USRE19928E - Vacuum operated gear shift - Google Patents

Description

April 14, 193.6. UNSLEY Re. 19,928

VACUUM OPERATED GEAR SHIFT mBbHANIsu Original Filed April 11, 1932 -3 Sheets-Sheet l April 14, 1936. D. F. LINSLEY VACUUM OPERATED GEAR SHIFT MECHANISM Original Filed April 11, 1932 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR F L ATTORNEY April 14, 1936. D. F. LINSLEY. 19,928

VACUUM OPERATED GEAR SHIFT MECHANISM Original Filed April 11, 1932 S'SheetS-Sheet 3 I 88 I I w 7.9 8 mm.mm 59 Q I i l 5/ 60 5? a 85 [66 3 55 [Q o. l j

INVENITOR )flZfll/ATLW ATTORNEY Reissued Apr. 14, 1936 I Re,

VACUUM OPERATED GEAR SHIFT MECHANISM Douglas F. Linsley, Norwalk, Conn.

- Original No. l,966,865, dated July 17, 1934, Serial No. 604,435, April 11, 1932. Application for reissue May 27, 1935, Serial No.-23,779

21 Claims. (Cl. 74-334) This invention relates to a power transmission the vacuum shut-ofi valve maybe operated autodevice involving an improved gear shifting apmatically by vacuum whenever the gear shift conparatus and has particular reference to an autotrol lever is operated in a predetermined manner, matic gear shifting apparatus operated substanbut the application of vacuum not being effective tially automatically by means of a source of vaceven when said lever is operatedyuntil the foot 5 1111111- is taken off the accelerator pedal or the throttle One of the main objects of the invention is to' in case the throttle is operated by hand. This provide a simple, compact, durable and efllcient same construction provides-simple means whereby improvement in construction and operation of the the system can be changed to the conventional device disclosed in my Patent No. 1,733,502 grantsystem, placing the application of vacuum to the 10 ed October 29, 1929 and entitled Vacuum opersystem under the control of the clutch, but still ated gear shifter. making the shifting of gears dependent upon the A further object resides in the provision of taking of the hand or foot oil of the fuel supply 'novel means whereby vacuum may be available device.

to shift the gears but is not actually applied in Another object is to provide a novel simple l5 such operation until the clutch has been ,disenmechanism whereby the gears may be shifted gaged at least to a predetermined extent. manually in emergencies when desired, and al- A further object resides inthe provision of lows any of the gears in engagement to be manuslmple and efllcient means whereby the operation ally moved back to neutral.

of the clutch not only controls the application of Further and more specific objects, features and 20 vacuum to the device but also operates a lock for advantages will more clearly appear from a concertain of the shiftable parts which lock prefersideration of the specification hereinafter taken ably is not released until just before the vacuum in connection with the accompanying drawings is to be applied and the gears shifted. which form part of the invention and which illus- A still further object resides in the provision of trate a present preferred formof the invention. 25 a simple and eiflcient improvement of drift-lock The invention briefly comprises the combinafor the shiftable piston rods which improves the tion of a drive shaft, a source of vacuum such as action of their being latched in neutral position the intake manifold of an internal combustion and of preventing the movement of one rod from engine or its equivalent, a set of transmission neutral position until another rod already in gear gears, means actuated by the vacuum for shift- 30 engagement position has been restored to neutral. ing said gears, a clutch, and means for locking Yet a further object resides in the provision of and un1ocking the gear shift so that the vacuum simple and efflcient means whereby the move- 'may effect the shift. ment of the shiftable element especially into gear In addition a further feature comprises a main 8 8 8 POSitiOn s co t d by an i p v vacuum control valve normally closed but opened 35 construction of pistonto soften the action of by th operation of the clutch just after the shift ear enflag m nt" a d er'e y av d u d 018,511- lock is released by the clutch to permit the vacing of the gears when they are engaged. uum to be applied to the gear shift. I

