US3122968A - albrecht - Google Patents

Description

March 3, 1964 H. J. ALBRECHT 3,122,968 INDEXING MECHANISM FOR FI SHING MACHINES FOR GEARS AND LIKE 7 Filed Aug. 21, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. HANS \J. ALBRECHT m5 ATTORNEY March 3, 1964 H, J, ALBRECH 3,122,968 I INDEXING MECI-LA FOR FINIS MACHINES FOR GE AND THE L. Filed Aug. 21, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR. HANS J. ALBRECHT H 15 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,122,968 ETBEXING MECHANISM FOR FEHSEEQG MACHINES FOR GEARS AND THE LEE Hans J. Albrecht, Trumhull, Conn, assignor to The Fellows Gear Shaper Company, Springfield, Vt, a corporation of Vermont Filed Aug. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 132,734 7 Claims. (Cl. 90-1) The present invention relates to an indexing mechanism which is to be used in conjunction with machines for finishing gears, gear cutters and the like.

The present invention pertains to a novel apparatus for indexing in which a multiplicity of varying amounts of indexing may be selected at random prior to or during a finishing operation.

Therefore it is the principal object of the present invention to provide an indexing mechanism in which a variety of indexes may be selected.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an indexing mechanism in which a variety of indexes may be obtained by a simple mechanical adjustment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an indexing mechanism in which a variety of indexes may be obtained without any disassembly of the machine to alter gearing or to change index plates.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an index mechanism in which a variety of indexes may be obtained without the use of a multiplicity of index plates.

in the present drawings the invention is shown for illustrative purposes in conjunction with a grinding machine and with a toothed member in position to be worked on by the grinding wheel of the machine.

In the specification like reference characters designate the same parts wherever they occur in all the drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of the present invention illustrating the relative position of the work and finishing tool and the mechanism for indexing the work.

FIGURE 2 is a view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1 showing the crank shaft and pin and operating lever and yoke.

FIGURE 3 is a view taken on 'line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 showing the lever and cam which effect the advancement and retraction of the locking pin or plunger.

FIGURE 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1 showing the cam and the roller to control the braking effect.

EGURE 5 is a view taken along line 5-5 of FIG- UR-E 1 showing the crank head and crank pin.

FIGURE 6 is a view taken on line 66 of FIGURE 1 showing the complete braking units and their mounting on the apparatus.

The mechanism of the present invention is housed in a frame 1 in which are rotatably mounted two shafts, a crank shaft 2 and a drive shaft 3.

Adjacent to frame 1 is mounted a tool T with respect to which frame 1 may be reciprocated on ways 54 and 51 as shown in FIGURE 1 by any well-known means so as to bring a work piece W mounted on work spindle S rotatable in frame 1 into contact with the tool T.

On one end of crank shaft 2 an over-running clutch 4 which drives positively in the direction of arrow A is mounted with a pinion gear 5.

Pinion gear 5 is positioned to mesh with a piston rack 6.

Piston rack 6 is housed in and reciprocated by a piston mounted in cylinder 7 and which may be moved hyraulically or electrically.

On crank shaft 2 mounted next to over-running clutch is a cam 53 which rotates to depress lever 9 which is rotatably mounted on drive shaft 3. Lever 9 has formed inte rally therewith a segment gear 1% which meshes with a like segment gear 11 mounted on shaft 12. It will be obvious that the rotation of the lever 9 will rock segments 16 and 11 and withdraw or advance a locating plunger or locking pin 13 which is fixed in arm 14. The advancement and retraction of locating plunger 13 is timed with the rotation of work W and the feed of tool T. Rotation of work spindle S on which work W is mounted is caused by the rotation of lower spindle gear 15 being driven by face gear 16 mounted on shaft 3.

On crank shaft 2 next to cam 8- a cam 17 is mounted which rotates against roller 18 of brake 19 for a purpose to be later described. On the outer end of shaft 2 a crank head 2%) is mounted. Crank head 21) has a crank pin 21 mounted thereon.

Crank pin 21 is positioned to ride in a slot at the forked end of operating lever 22..

Operating lever 22 is slideably mounted in yoke 23, and pinned to crank arm 40 by a pin 42.

Mounted on drive shaft 3 is a second over-riding clutch 24 which drives positively in the direction of arrow B, the purpose and function of which will be described later.

Mounted between lever 19 and clutch 24 on drive shaft 3 is a second brake 25 with a brake lining 26 as shown in FIGURE 6 which when tightened retards the rotation of drive shaft 3.

The brake cam 17 has a low portion thereon which through its contact with roller '18 tends to permit brake 19 to rotate counterclockwise as viewed in FIGURE 6 about its pivot 27 which is fixed to frame 1. This will release brake lining 23 from its engagement with shaft 2 to allow shaft 2 to rotate more freely. Because of such counter-clockwise movement of brake 19 the lining 26 of brake 25 will retard the rotation of shaft 3.

A shaft 41 fixed to and protruding from yoke 2-3 is rotatably or pivotally mounted in block member 29 which rides on a way 3% of frame 1. One end of block member 29 has a screw 31 fixed to it.

