US2279429A - Speed limit control - Google Patents

Description

April 14, 19 2- s. E. wATTERwohTH ETAL SPEED LIMIT CONTROL Filed May 21, 1940 TTORNEYS Patented Apr. 14, 1942 SPEED LIMIT CONTROL Stewart E. Watterworth and Austin A. Quirk, Bridgeport, Conn.

Application May 21, 1940; Serial No. 336,366

Claims.

This invention relates to a speed limit control device for automobiles, and has for an object to provide a simple and effective device to limit he speed of an automobile so that in ordinary driving it cannot be driven at a greater speed than that for which the device is set, but may be readily set for different speeds as desired, so that when a car is being driven where there'are different speed zones the device may be set for the speed designated for a zone as the car enters that zone and the driver may operate with the assurance that the car will not be driven over that speed until the device is again set for another speed. He therefore is not required to watch the speedometer to prevent driving over the speed limit, and may give his entire attention to watching traffic and operating the car.

It is also an object to provide such a device which in an emergency may be readily operated to permit higher speeds if required to meet the emergency.

It is a further object to provide such a device for limiting the speed of the car to which the device is set, but in which the limit speed may be maintained in going up a hill as well as when driving on the level.

With the foregoing and other objects in view we have devised a construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification. It is, however, to be understood we are not limited to the specific details shown, but may use other constructions and arrangements within the scope of the invention.

In this drawing:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the device showing its relation to the carburetor and intake manifold of an automobile engine and showing the elements in the position they occupy when the engine is not running;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device showing the elements in the position they assume when the engine is running;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a part of the device when in the position of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing another position of the device. a

In the drawing a portion of the carburetor is shown at 5 and a portion of the intake manifold is indicated at 6 with a connection 1 for conducting the mixture of gas and air from this carburetor to-the manifold. This connection usually has a flange 8 connected to the flange 9 at the underside of the carburetor. In mounting my device these flanges may be separated sufficiently to mount the plate or block In forminga part of my device'between them, it being clamped between thesefflanges by any suitable' means such as the bolts or screws H and gas kets l2 may be clamped between thfianges and the block It to secure gas-tight connection. Through the member H) is a passage 13in alignment with the passage from the carburetor to the connection 1 for passage of the mixture of gas and air. Inthis passage is a control valve M, such for example as a butterfly valve-mounted on a suitable shaft [5. This valve may be provided with" a series of openings l6 therethrough to prevent cutting off entirely the flow of gases through the passage and also to prevent the pull of the flow of gases upsetting the balance.

Mounted on the shaft I5 is a lever I! mounted on one end of which is a stud I? through which passes a flexible wire l9 leading" to a hand pull or adjusting knobZil mounted Where it is easily accessible to the driver while in driving position, as for example on the dash 21 in front of the driver. The stud I8 is mounted to turn on the lever I! as this lever swings with the shaft l5, and the wire I9 has a s'lid'ingfitin the stud" it. Beyond the stud I8 is a stop collar 22 secured to the wire l9 by any suitable means such as a set screw 23 which will permit the collar 22 to be adjusted to the desired position on the wire. The wire is also preferably guided and protected by a flexible tubular casing 21 leading from a securing member, 25 mounted on the block H! by a bracket 26 secured to the plate by any suitable means, such as the bolts 21, to the dash 25. The flexible casing may be supported at an intermediate point by a collar 28 on a bracket 29 also mounted on the block Ill; The member 25' is mounted to turn to permit the wire and casing to'fle'x as its connection with the stud I8 moves through turning of the lever l1. 7

On the other arm of the lever IT is a stud 3ll mounted to turn relative to the lever, and through this stud extends a slidable rod 3| havinga stop collar 32 thereon at one side of the studSD and a compression springv 33' at the other side pressingat its opposite ends against the stud and I a collar 36 on the rod 3|. The collar 32 is secured on the rod by any suitable means such as a set screw which will permit locating the collar at any desired location. The other end of the rod 31 is connected to a suitable suction operated device- 36, which may for example be a piston in a cylinder, but preferably is a flexible diaphra'gni 31 in a suitable casing connected by a small tube 38- with the suction of the motor, preferably either at the'bottom of the carburetor collar 22 is set. so as to position stop collar 22 to prevent the or the intake manifold. In the present case it is shown connected at 39 to the connection 1 leading to the manifold. The suction in the casing 36 created through the pipe 38 tends to move the diaphragm 31 to the right or to the position shown in dotted lines Fig. 2, while a spring 40 tends to move it in the opposite direction and retain it in the position shown in dotted lines Fig. 1. 7

