US2079447A - Magneto - Google Patents

Description

May 4, 1937. L. GRIFFITHS ET AL MAGNET@ vFiled Jan. so, 1956 Inventors 5km, mm w om n Fa l .nhl GFt dHc r ay e m dw sb Patented May 4, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE MAGNETO Application January 30, 1936, Serial No. 61,614 In Great Britain February 26, 1935 7 Claims.

Our invention relates to ignition systems for internal Combustion engines and more partioularly to coupling connections between the magneto and distributor in combustion engine ignition systems.

It is an object of our invention to provide an improved manually operable arrangement for selectively controlling the timing of the opening and closing of the distributor contacts with respect to the operation of the magneto.

Further objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize our invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specication.

For a better understanding of our invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a magneto provided with a coupling arrangement embodying our invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the magneto and coupling arrangement therefor shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3--3 of the coupling connection shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a detailed view in section along the line 4-4 of a gear and spindle included in the coupling connection shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, we have shown in Fig. 1 a magneto I0 provided with a frame II having an integral annular housing I2 formed on one end thereof which is adapted to contain a distributor of the ordinary type for a multicylinder internal combustion engine. The distributor contained in the housing I2 includes a cam of the conventional type which opens and closes the contacts of the distributor, the cam being driven by an upwardly extending rotatable spindle I3. The spindle I3 is connected in driving relation with a rotatable shaft I4 of the magneto I by a coupling arrangement embodying our invention. This coupling includes a manually operable arrangement, hereinafter described, for selectively varying the angular relation between the spindle I3 and the shaft I4 about their respective axes. This selective manual variation of the angular relation between the spindle I3 and the shaft I4 effects an adjustment of the ignition timing since the shaft I4 is rotated by a mechanism connected to the internal combustion engine, with which the magneto and distributor is used, in such manner that the position of the shaft I4 bears a positive relationship to some definite position of the engine pistons. As a consequence, a variation in the angular relation between the spindle I3 and the shaft I4 will cause the cam, attached to the upper end of the spindle I3, to open and close the distributor contacts earlier or later for a specified position of the shaft I4 and thus of the engine pistons.

The shaft I4 of the magneto I9 supports a rotatable magneto rotor I5 within the housing Ii and one end of the shaft I4 extends through an aperture I6 formed in the end of the magneto housing. The shaft I4 is journaled in suitable anti-friction bearings supported in the magneto housing EI. As shown in Fig. 2, one of these anti-friction bearings includes a series of balls il, which are rotatably supported between annular inner and outer races I8 and I9, respectively. The inner race I8 is press-fitted on the shaft i4 and the outer race I9 is supported in an annular recess 2i] surrounding the inner end of the aperture IB in the magneto frame II. A disk-shaped guard 2l is clamped between a shoulder 22, formed on the shaft I4, and the inner sides of the bearing races I8 and I9. 'Ihe guard 2| extends` entirely across the inner side of the space between the bearing races I8 and I9 and prevents the leakage of lubricant therefrom into the magneto frame II. The guard 2I also prevents the entrance of dirt or other foreign matter into the bearing from the interior of the magneto frame II. A guard is also provided on the outer side of the bearing in order to prevent the leakage of lubricant from the bearing and the entrance of dirt or other foreign matter therein. This outer guard includes an annular ring 23 which is clamped between the outer bearing race I9 and the bottom of the recess in which the outer bearing race is mounted. The guard ring 23 is provided with an axially extending integral flange 24 having an inwardly extending peripheral portion 25 formed thereon. A series of annular washers 26 made of felt or the like are mounted between the ring 23 and portion 25 of the flange 24, the washers 26 being held in spaced relation by a series of annular metal spacing washers 21. The inner edges of the washers 26 are pressed into wiping Contact with the adjacent portion of the shaft I4 and prevent the leakage of lubricant along the shaft.

An integral housing 28 projects from the end of the magneto frame II and is provided with a cylindrical bore 29 therein, which surrounds the projecting end portion of the shaft I4. The spindle I3 is journaled in a cylindrical sleeve bearing 30 which is mounted in an aperture 3l formed in the upper side of the housing 28, The spindle I3 and shaft I4 are connected together in driving relation by a pair of meshing gears arranged within the housing 28 and secured to the spindle I3 and shaft I4, respectively, one or the gears being movable with respect to its associated member to selectively vary the angular relation between the spindle I3 and shaft I4 about their respective axes. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the outwardly extending portion of the shaft I 4 is provided with a plurality of splines 32 slidably engaging similar splines 33a formed within a helical gear 33 mounted on the shaft I4. A similar helical gear 34 is arranged at substantially right angles with respect to the gear 33 and meshes therewith. rFhe second helical gear 34 is rigidly secured to the lower portion of the spindle I3, the gear 34 being provided with an axially extending D-shaped hole in which the lower end of the spindle I3 having a flattened side 35 is fitted, as best shown in Fig. 4. Axial displacement of the gear 34 along the spindle I3 is prevented by a washer 35 and nut 3T, the nut 3l being threaded on the lower end of the spindle i3.

