US1828369A

US1828369A - Engine starter

Info

Publication number: US1828369A
Application number: US314593A
Authority: US
Inventors: Vera C Hodges
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1928-10-24
Filing date: 1928-10-24
Publication date: 1931-10-20
Anticipated expiration: 1948-10-20

Description

Oct. 20, 1931.

v. c. HoDGEs V 1,828,369

ENGINE STARTER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 2o. 1931. v -c; H'ODGES- 1,828,369

ENGINESTRTER i Filed oct. A24. 1.9428 2 sheets-sheet 2- M3 Jbrneys. I

Patented on.y zo, i931 Parietti'l oFFicE vEM c. noname, or Los ANGELES, cALi'ronNrA ENGINE srnn'rnn Application tiled October 1928. Serial Ilo. $4,593.

The invention relates to a starter vfor internal combustion engines in which the arts of the starter are constructed and com ined so as to be ada ted to operate in any position without being induenced or modified by gravity, wherebyv such starter will operate in airplanes or other situations in whichpthe horizontal position is not normal or is immaterial or not maintained. v

1g Another feature of the invention is that the drive pinion is not moved into mesh with the spur gear or rotary part of the engine by the electric motor, but by personally actuated positive means, and which means must start the electric motor the moment the starting pinion enters the rotative element of the engine t'o mesh therewith, after which the starting pinion is released ,from the personally actuated means so it is automatically returned to normal or disengnagd 1ositioii afte 1c i e position i v the engine is started, in w is not affected if the electric motor is started accidentally; and this feature of the starter is of great value in airplanes;

Another feature of the invention consists in the drive pinion of the starter being carried on the free end of .an arm that is pivoted at its other end, preferably on the armature shaft of the electric motor. Anotherfeature of the invention is that the drive pinion is moved into mesh with the spur gear or rotary part of the engine by a pedal or other personally actuated means t at positively moves the arm on which-the drive pinion is mounted.

Another feature is that the disengagement of the drive pinionffrom the spur gear or rotary part of the en 'ne is aided by a spring connected with sai pinion cari ing arm which is put' under tension by t e pinion meshing movement of the arm under the positive pedal actuation thereof, and after the pinion is disenga ed the spring holds the arm and pinion out o engagement with the spur gear until the pedal is again operated.

One object of the invention is to provide an engine starter that can be'actuated after the engine has been started without stripping the teeth from eitherpthe driven pinion or so the spur gear. That is, the enginestarter is constructed so that if accidentally actuated when the engine is running the spur gear will throw 'the pinion back into normal idle position without doing anyv damage to the mechanism.

. Another, 'object is tol provide an engine starter with arts arranged so that the motor .for driving t e pinion can be started slightl in. advance of the meshing of the inion teet with-'the spur gear teeth sothat in theevent te the points of the pinion teeth engage the points of the spur gear teeth when the pedal is actuated the pinion' will be rotated or be' disengaged from the `points of the spur gear teeth into position to mesh with the spur 65 gear. To that end I provide a yielding means connected with the pedal for closing an electrical switch for actuating the motor slightly in advance of the meshing of the teeth ofthe pinion and spur gear.

Features of invention are shown.- in the construction, c'ombinatioii and arrangement of parts. whereby an engine starter is provided that is easy1 to construct, assemble and operate, durab tively free from noise in operation. lOther objects, advantages andfeatures o invention may appear from the accompanymg drawings, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.v

Fig. 1 is a side view of the enginestarter arranged to engage the ring spur ar of an engine, the engine and fly wheel being shown 85 diagrammatically and Vfragmentall also showing a portion of the automobi e footboard through which the pedal is extended in position to be actuated by a drivers foot.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentalsectional view on 90 line 22, Fig. 1, showing the pinion out of mesh with the ring giur gear. f

Fig. 3 is a view an ogous to Fig. 2, show- `ing by full lines the pimon moved into mesh with the ur ear and showin b' 95, dotted lines t Sp g g y e position of the pinion and 'associated parts after the engine is started. v

Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal section through the pivot arm and s indle on which the pinion is loosely mounte f1 e and eiiicient in use, and rela- Fig. 5 is a fragmental longitudinal sect tion analogous to Fig. 4 showing the motor driving gear in mesh with the plnion.

Fig. 6 is a View analogous to Fig. 2 on .a slightly larger scale showing the dog pivotally connected to the arm instead of to the bottom end of the plunger; and showing the pinion out of mesh with the rin spur gear.

Fig. 7 is a view analogous to ig. 6 Showing the pinion in mesh with the ring spurA ear and the plunger disengaged from the Fig. 8 is a side view of the dog and block with part of the arm in section to` show the yielding means for holding the dog engaged with the guide pin.

Fig. 9 is a central longitudinal section through the switch for starting the motor and showing in side elevation a portion of the pedal and associated parts for actuating the upper member of the switch.