A still further object is to provide an improved A further feature comprises means whereby the 40 construction of selector valve whereby as the valve i vaeuum control valve and the gear shift 40 r s moved t h h ear p s i n, i is a m i al y lock mechanism may be operated automatically returned to se ond g r p i n after the gears by the vacuum instead of by the clutch, and are a e, enflafl d in high E immediately 119011 .specially connected through a special valve con- P lease of the valve-controlling hand lever. trolled from the steering post or some other point A St l fu t e Object 15 t p v e S p n convenient to the driver so that whenever the cfilcient c utch op d means w y the e main selector valve is moved to establish a desired toration of the vacuum selector valve from high vacuum relation to shift gears the vacuum is apgear position to second gear position takes place plied to the mechanism operating the lock and automatically when the clutch is let in after the the main control valve to open the co trol valve valve has been manually moved to high gear and release the lock and whereby the elements 50 position. are restored to their shut and locked position A further object isto provide a simple and efliwhenever the control element is returned to any cient means whereby when the vehicle or power one of several normal positions. This particular transmission is provided with free wheeling conconstruction is applicable to free wheeling but is struction the control of the gear shift lock and provided with simple means under the control of 56 of a source of vacuum, a drive shaft. a set of transmission gears, a clutch, and means for applying vacuum from said source to shift the gears together with a vacuum selector valve associated with the gear shifting mechanism to direct the vacuum as desired. This selector valveis con-' trolled' from a selector control lever on the steering post connected to the valve'by a suitable wire or other connecting element. Simple spring operated means are associated with the valve, so that when the valve is moved to one particular position the above mentioned spring is put under pressure by engagement with the valve so as to automatically restore the valve to another position when the control lever is released. This applies to restoring the valve to second speed condi-' tionfrom high speed condition.

A further feature comprises the details of the construction of the slidable pistons in their cylinders and the gear shift casing so as to control the flow of air from one side of the piston to theother and soften or cushion the action of the gear en- Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of clutch operated means for returning the selector valve to predetermined position after being moved to high speed position upon the return of the clutch to engaged position;

Fig. 6 illustrates schematically the general system under free wheeling conditions of controlling the application of vacuum to the gear shift through the slidable selector valve and the manner in which the gear shift lock and the main vacuum control valve are automatically regulated through the movement of the manually operated control lever on the steering post; and

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of thehand operating" lever and the quadrant over which it is moved.

The preferred form of the invention as shown in the drawings comprises a casing having front and rear walls Ill and .II divided by a central wall l2 into two cylinders l3 and I4. Piston rods l5 and I5 project through the front and rear walls of said cylinders and extend suitable distances therebeyond. These piston rods respectively support pistons l1 and i8 thus dividing each cylinder into compartments A, B,'C, and D.

At the rear ofthe casing a cross piece I3 is channelled to receive a drift lock formed of two bored bars 20 and 2|, with the bores adjacent and receiving a spring 22 tending to force the bars 20- and 2| apart. The piston rods I5 and I6 are provided with notches or grooves such as 23 to receive the respective ends of this drift lock. The aggregate length of the drift lock rods 20 and 2| is equal to the distance between the bottom of one of the grooves 23 to the normal edge or surface of' the other piston rod. As shown in Fig. 3 the drift lock is engaged in one groove and the other 19,928 the operator so that it can be transformed to the end of it is lightly bearing against the face of the other piston rod. when both piston rods are inthe so-called neutral position as indicated by the piston l3 irl Fig. 3, then the drift lock bars 20 and 2| will be spread apart by the spring 22 to simultaneously enter both notches or grooves 23 and latch the piston rods in theneutral position. Otherwise it will be observable from the condition shown in Fig. 3 that the piston rod l6 cannot be moved from its neutral position to any other position until the piston rod 45 has been restored to its neutral position. This prevents the movement of one rod to shift gears while the other rod is in a gear shifting position.

Adjacent each of the compartments A, B, Cand taining an air inlet port 25, a vacuum port 26, a cylindrical valve sleeve .21, a spring 28 pressing said valve on a seat 29 and a compartment inlet port 30 normally closed by the spring seating of the valve. Each of the cylinders l3 and H are provided with a neutral vacuum inlet chamber 3| connected to the respective cylinders by means of a' pair of small passages 32 suitably spaced apart for a purpose hereinafter described. Pipe 33 connects the spring valve associated with compartment A, pipe 34 extends from compartment B and both pipes 33 and 34' are connected to a pipe 36. Pipe 31 extends from compartment A and pipe 33 extends from the spring valve cham' ber associated with compartment B. Pipes 31 and 33 are connected to a commonpipe ,33. The

same relative arrangement of pipes is shown in connection with cylinder H. The neutral vacuum inlet chambers 3| are connected'to pipes 40.

