US2028451A - Auxiliary hydraulic steering mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 21,1936.

E. T. HODGE El AL AUXILIARY HYDRAULIC STEERIVNG MECHANISM Original ii d April 30, 1954 s Sheets- Sheet 1 M O m 5 R y mi N NM w R P WW0 w N MM r M A 1% zmmv W Y u Jan. 21; 1936. v T, HQDGE AL 2,028,451

AUXILIARY HYDRAULIC STEERING MECHANISM I Original Filed April 50, 1934 s Sheets-Sheet 2' A TTORNEV 1N VENTORS Jan. 21, 1936. E. T. HODGE r AL 2,028,451

AUXILIARY HYDRAULIC STEERING MECHANISM Original Filed April 30, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V15 N TOR S saw/w 79/00::

A ND

A TTORNE Y Patented Jan. 21, 1936 I PATENT, OFFICE AUXILIARY HYDRAULIC STEERING MECHANISM 1 UNITED STATES Edwin T. Hodge Hodge and George F. McDougall, land, 0reg.; said McDougall assignor to Portsaid driginal application April 30, 1934, 7 Serial No. 723,218. Divided and this application October 20, 1934, .Serial No. 749,245

13 Claims. (01. 180- 192) This is a divisional application of our joint,

motor devices connected to the steering gear.

thereof.

In a device of the character above indicated it is desirable that the control be and remain at all times under the direct influence of the operator, that is to say that hydraulic or other power when initiated must not assume nor continue a directing influence, but should be capable of shutting itself off at any point where manual force is discontinued. It is also desirable to establish a hydraulic lock of the motor devices at the shut-01f point.

An object of this invention is a device wherein the manual portion of the apparatus, such as a steering wheel, mayturn as many as two or.

more complete revolutions in order to make maximummovment in one direction and is in- Y stantly reversible manually; and if the hydraulic apparatus is not operating will be free from mechanlcal or hydraulic drag.

Another object of the invention is a device which will immediately reverse an apparatus such as a valve for controlling expansible motors from any attained position of the manually operated control.

A further object of this invention is a valve control device applied to hand steering gear that permits the hand steering gear to be operated in the usual way, that is efiective to discontinue or resume its function at any point within the range of the manual apparatus without inducing drag.

A further object of this invention is a valve control of the character described that will not be noisy due to clicking or racheting eflect oi the valve throwing device.

A further object of this invention is to provide a valve control of the character indicat'edin the preceding paragraph that will resume its work wherever it finds the steering gear in case for example the source of hydraulic power such as a pump, should stop and afterwards start up again, and all without the manipulation of any part by the user orv any preparation for such resumption of the function of the power apparatus. I g

These and other objects that will be plain to .those skilled in the hydraulic, art are theg-purposes of. the present invention and explained in the subjoined specification and particularly pointed out in the claims appended thereto.

For a full understanding of the invention and its novel features reference is made tothe ac- 5 companying drawings in which a preferred form is illustrated, to co-operate with the written description. The drawings are in considerable detail and for the most part properly proportioned but it must beunderstoo'd that this is to the end that the description may be better understood and is in no wise intended to lay down a hard and fast plan of construction.

In the drawings: 7 o Fig. I is a plan of the controldevice casing and contents with the cover removed to show contained mechanismsand with the main control valve attached to same; being partly in section; y

Fig. 11 is a view partly in section on the irregular line IL-II of Fig. I; r

Fig. III 'is'a section on Fig. I and includes the cover in Fi I;

Fig. IV is a view showing part of the front of the case broken away to show the intermittent gear in substantially the positionit will occupy when the pinion is moving in the direction of the arrow shown in this view. A special explanation of'this view will be found in the subjoined 30 specification; T

Fig. V is a somewhat diagrammatic figure showing some parts in section andthe relation-, ship of the devices shown in I and II to the motors which they control and the relationship of the motors to the steering device as a whole.