Normally when the engine is not running the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the diaphragm 31 being shifted to the left under the action of the spring 40 shifting with it the rod 3| and through action of the collar 32 on the stud 30 through the lever I1 and the shaft |5 shifting the valve H to the open position as shown in full lines Fig. 1. Thus the spring 40 tends to shift the valve to the open,position. Suction on the diaphragm 31 tends to shift-it to the right and through action of the rod 3| tends to move the valve to closed position, and such action will take place as soon as the suction is sufficient to overcome the force of the spring 40,. Movement of the valve toward closed position, however, is limited by the collar 22 on the wire l9 which forms a limit stop for the stud |8 mounted on the other arm of the lever l1. Thus the position the valve M will take under action of suction on the diaphragm 31 is determined by the position of the collar 22, which position may be adjusted and determined by shifting the wire H] by means of the hand knob 20, and the location and thus the position of the collar 22 determines the maximum speed at which it is desired that the motor be operated for any given adjustment of the hand knob 20.

Thus in operation the control valve I4 is set to a position for the. maximum speed desired by shifting the hand knob 20 to the desired position which through the wire l9 sets the position of the collar 22. running this valve may be fully opened as shown in'Fig. 1 due to the fact that as ther is no suction on the diaphragm 31 this diaphragmis in its extreme left hand position. Thus the valve I4 does not prevent passage of gaseous mixtures fromthe carburetor to the intake manifold and therefore does not interfere with the operation of starting the motor. As soon as the motor starts the suction through the pipe 38 on the diaphragm 31 draws it forward or to the right to the position of Fig. 2 and drawsthe rod 3| forward with it so as to move the valve I4 to the limit to which the collar 22 on the wire I!) will let it go, this collar operating as a stop for the stud l8 on the lever |1. That determines the maximum speed for which the handle 20 and If the knob 20 is drawn out valve l4 from moving the whole distance with rod 3|, .which is true in- Figs. 2 and 3, the spring 33 yieldsas shown to permit diaphragm 31 and rod 3| to make their full movement.

During normal operation the speed of the mo- I When the engine is not 2,279,429 j T f' if of Figs. 2 and 3 corresponds to a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour, this valve is maintained in this position by the suction of the engine operating on the diaphragm 31, and no matter how wide the regular throttle valve is opened the speed of the car cannot be carried beyond this 35 mile limit, but the car can be driven with the usual accelerator at any speed up to this 35 mile speed limit.

If this opening of the valve l4 corresponds to the maximum speed of 35 miles per hour when driving on the level it will be clear that more gas must be supplied if this maximum speed is to be maintained in going up a hill. This condition is automatically taken care of by the suction device. As the car goes up the hill and the speed drops somewhat (say, one or two miles per hour) the suction decreases and this permits the diaphragm 31 and rod 3| to move to the left under action of spring 4|] causing the collar 32 to engage the stud 30 and move it to the left, thus turning the shaft I5 and opening the valve I4 to allow more gas to flow into the manifold to keep up the speed. As soon as the speed again picks up to the 35 mile limit (in the example under discussion) the increased suction again draws the diaphragm 31 and rod 3| forward moving the valve |4'back to its original position. Practically the maximum speed may therefore be maintained under all conditions if desired.

If it is desired to set the maximum speed for a lower limit the knob 20 may be pushed inwardly shifting the wire I!) and collar 22 farther to the left, say, for example, to the position of Fig. 4 (dotted position Mr: of Fig. 1) for a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour, the valve It being in this position across the passage |3. Then as the motor starts the suction on the diaphragm 31 will move the valve I4 to this position shifting it from the open position of Fig. 1. However, if in going up a hill the speed drops below this 25 mile limit the reduced suction permits the diaphragm 31 to move to the left carrying with it the rod 3| to open the valve |4 (say, to position MD or Me, Fig. 1) by action of the collar 32 to supply the additional gas to keep It will be seen the speed up to the limit, but as before, when the speed reaches the limit of approximately 25 miles the increased suction action on the diaphragm again closes the valve so that the speed is maintained at approximately 25 miles,.or slightly under this limit.

