US2280432A

US2280432A - Starter mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2280432A
Application number: US402740A
Authority: US
Inventors: Vera C Hodges
Original assignee: H P LESTER; THOMAS B SMALLWOOD; VERA C HODGES
Current assignee: H P LESTER; THOMAS B SMALLWOOD; VERA C HODGES
Priority date: 1941-07-17
Filing date: 1941-07-17
Publication date: 1942-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 1959-04-21

Description

V. C. HODGE'S STARTER'MECHANISM April 21, 1942.

Filed July 17, 1841 INVENTOR.

KC. h/oc yes Q3 A TTOPNE Y Patented Apr. 21, 1942 @UNITED ,STATES PATENT OFFICE l 2,280,432 STARTER MECHANISM Vera C. Hodges, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to H. P. Lester, Thomas B. Smallwood, and Vera l C. Hodges, doing business as Champion Aviation ProductsC'ompany, Los Angeles, Calif, a,

co-partnership Application july 17, 1941, SerialNo. 402,740 11 Claims. (cur-9) My invention relates to starter mechanism, andmore particularly to starter mechanism for aircraft, and other appropriately geared engines within the capacity of the starter mechanism.

An object of the invention is to provide in a starter mechanismya straight, splined shaft for the purpose'of advancing the gearengaging portion of the starter mechanism, and to eliminate spiral splines or grooves; Spiral grooves tend to permit chattering of groove engaging memberspl which is desired 'to be eliminated l in the present invention. 1 l

Other objects of theinvention are to provide starter means for aircraft that is sturdy and affords an even pull, that is positive in operation,

convenient in use, easily installed in a working position, and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully ,appear in the course of the following description. Howeventhe drawing merely shows and the following descriptionmerely describes one e'mbodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing,likereference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through starter mechanism embodying the features of the present invention, taken on the line I-l of'Fig. 5.

Fig. 2 is a broken elevationof apart of Fig. 1,

partly in section. 1

Fig. 3 is a'view similar to Fig. 2,'but showing a l different operative position. a, a a

Fig. 4 shows a succeeding operative position,

following that shown in Fig. 3. V

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1. l a

Referring more in detail .tothe drawing, the

. reference character 6 generally designates an em gine having a rotary end-facedgear I. The clutch elements 8 of the gear 1 are disposed to beenit tend to hold the head Ill away from the gear I of the engine. The spring l5 is'mounted in the hollow portion I6 of the shaft l3 and abuts at oneend against a screw plug 11, in the hollow portion I5, of the shaft :I3, and at the other end abuts against ahead l8 on a bolt l9 slidable in the plug IT. A sleeve 20 on the shank of the bolt 19 limits compression of the spring I5. A nut 2| on the bolt l9 contacts the outer face of a washer 22. Through the intermediary of the mechanism described, the spring l5 tends to draw ranged

abuttingfaces

26 and 21 which are arranged to engage abutting

faces

28 and 29, respectively, on pointed integral 1ugs30 on the ring '24. Similar abuttingfaces and similar lugs are provided on the side of the mechanism opposite to that shown.

The ring 24 is free to rotate upon the shank 23 of the? head [0, except for limitations by the abutting faces 26 and 21 upon the lugs 30. However, a series of springs 3| is mounted on an in ner face of a cylindricalflange 32 of a shell 33. r

The outer ends of the springs 3i are bolted to the flange 32, as suggested at 33. The innerends of the springs 3| have curved tips 34 which frictionally engage the circumferential surface of the ring 24. An inner race 35 and anouter race 36 for bearings 31 mountthe shaft l3 for rotation within, the shell 33. l

Clutch plates

38 and 39 alternately engage ribs 40 on the shaft l3 and ribs 4| within the shell 33. A nut 42 upon the shaft l3. provides a fixed abutment for the clutch plates. A movable head 43 is urged, by means of a spring 44, to cause the plates and 39 to frictionally engage with one another. A nut 45, also on. the shaft i3, maintains a washer 46 in position on the shaft, and provides a fixed abutment for the spring 44. A gear 41,,likewise mounted on the shaft 13,. is driven by starter motor mechanism (not shown). A bearing 48 aids in supporting the shaft i3.

In the operation of the mechanism, the starter motor drives the gear 41, which in turn rotates the shaft I3. Rotation of the shaft l3 causes the therewith engaged head It also to rotate.

However, therotation of the clutch elements 9 in a counter-clockwise direction, looking at same in the direction of the arrow A, causes the abutment faces 21, on the collar 25, to engage the abutment faces 29 on, the pointed lugs 30. Due to'the inclined arrangement of the

faces

21 and 29, the collar 25 and thereby the head H) are 7 moved outward upon the shaft i3, as best shown in Fig. 3.

When the head It! has been moved outward to the position shown in Fig.3, the clutch elements 9 engage the clutch elements 8 on the engine and turn the engine over. As soon as the engine 6 is operating by its own combustion, the inclined surfaces 5! behind the clutch elements 8, engage the inclined surfaces 49 behind the clutch elements 9 and thereby push the starter head l away from starting position. Fig. 4 shows the starter head It) returned to its original position after the engine 6 has been started.

There is considerable tension upon the collar 24 by means of the springs 3|; fact, there must be enough tension by means of these springs to hold the head It against rotation upon rotation of the shaft 13. However, as soon as the engine 6 is rotating, there must be sufficient resilience in the springs 3! to permit the head H) to retract and slide inward with regard to the flange 32.

The clutch provided by the

plates

38 and 39 affords a safety means in caseof the kick-back of the engine 6. The nut 45 may be adjusted to regulate the tension of the spring 44, which in turn regulates the friction between the

plates

38 and 39.

