Helical Gear Backlash Elimination via Elastic Biasing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-color printers, the backlash between helical gears reduces rotational accuracy of plate cylinders, leading to deteriorated printing quality due to tilting and uneven contact between gears.
Innovation Solution
A plate cylinder drive unit design that allows rotational position adjustment of the driven gear member relative to the drive shaft, with a whirl-stop member fixation mechanism and elastic biasing to eliminate backlash, ensuring precise alignment and contact between helical gears.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a second driven gear is stacked with the first driven gear to eliminate backlash, then backlash between gears is reduced, but the driven gear member tilts and rotational accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A guide bar is introduced as an intermediary component to support the second driven gear. The guide bar prevents the second driven gear from tilting while maintaining axial clearance for backlash elimination, thus resolving the contradiction between backlash reduction and rotational accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The problem is solved by moving from a two-dimensional gear stacking approach to a three-dimensional solution involving axial clearance and radial guidance. The guide bar provides radial support while allowing axial movement, creating a spatial solution that addresses both backlash and tilting issues
2Reliability
If axial clearance is formed between driven gears to ensure pressure contact, then gear meshing reliability is improved, but the structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring mechanism automatically maintains the axial clearance and pressure contact between gears. The elastic force of the spring self-adjusts to keep the gears in proper meshing contact without requiring complex external control systems, thus improving reliability while limiting complexity increase
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution eliminates backlash between drive and driven helical gears, enhancing rotational accuracy and printing quality by maintaining gear alignment and preventing tilting, resulting in improved printing performance.
Implementation Method 1
the backlash eliminating helical gear rotates in a predetermined direction with respect to the driven helical gear in a state in which the second elastic member biases the backlash eliminating helical gear
Implementation Method 2
helix angle of the both helical gears causes the driven helical gear to rotate with respect to the drive helical gear
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention eliminates backlash between a drive helical gear and a driven helical gear and facilitates rotation of a driven gear member to increase rotational accuracy of a plate cylinder. A plate cylinder drive unit 3 includes a plate cylinder drive shaft 5, a driven gear member 7 having a driven helical gear 6 that meshes with a drive helical gear 1 and attached around the plate cylinder drive shaft 5, a position adjustment member 11 moving the driven gear member 7 to fix it at a predetermined position, a whirl-stop member 9 attached to the plate cylinder drive shaft 5, a sandwiching member 10 removably fixing the whirl-stop member 9 to the driven gear member 7, a backlash eliminating helical gear 8 disposed on one side of the driven helical gear 6, first springs 44 bringing the backlash eliminating helical gear 8 in pressure-contact with the driven helical gear 6, and second springs 46 biasing the backlash eliminating helical gear 8 to rotate it in a predetermined direction.