In Fig. I, numeral i representsa box-like casing with the cover removed, 2 represents a steering shaft, 3 represents a pinion made rigid with a part of the steering shaftZ, and 4 represents an intermittent gear shown partially in section and having one tooth, 5, adapted to engage any tooth of the pinion 3 that may be adjacent, .in either direction; intermittent. gear being here defined as a partial gear designed to go into andv out of mesh with a mating gear element. o The intermittentgear l is.pivoted on the spindle 6 andhas an arm 1 extending beyond the pivot to engage the motors 20 and H.

The intermittent gear 4is shown inits neutral position. At the left hand side of I f'is a valve casing 8 having an inletpipe 9 and 1 an exhaust pipe 10a. Theinlet'pipe 9 will be 55 the line III--III of which was omitted considenedto represent a sauce of hydraulic power not requiring by-passing; that is to say, hydraulic power which may be arranged with a relief valve or may be so constructed in the. known manner as not to require one, and 9 will be considered to be a source of hydraulic energy at all times when the pump is running. The pump, not being a part of this invention, has not been shown.

Within the valve casing I is'a piston valve 90 in the form of a. shell and 'isprovided with an internal exhaust passage III as shown in dotted outline. It is operated by the valve stem II ,which is jointed at |2 to the slide l3 reciprocally movable, in the guide l4 and movable by intermittent gear 4. On opposite sides of the arm I are positioned two single acting hydraulic mo- I the pinion inthe;position that ward the teeth of the Jand 3| tors 20 and 2| supplied with hydraulic energy through the connection 220. which will be presumed to be connected to the same source as the pipe 9 and therefore under the influence of hydraulic force at all times when the source of hydraulic energy is. operating.

The hydraulicmotors 26 and 2| consist of cylinders 20a and 2 it within which the plungers 26d and 2|d operate. The plungers 29d and 2|d havea limited stroke fixed by the stop 22 which engages with notches 29b and; 2|b; hence they always tend to keep the arm I in the position shown in Fig. I and when the tooth 5 is in the positio shown in Fig. IV or in its completely reversed position not shown but which will bethe reverse of that shown in Fig. IV, the tooth 5 is under the influence of one or the other of the plu'ngers 26d and 2|d and always urged tothe position shown in Fig. I. In Fig. IV it is the motor 2| that is urging the arm 1 back to its central or neutral position and in that figure the plunger 26d is not operating, being held at its extreme strokeby the stop 22. g 1

Abutting the tooth 5 on each side are plungers 30 and, held by the pins 32 and 33, working in the slots 34 and 35, and urged upwardly topinion 3 by the springs Positioned below the plungers 36 are'spindles 36 and 39 working in dash Pots 49 and 4| (see Fig. I).

-'I'he spindles 38 and 39 will have a clearance 36 and 31.

.of several thousandths of an inch within the bores forming the dash pots 40 and 4|, according tothe dmigners calculations, so that they may function efllciently ashydraulic dash pots, it being understood that the entire casing up to a line well above the top of the tooth 5 will at all times be kept fllled with a light oil. 'Vents 4a and 4b confine the dash pot action to that part designated to act as such.

It will be observed from Fig. IV that the top of the plungersare curved to as near as may be, conform to the arc of the tooth ends of the pinion 3 and thus while the pinion 3 is turning in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. IV thepointofthetoothiwillbecushionedtoa very large extent and when it reaches the point.

shown in Fig. IV it will not snap back abruptly and strike the next tooth indicated in this view by :r, butthe movement backward will be cushioned, and if the pinion turm rapidly, almost imperceptible.

This particular view of Fig. IV is purposely made so thatthe center line of tersects with the center line of The function of the motors 20 and 2| will be" taken up by the springs 20c and 2 |c which are auxiliary to the motors 26 and 2| and serve to accomplish this function if at any time the steering device is operated when the source .of hydraulic energy is inoperative.

