US2377260A - Brush operating mechanism - Google Patents

Description

May 29, 1945. R. M. NARDONE 2,377,260

BRUSH OPERATING MECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 19, 1942 s sheets-sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

- (like rneq Ma 1945- R. M. NARDONE 2,377,260

BRUSH OPERATING MECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 19, 1942 3 Sheets-Shet 2 INVENTOR.

May 29, 1945. R M, N R N 2,377,260

BRUSH OPERATING MECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 19, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1' k V," I. 1 1:21 123 1.271% 7 I IN V EN TOR. Romeo MA/ardone BY (Lttorneu.

Patented May 29, 1945 BRUSH OPERATING MECHANISM Romeo M. Nardone, Westwood, N. J., assignor to Bendix Aviation Corporation, Bendix, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Original application August 19, 1942, Serial No. 455,369, now Patent No. 2,319,469, dated May 18,

1943, Serial No. 484,761

3 Claims.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines, and particularly to the starting of an internal combustion engine by imparting initial rotary movement to the engine crank-shaft v through the agency of a mechanical torque transmitting starter mechanism. This application is a divisionof my application No. 455,369, filed August 19, 1942, now Patent No. 2,319,469, patergy in a driving member of the inertia type.

Another object is to provide novel means facilitating rotation of the inertia element (flywheel) in either desired direction, prior to operation of the means for moving the engine-engaging member to engine-engaging position.

Another object is to provide flywheel energizing means including a reversible electric motor having associated therewith brush lifting and reversing mechanisms of novel construction.

These and other objects of the invention will 4 become apparent from inspection of the following specification when read with reference to the accompanying'drawings wherein is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the draw- 5 ings are for the purpose of illustration only, and are not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of a de- I vice embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a View along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figs.'3 and 4 show the engine-engaging member and actuating means therefor, in successive stages of operation;

Fig. 5 is a view along line 5-5 of 1; and Fig. 6 is a diagram of electrical connections.

In Fig. l the inertia element (flywheel) is shown as having a hub |2 keyed to the shaft l3 oi the armature Ml of an electric motor whose field coils it are supported on a frame I! fastened to a transverse plate is constituting part of a sectional housing; the said plate |8 being secured between the housing sections 2| and 22. A third housing section 23 supports the sections Divided and this application April 27,

22 and 2|, and is in turn supported on a mounting flange 24 of the engine to be started; the sections 23 and 24 being held together by suitable bolts 26. A rotatable part 21 of the engine has ratchet teeth 28 for engagement by correspondingly shaped teeth on an engine-engaging member 29, and the latter has a cylindrical extension or hub 3| mounted for rotation and limited axial movement within the housing section 23.

Housing section 22 has an inwardly extending position with two, openings-One to receive a bearing assembly 36 in which the shaft l3 rotates, and the other to receive a pair of bearing assemblies 3'1 and 38 in which a shaft and a sleeve 40 have unitary rotation. Sleeve 40 is an extension of a bell-shaped gear 4| which meshes with a pinion 42, the latter being integrated with armature shaft I3 in any suitable manner.

Shaft 39 is keyed to sleeve 40 and terminates in teeth 44 to form a pinion having meshing relationship to the internally formed teeth of an annulus gear 46 whose hub 41 has relative rotation about a hollow shaft 48 that is drivably connected to the hub of a plate 49 constituting part of a barrel 5|. Bearing assemblies 52 and 53 facilitate free rotation of barrel 5| in housing section 23.

Hub 41 of gear 46 has teeth, and these constitute a sun gear for mesh with a plurality of planetary gears 56 that arerotatably mounted on the barrel end 49and mesh with an internal gear 5'! which is shown as integral with the housing section 23. Preferably three planetary gears 56 are employed, and one of these is shown in section in Fig. 1. These gears 56 are preferably spaced apart, so that as the view is taken in Fig. 1, one of the gears appears in elevation below the center line. Each of the planetary gears is rotatably mounted by means of a ball bearing 58 carried by a sleeve 59 which is held at its inner end in barrel end 49. Extending into sleeve 59 and threaded thereto is a screw 6| which supports the sleeve, bearing and planetary gear. If desired a retaining ring 62 for'bearings 58 may be formed integral with sleeves 59.

For torque limiting purposes there is preferably employed a multiple disc clutch embodying a plurality of friction discs 63, a number of said discs being splined to the inner surface of barrel 5|, and the remainder being splined to the outer surface of a shell or sleev 64. Resilient means such as a plurality of coil springs '66 and an adjusting nut 61, which is threaded into the inner end of barrel 5|, are provided for varying the pressure with which discs 63 are maintained in engagement.

