U.S. patent application number 10/177492 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-25 for epicyclic drive with unified planet assemblies.
This patent application is currently assigned to The Timken Company. Invention is credited to Fox, Gerald.
Application Number | 20030236148 10/177492 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29734412 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030236148 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fox, Gerald |
December 25, 2003 |
Epicyclic drive with unified planet assemblies
Abstract
An epicyclic drive has its planet gears integrated into
separately built planet assemblies. Each planet assembly, in
addition to its planet gear, includes a pin which extends through
the planet gear and an antifriction bearing located between the
gear and the pin. The outer raceways for the bearing are machined
into the gear, whereas the inner raceways are machined into the
pin. The bearing also has rolling elements organized in two rows
between the inner and outer raceways. The pins have mounting ends
which lie beyond the ends of the planet gear to anchor the planet
assembly in a carrier. Seals fit into the planet gear and around
the pin and retain grease within the bearing and prevent oil that
lubricates the teeth of the gears from entering the bearing and
deteriorating the grease. The bearing, inasmuch as it is assembled
separately, is set with considerable precision, preferably in
preload, so the planet gear does not skew with respect to sun and
ring gears with which it meshes during operation at the epicyclic
drive
Inventors: |
Fox, Gerald; (Massilon,
OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
POLSTER, LIEDER, WOODRUFF & LUCCHESI
763 SOUTH NEW BALLAS ROAD
ST. LOUIS
MO
63141-8750
US
|
Assignee: |
The Timken Company
|
Family ID: |
29734412 |
Appl. No.: |
10/177492 |
Filed: |
June 21, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
475/348 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16C 19/386 20130101;
F16C 33/7876 20130101; F16C 33/605 20130101; F16H 57/0479 20130101;
F16H 57/08 20130101; F16C 33/6603 20130101; F16C 2361/61 20130101;
F16H 57/0482 20130101; F16C 43/04 20130101; F16H 2057/085 20130101;
F16C 2240/84 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
475/348 |
International
Class: |
F16H 057/08 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A planet assembly for an epicyclic drive, said planet assembly
having an axis and comprising: a pin having first and second inner
raceways located around and presented away from the axis; a planet
gear located around the pin and carrying first and second outer
raceways, the first outer raceway being present toward the first
inner raceway and the second outer raceway being presented toward
the second inner raceway; first rolling elements organized in a row
between the first raceways and second rolling elements organized in
a row between the second raceways; and seals fitted around the pin
and to the planet gear to create dynamic fluid barriers that
isolate the rolling elements and raceways from the exterior of the
gear.
2. A planet assembly according to claim 1 wherein the first
raceways are oblique to the axis and are inclined in the same
direction with respect to the axis; and wherein the second raceways
are also oblique to the axis and inclined in the same direction
with respect to the axis, with the inclination of the second
raceways being opposite the inclination of the first raceways,
whereby the first rolling elements will transmit axial loads in one
direction and the second rolling elements will transmit axial loads
in the opposite direction.
3. A planet assembly according to claim 2 wherein the first and
second raceways are tapered and the first and second rolling
elements are tapered rollers; and wherein the fist and second
raceways taper downwardly toward each other.
4. A planet assembly according to claim 3 wherein the pin further
has a thrust rib at the large end of the first inner raceway to
prevent the first rollers from moving up the first raceways and a
seat extended beyond the large end of the second inner raceway; and
further comprising a rib ring fitted over the seat to prevent the
second rollers from moving up the second raceways, whereby the
axial position of the rib ring on the seat controls clearances or
the absence of clearances between the tapered rollers and the
raceways.
5. A planet assembly according to claim 1 wherein the pin is a
unitary structure.
6. A planetary assembly according to claim 1 wherein the pin
includes a core and a sleeve which is located around the core, and
the inner raceways are on the sleeve.
7. A method of assembling the planetary assembly of claim 4, said
method comprising: placing the first tapered rollers along one of
the first raceways; fitting the pin and gear together such that the
first rollers are between the first inner and outer raceways and
along the thrust rib; placing the second tapered rollers between
the second raceways, advancing the rib ring over the seat until the
bearing has a desired setting; and securing the rib ring to the
pin.
8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the step of securing the
rib ring includes welding the rib ring to the pin.
9. The method according to claim 7 wherein the step of placing the
first tapered rollers along one of the first raceways includes
placing the rollers along the first inner raceway.
