US1845637A

US1845637A - Starter mechanisms

Info

Publication number: US1845637A
Application number: US451000A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward R Wharton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1930-05-09
Filing date: 1930-05-09
Publication date: 1932-02-16
Anticipated expiration: 1949-02-16

Description

Feb. 16, 1932. E. R. WHARTON STARTER MECHANISM Filed May 9, 1950 Irp/grpEm Y. 5M re.

Patented Feb. 16, 1932 PATENT Fries EDWARD R. W-HABTON, F MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS STARTER MECHANISMS Application filed May 9, 1930. Serial No. 451,000.

My invention relates to starting mechanisms such as are provided for starting the operation of internal combustion engines, and it has for its object to provide an improved mechanism of this class.

One type of starter mechanism heretofore proposed is constructed with two members mounted upon the armature shaft of a starting motor, both of which are movable relative to said armature shaft rotatively and axially, or longitudinally. One of these members is a conical male clutch member fitting into a conical socket provided at one end of the other female member, the opposite end of the latter being provided with one or more cam surfaces engaged by one or more studs projecting from the armature shaft. The male conical clutch member has compounded with it a spur pinion that is normally'held out of mesh with the driven gear of the engine by means of a spring. When the motor of a starter mechanism of this type is started, the stud on the armature shaft operates through the cam surfaces referred to, to move the two members axially on the shaft toward the driven gear of the engine against the pressure of the spring. This axial movement not only carried the pinion into mesh with the driven engine gear, but it also operated to compress the spring thereby to cause the latter to force the male conical member into clutching engagement with the female or socket member so that the pinion was not only meshed with the driven engine gear, but also simultaneously rotated with the armature shaft to start the engine.

My present invention is primarily designed to provide an improved starter mechanism of the type just described, and it is herein embodiedin a starter mechanism of this type having the peculiar features of construction and mode of operation set. forth in the following description, the several novel features of the invention being particularly pointed out and defined in the claims at the close thereof.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a starter mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 shows a portion of the armature shaft together with the two clutch members mounted thereon, said two members being shown in section.

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the armature shaft together with some of the parts mounted thereon.

Figure 5 is an elevation of one end of the male clutch member hereinafter described.

Figure 6 is an end view of the female clutch member hereinafter described;

Having reference to the drawings, 1 shows a portion of the usual gear provided on the fly wheel of the internal combustion engine in connection with which my improved starter mechanism is employed.

Suitably supported adjacent the engine gear 1 is an electric motor 2 whose armature shaft 3 has loosely mounted on it two

clutch members

4 and 5..- The clutch member 4: is made at one end with a conical end portion or head, 1a to fit into a complementary conical socket 5a provided at the inner end of the female clutch member 5. V i

At its outer end the female clutch member 5, which is in the form of a sleeve, is constructed with two diametrically opposite

spiral slots

6, 6, each of which is occupied by a stud 7 projecting from the armature shaft 8, or rather from a collar 8 that is fixed to said shaft by means of a set screw 9 that is locked, as usual, against accidental loosening by means of a split wire ring 10 occupying an annular groove provided upon the outside of the collar 8. Each spiral slot 6 has two opposed parallel cam side walls 11 and 12.

When the electric motor 2 is started, its armature shaft is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow and each stud acts against the cam side wall 11 of its slot to move the female member axially on the armature shaft 3 toward the engine gear 1 against the pressure of a spring 18. 1

The male clutch member 4 is also a sleeve surrounding spring 13 and loosely mounted upon the armature shaft, said member being made with a driving pinion 15 which is nor mally just out of mesh with the engine gear 1 as shown in Fig. 1. It will therefore be 1 clear that when the electric motor is started the inertia of the two clutch members forces the studs 7 to act against the cam side walls 11 to shift both clutch members toward the engine gear 1 thus moving the pinion 15 into mesh with said engine gear 1 so that the latter is rotated thereby to start the engine.

The spring 13 abuts at one end against a shoulder 3a on armature shaft 3 and at its opposite end against a shoulder on clutch member 4. Therefore, when the armature shaft 3 is started and the two clutch members are moved toward the engine gear 1, as described, the spring 13 is compressed andwhen the engine has been started and the armature shaft 3 is stopped, the spring 13 assisted by the now running engine gear 1 restores the clutch members to their normal positions where the pinion 15 is just out of mesh with said gear 1.

The conical portion of the male clutch member 4 is provided with longitudinally disposed ribs 17, each adapted to occupy a shallow longitudinal groove 18 provided within the socket 5a of the female clutch member 5. These ribs 17 and grooves 18 are made round ed, circumferentially, and comparatively shallow.

