Improvements in and relating to Toothed Gearing.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd June, 1899-Accepted, 22nd July, 1899
[Communicated from abroad by DEERING HARVESTER COMPANY, Corner of
Fullerton and Clybourne Avenues, Chicago, Illinois, United States of
America, Manufacturers.]
Improvements in and relating to Toothed Gearing.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to gearing generally, and though it has been designed
with particular reference to mowing and reaping machinery, it is adapted for
use in a variety of machines, and it is not intended in the present application to
restrict its adaptation to any particular class of machines.
The object of the invention, generally speaking, is to produce an arrangement
of gearing that will be as nearly frictionless as possible, and it is generally
characteristic of the invention that I substitute a rolling contact between the
intermeshing parts for the usual sliding contact. This of itself considerably
reduces the friction, and, though I do not pretend that the broad idea of a rolling
contact is new, the rotary pin tooth form in which I have embodied the same
enables me to obtain a very much greater diminution in the amount of friction
than in any other construction heretofore known to me.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1
is an elevation partly in section of a driving gear and worm arrangement em-
bodying my improvements, and Figure 2 is a sectional detail of one of the pin
reller teeth and its connection with the wheel.
I will now describe the construction illustrated in these views, and claim what
are regarded as its novel features.
Referring to Figure 1, A denotes a spur driving gear, and B any suitable shaft
to which it is secured. In this instance the shaft B is the axle of a mowing
machine, and C is the shaft for driving the reciprocating knife or cutter. D
and are bearings for the shaft C, and E is a balance wheel on the end of
the shaft. The shaft C is driven from the wheel A through the intermediary of
a worm F secured on or formed with the shaft, the spiral of the worm preferably
varying in depth from the centre towards its ends in such degree as to conform
to the periphery of the gear A.
The shaft C is shown provided with ball bearings at opposite ends of the worm,
and these bearings are arranged to take the end thrust of the shaft and to
support the shaft itself. One of these bearings, preferably the one at the balance-
wheel end of the shaft, is made adjustable by means of a disc d screwing upon a
thread on the shaft and having an annular ball race in one face and a chamfered.
or bevelled edge on the other face. The bearing D is provided with a ball race.
coincident with the one in the face of the disc, and a cap or cover screws on
to the bearing and has an annular ball race coinciding with the race formed by
the bevelled edge of the opposite side of the disc. Antifriction balls of appropriate:

page_text: size run in these races, and either or both sets of balls may be tightened or
loosened by adjusting the disc and cap.
In the present illustration of the invention, the wheel A is the driver, as
before stated, but it may as well be driven by the worm F, or, for that matter,
by any other form of driving gear. The wheel shown is also a spur gear, and
the teeth project from its front face or periphery. It may, however, be a bevel
gear, or a crown gear, and have the teeth project from its side face. But, what-
ever the type of wheel, 'a characteristic feature will be that the teeth are solid
roller pins having their shanks enclosed in antifriction ball bearings and their
outer ends projecting freely from the face of the wheel, in contradistinction to
fixed pins that are rooted in the wheel and merely have antifriction caps which
latter constitute the working portion of the teeth...
The construction of the wheel is as, follows: 'A' is a strong stoút spider whose
hub a is keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft B and whose arms project radially
outward a distance determined by the diameter of the wheel. A is an annular
rim which is securely bolted or otherwise fastened to the spider arms and in
which are formed the seats for the roller pins. This is the preferable construction
of what may be called the frame of the wheel, but, obviously it need not be of
skeleton form, nor need the rim be separate from the centre portion.
The teeth are denoted by the letter T. They are in the form of solid pins of
a length considerably elongated in respect of the extent of their working portion,
and having their clongated shanks preferably conical in form. I do not desire to
be confined to any particular form for the working portion of the teeth, but prefer
the conoidal convex form shown in the drawings. The thickness of the rim will
be proportioned to the size and power of the wheel, and it will be of such width
as to provide a considerable distance between the bearing points of the teeth.
The rim is preferably a solid casting and is formed with radial sockets S extending
through from its outer to its inner face and forming open-ended seats for the
teeth. The outer and inner ends of these sockets are provided with angular
recesses in which are located annular races for rows of anti-friction balls c.
As before stated, the shank portions of the pins T are considerably longer
than the tooth portions. The object of this elongation of the bearing parts of
the teeth is to strengthen and steady their movements, and the advantage of
it will be apparent on considering the fact that the teeth do not completely fill
the sockets and that there is a consequent tendency for them to be deflected
turning on the outer row of balls as a pivot. This tendency is commensurate
with the force exerted on the teeth, and by elongating the shanks and locating
the inner row of balls as far as practicable from the outer, I get a sufficient
leverage on the teeth to effectually resist this lateral thrust, and at the same time
equalise the strains on the balls.
The diameter of the shank portions of the teeth increases abruptly about where
they join the head or working portions, thereby forming overhangs or shoulders
which practically fill the orifices of the outer ends of the sockets and confine the
balls to their races, as well as protecting the bearings against the entrance of
dust, dirt, &c. The shoulder thus formed on the teeth constitutes a bearing
surface for the balls that is integral with the teeth, which is a desirable though not
essential feature.
The teeth project clear through the sockets in the rim, and terminate at their
inner ends in threaded portions f upon which are screwed nuts h. These nuts
are readily accessible from the inner periphery of the rim, and constitute the
means for holding the teeth, in the sockets. Underneath the nuts n there are
slipped over the ends of the tooth shanks cone washers which with the ball
races at that end of the sockets complete the bearings at the inner ends of the
teeth. These washers are held in place by the nuts h, and are readily adjustable
by screwing and unscrewing the nuts, which act also serves to adjust both
bearings by forcing the teeth and the washers g in opposite directions.
Such being the construction and arrangement of my improved anti-friction

