The invention concerns a driver for the transfer of torque and rotation to the drill steel in a rock drilling machine. The driver is an exchangeable part subject to wear, and has been designed for mounting in the gear housing of the rock drilling machine, where its task is to transfer torque and rotation from a rotation chuck to the drill steel. The drill steel can be displaced axially in the driver during the transfer. The driver is for this purpose externally provided with a polygonal profile and internally provided with splines. The polygonal profile and the splines are in the present invention arranged in an innovative manner that increases the lifetime of the driver and reduces the risk of fatigue failure. The invention concerns also a rock drilling machine that comprises at least one such driver. Figure 1 shows a reduced section of a prior art gear housing 1 of a rock drilling machine. The upper part, known as the shank adapter, of a drill steel 2 can be seen in the centre of the gear housing 1. The shank adapter is externally provided with splines. The shank adapter is inserted into a known driver 3 that is provided with internal splines 4 that correspond to the splines of the shank adapter. The driver 3 is provided with an external polygonal profile and is mounted into a rotation chuck 5 that has an internal polygonal profile that corresponds to the polygonal profile of the driver 3. The rotation chuck 5 is arranged on bearings in the gear housing 1 and is rotated by the rotational motor of the rock drilling machine through a gear (not shown in the drawing). The torque that is transferred may amount to 1000 Nm or more.

The cross-section of the driver 3 is limited outwards by curves, united to form a closed figure 6 that is approximately described by a polygon with three sides 7 and three corners 8. This type of united figure is normally known as a "polygon profile". The figure 6 is transversed by three imaginary lines 9 of symmetry, drawn from the centre of the driver 3 and passing through the corners 8 of the figure 6 such that these are symmetrically distributed around the lines 9 of symmetry.

The cross-section of the driver 3 is limited inwards by the splines 4 with eight spline teeth 10 and eight spline spaces 11. The drawing makes it clear that it is possible to arrange only one of the eight spline spaces 11 symmetrically around any one of the three lines 9 of symmetry. When one of the spline spaces 11 is arranged symmetrically around the uppermost of the lines 9 of symmetry, two of the spline teeth 10 acquire an asymmetric distribution around the two lower lines 9 of symmetry. Similar results would have been obtained if one of the spline teeth 10 had been initially taken. The asymmetry leads to certain parts being subject to considerably higher load than other parts of the driver 3. Figure 2 shows an enlarged cross-section of one of the spline spaces 11 of the prior art driver 3, the shank adapter of the drill steel 2 and the rotation chuck 5 from Figure 1. The direction of rotation of the rotation chuck 5 is shown by an arrow at the bottom. The driver 3 is arranged such that the ratio between the diameter d2 of the bottom circle of the spline 4 and the diameter dl of the top circle is 1.38. The diameter D2 of the top circle of the spline teeth of the shank adapter is adapted such that it constitutes approximately 98% of the diameter d2 of the bottom circle of the splines 4 of the driver 3. The arrangement and the contact pressure between the spline teeth 10 of the shank adapter and the driver 3 lead to small amounts of the material of the driver 3 being pressed down to the root radii 12 of the spline spaces 1 1 during the transfer of torque. The material that is pressed down constitutes fracture notches or burrs 13 along the radii 12 and impairs in this way its function of protecting from fatigue failure. The drawing shows how these burrs 13 initiate the formation of cracks in the root radii 12.

The aim of the present invention is to obtain, according to the claims, a driver and a rock drilling machine in which the previously described disadvantages are overcome. The polygonal profile and the splines are arranged in the present invention in an innovative manner that reduces the loads and distributes them symmetrically in the driver. The splines of the driver are so designed that a burr that arises as a consequence of wear is separated from the bottom of the radius. An additional advantage of the invention is that it can be introduced without significant increase in the outer dimensions of the gear housing.

The invention will be described in more detail with the aid of the attached drawings, Figures 3-7. Figure 3 shows a reduced cross-section of a driver according to the present invention. Figure 4 shows an enlarged cross- section in detail of the driver in Figure 3, mounted the gear housing of a rock drilling machine. Figures 5-7 show alternative designs of the splines of the driver.

Figure 3 shows a cross-section of a driver 3. The driver has essentially the same cross-section along its complete length. The length of the driver 3 is adapted such that an acceptable contact pressure is obtained during the transfer of torque. The driver 3 is made from bronze, but may be made from cast iron or other material with similar frictional properties. The cross-section of the driver 3 is limited outwards by curves, or to be more precise arcs, united to form a closed figure 6. The closed figure 6 in the present invention comprises four sides 7 and four corners 8 and can be approximately described by a convex polygon. A polygon is defined as a plane figure that is limited by straight lines, i.e. by straight curves. If straight lines are drawn between the intersection points of the imaginary extensions of the sides 7 of the closed figure 6, a polygon is formed. (The extensions and the polygon are shown in the drawing by dashed lines.) This fact defines the significance of the concept of "approximately" in this context.

Each side 7 comprises an arc of a circle and all of the arcs of the circles for all sides 7 have the same radius and length. The corners 8 are arranged in a similar manner. Each corner 8 comprises an arc of a circle and all of the arcs of the circles for all corners 8 have the same radius and length. It is also possible to allow the sides 7 or the corners 8 to comprise other types of arcs and/or curves, than arcs of a circle. The connections between the arcs are arranged at points at which the tangents to the connected arcs coincide. The result of this is that high concentrations of tension do not arise in the driver 3.

