Measuring and testing – Toothed gear
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-20
2001-02-06
Williams, Hezron (Department: 2856)
Measuring and testing
Toothed gear
C074S423000, C074S424000, C409S061000, C409S133000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182506
ABSTRACT:
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §§119 and/or 365 to Appln. 29703157.0 filed in Germany on Feb. 21, 1997; the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention relates to an arrangement for performing a contact pattern test of bevel gears which are to rotate in tooth contact when the machining of the bevel gears is carried out in a machining apparatus, which comprises a body, a machining unit and a fastening unit which are movable in relation to the body, which fastening unit can be turned around a vertical axis and onto which the bevel gear to be machined is to be mounted for the duration of the machining.
When bevel gears are produced, the larger bevel gear, i.e. the crown wheel, is finished first, whereafter the smaller bevel gear forming its pair, i.e. the pinion, is machined so that a small finishing margin is left. Then the crown wheel and the pinion are arranged to a separate machine into the right position in relation to each other, and by rotating them in tooth contact, usually by using a marking colour, it is determined how the cogging of the pinion has to be finished so that the contact between the cogs would be correct. After this the pinion is moved back to the machining apparatus and positioned to the workpiece spindle of the fastening unit for finishing. After the finishing a new contact pattern test is performed in the testing unit, and if necessary, a new finishing. This is repeated as many times as is necessary for achieving the desired contact pattern.
This testing procedure is rather laborious and time-consuming, since the crown wheel and the pinion have to be positioned very carefully and accurately so that the bevel gear set would work as it should when arranged in its final place. Installation of the pinion to the workpiece spindle as well as to the testing apparatus is very difficult and time-consuming. It is also inconvenient and time-consuming to move parts which may weigh even several tons, and the parts may be damaged during the transfer phases and the intermediate processing phase.
An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement which allows to avoid the drawbacks of the prior art solutions and allows a contact pattern test to be performed fast and effectively without unnecessary waste of time and extra damage. The arrangement of the invention is characterized in that the arrangement comprises a testing unit in connection with the machining apparatus, to which testing unit one of the bevel gears or the bevel gear set can be fastened after its machining so that it can rotate around its rotational axis, the testing unit and the fastening unit being movable so that after the latter bevel gear of the bevel gear set has been machined, said units can be moved into such a position in relation to each other that the position of the bevel gears enables the contact pattern test without unfastening the latter bevel gear from the fastening unit.
An essential idea of the invention is that the machining apparatus of the bevel gears comprises a testing unit to which the crown wheel can be arranged so that it rotates around a horizontal axis. A further essential idea of the invention is that the testing unit can be moved into such a position in relation to the body of the machining apparatus that the pinion fastened to the workpiece spindle can be brought into contact with the crown wheel by turning the workpiece spindle around the vertical axis so as to allow the contact pattern test to be performed without unfastening the pinion from the workpiece spindle.
An advantage of the invention is that the machining of the pinion and the contact pattern test between the crown wheel and the pinion can be performed with only one fastening of the pinion, which allows to avoid extra unfastening and positioning. Furthermore, it is not necessary to move the pinion and crown wheel from the machining apparatus to a separate testing machine, which reduces the risk of damage considerably. In addition, the crown wheel with its fasteners can be moved directly to the testing unit from the workpiece spindle, whereby it can be positioned simply and easily.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4024757 (1977-05-01), Raess et al.
patent: 5307676 (1994-05-01), Gutman
patent: 1 777 339 (1972-08-01), None
patent: 43 05 408 A1 (1994-08-01), None
patent: 43 42 648 A1 (1995-06-01), None
patent: 195 17 358 (1996-10-01), None
Cutting Bevel Gears Better, Faster; American Machinist, Jun. 1978; pp. 82-85.
ATA Gears Ltd.
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
Loo Dennis
Williams Hezron
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