US794899A - Power-transmitting mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

No. 794,899. PATENTED JULY 18, 1905. T. L. & T. J. STURTEVANT.

POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM. APPLIUATION F LED JAN. 4. 1905'.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1'.

l azaded/ $221. I w 5% No. 794,899. V PATENTED JULY 18, 1965.; T. L. & T. J. STURTEVANT. POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JANA. 1905.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

UNITED STATES THOMAS LEGCETT STURTEVANT,

Patented July is, 1905.

PATENT Oinuen.

OF QUINCY, AND THOMAS JOSEPH STUR- TEVANT, OF \NICLLESLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO STURTE- VANT MILL COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,899, dated July 18, 1905.

Application filed January 4, 1905. Serial No. 239,596.

To (M115 whom, it may concern;

Be it known that we, TiioMAs Lneon'r'r STURTEVANT, residing at Quincy, and TlioMAs JOSEPH STUR'IEVANT, residing at Wellesley, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power-'Iransmitting Mechanisms, of which the following is a specilication. 'reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a power-transmitting mechanism by means of which a driven part or shaft may be operated from a driving shaft or motor at different speeds, preferably through the medium of friction-clutch devices; and the invention has for its object to provide means whereby the speed-changing mechanism may be controlled, either automatically or non-automatically or manually, in such a manner that the motor may run at any desired speed without necessarily im' parting a high speed of rotation to the driven part or shaft, as also to provide means whereby the load or resistance on the driven part or shaft may exceed a certain predetermined point without necessarily effecting any change in. the gearing or power-transmitting mechanism.

vThe present invention is preferably but not necessarily carried into effect through the medium of fluid-pressure'in which air will preferably be the pressure medium, and in thus utilizing fluid-pressure for the purpose of effecting changes from high speed to low speed, or vice versa, a regulation of the fluid-pressure to determine the change of speed may be either automatic or non-automatic or by the combination of theltwo, as may be deemed preferable.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a powertransmitting mechanism embodying one form of-the present invention, and Fig.2 is a detail section on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 12 denotes the driving-shaft, which may be a part of a mol tor-shaft or may be operated in any suitable way from any suitable motor or source of power. The power-shaft 12 is suitably secured, as by screw-bolts 13, to a fly-wheel and clutch-casing 14, within which is inclosed a-hub 15, splined to a shaft 16, which latter is the shaft or part to be driven and which may be the operating-shaft of an automobile, or the said shaft 16 may be utilized for any other purpose. Loosely mounted on the shaft 16 is a sleeve 17, integral or rigid with which are the clutch-hub 18 and the pinion 19, said pinion 19 meshing with a gear ring or wheel 20, connected with a hub 21 by a silent ratchet or gripping device, such as is described in our United States Patent No. 766,551, and comprising spring-pressed gripping-rollers 22. The hub 21 is keyed to a counter-shaft 23, mounted in the gear-casing 23 and provided with a pinion or gear wheel 24, also keyed to said shaft and meshing with a gearwheel 25, keyed to the driven shaft 16.

lnelosed within the easing'or fly-wheel 1 1 are the low-speed clutch disks or rings 26 and 27., the disks or rings 26 having suitable notched engagements at their peripheries with suitable lugs or projections on the interior of the fly-wheel, and the rings or disks 2? having similar notched engagements with the clutch-hub 18. Also inelosed within the (lywheel are the high-speed clutch disks or rings 28 and 29, the disks or rings 28 being engaged at their peripheries with the fly-wheel and the disks or rings 29 being engaged at their inner portions with the clutch-hub 15, keyed to the shaft 16. speed and low-speed clutch disks or rings is a master-plate 30, supported by bolts 31 and adapted for slight lateral movements or movements endwise of the shaft 16, the said masterplate being pressed against by springs 32, encircling the bolts '31. Any suitable number of the bolts 31 and springs 32 will be pro vided in a circular series on the fly-wheel, as will be understood.

Attached to the shaft 12 is an eccentric 33, encircled by a strap 34, connected by a rod 35 with a piston 36, working in a cylinder 37, stationarily supported in any suitable manner, the-chamber of the said cylinder being connected by a pipe 38 with a pressure-cylinder 39, mounted loosely on the shaft 16, and in which'pressure-cylinder 39 is. arranged an an: nular piston 40, which is-in contact with a plate or. disk 41, also loose onthe shaft 16, so

, spring 45, having a tendency to force said sleeve toward the piston and cylinder 39, so as normally to prevent the clutch-hub 18 from exertinga clutchingpressure againstthe clutch disks or rings inclosed within the fly-wheel 14. The spring presses at its ends against rings 46 and 47, between which and other ,rings 48 and 49, encircling the shaft 16, are th rust-bearing balls 50.

