Improvements in Clutch Speed Mechanism.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 18th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left. 18th Sept. 1894-Accepted. 27th Oct.. 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Clutch Speed Mechanism.
I, JACOB REDDING, in the City of New Castle, State of Indiana, United
States of America, Physician and Surgeon, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in clutch speed mechanism
and consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described
and as will be definitely pointed out in the claims.
The aim and purpose of this invention is to construct a clutch speed mechanism
whereby the speed of the pulley actuated by a drive shaft may be increased or
decreased, and the direction of the movement of the pulley may be reversed
without increasing or decreasing the speed of, or reversing the movement of the
actuating shaft, and also in constructing a clutch speed mechanism that will be
simple in construction and adapted to be used with various kinds of machinery.
I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated by the accompanying
drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a general view of a line shaft, driven by an engine, having a pulley
wheel thereon, the said shaft being provided with my clutch speed mechanism,
having a belt working on the pulley wheel for driving some machine at a regular
or increased speed:
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the clutch stopping and releasing mechanism;
Fig. 3 is a view looking directly in the center, or shaft hole of the clutch disc;
Fig. 4 is a vertical section of Fig. 3 taken on line e a of Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a detail view of one end of the clutch lever ;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the inner side of the clutch disc showing two of
the dogs thrown out and two thrown in;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the dogs;
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the outer side of the clutch disc with the outer
casing removed and all the clutches and working parts removed from the said
disc;
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the pinion disc and central disc in operative
position with the clutch disc removed;
Fig. 10 is a vertical section of the central disc of Fig. 9 taken on line a x;
Fig. 11 is the perspective view of the pinion disc shown in Fig. 9 after it has
been divided leaving the central disc off, exposing the inner pinions;
Fig. 12 is a vertical section of the pinion disc shown in Fig. 11 taken on line xx
of said Fig. 11 with the pinions removed;
Fig. 13 is a longitudinal view of the actuating shaft showing the pinions and
sleeve thereon;

page_text: Fig. 14 is a view of the sleeve and pinion which are cast or otherwise secured
together;
Fig. 15 is a direct side view of the pinion disc or part of the wheel that contains
the pinions, the said view taken as if looking directly in the end of the actuating
shaft, exposing the pinions; Fig. 16 is a view taken of the same parts, showing
the pinions reversed on their journals, as in position for a disc that will run
forward at a regular speed and backward at an increased speed;
Fig. 17 is a vertical section of a portion of Fig. 15 taken on line x x of the
said figure;
Fig. 18 is a vertical section of a portion of Fig. 16 taken on line xx of the
said figure, and
Fig. 19 is a longitudinal view of the actuating shaft fitted with its pinion and
sleeve pinion in position to make a forward or reversing movement of the wheel.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
My invention consists of four main parts; a clutch stopping mechanism; a
clutch disc; a central disc, and a pinion disc or wheel, all of which are combined
together on an actuating or line shaft. In Fig. 1, I show a line shaft with my
clutch speed mechanism attached to the said shaft, and a belt working on the
mechanism indicating that the said belt is farther connected to some machine
which is to be run at times at a higher speed, or at a backward movement. The
said line shaft is driven by an engine not shown in the said figure. In this
arrangement of my invention it is intended to regulate the speed of the line shaft
by the engine which will run the said shaft at all times at the same speed and in
one direction. If the said line shaft is to be run at a fast or slow speed, or forward
or backward then the engine belt will be run directly on the clutch mechanism
instead of running on the rigid pulley, as is shown in Fig. 1 and as will be hereafter
more fully explained.
The casting A is intended to be fastened to some framework or to the ceiling or
floor near the line shaft B, this casting is made to encircle a portion of the clutch
speed mechanism, as most clearly shown in Fig. 1. The upper part A¹ of the
said casting is hinged or pivoted to the lower part for convenience in adjusting
and removing it from the said mechanism. The lower part of the said casting
extends outward at A" so as to form a suitable fulcrum for the lever C. This
lever extends to C¹into the main part of the casting and to the inner end is
attached a stop stud C all as shown and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.
When the lever C is up the stud C is down, allowing the clutch mechanism to
revolve freely at its regular speed, but when the stud is thrown up it strikes one
end of the clutch bar F at C moving it over, throwing the dogs D₁ inward
thereby releasing the said dogs from their pressure against the rim E and causing
the clutch disc Ď to stand still. The operation of the disc D may be more fully.
understood by referring to Sheet Two of the drawings. When the disc is clutched
to the central disc E the clutch bar F stands at rest in the position shown in
Fig. 3.
