEAR FINISHING MACHINES Filed April 20. 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 25, 1962 J. A. MILLS G OR GEAR FINISHING MACHINES GEAR SHAVIN Filed April 20, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 25, 1962 J. A. MILLS 3,069,977

GEAR SHAVING OR GEAR FINISHING MACHINES Filed April 20. 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent Office 3,069,977 Patented Dec. 25, 1962 3,069,977 GEAR SHAWNG 6R GEAR FINISHING MACHINES John Alfred Mills, 24 Kingsley Ave., Melton Park, North Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England Filed Apr. 20, 1960, Ser. No. 23,507 Claims priority, application Great Britain Feb. 3, 1960 7 Elaims. (Cl. 90--1.6)

This invention has reference to gear shaving or gear finishing machines, hereafter referred to as gear finishing machines.

It is the common practice to finish gears by what is known as diagonal cross-axes finishing. In this method of gear finishing a gear-like cutter and gear having conjugate teeth are operated in mesh with the axis of the cutter non-parallel to the axis of the gear and the gear is traversed in a path which is parallel to neither axis.

My invention relates particularly to machines for finishing gears by this method of the kind comprising a frame having an overhanging portion from which depends a head, the head being rotatably adjustable about a vertical axis, a knee positioned below said overhanging portion, a table carried by the knee and means for traversing the table in a path at any desired angle to the axis of the gear, the head and table being adapted to rotatably support intermeshing members one of which is a gear type cutter and the other the gear to be finished and either of which is driven.

The invention has for its object to provide in a gear finishing machine of the kind set forth improved means for supporting and traversing the table in a path at any desired angle relative to the axis of the gear.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a gear finishing machine of the kind set forth;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation of the knee of said machine, the knee having a preferred embodiment of the invention and the section being on the line 22 of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view partly in section of FIGURE 2 the section being on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

As shown in FIGURE 1 the gear finishing machine comprises a frame having an overhanging portion 11 from which depends a head 12 which rotatably supports a power driven gear type cutter 13, the head being rotatably adjustable about a vertical axis. A knee 14 is positioned below said overhanging portion and carried by the knee is a gear supporting table 15, the gear, which is designated 16, having teeth conjugate with those of the cutter 13. The gear is supported by stocks 16a.

The knee is provided with front and rear horizontally extending tracks 17. Mounted to roll on the tracks are rollers 18 free on a shaft 19 which extends transversely of the tracks, the two ends of the shaft extending substantially beyond the two rollers. The tracks and the rollers are hardened and ground. The shaft is guided for axial movement by means of a horizontal frame 20 having front and rear limbs 21 and 22 provided with aligned openings 23 in which are journalled hubs 24 which are integral with the rollers and extend axially therefrom. The shaft 19 passes through said hubs. Suitable means are provided to prevent axial movement of the hubs, and therefore the rollers relative to the frame. Thus the inner faces of the rollers may bear against the outer faces of the limbs and retaining circlets 25 inserted in annular grooves in the hubs bear on the inner faces of the limbs.

The frame 20 at the two ends thereof is provided with centrally positioned tenons 26 of inverted T formation, which tenons travel in T shaped keyways 27 formed in the knee. It will be seen that by reason of the frame, its tenons and the keyways, the shaft and rollers must travel in a fixed path which cannot be varied.

The table 15, which carries the stocks or centres by which the gear to be finished is rotatably supported, is provided with front and rear downwardly extending webs 29 having aligned openings positioned centrally between the two ends of the table and the projecting ends of the shaft 19 fit snugly in the said openings. Further the under face of the table has a half bearing 30 which makes bearing contact with the shaft.

The shaft is provided with a centrally positioned vertical diametrical bore 31. Fitted in this bore is a spindle 32. The spindle extends upwardly through the half bearing 30 and table 15 and its lower end carries the inner race 32a of a spherical ball bearing. The outer race 32b is fitted within a housing 33 carried by a feed slide 34. The feed slide, at one end thereof, carries the nut like member 35. Through this member is screwed a feed screw 36 which is supported in bearings 37 carried by a rotatable supporting table 38 fitted in a housing 39 positioned centrally in the knee. The axis of the rotatable table is oo-incident with the vertical axis of the head 12. Secured to the rotatable table is a downwardly extending barrel 40 which constitutes a worm wheel and meshing therewith is a worm 41 fast on a spindle 42. The spindle can be rotated by a hand tool and when rotated it rotates through the worm and worm wheel, the rotatable table 38 together with the feed slide and its feed screw. Thus by means of the worm and worm wheel the rotatable table with feed slide and its screw can be adjusted so that the screw is in a vertical plane which is parallel to the path in which it is desired to traverse the table 15.

The table 38 can be locked in its adjusted position by means of two locking devices each consisting of a spindle 48 having right and left hand screw threads on which are screwed clamping shoes 49 provided with concave faces to bear on the periphery of the rotatable table. By rotating the spindle 48 in the appropriate direction the clamping shoes can be moved towards each other to bear hard against the periphery of the rotatable table and thereby lock it against rotation. The said slide 34 travels in guides 43 provided on the rotatable table 38.

The feed screw 36 has fast thereon a bevel wheel 44 which meshes with a bevel wheel 45 fast on the upper end of a driving shaft 46 which extends centrally through the said horizontal rotatably adjustable supporting table 38. Driving shaft 46 is driven by a motor 47 carried by the knee through any suitable gearing.

