US3246528A - Rotary-to-reciprocating motion converter - Google Patents

Description

A. J. KOSCH ROTARY-TOREC IPRQCATING MOTION CONVERTER April 19, 1966 Filed llll'lillxL INVENTOR. ALols J. KoscH AHovneys United States Patent 3,246,528 ROTARY-TO-RECIPROCATING MOTION CONVERTER Alois J. Kosch, Columbus, Nebr.

Filed Apr. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 273,633 7 Claims. (Cl. 7450) The present invention relates to a transducer intended to convert rotary motion into reciprocatory motion, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a very simple and inexpensive, but highly effective and versatile,

device of the character described.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in such a mechanism, means whereby the power-fluid of a hydraulic motor constituting a component of the mechanism, may

be utilized to lubricate. the motion-converting component,

while guarding against the disadvantages which are inherent in operating such a motion converter submerged in oil.

Although the transducer mechanism may be driven by any source of rotary power, it has been illustrated and will be described in connection with a hydraulic gear motor; and some of the advantages of the transducer mechanism find their primary utility in such a hydraulic system. While the reciprocatory output power may be utilized for any desired purpose, the mechanism has been designed primarily for driving the reciprocating blade of a mower; and the mechanism is illustrated, therefore, in

the form best adapted for high-speed, relatively light duty.

Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

v To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated. v

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the parts of a transducer mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention, including a pair' of meshing hydraulic gears output reciprocator.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates generally a hydraulic'motor which may be of conventional construction and which includes a housing 11 provided with ports for the accommodation of an input conduit 12 and an exhaust conduit 13. A pair of shafts 14 and 15 are journalled on parallel axes within the housing 11 and meshing hydraulic gears 16 and 17 are drivingly mounted on said respective shafts as, for instance, by means of the keys 18 and 19.

The floor of the housing 11 is preferably provided by a separable plate 20 which may constitute, also, the roof of a cooperating casing 21, the shafts 14 and 15 penetrating said plate and being journalled therein in any suitable manner which will permit a restricted flow of oil from the housing 11 into the casing 21.

The lower end of the shaft 14 is reduced and suitably threaded as at 22 and the shaft is formed with a conical portion 23 tapering toward its threaded end 22. The

portions 23 and 25 and the threaded ends 22 and 24 of the shafts 14 and 15 are disposed within the chamber 26 defined by the casing 2 1.

A balance wheel is indicated generally by the reference numeral 27, said balance wheel being provided with a central hub 28 having a bore 29 the upper portion of which tapers downwardly in conformity to the shaft portion 23 in order to establish a wedgin-g fit therewith. The parts are .so proportioned that, when the hub 28 is mounted on the shaft 14 the threaded end 22 of said shaft projects into a pocket in the hub 28 to receive thereon a nut 30 which may be manipulated to force the hub into tightlywedged engagement on the shaft portion 23.

A lug 31 extends radially from the hub 28 and is formed with a socket 32 therethrough upon an axis parallel with, but laterally offset from, the axis of the bore 29; and the upper end of a crank pin 33 is receivable in the socket 32. A counterweight or flange 34 is symmetrically sup-ported from the hub 28 by a web 35 for a reason which will become apparent as the description proceeds.

A similar balance wheel 36 comprises a hub 37 with a similarly tapered bore 38 adapted to be mounted on the lower end of the shaft 15 and to be .wedgingly secured thereto by means of a nut 39. I Said balance wheel 36 includes a lug 40 formed with a socket 41 directly analogous to the socket 32 for the reception of the upper end of a crank pin 42. The balance wheel 36 is similarly provided with a counterweight or flange 43 supported from the hub 37 by a web 44 analogous to the web 35.