Thus the two

clutch members

4 and 5 are not only frictionally coupled together but also are more or less interlocked by the intermeshing grooves and ribs so that rotative motion is transmitted from the female member to the male member through the engagement of opposed shoulders on said members, as well as through the frictional adherence resulting from the conical shapes of the coacting parts of the two clutch members.

It is a feature of my present invention that the ribs 17 are constituted by dove-tail cog inserts each forced into position within a longitudinal clove-tail socket 40 provided upon the conical portion of the clutch member 4.

This construction permits of making the ribs 17 of one material, for example bronze,

' 11 of each slot 6 is provided with a stop or abutment shoulder 56 by which the movement of the two clutch members toward gear 1 is limited through the engagement therewith of the studs 7. If desired, however, the spring 13 may, as heretofore, be constructed so that when pinion 15 is fully in mesh with the gear 1 all of the convolutions of said spring are closed and therefore the latter may serve as a rigid abutment also to limit the movement of the clutch members toward gear 1. This,

however, is not essential when the slots 6 are constructed with the stop shoulders or abutments 5b.

Continued operation and use of a starter mechanism of this type including a spring 13 often, and usually, results in setting said spring in a more or less abnormally compressed condition so that it was heretofore possible for the pinion 15 to drift into mesh with the gear 1 while the latter was rotating causing grinding noises and injury to the mechanism.

To obviate this obj ectionable feature characterizing mechanisms of this type as heretofore constructed, I have provided a double spiral spring 19 whereof one end portion 19a surrounds the female clutch member 5 while the opposite end portion 19d surrounds the male clutch member 4.

Between these two end portions the said doublespring 19 is securely confined within a socket 20 provided in a flange 21 at the inner end of the female clutch member 5. Thus relative rotary and endwise movement between female clutch member 5 and the spiral end portion 19a of spring 19 is prevented, while relatively rotary movement between the opposite end portion 19b and the male clutch member 1 is permitted. 7

The free end of the portion 19b of spring19 encircles the intermediate portion of the male clutch member i and abuts an annular shoulder provided at the inner end of the conical head of said male clutch member so that it acts yieldingly to hold said male clutch mem her in engagement with the female clutch member 5. Thus if through continued use the spring 13 becomes set in more less compressed condition, the end portion 19b of the spring 19 will prevent male clutch member 4 from drifting into contact wit-h, or dragging upon, the engine gear 1 while the latter is rotating.

As illustrated in Fig. 4 the extremity of the end portion 19a of spring 19 is associated with one of the studs 7 so as to function as a spring latch which yieldingly holds said stud at the inner end of its slot 6, normally. Thus the female clutch member 5 is prevented from drifting relatively to stud 7 and toward gear 1 by the latch portion 19a of spring 19, while the opposite end portion 19b of said spring prevents the male clutch member 4 from drifting away from the female member 5 toward gear 1, as described.

What I claim is:

1. In a starter mechanism, the combination with an engine gear, of a driving shaft; a pair of co-acting clutch members movabl} and telescopically mounted on said shaft end to end, one of which is provided with a pinion to co-operate with said gear; a spring mounted on one of said members and engaging the other member to yieldingly hold said members against separating; means yieldingly holding said members normally in a position its where said pinion is out of engagement with said gear, and means connecting the other clutch member with said shaft through which the latter acts when started in motion to shift said members axially thereon thereby to move said pinion into engagement with said gear and then positively to rotate said last mentioned clutch member which in turn yieldingly drives said pinion member.

2. In a starter mechanism, the combination with an engine gear, of a driving shaft;

21 pair of co-acting clutch members movably and telescopically mounted on said shaft end to end, one of which is provided with a pinion to co-operate with said gear; a spring yieldingly holding said members normally in positions where said pinion is out of engagement with said gear; other spring means by which said members are yieldingly and normally held in clutching engagement independently of said first mentioned spring and by which the other clutch member is yieldingly held against rotation relatively to said shaft while said gear and pinion are out of mesh, and means connecting said other clutch member with said shaft through which the latter acts when started in motion to shift said members axially thereon thereby to move said pinion into engagement with said gear and then positively to rotate said other clutch member which in turn yieldingly drives said pinion member.

3. In a starter mechanism, the combination with an engine gear, of a driving shaft; a pinion loosely mounted on said shaft; a sleeve loosely mounted on said shaft and having driving connection with said pinion, said sleeve being formed with a spiral cam surface; a stud on said shaft engaging said cam surface to shift said sleeve and pinion toward said gear when said shaft is started in rotation; a spring for yieldingly urging said pinion and sleeve in the opposite direction and for yieldingly holding the same normally at the limit of their movement away from said gear, and a spring latch on said sleeve engaging said stud thereby to yieldingly hold said stud and sleeve against relative rotative displacement while the latter is at the limit of its movement away from said gear.

Signed by me at Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, this fifth day of May, 1930.

EDWARD R. W'HARTON.