Patent GB-790171-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in toothed gearing
IPC: F16H49/00
Filed: 1956-03-09
Abstract: 790,171. Toothed gearing. MUSSER, C. W. March 9, 1956 [March 21, 1955], No. 7401/56- Class 80 (1). A toothed high-reduction gear comprises an outer ring gear 70, Figs. 1-8, a meshing inner ring gear 71 of a slightly smaller number of teeth called a " strain gear, and a coaxial strain-inducing member 72. The strain inducer 72 is in the form of an elliptical cam with two lobes 75 which is forced inside the strain gear 71 to strain the latter into engagement with the ring gear 70 at diametrically opposite points. If the strain gear is prevented from rotating and the strain inducer rotated therein a strain wave is caused to travel around it resulting in the points of engagement of the strain gear moving around the ring gear. This results in a rotation of the ring gear proportional to the difference in the numbers of teeth of the ring gear and strain gear. If the ring gear is held stationary instead of the strain gear a reverse rotation from the strain gear can be obtained. The strain inducer can take a number of different forms, it may be a cam with any suitable num-  ber of lobes which may act directly on the strain gear or through the intermediary of ball-bearings, or it may comprise a disc with projecting rollers which contact the strain gear. In this last arrangement instead of the said disc being the driving member a central run friction gear may drive on to the rollers thus giving a further overall speed reduction. A similar planetary arrangement may be provided by having balls or rollers acting between an inner driving race and a thin outer race engaging in the strain gear. A complete ring of balls or rollers can be used some of which are of larger diameter than the others. Various shapes of rollers may be employed such as cylindrical, stepped, convex, concave, tapered, &c. A practical form of the gearing shown in Fig. 45 comprises a driving shaft 126 carrying a strain inducer 106, 107, 72, an outer ring gear 73 fixed in a stationary housing 127, and a strain gear 71 coupled by lugs at 130, 131 to a driven shaft 125. Such a gearing may be combined in a single casing with a driving electric motor or the strain gear may be acted upon directly by a rotating magnetic field which will take the place of the mechanical strain inducer. It is also stated that hydraulic, pneumatic or vibratory means may be utilized to propagate the strain wave. The gearing may be conveniently applied to the problem of controlling a motion inside a sealed container, e.g. a reaction vessel, a pressure vessel or vacuum tube, from the outside. This can be effected by forming the strain gear as part of a thin wall of a closed end recess of the container, mounting the driven ring gear around this recess inside the container and arranging the strain inducer inside said recess but driven from the outside of the container. The strain inducer may be arranged external to the strain gear and the ring gear inside the strain gear. Two gearings may be arranged in series to give a very high reduction ratio. In such a case the strain gear may be common to both gearings with a double set of teeth. For small units the strain gear may be made of neoprene or nylon. It is also stated that the strain inducer member may be the driven element of the gear in which case a high increased speed ratio will be obtained.