It will be readily perceived that, while the rotational position of the gears 16 and 17 relative tothe shafts 14 and 15 is fixedly established by the keys 18 and' 19, the balance wheels 27 and 36 are infinitely adjustable in their rotational positions relative to the shafts 14 and 15, and may be secured in any selected positions of adjustment by means of the nuts 30 and 39 which act to press the tapered sockets 29 and 38 into Wedging engagement with the tapered shaft portions 23 and 25. Normally, the balance wheels will be so mounted on the shafts that twice in each cycle of rotation of the shafts, the axes of the sockets 32 and 41 'will be offset in a common direction from the plane which is common to the axes of the shafts 14 and 15.

The casing 21 is formed to provide a mouth 45 disposed upon an axis which is offset below the balance wheels 27 and 36, located midway between the axes of the shafts 14 and 15 and perpendicular to the plane which is common to said shaft axes. A bushing 46 is fixedly supported in said casing mouth 45 by any suitable means and guidingly receives a reciprocator 47 for reciprocation upon the mouth axis, said bushing being suitably constructed to constitute oil seal means between the casing 21 and the reciproeator 47. A transverse head, indicated generally by the reference numeral 48, is carried at the proximal end of the reciprocator 47 within the chamber 26. At least said end portion of the reciprocator is hollow and is provided with an axially-open mouth 49.

A wall of the casing 241 opposite the casing mouth 45 is formed with a port 50 preferably having an inwardly flaring portion 5-1 coaxial with the casing mouth 45. A hollow guide pin 54 is formed near its proximal end to fit snugly within the flared portion 51 of the port 50, and a threaded region 55 on said pin extends through, and closes, the port '50 to receive a nut 56 whereby said pin may be secured in place in said port. The distal end of the pin 54 is open as at 57 and is proportioned and designed to be snugly slidably received in the mouth 49 of the reciprocator 47 to assist in the guidance of said reciprocator.

The casing 21 is formed to provide a passage 52 communicating, at its lower end, with the flaring portion 51 "of the port 50 through a reduced port 53, and communicating, at its upper end, with the interior of the housing 11th-r ough a passage 70 formed in the plate 20. A port 58 near the proximal end of the pin 54 is disposed in open communication with the port 53, while a second port 59 opens laterally from the interior of the hollow pin 54 into the chamber 26. A ball check valve 60 rests on the upper end of the port 53 to close said port against flow of liquid downwardly through said port toward the interior-of the pin '54; .and, if desired, a spring 71 -may yieldably resist upward, or port-opening, movement of said ball.

The head 48 comprises opposite, laterally extending arms 61 and 62 formed with trackway means which, in

the illustrated embodiment of the invention, constitute grooves or channels '63 and 64 opening upwardly toward the balance wheels 27 and 3-6, respectively, and extending rectili-flearly in substantial parallelism with the plane common to the axes of the shafts 14 and 15. As shown, a 'block 65 having an upwardly openingsocket 66 is slidably received in the channel 63 and a similar block 67 having a similar socket 68 is slidably received in the channel 64, the lower-ends ofthe crank pins 33 and 42 being respectively received in the sockets 66 and 68 to provide driving connections between the balance wheels 27 and '36 and'the reciprocator 47. The pins 3-3 and 42 and the sockets 32, 65, 41 and 68 are so proportioned and designed as to establish snug fits of said pins in their respective sockets, but each pin is rotatable about its own axis relative to at Qen-gaged.

least one of the sockets in whichit is The webs 35 and '44 are preferably perforated, as

shown, to facilitate counterweight loading of the balance wheels, either by'casting an appropriate mass of lead therein, as shown at 72, or by mounting precast lead slugs in the perforations. In either case, the balance wheels are so counterweighted as to balance the entire assembly including the balance wheels, the lugs 31 and 40, the crank pins 33 and 42, the blocks 65 and 67 and the reciprocator 47 with its head 48 and its load (for instance, 'a mower knife) to obviate vibration in the assembly. It will be seen that, since the balance Wheels rotate in opposite directions, the loaded flanges and webs will travel simultaneously away from a median plane between the shaft axes and will travel simultaneously toward said plane to maintain balance in directions transverse to the line of travel of the reciprocator 47.