In this position the springs G hold it and at the same time the said
springs hold the dogs with their longest points outward. When one of the
ends of the bar comes in contact with the studs C" in the rim A¹ the said
bar instantly moves over or turns on its axis to a slight degree as indicated by
dotted lines in Fig. 3, this moves the two springs G outward by the studs or
points F¹ pressing against them, as indicated by dotted lines in said Fig. 3. Each
one of the springs G is connected to two of the dogs by the projections D" of the
said dogs extending through the disc D as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. One end of
each spring G is secured in one of the slots D rigidly while the other end of the
spring slides loosely in the slot of the other dog, thereby allowing the said clutches
to work in unison and each move in opposite directions when the springs G act
upon them.
When the springs are at rest they stand curved inward toward the
center of the disc and the dogs D all standing with their longest points D¹ out,
and projecting beyond the surface of the said disc D. The disc D is made with
an annular flange or hub H which encloses clutch bar and springs, all as shown in

page_text: Figs. 3, 4, 8. Over the said hub H is placed a thin cover H' which is fastened to
the said hub by screws fitting in apertures H partly shown in Fig. 3. The
bar F consists of a ring encircling the shaft hole in the said clutch disc D, and
having two studs or projections F F formed on opposite sides, most clearly shown
in Figs. 3 and 4, these studs rest against the springs G G as heretofore described.
The said bar F is thin at its central part and enlarged anl made beavier at each
end by having a bar F" fastened to it, this enlarged end or bar F" working in
the depression or recess F11 in the disc and the outer end of the said bar extending
through the slots I in the flattened part of the rim H, all as shown in the drawings.
The said rim H is flattened on two sides where the ends of the clutch bar pass
through it in order that the stud C" may catch against the projections CII of the
bars on the bar F when the said stud is forced up in releasing the clutch
mechanism. The aperture in the center of the disc D is made octagonal to fit on
the sleeve J which is also for ned octagonal so that the said disc and sleeve must
turn together for the purpose hereafter more fully described. The hole in the
bar F is made round so that the said bar can turn independently of the said
sleeve.
The inner part of the said aperture in the disc is turned out and made larger
at K to work on the collar K' of the central disc E. The central disc E is made
to form the center of the clutch speed mechanism and cover the working parts or
pinions in the pinion disc M. most clearly shown in Fig. 9.
The central disc is secured to the pinion disc M by screws N, so that the two
parts will form a complete pulley wheel for running a belt on, as shown in Fig. 1.
The wheels thus secured together may revolve independently of the shaft
movement as each is journalled loosely on the said shaft. The disc E has an
outer face E and an inner rim E", the inner rim forming the clutch surfaces for
the clutch dogs D. The inner part of the pinion disc M is hollow so as to
admit of the pinions S T, working on the journals O, and the pinion QQ working
on the shaft B, all of which is most clearly shown in Figs. 11, 17 and 18. The
journals on pins O are cast or otherwise firmly secured to the inner part of the
disc M, and the outer ends O' are reduced in size and pass through the disc E,
the said disc E thereby prevents the said pinions from working off of the said
journals. These pinions are of different diameters made solid together and work
loosely on the said shaft O. The shaft B is intended to represent a main shaft or
line shaft and where one of my clutch speed mechanisms is to be attached to it
the pinion Qor Q' is rigidly secured to the said shaft according to the manner in
which the wheel is to be run. Then the sleeve is set up against it with the other
pinion fast to the sleeve, as shown in Figs. 13 and 19. In Figs. 13 and 15 the
sleeve and pinion are in position for running the wheel in a forward movement or
in the same direction that the shaft is moved, and at a fast or slow speed. Then
by reversing the wheels S and T on the journals O, by placing the large pinions S
on the outside and the small pinions T on the inside, and making a corresponding
change of the pinions QQ on the shaft B as shown in Fig. 19, then the
wheel E-M will run at the same speed of the shaft in running in a forward
movement, and by releasing the clutch disc and stopping it, the wheel E.-M. will
then run backward at a higher rate of speed. On Sheet Four of the drawings the
pinions are shown in Figs. 15 and 17 in a wheel fitted for fast and slow speed in a
forward movement. Figs. 16 and 18 show the same pinions fitted in a wheel to
run slow in a forward movement and fast in a backward movement.