10. In an epicyclic drive including a sun gear, a ring gear, and a
carrier having a pair of end members, the improvement comprising:
at least one pin having first and second ends anchored in the end
members of the carrier; a planet gear located around the pin and
being engaged with the sun and ring gears; an antifriction bearing
located between pin and planet gear and including first and second
inner raceways carried by the pin, first and second outer raceways
carried by the planet gear and presented toward and located
opposite the first and second inner raceways, respectively, first
rolling elements arranged in a row between the first raceways,
second rolling elements arranged in a row between the second
raceways: a grease in the bearing; and seals located around the pin
and along the gear to form fluid barriers at the ends of the gear,
so that the bearing and grease are isolated from the sun and ring
gears and from a lubricant for such gears.
11. The combination according to claim 10 wherein the carrier
further comprises separators extending between the end members to
form at least one pocket in which the planet gear rotates.
12. The combination according to claim 10 wherein the first
raceways are oblique to the axis and are inclined in the same
direction with respect to the axis; and wherein the second raceways
are also oblique to the axis and inclined in the same direction
with respect to the axis, with the inclination of the second
raceway being opposite the inclination of the first raceways,
whereby the first rolling elements will transmit axial loads in one
direction and the second rolling elements will transmit axial loads
in the opposite direction.
13. The combination according to claim 12 wherein the first and
second rolling elements are tapered rollers; and wherein the first
and second raceways taper downwardly toward each other.
14. The combination according to claim 13 wherein the pin further
has a thrust rib at the large end of the first inner raceway to
prevent the first rollers from moving up the first raceways and a
seat extended beyond the large end of the second raceway; and
wherein the bearing further comprises a rib ring fitted over the
seat to prevent the second rollers from moving up the second
raceways, whereby the axial position of the rib ring on the seat
controls the setting of the bearing.
15. A planet assembly for an epicyclic drive, said planet assembly
comprising: a pin provided with mounting ends and first and second
tapered inner raceways located between the mounting ends and
tapering in opposite directions downwardly toward each other, the
pin further having a thrust rib projecting beyond the large end of
the first inner raceway and a seat extending axially beyond the
large end of the second inner raceway; a planet gear located around
the pin and having first and second tapered outer raceways
presented toward and located opposite the first and second inner
raceways, respectively, the gear being narrower then the pin is
long such that the mounting ends of the pins are located beyond the
ends of the gear; first tapered rollers located between the first
inner and outer raceways and against the thrust rib, whereby the
thrust rib prevents the first rollers from moving up the first
raceways; second tapered rollers located between the second tapered
raceways; a rib ring fitted over the seat on the pin and against
the second tapered rollers to prevent the second rollers from
moving up the second raceways.
16. A planet assembly according to claim 15 wherein the rib ring is
welded to the pin.
17. A planet assembly according to claim 15 wherein the inner
raceways are machined on the pin and the outer raceways are
machined into the planet gear.
18. A planet assembly according to claim 15 and further comprising
a first seal located in the planet gear and around the thrust rib
on the pin, and a second seal located in the planet gear and around
the rib ring.
19. A planet assembly according to claim 15 wherein the pin
comprises a core and a sleeve located around the core; wherein the
inner raceways thrust rib and ring seat are on the sleeve; and
wherein the core projects beyond the ends of the sleeve and forms
the mounting ends of the pin.
20. A method of assembling the planetary assembly of claim 15, said
method comprising: placing the first tapered rollers along one of
the first raceways; fitting the pin and gear together such that the
first rollers are between the first inner and outer raceways and
along the thrust rib; placing the second tapered rollers between
the second raceways; advancing the rib ring over the seat until the
bearing has a desired setting, and securing the rib ring to the
pin.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates in general to epicyclic drives and,
more particularly, to an epicyclic drive with unified planet
assemblies and to the planet assemblies themselves.
[0002] In an epicyclic or planetary drive, the planet gears rotate
in a carrier which itself may or may not rotate. Typically, the
carrier is of the straddle-mounted variety in which pins extend
between two carrier plates, and the planet gears rotate on
antifriction bearings carried by the pins. Sometimes each bearing
contains two rows of rolling elements, such as tapered rollers or
balls, with the rolling elements of the one row being mounted in
opposition to the rolling elements of the other row. This enables
the bearing for a planet gear to transfer axial loads in both
directions, as well as radial loads, between the gear and its pin.