From the above description, it will be apparent that,

I when hydraulic fluid under pressure issupplied through 1 the conduit 12 to the housing 11, it will cooperate with the teeth of the gears 16 and 17 to drive said gears at equal velocities in opposite directions. The gears are, of course, of equal pitch diametersand, since both gears are hydraulically driven, there is nosignificant transmission of power between them, so that they are not subjected to any significant amount of wear.

The shafts 14 and 15 will be correspondingly rotated The pins 33 and 42," being dis- 15, thereby imparting rectilinear reciprocatory motion to "the head 48 and thus to the reciprocator 47. Said reciprooator is, of course, firmly guided within the bushing 46 and upon the pin 54.

As is pointed out above, oil so supplied to the gears 16 and 17 within the housing 11 may bleed at a restricted rate past'the' bearings for the lower ends of the shafts 14 and 15 and so into the chamber 26 to bathe the parts within the housing 21. To avoid turbulence and. heating 4 which would occur if the chamber 26 were filled with oil, however, I provide the scavenging pump consisting of the tube 54 telescoped in the proximal end of the reciprocator 47. As the reciprocator moves toward its illustrated position, it tends to evacuate the interior of the pin 54, and any oil in the chamber 26 above the level of the port 59 will flow into said pin, the port 5 3 being closed by the ball 60. Now, as the reciprocator moves toward the left oil in the pin 54 will be moved toward the ports 59 and 58, but approximately midway in its stroke the mouth 49 of the reciprocator will move past the port 59 to close it, whereafter oil .will be moved through the port 58 to lift the ball and move into the passage 52. As the reciprocator moves again toward the right, the ball 60 will promptly close the port 53 and the interior of the pin 54 will be evacuated so that, when the mouth 49 of the reciprocator-47 clears the port 59, oil will again flow from the chamber 2% through that port into the interior of the pin. It will be seen that, through successive cycles, oil will be returned through the passages 52 and 70 to the interior of the housing 11, so that the oil level within the chamber 26 will never rise significantly above the top of the pin 54.

, -Preferably, a breather passage 72' will open from at- 'mosphere into the chamber 26, a ball check valve 73 .supported by a spring 74 being provided therein to in- .hibit fluid flow from said chamber to atmosphere. If desired, filter means 75 may guard the entry to said passage 72'. I a v As alternatives to the blocks and 67, the channels 63 and 64 may be designed for directengagernent of the lower ends of the pins 33 and 42 therein in light duty applications; orrollers (not shown) may be substituted for said blocks. in slow-speed heavy duty applications.

For applications such as the reciprocation of the knife assembly of a mower, however, the illustrated blocks are considered to be optimum, since there must-be some play between rollers and channels like those illustrated at" 63 and 64, and the rollersmust change the direction of their rotation as they engage first with one wall and then with the other wall of such channels.

I claim as my invention: I

1. Transducer mechanism comprising a pair of parallel shafts, a pair-of meshing grears fixed to rotate with said respective shafts, a balance wheel for each of said shafts,

- each balance wheel being fixed to rotate with one of said shafts, a closed casing enclosing said balance wheels, said casing being formed with a passage opening to the exterior thereof and further being formed with a mouth dis ,-reciprocator and said casing in the region of said mouth,

the proximal end of said reciprocator being hollow, a

hollow guide pin stationarily mounted from a Wall of i said casing opposite said mouth and disposed within said casing upon the axis of reciprocation of said reciprocator, the open distal end of said pin being snugly slidably received in the hollow proximal end of said reciprocator, said pin being formed with a lateral port opening to the interior of said casing and with a second port opening to said' passage, 2. check valvein said passage, and means providing an operative connection between said balance wheels and: said reciprocator to convert rotation of said shafts into reciprocation of said reciprocator.

