US1576078A - Fuel-feed control for automotive engines - Google Patents

Description

March 9 Q 1926.

- s. BARLOW FUEL FEED CONTROL FOR AUTOMOTIVE mamas f Fi March 51 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- March 9 1926. 1,576,078

S. BARLOW FUEL FEED CONTROL FOR AUTOMOTIVE ENGINES Filed March 31 1925 2 sheets-sheet 2 I N VEN TOR.

muscular strain of holding the foot throttle a idling,

englne; wlnch is regulated 1n automotive- Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

UNITED STAT S PATENT; o

SIMON BARLOW, OF OGDEN, UTAH.

FUEL-FEED CONTROL FOR AUTOMOTIVE ENGINES. 7

Application filed March 31, 1925. Serial No. 19,702.

engine s,,and the objects of my invention,

are: I

' First, to provide means by which the or slow-moving, fuel supply tothe engine installations usually by hand throttle lever and occasionallyby cowl-board pull rod, or not at all, may also be shut off and regulated by the foot throttle, thereby to enable the use of the engine as a brake effectively at and down to the lower speeds, without need of disturbing the hand-throttle setting. r I

Second, to provide means in connection with the foot-throttle, or accelerator, of automotive engines, by which, with a slight tip of the foot, to the right for instance, the operator may cause'the foot-throttle to lock in its then position, when in other than the idling or slow-moving position'of such-foot throttle, thus enabling the operator, by such slight side pressure of the foot, to hold the,

foot-throttle in repose against foot weight and in repose against variation of foot pressure due to undulationsin the road traveled, and. providing relief from nervous and at acertain up-in-space position in order to hold a uniform engine speed.

And, what I wish to designate as a third object is, to provide means of carrying out the foregoing two objects with what may be a single mechanism.

I attain these objects by the mechanismillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in \Vl1lCll- Figure 1 is a vertical section on line 1 1,- 1

Figure .4, of the entire device, with the exception of: means ofconnection with the cai-buretter, either with or without co-vo'peration with a hand throttle. Figure'Q is a plan view of Figure l, showing the foot plates and stop. that prevents left plate from moving down without the right plate being carried with it- Figure 3 isa side;

view section of Figure 1, on the line 33, omitting foot plates at the top. Figure 4 is a plan-view section ofFigure 1, on line 47- 1. 'Figure 5 is an elevation of the gear Wheel, its crank arm on one side, and its shaft onone side. Figure 6 isa half vertical section of the gear wheel, showing crank,

arms and shaft. Figure 7 and Figure 8 are the top and bottom (or front and rear) fulcrum: and distance-check pieces. Figures 9, 10 and 11 are diagrammatical illustra tions of the functions and movements of the parts of my principal invention, as designated in Figure 9, during theoperation' of the' device'to carry out the object hereinbefore designated as the first. Figures 12 and 13 are diagrammaticalillustrations of i the functions and movements of the parts of my principal invention, as designated in Figure 12, during the operation of the device to carry out the object hereinbefore designated as the second. Figure 14 is a dia grammatical illustration of the functions andmovements of the same parts during the operation of the device as a straight or ordinary" foot throttle, foot pressure being placed upon the left foot-plate only, or upon both foot-platesat the'same time, the left plate being slightly-thicker than the right. Figure 15 is a plan view, partly in section and partly in perspective, of the entire device,. connected with carburetter and cooperating hand-throttle connections of an automobile. The sectionis the same as in Figure 1, except that the top fulcrum and distance-checkpiecehas been removed, to better show the gear wheel, its crank and shaft. Figure 16. is a detail illustration of the check sleeve shown in Figure 15, which, restricts the action of the usual foot-throttle spring. Figure 17 (the other drawing) is an elevation view of an alternative gear wheel and shaft and crank construction, showing shaft and crank as a single bar.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views. The shell, or frame, 1, secured either rigidly or by universal connection to the footboard 36, of an automobile, .constitutes the frame work of the principal mechanism comprising my invention. In such shellthe push- rods 9 and 10 reciprocate. Push-rod 9 is integral with foot-platell, bears certain gear teeth upon its inner side, and by such buretter valve crank-arm 28.

ment of pushrod 9 is transmitted to crankgear teeth is always in mesh with gear wheel 4:, and is. connected through bellcrank 2 1, rod 25, bell-crank 26, and rod27, with the car- Any movearm 28, so long as hand-lever 34, on quadrant 35 (Fig. remains at the same time stationary.