The pipes 36, 39, and I above mentioned lead toa vacuum selector valve and connect thereto in any suitable manner to be later described so that the control of the vacuum or atmospheric air to any of these pipes is controlled in any well known manner by the movement of this selector valve..

Each of the pistons l1 and I8 is constructed in any desired manner, but in any event are proports 32 in. the cylinder it, when the movement of the selector valve places vacuum in compartment C and admits air pressure to compartment D the piston l8 will move tothe left. As the right hand port 32 is uncovered air will enter through said port into the vacuum chamber 3| and will then pass through in-port 32 and press vacuum in said compartment and slightly slowing up the movement of the piston l6. Since the piston I6 is connected to a dependent yoke member such as 43 (see Fig. 4') whereby certain gear elements are shifted and since this leak of air above described tends to. slow upjthe movement of the piston, these actions are so designed and correlated that this softening or slowing up occurs just as the gear elements are about to 'be en 13 D are disposed valve casings such as 2| each con- Selector valve 45 provided with any suitable ports and passages, not shown in detail except in Fig. 6.

I The back of this valve is provided with notches 45 respectively engaged by a ball 41 pressed thereinto by a spring 45, to latch the valve in any one 'of several predetermined positions. This valve 45 may be manually or otherwise actuated and in' the illustrative embodiment is operated by means of Bowden wire 49 passing through a flexible tube 50 and leading to a manually controlled lever shown as in Fig. 6, preferably located on the steering post of an automobile, or in any suitable position adjacent the hand of the operator.

Below the chamber of the selector valve 45 the valve casing is chamberedto receive a main vacuum control valve 52 held in the position shown in Fig. 4 by means of a spring 53. The chamber in which this valve 52 operates is connected. by a'pipe 54 leading to any suitable source of vacuum which may be the intake manifold pipe of an internal combustion engine. A port 55 in the control valve 52 is adapted to be connected to a similar port 55 in the valve casing above the valve 52 leading to a chamber 51 in the selector valve 45 immediately thereabove. In the normal position of the control valve 52 these ports are 'notengaged (as shown) so that normally the vacuum is not made available to the controlof the selector valve 45. The control valve 52 has an end 55 extending from this casing and engageable by a lug 59 mounted on a shaft "and tiltable therewith. The shaft 59 supports a lever 5| connected in any suitable vmanner, see Fig. 5, to a clutch mechanism so that whenever the clutch is moved to be disengaged the lug 59 is swung upwardly'to move the control valve 52 to a position against the action of spring 59 so as to register the ports 55 and 55 and allow vacuum to be placed under the control of the selector valve 45. The shaft 50 also tions or in the neutral position. This lock bar 52 may be formed integral with the lug 59 and operated therewith by the action of the clutch as above mentioned.

As shown in Fig. 1 the front end of the casing of the selector valve 45 receives an inwardly extending stud 55 having a head 55 slidable in the casing 51 and receiving pressure from a spring 58 tending to hold the stud 55 in projected position in the valve casing. The length of this stud and its projection into the valve casing is such that when the valve 45 is pulled to the left by the movement of the Bowden wire 49 it will be disposed abutting the end of the stud 55 when the valve is in the so-called second gear position. Further movement of the valve to the left by the Bowden wire causes the valve to move as soon as the hand of the operator is'removed from the manually controlled selector lever 5| when it is moved to the high speed position, this lever is moved back to second speed position by the operation of the spring 55 and the stud 55 moving the valve 45 back to second speed position and consequently moving the Bowden wire and the lever 5|. This provides a simple means whereby the selector lever 5| and the selector valve 45 are automatically returned to second speed position from high speed position when the hand of the operator is removed from the selector lever 5|. This insures that when the mechanism is in high speed the valve elements automatically have been returned to second speed so that to get into second speed from high speed with this arrangement it is merely necessary to throw out the clutch which will cause the lug operated without it.

