US2122816A - Engine starters for motor-driven vehicles - Google Patents

Description

y 5, 1938. J. F. KISSANE 2,122,816

ENGINE STARTERS FOR MOTOR-DRIVEN VEHICLES Original Filed June 10, 1956 a I, 0 l

' ii M g g 32 29 39 I l 1 l [34 i f! 2 53 22' j zz 12 51 43 10 fnzlenivrs- Patented July 5, 1938 UNITED STATES Search Room ENGINE STARTERS FOR MOTOR-DRIVEN VEHICLES John F. Kissane, Detroit, Mich., assignor of onehalf to James H. Murphy, Detroit, Mich.

Application June 10, 1936, Serial No. 84,592 Renewed November 17, 1937 3 Claims.

My invention relates to starters for the engines of motor-driven vehicles such as automobiles, airplanes, and the like, and its principal object is to provide means whereby such engines may be easily and quickly started without using the battery. In automobiles and trucks provided with electrical starters according to the present practice it is found that the work imposed upon the battery by the combined expenditures of power for lighting, starting and ignition is often excessive. This is particularly the case during the winter months when the current required for lighting and also for starting the motor is at a maximum. The maintenance of the battery at this time becomes so difficult that the engine is frequently allowed to continue running for long periods when the vehicle is at rest. This habit is especially common in the case of truck drivers, salesmen, and physicians who have to make frequent stops during the working day, and as a result it is found in many instances that more gasoline is consumed during the standing time than during the working time of the vehicle.

According to the present invention, the starting of the engine is accomplished by fluid pressure from a storage system so that the battery power may be reserved for lighting and ignition 'purposes, and at the same time considerable saving of fuel is effected since it is no longer necessary to keep the motor running even during vehicle stoppages of very short duration.

A further object of my said invention is to provide an apparatus of the character referred to which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture, and which may be readily applied to existing vehicles with very little change in detail of the same.

With these and other objects in view I will now describe a preferred embodiment of my invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, in

which- Figure 1 is a plan view for the most part in section upon the centerline, showing the complete installation of the apparatus in diagrammatical form.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an alternative position of the controlling valve, to be hereinafter explained.

Like characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

My improved starter, as shown more particularly in Figure 1, comprises in its general organization a motor unit or starter A, a fluid-pressure accumulator B, a pump C for charging the latter, and a valve mechanism D for controlling the supply of fluid to the starter unit.

I is the main cylinder of the starter unit, made from cast iron or other suitable material, having a bore 2 in which is slidably received a piston 3 provided with leather or other suitable packing 4, the latter being secured in position by the annular washer 5 and screws 6. The piston is adapted to 5 be moved in one direction by pressure admitted to the cylinder through the pipe 43 and in the other direction by a helical compression spring 54, one end of which presses upon the piston while the other reacts against the cover It. In the end of the cylinder adjacent the spring is also a drain pipe 55.

Concentric with the piston 3 and also slidable therewithin is a shaft 1 on one end of which is keyed a gear 8 forming part of a rotary hydraulic motor of the well-known geared type. The gear 8, together with its companion gear 9, are rotatably mounted within a casing l0 connected to or integral with the cylinder I and held in position laterally by a cover ll, there being provided an inlet pipe l2 and an outlet pipe l3 both positioned substantially at the point of tangential contact of the two gears. Upon the end of the cylinder l remote from the motor is a cover 14 in which is slidably and rotatably supported a shaft I5 which carries the starter pinion Hi to be hereinafter described. Within the cylinder 1 and abutting upon the piston 3 is a sleeve or hollow shaft I6", which is rotatably secured to the piston by a collar ll secured to the piston by screws I8 and adapted to engage a collar l9 upon the sleeve, so that longitudinal movement of the piston will cause corresponding movement of the sleeve while at the same time the sleeve may rotate in relation to the piston. Within the sleeve it" are a series of splines 20 which engage at one end corresponding splines 2| in the shaft 1 and at the other end similar splines 22 upon the shaft IS. The shaft I5 is secured in position within the sleeve by welding or other means such as the pin 23, whilethe sleeve is capable of sliding back and forth upon the shaft 'l'and at the same time maintaining driving relation with it. As a consequence of this construction, longitudinal movement of the piston may be employed to move the pinion it into and out of engagement with the engine fly-wheel-ring gear 24 while at the same time the pinion may be rotated by power from the gear 8 of the motor.

In order to store up power for the operation of the motor unit I employ an accumulator B. This accumulator consists of a cylinder 25 having end covers 26, 21 and having slidably mounted therewithin a piston 28 which is adapted to be moved in the direction of the arrow 29 by pressure from the pump C and in the opposite direction by the helical spring 30, one end of which presses upon the piston while the other end reacts upon the cover 26. A piston 28 is provided with leather or other packing 3| secured in posio0 tion thereupon by the washer 32 and bolts 33. A pipe 34 connects the interior of the cylinder with the pump C on one side of the piston and the other side is provided with a vent pipe 35. The pump C may be of any well-known type having a shaft 36 driven by any convenient means from the engine and having an inlet pipe 31 and discharging into the pipe 34. The operation of the accumulator is well known in the art and forms no part of the present invention.

