US 4,238,970 AGranted

Bevolute gear system

AssigneeUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation

InventorWillis M. Carter

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a bevolute gearing system which transmits torque between non-intersecting shafts at right angles to each other. The bevolute gear system includes a pinion gear which is flat and in one plane. The pinion gear is designed to include teeth which are shaped in the form of an involute spiral. The bevolute gear system includes a second gear which is also designed to include teeth which are shaped in the form of an involute spiral. The second gear is mounted on a non-intersecting axis at a right angle to the axis of the pinion gear. The bevolute gearing system of the present invention reduces the thrust loads to negligible values for the bearings of both the pinion gear and the second gear. In addition, higher mechanical efficiencies, wider tolerances on alignment of the gears, interchangeability between the gear and the pinions to produce different ratios and a substantially eliminated gear noise are a few of the many advantages disclosed in the present invention.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A gearing system for transmitting torque between non-intersecting axes disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to each other comprising:

a pinion gear mounted on one of said axes and including teeth which are shaped in the form of an involute spiral;
and
a wheel gear in meshing engagement with said pinion gear and including teeth which are shaped in the form of an involute spiral, said wheel gear being mounted on a second axis at said predetermined angle to the axis of the pinion gear;
said axis of said pinion gear being offset from the axis of the wheel gear and the centerline of the pinion gear being tangential to a base circle of the wheel gear from which the involute teeth of the wheel gear are generated, whereby the offset positioning of the pinion gear forms a bevolute angle at the center of the wheel gear between a line passing from the center of said wheel gear to the center of said pinion gear and a line passing from the center of said wheel gear normal to the tangent line from the centerline of said pinion gear to said base circle;
said pinion gear having external involute teeth being positioned on the outer peripheral surface of said pinion gear and being in conjugate meshing engagement with said wheel gear which is a substantially flat, face gear.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.