The carburetter valve-crank 28, in all proper automotive installations, turns with the useof very little force. The coil spring 19 returnsthe through foot throttle pushrod' 9- and itsconnect-ions, including28, to the closedfoot-throthleposition after any depressionof foot-plate llandsuch rod 9.

Upwardsbeyond this closed foot-throttlepo sition' of'push-rod 9 and connections, however, this spring 19 does notact, being prevented from exerting any force at all at that point and beyond, bythe sleeve 18. This sleeve is slidably connected to a lugon push-rod 9, as is better shown in Figure 16,

and has an open end,"the end edges being rounded on the inside to prevent catching upon the spring.

through 131113013811 end of sleeve 18' and 1s The spring 19 passes secured to a frame structure oft-he engine, such as 20. The stopping of the sleeve 18 against frame member 20 prevents further V 1 shellitcarries the lug to which spring 19,

actionof spring 19. I V

For any further. upward movement of push-rod 9 and foot-plate 11 above and beyond this closed foot-throttle position, the lugon push-rod 9 slides upon the sleeve 18 withouthindrance; I

In the arrangement of connectlons shown by Figure 15, so long; as carburetter crank arm 28 may be turned bya force-equal, in one direction, to the, tension of springcli), and equal, inthe other direction, to the tension of spring 15, then such crank-arm 28 may be adjusted for idling speed or slow running, ormay be regulated for all speeds of-running, by and through handlever Ed'and its connections33, 82,24, 25,26 and27. This V H p of the parts at the closed-throttle position hand-lever 34L, if used at allin an automobile equippedwith my lnventlon, shouldbe made to act, by rod (ashere) or by flexible tube and wire, or otherwise, at right angles .to the line of application of any force by pushrod 9, and when'so connected does not, when operated, change the position of push rod 9 and the mechanism connected through gearwheel 1' to push-rod 9. Thus, the handlever '34 is allowed here to retain still its usual actionwhen the hand-lever turns carburetterj crank 28.

In Figure 15, No. 31 is "the engine, and 35 is an extended quadrant upon the steer ng column, such that hand-lever :34: may be moved through a somewhat wider range than.

center, or as shown. This to permit shutoff by hand-levernomatter in what position push-rod 9 and foot-plate 11 may be.v

Forfthe purposes of this description, I will now considerthe left-hand foot-plate,

11, and its .puslrrod', 9,. which are integral, as constituting, when taken alone, the footoperating par-tof an ordinary foot-throttle or accelerator as it is found on the medium priced and higher priced automobiles,

trucks, and other automotive vehicles of today, with the difference mentioned I in the last paragraph, i. e., non-interference of the hand throttle with the positionof the. parts comprisingthe foot-throttleu In other words, regulation by means of hand-lever 34 does notreciprocate puslrrod 9. H

Push-rod 9 is specially shown in Figures 1,9, 10, 11 and 14:,ai1dit is to those figures I willnow'. refer, omitting reference to the carburetter connections hereinabovediscussed.

The push-rodf9inay he round-or square, or have flanges toi help "give clearance ffor 'otherpartsit has teeth cut in orbu'ijlt on, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 it projectsdown through the shell, 1, of my invention, and a shortmdistance below the by its sleeve 18, is slidably connected; and it, makes connection at t-he bell-cranlc24: with the carburettei.

Now, I press foot-plate 11 with thefoot, or press both plate 11 and plate 12, simultaneously. They will both go down, and" the entire mechanism will function as a simple foot throttleand openthe carburetter of" the footkmechanism I will call this the closed" foot-throttle position of the parts; Figure l l'shows tliepositionof the parts at almost full foot-throttle depression.

I The brokenFhorizontal lines rm and'bb,

Figures 9, 10 and 11', showthe position of tops of foot plates 11' and 12, and of the center of shaft 5 of gear wheel 1, respectively,when no gas is being fe d by means .of the foot-throttle, y p 7 ,VVith the foot-throttle in such closed position,'*andthe push- rodj 9 and 10 andfootplateslland 12, respectively, in the position illustrated by Figures land 15,, then I slide thefoot to the right'against stop 37 15), or, at any rate, with the foot missing 7 plate 11, I depress foot-plate-12' only. The rod 10 is integral with foot-plate 12, and is in mesh by gear teeth withgear wheel 4.