Another method whereby the control selector valve 45 is automatically returnable to second speed position from high speed position, but in this case by means of the clutch action instead of the action of stud 55, is shown in Fig. 5 in which the clutch pedal 59 is connected through the lever 5| by a link to the lever ll The link I0 is made in twopieces one of which is bored to receive the end of the other portion of the link and in which bore is a spring 12 pressing against the end ofthe link element projecting into said bore. The lever II is connected .to a lever 99 pivotaliy supported from the gear shift casing by means of a bracket 9|. The other end of this lever 99 has a pawl 92 engageable by a spring 93 which tends always to move it to the'left or counter-clockwise around its pivot. Inthe position shown in Fig. 5, with the clutch pedal in the full line position and the clutch engaged the pawl 92 lies under the edge of a stud '94 projecting through the end of the valve casing '44 and preferably connected to the front end of the selector slide valve 45. The slide valve 45' is shown in the second speed position. To move it to the high speed position it has to be moved to the left which would project the stud 94 to the dotted lineposition shown in the figures.

This movement of the valve is, of course, effected by means of the Bowdenwire 49. With the valve 45 in this high speed position whenever the clutch pedal 59 is depressed to disengage the clutch the lever system shown will move the lever 90 counter-clockwise around its pivot causing the pawl .92 to move to the left and snap up in back of the stud 94 by reason of the pull of the spring 93 and assume the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5. Consequently with the pawl 92 in this position spring 95 may move it back to the engaged position then the spring 95 is strong enough to pull the lever 5| to the left and through it move the lever 90 to the right forcing slide valve 45 to the right to the second speed position. In this second speed position the pawl 92 will clear the end of the stud and move to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5. It is, of course, to be observed that as this action takes place the clutch lock bar 52 and the main vacuum control valve 52 are also actuated in the manner described previously.

In Figs. 3 and 4 are shown collars H4 on the ends of the piston rods l5 and I5. The collars by yoke construction connect respectively to the ends of arms 5 one of which is mounted on a sleeve 5 the other of which is mounted on whenever the clutch pedal is released so that the a shaft lil extending up through the floor of the car and having on their upper ends respectively arms Ill and II. These arms can therefore be manually operated to shift either one or the'other of the desired piston rods to effect the gear shift changes desired or to throw the gears into neutral position. Preferably these manually operable arms are mounted so as not to be in the way of the feet of the occupants of the car. If desired this manual operating means may be positioned at either end or elsewhere on the device. The piston rods are also provided with apertures I50 -near their ends to enable the opera- .tor to insert a screw-driver or other pointed instrument to enable him to thereby shift the gears I manually, if and when the apparatusi's not provided with the above describedarms for manual shifting.

provided a system in which the vacuum is'applied to the shift lock to release it and to open the vacuum control valve whenever the-vacuum control lever on the steering post is operated to change gears, but insuring th'at this operation of 1 applying vacuum tothe gear shift isin all cases dependent upon the positionof the'fuel supply I v tlon'through dash manipulation, thevalve 19 can lever or pedal so that in any free wheeling conby the operator whereby the system can be changed to the conventional system so that the application of vacuum to the shift is placed under the control of the clutch position, but still depend- ,j ent upon the fact that the foot is of! the accelerator or the hand is off of the hand throttle.

In this system there is shown a source of vacu- J um such as the manifold intake pipe "I3 of an engine; the gear shifter device H of the'type just described; the selector control lever II; a vacuum cylinder |l containing a piston 15 and a piston rod I6 connected by a link II to the lug 59 and the lock bar 62 previously discussed. The maniiold- I3 is connected by a pipe ll to atwo-way valve 19 adapted in one positionto connect pipes II and 80 and in another position to connect pipes I8 and BI. Pipe 8i leads to a one-way valve .2

controlled by'the fuel supply element which maybe the foot accelerator 83 or a hand throttle conveniently located. .Pipe ll leads to a valve ll controlled by the clutch, pedal 59. Another pipe 84 leads from the valve .83 to the pipe Ill.