The helical gear 33 is provided with an axially extending reduced portion 38 at the outer end thereof on which an annular race 39 of an antifriction type thrust bearing is press-fitted. The thrust bearing also includes an annular race 40 and a plurality of balls 4l which are rotatably mounted between the races 39 and 40, respectively. The race of the thrust bearing is pressed in an annular recess 42 formed in an axially movable disk 43. rlhe outward movement of the disk 43 is limited by a shoulder44 formed on the inner side of a removable housing cap 45 which extends across the open end of the recess 29 formed in the housing 28. The housing cap 45 is secured in position by a series ol screws 46. A pin 4? mounted in a hole 48 formed in the housing cap 45 is provided with an enlarged inner end 4 which is slidably tted in a registering hole 5G formed in the disk 43 and thus prevents rotative movement of the disk 43, while at the same time permitting axial movement thereof.

The helical gear 33 is biased against an inward axial movement toward the magneto I0 by an arrangement including a helical compression spring 5I, the inner end of which is mounted in a centrally located bore 52 formed in the outer end of the shaft i4. The outer end of the spring 5I bears against a cup-shaped closure member 53 which is mounted in the outer end of the extension 33 formed on the helical gear 33. The outer edges 54 of the extension 38 are spun over the adjacent end portion of the closure member 53 in order to hold the same in position. It wil1 thus be seen that the compression spring' 5I exerts an outward biasing force on the closure member 53 and, consequently, on the helical gear .33 which tends to move the gear 33 and its thrust bearing, as well as the disk 43, outwardly in an axial direction. This outward axial movement is limited by the shoulder 44 formed on the inner side of the housing cap 45, as was noted above.

We have provided a readily accessible manually operable arrangement for selectively moving the helical gear 33 in an axial direction against the bias of the spring 5I and, consequently, for varying the angular relation between the spindle I3 and shaft I4 about their respective axes so as to adjust the timing of the magneto. This arrangement includes a sheet metal cup-shaped member 55 surrounding a projection 5E formed on the outer side of the housing cover 45 and rigidly secured to a hollow bushing 5l by a screw 58, which is threaded in a tapped hole 59 formed in the bushing 51. The bushing 5l is rotatably mounted in a bore 45a formed in the housing cover 45. A laterally extending manual operating handle or member 65 is clamped to thc oupshaped member 55 by an annular clamping ring 6I which surrounds the side walls of the cupshaped member 55 and is held in tight engage-- ment therewith by a screw |32, which paf` 3. through the handle 60 and is threaded in suitable holes formed in the adjacent ends 63 of the clamping ring 6I.

When the operating handle 6U is rotated by the operator, the member 5 to which the handle 6D is secured, is also rotated as is the bushing 5I.

This rotative movement of the bushing causes the inner end thereof, which is provided with V-shaped cam surface 64, to rotate. The disk 43 is provided with an integral centrally located extension 55 slidably mounted in the bore 45o formed in the housing cover 45 and having a. complementary V-shaped cam surface 65, which engages the cam surface 64 of the bushing 57. Referring particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that when the operating handle SG and bushing 5`I are rotated in a clockwise direction, viewed from the outer end of the housing 28, that the cam surface 64 will ride up toward the point of the cam surface E6, thus forcing the disk 43 inwardly. This inward movement of the disk 43 also causes the helical gear 33 to be moved axially inward along the splined portion ci the shaft I4. Conversely, when the operating handle 69 andbushing 5l are rotated in a counterclockwise direction, the point of the cam surface 6G will move toward the notch in the cam surface 64 and the compression spring 5I will cause the disk 43 and helical gear 33 to move axially outward. When the helical gear 33 is displaced either inwardly or outw ,."ily along the straight splined portion of the shaft the helical gear 34 which is in mesh with the helical gear 33 will be correspondingly rotated as will the spindle I3, which is secured to the helical gear 34. This rotation of the spindle I3 will in turn effect an adjustment of the ignition timing for, as was pointed out above, the displacement of the spindle I3 will cause the cam attached to its upper end to open and close the distributor contacts earlier or later for a specified position of the shaft I4, which bears a positive relationship to some definite position of the engine pistons.