Rod 10 is short, and is retained in its outward position bythe coil spring 15, working over the guide rod 14. Upon a slight depression of foot-plate 12, the rod. 10 will roll androtate the gear Wheel 4 upon pushrod 9. The center-shaft, 5, of gear Wheel 4, will then travel half the distance that is traveled downward by push-rod 10. In its They may best consist of stiff steelplates,

perhaps three-thirtyseconds of an inch in thickness. They rotate through but a small angle, upon a through-pin 16. If my invention is used only to carry out object designated as the first, these pieces need not have the teeth along one edge of the vertical slot, as are shown, or any means by which the cranks 6 and the shaft 5, or equivalent, would bind in the lower part of the slot of these pieces. On the other hand,if my invention is used only as a throttle-lock, orjcheck, mechanism, to carry out alone object designated as the second, then these pieces might consist of simply the slot with parallelisides and the teeth, or of such surface and slot that 5' and 6 would bind therein on slight rotation about center shaft- 5,and, indeed, the slots for such a single device might be made integral vwith the shell or housing of the device. These pieces have, in my inven tion as illustrated by my drawings, fulcrum bearing surfaces 39 and 38. Thesesurfaces act simultaneously, when they are brought by cranks 6 underneath the shaft 5, and they prevent further depression of gear 4 within the mechanism and the gear then rotates,

under continued depression of push-rod 10,; and causes push-rod 9 to be retracted brought upwarcl beyond its normal foot-throttle position.

, Upon the continued depression of footplate l2,below the position hereinabove mentioned, the bearing surfaces 39 and 38,.of fulcrum and check piecesc-7 'and 8, respectively, will, by the cranks 6, be brought into the downward path of, and beyond the vertical line through the center of, shaft 5, which shaft of course has traveled down-, ward in a line parallel with pushsrods 9 and 10,-the geanwheel 4 rolling inmesh with rods 9 and 10. So far, push-rod 9has remained stationary. As soon as shaft '5 reaches the bearing surfaces 38 and 39 of the.

fulcrum and check pieces, then the further depression of foot-plate 12 and its push-rod 10 imparts a reverse or upward motion to the push-rod 9 andallits connecti0ns, equal to such further downward motion of push-rod and stop 13 when the 1O beyond the point-illustrated byFigure 9. This last is illustrated by Figure 10. The; broken line aa shows thevnormal off footthrottle position of foot-plate 11.

- The amount of reverse motion illustrated in Figure 10 is calculated to close the carburetter valveentn'ely, against anysupply of gas needed for idhng or slow running, and thusto cause th'eengine to act entirely, and

more efliectively, as a brake, and cause the engine to be effective to bring the vehicle ormachine to an absolute'stop, if foot-plate 12 is held down that long. If the handthrottle. should happen to be set at a greater speed than idling or slow. road speed, then the further depression of 12, as illustrated in Figure 11, is calculated to. cause sulficient reverse motion of push-rod 9 so as to entirely shutoff that fuel supply from the engine, and cause the engine to function effectively as a brake under those conditions as well. I v

Now, I take the footoii' foot-plate 12, and immediately the spring 15 forces pushrod 10 and foot-plate 12 backTto-their, normal off foot-throttle position. And by this same force upon push-rod 10 the spring 15,

acting through push-rod 10 and through gear wheel 4, fulcrumedby shaft 5 against stops 22 made part of frame shell, 1, the push-rod 9 and its connections are brought back to normal ofi" foot throttle position, with only such gas passing to the engine as 34 and its connections.

v The mechanism, the parts and mode of operation of wh ch I have ust described,

comprise the means by which object desigis allowed by the setting of the hand-lever ativ'e positionsillustratedby Figures 1, 2,

