US3782040A — Gear machine

Claim 1

Independent Claim 279 words

In a method of grinding the tooth flanks of an internal gear by a grinding means, the improvement comprising: a. grinding said tooth flanks while rotating one of said grinding means and said internal gear relative to the other about the axis of said internal gear at a predetermined speed, and b. simultaneously rotating one of said grinding means and said internal gear relative to the other about a second axis, offset from and parallel to said axis of said internal gear, at a second predetermined speed, c. said second axis and said axis of said internal gear being offset from one another by a distance equal to the difference between the length of the radius of a base circle of a cycloid and the radius of a rolling circle producing said cycloid by rolling on the interior of said base circle, the ratio of said speed of relative rotation of said grinding means and said internal gear about said axis of said internal gear to said speed of relative rotation of said grinding means and said internal gear about said second axis being equal to the ratio of said offset distance between said second axis and said axis of said internal gear to the radius of said base circle, e. the ratio of said radius of said rolling circle to said radius of said base circle being an aliquant fraction, f. the denominator of said fraction being a numeral equal to the number of teeth to be formed on said internal gear, and g. the numerator of said fraction being a numeral from two to the difference between said number of teeth of said internal gear and two.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 279 words

In a method of grinding the tooth flanks of an internal gear by a grinding means, the improvement comprising: a. grinding said tooth flanks while rotating one of said grinding means and said internal gear relative to the other about the axis of said internal gear at a predetermined speed, and b. simultaneously rotating one of said grinding means and said internal gear relative to the other about a second axis, offset from and parallel to said axis of said internal gear, at a second predetermined speed, c. said second axis and said axis of said internal gear being offset from one another by a distance equal to the difference between the length of the radius of a base circle of a cycloid and the radius of a rolling circle producing said cycloid by rolling on the interior of said base circle, the ratio of said speed of relative rotation of said grinding means and said internal gear about said axis of said internal gear to said speed of relative rotation of said grinding means and said internal gear about said second axis being equal to the ratio of said offset distance between said second axis and said axis of said internal gear to the radius of said base circle, e. the ratio of said radius of said rolling circle to said radius of said base circle being an aliquant fraction, f. the denominator of said fraction being a numeral equal to the number of teeth to be formed on said internal gear, and g. the numerator of said fraction being a numeral from two to the difference between said number of teeth of said internal gear and two.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 35 words

A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the grinding means is rotated relative to the internal gear about the axis of said internal gear and relative to said internal gear about the second axis.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 35 words

A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the internal gear is rotated relative to the grinding means about the axis of said internal gear and relative to said grinding means about the second axis.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 30 words

A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein all of the left-hand tooth flanks are ground and thereafter all of the right-hand tooth flanks are ground in the same way.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 30 words

A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein all of the right-hand tooth flanks are ground and thereafter all of the left-hand tooth flanks are ground in the same way.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 243 words

In a method of machining the tooth flanks of an external gear, adapted to mesh with an internal gear, by a hobbing means, the improvement comprising: a. machining said tooth flanks while rotating one of said hobbing means and said external gear relative to the other about the axis of said external gear at a predetermined speed, and b. simultaneously rotating one of said hobbing means and said external gear relative to the other about a second axis, offset from and parallel to said axis of said external gear, at a predetermined speed, c. said second axis and said axis of said external gear being offset from one another by a distance equal to the difference between the radius of the pitch circle of said internal gear and the radius of the pitch circle of said external gear, d. the ratiO of said speed of relative rotation of said hobbing means and said external gear about said axis of said external gear to said speed of relative rotation of said hobbing means and said external gear about said second axis being equal to the ratio of said difference between said radius of said pitch circle of said internal gear and said radius of said pitch circle of said external gear to said radius of said pitch circle of said external gear, and, e. said rotation about said axis of said external gear and said rotation about said second axis being opposite in direction.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 243 words

In a method of machining the tooth flanks of an external gear, adapted to mesh with an internal gear, by a hobbing means, the improvement comprising: a. machining said tooth flanks while rotating one of said hobbing means and said external gear relative to the other about the axis of said external gear at a predetermined speed, and b. simultaneously rotating one of said hobbing means and said external gear relative to the other about a second axis, offset from and parallel to said axis of said external gear, at a predetermined speed, c. said second axis and said axis of said external gear being offset from one another by a distance equal to the difference between the radius of the pitch circle of said internal gear and the radius of the pitch circle of said external gear, d. the ratiO of said speed of relative rotation of said hobbing means and said external gear about said axis of said external gear to said speed of relative rotation of said hobbing means and said external gear about said second axis being equal to the ratio of said difference between said radius of said pitch circle of said internal gear and said radius of said pitch circle of said external gear to said radius of said pitch circle of said external gear, and, e. said rotation about said axis of said external gear and said rotation about said second axis being opposite in direction.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 35 words