The novel engine-engaging control means, heretofore referred to, will now be described in detail. A rod 8| passes through hollow shaft 48, and at its outer end is threaded to receive a nut 82 which abuts the transverse apertured wall 83 of engine-engaging member 29 and thereby retains the said member 29 in assembled relationship to the rod 8| which passes freely through said apertured wall 83. At its other end rod 8| is formed to receive one end of a bell-crank 84 mounted on a rock-shaft 86 journaled in bearings 81 and 88 (Fig. 2) of the housing section 22, and projecting through said housing section 22 to receive a second bell-crank 89 for manual operation of rod 8|. Automatic operationof rod 8 I, following initial acceleration of flywheel I I, is provided by solenoid 9| whose plunger 92 has an extension 93 which abuts the upper end of bell-crank 84 and moves the latter about its pivot in response to energization of winding 9| in the manner hereinafter described. A torsion spring 94 yieldably opposes such clockwise (Fig. 1) swinging of bellcrank 84, but this clockwise swinging is nevertheless effective to move rod 8| to the left. On the rod 8| there is a coiled compression spring 98 and a cup 91. the latter being normally urged against the rod collar 98 by the spring action. A detent IN is urged in a radially outward direction by a leaf spring I02, and, because of this urging, it normally engages a tapered shoulder I03 (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) formed by the internal splines of sleeve 64, which splines coact with the external splines I05 on the hub 3| of engineengaging member 29. This engagement of detent I0| with shoulder I03 holds member 29 against any axial displacement until the axial displacement of rod 8| fully compresses spring 96-in other words, until the parts reach the relative positions shown in Fig. 3. At that moment the continued pressure to the left of rod collar 8| (urged by the solenoid plunger 92), in conjunction with the now built-up stress in spring 96, results in a snap-action movement of member 29 to the left, into the position shown in Fig. 4. Thus engin engagement is effected, and the energy previously stored in flywheel II is transmitted to the member 21 of the engine, to crank the latter.

The previous storage of energy in flywheel II may have been by manual acceleration of the flywheel (through the gear train) or by motor operation. Motor operation involves an automatic brush applying action by electromagnetic control means now to be described.

Brush actuating solenoid I01 has a plunger I08 connected by means of springs I09 to clevis arms III which are loosely joined to brushes H2 and H3. Operation of the solenoid causes plunger I08 to move down (as shown on the drawings) so as to extend springs I09 and pull arms III down to apply pressure on top of the brushes II2, H3. The act of lowering the brushes to the commutator acts as a switch so that the motor is immediately energized and accelerates flywheel II. When solenoid I01 is de-energized, the spring l|3 acts to push the plunger I08 upward, and collar II4 contacts arms I I to rotate them about their hinge points I I8 and lift the brushes off the commutator by reason of the interengagement of said arms with the slots in the brush-carriers I2I.

The rotation of the motor can be reversed merely by shifting the live lead I22 from terminal I23 to terminal I24, at the same time joining up brush M2 to terminal I23. Brush 2 is shown as connected to terminal I24. This reversal involves only a simple shift of conducting anglestrip I21 from one terminal to the other.

To control the flow of current from source I30 to the motor and solenoids 9| and I01, I employ a switch having a movable element with portions MI and I42v of insulating material, and portions I43 and I44 of conducting material; also stationary fingers I48, I41, I48, and I49. Ahandle I50 enables the operator to close, first, the switch I48, I43, I41 to energize the solenoid I01 and thus apply the brushes to the motor. This allows current to flow through both the field coils I0 and armature I4 of the motor, in series, and the flywheel I I is thus energized at high speed.

When suflicient energy has thus been stored, the operator pushes handle I50 further to the left, thus adding to the original circuit a second circuit passing to the solenoid 9| by way of contacts I48, I44, and I49. The member 29 is thereupon snapped into engine-engaging position (as heretofore explained) and the engine cranked.

When the engine starts, the operator returns switch I50 to the dead position (Fig. 6), and springs H3 and 94 now come into effect: spring II3, to lift the brushes from the commutator (Fig. 6); and spring 94, to restore rod 8| to its normal (Fig. 1) position, and-along with itthe member 29.

What is claimed is:

1. A commutator brush operating mechanism comprising, in combination with a pair of spacedapart commutator-engaging brushes, a, slotted carrier for each brush, a pair of arms loosely joined to said carriers at the slotted portions thereof, a solenoid having a spring-pressed plunger engaging said arms to move them in a direction to raise the brushes from the commutator upon deenergization of said solenoid, and resilent means connecting said plunger to said arms to effect movement of said arms by said plunger in a direction to apply the brushes to the commutator upon energization of said solenoid.

2. A commutator brush operating mechanism comprising, in combination with a pair of spacedapart commutator-engaging brushes, a pair of arms loosely joined to said brushes, a solenoid having a spring-pressed plunger engaging said arms to move them in a direction to raise the brushes from the commutator upon deenergization of said solenoid, and resilient means connecting said plunger to said arms to effect movement of said arms by said plunger in a direction to apply the brushes to the commutator upon energization of said solenoid.

3. A commutator brush operating mechanism comprising, in combination with a pair of spacedapart commutator-engaging brushes, a pair of arms loosely joined to said brushes, a solenoid having a spring-pressed plunger engaging said arms to move them in a direction to raise the brushes from the commutator upon deenergization of said solenoid, and yieldable means connected between each of said arms and said plunger to effect movement of said arms by said plunger in a direction to apply the brushes to the commutator in yieldable relation therewith upon energization of said solenoid.

ROMEO M. NARDONE.

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