US1034778A

US1034778A - Starting device for explosive-engines.

Info

Publication number: US1034778A
Application number: US61067211A
Authority: US
Inventors: William J Foster
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1911-02-25
Filing date: 1911-02-25
Publication date: 1912-08-06
Anticipated expiration: 1929-08-06

Description

W. J. POSTER.

STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED 11:13.25, 1911.

Patented Aug. 6, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N mnumunuuun INVENTOR 1 WITNESSES: a M 14 By Attorneys, M71

W. J. FOSTER. STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.25, 1911.

Patented Aug. 6, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

fig. 9.

Fig. 2

ON l

OFF-

OFF-* INVENTOR WITNESSES:

WILLIAM J. ros'rnn,

or NEW YORK, N. Y.

STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSIVE-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1912.

Application filed February 25, 1911. Serial No. 610,672.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. Fosrsn, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starting Devices for Explosive-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a starting device for explosive engines.

It relates further to the use of a condenser "for providing thg spark necessary to start the engine when at fs't."

It relates particularly to a mechanism and arrangements by which a condenser .is charged from the engine when it is running, and by which the condenser is so discharged when the engine is at rest that the spark is caused to jump across the sparkplug and start the engine.

To carry out my invention, I preferably employ a magneto which is wound with two circuits, a primary and a secondary. In the primary there is nserted an interrupter, and in the secondary circuit a distributer for conducting the sparks induced by breaking the primary circuit to the various spark plugs of the respective engine cylinders. I preferablyprovide means in one of the distributer circuits for'directing the spark into the condenser, and I preferably discharge the condenser through the primary circuit.

In the drawings accompanying and form ing part of this application :Figure 1 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the circuits and means for connecting them; Fig. 2 is a cross-section through an embodiment of my switch in one of the forms in practical use; Fig. 3 is a front view of Fig. 2 showing in dotted lines a means for preventing the switch from turning in the wrong direction; Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 2 on the line a2 m showing the switch in running position; Fig. 5, the same section with the switch in the off position; Fig. 6, the same section, with the switch nearly in the starting position; Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are back views of the switch showing the pointer in the positions corresponding to the Figs. 4, 5 and 6 respectively.

Referring to the drawings, A. represents an ordinary magneto provided with a primary winding B and a secondary winding C connected in the manner usual with such machines. Into the primary circuit there is introduced an interrupter D, and in the secing contacts 1, 2, 3, 4 for sending the secondary sparks through the circuits 1, 2, 3, 4 across the spark-gaps, in the various engine cylinders. In Fig. 1 the interrupter and distributer are, for the sake of clearness, shown developed at the side of the magneto. These two may be geared together and run from the magneto shaft, or the distributer may be separately driven, but the ratio of the two speeds is chosen as two to one for a four cylinder engine, and in general the ratio of theispeeds of interrupter and distributer will be equalto the number of cylinders divided by two. branches of the distributer, say 3, there is placed a switch F which is designed for directing the spark of circuit 3, for a certain period, through the condenser G.

H is a switch for connecting the condenser into its discharging circuit.

a a a is the short primary circuit through cuit through which the condenser is discharged; 1) is the secondary circuit embracing the slip ring and brush of the magneto, the distributer E, the switch F, the divided circuits 1, 2, 3, 4, the spark-plugs and magnet-o frame (forming ground).

I is' the switch frame on which are arranged terminals J, j, g, k, f f, f f, (Z, d.

The operation is as follows :The magneto coils B and C being revolved by the engine, a primary current is started which circulates through the primary coil and the interrupter. Twice in every revolution the interrupter breaks the primary circuit. Thereby there is produced a current in the secondary circuit b passing from the magneto to the distributer E, and thence from various sections, 1, 2, 3, 4, of the distributer, through the circuits 1, 2, 3, 4, to the spark-plugs back to the magneto. When the engine is running in the ordinary way, the current in one of the distributer circuits, say 3, is led, instead of directly to the engine, to the switch pivot is, the switch 5', contact F, and thence to the engine. If now the switch F is turned counter-clockwise on its pivot 70, it comes incontact with the strip J, and the sparks in circuit 3 now passes through strip J, conductor 0 across the denser G, charging the latter and passing In one of'thespark-gap d to conductor 0, thence to conondary circuit a rotary distributer E hav- I the interrupter; a is the longer primary cirout through conductor 6, spark-gap d, contact h to ground. As the interrupter, when operating a four cylinder engine, revolves twice while the distributer revolves once,

the same pole of the magneto armature will tact 9, contact h and'back to ground on magneto flame. The engine then stops. If now it is desired to start the engine, the switch F is thrown back onto contact the switch H is then pressed in against the spring Z, bringing the contacts f f into connection with the contacts f. The condenser is now discharged through the primary circuit (1', thereby inducing a current in the secondary, throwing a spark across the spark-plug, igniting the gas in the cylinder and starting the engine.

