US3732745A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Camshaft drive converter kit and method
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1971-12-01
•
Granted: 1973-05-15
•
Expires: 1991-12-01
Abstract
Abstract A camshaft drive converter kit and method for converting a vehicle engine camshaft from chain to gear drive without need for machining or otherwise altering the engine structure and simply by substituting kit components for chain drive components. The kit includes several idler gears having closely related but slightly different pitch diameters and one selected pair of which gears is best suited for use to interconnect the kit crankshaft and camshaft gears. Both idler gears are held assembled floatingly between the driving and driven gears and are held against axial displacement by the cover for the camshaft drive mechanism.
Inventors
- 👤 M Jackson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 02:34
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16H; F16H1/00; F16H1/02; F16H1/20; F16H1/22; F16H57/00; F16H57/02; F16H57/023; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S123/00; Y10S123/06; Y10S123/07; Y10T; Y10T74/00; Y10T74/19; Y10T74/19219
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
159 words
A kit of components for use in converting a standard make internal combustion engine from chain to gear driven chamshaft operation, said kit comprising: substitute camshaft and crankshaft gears, means for securing each of said gears to a respective engine shaft, an idler gear for use in lieu of the original chain drive, said idler gear having substantially the same pitch diameter as said substitute crankshaft gear and adapted to be held floatingly and positively in mesh with the teeth of said two substitute gears independently of the shaft for said crankshaft and camshaft gears when assembled axially of said gears in an area offset laterally closely beside a plane coincident with the axes of the engine crank and camshafts, and said idler gear having axial projections on the opposite faces thereof with their outer ends adapted to lie respectively closely spaced from the engine body and from the interior surface of a cover for the camshaft drive mechanism.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
159 words
A kit of components for use in converting a standard make internal combustion engine from chain to gear driven chamshaft operation, said kit comprising: substitute camshaft and crankshaft gears, means for securing each of said gears to a respective engine shaft, an idler gear for use in lieu of the original chain drive, said idler gear having substantially the same pitch diameter as said substitute crankshaft gear and adapted to be held floatingly and positively in mesh with the teeth of said two substitute gears independently of the shaft for said crankshaft and camshaft gears when assembled axially of said gears in an area offset laterally closely beside a plane coincident with the axes of the engine crank and camshafts, and said idler gear having axial projections on the opposite faces thereof with their outer ends adapted to lie respectively closely spaced from the engine body and from the interior surface of a cover for the camshaft drive mechanism.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
80 words
A kit as defined in claim 1 characterized in the provision of a pair of said idler gears adapted to be assembled between said crank and camshaft gears on the opposite sides of said plane coincident with the axes of said crank and camshafts and one of which operates in an idling condition when the engine is operating and the other of which operates in an idling condition when the engine is being rotated reversely from an extended power source.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
63 words
A kit as defined in claim 1 characterized in the provision of a plurality of said idler gears having pitch diameters differing from one another by a few mils optionally installable on an engine between said crank and camshaft gears depending on which idler gear provides the best fit and gear drive on the particular engine on which said kit components are installed.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
59 words
A kit as defined in claim 2 characterized in the provision of at least three of said idler gears having pitch diameters differing from one another by a few mils and any two of which are optionally installable on a particular engine between said cam and crankshaft gears depending on which two provide optimum operating characteristics on that engine.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
46 words
A kit as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said projections on the opposite faces of said idler gear are formed on the opposite ends of a shaft provided with means for holding the same assembled in a central through bore in said idler gear.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
A kit as defined in claim 5 characterized in that said shaft projects unequally from the opposite faces of said idler gear.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
A kit as defined in claim 1 characterized in the provision therein of thrust bearing means insertable over the end of the engine camshaft before said substitute cam gear is secured thereto.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
128 words
That method of converting an internal combustion engine camshaft from chain to gear drive utilizing simple kit components which method comprises: removing the existing drive components interconnecting an engine crank and camshaft, installing a cam drive gear on the camshaft, installing a drive gear on the shaft, inserting a first floating idler gear axially of said cam and crank gears in an area offset slightly to one side of a plane coincident with the engine cam and crankshafts and having a pitch diameter substantially corresponding to the pitch diameter of said crankshaft gear, and providing the opposed faces of said idler gear with axial Projections having their remote outer ends respectively closely spaced from juxtaposed portions of the engine body and of a cover for camshaft gear drive.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
128 words
That method of converting an internal combustion engine camshaft from chain to gear drive utilizing simple kit components which method comprises: removing the existing drive components interconnecting an engine crank and camshaft, installing a cam drive gear on the camshaft, installing a drive gear on the shaft, inserting a first floating idler gear axially of said cam and crank gears in an area offset slightly to one side of a plane coincident with the engine cam and crankshafts and having a pitch diameter substantially corresponding to the pitch diameter of said crankshaft gear, and providing the opposed faces of said idler gear with axial Projections having their remote outer ends respectively closely spaced from juxtaposed portions of the engine body and of a cover for camshaft gear drive.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
That method defined in claim 8 characterized in the step of installing said floating idler gear on the side of said crank and camshaft gears required for the operation of said engine.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
55 words
That method defined in claim 9 characterized in the step of installing a second floating idler gear similar to the first idler gear between said crank and camshaft gears but on the opposite side of said plane and normally operating under no load conditions when said engine is operating and operable to drive said camshaft.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
81 words
That improvement in a machine having two parallel gear-equipped shafts, first and second shaftless idler gears structurally disassociated with one another floatingly in mesh with each of said first mentioned gears in areas disposed on the opposite sides of a plane common to the axes of said shafts whereby said gears mutually cooperate in holding said first and second idler gears in assembled position irrespective of which of said shafts is the driving shaft and irrespective of its direction of rotation.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
81 words
That improvement in a machine having two parallel gear-equipped shafts, first and second shaftless idler gears structurally disassociated with one another floatingly in mesh with each of said first mentioned gears in areas disposed on the opposite sides of a plane common to the axes of said shafts whereby said gears mutually cooperate in holding said first and second idler gears in assembled position irrespective of which of said shafts is the driving shaft and irrespective of its direction of rotation.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
20 words
That improvement defined in claim 11 characterized in that one of said idler gears has more teeth than the other.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
That improvement defined in claim 11 characterized in that all of said gears are free of radial flanges along both axial ends of the teeth thereof.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3415137A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-05-14 | 1976-11-13 | 1977-05-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-05-14 | 1980-11-13 | 1981-05-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-05-14 | 1984-11-13 | 1985-05-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |