US1246057A - Starting mechanism for automobiles. - Google Patents

Description

F. CONRAD & C. E. WILSON. STARTING- MECHANISM FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. m5.

1,246,057. Patented Nov. 13, 1917.

INVENTORS Frank Conrad 5r garles W/Ason.

. 7 AT'TQRNEY tric machines having reciprocating parts 0 op-' erative connection. with the shafts of in-.

, wheels, but they possess certain disadvan UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK CONRAD, OF PITTSBURGH, AND-CHARLES E. WILSON, OF WILKINSBURG, PENN- SYLVANIA, ASSIG'NORS TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC PANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

AND MANUFACTURING COM- STABTI'NG MECHANISM FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Nov. 13, 1917.

Application filed April 6, 1915. Serial 0. 19,469.

' To all whom it may concern:

and State of Pennsylvania, and CHARLES E. WILSON,a. citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improve ment in Starting Mechanism for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to starting mechanisms for automobiles and particularly to such mechanisms as embody dynamo-elecfor actuating pinions mto and out ternal combustion engines.

.Our invention has,. for. one of its ob jects, to provide a simple and eflicient means whereby a starting -motor may be operatively connected to the shaft of an internal.

combustion engineby the reciprocation of partsof comparatively light weight.

' A second object of our invention is to provide a simple arrangement whereby an operative connection may be established be- ,tween the armature of a dynamo-electric machine and an engine'shaft,-while little or no torque is effective to rotate the armature. Y

It has been proposed to employ motors havingdisplaced armatures which reciprocate to elfect the meshing of coacting gear tages, in that they require the use of compllcated switching mechanisms 1 and resistors to prevent rotation of the armature until the gear wheels are placed in mesh. This arrangement is necessary because, in the displaced position of the armature, the torque is sufliciently high to rotate the armature'fat. a comparatively high rate of speed before the meshed. I

In the operation of motors having displaced armatures, the reciprocating arts are very heavy and the shock resu ting from the engagement of the parts, in case the coacting gear teeth are not in register, may seriously damage thegear teeth An excessively long commutator must be provided in order that thebrushes will be in gearwheels are completely engagement with it throughout the path of movement of the armature.

Accordlng to the present invention, we provide an electric motor having a tubular armature shaft, in the bore of which a rod is mounted for longitudinal slidable movement. The rod is connected to a pinion that is slidably mounted on the armature shaft for rotation therewith. The slidable rod is controlled by an electromagnet that IS in series with the field magnet winding of-the motor. The rotation of the motor armature 1s temporarily delayed by the employment of a short-circuited damper winding which prevents a s udden increase in the intensity of the magnetic field of the motor upon the closing of its circuit.

The details of-our invention will be describedlin connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side view, partially in-elevation and partially in section, of aportion of an engine fly wheel .With our invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic .v1ew of circuits and apparatus embodying our invention.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, an engine fly wheel 1, only a portion of which is shown, is provided with gear teeth 2. An electric -motor 3 has a field-magnet frame 4 which may be'secured to any suitable stationary part of 'a motor vehicle. The mo- 7 tor has field-magnet poles 5, each of which is provided with a coil 6 of a series field winding and'a short-circuited coil 7 of a damper winding.

The motor armature 8 has a shaft 9 that is provided with a longitudinally extending bore 10. A rod 11, which is mounted for slidable movement therein, is connected, at one end, to a pinion 12 by means of a collar member 13 and nuts 14., The pinion 12 is slidably mounted on a portion 15 of the armature shaft 9 that is square in cross section, .for rotation therewith. The position of the rod 11, relatively to the armature [shaft 9, is controlledby an electromagnet nected to the coil 18 of the electromagnet.

The other terminal ofthe coil 18 is connected to the motor windings by a suitable conductor 22.

The electrical connections of the motor and the electromagnet are'diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2. The motor may have,

for example, four poles, each of which is provided with a series field coil 6 and a short-circuited coil 7 which constitutes a damper winrling.- The motor circuit comprises the coil 18 of the electromagnet, a switch 23 anda storage battery. Une of the battery terminals and one of the motor terminals are grounded, a single-wire system being employed.

To start the engine, the operator closes the switch 23 to complete the motor circuit. Current then flows from the ungrounded side of the battery through the switch 23, the coil 18, motor armature 8 and series field coils 6 to ground, and thence hack to the grounded side 01" the battery. The coil 18 is immediately energized to actuate the core member 19, the rod 13. and the pinion 12 to the left, as viewed Fig. 1, against the force of the spring 2d. The series field coils 6 will also he energised, but a sudden increase in the flux traversing the field mag net poles his opposed by the short-circuitcd coils 'l'.

The damping en ect oil the coil occurs only during such time as the tends increase. The eiiect is, thcref'iore, to materially limit the li'lilX when the circuit is initially closed so that a very slight torque, any, is effective to rotate the pinion 12 while it is being meshed with the gear teeth 2. lit has heen found, in practice, that the normal torque of the motor is available substantially upon the complete meshing of the coacting teeth, The fly wheel. is there upon rotated to crank the engine.