The mechanism on the steering post, in any form of the invention comprises the selector control lever 5|. In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6, which relates particularly to free wheeling, this lever'il is associated with a rotary valve 91 having a port 98 broad enough to connect the pipe 85 with the pipe '85 when in the position shown in the figure. This pipe 85 is connected to the vacuum cylinder IL The port is also adapted to connect the pipe 86 with the pipe 81 when the valve 91 is moved to another position and this pipe 81 is connected to the atmosphere. In this form of the invention the pipe 54 already described connects with the pipe 88 instead of directly to the intake manifold as previously mentioned. The two-way valve 19 is operated by a link 88 connected to a rod 89 leading to and operated from the dash board'by the driver. The valve 91 has an' arm connected thereto and resting on top of the lever M. This lever has a yoke llll thereon pivoted on a shaft I02 so that the lever5l canbe lifted out of any one of the notches l03'and moved laterally to move the verticalshaft IM to which it is connected (see Fig. '7) The shaft I01 has an arm I05 at its lower end connected to the Bowden wire 49. valve 91 to hold it in the position shown in full lines. The quadrant I01 on which the lever ii A spring I06 connects with the siidesis provided with a'raisedlug lfllbetween;

the neutral a'nd reverse notches 'of the lever 5|; as'shown in Fig.7. This is to prevent the driver 5 from carelessly-sliding the lever into reverse posia tion without lifting it "ccnsiderably'above the quadrant and avoids careless operation off;

From figure and the c ons truction just de f f scribed it will be seen thatwith'the valvellin the position shown thef'vacuum will be transmitted 25 through pipes'll" topipe 88 and to pipe 85 when 5 valve 91 is operated and transmits vacuum' to pipe 86 to cylinder "and the chamber of the valve 52. Therefore the lock'fl'is' released and the valve 5! moved to openposition. "This action is thus independent of the clutch and is adapted for free wheeling arrangements.

However, by moving the rod 89 to anotheriposibe moved to connect pipes'll and BI which will throw the vacuum through the clutch controlled valve BI and the vacuum will not reach pipe 84 and the valve until the clutch is depressed.

In either of these cases, however, it is to be noted that the vacuum cannot operate the shift device until the fuel control element is released by the hand or the foot.

For the purpose of making the operation of the valve 45 clear it has been shown in Fig. 6 schematically as being separated from the gear shift casing H, although as noted-in Figs. 3 and 4 it is disposed on top of the casing just above the control valve 52. The port 56 is identical with engine port E shown in Fig. 6 on the diagram layout of slide valve 45 so that whenever the control valve 52 is moved to the open position, vacuum is applied to this port 55 and the valve seat through the pipe 54.

With the valve shown in the full line position in the figure it will be noted that the valve 45 slide valve I05 there are formed several ports indicated as'follows: Noxl, a port leading to the first gear compartment of the shift; No. 2, a port leading to the second gear compartment; No. 3-, a port leading to the third or high gear compartment; R, a port leading to the reverse gear compartment; two ports N leading to the neutral compartments 3| shown in the other figures. The valve 45 is also provided with apertures Ill, 2 and 'II3 extending therethrough and constituting air passages. Extending from these ports R, I, 2, 3 and the two N ports are pipes as follows which correspond to the pipes previously mentioned with respect to the descrip- .tion of Fig. 3; pipe ll leading from the N ports to the neutral chambers 3 I, pipes 33 extending from ports 1 and 3 to the respective first and third gear chambers as shown in Fig. 3; and pipes 36 extending respectively from the reverse and second gear ports to the corresponding compartment of theshift as show'ninFig. 3.

In the full line position of the valve .3 shown in the drawings the two neutral ports are connected' directly to the vacuum port E and'oonsequently the two pistons of the shift are either in or will be moved into the neutral position in a manner previously described. Moving the valve 45 to the left one step will connect port I with the vacuum channel and the port E and will close the upper neutral port but allow the lower neutral port to' remain connected to the vacuum. It will also cause the reverse chamber port R to be connected to atmosphere passage III. In this position, therefore, vacuum will be applied through the pipe 39 to the first gear compartment and atmosphere will be applied to the reverse gear compartment which is on the opposite side of the piston H, for instance.- By having the lower neutral port also supplied with vacuum the other piston i3 is held in neutral position.

