US564642A - Igniting device for gas-engines - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

A A; J. PIE-ROE. v

IGNITING DEVICE FOR GAS ENGINES. 7 7 N0.56 1,642. Patented J-uly 28, 1'8 96. 19

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* UNITED STATES P T NT OFFICE;

ANDREW J.'PIEROE, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN] IGNITING DEVICEFOR GAS-ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters' Patent No 564,642, datedJuly as, 1896.

Application filed May 27, 1893. Serial No. 475,762. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ANDREW J. PIERCE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Racine, in the county of Racine, and in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Igniting Devices for Gas-Engines; and I do hereby de clare, that the following is a full, clear, and

, exact description thereof.

. Myinvention relates to gas-engines; and it consists in certain novel means for economically igniting the gas by an electric spark, as will be fully set forth hereinafter and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a representation, chiefly in vertical longitudinal central section on the line 1 1 of Fig. 4, of so much of a gas-engine as is necessary to illustrate my present invention. Fig. 2 is adetail view of portions of the foregoing. Fig. 3 is adiagrammatic view, and Fig. 4: is a vertical sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

A represents a portion of the frame of the engine, and B is the cylinder.

O is the piston, and c the piston-rod, the latter being connected by link D with the shaft e of a pinion E, which meshes with a gearwheel F, supported on a stud f on the frame A, said gear F carrying an eccentric G, whose strap gis secured to one end of a jointed rod H H, the other end of said rod being pivoted to one end of a crank h. The other end of this crank his formed with a sleeve h, secured rigidly, as by a pin '0', to a shaft I, journaled in a head J, which is secured, as by screws jj, to the end of the cylinder B. This head J has a chamber K therein, with an opening 7a communicating with the said cylinder, said chamber being covered by a suitable plate L, held to the head J by screws j j. The upper part of this chamber K receives a block M, fast on the inner end of the described shaft 1, which carries an electrode m, preferably in the form of a spirally-coiled wire having a downturned point for contact with the other electrode n, which latter is preferably a metallic plate, set obliquely in the head of a metallic cylindrical plug N, supported and passing through the said head J, but insulated therefrom, as shown at 0. The lowerprojecting end of this plugN is screw-threaded to receive a screw-threaded sleeve P, also insulated from the head J, as shown, the lower end of said sleeve being reduced and fitted with a clip 19, having a hole in which is 'inserted one end of a circuit -wire q, held tightly in place by a screw Q, running from a battery R. From this battery the other circuit-wire 1" runs to a clip S, secured to an arm T, projecting from the frame A, there being suitable insulation, as shown at t, between said arm and clip, and the latter being provided with a metallic brush U, for contact at the proper time with a pin to, projecting from the gear-wheel F.

The object of my device is to produce only a single spark in the chamber K while the movable electro'de m traverses entirely around the stationary electrode n, as hereinafter described and illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 3, and thereby insure economy in the use of the battery.

The chamber K is filled with the mixed gas and air common to gas-engines, and in Fig. 1 the piston is shown just starting on its back stroke with the contact-point of the electrode m just leaving one end of the electrode at, as shown at 1 in Fig. 3, and with the brushUin contact with the pin it on the gear-wheel F, thus completing the circuit, and as the rod H is moved forward by reason of the movement of the eccentric G on said gear-wheel F said rod moves the crank h, and this turns the block M on the shaft I, fast to the other end of said crank and carries the point of the electrode m to the point 2 in Fig. 3, breaking the contact with the electrode nand producing the spark necessary to ignite and explode the gas and air in the chamber K. The pin it is now free from contact with the brush U, and as the gear-wheel F continues to revolve the eccentric G brings the rod and crank back, thereby, in an obvious manner, causing the point of electrode m to strike against and travel along one side of the electrode a, as shown at 3 etin Fig. 3, but when said electrodepoint leaves this end of the electrode at and passes to the point 5 there is no spark, because the brush and pin are not yet in contact, and the circuit is therefore open, which open condition continues as said electrodepoint moves along to the points 6 and 1 in Fig. 3, on the return forward movement of the eccentric rod and crank, again producing a sparkas-the pointof electrode m'passes from the point lrtothe point 2 in Fig. 3,.with

, the brush U andpin u again in contact, and

In a gas-engine, the combination with a cyl-i inder having an igniting-chamber thereon m ar and a piston'in the cylinder, of afleiiible e1ec 4 trode. and a rigid electrode in the chamber, the latter consisting of a rigid fiat metallic plate arranged in line with and obliquely to the flexible e1ectrode,'consisting of a coiled springand means for moving the flexible electrode, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoingl have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee,

in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

i i v M ANDREW J. PIERCE.

'tVitnessesz" a H. G. UNDERWooD, O. W. Sco'rr;

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