Lubricating system

Nov. 7, 1939.

W. E. JOOST

LUBRICATING SYSTEM

Filed May 17, 1937

2,178.756

<img file="US2178756A_D0001.tif" />

Patented Nov. 7, 1939

2,178,756

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,178,756 LUBRICATING SYSTEM William E. Joost, Oakland, Calif. Application May 17, 1937, Serial No. 143,000 6 Claims. (Cl. 123—196)

This invention relates to pressure lubrication systems and has particular reference to the oiling systems of internal combustion motors.

It is an object of the invention to provide a lubricating system for motors which will operate prior to the starting of the motor to insure that all of the bearing surfaces of the latter are properly bathed with oil.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lubricating system of the class described which is interlocked with the starting mechanism of the motor so that it is impossible to start the latter without first operating the lubrication system.

A further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary lubricating system for motors, and control apparatus therefor which must be operated before the motor can be started and which will render, for a predetermined interval of time, the starting mechanism of the motor Incapable of operation.

The invention possesses other objects and features of value, some of which, together with the foregoing will be specifically set forth in the detailed description of the invention which follows. It is to be understood that the invention Is not to be limited to the particular species thereof shown and described as various other embodiments thereof may be employed within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the internal combustion engine and instrument board of a motor vehicle equipped with the lubrication system of my invention, portions of the view being broken away and other portions thereof being shown in section so as to more clearly disclose the construction.

Figure 2 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation showing the delay switch and its relation to the ignition switch of the motor.

Figure 3 is a fragmental front elevational view of the instrument board showing the ignition switch and the operating handle of the delay switch.

Figure 4 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the electrical connections between the several electrically operated components of the system.

While an internal combustion engine is running the lubricating oil becomes quite hot and possessed of very low viscosity with the result that when the engine is stopped the oil will rapidly drain from all of the bearing surfaces into the sump. If the engine is left idle for a time these bearing surfaces become quite dry and the vis cosity of oil which has drained into the sump, upon becoming coded, has risen to a degree where it will not be quickly raised by the pump to the bearing surfaces when the engine is again started. The bearing surfaces are therefore running dry 5 for a considerable interval of time and consequently overheating and wearing rapidly.

• Attempts have been made in the past to correct this condition by providing auxiliary oil pumps, or storage chambers for the oil, which are actu- 10 ated or emptied simultaneously with the starting of the engine so as to bathe the bearing surfaces until the regular pump can fill the distributing system with oil from the sump. These systems have failed to reduce wear in the motor 15 an appreciable amount for the, reason that they derive their power from the starting motor, or the movement of the starter pedal, and therefore do not allow a sufficient length of time before the engine is running for the oil to be cir- 20 ciliated to all of the bearing surfaces.

I have provided an improved lubricating system . which must be operated for a certain period of time before the motor can be started, thus insuring that each and all of the bearing surfaces are 25 amply supplied with lubricant and reducing the wear incident to starting a dried out motor to a minimum. In detail, the lubricating system of my invention is particularly adapted for use with any type of engine 6'having a starting motor 7 30 and provided with an oil circulating pump 8 driven through gearing 9 from the camshaft II, and having a suction orifice, through which oil 13 is drawn from the sump of the motor, and a discharge conduit 14 through which the oil, 35 under pressure is fed into the oil distribution conduit 16 of the motor. An auxiliary oil pump 17, of the gear type, provided with an electric driving motor 18 is secured to the motor and has a suction conduit 19 which terminates be- 40 low the level of the oil 13 in the sump, and a discharge conduit 21 is connected to the discharge conduit 14 of the regular oil pump 8. It will be seen that the pumps 8 and 17 are connected in parallel and that operation of the pump 17, when 45 the motor and the pump 8 are stopped, will cause oil to be circulated through the oil distribution conduit 16.

On the instrument board 22 I provide a delay switch, generally indicated by the numeral 23, 50 and I interlock this switch with the ignition switch 24 so that the latter switch cannot be turned on to start the motor without first causing the auxiliary oil pump 17 to operate for a predetermined interval of time. I provide the 55

8,178,750 rotatable barrel 21 of the ignition switch, as is shown in Figure 3, with a notch 27 and in the instrument board, directly below the ignition switch I provide an aperture 21 through which projects the handle 29 of the delay switch. This handle is pivotally mounted, by means of a pin 3(, in a bracket 32 secured to the rear of the instrument board and is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 33 and an upwardly exj₀ tending projection 34, which, when the ignition switch is in its “off” position, enters the notch 27 of the barrel 2t and locks the barrel against rotation until the handle is depressed, as is shown in Figure 2, to remove the projection 34 from the 15 notch 21.

