US1056417A - Engine-starter. - Google Patents

Description

c To 'lill whom it may concern.:

` UNITED sTnTEs l,PATENT oEEioE.

.r1-incr w. nnnGxINsoN; ,or Boomsma, 'NEW 'zo-nx, AssreNon 'or ONE-HALF To noon c. Lenmar, or ROCHESTER., new roux.

ENGINE-STARTER.

Be it known that I, Pinoy W. IODGKIN- son, a citizenof the United States, and resi-v dent of Rochester, in thecounty of Monroe and- State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in En gine`Startevs, of which the fol-lowing is I a specicatien;

This invention relates to engine-starting devices'of the. type in 'which an electric-mo.- tor is employei'this motor having a rotary element .or armature which is combined with g the fly-wheel lofv the engine, while the latter is connected with the crank-shaft of the eni sition, so as not substantially to modi A vthe ine by means of a clutch which rmit's the y-wheel tobe thrown into rapid rotation while the crank shaft is stationary', and then coupled with the 'crank-shaft soas to start enine by means of the momentum which 'e lywheel has acquired.

Il-he object of thev invention is to produce an apparatus of the type in question which be. simple, compact in construction, and ecient inlmperatiom and `in which the-iiywheel is jounaled concentric with and sup-4 ported upon the crank-shaft in the usual e general form and operation of the engine.' To Itheforegoing end the invention consista'- in the enginefstarter hereinafter de# scribed, as it is defined in thesucceeding claims.

Y In the accompanying drawings z--Figure 1 is a vertical section of an 'engine-starter.

embodying the present invention; Fig. 21 is an end-elevation thereof, looking from right to left in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a diagram,

illustrating particularly the electrical connections by which the electric motor employed as a prime-mover is controlledL In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the element of which the momentum is employed to produce the starting-moveL ment of the crank-shaft is in the form of a y-wheel 5, which is mounted upon the crank-shaft 6 of the engine in the position of the usual Vily-wheel. This fly-wheel is not, however, rigid with the crank-shaft, but is mounted upon ball-bearings 7 so ,that during the starting-operation it may rotate freely while the crank-shaft remains at rest. Fixed to the rim of the ily-wheel 5 is the i armature 8 of the multi-polar electric motor employed as a prime mover. The form and construction of the Aarmature and of the Specification of Letters Patent. Application iled February 3, w13. smal m.. 675,3

lis then necessary to connect the an adjusting-screw 27.

Patented 18,1913.-

oiiher parts of the electric motor are not` particularly illustrated and described, as any ordinary or suitable type of motor may be used, but the armature is illustrated as connected withia commutato'r 9 mounted upon the hub: 0i the flywheel, while a eld-member 10' is located within and adjacent to the polar' extremities-of thel armature, this field supported by arms 11 fixed to the end of the-crank-case 12 of the engine. Comi 'mutatonbrushes 13K of any ordinary or suitable form are alsosupported by one oi the arms 11, asshown in Fig. 1. v

Bymeans of the electric motor the ily- 'wheel may be caused to rotate freely with .Increasing velocity, until it has accumulated sufficient momentum to start the e `ne. It

suddenly and, firmly to the crank-shaft, to impart the momentum of the ily-wheel thereto, and to this end I empioy, in the preferred embodiment od the invention, a friction- `clutch of the expanding-ring type. The

rim of the ily-wheel is. provided with an annular clutclrsurface 14, which cooperates i with a vdivided clutch-ring 15. Secured to the crank-shaft Gby a key 19 and' a nut 20 is a hub 16,"from which project 'two arms 17,

connected by a rim 18 upon which the two -members of the clutch-ring 15. are carried.

Each member 15 is provided with twd'pins y-wheel 'sesv 21, which pass loosely through openings inf the riml8 and are surrounded by compres, 'sioms'prings 22 which tend normally to draw the clutch-members 15. inwardly, away from the surfacev 14. The members 15 are provided, at their adjacent ends, with shoulders 23, between which are square cams 24.

.Each cam is fixed to a rock-shaft 25 journaled in one of the arms 17, and an arm 26 is fixed toeach rock-shaft and projects inwardly, being provided at its inner end with The screws 27 cooperate with a conical member 28, which is slidably mounted on a sleeve 29 'project-ing from the nut 20. Bly means of a ring 30, seated in an annular groove in the member 28, the latter may be shifted in a left-hand direction from the position shown in Fig. 1, in which case the screws 27 and the arms 26 are swung outwardly, thus rocking the cams 24 and forcing the clutch-members 15 outwardly and into rictional engagement with the clutch-surface 14. By this action the fly-wheel is firmly connected with the crank- .los

i-shaft, so .that its momentum is' suddenly i scribed, so th'atthe transferred to the latter. During the normal operation oflthe engine the clutch lremains inthe operative condition just deusual functions.

-AS shown in Fig. 3, the ringao sprovided with pins31 engaging slots in aV lever 32 this leverconstituting a manually-operable device by which the starting-apparatus 'maybe thrown into and out o operation. In this figure one terminal of the electric motor is shown 'as connected, through a wire 33, with a terminal of a storage-battery 41, by'which'current is supplied to operate the motor'. The othertermmal of the motor is connected, through wires 34 and 35, with an automatic cut-out 36, of any ordinary or suitable form which normally prevents re turn-flowv of current from the batte through the motor. As devices of this kind are well known, the construction is not particularly illustrated and described. The circuit through the battery, the motor, and the cut-out is completed by wires 37 and 38, leading to the other terminal of the battery.

This arrangement permits the motor to.

operate normally, that is, during the normal operation of the engine, as a generator by which the storage-battery may be recharged; and the arrangement is also adapted for use in connection with an electric lightingsystem or any other translating devices energized by the storage-battery. When the engine'is to be started the operation of the automatic cut-outJ 36 is interrupted by closing a short-circuit around it, thus permitting vvcurrent from the battery .to iiow through the motor. To this end the wires 34 and 38 .are shown as connected, respectively, with the contact-finger 39 and the fixed contact 40 of a circuit-closer, the contact-finger being connected with the handlever 32. Accordingly, when this lever is shifted -to the position shown in Fig. 3, so

as to disconnect the iy-wheel from the ily-wheeln performs the crank-shaft, the short-circuitin question is closed, and the electric motor thereuponl operates to rotate the fly-Wheel, as above de scribed. When the hand-lever is shifted back to lnormal position the short-circuit is i opened. In case the starting-operation is not successful at the first attempt, it may be repeated indefinitely.

My invention is not limited to the' embodiment thereof hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but may be embodied in various other forms within the nature of the invention as vit is' defined vin the following claims. I claimz- 1. An engine-starter comprising, in combination with the crank-case and the crankshaft of the engine, a wheel of substantial weight journaled concentric with and sup.-

res'pect thereto, said wheel including the ro- -tary element of an electric motor, clutchmechanism for connecting said wheel lwith the crank-shaftl whereby the wheel is adapted to operate as a fly-wheel for the engine,

and a fixed element for said motor mounted upon the crank-case and coperating with' the rotary element.

2. Anengine-starter having, in combina- 65 ported by. said shaft but'free to rotate with g .i

tion with the crank-case and the crankshaft of an engine, a"wheel of substantial with the crank-shaft so that the wheel may operate as a fly-wheel for'the engine, and a fixed element for said motormounted upon the crank-case and coperating with the rotary element.

PEROY W. HODGrKINSON.l Y

Witnesses:

D. GURNEE, THON. Y

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