US3143613A - Weight operated engine starting and anti-stalling switch means - Google Patents

Description

g- 1964 c. v. JONES, SR 3,143,613-

WEIGHT OPERATED ENGINE STARTING AND ANTI-STALLING SWITCH MEANS Filed May 22, 1961 I r I I I!" I I I I I I I I! lii@ INVENTOR Gay Jones, Sr.

BY /3 W 2 ATTORNEY United States Patent WEIGHT OPERATED ENGINE STARTlN G AND ANTI-STALLING SWITCH MEANS Coy V. Jones, Sr., Greeuville, S.C., assignor to Southern Machinery Company, Greenville, SC, a corporation of South Carolina Filed May '22, 1961, Ser. No. 120,833 2 Claims. (Cl. 20083) This invention relates broadly to starter means for internal combustion engines, and more particularly to improved vacuum controlled starting switch and anti-stall device.

Automatic vacuum operated starter switches are known in the prior art, and most usually embody resilient diaphragms which are subject to the vacuum pressure from the intake manifold of the engine. A spring or springs are commonly utilized to shift the diaphragm and switch contact means carried thereby to the engine starting position whenever the engine stalls, and under such circumstances, automatic restarting of the engine is obtained as is well known. A basic difliculty with the prior art devices of this type resides in failure or inoperativeness of. the spring means, due to rust, the effect of heat, spring fatigue due to long usage and other mechanical failure of the spring means. It is well known that any spring will have its characteristics changed by continued usage particularly in the presence of heat and under conditions where the spring may corrode or rust. These conditions are impossible to avoid entirely in automotive usage. According to the present invention, this basic difllculty is entirely overcome by the total elimination of springs in the automatic starting switch.

An important object of the invention is to provide a vacuum controlled starting switch including a novel and simplified weight means associated with a resilient diaphragm to actuate or close the switch upon failure of the vacuum from the intake manifold or stalling of the engine. The switch operating characteristics of the weight means do not change in the slightest due to the effect of heat, rust or other deteriorating factors. Therefore, once installed upon the automotive vehicle, the switch according to the invention requires no adjustment and substantially no maintenance and will have a much longer. operative life than prior art switches embodying spring means in association with diaphragms and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vacuum controlled starting switch which will effect the starting of the engine as soon as the ignition key is turned to the onposition; the device of the invention also restarting the engine automatically upon stalling of the same with resultant failure of vacuum in the intake manifold, and thereby completely eliminating the necessity for the driver to manually engage the starter system upon the occurrence of engine stalling or during initial starting of the engine. 7

A further object of the invention is to provide novel .and simplified relief valve means for one chamber of the starting switch, as well as means to adjust the relief valve means.

Another object is to provide in a switch of the men- Another object is to provide a device of the mentioned character which is rugged and durable in construction, fully enclosed, compact, reliable and efiicient inoperation and very economical to manufacture and ice Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to V designate like parts throughout the same,

applicable to substantially any existing or new conventional' automotive vehicle.

FIGURE 1 isa perspective view of an engine starting switch embodying the invention, I

FIGURE 2 is a central vertical cross section through the same, V

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 33 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a simplified wiring diagram showing a conventional automotive ignition system with the switch according to the invention installed therein.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 10 designates generally a two part 'switch casing disposed upright or vertical during use, and supported by any suitable bracket means, not shown, and preferably formed of some suitable electrical insulating material, such as Bakelite or one of the high impact modern plastics materials now commonly employed in the electrical industry. The casing 10 is generally cylindrical, as shown, and embodies a pair of opposed cup-like casing sections 11 and 12 having opposed annular flanges 13 integral therewith and detachably secured together in assembly by through bolt means 14.

A generally flat circular resilient diaphragm 15 of rubber or the like has its marginal portion tightly clamped between the opposed flanges 13 as indicated in the drawings. The diaphragm 15 is substantially taut in assembly although readily flexible under the influence of vacuum pressure and weight means to be described. The diaphragm 15 divides the casing 10 into upper and lower chambers 16 and 17. The diaphragm 15, top wall 18 of easing section 11 and bottom wall 19 of casing section 12 are preferably disposed substantially level or horizontal during use, although exact levelness is not required for proper operation of the switch, as obviously the automotive vehicle will assume various degress of inclination during normal operation.

A tubular screw-threaded fitting 20 is formed centrally upon the top wall 18 and projects thereabove for attachment at 21 to a vacuum line or tube 22 leading to and communicating with the intake manifold of the automotive engine. Consequently, the switch chamber 16 at the upper side of diaphragm 15 is in direct communication with engine suction or vacuumdurin'g normal engine operation. I V

A relatively heavy circular disc or weight 23 is disposed in contact with the top of diaphragm 15 and centrally of the upper chamber 16 as shown. A striker plate 24 or lower weight element, somewhat larger in diameter than the upper weight 23, is disposed upon-the lower side of the diaphragm 15 concentrically with the upper weight 23. The elements 23 and 24 are'tightly clamped to opposite sides of the diaphragm 15 by central bolt means 25, recessed into the top and bottom faces of the elements 23 and 24 respectively as indicated at 26 and Y27. The opposed clamping faces of the weight elements 23 and 24 extend over a substantial central area of the diaphragm 15 as shown in FIGURE 2. The lower flat face 28 of the metallic striker plate 24 is adapted toengage or bridge electrical contacts of the switch device to be described. v a

A fixed upstanding metallic terminal or pin '29 is anchored at 30 to the bottom wall 19 of the casing, and a lead wire 31 is electrically connected at 32' to the terminal pin 29, as shown. The top of the pin 29 is adapted I 3 to engage the bottom face 28 f striker plate 24 and inwardly of the periphery of the striker plate.

