US1351727A - Spring-motor - Google Patents

Description

H. e; ALLEN.

SPRiNG MOTOR. APPLICATION FI LE D MAY 31,. W19.

1,351,727; patiltedse nmszo.

H. G. ALLEN.

SPRING MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3|, 1919.

1,35 1,727, Patented Sept. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 7A 215.. j q

.L f g 1 I f; I! 62,

3 J jzo ,60 3a s/ 9 r if 65/ L5 49 i i a; 36, I 136 [oi/g6 v 50 Efl 20. '32 Z7 i x 26' 2c 6 36 if I 4112 29 i I 5 E lllll l 4 2 3 v 1 g f as 59 i 1 1 473 26 2r 7 'Jwumkn mm 115L56 119mm HOWARD G. ALLEN, or ALBION, new YOR SEEING-MOTOR;

Lamaze."

ToaZZ- whom z't'maylc'oncem:

'I' Be it known thatT, Hownnn-iG ALnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albion,--.'in.the countyfof Orleans and State 55 of How York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Spring-Motors, of which the-following is a specification.

Jlh object of this invention is to prov vide a new and improvedform ofspring motor for use in toy vehicles and other 1118- chanical toys. V E

:xThis and-other objects of thisinvention will'be fully illustrated in 'theidrawings, described. in the specification and pointed out intheclaimsat the end thereof.

5.: In 'the. accompanying drawings, 1

1 Figural is aperspective viewofthe toy vehicle in which the springmotor s used as aameans for propelling it. I Fig. 2 is adetail perspective view of the governor mechanism for controlling the speed of the motor. Fig. 3 is a partial .side'elev'ation and cross section of amodified series of spring units used for driving the motor.

Fig; 4 is a bottom plan view of the driving gear and ratchetmechanism" of the mot'on 11 I Fig. '5is apartial front elevation and sectionaltview of the motor, the/motor being shownl'attachedto the frame of thetoy vehicle shown'in'Fig'. 1. w

, Figf6 is a partialtop plan View and horizontal section of the. motor. andisupport .1 5 therefor. v

In theseveral figures of the drawings,

' like reference numerals indicate like parts;

The motor as'shownin the accompanying drawlngs 1s so constructed that it can be .40 rigidly'mounted on the stationary axle of the vehicle and supported thereby. The

casing of themotor, in turnyis used to sup- .por't theufram'e .of-jthe vehicle on'the'axle but is mounted to turnin the frame so that '45 the axle with the motor may be set at any angle to the: vehicle frame.

"-Whilebut one form of toy vehicle truck) is shown in Fig. 1,- it is apparent that the motor may be used for furnishing the 5'0 necessary motive-power for any other form of mechanical toy. The motor'compri'ses a series of'spiral springs -1, 2 and 3 which are connected in series with one another.

Application filed May 31, 1919.. SerialNo. 300,980.

12 'and1casing9 bei is adapted 0 hold thejpawl 22 vided for the driving Each of these.

springsjis fastenedwith one end to a col lar or sleeve 'and to a casing with. the other end.

connected as followszfi .Thespring LissurrOundedby the'casing 4t to which the outerend .of the springis fastened at 5. The inner end of-the spring The series of: springs shown in Fig. 5 'are Specification of Letters Patent. P t t d.se tflfllggo;

1 is fastened to the sleeve fiat 7. The sleeve i1 63in turn, is niountedto turn idly on the vertical power shaft 7 AfiangeS-"is provided on the sleeve 6 to which '-is riveted or otherwise suitably fastened the --second case ing 9 as 'sho'wnat 10. In'the'second casing 9 isv contained the spring 2 which is fastened thereto with, its outer. end at 11,,yvhile the inner endo-fthe same spring is fastened to a second collar or sleeve 12 at 18,;the sleeve Y idly on-the vertical shaft 7 a a The,sleeve;12'has a flange Wl'llCl1( lS"fEtS tened to athird casing 16 at 17. This casing contains ;the spring 3 which is fastened 1 g m unted tg rotate thereto with itso'uter'end at 18,'theinner end of .the spring 3 being fastened to the s1eeve19. r The sleeve 19 is keyed to thepowershaft I 74' and rotates therewith- Keyed to the? i I lowerend of the shaft 7 istheratchet 11:.-

wheel 20. A bevelgear 21 is'mounted to 170- Y tate idly on the hub of'the ratchet wheel 2Q and carries theratchet pawl 22 which-enfgages .the ratchet teeth on 'the'ratchet wheel 20. The spring 23.carried'on the gear.,21-,'

ment with'the ratchet teeth.