It is evident that I may dispense with several of the elements shown, and still be within the bounds of my invention, the essential feature of which is a condenser adapted to be charged by a source of elec' tricity and to be discharged when the engine is at rest to cause a spark in the engine cylinder whereby to start the same. Preferably the condenser is charged from a source of high potential electricity and is discharged to cause a spark in a jump spark plug.

The principles thus far set forth and shown in a diagrammatic form in Fig. 1, have been embodied by me in the commercial device shown in Figs. 2 to 9 which will now be described.

In Fig.- 2, K represents the dashboard of the automobile upon which is fastened by screw bolts the switch case L-having' an insulating front-piece M carrying the con- 'tacts m, n, 0, p, of which m is connected to the distributer n to the magneto primary and 0 and p, to ground. Backof this insulating front-piece there is located another insulating piece N also carrying contacts j, J, F which are connected during the rotation of the switch with the outer contacts m, 'n, 0. This piece N forms the cover of the switch 0 adapted to be rotate-d by the knob or handle I. Within the switch are located the condenser G and the conductors t t connecting the sides of the condenser to the contacts 42 and p. u is a safety sparkgap for preventing the rupture of the conaccents denser plates by too great an accumulation of charge. 1: is the contact connected to the engine cylinder (corresponding to contact 3 of the distributer, Fig. 1). In order to prevent the rotary switch from being turned backward, I have-provided the ratchet and pawl w, and in order that the switch may be loosely held in place when the arrow is at the on or off osition, I have arranged the ball w hel by a spring in a hollow in the circumference of the switch frame. When the arrow is in the position shown in Fig 7, indicating that theengine is running in its normal manner, the contacts are in the relative position shown in Fig. 4. Under these conditions the spark of the secondary distributer enters at .m, passes through contact 7" to contact 22, to spark-plug of the en ine cylinder. To stop the engine, the switch is turned still farther in the direction of the arrow, and the pointer is brought to the ofi position shown in Fig, 8. In passing"tothis'posi tion, the strip J remains in contact with the terminal m and hence receives the sparks from the distributer. These sparks jump across from the piece 3 (attached to J) to the spark terminal t of the condenser Gr, whence they pass out across the other sparkgap terminals y, t, of the condenser to 0 and to ground. When the switch reaches the position shown in Fig. 8, the connections are arranged as in Fig. 5. In this case, the projection 72/ first meets con tact m, and grounds through 0, the spark coming from the distributer. But almost at the same time the contact at, which is connected with the magneto primary, has met the contact F, thereby grounding the magneto primary through 0, short-circuiting the magneto, and, consequently, stopping the englne. If now it is desired to start the engine, the switch is further rotated in the same direction, and when the condenser terminal 75 passes over contact 01, and condenser terminal t over contact 7), the condenser will be discharged from a through the primary circuit. This discharge through the primary, inducing a current in the secondary and causing a spark in ,the proper spark-plug, starts the engine.

It is obvious that my device would operate equally well with a magneto having a single coil (high potential) through which the condenser could be both charged and discharged, or with a magneto wound with a single low potential coil, connected with the primary of a transformer. In the specification the word magneto is used in the sense of any electric device having a high tension coil, including transformers, motor dynamos, etc.

Having thus fully set forth and illustrated my invention, what I claim, is

1. The combination of an explosive-engine roams with its iter, a condenser, means for charging 1 2 same, and manually controllable means for discharging the condenser to cause a current to pass through said igniter to start the engine after the charging operation is discontinued.

,2. The combination of an explosive engine having an igniter, a source of current, a condenser, and manually controllable means for charging the same from said source of current, and-discharging said condenser into said igniter when the motor is at rest.

3. The combination of an explosive engine having an igniter, a magneto driven by the engine, a condenser, means for charging the same from said magneto while the motor is running, and means for discharging said condenser into said igniter when the mag neto is at rest.

4. An igniting device for explosive engines, comprising a source of electricity, a distributer for directing current to the various cylinders of the engine, an igniter for each cylinder, and a condenser adapted to be charged from said source of electricity through said distributor, in combination with a switch adapted to connect the condenser with the distributer and with the source of electricity.

5. In a starting device for explosive en- V gines, a primary circuit provided with an interrupter, a secondary circuit, a rotary distributer in the secondary circuit, a condenser,' means for putting the condenser into charging relation with the distributor, the speed of the interrupter and of the distributcr being so proportioned that the condenser is always charged in the same direction, in combination with means for shortcircuiting the condenser through the primary, thereby causing a spark at the terminals of the secondary circuit.

6. An igniting device for explosive engines, comprising a magneto, a distributer, a condenser, means for charging the condenser from the magneto, in combination with means for discharging the condenser and igniting the gas in the engine cylinder when the magneto is at rest.

