US3635062A

US3635062A - Machine for rolling tapered gears

Info

Publication number: US3635062A
Application number: US36932A
Authority: US
Inventors: Benjamin F Bregi; Richard W Tersch
Original assignee: Lear Siegler Inc
Current assignee: Nachi Machining Technology Co
Priority date: 1970-05-13
Filing date: 1970-05-13
Publication date: 1972-01-18
Anticipated expiration: 1989-01-18

Abstract

Apparatus for rolling a tapered gear such as a bevel or hypoid gear by rolling the gear with a conjugate tapered gear. The machine includes means for applying pressure by effecting relative movement between the meshing gears along a line generally perpendicular to the pitch cone.

Description

United States Patent Bregi et al. 1451 Jan. 18, 1972 I541 MACHINE FOR ROLLING TAPERED 1,669,818 5/1928 Gleason et al. ..72/s4 GEARS 1,677,722 7/1928 Lowrie ..72/84 Inventors: g g xY- FOREIGN PATENTS R APPLICATIONS o o rosse omte ores, 1c

94,139 4/1923 Austria ..72/l02 [73] Assignee: Lear Siegler, Inc., Santa Monica, Calif.

d: 13 97 Primary Examiner-LowellA. Larson [22] May l o Attorney-Whittemore,Hulbert& Belknap [2]] Appl. No.: 36,932

[57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. Cl ..72/102, 29/1592, 72/84 Apparatus for rolling a tapered gear such as a bevel or hypoid [51] lnt.Cl. ..B21h /04 gear by rolling the gear with a conjugate tapered gear. The [58] Field of Search ..72/80, 84, 102, 107, 108; machine includes means for applying pressure by effecting 29/1592 relative movement between the meshing gears along a line generally perpendicular to the pitch cone. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 1,240,915 9/1917 Anderson 7 2/81 5? 44 3 r 58 50 40 3o 56 p mg: 54 w as 26 I 28 \T"' I A l l 32 62 1% g I L f //I l /l l// MACHINE FOR ROLLING TAPERED GEARS BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The gear-rolling machine comprises a base having means thereon for supporting a tapered gear such, for example, as a bevel or a hypoid gear or pinion for substantially free rotation. Adjustably mounted on the base is a slide for supporting a second tapered gear (either a bevel or hypoid gear or pinion) conjugate to the first mentioned gear.

One of these gears constitutes a die and is suitably hardened and is adapted to displace metal in the teeth of the mating gear to produce a desired tooth form.

In accordance with the present invention, rolling pressure is developed between the teeth of the gear and die by effecting a relative movement along a path which is generally perpendicular to the pitch cones of the gear and die where the gear members are bevel gears, or along a path which is parallel to the aforementioned path if the gear and die constitute a hypoid set.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus. FIG. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2, FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings the machine comprises a base indicated generally at which comprises

side plates

12 and 14, a bottom plate 16, a front plate 18, and a transverse support plate 20. Mounted at its upper surface, the support plate carries a block 22 having ways 24 thereon on which a positioning slide 25 is mounted for horizontal adjustment, as seen in the Figures. Means are provided for effecting adjustment of the positioning slide comprising nut and screw mechanism indicated generally at 26, adapted to be operated by a noncircular projecting shaft end 28 adapted to be engaged by a suitable tool.

Mounted on the positioning slide 25 is an adjustable sine plate 30 having a trunnion mounting 32 to the positioning slide 25 and provided with means for effecting angular adjustment about the axis of the trunnion connection. The means for effecting such angular adjustment is indicated generally at 34 and may comprise a suitable nut and screw means actuated by rotation of a noncircular shaft end 36 by a suitable tool. Details of this construction form no part of the present invention, but it will be noted that the device includes the threaded shaft 38 which is pivotally connected as indicated at 40 to the sine plate 30.

Suitable ways indicated at 42 are provided on the sine plate 30 and longitudinally movable along these ways is a tool slide 44 which is connected by a piston rod 46 connecting to a piston movable longitudinally in a cylinder 48.

A rolling spindle housing 50 is connected to the tool slide 44 and the spindle housing 50 is adapted to be driven in rotation by suitable drive means such, for example, as a hydraulic motor indicated at 52. The spindle housing 50 is trunnion mounted as indicated at 54 to the tool slide 44. Post 55 extends into opening 56 in slide 44 and

abutment screws

57 and 58 cooperate to provide adjusting the angularity of the spindle housing 50 relative to the tool slide 44.

Carried by the front plate 18 of the base 10 is a work support 60 in which a vertical rotatable spindle is joumaled, adapted to carry the work piece W, which in this instance may be assumed to be a hypoid pinion. The rolling tool or die is indicated at D and is carried by a spindle within the spindle housing 50. Means are provided -for effecting minor angular adjustments of the work support 60 and this means comprises arcuate ways diagrammatically indicated at 62 together with suitable means (not shown) for locking the work support 60 in adjusted position. The work support 60 is adjustable horizontally along ways indicated at 64 by suitable screw-adjusting means 66 including an external noncircular shaft end 65, as best seen in FIG. 1. Finally, vertical adjustment of the work support 60 is accomplished by adjusting the positioning slide 68 vertically along ways 70 by suitable threaded adjusting means indicated generally at 72 and including a noncircular shaft end 74 for application of a tool.