A bimetallic strip contact element 32 is fixedly secured zit/33" to the casing bottom wall 1.9 and electrically connected asv at 34 with a second lead wire 35. The bimetallic strip contact 32 is adapted to have its top end engage the. bottom face 28 of striker plate 24, when the latter is in a: lowered Position as shown in FIGURE 2, when no vacuum is being pulled in upper chamber 16.

H Bottom wall 19 has a small central opening 36 formed therethrough, covered by a reed valve 37, secured at 38 to-thebottom wall 19 and adapted to be adjusted open to a desired degree relative to opening 36 by adjusting screw 39 carried by bottom wall 19. When suction is applied in upper chamber 16, the reed valve 37 opens somewhat automatically 'as diaphragm and weights 23 and 2.4 are drawn upwardly and away from terminals 29 and 32. That is to-say, the reed valve 37 opens automatically'at this, time to relieve suction in the lower chamber 17 caused by upward movement of the, dia- .phrag-m 15. Whenthere is nov suction in upper chamber 15,, aswhen the engine. stalls and intake manifold suction ceases, the. weights 23 and 24 and diaphragm 15 will fall ,toward contact with the. terminals 29 and 32. as shown in FIGURE 2. This falling movement of the weight elements and diaphragm may be controlled and retarded in the desired manner by adjusting the bleeding of air from lower chamber 17 through the opening 36 by means of the reed valve 37and its adjusting screw 39.

With reference to diagrammatic FIGURE 4, the vacuum controlled switch of the invention is shown at the top of the diagram and the lead wires 31 and 35 are shown leading, from the switch terminals 29 and 32. The automotive distributor is diagrammatically shown at 40 and the usual starter solenoid and starter motor are indicatedat 41 and 42 in FIGURE 4. The ignition coil 43, standard ignition switch 44, the usual ammeter 45, the

neutral gear shift switch 46 and storage battery 47' are all diagrammatically illustrated in the conventional manner in FIGURE 4. Thesevarious elements of the auto- Tmotive ignition system in addition to the switch embodied in this invention are all conventional and well knownand function-intheir usualmanner to start the engine ofthe automotive vehicle.

With. continued reference to FIGURE 4, the lead' wire 35 is connected in series with the coil of starter solenoid 4.1,. which coil'may be grounded at 48. The other lead .WiIe; 3:1: is connected through the neutral gear shift switch tery-47 and: the solenoid 4,1 in the usual manner as shown.

The ignition: switch;- 44 is connected in parallel with the .coil 43 and distributor 40, as shown in the wiring diagram.

The operation of the switch in the ignition system is briefly as follows: Assuming that the engine is turned oif,and the driver by means of the. usual key turns the ignition switch 44 to the on position, terminals 29 and 32 will be connected' in circuit through the striker'plate 24, FIGURE 2, and current willflow from the storage battery 47 to the starter solenoid 41. The contact points in the starter solenoid are closed establishing a circuit from the storage battery 47 to. the starter: motor 42 to crank the. engine.

When the. engine. starts, the vacuum immediately created in the intake manifold, is transmitted to the chamber 16 which liftsthe' diaphragm 15 andweights 23 and 24 and. immediately breaks the circuit with the terminals '29. and 32 through the. lower weight 24 or striker plate.

This immediatelyinterrupts the circuit to the starter mo- .tor 42 and. stops the cranking of the engine.

If, for any reason, the engine stalls during operation, the vacuum. in the chamber 16 will cease, thereby allowing the weights 23 and 24 and flexible diaphragm 15 to move downwardly under the influence of gravity and under the retarding influence of the valve 37 toward es- '46. withfilbev ignition. switch 44, ammeter 45, storage battablishing contact between the striker plate 24 and the terminals 29 and 32. As soon as the striker plate 24 again engages the terminals 29 and 32, the starter motor 42 will again be energized for cranking the engine and re-establishing the vacuum in the chamber 16 for again lifting the diaphragm 15 and its associated weights.

The mass of the weights 23 and 24 is such that the vacuum created at cranking speed by the engine will not be suflicient to lift the diaphragm 15 and break the contact between the terminals-29 and 32 and striker plate 24. At idling speed, the intake manifold suction will be sufficient to lift the diaphragm 15 and the weights 23 and 24 to open the circuit through'the terminals 29" and 32 and thereby interrupt the cranking of the engine.