The presence of antifriction bearings brings with it demands for a
considerable amount of precision. In the first place, the gears
must be machined to within close tolerances to receive the outer
races of the bearings and the same holds true for the pins over
which the inner races fit. During the assembly of an epicyclic gear
system the builder must insure that the bearings are adjusted
properly. If the bearings are set with too much preload they may
fail prematurely. On the other hand, too much end play in the
bearings leaves the bearings with excessive internal clearances,
and the gear may tilt on its axis and misalign with the sun and
ring gears. This produces greater noise and wear in the gears.
[0003] The gears of an epicyclic drive require lubrication and so
do the bearings on which the planet gears rotate. A low level of
oil in the gear case may suffice to provide lubrication for the
gears, but a higher level of oil is generally required to lubricate
the bearings for the planet gears, inasmuch as they usually operate
in an elevated position in the case. Even when the oil level is
high enough to supply lubricant to the exterior of the bearings for
the planet gears, this does not insure that the oil will enter the
bearings and lubricate the raceways and rolling elements. Indeed,
it is often necessary to make provision for introducing oil--a
second oil supply--into the space between the two rows of rolling
elements on which each planet gear rotates. The phenomenon is
particularly troublesome during high-speed operation in which oil
is flung away from the bearings by the spinning gear faces and
carrier or in which oil is naturally pumped centrifugally away from
the bearing centers as a consequence of the bearing geometry.
[0004] Moreover, since a considerable amount of oil is exposed to
the gear teeth, the oil tends to churn. The churning reduces the
effective operating oil level and this reduces the availability of
lubrication to the bearings. Raising the oil level to accommodate
the bearings only increases the churning. The temperature of the
oil increases with churning and the capacity of the oil to
lubricate lessens. This may lead to pitting in the gear teeth.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The invention resides in a planet assembly including a
planet gear, a pin extended through the planet gear, and a bearing
located between pin and gear. The invention also resides in an
epicyclic drive including a carrier in which the planet assembly is
installed. The pin may be of a one or a two piece-type assembly.
The invention further resides in a process for assembling the
planet assemblies.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the axis of a
epicyclic drive provided with planet assemblies constructed in
accordance with and embodying the present invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 is perspective view, partially broken away and in
section, of the planet assembly for the epicyclic gear drive of
FIG. 1;
[0008] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the axis of an
epicyclic drive provided with modified planet assemblies; and
[0009] FIG. 4 is a perspective view, partially broken away and in
section, of a modified planet assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0010] Referring now to the drawings, an epicyclic drive A (FIG.
1), which is organized about an axis X, includes a sun gear 2, a
ring gear 4 located around the sun gear 2, and planet gears 6
located between and engaged with the sun gear 2 and ring gear 4.
Whereas the axes of the sun gear 2 and ring gear 4 coincide with
the axis X, the planet gears 6 rotate about axes Y that are located
outwardly from, yet parallel to, the axis X. In addition, the
epicyclic drive A includes a carrier 8 which has its axis
coinciding with the axis X, yet establishes the axes Y about which
the planet gears 6 rotate.
[0011] To reduce friction between the meshing teeth of the planet
gears 6 and the sun gear 2 and ring gear 4, a lubricating oil is
discharged onto the gears 2, 4, and 6, or else the ring gear 4 and
planet gears 6 rotate through a sump containing oil. Each planet
gear 6 forms part of a separate planet assembly B which is
assembled apart from the carrier 8 and later installed in the
carrier 8.
[0012] The carrier 8 includes a cage 12 having pockets 14 in which
the planet assemblies B are located. To this end, the cage 12 has
an end member or portion 16 extending across the end or bottom of
each pocket 14 and separators 18 that project axially from the end
portion 16 through the spaces between adjacent planet assemblies B,
thus forming the sides of the pockets 14. The end portion 16 has
bores 20 centered on the pockets 14, and the bores 20 lie along the
axes Y. In addition, the cage 12 has an end plate 22 which lies
parallel to the end portion 16 of the cage 12 and is attached to
the separators 18 of the cage 12 with cap screws 24, thus closing
the opposite ends of the pockets 14. The end plate 22, which forms
another end member, contains bores 26 which align with the bores 20
in the end portion 16 of the cage 12 and thus also lie along the
axes Y. Finally, the carrier 12 includes a retaining plate 28
through which cap screws 30 pass and thread into the planet
assemblies B to prevent the planet assemblies B from displacing
axially in their pockets 14.
