US2795771A - Combined signal and connector bolt - Google Patents

Description

Junell, 1957 L w, RQMINE 2,795,771

COMBINED SIGNAL AND CONNECTOR BOLT Filed Ha 24, 1954 INVENTOR.

LEE W. ROMlNE.

United States Patent COMBINED SIGNAL AND CONNECTOR BOLT Lee'W. Romine,.lndianapolis, Ind.

Application May 24, 1954, Serial No. 431,761

2 Claims. (Cl. 340-57) This invention relates to a signal bolt, and more particularly to one that is a combined connector and warnin g medium.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a devicewhich will serve not only as an ordinary bolt in connecting, an internal combustion engine cylinder head and block, but will serve also as awarning mediumthat the engine is overheating. While every automobile has a temperature indicator, it is nonetheless true that because of the infrequency of its becoming significant or important, the average driver does not observe it when high temperatures are indicated. In short, while it is there in front of him, he does not observe it. Furthermore, such conventional indicators reflect only the temperature of the water and but very indirectly or remotely the heat of the block itself. With the present invention the temperature of the block itself is what actuates the signal.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a combined connector and signal bolt which will cause the driver to be audibly warned when the engine block has reached a predetermined temperature. As is well known, the blocks in use in internal combustion engines today are so well constructed that the temperatures therein have to exceed approximately 800 degrees Fahrenheit before damage is likely to result. The hottest parts of an engine are adjacent the valve ports and this is the area that must be kept at a temperature low enough that no damaging cracks are formed. With the present invention, the driver is audibly warned prior to the temperature reaching the critical point.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a bolt of the character described which will have a minimum number of parts, will be relatively inexpensive in cost, and of the greatest simplicity. Heretofore there have been many and varied warning devices, but most of them have been cumbersome, complicated and expensive. On the other hand, the present invention may be formed out of the conventional bolts in use to connect the cylinder head to the cylinder block in an internal combustion engine.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the bolt alone.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof with parts of the bolt, cylinder head and block shown in section.

In the drawings the bolt is shown generally at 10, it being either the conventional bolt used to connect a cylinder head a of an internal combustion engine to the cylinder block 10b, or a bolt having a slightly larger than conventional head with a round portion 11 and a hex portion 11a.

The head and shank 12 of the bolt are first drilled to form an elongated chamber 13 for a fiuid 14. The fluid may be of any type or character provided it is expansive and has a boiling point that is higher than water.

2,795,771 PatentedJune 11, .1957

Once the ch'amberis' drilled, thehead is then counterbored to form" the recess 15. Mounted therein in sealing engagement with" the inner peripheral wall of the head is the lead sealor washer'lfi. Nested within the recessand seated upon the upper face of the washer is-the diaphragm 17 which is preferably formed of a metal such as brass. Upon the upper face of the diaphragm is formed a contact 18.

' A' second washer or seal 19 is provided, it being seated upon the' upperface of the diaphragm adjacent its marginal edge, and being in engagement with the inner peripheral wall of the bolt head. Seated upon the lastmentioned washer is a fibre insulating, washer 20 which has'a narrow crown 21 projecting upwardly therefrom.

Extending through the opening of the fibre washer is plug 22 having the terminal contact'23 formed on the end thereof. As will-be observedfrom' the drawing, the contact .23 is" in spaced" vertical relation to contact 18.

The lower end of the plug has its diameter enlarged to form the shoulders 24, which abut the adjacent face of the fibre washer andmakeiitrimpossible to move the plug' upwardl-y' or outwardly when it is mounted as shown in-Fi'g. 2.

A recess or bore is formed in the upper portion of the plug for threaded reception of the terminal screw head 27. The insulated wiring 28 is connected to the screw in the conventional way. Once the fibre washer is placed within the recess, it is firmly anchored in place by rolling radially inwardly the upper ends of the head as at 29.

In operation, the bolt, which has its shank conventionally threaded, as at 39, is fitted in one of the accommodating threaded apertures 10c formed through the cylinder head and block, respectively. No changes whatsoever need be made in these apertures. One of the conventional bolts or cap screws is merely removed and the invention threaded home in its place. Preferably a bolt near the center of the engine where the greatest heat is generated, will be the one removed to make room for the invention.

The bolt comprising the invention (in combination with the cylinder head and block) will have been adjusted or calibrated at the factory so that the fluid will expand at a predetermined heat, such as 250 degrees to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, to force the diaphragm contact into engagement with the plug contact. At such a time the electric circuit will be closed. The wiring leads to the automobile Klaxon or horn which is sounded thereby, advising the driver that the heat of his engine block has reached a point that forebodes damage. The horn can be shut ofi merely by turning off the ignition switch. Since the electric circuit which actuates the horn may be of any conventional form well within the skill of the ordinary mechanic, it is not believed necessary to illustrate or describe it in detail.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims are also desired to be protected.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a motor vehicle including audible warning means, a cylinder head and block having aligned threaded apertures normally occupied by cap screws, the combination with one of said apertures of a combined connector and signal bolt threaded in said aperture in place of said cap screw, said bolt comprising a threaded shank having a longitudinal bore formed therein and sized to fit in said apertures, a head on said shank having a recess formed therein and in communication with said bore, heat responsive expandable fluid in said bore and recess, a pair of vertically spaced annular seals in sealing engagement with the peripheral wall defining said recess, a yieldable diaphragm disposed'between said 'seals and in abutment therewith, said diaphragm bridging said recess transversely of the axis thereof and havinga contact point formed on its upper face, the lower face of said diaphragm'being exposed to said fluid, and an electrical in standard threaded openings in a cylinder head and block to connect the latter together, comprising a cylindrical shank provided with screw threads near one end to engage with the threads of the block, anenlarged integral head at the opposite end of said shank to clampingly engage with the head when the shank is screwed into said block, said head counterbored at its outer end providing an open ended recess defined by a peripheral wall, said shank having a bored axial chamber communieating at one end with said recess and terminating inwardly from the threaded end of said shank, said recess and chamber having heat responsive expandible fluid therein, a yieldable diaphragm extending across and closing said recess above the liquid level therein, vertically spaced annular seals in said recess and engaging said peripheral "wall arranged upon opposite sides of said diaphragm to hold the latter in position, an insulating washer closing said recess and spaced beyond said diaphragm with its outer edges in sealing engagement with said peripheral wall, the outer end of said wall peened over said washer to hold the latter and said seals and said diaphragm in assembled relationship, and a contact member centrally disposed in said washer with its lower end normally spaced from said diaphragm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 714,810 Le Vesconte Dec. 2, 1902 1,164,572 Brandon Dec. 14, 1915 1,342,317 Wiren June 1, 1920 1,542,096 Riblet June 16, 1925 1,653,685 Whittington Dec. 27, 1927 1,845,049 Jarvis Feb. 16, 1932 2,113,610 Bacon Apr. 12, 1938

Images