US885072A - Electric igniter for gas or vapor engines. - Google Patents

Description

No. 885,072. ENTENTEE AEE. 21,'1908.

L.v 0.5 MOP'HERSON.

EEEGTEIG IGNITEE EOE GAS 0E VAPOR ENGINES.

APPLIOTION FILED MAR. 25, 1897.

v the engine.

' mixture.. l The' invention consists substantiallyv in UNITED STATES 1 PATENT OFFICE.

:LEopN o. M-cPHERsoN, oFiiiGiiLAND PARK, iLLiNo'is.

` 'ELECTRIC IGNi'rEn Fon,v GAS on VvaronEireriims.

Specificatibn of LettersPvatei-it. I

Patented April 21, '1908.

Application filed March 25,-189'1.y Serial No. 629,181.

To all whom it mai/concern:-

`Be it known that L LEON O. McPiiERsoN, a citizen of the UnitedStates residing at Highland Park, in the county of Lake l.and

State of Illinois, have invented a new and; l

useful Electric Igniter for-'Gas or Vapor Engines, of which the following is a speciiica'' tion.

This invention relates to gas or vapor enine's of the class wherein a charge of inammable or explosive material isex lodedA within ,the cylinder or working cham' i' of The object ofthe invention is to', ravida a simple and eflicient. means for ut zing an electric current for igniting the inflammable the construction arrangement and .mode of o eration' all as' will be .more fully herein- -a terset forth,A as shown in the accompany ing drawing and finallyspeciically pointed( out in the"appended'c1a Referring to the accompanying drawing andto the various views and reference signs appearing vthereon-Figure 1 is a detached view in section illustrating aform of apparatus embodying -my invention and for carrying the same linto 4practical 'perationr' Fig. 2 is a view illustrating in invention asy applied to an engine, onl suc of the work-.-l

' ing. parts -of the engine.` eing shown as j-are necessary to show: the Fcoperative Vrelation and operation ofmy invention.

' reference sign wherever'it 'occurs throughout the' several views.

Electrical iglniters forf-.gaslor'vapor enines, as vusua often dependent` upon rubbingl contact pieces Within the vwork Suchl an;I arrangement defective', lobjec-Y tionableandunsatisfactoryfby reason r of the; fact `that thel heat generated in such chain-fl b er'and to which heat such rubbingor slidingsurfaces are subjected, causes such sui'.- faces i to rapidlywear `out and deteriorate;

thereby-rapidly' destroying the efficiency -of the ignite'r and in a ver little time perceptibly varyin the time o 'explosion and, hence equentl renewal or* adjustment.. Ot erforms of apparatus of this class em-4 re, uiring ploy 'stung boxes or glands through the 'walls ofthe working chamber of the engine in 'order tot permit vof the i communication of external motion through 'the' cylinder or .chamber Walls;` tothe sparking oints within. Such arrangements are also ective', ob-

jectionable and unsatisfactory for the reasonl that it. is, exceedinglydiflicult Ato maintainV y suchstufiin boxes or glands gas tight under service con itioiis.`

arrangement and mode of operation whereby I' avoid 'all-the objections, defects and inefficiencies noted and provide a construction thatfis .extremely simple, inexpensive,

durable and ei'licient and practicaly in va- ,I will now describe my construction and' riable through long periods of active service. f

In carrying my invention intopracticalv o yeration-I 'provide' an electric circuit inc riding two contact points arranged within 4the chamber-'or cylinder of the engine or in connection and operative relation with re4 spect .to .the explosion 'chamber of lthe engine,- such .contact oints bein movable towards and from eac "other, an l rupture` such circuit. between thev twocontacts mag- 1 netically within thefcylinder or explosion y-chainberandv hence without external move- 'me'nt The current may be supplied in any suitable manner, as from a batteryor from" any .suitably arranged generator, and .such

circuit may be primarily opened or closed in le. or convenient manner, and

any suita `man different forms of apparatus Amay be em oyedfor -carryingthe electrical prin- 'cip estoil my invention into practical effectl and operation.