page_text: gearing its operation will be understood without explanation further than to say
that on the rotation of the wheel A the roller pin-teeth are pressed against the worm
causing it and the shaft C to rotate, and that the teeth revolve bodily in their
bearings as they roll along the surface of the worm spiral, thereby, dimanishing
the friction to the lowest attainable point. The varying depth of, the worm spiral
has the advantage of greatly increasing the amount of contact surface between
the wheel and the worm, because the teeth engage the worm sooner and leave it
later, and also because more of the teeth are engaged with the worm at a time,
than would be the case if the spirals were of uniform depth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:-
―:
1. A gear wheel, the teeth of which are composed of axially rotatable solid pins
that are enclosed in anti-friction ball bearings seated in sockets in the wheel
and have their free ends projecting from the wheel's face.
2. A gear wheel, composed of an annular rim having tooth sockets extending
through the same, and axially rotatable solid pin teeth, said pins being enclosed
in anti-friction ball bearings seated in said sockets and having their free ends
projecting radially from the periphery of the wheel.
3. A gear wheel, composed of an angular rim having open-ended radial tooth
sockets extending through the same, anti-friction ball bearings seated in opposite
ends of said sockets, and axially rotatable solid pin-teeth enclosed in said bearings,
the free outer ends of the teeth projecting radially from the periphery of the rim,
and having means at their opposite ends for adjusting the bearings.
4. A gear wheel, composed of an annular rim having open-ended radial tooth
sockets extending through the same, anti-friction ball bearings seated in opposite
ends of said sockets, axially rotatable solid pin-teeth enclosed in said bearings
and having their free ends projecting radially outward from the periphery of
the rim, and means at the opposite ends of the teeth and accessible from the
inner periphery of the rim for detachably holding the teeth in their sockets and
adjusting the bearings.
5. A gear wheel, composed of an annular rim having tooth sockets formed
therein, anti-friction ball bearings seated in the outer end of said sockets,
and roller pin-teeth enclosed in said bearings and having overhangs or shoulders
closing the outer ends of the tooth sockets and protecting the bearings.
6. A gear wheel, composed of an annular rim having open-ended tooth sockets
extending therethrough, anti-friction ball bearings seated in said sockets, roller
pin-teeth enclosed in said bearings and having overhangs or shoulders closing the
outer ends of the sockets and protecting the bearings; and adjustable caps or
washers on the inner ends of the teeth closing the opposite ends of the sockets
and serving to adjust and protect the bearings.
7. The combination of the shaft C, its bearing D', and the disc d having a
ball race on the face next to the bearing, said disc being adjustable on the shaft.
8. The combination of the shaft C, its bearing D, and the disc d having a ball
race on the face next to the bearing and a chamfered or bevelled surface forming
a ball race on its opposite face, and a cap enclosing the disc d and screwing
adjustably on the bearing D', the disc d having an adjustable screw-thread con-
nection with the shaft.
9. The combination of the shaft C, having the bearings D, 1)¹, a ball race in
the face of the bearing D', the disc d having an adjustable screw-thread engage-
ment with the shaft and provided with a ball race co-operating with the race
in the bearing and another race for balls on its opposite face; the cap c enclosing
the disc and having an adjustable screw thread connection with the bearing D',
said cap being provided with a ball race co-operating with the one on the side of
the disc away from the bearing D¹.
10. The combination of the wheel A, provided with solid roller-pin teeth T

page_text: enclosed in anti-friction bearings seated in sockets S in the rim of the wheel,
and the shaft C, having the worm F, and provided with anti-friction bearings at
opposite ends of the worm, one of said bearings having a disc d adjustably screw-
ing on the shaft, and a cap or cover e enclosing the disc and screwing adjustably
on the bearing, and anti-friction balls interposed between the disc and the bearing
and between the cap and the disc.
Dated this 2nd day of June 1899
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.