US2614230A - Engine starting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 14, 1952 P- L. SCHNEIDER ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS {Filed Oct. 28. 1948 INVENTOR PAUL L. SCHNEIDER HIS ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 14, 1952 ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS Paul L. Schneider, Anderson, Ind., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Delaware Application October 28, 1948, Serial No. 57,056

4 Claims.

This invention relates to engine starters and its object is to provide slow initial movement of the starting motor pinion to facilitate meshing thereof with the engine flywheel gear and to withhold the application of current for engine starting to the starting motor until after the gears have been completely meshed.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating the starter.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, longitudinal, sectional view showing a starting motor and gearing for connecting it with the engine flywheel ear.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2.

The starting motor In (Fig. 2) has a field frame H secured to plate l2 which is mounted on a housing l3 provided by the engine. The armature M of the motor is connected with an armature shaft l5 connected with a gear 16 meshing with a sliding gear 11 connected through a gear hub Ila with a driving member l8 of a one-way roller clutch having a driven cylinder I!) connected with the pinion which is mounted upon a rod 2i supported by the engine frame and is movable into mesh with the engine flywheelgear 22. When clutch member l8 rotates tain the springs 24.

The assembly of gear I! and overrunning clutch is normally maintained in the position shown in Fig. 2 by a, spring 32 confined under compression between a cup 33 engaging the rod 2| and surface 35 of a plunger 36 connected with gear hub Ha. Spring 32 maintains the pinion 20 spaced from gear 22 and gear H. An oil'seal 31 minimizes escape of oil from the housing which encloses the gears and the entrance of dirt and moisture therein.

Plunger 36 is engaged by a lever 39 (Fig. 1)

-pivoted at 40 and having an arm 4| connected 'by a pin 42'with a link 43 connected by a pin 44 with a solenoid armature 45. Solenoid armature '45 is supported for horizontal sliding movement tion as it'moves toward the gear 22.

2 toward a fixed core 46 by non-magnetizable tube 41 supported by a magnetizable shell 48 which supports the core 46. Armature is engageable with a rod 49 which extends through a sleeve 5| insulatingly sup-porting a contact 50, a washer '53, a spring 54 and a, C-washer 55 received by a groove in rod 49 and retained therein by the spring 54. Spring 54 urges the sleeve 5| toward a split ring 56 snapped into groove of rod 49. A spring 51 which engages the sleeve 5| urges the washer 55 against the core 46 and maintains the contact 50 normally out of engagement with contacts and 61 which are connected with a resistance 62.

Contact 60 is connected with magnet coil 63 of larger wire and magnet coil 64 of finer' wire which, respectively, are connected with contact -6l and-ground. Contact 60 isoonnected with switch '10 is energizedand contact 12 connects contacts H and 13. Current flows fromthe'battery to winding 64 andground return to the battery and also'through winding 63, starting motor l0 and ground return to the battery and through resistance '62, the starting motor l0 and ground return to the battery. Armature 45 moves left thereby moving the pinion 20 into engagement with the flywheel gear 22. While the pinion '2il'ismoving toward the gear 22,it is rotating relatively slowly since the resistance 62 and the coil 63 in parallel therewith pass current to the motor In 'suificient for it to develop a torque'which overcomes frictional resistance but not sufiicient to rotate the pinion '20if it abuts the gear 22. If there is no abutmentfollowing the first closing of switch 16, the'armature 45 continues its left movement to move the pinion 20 into mesh with the gear 22 and to cause the contact 59 to engage contacts 60 and 61 thereby shorting resistance 62 and coil 63 and'causing cranking current to be applied to the motor l0. Coil 64 alone will maintain contact '50 in engagement with contacts '60 and 6| against the action of spring 51 (at theleftofth'e contact 50) and spring 32 in the plunger 36'.

If gear tooth abutment'follows thefirst closing of switch 16, it is released to allow spring 32"t0 move the pinion 20 away from the gear 22 and the switch 16 is closed again. The pinion 2'0 rotates slowly again to a different angular posi- Generally a second closure of switch 16 will result in location of the pinion 20 in meshing registration with the gear 22 by the time the pinion has moved into contact with the gear.

Contact 50 does not engage contacts 60 and BI until after pinion 20 has been substantially fully meshed with gear 22. Therefore the motor l cannot develop cranking torque until after the gears have been meshed. The motor I0 cranks the engine; and, when the engine becomes selfoperative, it drives the pinion 20 faster than it can be driven by the motor 10, and pinion 20 overruns the gear I! by virtue of the overrunning clutch.

The engine having been started, the switch 16 is released and the solenoid switch opens to disconnect the battery from the motor and the solenoid windings B3, 64.