It is believed clear that the present starter mechanism is reversible by merely changing the direction of the clutch elements 8 and 9.

The spring I is a relatively weak spring and not strong enough to move the head In inward with respect to the flange 32 against the action of the springs 3|, which are relatively stronger, at least in their aggregate, than the relatively weak spring l5.

While I have illustrated and described what I now regard as thepreferred embodiment of my invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I, therefore, do notwish to restrict myself to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but desire to avail myself of all modifications which may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In starter mechanism,. a shaft having straight splines longitudinally thereof, a starter head meshing with the splines on the shaft and having a longitudinal sliding movement with respect to the shaft, the starter head having an inclined portion, an element normally substantially stationary during forward movement of the starter head, the element having inclined means arranged to engage the inclined portion of the starter head and to feed the starter head forward, upon rotation of the starter head by means of the shaft.

2. In starter mechanism, a shaft having straight splines longitudinally thereof, a starter head having a rearwardly extending member provided with an inclined end face facing rearwardly with respect tosaid member, the starter head meshing with the splines on the shaft and having a longitudinal sliding movement with respect to the shaft, an element normallysubstantially stationary during forward movement of the starter head, the element engaging the inclined portion of the starter head and arranged by reason of suchinclined portion to feed the starter head forward, upon-rotation of the starter headby means'of theshaft.

3. In starter mechanism, a shaft having straight splines longitudinally thereof, a starter head having an abutment face, the starter head meshing with the splines on the shaft and having a longitudinal sliding movement with respect to the shaft, an element normally substantially stationary during forward movement of the starter head, the element having inclined means arranged to engage the abutment face of the starter head and to feed the starter head forward, upon rotation of the starter head by means of the shaft.

4. In starter mechanism, a shaft having straight splines longitudinally thereof, a starter head meshing with the splines on the shaft and having a longitudinal sliding movement with respect to the shaft, the starter head having a rearwardly extending collar provided with an inclined portion spaced inward from the end of the collar, an annular element upon the collar to the rear of the inclined portion but engaging with the inclined portion, and means arranged to maintain the element substantially stationary during forward movement of the starter head.

5. In starter mechanism, a shaft, 8. starter element connected to rotate with the shaft but having a movement lengthwise with respect to the shaft, an element arranged to be held relatively stationary during forward movement of the starter element, at least one of the elements having an inclined portion and the other element having an abutting face engaging the inclined portion on the other element, arranged to effect said forward movement of the starter element by rotation of the shaft, and means disposed frictionally to substantially prevent movement of the second mentioned element during rotation of the shaft effecting forward movement of the starter element.

6. In starter mechanism, a shaft having straight splines longitudinally thereof, a starter element meshing with the splines on the shaft and having a longitudinal sliding movement with respect to the shaft, an element arranged to be movable during return movement of the starter element, at least one of the elements having an inclined portion and the other element having an abutting face engaging the inclined portion on the other element, arranged to effect forward movement of the starter element by rotation of the shaft, and means disposed frictionally to substantially prevent movement of the second mentioned element during rotation of the shaft effecting forward movement of the starter element.

7. In starter mechanism, a shaft, a starter element connected to rotate with the shaft but having a movement lengthwise with respect to the shaft, an element arranged to be held relatively stationary during forward movement of the starter element, at least one of the elements having an inclined portion and the other element having an abutting face engaging the inclined portion on the other element, arranged to effect said forward movement of the starter element by rotation of the shaft, and resilient means disposed to resiliently resist movement of the second mentioned element during rotation of the shaft effecting forward movement of the starter element.

8. In starter mechanism, a shaft having straight splines longitudinally thereof, a starter element meshing with the splines on the shaft and having a longitudinal sliding movement with respect. .to .the shaft, .an element arranged to ,be movable adoring return. mnyement. of the starter element, at least one of the elements having an inclined portion and the other element having an abutting face engaging the inclined portion on the other element, arranged to effect forward movement of the starter element by rotation of the shaft, and resilient means disposed to resiliently resist movement of the second mentioned element during rotation of the shaft effecting forward movement of the starter element. i

9. In starter mechanism, a shaft, a starter element connected to rotate with the shaft but having a movement lengthwise with respect to the shaft, an annular element arranged to be movable during return movement of the starter element, at least one of the elements having an inclined portion and the other element having an abutting face engaging the inclined portion on the other element, arranged to effect forward movement of the starter element by rotation of the shaft, the annular element having a circumferential face of substantially the same diameter throughout its length, providing a substantially smooth outer surface, and resilient means frictionally engaging the said outer surface of the annular element and resisting movement of suchelement during rotation of the shaft effecting forward movement of the starter element.

- 10. In starter mechanism,a shaft, a starter element connected to rotate with the shaft but having a movement lengthwise with respect to the shaft, the starter element having a rearwardly extending collar, an annular element rotatable upon the collar, at least one of the elements having an inclined portion and the other element having an abutting face engaging the inclined portion on the other element, arranged to effect said forward movement of the starter element by rotation of the shaft, and resilient means frictionally engaging the said outer surface of the annular element and resisting movement of such element during rotation of the shaft effecting forward movement of the starter element.

11. In starter mechanism, a shaft, a starter element connected to rotate with the shaft but having a movement lengthwise with respect to the shaft, relatively weaker spring means tending to move the starter element along the shaft away from its engine-starting position, a relatively movable element normally substantially stationary during rotation of the shaft, at least one of the elements having an inclined portion and the tively stronger spring means than the first-mentioned spring means resiliently resisting rotation of the second-mentioned element during rotation of the shaft.

VERA C. HODGES.