In the accompanying drawings reference l lsign A designatesfa suitable casting .havin a threaded' portion or nipple adapted to Y- e screwed into -a correspondingly threaded amber,` This casting is provided with .an extension, a', arran edto. project into the explosion chamber an carries at its free end -.one of the .contacts or .spark producing electriodee,` 1i. This vprojection' also Asuports, nea!"j-.theiree'end'A tl ereof, an insulatingV lock opening into the engine cylinder or explosion c ioo l cation withth'e chamber between the .B and the `casting A, and which,- as a chamber between said plate and casting,

such' chamber being in free communication with the cylinder orexplosion' chamber O,

through the nipple above referred to. An electro-magnet E, is arrangedwitli' .one of the oles thereof rigidly attached to `and projecting through the plate or casting B. Any suitable or desirable construction of electroinagnet may be employed but may be smaller than heretofore ordinarily employed for this urpose,'o\ving to the greater efliciency ofp the spark producing electrodes, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

laminated'core, such core should be well soldered or suitably covered at the inner end, in order to prevent leakage of the gas through the core, as the end of such core projects through casing B and into communilate ove with the' engine.' r-I`he pointed out, is in free communication the workinor chamberl of plate or casting B is 'provided with a cored recess arranged to receive and form a guide bearing for the outer end of'contact rod b, and a spring b2 vis narranged in said cored out portion and bears against a-collar b3, carried y said rod 1),. and normally acts upon said rod to press the contact point or electrode 2, carried by the inner end thereof, firmly into contact with the electrode 1. An arme, supported at one end by aspring e', is ar- A ranged within the chamber between-plate B the points- 1 2.

isv shown wherein fthe collar b3, .carried by,

and casting A, and forms the armature of the poleof the electro-magnet,E.' The normal ,lis to hold said arm away magnet E and against a suitable insulated orinsulating stop e?. The free endof said arm e, is' so relatively arranged with respect to 'rod b, that when the -coils of said' magnet E are energizcd, thereby exert. ing -an attractive overcome spring e', and move said *arm against the pole of said magnet E, said rod b,

y said arm and moved in a di-A break electrical contact between 'A .convenient arrangement rection to rod b, is normally arranged in -the path of the free' endof arm e, so as to be struck vthereby when said arm yis attractedjby Amagnet E, thereby compressing'spring b?, and effecting t a uickse aration of e electrodes 1, 2.

`rom t ie foregoing descriptionA it will be readily seen that in order to produce a spark case an electro-magnet is employcdzliaving avforms and arrangements of a ton plosion. force u pon said -arm .to

to ignite the explosive charge it is only necessary to couple up a source of current with the electrodes of magnet E, thereby causing said magnet to exert an attractive force on armature lever or arm c, which, under the movement imparted by lsuch attractive force strikes the collar b, a smart blow thereby effecting a temporary rupture of the circuit by se arating the electrodes 1, 2, and producing t' ie desired spark. The moment this ru ture occurs the attractive force exerte by the electro-magnet upon lever e, ceases and spring e returns said lever to its normal position against sto e2, thus permitting spring p b2 to again estab ish contact between electrodes 1, 2, whereupon the magnet is again energized and the above operation is repeated and the operation proceeds so long as the connections are maintained.

In order to adapt the apparatus more per-v fectly to the engine conditions most commonly met with in service, I may, ifdesired, provide a circuit controlling device, the function of which is to prevent a closing of the circuit except at the` proper time for explod` ing a charge of gas'.` Many different specific paratus may be employed'for performing tiis duty. In Fig.. 1, I ave shown a simple arrangement, wherein Il rovide plate B with a suitable cored cylin rical recess or chamber, in which I arrange a diaphra m or piston H, carrying a contact stem or roi 3, adapted to make contact with a Suitable insulated terminal 4, arrangIeId in the circuit. The diaphragm or pisnormally holds the stem 3 out of contact with the terminal 4, `This may be accomplished by `arranging a spring 71.', to normally bear on piston H and maintain the same in one limit of lits movement. The chamber in which piston or diaphragm H, is located communicates through an opening h, with the chamber formed between plate or casting B and casting A, and hence with the .explosion o r working chamber orcylinder O ofthe engine In most engines tie explop sive charge is compressed to a desired degree at the moment it is desired to effect the ev- In` this feature of the invention I.

utilize the compression ofthe charge to effeet av movement ofvpiston H in a direction to overcome spring h and to cause the rod or stem 3 tomake contact with terminal 4, thus closing what is normally a gap or breakin the electrical circuit.

I will now describe in more detail the electrical operation, reference being had to both of the figures.