Intermediate the accumulator B and the motor unit is a valve cylinder 38 provided with end covers 39, 40. This cylinder is connected by pipes M, 42 with the pressure supply pipe 34. The cylinder is also connected by pipe 43 to the interior of the cylinder I, and by pipe 44 to the inlet pipe I2 of the motor. There is also a discharge pipe 45. Within the valve cylinder are a series of pistons46, each consisting of a metallic disc 46' and a leather or other packing 46" suitably fastened thereto, the pistons being spaced apart by tubular members 41 and secured in the proper spaced relation by nuts 48 upon the valve rod 49, the said rod being slidably received in an opening in the cover 40 which is provided with a packing 40' as shown. The rod 49 is moved in one direction by a lever 50 pivoted at and secured to it by the link 52, and in the other direction by the helical compression spring 53 positioned within the cylinder at the end remote from the lever. The lever 50' may be operated by pedal or manual means.

The operation of the starter is as follows:-

When the parts are in their inoperative position, the piston 3 rests adjacent to the inwardly projecting hub IDI upon the casing III, (as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1), and at this time the starter pinion I6 occupies the position indicated in broken lines at I6 so as to be out of mesh with the fiy-wheel-ring gear 24'. At this time the controlling valve will be in such position that power is entirely cut off from the unit. When, however, the valve is moved into the position in which it is shown in Figure 1, power is admitted through pipes M and 43 to the cylinder I, causing the piston 3 to move into the position shown and putting the pinion I6 into mesh with the fly-Wheel-ring gear 24. The valve then being brought by further movement, (by means of lever 50, link 52, and rod 49), into the position shown in Figure 4, power is admitted to the motor through pipes 42 and 44 to the motor which is thus rotated, carrying with it the pinion I6 and starting the engine. The starting thus effected, the valve is moved in such position that fluid is discharged from the cylinder I by pipe 43 to outlet pipe 45 and the piston is returned to its original position under the action of the spring 54.

In order to prevent damage to the mechanism through extreme violence of the initial explosion in the engine cylinder, the pinion I6, instead of being keyed directly upon the shaft I5, is driven therefrom through an over-running clutch C of the well-known roller type. This clutch, in the example shown, consists of a collar IGI keyed upon the shaft and having peripheral cam-like portions adapted to co-act with rollers I62 and cause them to frictionally engage the bore I63 when the shaft is turned in the direction for starting the engine, while when the peripheral speed of the gear ring 24 tends to exceed the normal speed of the pinion IS, the latter may over-run the shaft. The parts are retained in position endwise upon the shaft by a collar I64 which engages a shoulder I5I upon the shaft and a collar I65 which is secured in position by a nut I66.

It will be observed from the foregoing description and by reference to the drawing that I have provided a starter which is simple in construction and easy to operate, and while I have herein described and shown a preferred embodiment of the same, it will be understood by those skilled in the art to which my invention relates that the same may be modified in various ways to suit any particular or peculiar requirements without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination, with an engine including a gear, of a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, a hollow shaft connected longitudinally to said piston and rotatable relative thereto, a pinion arranged in driving relation to said shaft and adapted to engage said gear, means for normally holding said pinion cut of mesh with said gear, a source of fluid pressure, means for admitting pressure to said piston so as to bring said pinion into mesh with said gear, and fluid pressure means for rotating said shaft'fsaid' last-named means comprising a fluid pressure motor, a shaft driven by said motor passing through said piston slidably and rotatively engaging said hollow shaft, and means for admitting pressure to said motor.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination, with an engine including a gear, of a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, a hollow shaft connected longitudinally to said piston and rotatable relative thereto, a pinion arranged in one-way driving relation to said shaft and adapted to engage said gear, means for normally holding said pinion out of mesh with said gear, a source of fluid pressure, means for admitting pressure to said piston so as to bring said pinion into mesh with said gear, and fluid pressure means for rotating said shaft, said last-named means comprising a fluid pressure motor, a shaft driven by said motor passing through said piston slidably and rotatively engaging said hollow shaft, and means for admitting pressure to said motor.

. 3. In a device of the character described, the I combination, with an engine including a gear, of

a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, a hollow shaft connected longitudinally to said piston and rotatable relative thereto, a pinion arranged in driving relation to said shaft and adapted to engage said gear, means for normally holding said pinion out of mesh with said gear, a source of fluid pressure including a pump and a fluid pressure accumulator, means for admitting pressure to said piston so as to bring said pinion into mesh with said gear, and fluid pressure means for rotating said shaft, said last-named means comprising a fluid pressure motor, a shaft driven by said motor passing through said piston slidably and rotatively engaging said hollow shaft, and means for admitting pressure to said motor.

JOHN IQSSANE.

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