A Pressure Angle Function Method for Describing Tooth Profiles of Planar Gears

Abstract

A general mathematical model for describing the geometries and the geometric characteristics of meshing tooth profiles of planar gears is established. The function of pressure angle in the angular displacement of gears, called the pressure angle function (PAF), is introduced to characterize this model. The different tooth profiles and their geometric properties could be generated and analyzed logically and systematically by using this model and defining various PAFs. This new method is applicable to any type of gear pairs including circular or noncircular. In addition, by using this method, it is relatively easy to realize the desired geometrical and mechanical properties into the design.