US1782427A - Piston ring - Google Patents

Description

PISTON RING Filed Sept. 4, 1928 mm T' l :Chutlcs fl iglmson E g %WW:F,V

Stem-Regs;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES E. JOHNSON, F MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN PISTON RING Application filed September 4, 1928.

This invention relates to piston rings and is concerned with a novel construction of oil collecting and draining piston ring which is simply and easily manufactured and is particularly effective to scrape and collect any excess oil which may adhere to the walls of a cylinder and drain the same through the ring to the ring grooves in which the rings are seated, it being common practice to provide the ring grooves with passages to carry the oil therefrom to the interior of the piston and thus return it to the crank case.

The present invention is concerned with cutting slots from the outer curved to the inner curved sides of a piston ring and loeating the slots in two different planes one above the other but having the ends of the slots overlap with the ends of the slots in one plane communicating with the ends of the slots in the other plane.

An understanding of the invention and the construction embodying the same may be had from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a piston ring constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is an edge view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged horizontal section through the ring, the plane of the section being taken lengthwise of the upper series of the slots in the ring.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 are views similar to Figs. 3 and 4, respectively, of a slightly difierent form of construction of the invention, and

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section through the ring on the plane of line 77 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawing.

The piston ring 1, in the beginning, is of the ordinary snap ring type of'construction of uniform cross section throughout its entire length and having a parting, indicated at 2 at one side, it being understood that the ring normally springs apart, when free to do so at said parting but when it is closed, as it is Serial N0. 303,796.

in use around a piston and in a cylinder, it is of circular form.

' The ring as thus constructed is provided with two series of slots 3 and 4 cut through the ring between its upper and lower flat sides from its outer curved to its inner curved sides. The upper series of slots 3 are spaced apart around the ring and are preferably cut with a circular saw so that the slots are longer at the outer curved side of the ring than they are at the inner curved side thereof.

Similarly the lower series of slots 4 are cut with a circular saw through the ring and are longer at the outer curved side of the ring than at its inner curved side.

The horizontal plane of the lower sides of the slots 3 is substantially coincident with the horizontal plane of the upper sides of the lower slots 4. This makes a direct communication between the ends of the adjacent slots 3 and 4 as fully shown in Figs. 2,3 and 4.

It is of course evident that the slots 3 and 4 may be cut with saws of different diameters so as to vary the shapes of the slots. In Figs. 5 and 6-the slots 3 and 4 are cut with saws of greater diameter than those used in the construction illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. This causes the ends of the slots to overlap to a greater extent; and the desired extent of overlap may be governed by the selectionof the saws used to cut the slots through the rm O ne of the outstanding advantages of this ring at its uniform strength and resiliency at every point. Where r ngs of this character have heretofore been made with a plurality of spaced apart slots the ring would be comparatively stifi and unyielding at the spaces between the slots and relatively resilient where the metal was cut away to form the slots. By providing two series of slots in different planes and overlapping the ends of the slots as provided by this invention the ring has a substantially equal amount of metal in its cross section at all points and therefore its strength and resiliency is substantially uniform at all points.

Another desirable feature of the ring is the widened space on the outer peri hery where the ends of the slots overlap. T is provides in the first place an added amount of open space on the periphery to pick up and accumulate oil and in the second place it has a tendency to prevent the collecting of carbon in the slots. Where individual slots have been used it has been found that the carbon deposit in the slots would first accumulate at the ends thereof and then build up toward the center until the slots were completely filled. With the ends of the slots overlapping and joining each other as in this invention the pocket to conveniently receive the oil gives greater force to the oil at this point and flushes the ends of the slots more freely with oil which reduces carbon deposit at this point and the tendency for the collection of carbon in the slots is greatly reduced. Because of the possibility of varying th length of the overlapping of the slots by changing the cutter with which the slots are formed as heretofore described, it is easily possible to manufacture this ring to accommodate different engine conditions. If it is not desired to have an exceedingly overlarge oil collecting opening in the periphery of the ring the slots are only slightly overlapped but if a larger opening is desired the slots are cut to overlap each other farther to the extent necessary to provide suflicient opening on the periphery to properly collect the oil under the conditions where the ring is to be used.

The invention is defined in'the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within theirscope.

I claim:

1. A piston ring having a series of spaced apart horizontal slots cut therethrough from its outer curved to its inner curved sides, all of the slots of said series lying in the same horizontal plane, a second series of horizontal slots similarly cut through said ring and lying below the first series, the slots of the second series being in staggered relation to those of the first series and having their ends overlapping the ends of the adjacent slots of i said first series, the plane of the upper side of the slots of said second series being substantially coincident with the plane of the lower side of the slots of the first series.

2. A piston ring having two series of arcshaped slots therethrough from its outer curved to its inner curved sides, said slots of each of said series being spaced apart around the ring and the slots of one series being in staggered relation with those of the other, said slots being longer atthe outer curved side of the ring than at the inner curved side thereof, with the plane of the upper side of the lower series of slots substantially coincident with the plane of the lower side of the upper series of slots, whereby, the slots overlap each other at their ends and are in communication with each other.

3. A piston ring having a number of arc-

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