[0013] The planet assemblies B are anchored in the carrier 8 at
each pocket 14, with the gears 6 being free to rotate in the
pockets 14 of the cage 12 about the axes Y. Each planet assembly B,
in addition to its planet gear 6, includes (FIGS. 1 and 2) a
unitary pin 34 which extends through the gear 6 and a bearing 36
that enables the gear 6 to rotate on its pin 34 without axial
displacement or wobble. Each planet assembly B also includes seals
38 which isolate its bearing 36 from the lubricating oil for the
gears 2, 4 and 6.
[0014] Considering the pin 34 in more detail (FIGS. 1 and 2), it
has cylindrical mounting ends 40 and 42 which project form an
enlarged intervening portion 44 that for the most part lies within
the planet gear 6. The end 40 projects from the intervening portion
44 at a shoulder 46 and fits into one of the bores 20 in the end
portion 16 of the cage 12 with an interference fit. Indeed, the cap
screws 30 that pass through the retaining plate 28 thread into the
mounting end 40 and draw the shoulder 46 against the end portion 16
of the cage 12. The other mounting end 42 projects from the
intervening portion 44 at another shoulder 48 and fits into the
aligned bore 26 in the end plate 22, again with an interference
fit. When the pin 34 is so fitted to the cage 12 and end plate 22,
the shoulder 46 bears against the inside face of the end portion 16
for the cage 12, but the shoulder 48 may be displaced slightly from
the inside face of the end plate 22.
[0015] The intervening portion 44 has two raceways 52 and 54 which
are machined into it and taper downwardly to a separating rib 56
that lies between them. The raceway 52 leads out to a thrust rib 58
which projects beyond the large end of the raceway 52 and is formed
as an integral part of the pin 34. The thrust rib 58, in turn,
leads out to the shoulder 46. The other raceway 54 leads out to a
cylindrical seat 60 having a diameter less than the large end of
the raceway 54, there being a small shoulder 62 between the large
end of the raceway 54 and the seat 60. The cylindrical seat 60
leads out to the shoulder 48. The pin 34 contains a lubrication
channel 64 which extends axially from one of its ends and then
radially, opening out of the pin 34 at its separating rib 56. The
two raceways 52 and 54 and the thrust rib 56 form part of the
bearing 36.
[0016] Whereas the thrust rib 56 for the raceway 52 is formed
integral with the pin 34, the thrust rib for the raceway 54
constitutes a separate rib ring 66 which is fitted to the
cylindrical seat 60 with an interference fit and has radial
positioning face 67 along which it bears against the small shoulder
62 on the pin 34. The rib ring 66 is secured to the pin 34,
preferably with a weld 68. Since the rib ring 66 serves as a thrust
rib, it has a rib face 70 which projects radially beyond the large
end of the raceway 54. The rib ring 66 likewise forms part of the
bearing 36.
[0017] In addition to the two raceways 52 and 54, the thrust rib 58
and the rib ring 66, the bearing 36 includes two outer raceways 72
and 74 which encircle and are presented toward the two inner
raceways 52 and 54, respectively. The outer raceways 72 and 74
taper downwardly to a separating surface 76 which surrounds the
separating rib 56 on the pin 34. The outer raceway 72 leads out to
and at its large end opens into a counterbore 78 in which the
thrust rib 58 on the pin 34 is located. The other outer raceway 74
leads out to and at its large end opens into a counterbore 80 in
which the rib ring 66 is located. Finally, the bearing 36 has
tapered rollers 82 arranged in a row between the inner and outer
raceways 52 and 72 and more tapered rollers 84 arranged in another
row between the inner and outer raceways 54 and 74. The rollers 82
have their large ends against the integral thrust rib 58, and
indeed the thrust rib 58 prevents the rollers 82 from moving up the
raceways 52 and 72 and out of the space between them. The rollers
84 at their large ends bear against the face 70 of the rib ring 66
which prevents the rollers 84 from moving up the raceways 54 and 74
and out of the space between them. The rollers 82 are on apex,
meaning that the envelopes defined by the side faces of those
rollers 82 have their apices at a common point along the axis Y. Of
course, the envelopes formed by the two raceways 52 and 72 have
their apices at the same point. Likewise, the rollers 84 are on
apex, so the envelopes defined by their tapered side faces have
their apices at common point on the axis Y, and the envelopes for
the raceways 54 and 74 have their apices at the same point. The
on-apex design produces pure rolling contact between the rollers 82
and their raceways 52 and 72 and also between the rollers 84 and
the raceways 54 and 74. The bearing 36 preferably does not contain
cages, so each row has a full or maximum complement of rollers 82
and 84. To prevent the rollers 82 and 84 of a row from damaging
each other, they are coated with a tribological coating consisting
of nano crystalline metal carbide particles in an amorphous
hydrocarbon matrix to retard metal adhesion. The coatings may be
applied by physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, or
a combination of the two. U.S. patent application Ser. No.
