US700981A - Variable-speed gearing. - Google Patents

Description

' No. 700,98I. Patented May 27, I902.

s. m: PLOEG.

VARIABLE SPEED GEARING.

(Application filed July 20, 1901.) (N 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. 700,981. Patented May 27, 1902.

8. DE PLOEG. I

VARIABLE SPEED GEARING.

(Application filed July 20, 1901.) I (No Model.) Sheets-Sheet 2,

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No. 700,98L Patenfed May 27, I902.

8. DE PLOEG.

VARIABLE SPEED GEARING.

(Application filed. Jul 20, 1901. (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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STAT S SIMON DE PLOEG, OF ST. MAURICE, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO STE. DE PLOEG, I'I. COLLIEZ LOUSTAU ET CIE., OF ST. MAURICE, FRANCE.

VARIABLE-SPEED GEARING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 700,981,dated May 2'7, 1902. Application filed July 20, 1901'. Serial No; 69,125. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SIMON DE'PLOEG, a citizen of the Republic of Brazil, residing in St. Maurice, Seine, France, have invented oer tain new and useful Improvements in Variable-Speed Gearings, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a variable-speed gearing particularly applicable to automobiles and the like and having various points of advantage which are specified in detail hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, showing an embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of certain of the operating parts of my invention. 7 Fig. 2 is a transverse section. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on the line A B of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line C D of Fig.

2. Figs. 5 to 12, inclusive, are schematic views showing the position of the parts at successive periods of operation.

A casing contains the whole machinery of the vehiclethat is, the difierential gear, the reversing-gear, the various speed gear, and disengaging-gear. This casing may be mounted on vehicles of any system, and its mech anism may be combined with all kinds of transmission, such as belts, chains, &c. It can be connected just as well to the axis of the motor directly. The rotating motion is transmitted to the driving-wheels by the shafts 1 and 2, connected with the usual dif ferential gear contained in the casing 3 for permitting differing speeds of the shafts 1 and 2 in turning the vehicle around corners, 850. This casing supports also the toothed wheel 4: for running backward, the wheel5for lowspeed,6forintermediate speed, and 7 for full speed. The differential gear 3, however, is not a necessary feature of my invention. The wheels 4, 5, 6, and 7 may be all keyed directly onto the shaft of a vehicle driving-wheel without the usual intermediate differential mechanism. These toothed wheels are shown keyed on the casing 3 and may engage with pinions 8, 9, and 10. These pinions slide on a six-sided shaft 11, which is rotated either by the motor or by another suitable mechanism between the motor and the driving-wheels. An intermediate gear ing 12 transforms the direction of rotation of the gearing 4, so as to allow backward running of the carriage.

The pinions 8,9, and 10 are shifted by means of rigid levers 13, urged by springs 15, which are controlled by levers 14. The levers 13 and le'pivot'both on axle l6, fixed on the bottom of thecasing. The cams 17 are provided with circular grooves 18 and 19, into which are engaged, respectively, the fingers 20 and 21 of levers .14 and 13. These cams 17 are keyed fast on a shaft 22, carrying the pinion 23. This pinion permits of rotary movement of the'cams 17 and gears with the toothed sector 24, carried by the shaft 25, which is provided with a lever connected to the controlling-gear of the vehicle. The fingers 20 have the object of transmitting to the levers 14: the movement of the cams. They are engaged in grooves 19. Fingers 21 are safety-fingers for the levers 13 and they are engaged in the grooves 18 of cams 17. The fingers 26 of the levers l3 serve to move the pinions 8, 9, and 10. They are engaged in grooves 27.

Each of the grooves 18 is dependent in its operation and design upon the adjacent groove 19, so that by the combined movements of the pins 20 and 21 at the same end of the cam 17 the desired *movement of the lever 13 is effected; The shape of the grooves 18 and 19 is indicated sufficiently in Figs. 5 to 12. The levers 13 and 14: of each pair are not rigidly connected with each other, but are connected in operation, so that movement of the lever 14 in a direction to bring the pinion 8, 9, or 10 into engagement with the gears is followed by a yielding movement of the lever 13 in such direction, whereby the engagement is effected without any noise; but the disengagement of the pinions is produced by a positive unyielding movement of the lever 13, which insures a positive disengagement. The springs 15 for producing the yielding movementof the parts are mounted on a shaft 28, which is fixed in the outer casing carrying the machinery. There are three of these springs 15 in the embodiment shown. Fixed stops 30 at the outer ends of the outer springs 15 limit their outward movement. Upon the inner end of each of the outer normally compressed spring 15.

springs 15 and upon both ends of the middle spring 15 are separate movable sliding blocks 29, which may move longitudinally on the shaft 28. these springs is under such compression that their velocity of expansion when released will be greater than the circumferential speed of the gearing, so that thesprings may throw the respective gears in to engagement during movement of the driving-shaft.