3and 15 {That isto say, foot-plates 11. and 12- are in the same, horizontal ,plane,xexcept haps one.sixty fourth of an inch higl'ler than plate 12, so that foot-plate 11 will take when the partsar 'insuch normal closed foot-throttle position, In'Figure 1 they are in such position. 1 The first slight depression ofxthe foot that the top. of plate 11 may extend per.-

upon foot-plate 11, or equally upon footplates 11 and '12, takes the gear wheel 4 downwardly, as. aunit with push- rods 9 and 10. The distance the parts would more by reason of s-uch 'slight depression of root plate 1 1, as illustratedby'FigureIQ, would openthe oarburetter valve slightly. Figure '14, ashereinbeiore mentioned, shows 1 how the parts would be at nearlyfull depression,

the mechanism as a straight foot using throttle. v

But, as soon as the center'of shaft 5 of gear wheel 4, has reached a point lower down in theslot oat fulcrilun and cheek pieces 7 and 8th'an the bearing surfaces-39 amt 3S (liigures? and 8), then, by a slight tipping of the operators foot to the right, foot-plate 12 may be depressed below foot-plate 11,

opening the space between plate 11 and check piecelB, andthat slight tipping move ment and consequent depression of footplate 12, will cause a binding by the ci' a'nks 6, which are an integral part of. gear wheel 4 againsta sideoi the slot iniulcruin and check piece 7 and in fulcrum and check pie'ceQS (see Figures 7 and .8). "Catchesofa suitable character, illustrated in Figures 1-, 3, 7, 8,13 and 15, may be provided insuch fulcrum and distance check pieces 7 and 8 in: order to facilitate this binding and distance-checking action. i

Figure 13 illustrates the condition that will then exist, and which may exist a'iiy point during the further depression' of the foot-throttle beyond the point shown by Figure 13, and aslong asthe foot ofthe operator is allowed to exert more pressure upon the right foot-plate, 12, than upon the left footplate, 1 1-, the mechanism will re main locked against further downward motion. The operators foot may then rest with the heel on the floor andthe toe partly wishes to continue to feed the same amount upon foot-plate12 and partly upon footplate 11, but tilted slightly so as to give the greater pressure upon 12, and so long as he of fuel to his engine he mayby that means maintain the parts of my mechanism in a locked position. Overbad roads he maintains that tilted position ofhis foot upon 7 the foot-throttle, with the greater pressure upon foot-plate 12, at whatever throttle opening he desires. And, the operators foot, thus slightly tilted, is in a rather natural position of repose.

as aneifeetive brake downthegrade.

To; summarize: Having an automobile traveling at sayesrniies an hounon rough road-the operator may have his foot slightly tilted to the ri-glrt,-hearing1upon Both plates 11 and 12, butwith the greater force upon 12. (Littleforce isrrequired though con-'- siderable force, such as lie-brought to bear in negotiating rough roads, would not disturb the Iil'ecllalilsfihl root'- th-rottldwill be locked against any such .ciownwa rd pie same, "so long he maintains:

that unequal pressure upon ioot plate' 12.

The operator wishes to "come to almost aiull stop atthetop ot a nearhy grade, and he also wishes, we will sa y, to use hiseng'ine He take alr pressure off of toot-pistes lland 1 52; the footthrottle mechanism unlocks itself, by the action offspring l5 pressing upwards uponpush-rod=10, and by" the same means the foot-plates-11 and 12 are returned to their normal o'fl' foot-throttle position. The engine is still getting some fuel, by reason of a setting the hand throttle lever, 84, for'i'cllin'g' and slow run ning. The operator then moves his ioot to the right sufficien't'lyto miss foot-plate 11 entirely, aiidhe applies foot-pressure to foot-platelfi; A reverse,'. orupward motion is 'tl' iehy impwrtedto. push-rod 9 audits earburetter connections, through gear wheel l fulcrum-ed upon the bearing surfaces 39 and 38 of fulcrum and check pieces-7 and 8, respectively. By such means the operator is enabled to shut cit all-fuel supplyto the engine and to use the engine as at all speeds, Without his having to modiity his hand-lever settingbetore and to remember to reset it afterwards In practice at *the present time th ebrakes are usedin preference to bothering with Chang the hancl thrott le setting, and theeng-ine is'usjedas a brake only at the higherspeeds and hardlyever tobrin g' the vehicleto anywhere near the speed; for instance, of" a person walking orto hold themachine slow speeddown a grade.