When the engine starts under its own power, the motor circuit may be broken the switch 23. The coil 18 is then deern'n"- gizecl, and the spring 20, which has been compressed, will then return the core memher 19, the rod ll and the pinion 12 to their respective illustrated positions, with the pinion disengaged trom the fly wheel 1.

llf the operator fails to open the motor cir" cuit immediately after the engine starts, the motor will be driven at a rapidly increasing speed. The counter electromotive force of the motor is thereby increased to reduce current traversing i circuit to such value that the pull exerted lay the coil 18 is than the force of the spring 26, whereupon resents the rod 11 is shifted to its normal position and the pinion 12 is disengaged from the gear teeth 2. It is obvious, therefore, that no damage may be caused-by a failure to open the switch at the proper time.

Among other advantages possessed by a mechanism constructed in accordance with our invention, it may be' noted that the reciprocating parts are light in weight and are not an essential part of a dynamo-electric machine. Because of this latter fact, it is not necessary to provide a commutator of abnormal length or to rearrange the motor casing and bearings. The mechanism operates automatically upon the closing of a single switch to efiect the meshing of the pinion with the fly wheel gear while little or no torque is efiiective to rotate the pinion, and

. the normal torque is efi'ective when the gear wheels are completely meshed.

While we have shown and described a specific embodiment of our invention, it is understood that such modifications may be made as fall within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit ofour invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. ln a starting mechanism, the combination with an electric motor having a hollow shaft, a rod within said shaft, and a pinion rotatable'with said shaft and connected to said rod for endwise movement therewith, of an electromagnet in series with said motor for controlling the position of said rod rela' tively to the shaft, and means for temporarily retarding the operation of "the motor upon the closing of its normal circuit.

2. In a starting mechanism, the combina tion with an engine gear wheel, an electric motor, and a gear wheel connected to said motor for ooacting with the engine member, oi? an electromagnet for effecting the meshing of said gear wheels, a switch for controlhug the motor and the clectromagnet, and means independent of said switch for temporarily retarding the operation of said motor upon the closing oi its normal circuit,

5,- a 3. in a starting mechanism, the combination with an engine, a gear wheel connected thereto, an electric motor, and a pinion tor operatively connecting said motor said gear wheel, of means in circuit with the motor for controlling the engagement of said pinion with the gear wheel, and means for temporarily modifyingthe operation of the motor automatically upon. the closure oil its normal circui In a mechanism, the combination with an engine member, an electric motor, and pair of relatively movable gear wheels an operatively connectin said inc-- tor to engine member, of means in series with the motor for controlling the engagement of said gear wheels, and means for temporarily the operation of the motor automatically upon the closure of its normal circuit in order that the meshingbf said gear Wheels may be effected before normal torque is applied to the armature of said motor.

5. In a starting mechanism, the combination with an engine member, an electric motor, and a pair of relatively movable gear wheels" for operatively connecting said motor to said engine member, of means in circuit with the motor for effecting the meshing of said gear wheels, and a time-element device for controlling the torque of said motor upon the closure of its normal circuit.

6. In a starting mechanism, the combination with an engine member. an electric motor, and a pinion for operatively connecting said motor to said engine member, of means in circuit with the motor for controlling the engagement of said pinion with the engine member, and means for temporarily damping the fieldfiux of said motor upon the closure of its circuit.

7. In a starting mechanism, the combination with an engine member, an electric motor, and a pinion for operatively connecting said motor to saidengine member, of means in circuitwith the motor for controlling the engagement of said pinion with the engine member, and means comprising a short-circuited winding for temporarily controlling the intensity of the magnetic field of the motor upon the closure of its circuit.

8. In a starting mechanism, the combination with an engine member, a gear wheel connected thereto and a shiftable member for coacting therewith, of electro-responsive devices connected in series with a source of energy for actuating the shiftable member into and out of engagement with said gear Wheel and for rotating said shiftable member, and automatic means for temporarily modifying the operation of the rotatable device automatically .upon the closure of its normal circuit.

9. In a starting mechanism, the combination with an engine, a gear wheel operatively connected thereto, an electric motor, and a pinion that is longitudinally shiftable relanation with an engine member, an electric motor, and a pinion for operatively connecting said motor to said engine member, of means in circuit with the motor for controlling the engagement of said pinion with the engine member, and clectro-responsive means inductively related to one of the motorwindings for temporarily preventing the normal energization of one of the motor parts upon the closure of the motor circuit.

11. In a starting mechanism, the combination with an engine, a series-wound electric motor, and means for operatively connecting said motor to said engine, of means in circuit with said motor for controlling the engagement of said connecting means, and means inductively related to the field-magnet winding of said motor for temporarily preventing the normal energization of the magnetic field of the motor upon the closure of its circuit.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto- FRANK CONRAD. CHARLES E. WILSON.

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