A method in accordance with claim 6 wherein the hobbing means is rotated relative to the external gear about the axis of said external gear and relative to said external gear about the second axis.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 35 words

A method in accordance with claim 6 wherein the external gear is rotated relative to the hobbing means about the axis of said external gear and relative to said hobbing means about the second axis.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 66 words

A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the hobbing means is a shaping tool in the form of at least part of the contour of the teeth of the internal gear, is reciprocated parallel to the axes of rotation and performs no movement in a plane normal to the second axis other than the necessary infeed motion to allow for the gradual removal of material.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 132 words

A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the hobbing means is a grinding wheel having an axis parallel to the axis of the external gear, said grinding wheel is reciprocated along a circular arc in a plane normal to said axis of said external gear, said arc envelops and approximates the contours of the two outermost flanks of a group of at least two adjacent teeth of the internal gear, the center of the internal contour of said internal gear coincides with the second axis, the radius line from the center of said arc through said grinding wheel always passing through a point on the pitch circle of said external gear, and said point always lies on a radius line of said second axis through said axis of said external gear.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 82 words

A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein the grinding wheel, after traversing a part of the arc, corresponding to a first one of the two tooth flank contours, is disengaged from the external gear by displacement in the direction of the axis of said grinding wheel and, after having traversed the gap between said contours of said two flanks, is reengaged with said external gear, and these steps are repeated until all the teeth flanks of said external gear are ground.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 254 words

A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein the external gear has an odd number of teeth, the ratio of said odd number of teeth to the number of teeth of the internal gear is equal to the ratio of a rolling circle producing a cycloid by rolling on the interior of the base circle of said cycloid and the radius of said base circle, the grinding wheel is moved along the arc about the center of said arc in the same direction as the direction of rotation of said external gear about its axis, a tooth flank is ground on the trailing side of a tooth during said movement, said grinding wheel is axially disengaged from said external gear, said grinding wheel is reengaged with said external gear, when said grinding wheel has reached the next tooth space of said external gear, the leading flank of the tooth trailing said space is ground, said grinding wheel is disengaged from said external gear, said grinding wheel is moved back along said arc to a position where it can be engaged with the tooth space trailing after said next tooth space, said trailing tooth space having in the meantime reached a position in which said grinding wheel can be engaged with the trailing flank of the tooth between said next tooth space and said trailing tooth space, and the grinding wheel is reengaged with the last mentioned tooth flank, and these steps are repeated until all the tooth flanks of said external gear are ground.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 192 words

Apparatus for grinding the tooth flanks of an iNternal gear comprising: a. base means, b. eccentric shaft means comprising two integral shaft parts offset from and parallel to each other, c. a first one of said two shaft parts is rotatably mounted on said base means, d. table means rotatably mounted on the second one of said two shaft parts and adapted to fixedly hold said internal gear to be ground so that the axis of said internal gear coincides with the axis of said second shaft part, e. driving means for rotating said eccentric shaft means, f. an external gear ring fixedly mounted on said base means concentrically surrounding said first shaft part, g. an internal gear ring fixedly mounted on said table means concentrically with respect to said second shaft part, h. said second shaft part carrying in a mounting means, a plurality of gears meshing with each other, i. one of said gears meshing with said external gear ring and the other of said gears meshing with said internal gear ring, and j. grinding means rotatably mounted on said base means so that it can engage said tooth flanks.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 192 words

Apparatus for grinding the tooth flanks of an iNternal gear comprising: a. base means, b. eccentric shaft means comprising two integral shaft parts offset from and parallel to each other, c. a first one of said two shaft parts is rotatably mounted on said base means, d. table means rotatably mounted on the second one of said two shaft parts and adapted to fixedly hold said internal gear to be ground so that the axis of said internal gear coincides with the axis of said second shaft part, e. driving means for rotating said eccentric shaft means, f. an external gear ring fixedly mounted on said base means concentrically surrounding said first shaft part, g. an internal gear ring fixedly mounted on said table means concentrically with respect to said second shaft part, h. said second shaft part carrying in a mounting means, a plurality of gears meshing with each other, i. one of said gears meshing with said external gear ring and the other of said gears meshing with said internal gear ring, and j. grinding means rotatably mounted on said base means so that it can engage said tooth flanks.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 163 words

A gear grinding apparatus in accordance with claim 13 wherein the offset of the eccentric shaft is equal to the difference between the radius of a base circle of a cycloid and the radius of a rolling circle producing said cycloid by rolling on the interior of said base circle, the ratio of the radius of said rolling circle to the radius of said base circle is an aliquant fraction, the denominator of said fraction is a numeral equal to the number of teeth of said internal gear, the numerator of said fraction is a numeral from at least two to the difference between the number of teeth of said internal gear and two, and the ratio of the speed of rotation of said eccentric shaft to the speed of rotation of said table is equal to the ratio of said radius of said base circle to the difference between said radius of said base circle and said radius of said rolling circle.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 23 words

Apparatus in accordance with claim 14 wherein the grinding element is displaceable in the peripheral direction with respect to the eccentric shaft means.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 197 words

Apparatus for machining the teeth of an external gear adapted to mesh with an internal gear, comprising: a. base means, b. eccentric shaft means comprising two integral shaft parts, offset from and parallel to each other, c. the second one of said two shaft parts being rotatably mounted in said base means, d. table means rotatably mounted on the first of said two shaft parts and adapted to fixedly hold said external gear to be machined so that the axis of said external gear coincides with the axis of said first shaft part, e. driving means for rotating said eccentric shaft, f. an external gear ring fixedly mounted on said table and concentrically surrounding said first shaft part, g. an internal gear ring fixedly mounted on said base means concentrically with respect to said second shaft part, h. said second shaft part carrying, in a mounting means, a plurality of gears meshing with each other, i. one of said gears meshing with said external gear ring and the other of said gears meshing with said internal gear ring, and j. machining means mounted on said base means and adapted to machine the teeth of said external gear.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 197 words

Apparatus for machining the teeth of an external gear adapted to mesh with an internal gear, comprising: a. base means, b. eccentric shaft means comprising two integral shaft parts, offset from and parallel to each other, c. the second one of said two shaft parts being rotatably mounted in said base means, d. table means rotatably mounted on the first of said two shaft parts and adapted to fixedly hold said external gear to be machined so that the axis of said external gear coincides with the axis of said first shaft part, e. driving means for rotating said eccentric shaft, f. an external gear ring fixedly mounted on said table and concentrically surrounding said first shaft part, g. an internal gear ring fixedly mounted on said base means concentrically with respect to said second shaft part, h. said second shaft part carrying, in a mounting means, a plurality of gears meshing with each other, i. one of said gears meshing with said external gear ring and the other of said gears meshing with said internal gear ring, and j. machining means mounted on said base means and adapted to machine the teeth of said external gear.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 104 words

A grinding apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein the offset of the eccentric shaft is equal to the difference between the radius of the pitch circle of the internal gear and the radius of the pitch circle of the external gear, and the ratio of the speed of rotation of said eccentric shaft to the speed of rotation of the rotatable table is equal to the ratio of the radius of said pitch circle of said external gear to the difference between said radius of said pitch circle of said internal gear and said radius of said pitch circle of said external gear.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 26 words

Apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein the machining means includes a tool-shaped according to at least a portion oF the profile of the internal gear.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 208 words

Apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein the machining means includes a grinding wheel mounted on an arm pivotable about an axis fixed in relation to the base means and parallel to the axis of the eccentric shaft, said axis of said arm being offset from the axis of the first shaft part at a distance such that a circular arc about said axis of said arm approximates and envelops the contours of two tooth flanks of the internal gear, the center of the internal contour of said internal gear coincides with the axis of the second shaft part, and said grinding wheel is mounted such that its enveloping curve during pivoting about said axis of said arm traverses said circular arc, and means for axially displacing said grinding wheel into engagement and out of engagement with said external gear, said arm being slidably guided in ways rotating synchroneously with said first shaft part around said axis of said second shaft part, said ways lying in the plane containing the axes of said two shaft parts, and the radius of the circle on which said ways rotates around said axis of said second shaft part being equal to said radius of the pitch circle of said internal gear.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 29 words

Apparatus in accordance with claim 17 wherein the circular arc approximates and envelops the contour of two relatively remote tooth flanks of two neighboring teeth of the internal gear.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1976-12-31	1977-07-02	1978-01-01	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1980-12-31	1981-07-02	1982-01-01	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1984-12-31	1985-07-02	1986-01-01	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Gear machine

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