Movingthe slide valve 45 further to the left will shut of! port I but will connect port 2 to the vacuum, closing the lower neutral port but connecting the upper neutral to the vacuum, at the same time the third gear compartment through the port 3 'is connected to the atmosphere through passage H3. Moving the slide valves I further to the left the third gear position is obtained in which the upper neutral port is conis made to one of the compartments of the shift to apply vacuum thereto it will be noted that the compartment on the other side of the piston from said compartment is connected to the atmosphere so as to assist in the operation of the device while at the same time, the.other piston unit which is'not being moved is connected to the vacuum so as to tend to hold it in the neutral position.

Ijrom this operation it will be observed that as soon as the control lever ii is moved to a desired lateral position the slide valve 45 has assumed anyone of the positions described and the proper connections are made and at the same time the control valve 52 is opened and the lock 32 released. As soon as the lever ii is allowed to drop into its proper notch the valve 91 is actuated to cut oil? the vacuum from the cylinder 14 and connect it to the air which will cause the control valve 52 to be disengaged and the lock applied. In order to shift gears, therefore, it is necessary to move the lever 5| to the desired position and then hold it out of its notch in this position, long enough for the gears to be shifted by the vacuum.

From the construction described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 it will be noted that piston I3 is in the neutral position and piston I1 is in a gear engaging position. If another gear change is to be made the control lever 5| is moved to the position desired. 3

Assume that this position is such that it is desired tomove piston in to'the left. In order to do this suction must be applied to compartment C and air pressure to compartment D. Before the piston i3 can move, however, the piston II must be returned .to neutral position. Consequently pipe connections are such that when the control lever is moved to this desired position, vacuum is applied to thechamber 3| connected to cylinder l3, applying a vacuum to the compartment A through the pipe 40. This will cause the piston II to start to move to the left. It will keep moving to the left until both ports 32 are covered whereupon it will, stop. As it gets to this position the drift bar 20 will. spring into engagement with the groove 23 on the piston rod II and this rod will then be latched in neutral position.

The movement of the control lever II to effect the desired change has connected vacuum to the compartment F through pipe 31 and vacuum to the back portion of the spring pressed valve associated with compartment D. This will cause this valve to be unseated and admit air into oompartment D through its air inlet port 30. At the sametime the position of the control lever has applied atmospheric air through pipe 34 to compartment D and through pipe 33 to the back of the spring pressed valve associated with compartment C, thus tending to keep said valve firmly seated. With these connections made, the piston I! will commence to move to the left immediately after the piston II has been restored' to neutral. This is possible because engagement of lock bar 20 in the notch 23 will expand the drift lock sumciently to permit the lock bar 2| to be moved from its notch 23 and allow the piston IE to move. As the piston moves to the left from the neutral position shown in Fig. 3 the air in compartment D will pass through port 32 into the chamber 3| and will enter through the left port 32 and press against the leather lip ll of the piston moving it sufliciently to cause some of the air. to leak into compartment C thus causing the vacuum to decrease therein, reducing the difference in pressure between the two compartments just before the desired gears are engaged and thereby softening the shock of engagement and avoid undue clashing of gears. Under the action of the vacuum the piston will continue its movement until the gears are fully engaged.

Setting of the control lever, of course, does not move the gears but merely sets the selector valve 45. .The gears are not moved until the clutch pedal has been pressed down to its fully disengaged position in which position the connection between the clutch and the lug 53 and the lock bar 6:2 has caused the lock bar to be released from the piston rods and the. lug. to move the control .valve 52 so as to connect ports 55 and 56 and allow the vacuum through pipe 54 to be applied to the chamber of the selector valve 45. This particular shift of gears having been effected the clutch may then be released which will automatlcally allow the piston rods to be locked by the re-engagement of the lock bar 32 therewith and will permit the control valve 52 to be disengaged through action of spring 53 and move to the position shown in Fig. 4.

It will be apparent that when the selector valve "is moved to the high speed position and the clutch is operated, that the high speed shift is made in the manner above described, the position of the valve determining the compartment to which vacuum and atmospheric air pressure are to be respectively applied. In this case the construction of stud I! shown in Fig. 1 or the construction shown in'll'ig. 5 may be employed to automatically restore the selector valve to the second speed position as shown when either the hand is taken ofl the control lever II or the clutch pedal is moved back to fully engaged position.