2. -Transducer mechanism comprising a pair of parallel shafts, a pair of meshing gears fixed to rotate with said respective shafts, a balance wheel for each of said shafts, each balance wheel being fixed to rotate with one of said shafts, a closed casing enclosingsaid balance wheels, said casing being formed with a mouth disposed on an axis f midway between the axes of said balance wheels, beyond one end of said shafts and perpedicular to the plane which is common to said balance wheel axes, a reciprocator entering said casing through said mouth, means providing a seal between said reciprocator and said casing in the region of said mouth, the proximal end of said reciprocator being hollow, said casing being formed, in a wall opposite said mouth, with a port coaxial with said mouth and said casing futher being formed to provide a passage communicating with said wall port and opening to the exterior of said casing, a check valve in said passage, a hollow guide pin having its proximal end mounted in and closing said wall port, said guide pin being axially open at its distal end and snugly slidably received in the hollow proximal end of said reciprocator, said pin being formed with a first lateral port disposed in said wall port and communicating therethrough with said passage and said pin further being formed with a second lateral port communicating with the interior of said casing, and means providing an operative connection between said balance wheels and said reciprocator to convert rotation of said shafts into reciprocation of said reciprocator.

3. A transducer comprising a gear motor including a housing, a pair of parallel shafts journalled in said housing and a pair of meshing hydraulic gears drivingly mounted on said shafts, respectively; a casing fixedly secured to said housing, said shafts penetrating into said casing, a balance wheel mounted within said casing for rotation with each shaft, said casing being formed with a passage Opening into said housing and further being formed with .a mouth disposed on an axis midway be- :tween the axes of said balance wheels, beyond the adjacent ends of said shafts and perpendicular to the plane which is common to the axes of said balance wheels, a reciprocator entering said casing through said mouth, means providing an oil seal between said reciprocator and said casing in the region of said mouth, the proximal end of said reciprocator being hollow, a hollow guide pin stationarily mounted from a wall of said casing opposite said mouth and disposed within said casing upon the axis of reciprocation of said reciprocator, the open distal end of said pin being snugly slidably received in the hollow proximal end of said reciprocator, said pin being formed with a lateral port opening to the interior of said casing and with a second port communicating through said passage with the interior of said housing, a check valve in said passage inhibiting fluid flow toward the interior of said pin, and means providing an operative connection between said balance wheels and said reciprocator to convert rotation of said shafts into reciprocation of said reciprocator.

4. A transducer comprising a gear motor including a housing, a pair of parallel shafts journalled in said housing and a pair of meshing hydraulic gears drivingly mounted on said shafts, respectively; a casing fixedly secured to said housing, said shafts penetrating into said casing, a balance wheel mounted within said casing for rotation with each shaft, said casing being formed with a mouth disposed on an axis midway between the axes of said balance wheels, beyond the adjacent ends of said shafts and perpendicular to the plane which is common to the axes of said balance wheels, a reciprocator entering said casing through said mouth, means providing an oil seal between said reciprocator and said casing in the region of said mouth, the proximal end of said reciprocator being hollow, said casing being formed, in a wall opposite said mouth, with a port coaxial with said mouth and said casing further being formed to provide a passage communicating with said wall port and with the interior of said housing, a check valve in said passage inhibiting fluid flow toward said wall port, a hollow guide pin having its proximal end mounted in and closing said wall port, said guide pin being axially open at its distal end and snugly slidably received in the hollow proximal end of said reciprocator, said pin being formed with a first lateral port disposed in said wall port and opening to said passage and said pin being further formed with a second lateral port communicating with the interior of said casing and disposed to be alternately closed and opened on each cycle of said reciprocator, and means providing an operative connection between said balance wheels and said reciprocator to convert rotation of said shafts into reciprocation of said reciprocator.

5. The transducer of claim 4 in which said casing is provided with a breather port opening from the upper part of said casing to atmosphere.

6. The transducer of claim 5 including valve means inhibiting fluid flow through said breather port toward the atmosphere.