The pinions
on the shaft shown in Fig. 19 also being arranged for the forward and backward
movement. It will be understood that the shaft B is run at the same speed and in
the same direction at all times in describing the various movements of the clutch
speed mechanism, and that the said clutch speed mechanism is arranged for
connecting motion to a second shafting or some machine as indicated in Fig. 1.
When the clutch speed mechanism is to be used to run the shafting at various
speeds, then the drive belt is run direct from the engine on the clutch speed

page_text: mechanism as heretofore described. In order to more fully understand the
operation of my invention 1 will describe the action and relation of the parts to
each other, also referring to the drawings having arrows indicating the various
movements. In Fig. 1 my invention is shown attached to a shafting and my
clutch speed mechanism driving the belt W, this wheel is running at the same
speed as the line shaft B, as the arrows on the clutch wheel D indicate that it is
moving.
The lever bar C is shown up, indicating that the studs C" is down and that the
clutches are holding the clutch disc firmly to the central disc E, and in this manner
the wheels are all combined and working together the same as if they were a solid
pulley or belt wheel. Now in this condition of the gearing and movement of the
wheels the interior pinions are all standing still, or in other words not moving,
except as solid wheel. Instantly with the moving of the lever C the studs C
moves up in the rim causing one end of the bar F to strike the said stud at Cui,
this causes the said bar to stop and in stopping, it moves in the slot F, or in
other words it stands still and the disc D moves on until the position of the bar is
changed to the other side of the slot F, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. In
this position the disc remains still, and stationary with the rim A A¹ while
instantly with the stopping of the disc D the pinion Q which is made fast to the
shaft B acts on the three pinions T in the disc M causing the said disc to revolve
faster than the movement of the shaft and pinions T, for the reason that the said
pinion is larger in diameter than the pinions T. The said pinions T must
therefore cause the larger pinions S to revolve at the same speed of the pinions T
which are acting on the pinions Q¹, and as the pinion Q₁ is now being held
stationary by being part of the sleeve J and the said sleeve being held stationary
by the clutch disc D the movement converted to the pinions Q, S and T by the
shaft B must therefore cause the whole combination of wheels and their casing M
to revolve around the said shaft B at an increase of speed in proportion to the
variation in the sizes of the said pinions S T Q and Q. For the forward and
backward movement the pinions are arranged as follows: The large pinion Qis
made fast to the sleeeve J and the smaller pinion made fast to the shaft B. The
pinions ST are set with the smaller ones on the outside of the journals O all as
shown in Figs. 16 and 18. Then when the shaft is running with the clutch
mechanism revolving, it all runs as a solid wheel as in the other arrangement
heretofore described. By moving the lever and stopping the clutch wheel the
small pinion Q' acts on the large pinions S and the smaller pinions T, this causes
the said pinions S and T to revolve around the stationary pinion Q and in so doing
they move in an opposite direction from the movement of the shaft and pinion Q
In their movement they travel around the said shaft at an increase of speed in
proportion to the variation of sizes in the said pinions. This arrangement of the
pinions is fully shown and their movements indicated by the arrows in Figs. 16
and 18.
The operation of my invention will be just the same if only one or two sets of
the pinions S and T are used, but I prefer the three, as they act at a less strain on
each other.
The clutch disc is held to the sleeve by the nut Z all as shown in Fig. 1..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
disc loose on the shaft, interchangeable pinions of different diameters on the disc,
interchangeable pinions of different diameters on the actuating shaft meshing with
the pinions on the disc and means for locking the disc to the actuating shaft,
substantially as described.
2. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a

page_text: disc loose on the actuating shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion rigid on the actuating
shaft, a pinion sleeved on the actuating shaft the pinion on the shaft and the pinion
sleeved on the shaft meshing with the pinions on the disc and means for locking
from rotation the pinion sleeved on the shaft, substantially as described.
3. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
disc loose on the shaft, interchangeable pinions of different diameters on the disc, a
pinion rigid on the shaft, a pinion of different diameter loosely sleeved on the shaft
the pinions on the shaft and the pinion sleeved on the shaft meshing with the
pinions on the disc and means for locking from rotation the pinion sleeved on the
shaft, substantially as described.
4. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
disc adapted to be locked thereon, pinions of different diameters on the disc,
a pinion rigid on the shaft, a pinion of different diameter loosely sleeved on the
shaft, the pinion rigid on the shaft and the pinion sleeved on the shaft meshing with
the pinions on the disc and means for simultaneously unlocking the disc from
the actuating shaft and locking the sleeved pinion from rotation, substantially as
described.
5. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion rigid on the shaft,
a sleeve on the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions rigid on the shaft and the
pinion on the sleeve meshing with the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc rigid on the
sleeve, mechanism in the clutch disc for clutching the said disc to the pinion disc
and means for actuating the clutch mechanism substantially as described.
6. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion on the shaft, a sleeve on
the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve and shaft meshing with
the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc rigid on the sleeve, spring actuated dogs.
pivoted in the clutch disc for clutching the clutch disc to the pinion disc and
means for actuating the dogs, substantially as described.
7. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion on the shaft, a sleeve on
the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve and shaft meshing with
the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc rigid on the sleeve, spring actuated dogs
pivoted in the clutch disc for clutching the clutch disc to the pinion disc, a clutch
lever within the clutch disc bearing against the springs and means for actuating
the clutch lever, substantially as described.
8. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion on the shaft, a sleeve on
the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve and shaft meshing with
the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc rigid on the sleeve, dogs pivoted in the clutch
disc for clutching the clutch disc to the pinion disc, actuating springs connecting
each pair of dogs, a clutch lever within the clutch disc, studs on the clutch lever
engaging the springs and means for actuating the clutch lever, substantially as
described.
9. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion on the shaft, a sleeve on
the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve and shaft meshing
with the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc rigid on the sleeve, mechanism for
clutching the clutch disc to the pinion disc, a projection arranged in the path of the
mechanism and means for adjusting the projection in or out of the path of the
mechanism, substantially as described.
10. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion on the shaft, a sleeve on
the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve and shaft meshing
with the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc rigid on the sleeve, spring actuated dogs
pivoted in the clutch disc for locking the clutch disc to the pinion disc, a clutch
fever within the clutch disc bearing against the springs, a projection arranged in

page_text: the path of the clutch lever and means for adjusting the projection in or out of the
path of said lever, substantially as described.
11. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion on the actuating shaft,
a sleeve on the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve and shaft
meshing with the pinions on the disc, a disc E detachably secured to the pinion
dise, an annular flange on the disc E, a clutch disc on the sleeve, dogs pivoted in
the clutch disc, adapted to bear against the annular Hange and means for actuating
the dogs, substantially as described.
12. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion rigid on the shaft, a
sleeve on the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve and shaft
meshing with the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc on the sleeve, dogs pivoted in
the clutch disc for clutching the clutch disc to the pinion disc, projections on the
dogs, springs connecting each pair of dogs and having one end rigidly connected to
the projections on one of the dogs and loosely connected to the projection on the
other dog, a clutch lever in the clutch disc, studs on the clutch lever engaging the
springs and means for actuating the clutch lever, substantially as described.
13. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, a sleeve on the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the
pinions on the shaft and sleeve meshing with the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc
on the sleeve, dogs pivoted in the clutch disc for clutching the clutch disc to the
pinion disc, springs for actuating the dogs, a clutch lever in the clutch disc, studs
on the clutch lever engaging the springs, reinforcing bars rigidly secured to the
opposite ends of the clutch lever and an adjustable projection arranged in the path
of the reinforcing bars of the clutch lever, substantially as described.
14. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc journalled therein, a pinion on
the shaft, a sleeve on the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve
and shaft meshing with the pinion on the disc, a clutch lever rigid on the sleeve,
dogs pivoted in the clutch disc for clutching the clutch disc to the pinion disc,
springs for actuating the dogs, a recess in the side of the disc, a clutch lever
surrounding the actuating shaft and working in the recess, studs on the lever
engaging the springs, an annular flange on the disc having apertures therein through
which the opposite ends of the clutch lever extend and an adjustable projection
arranged in the path of the ends of the lever, substantially as described.
15. In a clutch speed mechanism, the combination with an actuating shaft, of a
pinion disc loose on the shaft, pinions on the disc, a pinion rigid on the shaft, a
sleeve on the shaft, a pinion on the sleeve, the pinions on the sleeve and shaft
meshing with the pinions on the disc, a clutch disc rigid on the sleeve, mechanism
in the clutch disc for clutching said disc to the pinion dise and means for simul-
taneously releasing the clutch mechanism and locking the clutch disc from rotation,
substantially as described.
Signed, at New Castle, State of Indiana, United States of America, this 24th
JACOB REDDING,
Physician and Surgeon.