Fig. 10 is a view of the dog and arm as seen from line 10-10, Fig. 8.

The engine starter includes an el ectric motor 10 that can be arranged adjacent an engine 11, diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 1, and can be secured thereto in any well known way.

ing gear 13 is secured, and this gear is aligned, but out of mesh with a rotative part of the engine, such as a ring spur gear 14, that is connected to the engine y wheel 15. This spur gear 14 can be connected directly to the engine shaft if desired, or it can be secured to the engine fly wheel as shown.

Interposed between the driving gear 13 and the housing 16 of the motor 10 is an arm 17 that has one end pivotally connected to the drive shaft 12, and this block carries a side spindle 18 on which a pinion 19 is revolubly mounted and arranged in mesh with the drive gear 13. i

This pinion is 'arranged to be moved in an.

arc so that it will also mesh with the ring spur gear 14 but is normally held out of engagement with this ar by a spring 20 which has one end secure to an extension 21 on the upper end of the block 17 and the other end secured to the annular wall 22 in the centrally arranged recess 23 of the housing 16.

The arm 17 has its lower end arranged between the stop pins 24, 25 that limit the pinion in its arc movement toward or away from the spur gear 14.

The inion 19 is positively moved into mesh. with t e spur ear 14 by means of a dog 26 that is pivotal connected by a pin 27 to the lower end ofY a plunger 28. The free end of the dog is arranged to normally engage a pin 29 on the upper side of the arm 17, and is' yieldingly held in normal position by a spring 30, one end of which is secured to the doglaifiad the other end secured to the annular Wa These parts are arranged so that when the plunger 28 is actuated by a pedal 31 the dog 26 will move the pinion in an arc to mesh with the spur gear 14 and at a predetermined moment in this movement the free end of the dog is forced off of the pin 29 so that the arm is free and so that the spring 2O will move the arm and return the pinion to normal position after the engine has started. The tension of spring 20 is caused by the operation of the pedal in changing the position of the arm 17.

Slightly in advance of the full meshing of the pinion with the spur gear the pedal also closes an electrical circuit to start the electric motor 10 by depressing and engaging the spring contact 32 with the contact 133 and when the motor is driven the drive gear 13 will he rotated to hold the pinion 19 in mesh with the spur gear 14 and drive the latter until the engine is started.

The moment the engine is started and operating under its own power the spur gear 14 and springs 20 will throw the pinion 19 out of mesh and back to its normal position, it being understood that in the ensuing time that the dog 26 has been4 disengaged from the pin 29 as shown in Fig. 3. This motor has a shaft 12 on which a driv- The plunger 28 extends up from the recess 23 through an opening 33 in the housing 16 and through the upper and lower flanges 34, 35 of a bracket 36, and inside of the bracket and surrounding the plunger is a tension spring 37 that is seated on a washer 38 supported on a pin 39 that passes through the plunger between the` lower flange 34 and washer 38.

The pedal 31 includes an adjustable push bar 40 that has its lower end connected by a pin 41 to a flange 42 on the bracket 36, and the upper end of this bar extends through the floor board 43 of an automobile fragmentally indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, and on the upper end of thebar a pedal head 44 is secured in position to be engaged by the foot of the car driver.

The liange 35 is arranged to engage a flexible insulatlng bar 45 that is supported by the spring contact 32 so that when the pedal is actuated the contact 32 will be moved to engage the contact 33 and thereby start the motor at about the time the pinion begins to mesh with the spur gear, as previously stated.

The urpose of the bracket and near associate parts is to permit the motor to be started so that in the event the pinion is arranged in a position in which the points of its teeth will contact with the points of the teeth of the ring spur gear 14 so that they cannot mesh the motor will turn the pinion so that a proper meshing is accomplished.

The motor 10,`is driven in the usual way. A contact 46 is secured to an extension 47 of the spring contact 32 and is in circuit with a battery, not shown, through a wire 48. When lle llo

engagement `With the contact 33 the motor l l be started and simultaneously the pinion 19 will b'e meshed with the spur gear 44 to rotate it and start the'engine; and also coincident with the meshing of the pinion with the spur gear the dog 26 will be'fdis'engaged from the in 29 so that the pinion can be moved bac to normal position as soonv as the engine starts and throws it out of mesh with the spur gear. It is understood that when the pinion is in mesh with the spur gear and is driving by the driving gear of the motor that it is held in mesh by the action of the driving gear until thrown out bythe starting of the en ine, and when thrown out can continue to rotated bythe motor until the pedal is released.

In the modified form of engine starter shown in Figs. 6 to 10 the operation of the apparatus is substantially the saine as the starter hereinbefore described.

In, the modified formthe dog 126 is shown pivotally connected to the arm 17 instead of the plunger 28. That is the dog126 is pivotally connected to the upper side of the arm 17 by a pin 49 extending through the-,extension 50. g

The upper endV of the dog is forked, having the

prongs

51, 52 arranged oppositely on a guide pin 53 secured in the housing 16. The

prongs are yieldingly held in positon onthe guilde pin 53 by a plug 54 that is pressed outwardly against the dog by a spring 55.