Screw 31 threads into a complementally threaded sleeve 32 which is rotated by a knob 33.

Sleeve 32 has a gear 34 mounted thereon which when rotated actuates gears 35, 36, 37, 38 which are fixed to rotate in frame 1 and actuates dial 39. Dial '59 is graduated to indicate the amount of indexing of the work W.

When piston rack 6 is reciprocated outwardly by the piston in cylinder 7 and when pinion 5 rotates in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 1, shaft 2 rotates therewith, cam 8 rotates therewith and is formed so as to depress lever 9 and at the same time rotate segments 10 and 11 to retract plunger 13.

Then when piston rack 6 reaches its ultimate length of stroke after the indexing takes place it starts its return stroke at a time when cam 17 has reached its high point against roller 13 and brake 19 clamps spindle 2 and overrunning clutch 4 allows pinion 5 to rotate clockwise freely as piston rack 6 moves backward into cylinder 7.

Clutch 24 is engaged when work W is being indexed. Clutch 24 mounted on shaft 3 disengages from arm 4% during one half of the rotation of crank head 29, and engages on the other half of rotation.

As seen in FIGURES 1 and 2 it will be apparent that the advancement or retraction of yoke 23 and block member 29 on way 3i will adjust the throw of crank arm 49.

For example, to move yoke 23 to the right as seen in FIGURE 2 will give a greater throw to crank arm 44} and thus increase the amount of rotation of shaft 3 and gears 16 and "15 to thereby give a greater amount of rotation or index to work W. The amount of rotation of shaft 3 and gears 15 and 15 will be governed by the axial position of block member 29.

The movement of yoke 23 and block member 23 to the left as seen in FIGURES 1 and 2 will cause a shortening of the throw of crank arm 4i and also lessen the amount of rotation of shaft 3, gears 16, 15 and work W.

A selection of any particular amount of rotation or indexing of work W may be obtained by the rotation of knob 33.

The brakes l9 and 25 as shown are mechanical and function simultaneously. These brakes are not of a type of construction which functions to effect a complete stopping of the rotation of the respective shafts 2 and 3 on which they are mounted, but instead are used to retard the rotation of their respective shafts in a sort of drag motion in which a smoother function of the mecha nism occurs and in which there is no back lash or lost motion.

In FIGURES 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 the operating lever 22 is positioned in a manner similar to that shown in FIG- URE 1 in which the crank pin 21 is located between the forked end of operating lever 22 at a time when crank pin 21 would be at approximately six oclock if crank head 2t; were thought of as a clock face.

At this time rack 6 starts advancing outwardly from cylinder 7. Rack 6 rotates pinion 5 and over-running clutch 4 is engaged so crank shaft 2, cam 8, cam 17 and crank head 20 rotates therewith.

Cam 8 as seen in FIGURE 3 is abutting against roller 43 of lever 9 and holding lever '9 in a depressed position. Bearing in mind that cam 8 like all related parts on shaft 2 rotate in a ootmter-clockwise direction it will be obvious that cam 8 moves from its high point to its lowest point thus allowing lever 9 to rise as its opposite protruding end 44 is brought in a downward direction by a spring 45, which is fixed to frame 1 at one end thereof and to end 44 at its other end. When this occurs segments 10 and C11 tend to rotate and lever 14 advances plunger 13 into meshing engagement with work W.

When rack 6 starts to advance cam 3 allows lever 9 to rise, cam 17 as seen in FIGURE 4 drops from its highest lobe to its lowest thus allowing shaft 2 to rotate freely since this low cam lobe allows rollers 18 and brake member 19 to drop down as viewed in FIGURE 6 thus allowing brake band 28 to move away from the outside diameter of crank shaft 2. When this occurs as viewed in FIGURE 6 spring 46 tends to actuate brake 25 and wrap around brake band 26 tight against shaft 3. This tends to stabilize or hold shaft 3 secure since shaft 3 is not rotating but in a disconnected state since clutch 24 became disengaged and over-riding as the rack 6 started to advance.

The above conditions continue to exist until the cams 8 and 17 and crank head 2% rotate for approximately 180. For example during the rotation of cams 8, 17 and crank head 20 from the six oclock position of crank pin 21 to the twelve oclock position, a distance of approximately 180 of travel the brake 19 is in a deolamped position and brake 25 is in a clamped position, clutch 24 is overriding and clutch 4 is engaged.

As cam =8 rotates one quarter of a turn from the position as shown in FIGURE 3 it drops to its lowest point against roller 43 at which time as has been previously described the segments 10 and 11 rotate to advance plunger .13 into mesh with the work W. Next cam 8 rotates another quarter of a turn and gradually depresses lever 9 back to a position whereby roller 43 is riding against the high portion of cam 8. When this occurs lever 9 is depressed and segments 1! and 11 have rotated to withdraw arm 14 to remove plunger 13 from meshing engagement with the work teeth thereby getting ready for the indexing of work W.