I have, iiriny Figure 1 5-, shown a foot i stop, 37 ,f w=hicl1 the operator-may bring" his foot 'in order accurately and positively tomiss footpl-ate 11 when desiring to get" the reverse foot-throttle action. A n adjustableextension upon foot-plate 12 might/be used forthe same purpose. Neither is absolutely necessary.

I amaware that prior to my invention locks and catches ior-ffoot-throttles have beentmad'e, and therefore I do not claim such a particular device broadly.

Of afoot-throttlelocking device involving two co'a'c'ting foot-plates and pushrods" such asmine, and involving acrossloar pinne'cl at itsl'ends insteadof geared, mar having a cehter pin and a crank pin (or "the two pins-integral),*or involving such a means as my gear wheel and its shaft and crank Pl11S,I have not heard, and there fore I desire to claim mv lockin "mechanism' broadly enough to include such a cross-bar as the equivalent of my gear wheel,

Of a device to retract a foot-throttle and thereby-to shut off all fuel being'fed by either hand throttle at the wheel or by pull or turn shaft at the cowl-board or by an open setting of the carburettor valve, I have not heard, and therefore I desire to claim broadly a device to perform that function alone and also a device to perform both the retracting and locking functions in the same mechanism. r

I claim: 7

1. In a fuel feed control for automotive engines, a carburettor valve crank,a through foot-throttle push-rod operatively connected with said valve crank, a hand-operated means also for operating said valve crank and co-acting with said through "push-rod but operating at right angles thereto, through means fulcrumed thereon, a spring means of retaining and retracting said through push-rod from downward to normal off position and a sleeve slidably connected to such push-rod as a check on such spring action, a second push-rod adjacent to the first and bearing a stop such that downward movement of the through push-rod de presses said second push-rod, a spring to return said second push-rod and connections to normal off position, a gear wheel opera tively in mesh with both said push rods and having crank arms off center and a center shaft, fulcrum-and-distancecheck pieces having bearing surfaces and slot c0 acting with such shaft and crank arms.

2. In a fuel feed control for automotive engines, a curburetter valve crank, a

, through foot-throttle push-rod operatively connected with said valve crank, a spring means of retaining and retracting said through push-rod from downward to normal off position and a sleeve slidably connected to such push-rod as a check on such spring action, a second push-rod adjacent to the first and bearing a stop such that downward movement of the through push-rod depresses said second push-rod, a spring to return said second push-rod and connections to normal off position, a gear wheel operatively in mesh with both said push rods and having crank arms 01f center and a center shaft, fulcrum and-distance-check pieces having bearing surfaces and slot co-acting with such shaft and crank arms.

3. In a fuel feed control for automotive engines, the combination of a carburetter valve crank, a through foot-throttle pushrod operatively and adjustably connected with said valve crank, aspring means of retaining and retracting said through pushrod from downward to normal off position and a sleeve slidably connected to such pushrod as a check on such spring action, a second push-rod adjacent to the first, a stop on one or the other of said push rods'so arranged that downward movement of the through push-rod depresses said. second push-rod, a spring to return said second push-rodand connections to normal off position, a gear wheel operatively in mesh with both said push rods and having crank arms off center and a center shaft, fulcrum and-distance-check pieces having bearing surfaces and slot co-acting with such shaft and crank arms. I i 7 41. In a foot accelerator mechanism, a footoperated through push-rod, opea'at ively and adjustably connected to the carburettor, a spring means of retaining and retracting said through push-rod from downward to normal ofli'position and a sleeve slidably con nected to suchpush-rod as a check on such spring action,'a gear wheel, a second push rod adjacent to the first, means by which, in con nection with said. gear, independent depres sion of the second push rod imparts reverse motion above normal off foot-throttle position to the other push-rod and its connections, a spring to return said second push-rod upward after any change in its position. v

5. In a foot accelerator mechanism, the combination of a foot-operated through push-rod, operatively connected to the carburetter, a gear wheel, a secondpush-rod ad jacent-to the first, means by which, in con nection with said gear, independent depression of the second push-rod imparts reverse motion above normal off foot-throttle position to the other push-rodand its connec-, tions,

