Patent GB-191022946-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Reversing Mechanism.
Inventor: HENRICI WILLIAM AUGUST EDWIN
IPC: F16H3/00
Filed: 1910-10-04
Granted: 1911-10-04
Abstract: 22,946. Henrici, W. A. E. Oct. 4. Reversing - gearing, applicable for use with laundry machines, comprises toothed and chain gearing connecting a rotary driving-shaft and a rotary or other driven element, friction or other clutches for transmitting power between the driving and driven parts, and an automatic controller arranged to control the time of the reversing action, the controller being preferably actuated by an adjustable time mechanism. Manually-operated means are also provided, by which one clutch may be kept disengaged so that the machine runs continuously in one direction, or both clutches may be disengaged, in which case a brake acts automatically to stop the machine, the brake being normally locked and released automatically only when both clutches are disengaged. The driving-shaft 3 has fast thereon, a sprocket-wheel 9 engaging a loose wheel 11 by means of a chain 10. The toothed wheel 12 is loose on the shaft 3 and engages directly a gear 13 fast on the driven shaft 8. For transmitting the power, clutches 14, 15, preferably such as are described in Specification 28,663/06, are employed. The clutches are moved to the left, Fig. 6, into engagement, and to the right out of engagement, by means of forks 25, 26 engaging the grooves 24, the forks being mounted on guides 27, 28 and provided with projections 29, 30. Situated between the projections are two sliding actuators 31, 32, having associated therewith a pair of transversely sliding bolts 33, 34 normally standing within the actuators but adapted to be thrown outwards to engage the noses 29, 30 as the actuators are reciprocated, a ' knock-out ' bolt 33 disengaging the clutches while a ' knock-in ' bolt 34 moves them into engagement. The actuator 32 is engaged by a crank-pin 35 on a crank-shaft 36 carrying a worm-wheel 37 driven by a worm 38 fast on the driving-shaft 3. The actuator 31 is operated from the driven member 5; an arm at one end carries a roller 40 which is engaged by a cam 41 on the member 5, springs 42 keeping the actuator against the cam. Transverse slots in the bolts 33, 34 receive projections which depend from two slides 47, 48 mounted in a bridge - piece 49. The projections extend through slots 50, 51 in the actuator 31, which may thus be reciprocated without interfering with the transverse movement of the slides. A T-shaped lever 52 pivoted to the bridge-piece 49 has two arms engaging the slides 47, 48 while a third arm is connected by a link 55 with an arm 56 secured to an oscillating shaft 57. The arms 53, 54 engage the slides 47, 48 with the interposition of spring-pressed pins 58 in the slides. For determining the time at which reversal shall take place, the shaft 57 has fast thereon two arms 60, 61 adapted to be actuated alternately by a cam 62 slidably mounted on a shaft 63. This cam has a long screw-threaded hub 64 passing through a fixed nut 65 and having splined thereto a gear-wheel 66 meshing with, and driven by, a gear 67 on the driven member 5. The cam member 62 is shaped spirally on each face for engaging alternately with and oscillating the arms 60, 61 on the shaft 57. To ensure quick reversal of the clutches, the gear 67 is mutilated so that the hub 64 is rotated intermittently, the gear 66 being rotated once during each rotation of the gear 67. The movement of the hub 64 is limited bv providing thereon two unthreaded portions 73, while springs 74 at each end cause immediate engagement of hub and nut if, just previous to reversal, they have been screwed out of engagement. For immediately restoring the parts to their neutral or central position after the shaft 57 has been turned in either direction, a pin 680 on the projection depending from the slide 48 is centralized when the actuator 31 moves to the left by means of a narrow recess 69 connected with the main slot 51 by inclined surfaces 72. By this construction also, if the shaft 57 is oscillated when the actuator 31 is to the left, the ' knock-out ' bolt 33 will be projected but as the slide 48 is locked the movement of the arm 54 will merely compress one of the springs 59, thus ensuring reversal only when the driven member 5 is in a predetermined position. For adjusting the time of reversal, the arm 61 has its hub 70 slidably mounted on the shaft 57, a pin 71 engaging one of a series of holes 720 in the shaft. A manually-controlled mechanism is provided for stopping the driven element or for causing it to rotate