Next it will be assumed that shaft 2 with crank head 26', cam .17 and earn 8 have rotated until crank pin 21 has reached the top of the stroke at or about a position which would be in the vicinity of twelve oclock on a clock face.

At this time clutch 24 stops over-riding and becomes engaged. The ro er 3 How is in contact with a medium height lobe on cam 17. The medium sized lobe is not igh enough to raise brake l5 enough for brake lining 28 to retard the rotation of shaft 2, but yet this lobe is high enough to lift brake 19 the small amount necessary to release brake 2-5 and wrap around brake lining 26 to free shaft 3 so that it can rotate to turn face gear 16 and work spindle 15 to index work W.

After the indexing has occurred and crank arm 40 has rotated to the extent of its throw and begins its return movement the clutch 24 becomes disengaged and starts over-running.

The amount of index as previously described is governed by the position of the axis of shaft 41 relative to the axis of shaft 3 and determined by the advancement or retraction of block member 29 which in turn determines the length of the lever arms C and D as shown in FIGURE 2.

After indexing has occurred rack 6 will be at the end of its length of reciprocation and cam :17 will have rotated until its highest lobe is in contact with roller 18 at which time brake 19 engages and brake lining 28 tightens against shaft 2. and holds it enough so that when clutch 4 starts over-running as rack 6 starts retracting the pinion 5 can rotate freely in mesh with rack 6.

The retraction of rack 6 is substantially instantaneous and during which time nothing occurs except the retarded rotation of shaft 2 has allowed cam 17 to rotate past roller 18 to a position as shown in FIGURE 4 and the previously described cycle occurs again. 7

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be used in a variety of ways on a variety of gear finishing machines, and that any machines electrical system may be used to incorporate a well known timing relay in conjunction with the present apparatus whereby a pre-selector on the present invention can be changed to any given number, at which time a signal may be relayed to the well known commercial timing mechanism which counts down with the apparatus pre-selector so that at the end of the given number the electrical tim-' ing mechanism will time itself out and function to cause a break in the ordinary electrical circuit thus stopping the machine. a

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: V V 1. In a device of the character described, a finishing tool for gears and the like, a frame mounted adjacent to said finishing tool for movement relative thereto, a Work spindle rotatable in said frame, means to periodically rotate said work spindle so as to bring different portions of a Work piece mounted on said work spindle into posi tion to be engaged by said tool, said means including a' crank head, rotating means for said crank head, an operating lever connected to said crank head, a drive shaft geared to said work spindle, means connecting said operating lever to said drive shaft, and means to vary and adjust the amount of rotation given to said work spindle, said last named means including a pivotalmounting in said frame for said operating lever and means to change the distance between said pivotal mounting and said Y crank head.

2. In a device of the character described, a finishing tool for gears and the like, a frame mounted adjacent to said finishing tool for movement relative thereto, a work 7 spindle rotatably mounted in said frame, means to periodically rotate said work spindle so as to bring different portions of a work piece mounted on said work spindle i into position to be engaged by said finishing tool, said said operating lever, a pivotal mounting joining said operating lever to said frame, and means to change the locaj tion of said pivotal mounting relative to the ends of said} lever whereby the ratio of the distance between the two? connected ends of said operating lever and its pivotal mounting may be varied.

3. A device of the character described in claim 2 having a brake member mounted on said crank shaft and means to actuate said brake member in timed relation to the rotation of said crank shaft.

4. A device of the character described in claim 2 having a brake member mounted on said drive shaft and means to actuate said brake member in timed relation to the rotation of said crank shaft.

5. A device of the character described in claim 2 having a brake member mounted on said crank shaft, a second brake member mounted on said drive shaft and means to actuate said brake members in timed relation to each other.

6. A device of the character described in claim 2 having a brake member mounted on said crank shaft, a second brake member mounted on said drive shaft and means to actuate said brake members in timed relation to each other and to the rotation of said crank shaft.

7. A device of the character described in claim 2 having a locking pin movably mounted on said frame for movement into engagement with said Work piece mounted on said Work spindle and means to advance and retract said locking pin to and from said engagement in timed relation to the rotation of said crank shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 757,696 Twining Apr. 19, 1904 2,376,465 Wildhaber May 22, 1945 2,707,446 McCutchen May 3, 1955 2,902,889 Trechsel Sept. 8, 1959

Claims (1)

1. IN A DEVICE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, A FINISHING TOOL FOR GEARS AND THE LIKE, A FRAME MOUNTED ADJACENT TO SAID FINISHING TOOL FOR MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO, A WORK SPINDLE ROTATABLE IN SAID FRAME, MEANS TO PERIODICALLY ROTATE SAID WORK SPINDLE SO AS TO BRING DIFFERENT PORTIONS OF A WORK PIECE MOUNTED ON SAID WORK SPINDLE INTO POSITION TO BE ENGAGED BY SAID TOOL, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A CRANK HEAD, ROTATING MEANS FOR SAID CRANK HEAD, AN OPERATING LEVER CONNECTED TO SAID CRANK HEAD, A DRIVE SHAFT GEARED TO SAID WORK SPINDLE, MEANS CONNECTING SAID OP-

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