Additional support for the cam-surfaced extension 65 on the disk 43 and bushing 5`I is provided by a dowel pin 6T which is preferably pressfitted within a central bore 68 formed in the bushing 51 and slidably fitted in a centrally located bore 69 formed in the extension 65 of the disk 43.

We have also provided an arrangement for limiting the rotative movement of the cup-shaped member 55 and bushing 57 as well as an arrangement for preventing the axial movement of these parts. A pin 'I which is mounted in a hole II formed in the outer end of the housing cover 45 is provided with an enlarged outer end I2 which extends through an arcuate slot 'I3 formed in the cup-shaped member 55. The engagement of the pin 'I2 with the opposite ends of the slots 13 thus limits the rotative movement of the member 55 and the bushing 51, which is secured thereto. The length of the slot 13 is designed with relation to the dimensions of the other parts so that when the member 55 is rotated to one extreme position, allowed by the pin 12 and slot 13, the gear 33 will be moved to one extremity of the splines 32 on the shaft I4; and in the other extremity of movement of the member 55, permitted by the pin 12 and slot 13, the gear 33 will be moved to the other extremity of the splines 32 on the shaft I4. Also the gears 33 and 34 are so designed with respect to their co-operating parts that the fully advanced timing position corresponds to the position of the gear 33 to the extreme right, as viewed in Fig. 2, for example, and the fully retarded timing position corresponds to the position of the gear 33 at the extreme left end of its travel. A collar 14, which surrounds the bushing 51 engaging a shoulder 15 formed thereon and is threaded in a tapped recess 16 in the outer end of the housing cap 45, prevents axial displacement of the bushing 51 and disk 55. The initial timing of the magneto, that is, the relative position of the rotor I5 and co-operating field poles when the contacts of the distributor separate may be adjusted by screwing the collar 14 into or out of the recess 16. This initial adjustment can most conveniently be made by first removing the member 55 and then moving the collar 14 to the desired position.

The bore 29 in the housing 28 is normally filled with oil or other lubricant up to the level of the shaft I4. An adequate supply of lubricant is thus had for the helical gears 33 and 34 as well as the thrust bearing 4I, the lower portions of which are immersed in the oil. The oil is supplied to the bore 29 and housing 28 through a supply passage 11 formed in the side of the housing 28 and closed by a screw 18. The spindle I3 and its bearing 30 are partly lubricated by oil supplied thereto through a wick 19 which is positioned in an axially extending bore 80 formed in the spindle I3. Transverse holes 8| are formed in the spindle I3 communicating with the bore B0 therein through which oil flows from the wick 19 to the contacting surfaces of the bearing 30 and spindle I3. Since a body of oil is always maintained in the bottom of the housing 28, the lower end of the wick 19 is always immersed in oil. The contacting surfaces of the spindle I3 and bearing 30 are also supplied with oil which passes thereto through a passage 82 formed in the bearing 38 and communicating with the interior of the housing 28 above the gear 33. The rotation of the gear 33 in the body of oil maintained within the housing 28 causes a portion of the oil to be thrown upwardly by centrifugal force, into the passage 82 through which it passes to the contacting surfaces of the spindle I3 and bearing 30.

While we have shown a particular embodiment of our invention, We do not desire our invention to be limited to the particular construction shown and described and we intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of our invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a magneto provided with a rotatable shaft and a rotor mounted on said shaft, an actuating spindle for an internal combustion engine distributor, said shaft having an extended splined portion, a helical gear slidably mounted on said splined portion of said shaft, biasing means for biasing said helical gear against axial movement along said splined portion of said shaft, a second helical gear secured to said spindle and meshing with said first named helical gear, and manually operable means for selectively displacing said first named helical gear axially along said splined portion of said shaft against the biasing force exerted thereon by said biasing means to vary the angular relation between said spindle and said shaft about their respective axes, said manually operable means including an axially slidable cam associated with said first named helical gear and a manually movable cam contacting with said first named cam.

2. In combination, a magneto provided with a frame and a rotor having a rotatable shaft journaled in said frame, said shaft being provided t with a splined portion extending outside said frame, a housing projecting from said frame and surrounding said splined portion of said shaft, an actuating spindle for an internal combustion engine distributor, one end of said spindle extending into said housing, a helical gear slidably mounted on said splined portion of said shaft within said housing, a second helical gear secured to said portion of said spindle within said housing and meshing with said rst named helical gear, and manually operable means including an operating member mounted on the cuter end of said housing for selectively displacing said first named helical gear axially along said splined portion of said shaft to Vary the angular relation between said spindle and said shaft about their respective axes.

