US Patent: 3,846,912
|
| Indexing mechanism
|
|
Patentee:
|
|
| Richard J. Newbould (exact or similar names) - Kenilworth, NJ |
|
|
Patent Dates:
|
| Applied: |
Dec. 13, 1972 |
| Granted: |
Nov. 12, 1974 |
USPTO (New site tip)
Google Patents
Report data errors or omissions to steward
Jeff Joslin
YouTube video of Newbould indexer
|
|
Description: |
| The Newbould Indexer, a spin-grinding fixture, is still available new from the manufacturer. "Allows for lock-in indexing every 15 degrees, repeatable within 10 arc seconds." Up to 30 stops can be set at angle angle desired, not just on degree increments. The inventor lived 1934-11-03 to 2017-07-06. According to a couple of Practical Machinist posts from our inventor, this product was introduced "just as the oil embargo hit and the plastics mfg. shops had no plastic or work. Killed the market." The original Model 100 was improved and those improved models became successful. Subsequently, "Imperial Carbide bought those designs from me back in '91/'92 and paid me a few hundred thou for the rights to use my name on them and put my name on the spin-off company Imperial Newbould. I have no connection with them... Quite a while after the no-compete ran out, I made the new, vastly improved designs you see on my website...""An indexing mechanism for angular or linear division combining the principles of interlocking teeth, the vernier and the ratchet. Two discs or linear plates having a plurality of interlocking surfaces of different pitches, are joined by a third disc or plate, having a set of interlocking surfaces to match the pitches of the other two. Some of the pitches are not evenly divisible into a circle and do not extend completely around the discs, and a ratcheting type movement is used to accomplish the desired indexing."This invention uses a differential serrated-tooth mechanism. All previous mechanisms of that type were not direct-reading because a mathematical calculation was required to determine the angle setting. Newbould's novel idea was to use one pair of meshing teeth having 60-minute pitch a second pair having 61-minute pitch and a third having 61 minute and 1 second pitch. The teeth are arranged on four discs that are stacked vertically with the mating teeth on the surfaces of adjacent discs, with one set of teeth on the faces of wheels 1 and 4, and teeth on both faces of disc 2 and disc 3. The latter two pitches give a non-integer number of teeth, a problem circumvented by leaving a 60-degree gap in the teeth with those pitches. Returning to the start after reaching the end of the geared section gives exactly one degree of movement. The result of this ingenious mechanism is a direct-reading spin indexer with high accuracy and relatively low cost compared to existing mechanisms. It can be considered a fundamentally new "simple mechanism" and indexers embodying this idea are in the collections of the Smithsonian Museum and the American Precision Museum. The mechanism may be "simple" but it is subtle. See the YouTube video for a demonstration of how it works. |
|
