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US 4,307,291 AGranted
Resettable mileage counting mechanism
AssigneeStewart-Warner Corporation
InventorsJohn A. Gloviak, Tom G. Sprandel
Life of this patent
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AssigneeStewart-Warner Corporation
InventorsJohn A. Gloviak, Tom G. Sprandel
Estimating the term…
A mileage counter for vehicles that provides signals after predetermined mileage intervals indicating the need for vehicle maintenance. Several different maintenance requirements are signalled at different intervals and after the maintenance on the vehicle has been performed each of the counting functions may be reset independently. The counter consists of a plurality of ascending order counter wheels driven by the vehicle's speedometer drive. Several ratchet wheel and switch counting assemblies are mounted adjacent and driven by the higher order one of the counter wheels. One of these counting assemblies may, for example, provide a signal indicating the need for maintenance after a five thousand mile interval, and another signal after fifty thousand miles. Each of these counting assemblies includes an advancing pawl for the ratchet wheel that moves laterally to reset the wheel after the maintenance has been performed, and a holding pawl that also defines one of the contacts of the switch. Each of the counting assemblies stops advancing indefinitely after its predetermined mileage interval without adversely affecting the operation of the remaining portions of the counter.
A resettable counter and switch assembly for providing signals at predetermined intervals, comprising;
A resettable counter and switch assembly for providing signals at predetermined intervals, comprising;
A vehicular odometer for providing a signal indicating the need for vehicle maintenance after a predetermined number of miles travelled by the vehicle, comprising;
A vehicular odometer for providing a signal indicating the need for vehicle maintenance after a predetermined number of miles travelled by the vehicle, comprising;
A vehicular odometer for providing a signal indicating the need for vehicle maintenance after a predetermined number of miles travelled by the vehicle, comprising;
A vehicular odometer for providing a signal indicating the need for vehicle maintenance after a predetermined number of miles travelled by the vehicle, comprising;
A vehicular odometer for providing a signal indicating the need for vehicle maintenance after a predetermined number of miles travelled by the vehicle, comprising;
A vehicular odometer for providing a signal indicating the need for vehicle maintenance after a predetermined number of miles travelled by the vehicle, comprising;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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With drums type indicating means: by adding
Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other
Drums; Dials; Pointers: drums
Counting mechanisms
Term ended 28 Jan 2000 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
Because of the numerous emission control components in today's vehicles, along with their projected increase over the next decade, it has been found necessary to effect government regulations requiring a visual indication, e.g., lights on the dashboard of the vehicle, to indicate the need to perform each important servicing requirement for these components. Since different emission control components have different servicing requirements, it is necessary to provide these signals at different mileage intervals, for example one component might require maintenance every five thousand miles, while another component may require maintenance only at fifty thousand mile intervals. It is also desirable that the individual indicating systems be resettable so that after the maintenance has been performed on the vehicle, the indicating system will again begin counting vehicle travel for the second maintenance event.
With this background it has been found advantageous to employ a counting mechanism, similar to that provided in conventional vehicle odometers to actuate various types of switch mechanisms. However, known designs employing these combined odometers and switches have thus far not been found completely acceptable because of limitations on the mileage intervals, the inability to reset each interval function independently of the others, and the extreme complexity of the units making them difficult and expensive to manufacture.
It is the primary object of the present invention to ameliorate the problems noted above in counting mechanisms that provide one or more signals after the predetermined mileage intervals to indicate the need for maintenance.
FIG. 1 is a prespective view of the present maintenance odometer;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-section taken generally along line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the main odometer input shaft;
FIG. 3 is a partly fragmentary cross-section taken generally along line 3--3 of FIG. 2 showing the counter wheels and ratchet wheel and switch assemblies;
Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1 to 3, the present resettable maintenance odometer 10 is seen to include a rectangular housing 11 having an input fitting 12 and an output fitting 13 with projections 14 and 15 extending from the upper surface of the housing permitting the housing to be mounted under the vehicle dashboard, or in the engine compartment against the fire-wall.
A main input shaft 17 extends through the housing 11 and has spherical end portions 18 and 19 that are biased in opposite directions by spring retainers 20 and 21 that serve to position shaft 17 within the housing both radially and axially. Spherical portion 19 receives a driving tip 23 of the vehicle's flexible speedometer-odometer shaft connected in conventional fashion to the vehicle transmission. Spherical portion 18 receives drive tip 24 of another section of flexible shafting connected at its other end to drive the vehicle speedometer and odometer in conventional fashion.
Thus connected, the reset odometer 10 provides a signal at terminal 26 after a first predetermined number of miles and a second signal at terminal 27 after a different predetermined number of miles, each indicating the need for servicing individual vehicle components, such as components in the emission control system. Terminal 28 is the positive or ignition terminal.