Should it be desired to traverse the table in a path parallel to the tracks 17 the rotatable support 38 is adjusted by rotating the spindle 42 so that the feed screw 36 is parallel to said path. The movement of the nutlike member 35 due to the rotation of the feed screw is transmitted through the slide 34, the spherical ball bearing and spindle 32 to the shaft 19. The rollers 18 run on the tracks 17 and the table 15 moves with the shaft. During such feed of the table there is no axial movement of the shaft. The spindle 32 prevents movement of the table axially of the shaft.

If the rotatable support 38 is turned so that the feed screw 36 is now at right angles to the tracks the travel of the slide 34 is such that the movement of the shaft is at right angles to the tracks and the rollers do not roll on the tracks. The table will, of course, make a like movement. That is, the shaft moves axially relative to the rollers 18 and hubs 23, the rollers 18 and hubs 23 being prevented from axial movement by reason of the hubs being journalled in the aligned openings in the front and rear limbs 21 of the frame 20 which latter can travel only in a fixed path, and the hubs being retained in said openings by the retaining circlets 25.

If now the rotatable support 38 is turned so that the feed screw is in an intermediate position the direction of feed of the table is the resultant of a component which moves the shaft so that the rollers run on the tracks and a component which moves the shaft axially, such resultant being in a path which is parallel to the feed screw. Thus the direction of the feed of the table relative to the axis of the cutter can be adjusted as desired by adjusting the said supporting table 38 to a rotary position wherein the feed screw assumes the direction in which it is desired to feed the table.

When the feed is such that the rollers travel on the tracks and the shaft is moved axially relative to the rollers it is found that the rotation of the rollers substantially reduces the friction resisting the axial movement of the shaft.

Provision is made for the lubrication of the rollers and their extended hubs. Thus the shaft may be provided with axial oil passages communicating with vertical passages which terminate between the hubs and the holes in the frame in which they are fitted.

The gears are finished in known manner by bringing them into mesh with the cutter which is driven, and traversing the table and therefore the gear carried thereby in a path which is parallel neither to the axis of the cutter nor to the axis of the gear.

The rollers may take the form of spur wheels which mesh with fixed racks, such racks constituting the tracks.

If desired the table may be carried by a pair of shafts each having rollers to run on the tracks and in such case the feed is transmitted directly to the table 15.

In lieu of the feed screw and the nut-like member the slide may be traversed by a hydraulic or compressed air cylinder and piston assembly.

What I claim is:

1. A gear finishing machine comprising a frame having an overhanging portion from which depends a head rotatably adjustable about a vertical axis, a knee positioned below said overhanging portion and a table carried by the knee, said head and table being adapted to support intermeshing members one of which is a gear type cutter and'the other the gear to be finished, means for driving one of said members, front and rear horizontally extending tracks carried by the knee, a transverse member with supporting means which travel on the tracks, the transverse member being capable of axial movement relative to the supporting means and the table being mounted on the transverse member to travel therewith, a feed slide by which said transverse member and table is traversed and means for traversing the slide, the feed slide and means for traversing the slide being adjustable about a vertical axis so that they can be set to correspond to the desired line of traverse of the table.

2. A gear finishing machine comprising a frame having an overhanging portion from which depends a head rotatably adjustable about a vertical axis, a knee positioned below said overhanging portion, an upper table carried by the knee, said head and table being adapted to support intermeshing members one of which is a gear type cutter and the other the gear to be finished, means for driving one of said members, front and rear horizontally extending tracks carried by the knee, a transverse member with rollers which run on the tracks, the transverse member being capable of axial movement relative to the rollers and the upper table being mounted on the transverse member to travel therewith, a rotatably adjustable lower table carried by the knee, its axis of rotation being coincident with the vertical axis of "the rotatably adjustable head, a feed slide and means for feeding the slide carried by the rotatable table, means forming a driving connection from the feed slide to the upper table and means whereby the rotatably adjustable table can be adjusted about its axis so that the feed means and feed slide assume a position corresponding to the desired path of traverse of the upper table, the arrangement being such that the upper table will be traversed in the path predetermined by the setting of the feed means.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein the transverse member is provided with a frame which co-operates with fixed guide means by which the frame is constrained to travel in a fixed path to maintain parallelism of the transverse member and thereby maintain a predetermined angular relationship of the gear to the cutter during the traverse of the upper table.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein the transverse member is provided with a centrally positioned diametrically extending bore in which is housed a spindle which forms a driving connection between the feed slide and the transverse member and therefore the supporting table carried by the transverse member.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the feed means is in the form of a feed screw, means for rotating the screw and a nut-like member carried by the feed slide and in engagement with the feed screw.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the transverse member is provided with a frame which cooperates with fixed guide means by which the frame is constrained to travel in a fixed path to maintain parallelism of the. transverse member and thereby maintain a predetermined 3 angular relationship of the gear to the cutter during the traverse of the gear supporting table.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the transverse member is provided with a centrally positioned diametrically extending bore in which is housed a spindle which forms a driving connection between the feed slide and the transverse member and therefore the supporting table carried by the transverse member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Praeg Feb. 20, 1951 Miller July 24, 1951