7. Transducer mechanism comprising a gear motor including a housing having an inlet and an outlet, a pair of parallel shafts, a pair of meshing hydraulic gears within said housing between said inlet and said outlet and fixed to rotate with said respective shafts, means for establishing a flow of liquid under pressure from said inlet to said outlet through said housing to drive said gears, a balance wheel for each of said shafts, each balance wheel being fixed to rotate with one of said shafts, a crank pin for each balance wheel disposed on an axis arranged in offset parallelism with the axis of rotation of the associated balance wheel, a closed casing enclosing said balance wheels, said casing being formed with a passage opening into said housing and further being formed with a mouth disposed on an axis midway between the axes of said balance wheels, beyond one end of said shafts and perpendicular to the plane which is common to the axes of said balance wheels, a reciprocator entering said casing through said mouth, means providing a seal between said reciprocator and said casing in the region of said mouth, the proximal end of said reciprocator being hollow, a hollow guide pin stationarily mounted from a wall of said casing opposite said mouth and disposed within said casing upon the axis of reciprocation of said reciprocator, the open distal end of said pin being snugly slidably received in the hollow proximal end of said reciprocator, said pin being formed with a lateral port opening to the interior of said casing and with a second port opening to said passage, and a check value in said passage, said reciprooator being formed to provide trackway means elongated in a direction parallel with the plane which is common to the axes of said shafts, and said crank pins operatively engaging said trackway means to convert rotation of said shafts into reciprocation of said reciprocator.

References Cited by the Examiner J UNITED STATES PATENTS 290,749 12/ 1883 Cunningham 103-158 981,862 1/1911 Keats 91-87 X 1,372,764 3/1921 Miller 103-158 1,494,547 5/1924 Hubbard 74-50 1,551,480 8/1925 Gruman 103-158 1,998,751 4/1935 Creveling 103-163 X 2,345,383 3/1944 Curtis 74-50 2,639,694 5/1953 Johnson 91-87 2,704,941 3/1955 Holford 74-50 2,748,608 6/1956 Riley 74-61 2,790,295 4/1957 Collins 74-50 X 2,938,438 5/1960 Hamilton 91-87 X 2,988,924 6/ 1961 Cooley 74-50 BROUGHTON G. DURHAM, Primary Examiner.

MILTON KAUFMAN, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. TRANSDUCER MECHANISM COMPRISING A PAIR OF PARALLEL SHAFTS, A PAIR OF MESHING GREARS FIXED TO ROTATE WITH SAID RESPECTIVE SHAFTS, A BALANCE WHEEL FOR EACH OF SAID SHAFTS, EACH BALANCE WHEEL BEING FIXED TO ROTATE WITH ONE OF SAID SHAFTS, A CLOSED CASING ENCLOSING SAID BALANCE WHEELS, SAID CASING BEING FORMED WITH A PASSAGE OPENING TO THE EXTERIOR THEREOF AND FURTHER BEING FORMED WITH A MOUTH DISPOSED ON AN AXIS MIDWAY BETWEEN THE AXES OF SAID BALANCE WHEELS, BEYOND ONE END OF SAID SHAFTS AND PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE WHICH IS COMMON TO THE AXES OF SAID BALANCE WHEELS, A RECIPROCATOR ENTERING SAID CASING THROUGH SAID MOUTH, MEANS PROVIDING A SEAL BETWEEN SAID RECIPROCATOR AND SAID CASING IN THE REGION OF SAID MOUTH, THE PROXIMAL END OF SAID RECIPROCATOR BEING HOLLOW, A HOLLOW GUIDE PIN STATIONARILY MOUNTED FROM A WALL OF SAID CASING OPPOSITE SAID MOUTH AND DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CASING UPON THE AXIS OF RECIPROCATION OF SAID RECIPROCATOR, THE OPEN DISTAL END OF SAID PIN BEING SNUGLY SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN THE HOLLOW PROXIMAL END OF SAID RECIPROCATOR, SAID PIN BEING FORMED WITH A LATERAL PORT OPENING TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID CASING AND WITH A SECOND PORT OPENING TO SAID PASSAGE, A CHECK VALVE IN SAID PASSAGE, AND MEANS PROVIDING AN OPERATIVE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID BALANCE WHEELS AND SAID RECIPROCATOR TO CONVERT ROTATION OF SAID SHAFTS INTO RECIPROCATION OF SAID RECIPROCATOR.

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