3. In combination, a magneto provided with a frame and a rotor having a rotatable shaft journaled in said frame, said shaft being provided with a po-rtion extending axially beyond said frame, a housing projecting from said frame and surrounding said extended portion of said shaft, a combustion engine distributor housing mounted on said first named housing, an actuating spindle for the combustion engine distributor extending into said distributor housing and into said first named housing, means including meshing gears secured to said shaft and to said spindle respectively for connecting said spindle and said shaft in driving relation, and manually operable means including an operating member mounted on the outer end of said first named housing for selectively moving one of said gears with respect to the member to which it is secured to vary the angular relation between said spindle and said shaft about their respective axes.

4. In combination, a magneto provided with a frame and a rotor having a rotatable shaft journaled in said frame, said shaft being provided with a splined portion extending outside said frame, a housing projecting from said frame and surrounding said splined portion of said shaft, an actuating spindle for an internal combustion engine distributor, one end of said spindle extending into said housing, .a helical gear slidably mounted on said splined portion of said shaft within said housing, means including a compression spring for biasing said helical gear against axial movement along said splined portion of said shaft, a second helical gear secured to said portion of said spindle within said housing and meshing with said first named helical gear,

said housing having a bore formed therein substantially in alignment with said shaft, and manually operable means for selectively displacing said iirst named helical gear axially along said splined portion of said shaft to vary the angular relation between said spindle and said shaft about their respective axes, said last named means including a manually movable cam slidably mounted in said bore in said housing and a second cam associated with said rst named helical gear and contacting with said first named cam.

5. In combination, a magneto provided with a frame and a rotor having a rotatable shaft journaled in said frame, said shaft being rovided with a splined portion extending outside said frame, a housing projecting from said frame and surrounding said splined portion of said shaft, an actuating spindle for an internal combustion engine distributor, one end of said spindle eX- tending into said housing, a helical gear slidably mounted on said splined portion of said shaft Within said housing, means including a compression spring for biasing said helical gear against axial movement along said splined portion of said shaft, a second helical gear secured to said portion of said spindle Within said housing and meshing with said .first named helical gear, said housing having a bore formed therein substantially in alignment with said shaft and said helical gear having an axial projection formed thereon adjacent said bore, an axially movable cam member slidably mounted in said bore, means including an anti-friction thrust bearing for connecting said helical gear and said cam member, said thrust bearing being provided with a race mounted on said projection on said first named helical gear and a race secured to said cam member, and manually operable means including an operating member mounted on the outer end of said housing and a second cam member rotatably mounted in said bore and contacting with said iirst named cam member for selectively' displacing said first named helical gear` axially along said splined portion of said shaft against the biasing force of said biasing means to vary the angular relation between said spindle and said shaft about their respective axes.

6. In combination, a magneto provided with a frame and a rotor having a rotatable shaft journaled in said frame, said shaft being provided with a portion extending outwardly beyond said frame, a housing projecting from said frame and surrounding said extended portion of said shaft, an actuating spindle for an internal combustion engine distributor having one end thereof extending into said housing, means including a bearing secured to said housing for supporting said spindie, means including meshing gears secured to said shaft and seid spindle respectively for connecting said spindle and said shaft in driving relation, said housing having a reservoir formed in the lower portion thereof adapted to contain lubricant for said gears, said spindle having an axialiy extending bore formed therein, and means including a wick mounted in said bore formed in said spindle and extending into the lubricant contained in said reservoir for supplying lubricant to said spindle bearing.

7. in combination, a magneto provided with a frame and a rotor having a rotatable shaft journaled in said frame, said shaft being provided with a portion extending outwardly beyond said frame, a housing projecting from said frame and surrounding said extended portion of said shaft, an actuating spindle for an internal combustion engine distributor having one end thereof extending into said housing, means including a bearing secured to said housing for supporting said spindle, means including meshing gears secured to said shaft and said spindle respectively for connecting said spindle and said shaft in driving relation, said housing having a reservoir formed in the loiver portion thereof adapted to contain lubricant for said gears, and means for conveying lubricant thrown from the surface of at least one of said gears by centrifugal force during the rotation thereof to said spindle bearing.

LEONARD GRIFFITHS.

SIDNEY H. FRANKLIN.

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