6. In a foot accelerator mechanism for automobiles, a foot-operated push-rod operatively connected to the carburetor, a second push-rod a'djacent thereto, a cro ss-mem ber connecting said push-rods, said crossmember bearing a. center cross-pin and a vertically off-center cross-pin, members each bearing a slot along which said center pin and off-center pin of said cross-member may slide when both push-rods are depressed simultaneously, and said members bearing catches upon which said off-center and center cross-pins will bind and thereby lock the mechanism if the second push-rod is at any time reciprocateddownward a greater distance than the first push-rod, two springs,

one to return the first push-rod and one to return the second push-rod upwardly after any change in their positions, and a stop placed upon either push-rod, adapted to cause depression of such second push-rod if the first be depressed,

7. In a foot accelerator mechanism for automobiles, a foot-operated push-rod operatively connected to the carburetter, a second ed with said valve crank, a hand-operated push-rod adjacent thereto, a eross-member connecting said push rods, said cross-me1nberbearmg a center cross-pin and a vertically oft-centercross-pin, a member or memany change in their positions, and a stop placed upon. either push-rod, adapted to cause depression ofsuch second push-rod if the first be depressed.

8. In a foot-throttle lockingdevice com bined with a foot-throttle, the combination of a cross-member operatively engaged at its edges with. two parallel reciprocating members,one of which is connected with thecarburetter, such cross member having two pins, or one wide lug, sliding along a slot or 1 slots parallel with such reciprocating members and arranged to bind or catch in said slot 01: slots when the reciprocating members are unevenly reciprocated,,spring or-springs to return both reciprocating members after any change of position.

9. In a fuel feed control for automotive engines, a carburetor valvecrank, a through foot-throttle push-rod operatively connect means also for operating said valve crank and coacting with said through push-- rod but operating at right angles thereto, through means fulcrumed thereon, a sec-. ond push-rod adjacent to the first and hearing a stop such that, downward movement of the through push-rod depresses said second push-rod, a spring to returnsai-d pushrods and connections to normal off position,

a gear wheel operatively in mesh with both; said push rods and having crank arms off center and a center shaft, fulcrum-and-dis tance-check pieces having bearing surfaces and slot coacting with such shaftandcrank arms.

.10. In a fuel feed control for automotive engines, a carburetor valvecrank, a through foot-throttle push-rod operatively connected with said valve crank, a second push-rod adjacent to the first and bearing a stop such that downward movement of the through" pusherod depresses said second push-rod, a spring to return said push-rods and connections tojnormal off position, a

gear wheel operatively in 1 mesh with both. said push rods, and having crank arms off centerand a center shaft, fulcrum-and-distance-check pieces: having bearing surfaces and slot co-aeting with such shaft and crank arms.

. 11. In a fuel feed control for, automotive engines, the combination of a carburetor.

valve crank, a through foot-throttle pushrod operatively and adjustably connected with said valve crank, second push-rod adjacent to the first, a stop on one of said: push rods so arranged that downward movement of the through push-rod depresses said secondypush-rod, a spring to return.

said push-rods and connections to normal off position, a gear wheel operatively mesh with both said push rods and having crank arms .off center and a center shaft, fulcrum and-distance-check pieces having bearing surfaces and slot co-acting with. such shaft and crank armsq i 12. In a fuel feed control forautomotive engines, the combination of a carburetor valve crank, a through foot-throttle pushrod operativel'y and adjustably connected with said valve cranlga spring means of retainingand retracting said through pushrod from downward to normal off position and a sleeve slidably connected to such pushrod as a check onsuch spring action-,a second push-rod adjacent to the first, a spring to return said second push-rod and connections to normalfofl' position, a gear wheel opera tively in. mesh with both said push rods and having crank arms off center and a center a shaft, fulcrum:and-distancercheck pieces having bearing surfaces and slot coacting with such shaft and crank arms.

13.1'In a fuel feed control for automotive engines, a carburetor valve crank, a re-. ciprocating rod operatively connected with said valve crank,a second reciprocating rod adjacent to the first, andlbearing a stop such that in one direction reciprocation of the first rod reciprocatesthe second, spring means to return said reciprocating rods and their connections tonormal off. position, a. wheel operatively conneeted to both. of said rods and havingcrank arms off-center and

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