US743156A - Variable-speed and reversing mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

PATBNTED NOV. 3, 1903.

7 1 0. PARWBLL. I

VARIABLE SPEED AND REVERSING MECHANISM;

, APPLICATION FILED JULY ZZ, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

mmlilllmllnlmllu I" full, clear, and exact description of the inven-.

UNITED STATES Patented November 3, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

FAY O. FARWELL, OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE ADAMS COMPANY, OF DUBUQUE, IOWA.

VARIABLE-SPEED AND REVERSING MECHANISM.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,156, dated November 3, 1903.

Application filed July 22,1903- in Variable-Speed and Reversing Mechanism;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to Variablespeed and reversing mechanism, and has for its object to provide a simple and efficient driving mechanism for use in connection with motor- 5 vehicles and other machines in which the power, speed, and direction of rotation of the driven member are subject tofrequentchange, while the energy and speed of the motor-shaft are maintained practically constant, the changes in speed and direction in the driven member being effected by differential gearing connecting said member with the motor-shaft and with a speed-varying gearing driven from said motor-shaft.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a variable-speed and reversing mechanism embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same. Fig. 3 is atransverse section of the casing or frame containing the diiferential gearing.

Referring to the drawings, a represents a driving-shaft, which obviously may be operated from any suitable source ofpower, as a steam-engine or other motor. Rigidly connected to said shaft is a bevel-gear b, above which is a relatively large friction-disk 0, also mounted upon and revolving with said shaft a. i

Serial No. 166,619- (No model.)

of said shaft and sleeve is a frame or casingj, secured to or forming part of which is a gear or sprocket it, from which the power is ultiimately taken to drive the motor-vehicle or other machine. Within said frame or casing j are mounted planetary gears m and at, ca- 7 fpable of rotation upon supporting studs or jpins I, supported in the opposite walls of said frame. Gear n meshes with pinion f, and gear m engages a pinion z upon shaft h, the train of gearing thus provided constituting a difierential planetary system by means of which the speed and direction of rotation oflframej and power-gear it are determined.

Splined to shaft h and longitudinally adjustable thereon is a friction-wheel g, engag- "ing with and driven from disk 0 and serving to impart a variable speed of rotation to said shaft h. It is to be understood that suitable 7o lever mechanism is provided for shifting wheel 9 along shaft h and for locking said Wheel in such shifted position.

Of course it is to be understood that the relative sizes and proportions of the various gears employed will depend upon the circumstances and conditions under which the apparatus is to be operated and must therefore be determined by'the designer. In the particular embodiment of the invention illus- 8o trated, which is that employed in motor-vehicle practice, gear I) is one-half the diameter of its mate (I, friction-disk c is"more than twice the diameter of friction-wheel g, pinion V f is twice the size of n diametrically, and pinion 7; is one-half the diameter of its mating gear m. Assuming the speed of shaft 01. to be five hundred revolutions per minute in the direction indicated by the arrow 1, Fig. 1, gear (1, together with sleeve 6 and pinion f, 0 will have a speed of two hundred and fifty revolutions per minute. Now, supposing gear-framej to be held and prevented from rotating and friction-wheel g to be out of contact with disk 0, so that shaft h may revolve 9 3 freely, said shaft will be driven by gear-train f n m t in the same direction as gear (1 at four times the speed of said gear 01, twice the speed of disk 0, or one thousand revolutions per minute.

tact with disk 0 at a point (marked 3 distant from the center of said disk equal to the If wheel g be now brought into con- I00 diameter of g, said wheel will revolve shaft h at the same speed that it is normally driven by gear d and the connecting gear-trainf'n m 1 It, therefore, framej be released, it will remain stationary, no motion will be imparted to driving sprocket-gear 1c, and gears m and n will idle on their respective studs. If, however, the wheel g be moved toward the center of the disk 0, the point of contact on said disk will move at a slower speed than the normal speed just referred to, and said disk will exert a retarding influence upon wheel 9 and pinion 2', with the result that the speed of rotation of gears 'm and n will be reduced. Pinionf, however, continues to revolve at the normal speed and will thereby cause the gear-framej to rotate about shaft h in the same direction as gear d, and planetary gears m and n will continue to rotate about their axisl at a less speed.' As the wheel g is moved nearer the center of disk 0 the latter imparts a greater retarding force to said pinion t' and gears m and n, and gearframe j revolves faster as a whole, while gears m and n rotate more slowly about their axis until a point ac is reached, where the driving diameter of disk 0 is one-half the diameter of wheel g, when said wheel, shaft h, and pinion '5 travel at the same speed and in the same direction as bevel-gear d, sleeve 8, and pinionf. Under these conditions there will be no movement between any of the gears in the gear-frame or casingj or between shaft h, sleeve e, and casingj, and the whole mechanism on shaft h will rotate as a unit with said shaft without friction and without noise. In motor-vehicle practice this relation would preferably be that of highest speed and that most generally employed, as slower speeds on level roads may be secured by regulating the speed of the engine. It will be understood that if a reverse movement of the sprocket 7c is desired the friction-wheel g is moved farther from the center of disk 0 than the point marked 3 in which event said wheel 9 and pinion i will rotate at a speed sufficient to reverse the revolution of frame j, and therefore reverse the motion of the driven machine. This reverse motion may be accomplished at any speed desired by enlarging the friction disk to allow a wide range of movement between point y and the periphery of the disk.