7 A starting device for explosive engines, comprising an igniter, a prime motor, an alternating current dynamo, a condenser,

means for charging the condenser from the.

alternating current dynamo and means for connecting the condenser with the igniter, and discharging the condenser through the igniter when the dynamo is at rest.

8. In a starting device for explosive engines, a primary circuit provided with an interrupter, a secondary circuit, a distributer in the secondary circuit, means for rotating the distributor and interrupter at 'a speed ratio equal to the number of cylinders divided by two, a condenser in combination with means for putting the condenser into charging relation to the distributor, and shorbcircuiting the latter through the primary, thereby causing a spark at the terminals of the secondary circuit.

9. A starting device for explosive engines, comprising a magneto provided with a primary and a secondar circuit, and a condenser adapted to receive a charge from said secondary circuit, in combination with means for connect-ing the condenser with the secondary circuit, and manually controllable means for discharging the condenser through the primary.

'10. In an ignition device for explosive engines, a low potential primary circuit, a high potential induced circuit, in combination with a condenser connected with the induced circuit and manually controllable means for of the spark-plug.

12. In a starting device for explosive engines, a primary circuit provided with an interrupter, a secondary circuit, a distributer in the secondary circuit geared to the interrupter, a condenser, means for putting the condenser into charging relation to the distributer, the gears on the interrupter and distributor being so proportioned that the condenser is always charged in the same direction, in combination with means for short-circuiting the condenser through the primary, thereby causing a spark at the terminals of the secondary circuit.

13. A start-ing device for explosive engines, comprising a spark-plug, a generator, a high potential circuit in series with the spark-plug, a condenser and a manually operablerotary switch for controlling the operation of the circuit to charge the condenser from said high potential circuit and discharge it to cause a current to pass through said spark plug.

14. The combination of an explosive engine having an igniter, a source of current,

a condenser and a manually operable rotary switch adapted to charge the same from said source of current and to discharge it into said igniter when the motor is at rest.

15. A starting device for explosive engines, comprising a magneto provided with a primary and a secondary circuit, and a condenser adapted to receive the charge from said secondary circuit, in combination with a manually operable rotary switch ondary current, and a switch having fixed terminals connected respectively with said spark-plug, distributer and primary circuit, and two fixed terminals connected with the ground, said switch having a rotary operation carrying a series of contacts co-acting with the said fixed terminals to electrically connect said distributer with said sparkplug said distributer with said condenser and said distributer with the ground, and

being also adapted to connect said primary circuit with the ground, and to short-circuit said condenser through said primary circuit.

17. In a starting; device for explosive engines, a source of electricity, igniting means adapted to be operated thereby, a condenser, means for charging the same from such source, said condenser being adapted to remain charged after such source of current is discontinued, and said condenser being adapted to be connected with said igniting means to cause a current to pass through the latter, and manually controllable means for discharging said condenser to operate said igniting means after such source has been discontinued.

18. In a starting device for explosive engines, a source of electricity, a jump-spark igniter adapted to be operated thereby, a condenser, means for charging the-same from such source, said condenser being adapted to remain charged after such source of current is discontinued, and said condenser being adapted to be connected with said igniter to cause a current to pass through the latter, and-manually controllable means for discharging said condenser to operate said igniter after such source has been discontinued.

, 19. In a starting device for explosive engines, a magneto drivenby the engine, a jump spark plug adapted to be operated by said magneto, a condenser, means for chargnos-awe ing said condenser from said magneto while the engine is running, said condenser being adapted to remain charged after the engine and magneto stop, and a manually controllable means for connecting said condenser with said jump-spark plug to cause the charge of said condenser to pass through said plug, to start the engine. a

20. In a starting device for explosive en gines, an igniting means comprising a jumpspark plug, a magneto system driven by the engine and having a primary circuit and a secondary circuit carrying an induced current of high potential, a condenser, means for charging said condenser by said induced current when the engine and magneto are running, and a manually controllable means for causing said condenser to discharge its charge to cause a current to pass through said jump-spark plug when the engine and magneto are at rest.

21. In a starting device for explosive engines, an igniting means comprising a jumpspark plug, a magneto system driven by the engine and having a primary circuit and a secondary circuit carrying an induced current of high potential, a condenser, means for charging'said condenser by said induced current when the engine and magneto are running, and a manually controllable means for causing said condenser to discharge its charge through said primary circuit to induce a current of high potential to cross the spark gap of said plug when the engine and magneto are at rest.

22. The combination with an explosive engine of an igniter therefor, a condenser adapted to be charged by a source of electric current and adapted to be discharged to cause said igniter to operate, and a manually operable means for controlling the discharge of said condenser when the engine is at rest in order to start the latter.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM J. rosrnn.

Witnesses FRED WHITE, ALBERT STETSON.