Patent ID: 6086479
Filing Date: 2000-07-11
Classification: F16C,F16H

Abstract:
A gearbox having an input shaft with a rotational axis, a gear mounted on said input shaft and coupled to a driven device, a motor shaft coupled to said input shaft, a bearing supporting said input shaft, and a device for aligning the motor shaft, said device comprising:a nut mounted on the driven device and having an inner edge, an outer edge and a bottom surface having a concave spherical curvature; anda washer mounted on the bearing and having an upper surface with a convex spherical curvature corresponding to the concave spherical curvature of said nut, said convex spherical curvature of said washer having sufficient clearance to slide against the concave spherical curvature of said nut;wherein said spherical curvatures mate when said nut is placed on said washer to align the motor shaft within the driven device and maintain alignment even under angular and lateral stresses, and wherein the spherical curvatures of the nut and washer have radii that meet at a point located along the rotational axis of said input shaft, said point defining a rotation point about which said washer slides against said nut to align the motor shaft.