. I The bevel gear 21 meshes with. the pinion 24 keyed to the driving shaft 25," on either engageend of which a driving wheel 26 is mounted. I;

Also keyed to the shaft 25 is the -gear.-27, whichgear is fastenedtotheside. of the wheel 26byj meansof suitable-screwsx28 which. pass through .the side ofthe gear 27 into, the side of'the wheel 26.

The train of gearing so far desc-ribedris mountedon the stationaryihorizontal axle 29. This a'xlefis bent at four points toform the three vertical members30,y31 and 32 thereon inw'hich. suitable bearings are pro;- shaft'25 to rotate therein. f. a

The casing 4: towhich theispring 'l ris fastened is. slightly larger in-diameter than the casings 9 and 16. The wall of the casing of it is rigidly fastened; As heretofore described, the springs are connected in series,

the outer end of the spring 1 being held in 'place on the inside of the stationarycas ng 4, the inner end of this same spring being 7 7 connected to the outer end'of the spring 2 V through the'casing 9. The inner end of the spring 2, in turn, is connected tothe outer end of the spring 3 through the casing 16 7 and'thesprin'g 3 is fastened with the inner end thereof to the sleeve 19 keyed to the shaft'7 On the rotation of the shaft 7 by means of the winding key 33 the sleeve 19 rotates withit and begins to coil up the spring 3.

The outer end ofthe spring 3- in turnrotates the casing 16' and coils the spring2 around the sleeve 12. The outer end of the sprlng 2 in turn rotates the casing 9 and with it the sleeve 6 until the spring 1 is wound up. In

doing'so; allof the springs 1, 2' and'3 are gradually wound up, the outer 1 end of the spring 1 beingh'eld stationary in the casing 4'unti1 all of the springs are wound up and brought to the desired tension: 7 e V p 7 In turning the'shaft 7 the ratchet'wheel" 20 turns with it but is 'preventedfrom turn- 1 ing in the opposite direction during j the windingup of. the springs bythe pawl 22.

This pawl in turn is held from turning with.

' v the bevel 'gear 21-by holding the wheel'26 keyed to'the shaft- 25 to prevent its rotation.

- In winding up the springs 1,*2 and 3 by V i means of the-key 33, the first-spring is:con-

' nected with the-shaft and thereafterjeach spring in its turn winds up untilits tension overcomes the force necessary towind up the followingspring until all of the springsare wound-.tot'he desired tensionfl soon as the springs are 'released'they "begin to unwindin succession.

Spring 1 will unwind itself until its tension has decreased to a point where the tension of the spring'2 is greater after which spring2 takes up the driving ofthe' shaft and rotates it until its tension has decreased so that spring 3 can pick up the driving of the shaft and 50 begin unwindingit; The springs unwind successively in the foregoing manner until the last of the springs has been unwound.

In order togovern the speediof jthe inotor 4 extendsdownover the casings-9 and 16 to the stationary axle 29 to which the bottom swing thereon are .the' arms 37 and 38; each of whichcarries a weight or ball 39 on the outer end thereof.' The arms 37 and 38 are angular inoutline with the weights 39 at one end of the angle and thepivot' pin 40 passing through near the middle of the legs ,of the angle.

The apex of each ofthe angular arms37 and 38 normally rests against theinnersi'de V 7 spring may be increased or decreased by the thumb nut 43 against which the outerend of 01 the dished" disk 41. The tension of this I I the spring 42 rests; The thumb nut43is threaded on the shaft 35 and may be screwed in or ,outjthereon. The dished disk 41rdtates with the governor arms 37 andi'38 and is adapted to project into the dishedxsideof i a second disk 44 which is' heldistationary on the vertical member 30. The operation-of, f

the governor is-as follows:

1-1 h otation of the governor shaft by the gear 27 the centrifugal force created therebyxthrows the governor balls 39: out-' disk 41 which in turn is forced-thereby 'wardly and, in doing so, forces the corner; 7 of theangular arms 37 and 38'against -'the V against the stationary disk 44. "The friction thus created between these disks operates to 1 retard'the rotation of the governorf'shafty35 i and in turn the speed of the' whole motor. V By increasing or decreaslng the pressure exerted by the spring 42 on the pivoted-goviernor arms37 and 38, which is done by screwing the thumb nut43 inor out on the shaft135, thespeed'necessary to create the centrifugal force for throwing-out the gova ernor weights may be varied. Thuswhen the tension of the spring isincreasedittakes a-higher speed to make the weights 391act so asto hold the rotating disk 41'against the stationary disk 44 and the motor in'turn' is allowed to run 1 correspondingly fast: The V reverse is true when theftension: of the spring is decreased, 1n wh1ch.;case the-*go'v-L ernor is more sensitive and operates to :re-

tard the speed of the motor." H

ne'ction betweenthe- springs 1, 2 and 3 in i which but-two'casings are-used. ."The casing 50 is held stationary on the shaft byth'e i axle 29 while'the casing'51 rotates within this casing. Springl; has its outer end fas tened to the outerwall I50 and itsinneriend Y .to'thesleeve 52. The sleeve ;52-.-isima de ,long'f enough to project into the casing'51 and has the inner end of the spring-2 fastened there to. The oouter end of the spring '2' iirturn is fastened to thewa'llgof the casing -"which casing'has' also'the outer endof the spring 3 fastened thereto.

The inner :end of the spring 3 is fastened to the collar 53ozwhich is keyed to the power shaft. T While the manner of fastening the springs to the casing is different-intheconstruction:

shown in Fig. 3, the operation remains the same as that described in connection with Fig. 5.

The motor is held in place on the frame 60 a of the toy vehicle as follows:

The casing 4 is passed through a suitable opening in the frame 1, which frame comprises a horizontal board in this case. The bead 61 formed on the casing 4 is adapted to rest against the under side of the frame as shown in Fig. 5. An auxiliary casing 62 is thenslipped over the casing 4 on top of the frame 60 and is held suitably in place on the frame 60. The lower edge of the auxiliary casing 62' and the head 61 engage the edge of the opening in the frame and hold the motor in place therein.

The motor casing is normally prevented from turnin in the frame 60 by the spring latch 68. his latch comprises a spring which is pivoted to the underside of the frame 60 with a pair of pins 64 and 65 fastened to the frame adapted to hold the latch in engagement with one of the grooves in the rack 66. The rack 66 is provided on the periphery of the casing 4, and the casing may be held at different angular positions in the frame by turning the motor casing until the spring latch 63 engages the desired groove in the rack 66 and holds the casing in place in that position.

As previously described, the motor and the driving wheel are mounted on the stationary axle and swing on the frame so that by turning the motor casing in the frame the wheels are shifted and are made to run in a direction corresponding to the angle in which the motor casing is held in the frame of the vehicle.

The driving wheels may be locked by means of a brake to prevent their rotation.

This brake comprises the lever 70 which is pivoted on the shaft and is mounted to swing along side the vertical member of the stationary axle. The L-shaped arm 71,

carried on the lever 70, is adapted to embrace a portion of the upright member 30 at a point near where the stationary disk 44 is held in place thereon. In swinging the lever toward the outer end of the upright member 3O the out'er end of the arm 71' is forced'between the member 30 and the disk 44 and slightly shifts the disk 44 against the disk 41 and in so doing prevents the rotation of the governor, which in turn prevents the rotation of the wholemotor.

I claim: 7

1. In a spring motor, the combination of a frame, a cylindrical housing. mounted to rotate in said frame, a series, of springs mounted in said housing, a power shaft driven by said springs, a stationary axle, said cylindrical housing being mounted on said stationaryaxle, a driving shaft mounted parallel to said stationary axle and carried thereby, and wheels mounted on said driving shaft, said driving shaft being geared to said power shaft and being driven thereby. 1

2. In a spring motor, the combination'of a frame, a stationary axle, a cylindrical casing mounted on said axle and supporting said frame on said axle, a series of springs in said housing, a power shaft driven by said springs, a driving shaft mounted parallel to said axle, a train of gears mounted on said power shaft and said driving shaft,

wheels carried on said driving shaft, and a governor driven by said driving shaft and operating to regulate the speed of said shaft.

3. In a spring motor, the combination of a stationary caslng, a power shaft mounted to rotate in said stationary casing, a second casing mounted to rotate on said power shaft within said stationary ca'sing,'a coil spring connecting saidshaft with said second casing, a second coil spring 'connecting said second casing with said first: casing, means to hold said shaft from turning in one direction on the manual turning of said power shaft, a driving shaft, a pinion mounted on said driving shaft, a bevel gear mounted on said power shaft, said bevel gearbeing adapted to mesh with said pinion on said driving shaft, av governor driven by said driving shaft, and wheels mounted oneach end of said driving shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HOWARD e. ALLEN.

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