With the foregoing arrangement it will be observed that workpieces and dies of different dimensions may be accommodated by effecting the appropriate horizontal and vertical adjustments of the tool-positioning slide 25 and the work positioning slide 68. In the event that the work gear is a hypoid pinion, hypoid offset may be accomplished by effecting horizontal lateral adjustment of the work support 60 to the position best illustrated in FIG. 1.

Finally, the machine comprises means for effecting the required adjustment of the sine plate 30 so that the relative movement between the tool or die D and the workpiece W takes place generally along or parallel to a line perpendicular to the pitch cones of the die and gear, or in the case of a hypoid set, along a line which is parallel to the aforesaid line. Thus, for example, referring to FIG. 1 it will be observed that if, instead of a hypoid pinion illustrated in this Figure, the gear set constituted an ordinary bevel gear set, the axes of the die and gear would occupy a single vertical plane. Since however, the gear and die constitute a hypoid set, the hypoid pinion W is offset from the vertical plane containing the axis A. In this case the direction of relative movement between the die and the gear occupies the vertical plane passing through the axis of the die.

In various bevel or hypoid gear sets the cone angle of the pinion may vary and this variation in cone angle is compensated for by an angular adjustment of the sine plate 30 about the trunnion axis 32, accompanied by a corresponding adjustment of the tool spindle housing 50 about the trunnion axis 54. Thus, the proper meshing relationship between the pinion and gear is maintained at all times while at the same time effecting an adjustment of the direction of relative movement which produces the rolling pressure between the teeth of the gear and die.

It is contemplated that the gear rolling operation may be performed in an extremely short cycle during which unidirectional rotation of the die and gear takes place accompanied by an infeeding operation under sufficient force to develop the required pressure to finish the teeth of the work gear W. While relatively great pressure is desirable to produce displacement of metal of the teeth of the work gear, which may amount to a few one thousandths of an inch, it is found that the force required to rotate the die D and the work gear W in mesh is relatively small. The rate of rotation is not highly critical, but will normally amount to at least a few revolutions per minute.

The specific disclosure illustrated and described in the foregoing suggests that the operation is performed by a die D in the form of a hypoid gear, on a workpiece W in the form of a hypoid pinion. It will be understood of course that if the pinion is a suitably hardened die, the same machine will perform a finishing operation on a gear carried by the spindle within the housing 50.

We claim:

1. A machine for finish rolling a tapered work gear comprising a rigid frame,

a first support on said frame including a spindle for mounting a first tapered gearlike member for rotation about its axrs,

a second support on said frame including a spindle for mounting a second tapered gearlike member for rotation about its axis in mesh with the first gearlike member,

means connected to one of said spindles for driving it in rotation,

and rectilinear guide means on said frame mounting one of said supports for movement toward and away from the other of said supports along a path oblique to the axes of both of said spindles and generally perpendicular to the pitch cones of meshed, tapered gear members carried by said spindles.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1 in which means are provided for adjusting said supports on said frame to accommodate tapered gears of different size.

3. A machine as defined in claim 1 which comprises a sine plate having rectilinear ways thereon, a slide movable along said ways, one of said supports being carried by said slide, means for adjusting the angularity of said sine plate on said frame to vary the path of movement of said one support with respect to the axis of the spindle carried by said other support.

4. A machine as defined in claim 3 comprising means for adjusting the angularity of the support carried by said slide about an axis parallel to the axis of adjustment of said sine plate.

5. A machine as defined in claim 4 in which the axis of one of said support; id substantially vertical, and the axis of said other support is substantially horizontal.

6. A machine as defined in claim 4 in which the axes of adjustment of said sine plate and the spindle support carried by said slide are horizontal, and the axis of the spindle carried by said other support is vertical.

7. A machine as defined in claim 4 comprising means for adjusting one of said supports perpendicularly to a plane which is parallel to the axes of both of said spindles to provide hypoid offset.

8. The method of roll finishing a tapered gear which comprises meshing it with a gearlike tapered die substantially conjugate to the requires finished tooth configuration thereof, rotating said gear and die in mesh, and establishing metal displacing pressure contact between the teeth of said gear and die by effecting relative approach between said gear and die along a path generally perpendicular to the pitch cones thereof at the zone of mesh.

9. The method as defined in claim 8 in which said gear and die are in the form of a hypoid gear set, and in which the path of relative movement occupies a plane containing the axis of one spindle and parallel to the axis of the other spindle, and is oblique to the axes of both of said spindles.

Claims

1. A machine for finish rolling a tapered work gear comprising a rigId frame, a first support on said frame including a spindle for mounting a first tapered gearlike member for rotation about its axis, a second support on said frame including a spindle for mounting a second tapered gearlike member for rotation about its axis in mesh with the first gearlike member, means connected to one of said spindles for driving it in rotation, and rectilinear guide means on said frame mounting one of said supports for movement toward and away from the other of said supports along a path oblique to the axes of both of said spindles and generally perpendicular to the pitch cones of meshed, tapered gear members carried by said spindles.

5. A machine as defined in claim 4 in which the axis of one of said supports id substantially vertical, and the axis of said other support is substantially horizontal.