Norton transmission
The Norton gear is a special type of gear , invented by Wendell P. Norton (19th century) in the Hendey tool factory ( USA ). On March 8, 1892, Norton was granted US Patent No. 470,591 for the first version of this transmission.
This gear was used on lathes and was used to be able to quickly switch between different speeds when turning threads.
The Norton gear is also known as a swivel gear.
Working principle
A basic drawing of the transmission is shown in the picture on the right.
The group marked with A with the green shaft and the dark gray gears represents the drive part of the gearbox. This shaft is driven by a motor with constant speed .
With C group marked with red shaft and the light gray gears is the driven shaft of the transmission which is connected to the rotating spindle. On the red shaft in the picture there are four differently sized gears that are firmly connected to the shaft.
With B group marked with yellow and the blue wave gears is the swivel component of the transmission. The blue wheels are coupled to each other and can be moved on the yellow shaft. The blue gear group can also be swiveled. The smaller of the two gears is pressed against one of the group C gears via a lever (not shown). Depending on the size of the gear in group C, a different gear ratio is set and thus a different speed of the red shaft.