The term "metal-working" should be understood as covering the working of other materials unless the context requires otherwise.
The term "kind of operation" and similar expressions relate to such metal-working operations as boring, drilling, milling and grinding.
The term "kind of machine" means a machine designed for a particular kind of metal-working operation (e.g. a lathe).
The term "form of machine" means a machine of a particular kind adapted or arranged for a particular way of working or for particular kind adapted or arranged for a particular work, e.g. face-plate lathe, tailstock lathe, turret lathe).
The term "different machines" is to be understood as covering different forms of machine for performing the same type of metal-working operation, e.g. vertical and horizontal boring machines.
Sub-class Fulltext... Hierarchy... Expanded...B23Q comprises features, specific to machine tools, which relate to a requirement or problem of a nature which is not peculiar to a particular kind of machine tool, e.g. feeding work, although the realisation of these features may differ according to the kind of machine tool concerned.
That sub-class provides in general for such features, even if the feature or a specific function, in any particular case, is to some extent peculiar to, or is claimed only for, machine tools designed for one particular operation; only in exceptional cases are such features to be classified in the sub-class for the machine tool concerned. Certain features of this general nature are, however, referred to sub-classes relating to particular metal-working operations, especially Fulltext... Hierarchy... Expanded...B23B, in which case the sub-classes in question are not restricted, in respect of those features, to the kind of machine tool with which they are primarily concerned. If details, components, or accessories have no essential feature specific to machine tools, the more general class, e.g, . (Fulltext... Hierarchy... Expanded...F16, takes precedence.
This sub-class includes primarily the use of methods and apparatus specially designed to produce accurately the shapes of gear teeth which are essential for proper intermeshing of toothed gearing elements to ensure the required relative motions. It also includes the use of similar methods and apparatus in the production of other articles of toothed or like form, e.g. dog clutches, splined shafts, milling cutters, but the production of such articles using other methods and apparatus is not included.
In this sub-class:
The term "gear teeth" is to be understood as covering the teeth or lobes of other accurately-intermeshing members having relative movement of a similar kind, such as rotors of rotary pumps and blowers.
The term "profile" may include the outline of both faces or only one face of a tooth, or the opposing faces of adjacent teeth.
The term "straight" means that a tooth as a whole (ignoring any curvature of the tooth-face alone, e.g. crowning) is straight in the direction of its length, for example as seen in the direction of a radius of a spur wheel. It accordingly includes the teeth of helical gears and of the normal type of bevel gear.
"Broach-milling" means milling with a rotary cutter having a number of teeth of progressively increasing depth or width.
The term "thread cutting" is to be understood as including the use of tools similar both in form and in manner of use to thread-cutting tools, but without removing any material.
In interpreting the phrase "combined operations", the assembly of parts is regarded as an operation if it is not an essential feature of the next metal-working operation.
In so far as non-mechanical treatments other than those specifically mentioned in this sub-class are concerned (see (2) above), non-metallic materials are excluded.
DETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING (tools of the kind used in lathes or boring machines Fulltext... Hierarchy... Expanded...B23B 27/00); MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF MACHINE TOOLS, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR METAL-WORKING RESULT