The pipe 38 is preferably provided with a regulating needle-valv'e51', which may be set as may be desired to permit of the escape of a small quantity of the pressure fluid from the said pipe 38 to provide for an. automatic regulation of the pressure in the cylinderu39, and the said pipe 38 is also preferably connected by a pipe 52 with a manually-controllable relief-valve 53, held to its seat by a spring 54 within the sleeve 55, the said spring being under the control of a push-rod 56, provided with a button 57, on which the driver of an automobile may place his foot for the purpose of controlling the relief-valve 53. The rod 56 is preferably provided with notches 58 and 59, either of which or other similar notches may be engaged by the tooth of a pawl or catch 60, under the control of a spring 61. -"he air-. pump is preferably provided with check and relief valves 62 63.

The operation of the invention is as follows: When there is little or no fluid-pressure within the cylinder 39,-the spring 45 will hold the lowspeed clutch disks or rings 26 and 27 out of frictional clutching engagement with each other and the springs 32 will likewise hold the highspeed clutch rings or disks out of clutching .engagement with each other, so that the motorshaft and the fly-wheel connected therewith can run free without imparting any motion to the driven shaft 16. When the motor or driving-sh'aft 12 attains aspeed suflicient to cause the air or fluid pressure pump to raise the pressure in the cylinder 39 to a point sufficient to overcome the stress of the spring 45, the lowspeed clutch-disks 26 27 will be forced into frictional clutching engagement with each other, thereby imparting rotary motion to the clutchhub 18, and from the latter, through the sleeve 29 will'be forced into frictional clutching engagement with each other in such a manner as to impart motion to the hub 15, splined to the driven shaft 16, and thereby directly rotate the said shaft so that it will have the same speed of rotation as the fly-wheel and the motor or driving shaft, and when the highspeed clutch is thus directly rotating the driven shaft the low-speed gearing will idly overrun, owing to the fact that the springpressed rollers 22 will'no longer be in gripping engagement with the hub 21, so that the lowspeed gearing may run without interference with the high-speed,mechanism, as fully set forth in United States Patent No. 766,551, hereinbefore referred to.

Owing to the fact that the friction disks or rings are inclosed in the fly-wheel casing, so that they may run inoil, ther'emay be more or less slip or lost motion between them when the frictional gripping action first takes place or is changing, and thus the driven shaft may be started slowly without any sudden jerks, or the changes from-low speed to high speed, or vice versa, may be smoothly efi'ected without any such sudden jerks or jars as would occur.

if the changes of speed were to take place suddenly, the slipping or lost-motion action of the clutch rings or disks being possible in changing from high speed to low speed just the same as in'starting or in changing from low speed to high speed.

It will be understood that the speeds at which the changes from low speed to high speed, or vice versa, are to occur may be predetermined by a suitable regulation of the relief or regulating valves 51 or 53, or may be effected at any time by suitable manipulation of the valve 53 by the driver or attendant, and that where the invention is applied to an top automobile the regulating valve 5r valves may be setso that any desired speed of the motor may occur without necessarily setting the high-speed clutching device into action, and

ment of the relief or regulating valve or valves may be effected that no change in the driving mechanism will occur until the load or duty on the driven shaft 16, such as is determined by the road resistance and such as may be desired or predetermined changes, and

when the road resistance or the duty on the said shaft 16 falls below a certain predetermined point the high-speed power-transmit- I20 I .it will also be understood that suchan ad justting mechanism will come into action and the low-speed mechanism will then run idly, as hereinbefore described.

While the preferred form of the invention is herein shown and described, the invention is not to be understood as being limited either tothe details of construction herein shown or to the use of air as a pressure medium, or, in fact, to the use of a fluid-pressure medium at all for the purpose of effecting changes of speed, as instead of employing the pressurecylinder 39 and its piston 40 for controlling the frictional clutching action of the multipledisk clutch devices, such friction clutching action might be controlled either automatically or non-automatically by a wedge or similar device forced by the torque or the road resistance or otherwise between certain parts mounted on the driven shaft for the purpose of overcoming the stress of the springs 45 and 32 in effecting either the low-speed or the high-speed clutching action of the clutchdisks; also, instead of employing frictionclutch devices controlled from outside of the fiy-wheel or clutch-casing or by fluid-pressure any other well-known or equivalent clutching devices might be used without departing from the essence of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving. part and a rotary part to be driven, of a rotating casing, high and low speed clutch devices within said casing, gearing mechanism through which power may be transmitted from one of said clutch devices to the rotary part to be driven, and means. outside of said casing, for effecting the clutching action of said clutch devices.

2. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of a rotating casing, clutch devices within said casing, gearing mechanism through which power may be transmitted from one of said clutch devices to the shaft or part to be driven, and means, outside of said casing and operated by fluidpressure, for effecting the clutching action of the said clutch devices. I

3. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination-with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of interposed high and low speed clutch devices, gearing mechanism, an inclosing rotary casing for the clutch ing members, and means, outside .of said casing, for efiecting the clutching operation of said members.

4. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of interposed high and low speed clutch devices, gearing mechanism, an inclosing rotary casing for the clutching n,1embers,.and mechanically-operated means, outside of said casing, for effecting the clutching operation of said members.

5. In a power transmitting mechanism adapted for use in automobiles, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of a gearing and clutch mechanism, mechanically-operated fluid-pressure means for effecting the clutching action of the clutch device, and means for regulating the action of the fluid-pressure means, so that the said driving part or the said driven part may run at any desired speed for any predeterminedload or road resistance.

6. In a power transmitting mechanism adapted for use in automobiles, the combination With a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of a gearing and frictionclutch mechanism, mechanically operated fluid-pressure means for effecting the clutching action of the friction-clutch device, and means for regulating the action of the fluidpressure means, so that the said driving part or the said driven part may run at any desired speed for any predetermined load or road resistance.

7. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of high and low speed clutch devices, gearing, means, operated by fluid pressure, for effecting the clutching action of said clutch devices, and springs, acting in opposition to the fluid-pressure means, for disengaging said clutch devices when the pressure is released.

8. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of high and low speed clutch devices, gearing, means, operated by fluid-pressure, for effecting the clutching action of said friction-clutch devices, and springs, acting in opposition to the fluidpressure means, for disengaging said clutch devices when the pressure is released.

9. In a power-transmitting inechanism, the

combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of an interposed friction-clutch mechanism, gearing, means, operated by fluid-pressure, for effecting the clutching action of said friction-clutch. mechanism, means for regulating the action of the fluid-pressure means, and springs, acting in opposition to the fluid-pressure, for disengaging the clutching parts when the pressure is released.

10. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of an interposed clutch mechanism, gearing, a rotating casing inclosing the clutching members, mechanically-operated fluid-pressure means, outside of said casing, for effecting the clutching action of-said' clutch mechanism, and springs for eflecting the unclutching of the clutch members.

11. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of an interposed friction-clutch mechanism, gearing mechanism, a rotating casing inclosing the clutching members, and mechanically operated fluidpressure means, outside of said casing, for ef- 5 fecting the clutching action of said frictionclutch mechanism, and springs, acting in opposition to the fluid-pressure, for disengaging the clutching parts when the pressure is released.

12. .In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of an interposed clutch mechanism, gearing, a casing inclosing the clutching mem bers, mechanically-operated 5 fluid-pressure means, outside of said casing,

for etfe'cting the clutching action of said clutch mechanism, means for regulating the action of the fluid-pressure means, and springs for disengaging the clutching members. 20 a 1,3. Inapower-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of an interposed friction-clutch device, gearing mechanism, a casing inclosing the clutching members, me- 5 chanically-operated fluid-pressu re means, outside of said casing, for elfecting the clutching action of said friction-clutch device, means for regulating the action of the fluid-pressure means, and springs for disengaging the cl utch- 3 ing members.

14. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the

combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of a high-speed clutch device directly connected with said part to be driven, a low-speed clutch device having a gearing connection with said part to be driven, means for preventing interference between the clutch mechanisms when either is operatively running, and means, operated by fluid-pressure, for effecting the clutching action of said clutch devices.

15. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a rotating driving part and a rotary part to be driven, of a high-speed friction-clutch device directly connected with said part to be driven, a low-speed frictionclutch device having a gearing connection with said part to be driven, means for preventinginterference between the clutch mech anisms when either is operatively running,

and means, operated by fluid-pressure, for ef-' fecting the clutching action of said frictionclutch devices;

in testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS LEGGETT SllUR'llllVANl.v THOMAS JOSEPH: STURTEVANT. Witnesses:

W. H. ELLIS, L. H. STURTEVANT.

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