Design loads of the Floatng Gear System in the Stiller-Smith Mechanism

Floating gear systems can be designed with various unique features. One such scenario might require that for a given set of gears the first gear performs a pure rotation movement about an eccentric point, while the second one performs two types of motion; translation in a circular path and rotation about the gear center (with opposite directions). This is the case for the Stiller-Smith Mechanism, which is mainly used to convert reciprocating motion of cross-sliders into rotary output. This unconventional arrangement of gears requires further considerations for appropriate design, particularly the determination of design loads on the gear teeth, which unlike conventional gear systems, have unique characteristics that need to be carefully assessed.

In this paper, an approach is presented to determine the dynamic loads, the critical loads and critical areas of floating gears as applied to the Stiller-Smith Mechanism in an internal combustion engine environment.