10/114,832, filed Apr. 2, 2002 for the invention of G. Doll and G.
Fox entitled "Full Complement antifriction Bearing" discloses other
tribological coatings which will suffice for the rollers 82 and 84
and procedures for applying them. That application is incorporated
herein by reference. The bearing 36 contains a lubricant, which is
preferably a high performance grease.
[0018] The axial position of the rib ring 66 along the cylindrical
seat 60 on the pin 34 controls the setting of the bearing 36.
Preferably the bearing 36 is set to a condition of preload,
although light preload. Even so, the initial setting of the bearing
36 should possess enough preload to enable the bearing 36 to remain
in preload with beneficial loading on the rollers 82 and 84 during
the operation of epicyclic drive A--operation which will normally
cause the gear 6 to assume a temperature higher than the pin 34
owing to friction which develops between the teeth of the gear 6
and the teeth of the sun and ring gears 2 and 4, respectively.
[0019] The seals 38 fit into the ends of the gear 6 and around the
pin 34 to retain the lubricant, preferably a grease, in the bearing
36 and to exclude from the bearing 36 the oil that lubricates the
teeth of the gears 2, 4, and to exclude 6 and debris as well. One
seal 38 fits into the counterbore 78 of the gear 6 and around the
integral thrust rib 58 for the pin 34 about which the gear 6
rotates, thus creating a dynamic fluid barrier at that end of the
gear 6. Another seal 38 fits into the other counterbore 80 and
around the rib ring 66, creating another dynamic fluid barrier at
the opposite end of the gear 6. Each seal 38 has a stamped metal
case, a shield, and an elastomeric seal element that is bonded to
the case and bears against the shield along multiple lips. The
cases fit into the counterbores 78 and 80, whereas the shields fit
over the thrust rib 58 and rib ring 66.
[0020] Before the carrier 8 is assembled, enough planet assemblies
B must be available to occupy each of the pockets 14 in the cage 12
of the carrier 8. And the planet assemblies B are best assembled
separately and apart from the assembly of the carrier 8 and the
remainder of the drive A. Typically, the manufacture of the
bearings 36 will assemble the planet assemblies B, since they
contain the bearings 36 which require adjustment.
[0021] To assemble the planet assembly B--indeed, each planet
assembly B--the first row of tapered rollers 82 is placed around
the inner raceway 52 on the pin 34 with their large ends against
the integral thrust rib 58. With the full complement of rollers 82
in place, the gear 6 is installed over the pin 34 until its raceway
72 seats against the rollers 82. This positions the other raceway
74 of the gear 6 opposite the other raceway 54 on the pin 34. Next,
the rollers 84 are inserted into the annular space between the
raceways 54 and 74--again the full complement of rollers 84.
[0022] Thereupon, the rib ring 66 is pressed over the cylindrical
seat 60 on the pin 34 and advanced toward the rollers 84. As the
ring 66 approaches the large ends of the rollers 84, the gear 6 is
rotated slowly relative to the pin 34 to insure that the rollers 82
seat properly along their raceways 52 and 72 and also along the
thrust rib 58 and that the rollers 84 seat properly along their
raceways 54 and 74 and also along the face 70 of the rib ring 66.
