US1338751A - Shaft-coupling - Google Patents

Description

W. E. SCHWARZIVIANN AND F. D. NORA/IAN.

SHAFT COUPLING. APPLICATION FILEDIIAN. Z, 1918.

Patented May AsTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

WOLFGANG E. soIIWARzMANN AND FREDERICK DRAKE NORMAN, OE SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGNORs, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,` To AMERICAN BOSCH MAGNETO CORPORATION, OE NEW YORK, N.Y., A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

SHAFT-COUPLING.

ject of the King. of Great Britain, residingv at Long Meadow, Springield, Hampden'.

county, State of VlVlassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Shaft-Couplings; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will .enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make. and use the same. j

The present invention relates to shaft couplings having coaxial driving and driven Imembers which may be engaged with each other and disengaged from each other with- I p v thrown out from engaged position by cenout axial movement of either member on its shaft, and it relates more specifically to a coupling of that kind particularly adapted for association with an @Inpulse starting mechanism intended to be disconnected from the driving unit to r,\estress the impelling spring, and to be reconnected `thereto for repeating the impelling movement of the driven unit, while maintaining the driving unit in fixed angular position.

As disclosed in the application of M. Tost filed concurrently herewith, an internal combustion engine may drive the .magneto associated with it for ignition purposes through impulse starting mechanism to give impelling movements to the magneto for firing the cylinder of the engine while the engine is rotating slowly in starting, or is at rest;

and a releasable coupling may be connected between the engine and the impulse starting mechanism to permit the returning of the magneto to its angular position for maXin mum generation during the subsequent impelling movement, and also to permit the restressing of the spring while the engine is 4maintained in its firing position, for repeated generation of an ignition Spark in case the previous spark failed to start the engine into operation under its own power.

Our invention comprehends a coupling useful for this specific organization','and also useful in shaft driving mechanism in general, wherein it is desirable at times to release the coupling members for any pur.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

.ders would be changed.

pose whatsoever. One of the coupling members carries a connecting vdevice movable from a disengaged position permitting relative angular displacement of the coupling members to an. engaged position with the other member so as to then hold the two Inembersin substantially fixed angular position.

In the preferred embodiment of the coupling hereinafter described, one member thereof vcarries a diametrical arm, whereas the other 'member carries two diametrically disposed pivoted latches adapted to swing from disengaged positions `to positions embracing the outer ends of the arm. A Hat spring tends to hold the pivoted latches in either the disengaged or the engaged position, and prevents the latches from being trifirgal force acting on them during the normal operation of the magneto. Also, the diametrical arm comprisesva magazine of flat springs permitting a small degree of disalinement of the shafts on which the coupling members are mounted, and also permitting casier engagement and disengagement of the latches, when the shafts are disalined.

In the-case of the engine organization hereinbefore referred to, the magneto once set relatively vto the engine, should not be recoupled 180O from that setting, because the predetermined order of firing the cylin- Thus, when the coupling members are released to restress ythe impelling spring, they should be restored to their predeterminedrelation. It sometimes happens, however, that upon restressing the impelling spring, the coupling member being turned is inadvertently released before it is reconnected to the other coupling member. The magneto is then impelled freely and might be recoupled to the engine in an altered relation. In order to eliminate this contingency we provide means limiting the relative angular displacement of the coupling members when they are disengaged from each other.

In the preferred embodiment hereinafter described` the limiting means is constituted by one or more abutments carried by the latches and co-acting with the diametrical y Patented May 4, 1920.

Application filed January 2, 1918, Serial No. 210,064.

wise direction, and sometimes in anti-clockwise direction, the abutments are removable' from their supports and have alternative position of connection therewith, one position permitting angular displacement' of the coupling members for one direction of rotation, and the other position permitting angular displacement for the oppositevdirection of displacement.

In the accompanyingT drawing. illustrating the preferred embodiment of the coupling hereinbefore referred to, Figure 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2 is a front elevation; Fig. 3 is a section on. line 33 of Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on lines`4-4 and 5-5 respectively, of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a front elevation of one coupling member with its latches in radial-or disengaged positions; and Fig. 7 is an elevation, on a reduced scale, of the operators tool.