Reference sign .K is the engine crank, which is connected to and reciprocates the iston `rod C, which carries the piston P.

he crank K carries a .projecting contact surface t, adapted, atthe desired period of time 1 and l?. in series with the coils and point` of travel or rotation thereof, lto

contact with a stationary contacts ring T, for lthe plurpose of closing the spar g circuit at t timer. 4

In Fig.,2, the piston is Vshown at the end of its compression stroke, the circuit is closedI between contacts'Tand t, the as in the explosion chamber and also in yt e space be tween plate B and casting A is compressed,

the stem or rod 3 is presse Y terminal 4. 4Under these conditions current passes'from thesource," for instance, a battery F, through connection 5, contacts T and t of the timer, the engine frame andconnecting parts, to arm @electrodes 1, 2, rod b, plate or castingB -pi'stonstem 3, terminal 4, connection 6, t

The assage of current through this closed circuit energi'zcs magnet E, thereupon attracting armature lever e,-which on its mov'ement towards the ole of 'ma net .E strikes collar b3, thereby Y reakingt e circuit by separating electrodes 1, 2, and hence creating the spark which ignites the charge and. the

en e .begins its operation. Immediately fo owing the-circuit isbroken-betweenthe timer contacts T, t. This circuit remains broken upon thereturn or exhaust stroke of the engine even when the Apoints T, t again contact with each other, for m such case'little ory no compression takes place in the working chamber and hence the circuit will bebroken-I of which holdscontactstem 3 out of contact 'I by the controller, the piston. or diaphragm with terminal 4, andhence no s arking ocing lna curs.` Thus the use -of the contro er,jinclud the piston or diaphram H,"rod 3 termi` 4, and spring" hl, wf befound'advan'- 4tageous in preventing Wasteofcurrent upon -the strokes ofthe pistonwhere no sparking ired. The controller may e dis` is lreqdu pense lcase of engines exploding a charge at every revolution of the crank shaft and wherein the s. eed is governed bythe character'o the exosion, and also. in eng eau de Rochas ordoub e cycle with a reducinggear .for-operating'the valves and ar` ran ed to ex lode a charge .at every second g fp L revolutiono 'fsive charge.

the crank and governing the speed by regulating the mixture of the' eXplo- 4 be placed on the'moving parts of theengine gear, so that the 'timerfwill only l make con-v. 'f6.0

at any suitable point beyondsaid-V reducing tact lat each second revolution ofthe crank,

' the same being once-^at 'everyrevolution of and there orethe controller,l pistoni- 1, rod

contact 4, 'and connections, may bedispensed the engine arts actuated by the reducing gear e proper time, The contacts T, t, A constitute what is commonly known as the ,into contact' with e windings of magnet E con-f nection 7 ,and thence returning to battery F.-

'with, if desired, and as be readily understood. is especially true in theines employingl the with, the timer contacts T, t, being all-thatis necessary to complete the current circuit through the coils O magnet E.

As above indicated, any desired source of 'current may be employed, and in Fig. 2 `I have shown a'battery F,'for su plying the current.

It is obvious, however, t at my invention is of soot and ot er products of combustion upon the contact points, which deposits being 'finisome forms of apparatus of the priorart. A It will bereadily seen byrpersons skilled in the art that a magnet E may be made small and the moving parts extremely light, there by securing great rapidity of movement of the circuitvrupturing devices. cided advantage, for the reason' that I am enabled to employ small platinum or other tively small ezpense, whereas in the .case of larger parts an larger contact points or electrodes, in order to satisfactorily withstand the mechanical shock' and wear to which they are all subjected, the use of platinum would involve an almost rohibitive eX- ense, and moreover, itis a we established actin actual ractice thatsmall wire electrodes are more e cient` in the production of sparksfor the purposefsetforth than larger'ones of the same material, therefore I not onl reducethe o portunity for 'mechanical wear y reducing ycreasethe `efficiency ot the apparatus while ap aratuslg courseitwill lbe readily understood by ersonsskilled inthe art that instead of the ever v -'directly vbreaking the-'circuit of magnet ;E,said lever may be arranged to break ia Aseparate circuit of. 'sufficiently high voltage 'to roducethe required spark.'-

l- -aving now setforth-the" object and nature 'of-my invention :and various forms ot apparatus' and modes of procedure embody-' tinctly understood that I d onotconne or limit myself to theexac-t'form and arrangem.ent shown',zas many changes therein 4and ment of the applaratus by reason .of deposits a conductor, rapldly establish short circuitsy ing the same, and havin ex lained the con-"- struction, `function, mo ev o operation and electrical' actlonthereo, I desire it -to be dis- This is-a deinoxidizable metal or electrodes', at comparat e sizeof the parts in accordance with my inv ventionbut I also, and at the same time', in- +110 maintaining an equal length of life of the variations therefrom would vreadily suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art and still fall'within the yspirit and scope of my invention. But i v A What I do 'claim as new and useful and of my own invention .and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, isz