Although with this device in ordinary driving the car cannot be driven above the maximum speed for which the device is set by the hand knob 20, if the driver should get into a jam, say, for example in passing another car, and should need a sudden burst of speed he could secure it by quickly pulling out the knob 20 farther, which through action of the collar 22 on the stud l8 would open the valve M to give the necessary increased supply of gas. The spring 33 would yield to permit this movement. Then after he is out of the emergency the knob 2|] can be set back to the maximum speed desired. Some means may be provided to retain, the knob 20 and the wire IS in adjusted positions. Thus the shank 20a of the knob may be provided with a series of suitably spaced notches or recesses 4| in which a spring pressed ball 42 may seat. Although this will retain the knob and wire in adjusted positions the ball will yield to permit of ready adjustment of the knob. The recesses 4| may be spaced to correspond with the different increments of maximum speed limits desired,

say, for example a difierence of five miles beany given speed zone, and he can then continue to drive the car with the usual throttle and accelerator with the assurance that he will not go beyond the set speed limit, and he is not required to watch the speedometer with consequent detraction from the operation of driving. However, should a sudden burst of speed be required to meet an emergency this may be readily secured. Still further, substantially the maximum speed for which the device is set may be maintained not only in driving on the level but also in going up a hill or grade, as the extra amount of gas to maintain this speed on the grade is supplied automatically.

Having thus set forth the nature of our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a block adapted to be mounted between the carburetor and the intake manifold of an automobile engine and having a passage therethrough for the gaseous mixture, a valve in said passage, a shaft on which the valve is mounted, a lever on said shaft, a rod having sliding connection with one arm of said lever, a suction operated device connected to said rod, a stop on the rod between the lever and the suction device and adapted to engage said lever to open the valve, a compression spring on the rod at the other side of the lever to permit the lever to move independently of the rod, a spring tending to shift the rod to open the valve, said suction device being responsive to suction to shift the valve toward closed position, a flexible wire having sliding connection with theother arm of the lever, a stop on said wire to limit closing movement of the valve under. action of the suction device, and manually operable means adjustable from the drivers position to adjust the position of said stop.

2. In a device of the character described, a control valve adapted to be located between the carburetor and intake manifold of an automobile engine, a suction operated device, a rod connected with said suction device and having sliding connection with the valve, a stop on the rod to shift the valve toward open position, a spring on the rod permitting movement of the valve toward open position independently of the rod, a spring tending to shift the rod to open the valve, a passage in which the pressure is dependent on suction, means connecting the suction device to said passage to cause the suction therein to shift the valve toward closed position, and manually operable means adjustable from the drivers position to limit closing movement of the valve under action of the suction device.

3. In a device of the character described, a block adapted to be mounted between the carburetor and the intake manifold of an automobile engine and having a passage therethrough for the gaseous mixture, a valve in said passage, means for operating the valve, a suction device, a connection from said suction device to said operating means having sliding connection therewith, means on said connection to positively engage the operating means to shift the valve toward open position, a spring on said connection through which the suction device may act to shift the valve toward closed position, means tending to shift said connection to open the valve, said suction device being responsive to suetion to close the valve, and manually adjustable means to limit closing movement of the valve under action of the suction device.

4. In a device of the character described, a control valve adapted to be mounted between the carburetor and intake manifold of an automobile engine, a suction operated device, an operative connection from the suction device to the valve including a yieldable connection to transmit the force of the suction device and adapted to permit movement of the valve toward open position independently of the suction device, means tending to shift the valve toward open position, said suction device being responsive to suction to shift the valve toward closed position through said yieldable connection, and manually operable means adjustable from the drivers position to limit closing movement of said valve under action of the suction device and operable to shift the valve toward open position independently of said device.

5. In a device of the character described, a control valve adapted to be mounted between the carburetor and intake manifold of an automobile engine, a shaft on which the valve is mounted, a lever on said shaft, a suction operated device, an operative connection from the suction device to one arm of the lever adapted to permit movement of the valve toward open position independently of the suction device, means tending to shift the valve toward open position, manually operable means adjustable from the drivers position, a connection from the said manual STEWART E. WATTERWORTH. AUSTIN A. QU'IRK.

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