The. axially alined shafts 1 and 2 may be the driving -and driven shafts of the coupling, connected respectively to a driving unit such as an internal combustion engine, and to afdriven unit Asuch as an impulse starting mechanism which in turn has its drivenmember connected to a magneto associated with the engine for ignition pu`rposes. In such .an arrangement 3 is the 'driving member of the coupling and 4 is the driven member.

The coupling member 3 comprises a metal block 5 having acentral opening for the reception of the end of the. shaft 1,. and also having side fianges 6 forming a slot for the reception of the centralpart of the diametrical arm 7. The block 5 is held rigidly in set position on the shaft 1 by a Wedge pin 8 drawn up tightly by the nut 9 and The dia The coupling member 4 has a disk13 with a hub 14 extending beyond both faces, and

is fastened to a part 15 by bolts 1.6. The

part 15 has a median web 17 with a central opening at 18 and an arcuate slot at 19.

The web has an annular fiange .20 on 'its' 'inner face and a fiange`21 on its outer face forming an annular V-sha`ped groove 22 with the outer rim 23. The bolts 16 have arcuate heads 24 V-shaped in end view. The bolts are inserted one at a time through the slot 19, and when their shanks 25 A.ex.

tend through the holes of disk 13, lthe part 15 may be adjudged in angular position relatively to the disk. 'The nuts 26'are then screwed up tightly and locked by thesplit washers 27, the heads of the bolts being seeurely seated in the groove 22. The rim 23 is cut out at diametrical opposite places at 28 for the reception of the latches. 29 which, arel journaled loosely on pivot pins 30. These latches have jaws 31 adapted, when turned to lnormal positions, -to 4closely embrace the outer ends of the arm 7, and have fiber inserts 32 to take the Wear resulting fromvfriction. rl`he flat spring 33 is screwed to the flange 20 and has arms extending underneath the latches, the arrangement being such lthat the springs tend to hold the individual latches .in disengaged position radially of the axis of-rotation, and also in engaged position substantiallyv parallel tov the axis of rotation.

' Each of the latches has two screw thread ed holes 34 and 34 adapted for engagement with the stud 35. holes 34, and the latches in' disengaged po- Vith the studs in the,

sitions, the coupling member 4 is prevented end of the' shaft 2, and the end of the shaft` is threaded to receive a nut 38 and split washer 39 for rigidly securing themember against angular and axial movement thereon. The part 15 is then fastened to the disk lun by the bolts 16 in angular position predep termined as desired.- v

v.In case the driven unit is a magneto and the drivenmember of the coupling is the member 4, the magneto is brought'to its position for maximum generation, that is to the position at which the mechanical interrupter starts to open. With the shaft 2 held in this position, the shaft 1 which may be a driving shaft connectedto an internal combustion engine is turned to substantially its firing position With Athe piston of the proper cylinder at 4or near the Very top of its stroke. The couplingmember 3 is then turned on the shaft to its position of connection with the coupling member 4, andv the latches 29 are then turned ldown to embrace the outer ends of the arm 7. AA flat.

surfaceis then filed on the shaft 1 and the Wedge pin 8 is inserted in place and drawn up tightly by the nut 9 to rigidly hold the` ,Y

the( shafts 1 and '2, and while filling the space between the jaws 31 of the latches, they permit the latches to be more easily .engaged and disengaged, particularly on aocount of the convexity of the bearing surface of the central bearingplates 11.

In case the coupling member 4 is on the shaft of an impulse starting mechanism, and the magneto is to be turned against the nor mal direction of rotation to reach its angular position for maximum generation in the next impelling movement, the studs 35 are mounted in the holes indicated in Fig. 6 for rotation of the driving shaft 1 in clockwise direction'as viewed from the right in Figs. 1, 3 and 5; but if the shaft 1 rotates in anti-clockwise direction, the studs are screwed into the other holes 34 of the two latches29. A

To assist the operator in releasing the latches from engaging positions with arm 7, the tool 40 has its end 41, shaped for that purpose. Its other end has two prongs 42 adapted to t in two of the four holes 43 of the coupling member 4 to give the operator an increased leverage in turning that member against resistance, as for instance, against the stress of the impelling spring of an impulse starting mechanism.