Pivotally mounted on a horizontal extension SI of the bracket 32 is a cylinder 31 provided with a cap 31 having a centrally bored hub 39 through which slidably passes a piston rod 41, pivotally 20 secured by the devise 42 and the pin 43 to the arm 33, fitted within the cylinder with a leather piston 44. A coil spring 41 surrounds the piston rod within the cylinder and is confined between the cap JI and the piston 44 so as to urge the 25 latter toward the bottom of the cylinder. The cap JI is provided with a relatively large aperture II through which air may enter the cylinder above the piston and the bottom of the cylinder is provided with a minute aperture 41 through SO which air may slowly escape from the chamber 41 below the piston. It will be seen that when the handle 21-is pushed downwardly the rod 41 and the piston will move axially upwardly, in the cylinder 31 creating a vacuum in the chamber 35 41 and, due to the inability of air to enter the chamber through the small aperture 41 fast enough, air from above the piston will flow past the edge of the piston Into the chamber. The spring 41 will of course be compressed as the 40 Piston 44 is raised. When the handle 21 is released the spring 45 will urge the piston toward the bottom of the cylinder and the rate at which the piston moves downwardly is governed by the size of the aperture 41 which allows the air com45 pressed in the chamber 41 to escape. Thus it will be seen that the smaller the aperture 41 the longer it will require for the handle 29 to return to its normal position after being depressed. The outer end of the arm 33 is pro50 vided with an Insulator 49 carrying a contactor II which is adapted to move into contact with an arcuate switch element 12 mounted cm an Insulator 13 attached to the bracket extension 31 by screws 14.

As will be seen In the wiring diagram of Figure 4 the contactor It is eonnected by a lead II with the positive terminal of the vehicle battery II, the switch element 12 Is connected by the lead II with the pump motor II, and both the 60 negative terminal of the battery and the lead II from the pump motor are grounded. The starter motor 1 has one lead If grounded and connected in the other lead 12 of the starter is a relay switch S3, connected by a lead 14, which 65 may be closed or interrupted by the regular starter switch II, with the positive terminal of the battery II. The coil 11 of the relay is connected in parallel with the pump motor II by the lead II, which connects with the switch element 12, 70’ and by the lead II which is grounded.

When the ignition switch 24 is in its “off” position the projection 34 of the handle 21 rests in the notch 21 of the lock barrel and prevents starting of the motor I. When it is desired to n start the motor the handle 21 must be pushed downwardly thereby causing the projection to swing outwardly from the notch, the arm 33 to swing upwardly to bring the contactor SI into contact with the switch element 12, and the piston 44 to be moved upwardly in the cylinder 31. 5 As soon as the contactor II and the switch element 92 touch each other circuits are established from the battery 91 through the lead II to the pump motor It and thence to ground through the lead' M, and also from the battery through 10 the lead IS to the relay winding 11 and thence to ground via the lead 19. Thus the motor II is energized which will drive the pump II to force oil from the engine sump into the distribution conduit, and the relay 63 Is opened breaking the jg circuit to the starting motor 1 so that the latter motor cannot be energized while the motor II is running. When the handle 29 is released the bleeding of air from the cylinder chamber 41, as was described above, will cause the arm 33 to 20 slowly move to separate the contactor SI and the switch element 62. The Ignition switch 24 in the meantime may be turned on. As soon as the contact between the elements 51—52 Is broken, which should not be sooner than about 25 15 seconds after the contact was established, so as to allow ample time for the pump II to flood the lubrication system with oil, the motor II will stop and the winding II of the relay, being de-energized, will allow the relay to close and M re-establish the starter circuit which will, if the vehicle is equipped with a starter operable simultaneously with the closing of the ignition circuit, automatically start the motor, or, if the. vehicle is equipped with a separately operated u starter enable the operator to start the engine by closing the starter switch 66. While the engine is running the.parts of the delay switch will remain in the positions in which they are shown in Figure 2 with the outer end of the pro- 40 jection 34 pressing against the face of the lock barrel 26 under the influence of the spring 41. When the ignition key is turned to shut off the engine the notch 21 of the lock barrel will be brought into registry with the projection 34 the 45 latter thereupon moving into the notch and locking the barrel against being rotated to again start the engine until the handle 29 is again depressed to start the auxiliary oil pump to start the cycle of operations described above.

In the drawing the starter 1 has been shown as being controlled by a manually operated switch 66. It will, of course, be understood that this was chosen merely for purposes of illustration as the system of my invention may be applied, without M departing from the spirit of the invention, to the modem types of vehicles wherein the operation of the starter is controlled solely by turning on the ignition switch 24.

From the foregoing description of my invention M it will be seen that I have provided an auxiliary lubricating system for engines which insures that all of the bearing surfaces of the engine are properly oiled prior to starting, which makes it impossible to start the engine without first institut- 65 Ing a flow of lubricant to all of the bearing surfaces, and which, by requiring that the oil be circulated for an Invariable interval of time before the engine is started, contributes toward a material extension of the useful life of the engine. TO