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US 8,967,012 B2Granted
Double involute pinion-face gear drive system
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsIoan Napau, Mircea Napau
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A double involute pinion-face gear drive provides transmission of torque and speed, or direction of movement modification between non-intersecting shafts at right angles to one another. A double involute cylindrical pinion on one axis, engages a rotatable disk-shaped gear on the second axis. The teeth of the pinion are curved in an abridged, normal or extended involute shape. Likewise, the teeth of the face gear are curved in abridged, normal or extended involute shape in the lengthwise direction of the teeth. These gear drives can be simultaneously bi-rotational and bi-directional and allow a relatively wide range of speed ratios, as low as 1:1 and as high as 7.5:1.
Claims20
A double involute pinion-face gear drive comprising, in combination,
- a double involute pinion disposed on a first axis and having a cylindrical periphery, said double involute pinion having a plurality of normal involute teeth disposed radially on said cylindrical periphery and shaped along an involute curve in a lengthwise direction of said normal involute teeth, of one of left-hand and right-hand helix angle and
- a face gear disposed on a second axis and having a pair of side faces, said face gear disposed orthogonal to and spaced from said first axis at a predetermined center distance, said face gear in mesh with said double involute pinion and having a plurality of teeth disposed on one of said side faces and shaped along an involute curve in a lengthwise direction of said teeth, of one of left-hand and right-hand helix angle;
- said double involute pinion having its pitch plane perpendicular to said first axis, containing a double involute pinion pitch circle and the pitch point as the common point of instantaneous contact between the pinion and face gear teeth surfaces;
- said face gear having its pitch plane perpendicular to said second axis, containing the face gear base circle from which said plurality of teeth of said face gear are generated and the pitch point as the common point of instantaneous contact between the pinion and face gear teeth surfaces;
- said double involute pinion pitch plane being in a predetermined arrangement relative to said face gear base circle,
- wherein said double involute pinion is integrally formed with a shank and said shank is aligned with said first axis.
3 more elements
A double involute pinion-face gear drive system comprising, in combination,
- a double involute pinion disposed on a first axis, said double involute pinion having a plurality of normal involute teeth, of the same or different pressure angle flanks, disposed radially on its cylindrical periphery and shaped in a lengthwise direction of said teeth along an involute curve, of one of left-hand and right-hand helix angle, and
- a face gear disposed on a second axis orthogonal to and spaced from said first axis at a predetermined center distance, said face gear in mesh with said double involute pinion and having a plurality of teeth, of the same or different pressure angle flanks, disposed on one of its side faces and shaped in lengthwise direction of said teeth along an involute curve, said plurality of teeth on said face gear having a medium helix angle within the range of from 30° to 45°;
- said double involute pinion having its pitch plane perpendicular to its axis, containing said double involute pinion pitch circle and the pitch point as the common point of instantaneous contact between the pinion and face gear teeth surfaces;
- said face gear having its pitch plane perpendicular to its axis, containing the face gear base circle from which the involute teeth of said face gear are generated and the pitch point as the common point of instantaneous contact between the pinion and face gear teeth surfaces;
- said double involute pinion pitch plane being in a predetermined arrangement relative to said face gear base circle,
- wherein said double involute pinion is integrally formed with a shank and said shank is aligned with said first axis.
3 more elements
A double involute pinion-face gear drive system comprising, in combination,
- an involute pinion disposed on a first axis and having a cylindrical periphery, said double involute pinion having a plurality of involute teeth shaped along an extended or shortened involute curve in a lengthwise direction of said involute teeth of one of left-hand and right-hand helix angle and
- an involute face gear disposed on a second axis and having a pair of side faces, said face gear disposed orthogonal to and spaced from said first axis at a predetermined center distance, said involute face gear in mesh with said involute pinion gear and having a plurality of involute teeth disposed on one of said side faces and shaped along an extended or shortened involute curve in a lengthwise direction of said involute teeth of one of left-hand and right-hand helix angle;
- said double involute pinion having its pitch plane perpendicular to said first axis, containing a double involute pinion pitch circle and the pitch point as the common point of instantaneous contact between the pinion and face gear teeth;
- said face gear having its pitch plane perpendicular to said second axis, containing the face gear base circle from which said plurality of teeth of said face gear are generated and the pitch point as the common point of instantaneous contact between the pinion and face gear teeth;
- said double involute pinion pitch plane being in a predetermined arrangement relative to said face gear base circle.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.