US1172168A - Electric-spark-disclosing means for internal-combustion engines. - Google Patents

Description

H. A. SCHADE & F. N. RICHARDSON. ELECTRIC SPARK DISCLOSING MEANS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. 1910.

1, 172,1 68; Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

A'r'. EST INVENTORS.

- FHA NcIsjY. RIL'HA RDSo/Y 7% M4 HA RRYASCIIADE WW BY W AT'TYS.

United States,

STATES PATENT OFFICE. i

HARRY A. SCHADE, OF EAST CLEVELAND, AND FRANCIS N. RICHARDSON, OF

. 4 CLEVELAND, OHIO.

ELECTRIC-SPABK-DISCLOSING mums FOB. m'rnnmm-counusnon amounts.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15,1916.

Application filed April 9, 1910. Serial No. 554,537.

To all whom it may concern .1

Be it known that we, HARRY A. Sermon and FRANCIS N. RICHARDSON, citizens of the and Cleveland, respectively, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Spark-Disclosing Means for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

, Our invention relates to means for visually disclosing the effect of the passage of an electric current through a portion of its cate the trouble before the circuit, and is adapted especially to be used with internal combustion engines using electrical ignition devices, all substantially as shown and described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a four c linder machine with our invention instal ed therein, as hereinafter fully described. Fig.

2 shows a series of four vacuum tubes lo-' cated side by side upon a suitable back support, and Fig. 3 is a cross section of Fig. 2 upon line 00-w. view of one of the combined clamp and terminal members used with each of the several vacuum tubes at their respective ends, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the vacuum tubes alone.

The object of the invention is to provide means whereby failure of any one of the sparking devices for the several engine cylinders will be instantly disclosed to the observation of the driver or operator of the machine and also the particular enginecylinder wherein the defect occurs, so that the machine and make personal tests and examinations from cylinder to cylinder to loremedy could be applied. By the present invention we are enabled to detect any failureof sparking in any cylinder the instant such failure occurs and also to locate exactly the particular cylinder involved, and all this isaccomplished by a series of vacuum tubes arranged successively in the sparking circuits of the sevresiding at East Cleveland,

. engines of what is known as machme.

Fig. 4 is a perspective eral cylinders or engines and which are openly transparent and 3 exposed immediately in front of the operator upon the dashboard or in some other convenient position so as to be observed without effort.v

ow, pursuing the foregoing conception into the mechanism of the case, the characters A, B, C and D, respectively, represent say four several explosion cylinders or a four cylinder and whatever the number of the operation is the same as to so that thecase may be simplified It might be one or more cylinders Thus, each cylinder has one of the several vacuum'tubes operatively associated therewith, and which are numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively", corresponding to the four several cylinders, A, B, C and D, and it may be assumed that tube 1 has operative connection with cylinder A. These tubes are preferably provided with a relatively small quantity of mercury or its equivalent to promote a better flow of the vacuum and cause a brighter illumination than if the mercury were omitted, and have electric terminals a and Z) in their respective ends constituting, in this instance, portions of the conducting bands or caps 5 upon the outside of said tubes. The tubes themselves are made of transparent'glass, so that any light within the same will be plainly observable to one who occupies a seat in the machine and have inwardly projecting nipples n at their ends inwhich the said terminals a and b are supported. This also provldes an inside pocket for the mercury as shown at -m. It should be understoodQhowever, that the invention does not necessarily call for a mercury tube but comprises a vacuum tube or member ence of mercury or other conducting substance] or medium therein, as such vacuum tubes alone will glow as the current travels through vacuum between the two points a and b.

Now, having the several tubes arranged for example as they appear in Fig. 2, they are fixed in position upon ,a special board or backing E in this instance by means of the clamping and terminal brackets G aflixed to the said backing by screws or any suitable means. Each of said brackets has electric fluid in regardless of the presthrough these terminals and through the' vacuum in the. tube by way of points a and b to the sparking devices upon the cylinders. Any suitable source of energy may be employed whether itb'e a bat ery or other wellv known generator, and in ig. 3, the circuit is traceable along the 11118 of connections indicated b' 8 from the battery 15, 7 It' should be urtherunder'stood that we can terminal points 18 on the res'pective.cylin-.

ders may be regarded as representing'the use a vacuumized or partially vacuumized tube or one containing as, vapor or other fluidpossessing I the e ectric conducting properties and in that case forming an integral part of or continuous with an electrical circuit or systenyhnd whichconstitutesthe ignition system of an, electrically fired and discharged hydrocarbon engine and other- Wise known as an internal combustion eng'ine. The presumption of course is that any such gas, vapor, or fluid in said tubes'must possess the property of becoming illumi nated during thepassage of electrical cur-v rent through the same.

For the purposes of this description the igniters or sparking device's herein referred to, and 10 represents a spark coil. Theback plate or board E carrying the vacuumtubes is shown as having an.opening-1 2 behindsaid tubes and a corresponding opening-16 is provided in the dashboard J, thus-pro viding for observation on the tubes 1 from behind as well as in-"front'of the machine. This is important toenable the; person who is making repairs or tests attheengines to see which tube responds and which "fails, so ,l

that it isvery material in adevicelike'this to have the said openings so that said observations can be made. We show transparent tubes but use the said word tube in-the sense of a transparent part or bulb as it might have a difierent shape or otherwise than tubular and serve our purpose. It is in this sense that the term is use in the claim.

Respecting the use of the vacuum tubes in an electric circuit as herein described we" may add that we have carefully tested out the efiect of the said tubes in the circuit by means of a hot wire ammeter,and 'the test showed a higher reading in amperes with the said-tubes than without them, the reason i probably being that-the tubes operate more or less as condensers with obvious advan-. tage at the, spark plug.

Although this invention is herein described in connection with automobiles, it is not necessarily limited thereto, but maybe used wherever internal combustion engines,

or sparking circuits are employed, say as m launches or even stationary engines.

' A c'ut-out switch for each-tube may be used in the electrical circuit of each, thereby permitting a continuous metallic circuit to be established in the event that any tube is broken or out of commission. However, it is also plain that any metallic piece, such as awire or-shortmetal bar may be seated between any pair of opposed contacts 6 when the tube'is, removed or even when still in place to short circuit that particular tube.

What we claimis: v Electric spark disclosing means for 'in-' ternal combustion engines comprising a transparent vacuum tube. for each engine having a barrel-shaped body and relatively jreduced ends. provided each with an inwardly projectmg nipple and electric terminals through said nipples, caps of con-' ducting material sleeved'upon said ends and provided with said electric terminals at their middle, the said tubes 'be'in constructed alikeat both ends and reversi le as to their.

endsand the said terminals terminating in the respective ends of the tube;

Inte 'imony whereof we affix natures'in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY A. SCHADE.

our 'sig-- FRANCIS N. nrcnnnnson.

Witnessesz' R. B.-Mosnn, E. M. Elem

Images