Milling Head Coupling Geometry for High-Accuracy Angular Positioning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing milling heads face challenges in achieving high positioning accuracy while being easy to manufacture, as conventional Hirth toothing configurations require large numbers of teeth to achieve small angle adjustments, leading to production difficulties and reduced torque transmission capabilities.

Innovation Solution

A milling head design featuring a middle section and tool section connected via a coupling with upper, lower, and intermediate rings, where the intermediate ring is toothed with 360 teeth on one toothing and between 199 and 357 or 363 and 401 teeth on the other, allowing for infinite decimal place divisions and deliberate exploitation of individual errors to achieve high precision positioning.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the number of teeth on the gears is significantly increased to achieve smaller angular adjustment (e.g., 0.01°), then positioning precision is improved, but manufacturing difficulty increases and torque transmission capability decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveangular positioning precisionVSAvoidmanufacturing difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the pitch parameter from conventional values to a specifically calculated value (0.0141643°) derived from the difference between 360/360 and 360/353. This parameter change enables high positioning precision (0.01°) without requiring an excessive number of teeth, thus avoiding manufacturing difficulties while maintaining torque transmission capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the angular adjustment into two independent components: coarse adjustment through the lower gear (353 teeth) and fine adjustment through the upper gear (360 teeth). This segmentation allows each gear to have a moderate number of teeth while achieving combined high precision positioning, avoiding the need for a single gear with an excessively large number of teeth.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Measurement precision

If the number of teeth on the gears is significantly increased to achieve smaller angular adjustment, then positioning precision is improved, but torque transmission capability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveangular positioning precisionVSAvoidtorque transmission capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSForce

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the gear system into two stages with moderate tooth counts (353 and 360 teeth). The lower gear handles coarse adjustment while the upper gear provides fine adjustment. This segmentation allows both gears to maintain sufficient tooth size for torque transmission while achieving high precision positioning through their combined action.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

By changing the pitch to a specifically calculated value (0.0141643°) rather than using conventional large tooth counts, the patent maintains adequate tooth dimensions for torque transmission while achieving the required positioning precision through the mathematical relationship between the two gear tooth counts.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Force

If the radius of the rings is extremely increased to allow production of large teeth, then torque transmission capability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetorque transmission capabilityVSAvoidstructural complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ForceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the fundamental parameter of pitch to a specifically calculated value (0.0141643°) that enables high precision with moderate tooth counts. This parameter change eliminates the need for extremely large ring radii, thereby reducing structural complexity and manufacturing difficulty while maintaining adequate torque transmission capability through properly sized teeth.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3960343A1Milling head with high positioning accuracy, milling machine with a milling head, and method for positioning a milling head
Publication Date: 2022.03.02 SHW WERKZEUGMASCHEN
  • EP3960343A1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP3960343A1 patent drawingFigure 4~8
  • EP3960343A1 patent drawingFigure 9

AI summary

The invention relates to a milling head for a machine tool (3), in particular a milling machine, comprising a central section (5) and a tool section (4), wherein the central section (5) is connected to the tool section (4) via a first coupling (12), wherein the first coupling (12) comprises a first upper ring (13), a first lower ring (14) and a first intermediate ring (15), and wherein the first intermediate ring (15) is arranged between the first upper ring (13) and the first lower ring (14), wherein the first intermediate ring (15) is toothed with the first upper ring (13) via a first upper toothing (19) by a number of O1 teeth, and wherein the first intermediate ring (15) is toothed with the first lower ring (14) via a first lower toothing (20) by a number of U1 teeth, and wherein a Division results incharacterized in that the number O1 of teeth of the first upper gear (19) is 360, that the number U1 of teeth of the first lower gear (19) is between 199 and 357 or between 363 and 401, and wherein the division is a number with infinitely many decimal places.