The advance of the rib ring 66 continues until the rib ring 66
comes against the small shoulder 62 that lies between the large end
of the inner raceway 54 and the cylindrical seat 60. The rib ring
66 controls the setting of the bearing 36, and when it bears
against the shoulder 62, the bearing 36 should have the proper
setting. In this regard, before the planet assembly B undergoes the
foregoing assembly procedure, gauging measurements are made to
determine the axial distance between the raceways 52 and 54 on the
pin 34, the axial distance between the raceways 72 and 74 in the
planet gear 6, and the diameters or body sizes of the rollers 82
and 84. These dimensions having been determined, the correct
position of the rib face 70 may be ascertained. Indeed, the rib
ring 66 is ground along its positioning face 67 such that when the
ring 66 is over the cylindrical seat 60 on the pin 34 and the
positioning face 67 is against the shoulder 62, the rib face 70
assumes the correct position. The rib face 70 contact the large
ends of the rollers 84 and positions the rollers 82 and 84 of both
rows such that the bearing 36 possesses the correct setting--a
setting of preload. Once the proper setting is achieved, the rib
ring 66 is secured to the pin 34 preferably by laser welding, thus
producing the weld 68.
[0023] Thereafter one seal 38 is pressed over the thrust rib 58 and
into the counterbore 78. The other seal 38 is pressed over the rib
ring 66 and into the other counterbore 80.
[0024] Before the installation of the gear 6 over the pin 34, the
raceways 52 and 72 and likewise the raceways 54 and 74 may be
coated with a high performance grease which also should be spread
over other critical surfaces such as the face of the thrust rib 58
and the face 70 of the rib ring 66, or the bearing 36 may be
lubricated afterwards by forcing the grease through the lubrication
channel 64.
[0025] The preassembled planet assemblies B are then installed in
the carrier 8. In particular, the mounting ends 40 for the pins 34
of the several planet assemblies B are pressed into the bores 20 in
the end portions 16 of the cage 12, so that the gears 6 of the
planet assemblies B occupy the pockets 14 of the cage 12. The
retaining plate 28 is installed against the end portion 16 of the
cage 12 and secured to the pins 34 with the cap screws 30. Also,
the mounting ends 42 at the opposites ends of the pins 34 are
pressed into the bores 26 in the end plate 22. Next the cap screws
24 are passed through the end plate 22 and threaded into the
axially directed separators 18 on the cage 12 to attach the end
plate 22 to the cage 12.
[0026] Thereafter, the sun gear 2 is inserted through the end plate
22 of the carrier 8 and engaged with the planet gears 6. The ring
gear 4 is passed over the carrier 12 and likewise engaged with the
planet gears 6.
[0027] In the operation of the epicyclic drive A, the teeth of the
gears 2, 4 and 6 receive enough oil to keep them adequately
lubricated, but the oil does not exist in enough volume to undergo
significant churning. As a consequence, the oil remains relatively
cool. The bearings 36 derive their lubrication from the grease that
is packed around the pins 34 and within the gears 6, and the seals
38 isolate this grease from the oil that lubricates the teeth of
the gears 2, 4, and 6. Thus, the oil does not dilute and thin the
grease, and the grease remains effective.
[0028] Being set with considerable precision to a condition of
preload, the bearings 36 insure that the axes Y about which the
planet gears 6 rotate remain reasonably unaltered. During operation
the bearings 36 should not exhibit excessive internal clearances,
since such clearances may alter the axes Y Hence, the planet gears
6 remain aligned with the gears 2 and 4, and skewing attributable
to bearing clearances is reduced, if not eliminated. This in turn
reduces noise and extends the lives of the gears 2, 4, and 6.
[0029] Since the inner raceways 52 and 54 are machined directly on
the pin 34 and the outer raceways 72 and 74 are machined directly
into the gear 6, the bores required to accommodate separate races
do not exist, and this eliminates the additional machining required
to accommodate such separate races and the tolerances that it would
introduce. Thus, the bearing 36 is not compromised by such
additional tolerances.
[0030] Although the planet assembly B is assembled with grease
along the raceways 54, 56, 72 and 74 of its bearing 36 and likewise
along the face of the thrust rib 58 and the face 70 of the rib ring
66, the bearing 36 may from time to time require additional grease.
This grease is introduced through the lubrication channel 64 which
at the mounting end 42 of the pin 34 may be provided with a grease
fitting. Excessive grease purges through the seals 38. In the
alternative, a purge channel may be incorporated into the pin 34,
it beginning at the separating rib 56 and opening out of the
mounting end 42.
[0031] A modified planet assembly C (FIGS. 3 and 4) utilizes the
same planet gear 6 and seals 38. Moreover, it contains a bearing 88
which is quite similar to the bearing 36 in that it includes outer
raceways 72 and 74 machined into the gear 6 and tapered rollers 82
and 84 located along those raceways 72 and 74. However, instead of
a unitary pin 34, the planet assembly C has a two-piece pin 90
including a sleeve 92 and a core 94 which extends through the
sleeve 92, there being a controlled clearance between the two.