If, after meshing the pinion with the engine gear and moving the contact into engagement with contacts 60 and GI the engine does not start and the motor i0 is stalled, the switch 16 is opened to effect deenergization of the solenoid so that spring 57 is effective to separate contact permitted because lever 39 can move clockwise although plunger 36 is fixed. The short circuit of resistance 62 having been interrupted, the torque of motor [0 i so reduced that spring 32 is able to effect retraction of the pinion from the engine gear.

A manually operated switch 80 may be placed in the circuit between the battery and the solenoid switch 10 in order to open the circuit after the engine is running thereby preventing operation of the starter by inadvertent closing of switch 16.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. Engine starting apparatus comprising an electric motor, a pinion normally spaced from a gear of the engine to be started and movable into mesh therewith, a spring for retracting the pinion from the engine gear and for yieldingly maintaining it in said spaced relation, an overrunning clutch connecting the motor and pinion, a battery, a solenoid having an armature and a main armature attracting coil and an armature holding coil, means for transmitting motion from the armature to the pinion to cause it to mesh with the engine gear, a circuit between terminals of the battery and including a control switch in I series with two circuits in parallel one of which includes the holding coil and the other of which includes the motor and the main coil and a resistance in parallel with the main coil, said resistance and main coil together passing to the motor current sumcient only to cause it to rotate the pinion while out of contact with the engine gear, and a switch which is operated by the solenoid armature to short-circuit the main coil and resistance only after the pinion has been substantially fully meshed with the engine gear.

2. Engine starting apparatus comprising an electric motor, a pinion normally spaced from a gear of the engine to be started and movable into mesh therewith, a spring for retracting the pinion from the engine gear and for yieldingly maintaining it in said spaced relation, an overrunning clutch connecting the motor and pinion, a battery, a solenoid having a plurality of windings and an armature, means for transmitting motion from the armature to said pinion to move the latter into mesh with the engine gear, a circuit for the starting motor including the battery, a manually closed switch, a resistance and a connection from the resistance to said motor, said resistance having a value such that when current flows through said circuit to the motor the motor develops a torque suflicient only to turn the pinion while it is disengaged from the engine gear, said solenoid windings being connected to said starting motor circuit between the manually operable switch and the resistance whereby the solenoid windings are subject to the full effect of the battery to engage said pinion with the engine gear, a switch operable when the inion is fully engaged with said gear to short circuit said resistance and to connect the motor directly with said battery, and a connection from one of said windings to said starting motor circuit between said last named switch and the motor whereby one of said windings is short circuited when said last named switch is closed.

3. Engine starting apparatus comprising an electric motor, a, pinion normally spaced froma gear of the engine to be started and movable into mesh therewith, a spring for retracting the pinion from the engine gear and for yieldingly maintaining it in said spaced relation, an overrunning clutch connecting the motor and pinion, a battery, a solenoid having a plurality of windings and an armature, means for transmitting motion from the armature to said pinion to move the latter into mesh with the engine gear, a circuit for the starting motor including the battery, a manually closed switch, a resistance and a connection from the resistance to said motor, said resistance having a value such that when current flows through said circuit to the motor the motor develops a torque sufiicient only to turn the pinion while it is disengaged from the engine gear, said solenoid windings being connected to said starting motor circuit between the manually operable switch and the resistance whereby the solenoid windings are subject to the full eifect of the battery to engage said pinion with the engine gear, a switch operable when the pinion is fully engaged with said'gear to short circuit said resistance and to connect the motor directly with said battery, a connection from one of said windings to said starting motor circuit between said last named switch and the motor whereby one of said windings is short circuited when said last named switch is closed, and a connection from the other of said windings to ground whereby said last named winding is rendered effective to hold the pinion in engagement with the gear after the other of said windings is short circuited.

4. Engine starting apparatus comprising an electric motor, a pinion normally spaced from a gear to the engine to be started and movable into mesh therewith, a spring for retracting the inion from the engine gear and for yieldingly maintaining it in said spaced relation, an overrunning clutch connecting the motor and pinion, a battery, a soleoid having a pluralityof windings and an armature, means for transmitting motion from the armature to said pinion to move the latter into mesh with the engine gear, a circuit for the starting motor including the battery, a manually closed switch, a. resistance and a connection from the resistance to said motor, said resistance having a value such thatwhen current flows through said circuit to the motor the motor develops a torque suiiicientv only to turn the pinion while it is disengaged from the engine gear, said solenoid windings being connected to said starting motor circuit between the manually operable switch and the resistance whereby the solenoid windings are subject to the full effect of the battery to engage said pinion with the engine gear, a switch operable by the magnet armature, when the latter has moved to a position to effect engagement of said pinion with the engine gear, to short circuit said resistance and to connect the motor directly with said battery, and a connection from one of said windings to said starting motor circuit between said last named switch and the motor whereby one of said windings is short circuited when said last named switch is closed.

PAUL L. SCHNEIDER.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

Images