US469717A

US469717A - Enoch prouty

Info

Publication number: US469717A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1892-03-01
Anticipated expiration: 1909-03-01

Description

(No Model.)

, :E.-PR.0UTY.

POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM FOR CARS.

No. 469,717. Patented Mar. 1, 1892.

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UNIT STATES PATENT OFFICE.

,ENOCII PROUTY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND EDIVIN J. NOBLE, OFSAFIE PLACE.

POWER-TRANSMlTTlNG MECHANISM FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,717, dated March 1, 1892.

Application filed July 17, 1891. Serial No. 399,815. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ENOOH PROUTY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois,

5 have invented a new and useful Improvement in Power-Transmitting Mechanism for Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements upon the apparatus for transmitting i power from a motor to the axle of street-cars heretofore invented by me and patented in Letters Patent N 0. 443,608, dated December 30, 1890. The principal object of that invention was to provide means whereby the driven axle could be started gradually by power from a continuously-moving motor. I find that itis highly important in an apparatus of this nature that there should be no lost motion in the operation of the clutch, espe- 2o cially when the transmitting devices are at a very short stroke, as when the car is being started; and it is the purpose of the present invention to provide means whereby the clutch will be made to operate positively Without any slipping upon the shortest ossible stroke; and also, further, a method of attaching the clutch rods or pitmen to the transmitting-lever in such manner that the endwise movement of the axle in its bearing 0 in the running of the car will not interfere with the operation of the transmitting devices. The first of these objects I accomplish by means of a clutch consisting of a ring secured to the axle and having its inner sur- 3 5 face fitted to receive friction-pawls, which are at all times held out firmly against said ring by springs, so that when power is applied to the pawl it will instantly grip the frictional surface of the rim, no matter how short the stroke or movement may be, all of which will be more fully hereinafter set forth, together with certain minor features of construction pertaining to the device. The second object I accomplish by making the transmitting-le- 5 ver cylindrical and the connection between the same and the pitman-rods in the form of a cylindrical sleeve, whereby the car-axle is free to move slightly endwise in either direction Without bringinga strain upon the clutch,

the rods, or the lever.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a portion of a street-car sufficient to illustrate 5 5 the apparatus and its method of application. Fig.2, upon a larger scale, is a View of the clutch, shown partly. in section. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4 4: of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 a horizontal section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

In said drawings, A represents a car-axle. B is a ring mounted on the axle and having a smooth internal face, as 13', forming the frictional clutch-face. In order that this clutchring may have a free connection with the axle of such nature that a partial revolution of the axle in a backward direction may be permitted without causing the clutch-ring to revolve with itas, for example, when the car settles back when standing stilland to permit of slight variations in the respective speeds of the axle and clutch-ring, as when the momentum of the car is suddenly checked, I provide that the connection between the clutch-ring and the axle shall consist of a lug on the clutch-ring, which encounters a lug on the axle. The lug on the clutch-ring is shown at O and the lug on the axle is shown at D, which latter lug has a transverse screw-bolt (Z, that may be screwed in or out to come in contact with the lug 0 when the apparatus is in operation or which maybe withdrawn out of. contact when it is desired to disconnect the motor from the axle, as where the cars are to be hauled upon occasion by horse-power.

As the ordinaryaxles in use are rough, I provide as a bearing for the clutch-ring the two shouldered sleeves E F, which are keyed to the axle, as shown at Fig. 3, and construct the ring with the bearings G G, formed of the hub of said clutch-ring. Mounted on the clutch-ringare the two oscillating blocks H H, held in place between the rim and the hub 5 and further secured by a shoulder from the sleeve F. To these blocks, by suitable wristpins h, are connected the connecting-rods J J, attached at their front ends to the vibrating transmitting-lever K. Upon the blocks H H are pivotally mounted the wedgingpawls L L. The pivotal connection between blocks, as shown in the drawings.

the blocks and said pawls in the drawings is shown to consist of a rounded socket in the block, in which rests a similarly-rounded end or base of the pawl. Each pawl is provided with a spring M, placed between the block and the pawl and tending to hold the pawl out and back against the ring with considerable force. Now it will be seen that when the vibrating lever K moves toward the axle both connecting-rods J J will be pushed and their respective blocks H H oscillated in opposite directions, and it will be also apparent that in the case of the block H that its movement will cause the pawl L to wedge between its block and the rim, causing said rim to be gripped to the block and to move with it to the extent of its oscillation, while at the same time the other pawl L moves in the opposite direction, yields upon its spring, and slides along the ring. When the connecting-rods, on the other hand, are pulled-forward, the action is reversed, the pawl L sliding and the pawl L gripping the ring, producing thus a a double-acting clutch. This clutch is extremely quick and sensitive in its operation, there being practically no lost motion whatever, so far as the grip is concerned, that is produced upon the clutch-rim. Indeed, I have found that the clutch thus constructed promptlyresponds to so short a stroke of the connecting-rods as one-eighth of one inch. In the practical operation of transmitters of this character this feature is exceedingly important, as it enables the car to be started in a slow gradual manner while the motor is running at full speed, and avoids all jerking action, such as is produced where there is any lost motion or slip between the two parts of the clutch.

In order ,to furnish a means for reversing the operation of the clutch to run the carbackward, I sometimes duplicate the pawls by adding an extra one, as at L L to each of the Of course it will be understood that this extra pair of pawls is not in operation at the same time as the pair originally described, but only brought into operation when the motion of the car is to be reversed. A bolt N, threaded centrally to the block, is used for holding either one of the pawls of each block out of action, as desired, while permitting the other pawl to move. By screwing this bolt in one direction or the other one or other'of the pawls may be brought and held in against the-.block and out of contact with the rim, while its neighbor is permitted to press out against the ring, and vice versa. The forward ends of the connecting-rods J J are hinged to the sleeve P, which slides upon the vibratory transmitting-lever K, which latter is pivoted at its lower end and is vibrated by a pitman from the crank of the engine or motor. The sleeve P is supported on the rod Q, which is attached at some distance back to the bracket P. to the hand-lever R. By operating this handlever the sleeve P may be raised or lowered upon the vibratory lever K. The lever K is made cylindrical in cross -section and the sleeve P of the same shape, so that the latter will swivel upon the lever freely, which permits the sidewise movement of the car on its axle to take place without disturbing or cramping the mechanism.

I claim 1. The combination, with the axle A, of the ring B, having the hub G and shouldered bearings in the collars E F, said collars, the oscillating blocks H H, and the spring-held wedging pawls L L, substantially as specified.

2. The reversible clutch composed'of the inner faced friction-ring and a block oscillating concentric therewith, having two opposite workingwedging-pawls, combined with means for throwing one of the pawls out of position while the other is at work for reversing the operation of the clutch, said means consisting of a bolt passing through the two pawls and the block, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the car, the motor, and the clutch operating on the axle of the car, of the vibrating transmitting-lever made cylindrical in cross-section, the cylindrical sleeve mounted to slide and turn on said lever, and the connecting-rods extending from the sleeve to the clutch, substantially as specified.

ENOCI-I PROU'lY. Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, EMMA HACK.

A link 0' connects the rod Q