[0032] The sleeve 92 forms the inner race of the bearing 88 and as
such has the two raceways 52 and 54, the integral thrust rib 58 at
the large end of the raceway 52, the cylindrical seat 60 extended
beyond the large end of the other raceway 54 at a lesser diameter,
and the separating rib 56 between the two raceways 52 and 54.
Moreover, the sleeve 92 has the rib ring 66 pressed over its
cylindrical seat 60.
[0033] The core 94 includes a cylindrical mounting end 96 on which
one end face of the pin 90 is located and a spindle 98 which
projects from the end 96 at a shoulder 100. The spindle 98 runs out
to the other end face of the pin 90. The sleeve 92 fits over the
spindle 98, and at its integral thrust rib 58 abuts the shoulder
100. The spindle 98 projects beyond the opposite end of the sleeve
92 to form another cylindrical mounting end 102 on the pin 90.
[0034] The planet assembly C is assembled much the same as the
planet assembly B. However, the bearing 88 is assembled around the
sleeve 92 of the pin 90 in the absence of the core 94. The
two-piece construction of the pin 90 renders the planet assembly C
suitable for use with a one-piece carrier 108 having spaced apart
end portions 110 and 112 and separators 114 extended between the
end portions 110 and 112 to divide the space between them into
pockets 116. The end portion 110 contains bores 118 centered on its
pockets 116, while the end portion 112 has more bores 120 likewise
centered on the pockets 116. The bores 118 and 120 at each pocket
116 align along the axis Y at the pocket 116. Fitted against the
end portion 112 is a retaining plate 122 which is secured with cap
screws 124 that pass through it.
[0035] To install the planet assembly C in the one-piece carrier
108, the planet assembly C, absent the core 94 of its pin 90, is
inserted into one of the pockets 116 of the carrier 108 and the
bore of its sleeve 92 is aligned with the bores 118 and 120 in the
end portions 110 and 112 of the carrier 108. The core 94, with the
mounting end 102 on its spindle 98 leading, is inserted through the
bore 118 in the end portion 110 and the spindle 98 is advanced
through the sleeve 92 until the shoulder 100 on the core 94 comes
against the end of the sleeve 92 at the thrust rib 58.
[0036] The mounting end 96 enters the bore 118 in the end portion
110, whereas the mounting end 102 enters the bore 120 in the end
portion 112. Interference fits exist at the mounting ends 96 and
102. Thereupon the retaining plate 122 is installed against the end
portion 112 and the cap screws 124 are passed through it and
threaded into the cores 94 of the pins 90. This draws the opposite
ends of the sleeve 92 against the inside face of the end portion
112, effectively clamping the sleeve 92 between the shoulder 100 on
the core 94 and the end portion 112 of the carrier 108. In lieu of
the double-row tapered roller bearings 36 or 88, the planet
assemblies B and C may be provided with other types of antifriction
bearings, such as ball bearings, angular contact ball bearings,
spherical roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, or needle
bearings.
1 DRIVE WITH UNIFIED PLANET ASSEMBLIES A epicyclic drive B planet
assembly C planet assembly X axis Y axis 2 sun gear 4 ring gear 6
planet gears 8 carrier 12 cage 14 pockets 16 end portion 18
separators 20 bores 22 end plate 24 cap screws 26 bores 28
retaining plate 30 cap screws 32 34 pin 36 bearing 38 seals 40
mounting end 42 mounting end 44 intervening portion 46 shoulder 48
shoulder 52 raceway 54 raceway 56 separating rib 58 thrust rib
(integral) 60 cylindrical seat 62 shoulder 64 lubrication channel
66 rib ring 67 positioning face 68 weld 70 rib face 72 outer
raceway 74 outer raceway 76 separating surface 78 counterbore 80
counterbore 82 tapered roller 84 tapered roller 88 bearing 90
two-piece pin 92 sleeve 94 core 96 cylindrical mounting end 98
spindle 100 shoulder 102 cylindrical mounting end 108 one-piece
carrier 110 end portion 112 end portion 114 separators 116 pockets
118 bores 120 bores 122 retaining plate 124 cap screws
* * * * *