The bimetallic terminal 32 provides a safety feature in that after a predetermined cranking time for the engine and failure of the engine to start duringthis time, thebimetallic terminal 32 will heat somewhat and flex away from the face 23 of striker plate 24 and thereby open the cranking circuit. This will eliminate running the storage battery down or causing other damage when the en gine fails to start for a variety of possible reasons.

The diaphragm 15 will never dropto the point of es tablishing contact between the striker plate 24 and the terminals 29 and 32 during full acceleration of the engine, due to the restricted escape of air from the lower chamber 17 through the port 36, asv previously explained.

'the necessity for the operator to manually engage the starter motor with the engine fly wheel at any time. Vehicles equipped with the switch according to the invention do not require the usual starter switches which are commonly located on the floor, instrument panel or in the ignition switch.

The switch according to the invention may be installed on substantially all makes of automobiles and trucks equipped with electrical starter motors which engage the fly wheel through the well known Bendix drive or inertia. The device, when installed on automobiles with automatic transmissions, will. engage the starter motor only when the shift lever is. in the neutral or park position. When installed on automobiles with the conventional manual gear shift, it will engage the starter motor only when the gear shift lever is in a neutralposition.

It may now. be seen that the invention provides a starter switch and anti-stall switch which utilizes no springs and operates under the combined influence of gravity and intake manifold suction. Consequently, there is no tendency for the switching characteristics of the device to. vary or change as commonly occurs with the use of springs which fatigue,rust, fail structurally and are influencediby a number of factors. The switch according to the invention, once installed upon the vehicle, re-

.quires no adjustment and substantially no maintenance. .If' it should become necessary to change or replace the diaphragm 15, for example, it is a very simple matter to separate the casing sections 11; and 12 and replace the diaphragm 15. with the weights 23 and 24.

It is. to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A switch device of the character described for use .in an engine starting system or the like comprising a casing, a diaphragm dividing the casing into upper and lower chambers, means for connecting the upper chamber with a source of suction, air escape means for the lower chamber, a pair of spaced electrical terminals secured to the casing for connection in an engine starting circuit and projecting into the lower chamber, one of said terminals being a substantially rigid element and the other terminal being a resilient bimetallic element, and weighted electrical contact means secured to and bodily carried by said diaphragm for circuit closing engagement with said spaced electrical terminals under influence of gravity when suction in the upper chamber is interrupted, said resilient bimetallic element automatically disengaging said Weighted electrical contact means after passage of current through the bimetallic element for a predetermined length of time.

2. In engine starting electrical means, a split casing, a resilient diaphragm clamped between the sections of the split casing and dividing the casing into upper and lower chambers, conduit means for placing the upper chamber in communication with engine vacuum, weight contact means bodily carried by said diaphragm and movable therewith and projecting at least in part into the lower chamber and adapted to move downwardly with the diaphragm under the influence of gravity upon failure of engine vacuum in the upper chamber, adjustable air vent means for the lower chamber of said casing, a first electrical terminal secured to the bottom Wall of the casing for positive engagement with the weight contact means upon lowering of the same, a resilient bimetallic terminal secured to the bottom wall of the casing and spaced from the first terminal and engageable with the Weight contact means and automatically disengageable therewith due to the passage of current through the bimetallic terminal for a predetermined length of time, and electrical circuit means connected with said terminals and extending exteriorly of the casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 725,259 Kitsee Apr. 14, 1903 1,620,493 Schindler Mar. 8, 1927 1,792,583 Good Feb. 17, 1931 1,963,930 Beltz June 19, 1934 2,071,042 Maurer Feb. 16, 1937 2,486,899 Williams Nov. 1, 1949 2,561,972 Winter July 24, 1951 2,632,119 Schneider et a1 2. Mar. 17, 1953

Claims (1)

1. A SWITCH DEVICE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED FOR USE IN AN ENGINE STARTING SYSTEM OR THE LIKE COMPRISING A CASING A DIAPHRAGM DIVIDING THE CASING INTO UPPER AND LOWER CHAMBERS, MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE UPPER CHAMBER WITH A SOURCE OF SUCTION, AIR ESCAPE MEANS FOR THE LOWER CHAMBER, A PAIR OF SPACED ELECTRICAL TERMINALS SECURED TO THE CASING FOR CONNECTION IN AN ENGINE STARTING CIRCUIT AND PROJECTING INTO THE LOWER CHAMBER, ONE OF SAID TERMINALS BEING A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID ELEMENT AND THE OTHER TERMINAL BEING A RESILIENT BIMETALLIC ELEMENT, AND WEIGHTED ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS SECURED TO AND BODILY CARRIED BY SAID DIAPHRAGM FOR CIRCUIT CLOSING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SPACED ELECTRICAL TERMINALS UNDER INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY WHEN SUCTION IN THE UPPER CHAMBER IS INTERRUPTED, SAID RESILIENT BIMETALLIC ELEMENT AUTOMATICALLY DISENGAGING SAID WEIGHTED ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS AFTER PASSAGE OF CURRENT THROUGH THE BIMETALLIC ELEMENT FOR A PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF TIME.

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