The cross-section of the driver 3 is limited inwards by splines 4 that comprise a number of spline teeth, the number of which is divisible by 4, for example, one spline set 4 with eight spline teeth 10 and eight spline spaces 1 1. It is also possible to arrange the splines 4 to have twelve or sixteen spline teeth 10. The splines 4 are arranged such that four of the spline teeth 10 acquire a symmetrical distribution around imaginary lines 9 of symmetry that extend from the centre of the driver 3 through the closed figure 6. The lines 9 of symmetry have been drawn such that the figure 6 is symmetrically distributed around the lines 9 of symmetry. It is optimal if the splines 4 are arranged with eight or twelve spline teeth 10 and such that four of the spline teeth 10 acquire a symmetrical distribution around imaginary lines 9 of symmetry that extend from the centre of the driver 3 through the corners 8 of the closed figure 6. The arrangement ensures that loads are minimal and symmetrically distributed within the driver 3. These positive properties are independent of the direction of rotation of the driver 3, and thus the risk of erroneous assembly is small. It is possible also to distribute four of the spline spaces 11 of the splines 4 symmetrically around the lines 9 of symmetry through the corners 8. The loads in the driver 3 will in this case be somewhat greater, but they will still be lower than in the previously described prior art driver. The spline teeth 10 and spline spaces 1 1 of the splines 4 can be arranged also asymmetrically around the lines 9 of symmetry through the corners 8. While it is true that the loads will acquire a displaced symmetrical distribution in the driver 3 during the transfer of torque, this distribution may even so be advantageous for the transfer in a specified direction of rotation. The driver 3 according to the latter design must be assembled such that it acquires the specified direction of rotation.

The relationship between the diameter d2 of the bottom circle of the splines 4 and the diameter dl of the top circle is arranged to be greater than in the prior art driver. (Both dl and d2 are shown with dashed circles in the figure.) This brings advantages that will be described in more detail in association with Figure 4. Good results can be achieved at a ratio of 1.39 or higher, for example a ratio of 1.48 ± 0.02. It is, however, best to arrange the splines 4 such that the ratio d2/dl is 1.48. Greater ratios that 1.48 can require significant increases in the outer dimensions of the gear housing.

Figure 4 shows how the new ratio d2/dl = 1.48 (as shown in Figure 3) contributes to creating chambers 14 between the top of the spline teeth of the shank adapter (the drill steel 2) and the bottom of the spline spaces 11 of the driver 3. The shank adapter of the drill steel 2 will therefore be controlled radially by the tops and the flanks of the spline teeth 10 of the splines 4. The drawing shows also how the diameter D2 of the top circle of the spline teeth of the shank adapter constitutes approximately 95% of the diameter d2 of the bottom circle of the splines 4 of the driver 3. A burr 13 forms as a consequence of wear, in accordance with the same process as has been previously described in association with Figure 2. However, due to the chambers 14, these burrs 13 are never pressed so deeply down into the bottoms of the spline spaces 11 such that they reach the root radii 12 at the transition to the spline teeth 10. The burrs 13 can therefore be said to be separated from the root radii 12, and the new driver 3 is in this respect better protected against fatigue failure than the prior art drivers shown in Figures 1-2. It is preferable that the driver 3 be arranged such that the chambers 14 are created between the top of all of the spline teeth of the shank adapter (the drill steel 2) and the bottom of all spline spaces 1 1 of the driver 3 in order to eliminate fracture notches or burrs 13 also in the radii that experience the least load. It should, however, be noted that the driver 3 can be arranged such that only one or a few of the spline teeth of the shank adapter (the drill steel 2) make contact with the bottom in only one or a few of the spline spaces 11 of the driver 3, as is shown in Figure 7. It is namely the case in Figure 7 that the ratio between the diameter d2 (not shown in the drawing) of the bottom circle of the splines 4 and the diameter dl (not shown in the drawing) of the top circle is not the same for all spline spaces 1 1 of the driver 3. The bottoms of the spline spaces 11 in the splines 4 are arranged in Figures 3-4 as arcs of a circle with a diameter of the bottom circle equal to d2. Figure 5 and Figure 6 show alternative arrangements of the spline spaces 11 of the splines 4. The bottoms in Figure 5 comprise an arc of a circle with a diameter that is considerably smaller than the diameter d2 of the bottom circle. The bottoms in Figure 6 comprise a straight line and semicircular arcs at the transition to the spline teeth 10. The tops of the spline teeth 10 of the splines 4 are arranged as arcs of a circle with a diameter of the top circle equal to dl . It is, however, possible to arrange the tops with other diameters or other curves, or other diameters and other curves, than arcs of a circle. The diameter d2 of the bottom circle and the diameter dl of the top circle are defined in the arrangements described above, and in similar designs, as the diameters of the imaginary circles (shown with dashed lines in the drawings) that can be narrowly placed with their curves in the region between the circles.

The new arrangement of the splines 4 of the driver 3 has been introduced in the description above such that it includes all spline teeth 10 and spline spaces 1 1 of the splines 4. It is, however, possible under certain circumstances to arrange some of the spline teeth 10 and spline spaces 11 of the splines 4 according to the design of the present invention and the remainder of the spline teeth and spline spaces according to the design of the splines in prior art drivers. Such a "combined" driver is to be considered to lie within the scope of the claims of the present application.