Methods and machines specially designed to accurately produce the shapes of gears and other toothed members. Such shapes being essential for proper intermeshing of gearing (and toothed member) elements to ensure the required relative motions. The methods and machines use metal removing processes;

Tools which are specially adapted for use in machines for manufacturing toothed members;

Accessories and equipment for gear making machinery.

Terms relating to gear nomenclature in general are to be understood as defined by ANSI/AGMA 1012-G05

Methods and machines for making gear teeth using a tool which matches the required tooth profile.

Examples are:

Manufacturing by grinding (JP59161226):

tool (1), workpiece (3)

Manufacturing by planing or slotting (US1636670)

tool (D); workpiece (C)

Manufacturing by milling (US2013101367

tool (10), workpiece (20)

Manufacturing by broaching (JP4025313)

tool (5), workpiece (4)

Where a machine is also used for generating gear straight gear teeth it is additionally classified in the subgroups of B23F 5/00.

Planing or slotting refers to the removal of material in the form of chips by a relative movement of at least one tool with a geometrically defined cutting edge and the workpiece, along a non-circular trajectory. The tool and workpiece are generally non-rotating. There may be a rotary indexing movement in between cutting passes

Milling refers to the removal of material in the form of chips from a workpiece using a rotating tool with a geometrically defined cutting edge where the main cutting force results from the rotation of the tool.

Machines and methods for making gear teeth using templates which have a profile matching at least a part of the required tooth profile. This class includes roughing and finishing, including chamfering teeth.

Example: DE763595

Machines and methods of making straight gear teeth involving moving the tool relatively to work piece with a rolling-off motion, e.g. generating. The methods include but are not limited to:

Example(s):

By grinding (US4400916)

by planing or slotting (EP1342524)

tool (44), workpiece (12)

by hobbing (JP2010158748)

tool (15), workpiece (W)

Methods and machines which may use either a grinding worm or a hob are to be classified in both B23F 5/04 and B23F 5/22

Skiving refers to the removal of material in the form of chips from the workpiece by a toothed tool having geometrically defined cutting edges. The tool and workpiece are both rotated with their rotation axes being at a skewed angle. The tool is fed generally parallel to the workpiece axis, depending on the type of gear being cut

Example (DE102007015357)

tool (3), workpiece (14)

Example (JP359182020)

plural hobs, 15,16

Example (DE1269869)

tools (5), workpiece (10)

Example (US7364391)

tools (6), workpiece (8)

Methods and machines for making herringbone and double helical gears.

Example (US20040031152):

Methods and machines for making gears having teeth curved in their longitudinal direction, i.e. the tooth is curved along the tooth direction. e.g. spiral bevel gears, hypoid gears.

Example (US20050064794)

tool 7, Workpiece 31

(US20020154961)

tool 18, workpiece 50

Methods and machines relating to both face-mill-type grinding and face milling using milling cutters are also to be classified in B23F 9/10.

Methods or machines relating to both face-mill-type grinding and face milling using a milling tool are also to be classified in B23F 9/025.

Methods and machines for manufacturing curved gear teeth by milling with a face mill with continuous indexing, i.e. face hobbing.

Methods and machines for manufacturing worm wheels, where worm wheels are the mating gears for worms. Both rough and finish machining are included.

Example of manufacturing by hobbing (GB362448, Figure 4):

Machines and methods of the gear cutting type used for making worms. Both rough and finish machining are included.

Example (US5647703)

Methods and machines for making globoidal, e.g. hourglass shape worms.

Example (US3875635)

Methods and machines for special types of gear wheels and toothed members, e.g. sprockets, elliptical wheels, pump rotors, toothed clutches and face (crown) gears.

B23F 15/00 can be viewed as a catch-all group for gears or toothed members not covered by other groups in the subclass or by the subgroups of B23F 15/00.

Example (US4521141)

Methods and machines for making gear teeth on the front surface of wheels.

The front surface is generally understood to be a face surface that is transverse relative to the rotation axis.

Example, clutches (GB594492)

Example: Face gears (EP0906171):

Example (US4034645):

Special methods and machines for making gear teeth, not covered by other groups. Examples are methods and machines for making gear pairs, machines for machining tooth roots and machines which combine different machining operations.

Example (JP61117014):

Example (DE2008034402)

workpiece (3), hob (4), cutting tools (7,10), chamfering tools (8a, 8b)

Methods and machines for finishing gear teeth. The finishing process may include modifying the tooth form by crowning, by chamfering and by the provision of undercuts and stop notches. The group also includes deburring.

Example (EP1106290)

Methods and machines for finish grinding should be classified under the other grinding subgroups with the exception of cup-shaped grinding tools (B23F 19/005).

Example: (US5580298)

tool (24), workpiece (26)

Example (US6217421)

workpieces (48,36), lapping compound supply means (64,66)

Example (US4077164)

tool (hone, 20), workpiece (26)

Example (US3740904)

Example (DE4317306)

Example (GB801289):

tool (C, 33), workpiece (G)

Methods and machines for chamfering and deburring, including secondary deburring of the end edges of gear teeth.

Example (EP1022082)

Included in this group are details of tools specially adapted for manufacturing gear teeth.

Example (US4533812):

grinding disc (1)

Example (EP1184122)

Example (JP6297243):

Example (WO9924203)

Example (US3740904)

Tool (1), workpiece (2)

Example (GB146769):

Gear shaper cutters having a shape similar to a spur wheel or part thereof, e.g. pinion cutters

Example (GB220192)

Example (GB590978):

Example (JP59001120):

Example (US4735115)

Example (GB955699):

Example (EP0088807):

tool (7), workpiece (10)

Example (GB 473050):

Examples:

Face milling cutter (US3571876)

Face milling cutter for face hobbing (US6609858):

Milling tools with teeth arranged on a spiral curve are classified here, regardless of whether continuous generating is explicitly mentioned.

Example (GB364012):

Broaching refers to the removal of material in the form of chips from a workpiece by a relative movement between a tool having multiple teeth and a workpiece along a non-circular trajectory. The difference in height between successive teeth on a broaching tool determines the feed and hence the chip thickness

Example (US20040109731)

Example (JP62114817):

Example (JP61030322):

Accessories and equipment specially designed to form part of gear cutting machines, e.g.

Examples:

Tool / workpiece contact detecting device (US20030002943)

Loading / unloading (US6565418):

Example (US20050055836):

Example (GB1394518)

Example (GB1256167):

Tool mountings refers to devices, or parts of devices for mounting or clamping the tool, for example (but not limited to) arbours or mandrels, such that the tool can then be held by a tool holder which connects the cutting tool to the machine tool.

Example (US5174070):

Example (US217409

workpiece (20), tool (36), dressing tool (42)

Example (JP20060035421)

Example (DE1020090039752)

Example (DE3415498):