The operation is as follows: As the cam 17 is rotated, first the pin 20, in engagement with the groove 19, is thrown in a direction to compress one of the springs 15 by the action of the lever 14 and the pin 31. The opposed spring 15 (being normallyunder compression) then bears against the pin 32 of the lever 13, tending to throw its proper pinion into engagement with the proper gear. The continued rotation of the cam 17 brings the pin 21 of the lever 13 to a point which permits the lever 13 to move under the action of the If the pinion and gear to be engaged with each other are'not in register, with the tooth of one immediately against the notch of the other, the spring 15 continues the pressure on the lever 14 until the two do register, when the engage= ment is effected easily and without noise. In bringing the pinion out of engagement with its gear the side of the cam-groove 18 bears positively against the pin 21 of the lever 13 to throw it in the proper direction-to positively disengage the pinion and gear. At the same time the cam-groove 19 has restored the lever 14 to its original position. In every case the action of the springs 15 assists in throwing the levers 13.

The arrangement of the cam- grooves 18 and 19 and of the controlling mechanism for the cam 17 may be varied as desired. In the drawings '1 have shown an arrangement of these parts whereby a continuous rotation of the controlling-shaft 25 in one direction produces in succession a backward movement, a slow forward movement, an intermediatespeed forward movement, and a full-speed forward movement. In Fig. 5 the three springs 15, the levers 13 and 14, and the pinions 8, 9, and 10 are in their normal disengaged positions. The first movement of the cam 17 throws the left-hand lever 14 to the position of Fig. 6, compressing the left-hand spring 15. The middle spring 15 then forces the lever 13 over to the left to bring the pinion 10 into engagement with the pinion 12 to produce a backward movement, the action of the spring being permitted by the left-hand groove 18. A further turn restores the springs and pinions to their original position, as in Fig. 7. The next movement throws the lefthand lever 14 in the opposite direction, compressing'the intermediate spring and allowing the left-hand spring to throw the lever 13 into position to bring the pinion 10 into engagement with the slow forward-motion gear In the normal position each of 5. The continued movement again restores the springs and pinions to their original position The next movement operates the righthand lever 14 to compress the middle spring 15, allowing the right-hand spring 15 to force the lever 13 over to bring the driving-pinion 9 into engagement with the intermediatespeed gear 6. The next position, Fig. 11, of the cam brings the springs and pinions again into their-original position. The final movement of the cam, Fig. 12, throws the right-hand lever 14 in a direction to compress the righthand spring 15, permitting the middle spring 15 to throw the lever 13 to bring the drivingpinion 8 into engagement with the full-speed gear 7. The mechanism is thus brought gradually from a backward movement to a full-speed forward movement. By reversing the movement of the controlling-shaft 25 the opposite movements are obtained from fullspeed forward to a backward movement at a comparatively slow speed. s

The disengagement of each driving-pinion at the moment desired is positive, and it is impossible to bring more than one speed-gear into operation at the same time, the movement of the controlling-shaft automatically determining the release of one connection before permitting another and automatically determining also that the connections and disconnections shall proceed in a determined order.

The mechanism is extremely simple and operates with but few parts to secure the va rious possible modes of operation specified. Though I have described with great particu= larity of detail a specific embodiment of my invention, yet it is to be understood that I am not limited to the particular embodiment shown and described,as various modifications of the same in detail and in the arrangement of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is- 1. In a gearing, the combination of a pair of toothed gears adapted to be moved relatively to each other in an axial direction for engagement or disengagement, said gears being normally out of engagement, and means for pressing said gears yieldingly toward each other to bringthem into engagement.

2. In a variable-speed gearing, the combination of a driving-shaft, pinions carried thereby, a driven shaft, corresponding gears carried thereby and adapted to engage with said pinions to produce different speeds of the driven shaft, springs tending to bring said pinions into engagement with their corresponding gears, and means for releasing each of said springs in succession to bring its pinion into engagement with its corresponding gear.

3. In a variable-speed gearing, the combination of a series of springs 15, sliding blocks 29, levers 13 and 14 engaging said sliding blocks, and cams for operating said levers 13 and 14 to disengage one of said springs and permit the others to operate.

4. In a variable-speed gearing, the combination of a driving-shaft, pinions carried thereby, a driven shaft, gears carried thereby, springs tending to bring said pinions into engagement with their corresponding gears, a common shaft, and, cams carried thereby IO and. adapted as said shaft is rotated continuously in one direction to bring the pinions successively into and. out of engagement with their corresponding gears.

In Witness'whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name, this 9th day of July, 1901, in the 15 presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SIMON DE PLOEG. Witnesses:

MARIEL ARMENGAUD, Jeune, EDWARD P. MAOLEAN.

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