The steering shaft 2 is constructed after the well known manner and may be hollow and through the hollow of which may project control members such as the tubes 2a, 2b,-and 20 which may control the throttle, spark lever and contain wiring, and the shaft 2 is mounted after the known manner in the steering tube 46 held to the casing by clamps 42 and 42a. The tubes such as 2a, 2b and 2c are continuous through the shaft, while the shaft is cut at the point indicated by the dotted lines at 43 and rigidly mounted upon each half of the shaft beyond '43 is a half of the jaw coupling 44 and 45.

The jaw coupling 44 and 45 is made to have a degree of lost-motion, shown at 46, that will be sufficient to allow the pinion 3 to be manually reversed independently, of the reducing gear 50 (see. Fig. V) so that the intermittent gear 4 may be freely operated to throw the piston valve 90 from the position indicated in Fig. IV for ex--' ample to the reverse position that it would occupy 'to steer in the opposite direction, or if manual force is released, from the shaft 2 the motor 2| may return the intermittent gear to the neutral position shown in Fig. I and the valve tie to. neutral as in Fig. I. It is also shown in-the same figure that returning to neutral effects a hydraulic lock of the pipes 60 and 6| and the connected motors 62 and 63.

Assuming the hydraulic pressure device diagrammatically indicated by' the numeral 9 to be operating, then no hydraulic fluid can'enter or leave the tubes 60 and 6|, but if the intermittent gear has been moved to the position shown in Fig. IV then hydraulic energy will pass from 9 to the annular space 9a, thence past the shoulder of the valve to the annular space M and at the same time the annular space 9e will be in communication with the interior hollow of the valve l0 and thus in communication with the exhaust pipe Ina which will form an uninterrupted conduit to a reservoir, not shown, for the pumping device so that the fluid may be returned and used over again.

When energy is supplied to the annular passageway 9d it is effective through the tube 66 which connects to the hydraulic push motor 62 at the left hand side of Fig. V and when the intermittent gear is in reverse position to that shown in Fig. IV, then the other hydraulic push motor shown in section at 63 will be energized, while the first named motor 62 and its interior will be in direct'communication with the exhaust pipe Illa. and therefore with the reservoir and under a slight static pressure.

It will be noted that these push motors are single acting and the pistons such as 64 are of the trunk type and without wrist pins but have a socket 65 within which 66 flexibly attached the pivot means 63;

projects a piston rod an it will be understood the steering arm 61 by I v the steering arm that the other motor 62 is formed as a reverse duplicate. Movement of parts is less than the length of the socket 65.

Should the vehicle to which the steering gear as a whole is attached be steered solely by means of the steering shaft, to operate. the reducing gear 50, (which may be of any type, kind or gear ratio) by hand, and which in turn influences the steering arm 61 backward or forward, to steer the vehicle, then if no hydraulic ,energy is available the piston 64, for example, will be easily forced back into its cylinder 63, the cylinder having a free communication with exhaust means to a reservoir and the ,piston 64 will remain where it is left by the pistonrod 66 and the piston captained in the cylinder 62 under the same conditions will do the same thing, offering very slight parasitic drag to the movement-of 61 on one occasion and none thereafter.

It may also be noted that when the source of hydraulic energy is once more operative that either of the pistons such as 64- will immediately take up its position of contact with a piston rod such as 66 upon hydraulic energy being supplied through an appropriate conduit or pipe such as 60 or iii. 10 represents part of a vehicle frame and Ii is a shaft energized by the reducing gear 50. Reducing'g'ears of most types, especially when made of sufiicient ratio for-a large heavy vehicle are practically irreversible, hence it will always be necessary man to furnish enough manual force to overcome the motors 20 and 2| and also enough additional force to move the reducing gear 50.

Returning now to Fig. I where the device is shown to be in neutral, it will be noted that the pinion 3 may be selectively moved by manual means in either direction and that upon being so moved it will move the valve 90 contained within the casing 9 to energize one or the other of the hydraulic motors 62 and 63 according to tains may make and use der assistance in the which direction the pinion is moved.

On the other handif the driver releases his hold on the steering wheel or shaft the hydraulic mechanism will not reverse but will merely come to neutral owing to the virtues of the push motors 26 and 21 and their limited stroke.