It is further to be noted that when free wheeling is employed, that the construction shown in Fig. 6 is used and the shift is made by moving the lever 5| from one position to'another but then only if and when the foot or hand is lifted from the throttle element 88. With the conventional arrangement without free wheeling and using the clutch, the change from one type of system to the other is eifected by shifting the rod 89 and then the clutch valve 88 controls the vacuum application but still dependent upon the position of the foot or hand throttle.

It will thus be observed that there is provided a novel, simple, compact, emcient mechanism whereby certain shiftabie gear engaging elements can be moved selectively from one position to another to eflect the desired changes merely by the application ofvacuum and air pressure to the desired points in the system. In the preferred form there is shown a pair of reciprocating piston rods which are locked respectively in gear engaging position and which cannot be moved from said position until the system is in condition for such movement. There is correlated with the shiftable piston rods a rod lock actuated through the movement of the clutch and so related therewith that the lock is not released untfl the clutch is disengaged. There is also associated with said lock a valve controlling the application of vacuum to the a gear shift so that vacuum is not available until the clutch has been disengaged and the lock released. There has been provided a construction. of piston with respect to certain neutral portsmay be controlled by the vacuum and depend merely upon the position of the vacuum controlled selector lever. This construction is especially useful in free wheeling. These various modiflcations may be. appliedseparately or together to the apparatus shown, with the exception of the two forms of construction for re-setting the selector valve to secondgear position, which, of course, can only be applied one at a time to the apparatus.

While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to a present preferred form thereof, it is not to be limited to such details and forms since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and SQOD c! the invention in its broadest aspects. Hence it is desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of -any one or more of the appended claims.

What I claim is: 1. The combination of a source of vacuum, a

drive shaft, transmission gears, means actuated high speed position by the manually controlled element whereby the valve is moved automatically to second speed position when the manually controlled element is released.

2. The combination with a source of vacuum, a drive shaft, transmission gearing and means actuated by the vacuum for shitting said gears, a vacuum selector valve, means for moving said valve under the control of the operator, a clutch, and means operated by the clutch to restore said valve to a predetermined position whenever the clutch is moved to engaging position.

3. The combination with a source of vacuum of a drive shaft, transmission gears, and means actuated by the vacuum for shifting said gears, a vacuum selector valve manually movable by the operator, a gear shift lock and a main vacuum control valve, mechanism for moving saidvacuum control valve and said lock and means whereby the vacuummay be applied to move said lock and said control valve to predetermined positions whenever the manually operable element is moved by the operator from one predetermined position to another whereby the lock is released and the control valve is moved to open position as the manually operated element has moved from predetermined position to shift gears, and means whereby said lock and control valve are moved respectively to locked and shut-oil position when the manually operated element is restored toany one of several predetermined positions.

4. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shifting device, a manually operated selector lever to control the application of vacuum to said shift, a clutch, a throttle element and a dash adjustment device, means for passing vacuum to the gear shift when the foot or hand is oil a the throttle device when the selector lever is moved from one position to another, but dependent upon the disposition of the dash adjustment in a particular predetermined position, and means operated by the movement of the selector lever to release the gear shift and permit the vacuum toeuter the shift.

5. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shifting device, a manually operated selector lever to control the application of vacuum to said shift, a clutch, a throttle element and a dash adjustment device, means for vacuum to the gear shift when the foot or hand is off the throttle device when the selector lever is moved from one position to another, but dependent upon the disposition of the dash adjustment in a particular predetermined position, and

means operated by the movement of the selector lever to release the gear shift and permit the vacuum to enter the shift, and means operated by the clutch when depressed to-apply vacuum to the shift through the throttle controlled means and the selector lever-controlled means only when the dash adi'ustment device is in another predetermined position.

6. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shift, a clutch selector lever, a dash adjustment device, a throttle element, a valve operated by the clutch, a valve operated by the selector lever, a valve operated by the dash adjustment device, and a valve operated by-the throttle element vacuum being transmitted through the clutch valve when the clutch is depressed, to the gear shift when the dash adjustment device valve 'is in one position, said vacuum being transmitted directly from the source of vacuum to ,the valve controlled by the throttle element when the dash adjustment valve is-in another position.

7. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shift involving a selector lever for applying vacuum to the shift, and a fuel throttle .element,

, means whereby the shift may be unlocked and 'placed in condition to receive vacuum when the termined position to another, and means whereby vacuum is applied to the shift to open the shut-off valve and release the lock when the lever is so moved.

9. In combination a vacuum operated gear shift, a selector lever to be manually operated by the operator, a valve "connected with said lever, said lever adapted tolienormally in notches 'on a quadrant disposed on the steering post of the car, a gear shift lock and a shut-off valve, means whereby the vacuum is transmitted through the valve operated by the lever when the lever is moved out of any of its notches,

' and means whereby when the lever is so oper ated, the vacuum will release the lock and open the shut-off valve, and a selector valve mechanically operated by the lateral movement of the lever from one notch to another to selectively predetermine the application of vacuum to the 'shift.

10. In a vacuum operated gear shift, a cylinder, a piston having a neutral position in the cylinder, said cylinder having spaced ports therein adjacent the neutral position of the piston, said piston having flexible lips of leather or similar material contacting with the cylinder walls, means whereby as the piston moves from neutral position fluid is introduced to one side of said piston and will pass from one of said ports as it is uncovered to and through the other port by way of said lips to enter the chamber on the opposite side of the piston whereby the movement of the piston under the influence of said fluid is somewhat checked.

11. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shift, comprising a cylinder, a piston therein, a

piston rod, means connecting the piston rod with the gearelements to be shifted, the cylinder walls along which the piston moves being provided with means operated by the, clutch to restore said valve to a predetermined position.

13. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shifting device, a selector valve to control the application of. vacuum to said shift, a clutch, a-

throttle element, means for passing vacuum to the gear shift when the throttle is in normally closed position, and the selector valve is moved, and means operated by movement of the selector valve to release the gear shift and permit the vacuum to enter the shift.

14. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shift, a lock for said gear shift, a selector valve, a source of vacuum, means whereby vacuum is transmitted to the shift when the selector valve is moved from a previous position and means whereby vacuum is applied to the shift to release the lock on movement of the selector valve.

15. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shift, a vacuum shut-ofl valve in said gear shift, a selector valve, a source of vacuum, means whereby vacuum is transmitted to the shift when the selector valve is moved from a previous position and means for opening the shut-oil valve by vacuum on movement of the selector valve.

16. In' combination, a vacuum operated gear shift and a fuel control element, meanswhereby the shift may be unlocked and placed in condition to receive vacuum when the selector is moved.

from one position to another and means whereby the application of vacuum to the shift is dependent upon the position of the fuel control element.

17. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shift having a selector valve for controlling the ,application of vacuum to the shift, a clutch having an operating pedal, and means controlled by movement of the clutch pedal for moving the selector valve from one of its positions to apredetermined speed position.

18. In an automotive .vehicle the combination of a source of vacuum transmission gearing, a.

clutch having an' operating pedal, a vacuum op erated gear shifter having a movable selector shift having a selector for applying vacuum to the p valve controlling the application of vacuum to a the shifter, a valve controlled by the clutch also controlling the application of vacuum and means controlled by movement of the clutch pedal for moving the selector valve v from one of its positions to a predetermined position.

19. In combination, a vacuum operated gear shift having a selector valve for controlling the application of vacuum to the shift, a clutch having an operating pedal, means controlled by movement of the clutch pedal for-moving the selector valve from one of its positions to a predetermined speed position and a valve controlled by the clutch for preventing application of vacuum to the shift except when the clutch is disengaged.

20. In anautomotive vehicle, having a transmission, clutch and a source of vacuum, a vacuum operated gear shifter including a selector valve controlling the operation of the shifter by vacuum,

and means controlled by the clutch for moving the selector valve from one of its positions to another and other means controlled by the clutch' operated gear shifter including a selector valve.

controlling the operation of the shifter by vacuum, and means controlled by the clutch f or moving the selector valve from one of its positions to another.

DOUGLAS F. LINSLEY.

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