1. The combination with a gas engine cylinder,' a casting adapted to be applied thereto and carrying' a fixed electrode, a movable electrode projecting onlyon the cylinder face of the-casting, a chamber in the castingvopen `and for the puip inder, an electrode arranged t erein, a castcylinder, a lever arran adjacent to said ing applied to said cylin erl and carrying on its cy inder face a cooperating electrode, one

of said electrodes being movable,'a lever arranged on the cylinder sideof said casting for moving saijd movable electrode, and an electro-magnet arranged on the outside of.

said casting for actuating said lever, as and for the purpose set forth.

y3. The combination with a gas engine 'cylinder, of a casting adapted to be ap lied thereto and carrying a .fixed electro e, a

4movable electrode extending only on the cylinderface of the casting, said casting being` provided with a chamber open only to the ed in said'chamber movab e electrode for operating the latter,

as and for the purpose set forth.

-timin said circuit, and a magnet located outside of 4. The combination with a gas engine cylinder, of a pair of contacts arranged therein and in series in an electric circuit, means for closing said circuit, a casting adapted to be applied to said cylinder and provided with a c amber open only to the cylinder, means arranged ,Within said chamber for relatively moving said electrodes, and a magnet for op- .erating said means, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with'a' gas engine cylinder, of a pair of relatively movable contacts arranged to extend intosaid cylinder and arranged in series in'an electric circuit, a -apparatus for automatically closing said cylinderand adapted when energized to relatively move said electrodes to break said circuit, as and for the pur ose set forth.

6. The combination wit a gas engine cylinder, of a pair of relatively movable contacts arranged to extend therein and in series in an electric circuit, -means for closing -said circuit at one point, a circuit controller for automatically closing saidv circuit at another point, and aniagnet located outside of said cylinder and arranged in; said circuit 'and and an electro-magnet for actuating said lever,

' tact arranged Within I separating them,

engines, comprising a closed casing communi- .eating with the engine cylinder, contacts Whose contacting portions are located in said cylinder, and an 'elcetro-magnetically-actuated device .located in said casing and adapted to impart a blow to one of said contacts, whereby it is separated from the other.

8. An igniting mechanism for combustion engines, comprising a closed casingcommunieating with the engine cylinder, contacts Whose contacting portions are located in said cylinder, devices in said casing for iin arting a blow to one -of said contacts, wherelliy it is separated from the other contact, and an electro-magnet located outside of said casing for operating said devices.

9. The combination, with the cylinder of a gas engine, of electrodes arranged within the cylinder, an electromagnet for separating the same outside the cylinder, other means forbringing them together, an electric gener- ,ator in circuit With the electrodes and with actuating the circuit controller to complete the circuit and thereby actuating the electromagnet and the electrodes to produce the spark.`

`10. The combination, with the cylinder of a gas engine, of electrodes Within the cylinder, an electromagnet arranged outside the cylinder to operate the electrodes, an electric generator for energizing the magnet, a circuit controller for the circuit ofthe generator, and means connected to a inovablepart ol' the engine for actuating the circuit controller and thereby actuating the electromagnet to operate the electrodes.

11. The combination, With the cylinder of a gas engine, of electrodes normally inconthe cylinder, automatic means 4for bringing them together, an electromagnet arranged outside the cylinder for an electric generator the circuit of which includes the electi'oimignct and the electrodes, means connected to a movable part of the engine for closing the electric circuit through the magnet and electrodes whereby when the circuit is closed by said-means the electrodes are operated by the electroinagnet and the automatic means to produce a series lof sparks.

12. T he combination, with the cylinder of a gas engine, of two electrodes, mechanical means for bringing the electrodes into contact, an electromagnet for separating the electrodes, an electric circuit including the electrodes and the electromagnet whereby the electroinagnet is energized or denergizcd by the making or breaking of the contact be- In witness whereof I have hereunto set my tween the electrodes, and means connected tov hand this 23rd day of March, 1'897, in the 10 a movable part of the engine controlling the ypresence of ,the Subscribing witnesses.

' circuit of the magnet and electrodes whereby 5 when said circuit is closed .by said means the I fEON O'- MCPHERSON circuit of the magnet is'automatically made Attest: i and broken to produce a series of sparks 'at FRANK -T.A BROWN,

the electrode. S. HUTcHIsoN.

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