It is to be particularly noted that unlike most friction-drives the friction member does not impart a driving movement, but, on the contrary, merely retards the movement or speed of rotation of the friction-wheel g. As the normal speed of wheel 9 is four times as great as that of bevel-gear d, it follows that even should there be no friction between shaft 72. and sleeve 6 and between the various gears and hearings in the gear-frame the friction-disk would have to impart a retarding effect to the friction-wheel of only one-fourth the power transmitted by bevel-gears b and at. As a matter of fact, however, there is considerable friction between the shaft h, its end bearings 0 0, and the several bearings and gears in the planetary-gear case, and all of this friction tends to retard the speed of shaft h and friction-wheel g, and thus assist disk 0 in keeping wheel '9 down to its proper speed to impart motion to sprocket 70. It will also be noted that an exceedingly slow and very powerful motion may be transmitted to the sprocket without any material intermediate loss of power, which is unlike the usual friction-drive practice. 7

The apparatus as described is particularly well adapted to a certain type of horizontallyrotating explosive-engine for motor-vehicles of which I am the inventor; but it is to be understood that the invention is applicable.

to any class of machines driven from a relatively constant rotating-power sourcei. e., a shaft-in which the speed, power, and direction of motion of said machine are susceptible of or require frequent change or variation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A variable-speed and reversing mechanism, comprising a driving-shaft, a hollow shaft geared thereto, a second shaft upon which said hollow shaft is mounted, a revoluble frame on said second shaft, a differential planetary gear train connecting said frame with the hollow shaft and with said second shaft respectively, a gear from which power is taken connected to said casing, and means operated from said driving-shaft for varying the speed of said second shaft, whereby the frame and power-gear may be driven in either direction and at a variable speed.

2. A variable-speed and reversing mechanism, comprising a driving-shaft, a frictiondisk and a gear mounted on said shaft, a second shaft, an adjustable friction wheel mounted on said second shaftand actuated by said friction-disk, a loose sleeve on said second shaft, a gear secured to said sleeve and driven from said first-mentioned gear, a pinion on said sleeve, a difierential pinion on said second shaft, a revoluble frame having differential gears meshing with the pinions on the sleeve and the second shaft respectively, and a gear from which power is taken connected to said revoluble casing, all so proportioned that the speed of the power-gear may be varied or the motion thereof reversed by adjusting the position of said frictionwheel on said second shaft.

3. A variable-speed and reversing mechanism,comprising a driving-shaft, a second shaft at right angles thereto, a bevel-gear and a friction-disk on said drivingshaft, an adj ustable friction Wheel on said second shaft driven from the disk aforesaid to rotate the second shaft at variable speeds, a loose sleeve on said second shaft driven by said bevelgear, a revoluble frame from which power is takenon said second shaft and differential planetary gearing connecting said frame with,

the second shaft and said sleeve with the frame, whereby the speed and direction of rotation of said frame are controlled.

4. A variable-speed and reversing mechanism, comprising a driving-shaft, a bevel-gear and a-friction-disk secured to said drivingshaft, a driven bevel-gear engaging the driving bevel-gear, an adjustable friction-wheel engaging the friction-disk, a planetary difierential gearing connecting the driven bevelgear and the friction-wheel, a supportingframe for the planetary gear, and means for taking power from the supporting-frame.

- 5; A variable-speed and reversing mechanism comprising a driving-shaft, a bevel-gear and a friction-disk secured to said drivingshaft, a driven bevel-gear engaging the driving bevel-gear, a spur-gearf connected to the driven bevel-gear, an adjustable frictionwheel engaging the friction-disk and revolving in the same direction as the driven bevelgear, a spur-pinion '6 connected to the friction-wheel of smaller diameter than the spurgear f which is connected to the driven bevelgear, planetary gearing engaging the pinion or casing adapted to revolve around the same axis as gears f and i, planetary gears engaging the gears f and i secured to the powercasing, a retarding element secured to the driven gear 7 means for varying the speed of the driven gear 11, whereby the speed and direction of rotation of the power-frame are controlled.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

I FAY O. FARWELL.

Witnesses:

F. A. OATEY, EUGENE ADAMS.

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