It is of course clear that instead of the intermittent gear-being pivoted it may be an intermittent rack with proper design of co-operating parts.

The device as illustrated, or its mechanical equivalent, is a strictly co-operative one tor rensteering but not to carry it on when manual force, which it supplements,

is withdrawn. The piping shouldbe ample to,

eliminate any drag or obstruction to hand steering when the pump is not running. i

Having thus fully disclosed the invention so that those skilled in the art to which it apperit, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. In an intermittent gear means for operation of a valve, a revoluble pinion, an intermittent gear adapted to mesh with said pinion and having a tooth thereon, movable plungers abutting said tooth to cushion racheting effect of the tooth and pinion and hydraulic motors adapted to remesh the intermittent gear with the pinion.

2. In an intermittent gear means for operation of a valve, a revoluble pinion, an intermittent gear adapted to mesh with'said pinion and having a tooth thereon, movable plungers abutting said tooth to cushi acter described, a, pinion,

for the steersmanually rotatable shaft, a pinion n racheting effect of the tooth and pinion and spring means adapted to remesh the intermittent gear with the pinion.

3. In an intermittent gear device of the charan intermeshing partial gear therefor rounded teeth for both ele- 5' ments and hydraulic devices positioned to oppose movement of the partial gear and effective to prevent teeth on the partial gearand pinion from coming to rest with their center lines intersecting.

4. In an intermittent gear device of the character described, a pinion, an intermeshing partial gear therefor, rounded teeth for both elements and springs pos'tioned to oppose movement of the partial gear and effective to prevent 5 teeth on the partial gear and pinion. from coming to rest with their center lines intersecting.

5. An intermittent gear device comprising in combination a revoluble pinion, an intermittent gear adapted to mesh with said pinion and hav- 20 ing a tooth thereon, movable plungers abutting said tooth to cushion racheting effect of the tooth and pinion and hydraulic motors adapted to, remesh the intermittent gear with the pinion.

6. An intermittent gear device combination. a revoluble pinion, a partial gear adapted to mesh with said pinion and having a tooth thereon, movable plungers, abutting said tooth to cushion racheting effect of the tooth and pinion and spring means adapted to remesh 30 the partial gear with the'pinion.

7. A valve control device comprising in combination a revoluble pinion, a partial gear adapted to mesh with said pinion and having a tooth thereon, movable plungers abutting said 5 tooth, manual means for revolving the pinion in either direction and automatic means for resaid pinion, automatic means for remeshing the partial gear with the pinion at any tooth on the perimeter of said pinion and a valve controlled 5 by said partial gear.

9. In a valve control device comprising manual means for rotating a shaft and a pinion made rigid therewith, intermittent gear valve control adapted to selectively move a valve by intermittent engagement with the pinion, a pair of hydraulic motors operatively connected to said intermittent gear and tending to restore the valve to an intermediate neutral position upon cessation of manual force to the shaft rotating means.

10. In a valve control device comprising a made rigid with said shaft, an intermittent gear adapted to engage the pinion during a fractional part of a revolution thereof, a valve selectively movable by the intermittent gear in either direction from an intermediate neutral position and the combination of a pair of hydraulic motors positioned to restore said valve to its neutral position upon cessation of manual force to said rotatable shaft. M,

position upon cessation of manual force.

12. In a valve control device comprising a 1 comprising in 25 manually rotatable shaft and a pinion rotatable thereby, an intermittent gear adapted to be moved in either'direction by the pinion, valve control means movalile by the intermittent gear from-an intermediate neutral to an operative position 'oneither side of neutral and a pair of hydraulic motors positioned to oppose movement ofthe intermittent .gear in either direction and' tending to restore the valve to neutral by a small 10 reverse movement of the intemiittent gear, the

pinion and the manual device upon cessation of 4 manual force.

13. The combination according to claim 12 in which the hydraulic motors are provided with stroke means restricting the automatic return of the valve to its intermediate neutral position.

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