I-Iaving thus described our invention, what we claim is as follows:

1. Means for releasably securing two coaxial shafts in a predetermined angularrelation, comprising a member fastened on one shaft in angularly adjusted position, a member fastened onthe other shaft, an arm fixed to one member, and a pivoted latch carried by the other member andcoperative with the arm in but a single position so as to lock the members from displacement with the shafts in the predetermined angular relation.

2. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and driven members, a resilient arm carried by one member, and a latch pivotally connected to the other member and movable from one position embracing the outer end of the arm to another position out of engagement therewith.

3. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial i driving anddriven members, a resilient arm carried by one member, a latch pivotally connected to the. other member and movable from a radial position out of engagement disposed resilient armv carried by one member, and diametrically disposed latches carried by the other member and movable from disengaged positions to engaged positions embracing the outer ends of the arm.

6. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving-and driven members, a diametrically disposed resilient arm carried by one member, diametrically disposed latches carried by the other member and movable from disengaged positions to engaged positions embracing the outer ends of the arm, and `a spring tending to hold the latches in either of these two positions.

' 7. AIn a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and driven members, a radially-disposed magazine of flat springs carried by one member, and a latch carried by the other member and movable from disengaged posi- 'tionto engaged vposition embracing the outer end of the magazine.

callyvdisposed magazine of Hat springs carried by one member, and diametrically disposed latches carried by the other member and movable from their disengaged positions to engaged positions embracing the outer ends of the springs.

9. Means for releasably securing two coaxial shafts in arpredetermined angular relation, comprising a member fastened on one shaft in angularly-adjusted position, sa member fastened on the other shaft, and disengageable connecting means carried by the respective members and engageable in but onev angular relation thereof to lock the members from displacement with the shafts in the predetermined angular relation.

10. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and driven members, disengageable connecting means for the members, and means limiting the relative angular displacements of the members when they are vdisengaged by the connecting means.

11. Means for releasably securing two lcoaxial members in a predetermined angular relation, comprising an arm fast intermediate of its ends to one member and having terminal engaging portions, a pivoted latch carried by the other member in position to engage thevterminal portions of the arm, and means restricting the relative move ment of the members, when released, to less than the angular displacement of said tei minal engaging portions. whereby the latch :an be engaged with the predetermined one of the terminal portions but not with the other.

12. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and driven members, a pivoted device carried by one member for engagement with the other member to hold the two members in substai'itially fixed relative angular position, and an abutment carried by the pivoted member in position to limit the re1- ative angular displacement of the members when theyv are disengaged.

13. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial` driving` 1 and driven members, a diametrically diametrically disposed latches carried by the other member and movable from disengaged positions to engaged positions embracing the outer ends of the arm, and abutments carried by thelatclies to prevent relative angular displacement of the members in'one direction and to limit the relative' angular displacement of the members in the other direction. c

, l 14. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and driven lmembers an arm carsposed arm carried by one member,

oted devices providing two mountings for bersiin the other direction each of saidipiv the abutment to provide for the limited angular displacement in the direction desired.

'15.. In a releasable shaft coup ling,"coaxial driving and driven members', :afdiametrif callydisposed arm carried .b'yone member,

diametrically-disposed pivote'djlatches carried by ythe other member arid'movable from disengaged positions toengaged positions embracing the outer ends of the arms, each -of said latches having two circumferential displaced screw threaded holes, and two .studs adapted to be mounted in vtwo of the holes of the twolatches lfor permitting lim- 'ited angular displacement rvoi' the members in one direction, and adapted to be mounted in the two other holes of the two latches for permitting'angular-displacement of the two members in the opposite direction.

lIn testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

WLEGANG E. SCEWARZMANN. FREDERICK EEAKE NORMAN.

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