Tle prong 51 is arranged so that it is normally engaged by the lower end of the plunger 28, which parts are arranged so that the plunger slips oii' of the prong 51 when the pinion 19fhas been moved into mesh with the ring spur gear 14; and the forked end of the dog isconstructed and arranged so that the pinion can be thrown out of the way by the spur gear r14 when the engine starts operating on its own power, as previously de scribed. v

If desired the stop pins 24, \can be dispensed with by recessing the housing 16, as

at 56, Figs. 6 and 7 for the extension 57 on the arm 17 so that the ends 58, 59 of the recess 56-function as stops to limit the movement of the pinion toward or from the spur gear 1 4. Also in the formv of starter shown in Figs. 1 to 5 the block 17 can be provided'with guide pins 60 for guiding thedog 26. The spring 20 may be omitted if desired and leave the spring 55 alone to perform its duty.

In operation the pedal 31 is actuated -to close the circuit between the contacts 32, 33 and ymove the pinion 19 in an arc-into mesh with the ring spur gear 14and is held in mesh by the driving action of the drive gear 13 until the engine starts operation under its own power, after which the pinion is thrown backinto its normal position by the spur gear 14 "and is held there by the spring 20 v until the pedal is a ain actuated.

use in airplanes where the mechanism is not normally horizontal, as in automobiles or marine engines, or may assume any position rela# tive to 'the horizontal osition. This is because all parts are positively or forcibly actuated and will operate in their predestined way regardless of gravity.

lAlso. in this starter the pinion 19 is not moved into working engagement with the fly-wheel -14 or rotatlve part of the en 'ne by the electric motor, but, on the other andA it is forcibly and personally moved b the operator into starting position and t e means for moving the driving pinion 19 intov starting position also causes the electric motor to start. Therefore, it isimpossible for the electric motor to start by accident and thus cause difficulty. If it were to start byaccident it would merely turn the pnions 13 and 19, as

shown in Fig. 2, but would have noeifect on the engine. This issvery important, particularly 1iny airplanes where such accidental starting of the electric motor might be fatal.

The invention claimed is: 1. A starter for an internal combustion engine having a rotative element including a pinion, an arm upon 'which it is mounted that is pi-votally mounted 'at one end so that the pinion may be moved into and' out of engagement with said rotative element, pedal actuated means for vpositively moving said arm and pinion intoengagement, said means including a pedal actuated plunger, a dog fulcrumedat one end to said arm and having a projection at the other end ladapted to be engaged by said plunger and pushed thereby for moving the arm and pinion into engagement with the said rotative element and then the plunger into further movement to disenga/ge said dog so that the arm and pinion may be returned'to normal position out of engagement with said rotative element. v

' 2. A starter for an internal combustion engine having a rotative element'including a pinion, an arm upon which it is mounted that is pivotally mounted at one end so that the pinion may be moved vinto and out of engagement with said rotative element, pedal actugage said dog so that the arm and pinion may be returned to normal position out of engagement with said rotative element, and a stationary guide pin for guiding the end of 5 the dog having said projection during the movements thereof. 3. A starter for an internal combustion engine having a rotative element includn a inion, an arm upon which it is mounted t at lo is pivotally mounted .at one end so that the pinion may be moved into and out of engagement with said rotative element, pedal actuated means for positively moving said arm and pinion into engagement with said rotative element, said means including a pedal actuated plunger, a dog fulcrumed at one end to said arm and having a projection at the other end adapted to be engaged by said plunger and pushed thereby for moving the arm and pinlon into en agement with the said rotative element an then to disengage saiddog so that the arm and pinion may be returned to normal position out of engagement with said rotative element, a stationary guide pin for guiding the end of the dog having said projection during the movements thereof, and aspring sup rted pin in said arm against which said og bears between its ends, substantially as set forth.

4. A starter for an internal combustion engine having a rotative element including an electric driven gear, a driving pinion, an arm on which the pinion is mounted at one end and which arm is'oscillatable on the axis of said gear, and holds the pinion in constant mesh therewith, pedal actuated means for positively moving said arm and pinion into engagement with said rotative element, said means including a pedal actuated plunger, va

40 dog fulcrumed at one end to said arm near the axis of said pinion and having a projection at its other end adapted to be engaged by said plunger and pushed thereby for moving the arm and pinion into engagement with said rotative element and then to disengag said dog so that the arm and pinion may returned to normal position out of engagement with said rotative element, a stationary guide pin for engaging the end of the dog lia-ving said projection and holding it after its actuation, and a spring supported pin located in said arm nearer the axis of said electric driven gear than the axis of the ivot of said dog to said arm and against whic pin said dog bears between its ends, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto ailixcd my signature. j

VERA C. HODGES.