without reversal. In the upper sides of the slides 47, 48 are transverse grooves 75, 76, in which pins 78, 79, 80 carried bv a starting-and-stopping slide 77 may engage. The slide 77 is connected to a manually-controllable lever 82 by means of a rod 81. Fig. 11 shows the normal position of the lever, in which case the slides 47, 48 may move freely. When the slide 77 is moved to the right into the fullline position, Fig. 10, the pin 79 enters the groove 76 in the slide 48, thus locking it in its central position. The pin 78 clears the groove 75 and thus allows the slide 47 to operate until both clutches are disengaged. When the slide 77 is moved into the central position, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 10, pins engage both grooves, both slides are locked, neither clutch may be operated, and the member 5 continues to run without reversal. For quickly stopping the machine when both clutches are disengaged, brake mechanism is arranged, comprising a brake-band located within a hub or flange on the gear 13. The brake is set by expanding the band by means of sliding members, each connected to one of two projections carried by an actuator which is operated by means of a rod from a rock-shaft 91. The latter has fast thereon an arm 92 yieldingly connected to the lever 82 by means of a telescopic member 93 containing a spring 94. The member 93 has a pin-and-slot connexion 96, 97 with the lever 82. To lock the brake when one of the clutches is in engagement, the rock shaft 91 has fast thereon an arm 98, Figs. 15 and 16, provided with a notch which is normally engaged by a suitablypivoted locking-latch 99 rigidly connected with an arm 190. This arm has a cam projection 101 adapted to co-operate with a cam projection on the end of a slide 103, which is mounted in a groove in the actuator 31 and movable transversely thereof. The slide 103 has on its upper face a groove receiving a pin 105 on a member 106 sliding in the bridge-piece 49. One end of the slide 106 has a V-shaped groove, in which is received a projection 108 formed either on the lever 56 or the link 55. By these means the latch 99 locks the shaft 91, except when it is removed therefrom by the movement of the slide 103 against the cam 101, this movement being caused by the oscillation of the shaft 57 for setting the clutch engaging or disengaging mechanism. The shaft 91 has fast thereto a weighted arm 167, which, if unrestrained, would tend to set the brake. The length of the connexion 93 and strength of the spring 94 are such that, when the lever 82 is in either its central or right-hand position, that is, set for continuous running or reversal at stated periods respectively, the weighted arm 167 is more than counterbalanced by the spring, and the brake cannot be applied even when the latch 99 is released. When, however, the lever 82 is in its left-hand position, the spring 94 is untensioned, and, as soon as the latch 99 is released, the weighted arm 167 causes the brake to be applied, both clutches being released by the bolt 33. To prevent the brake from being set before the clutch is released and the actuator 31 in its normal position to the left, a lock 200, slidably mounted in the bridge-piece 49, is provided at its lower end with a cam-surface 201 pressed against a cam-surface 205 on the actuator 31 by a spring 202, and has in one side a notch. The end of the slide 77 is provided with a rib adapted to pass through this notch, but the rib will not do so, and the slide 77 is then immovable, unless the actuator 31 is to the left so that the cam 205 thereon raises the lock 200. The cam 41 is driven frictionally from the member 5. The shaft 6, Fig. 14, has fast thereon a plate 206 provided with a nose 207 and with a hub 208 on which the cam 41 is loosely mounted, the cam bearing against friction blocks 109 on the driven member 5. A spring plate 110, retained in position by a screw 111, bears against friction blocks 112 received in apertures in the plate 206 and bearing against the outer face of the cam 41. The cam is provided with two stops 113, against one of which the nose 207 abuts. After the driving-shaft is disconnected from the driven shaft 8, the latter rapidly slows down, and the worm 7 thereon acts as a brake on the worm-wheel 5, which may possess considerable momentum at the time of disconnexion. Also the wheel 5 and driven machine are locked at rest by the wheel 7, except by power applied through the worm itself. Thrust collars 120, preferably with antifriction bearings, are provided for the ends of the worm 7, and a hand-wheel 121 is secured to the shaft 8 for adjusting the parts.