US912066A - Apparatus for igniting gaseous fuel. - Google Patents

Description

D. S. BROWN, JR. & P. C. STINZING.

I APPARATUS FOR. IGNITING GASEOUS FUEL.

APIfLIOATION FILED AUG. 30, 1907.

912,066; Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

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IIIIIIIIIIII' ITEI) STATES PATENT OFFICE- DAVID S. BROWN, JR, AND FRANK O."STINZING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR IGNITING GASEOUS FUEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Ilatented Feb. 9, 1909.

Application filed August 30, 1907. Serial No. 390,790.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DAVID S. BROWN, J r., and FRANK C. STINZING, citizens of the United States, and residents, respectively, of the borough of Manhattan and borough of Bronx, in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Igniting Gaseous Fuel, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means intended and designed to cause the ignition of gaseous fuel, more particularly of the gaseous explosive charges of internal combustion motors, as carbureted air, through the medium of sparks, or sprays of fire, produced by percussion, as through the sudden striking of certain hard substance The object of our invention is to provide a simple, reliable and eflective igniter for combustion apparatus, of whatever description, in which the flint and steel method of prillducing fire may be advantageously utilize As is well known, certain varieties of silica, as agate, bloodstone, chalcedony, carnelian, jade, carborundum, flint and others, all of which belongto-the quartz-family, and which will be enerally referred to hereinafter as flint, when thoroughly dry and hard, will produce fire in the form of sparks,

Sparks on being struck by a piece of steel. so produced have great penetrating and heating power, and are, therefore, well adapted for use in gas and oil engines, in which rapidity and intensity of ignition are prime importance. hot spark that penetrates or projects. into the explosive or combustible charge in the cylinder of a gas engine with rapidity, is capable ofincreasin the power of explosion, quite materially due, no doubt, to an increased speed of flame propagation. Furthermore, flint and steel igniters are not only capable of furnishing a succession of sparks, pr'ac;

tically unlimited as to extent, but a plurality of sparks simultaneously, producin thereby a spray ofgfire of great intensity and avidity, through of. ignition is obtained.

In the accompanyin drawings in which like characters of reference indicate like of the bell-crank which a greater degree of certainty sharp descent, to.

parts in all the views and figures, we have shown one way in which tlieflint and steel method of producing fire may be carried into effect to ignite the gaseous charges of internal combustion apparatus.

, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the igniter. Fig. 2 is a. rear View. cross section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

In said figures the letter (1 indicates a pocket or housing which can be secured to the wall of the'combustion chamber of a gas engine, being. provided with bolt'holes, as a, for that purpose. A pivot, as b, is mounted in said pocket, and carries, eX- teriorly of the and, within the pocket, 2). flint holder cl. The flint holder comprises a socket adapted to receive a piece of flint, as e, which projects slightly outside the pocket and is held in position as by a set screw 0; and a spring, as a; connects the arm 0 with pocket 6 at a lower point on the latter, exerting tension to draw said arm,

upper end against the lower surface of the arm 0, to move the latter upward. Said rod f,-carries a roller 9. at its lower end, in

position to be actuated by a cam 71.. A coiled spring 2', about the lower part of rod 1, and contained in a sheath 7', which extends from cam-case 70, serves to hold the roller compressively against the cam. Also mounted in the pocket at is a pivot l, which carries a bell-crank lever, one. arm of which, as Z, is intended to serve as a striker, while the other arm, as P, is bifurcated, and straddles the-rod f. A light coiled spring, as f, isend by a pin f and at its held at its lower upper end is ada ted. to engage the arm Z yielding stop for engagement with the lower side'of said arm; while an adjustable stop, as a set-nut Z and a lock-nut Z is provided for engagement with the upper side of the arm.

In the drawings, the roller 9 is shown at the highest point of the calm-and the latter Fig. 3 is aand the flint holder,. Z downward. A vertical rod f, which 51s adapted to be actuated by a cam, bears at its pocket, a horizontal arm 0;

ever, thus constituting a turning inthe direction of the arrow. The

height of the cam decreases to the point indicated at I at which point there is a the lowest point k of the this operation particularly, we will say that, as the cam turns to cause the roller to travel from its lowest to its hi hest point, the initial upward movement 0 the rod f effects no movement of the arm a and little or 'no movement of'the arm 1 of the bell-crank lever. The'arm c is stationary, because the rod f had dropped considerably below it,

leaving the arm resting against the adjust able support m. The bell-crank lever remains stationary, because the spring f is a light one, whereby the initial upward movement of the rod f results mainly in a slight compression of the spring, so that the bell-' crank lever may be substantially unaffected. The compression of the spring f is but slight; aud,'as the rod continues to move upward, the arm Z is elevated, thereby causing the striker Z to commence to travel from a position well in advance of the flint toward the latter. Before the roller 9 arrives at the highest point of the cam, andwhile the striker Z is still in advance of the flint, the top ofthe rod f engages with the under side of the arm 0, raising the latter, together with the flint, slightly. This permits the striker Z, in its uninterrupted movement, to

pass across and beneaththe face of the flint,

without contacting therewith. The parts are now in the position shown most clearly in Fig. 2. Now,-as the surface of the cam descends beneath the roller, the lowering of the rod f permits the spring 0 to draw the arm 0 and the flint downward. The initial downward movement of the rod causes little or no movement of the arm l connected with the striker, the spring f at this time expanding slightly to correspond with its former compression. The result is that the flint descends to its lowest position, in the path of the striker, while the latter is still in rear of the flint. Thus, when the roller 9 is atthe point h of the cam, the flint is in position to be struck, and the striker is immediately behind the flint. .The nut Z is now about to engage, or has already engaged, the upper side of the arm Z Consequently, as the roller 9 makes its sharp de scent from the point h to thepoint 7L2, the I jump of the rod f causes the striker to traverse quickly the lower face of the flint,

producing the shower of sparks already al-. luded to.

However, we do not limit ourselves to the particular features of construction and op 'eration herein shown and described, as we are aware that these may be modified very considerably without departing from the spirit of the invention. The flint may be of any suitable shape and character, and conveniently carried in a holder of the kind shown or. of any other suitable character, ,whereby itmay be conveniently adjusted in position and removed for removal. The

striker may also be of any practical character. It-is important thateither the flint or the-striker, or both, be yieldingly supported','"l'sb that, when striking contact is mad between these members, there shall be a cu'shioned effect, to avoid the danger of breaking. The springs a and f both contribute to' this cushioning efl'ect.

-'What we claim as new and desire to secure "by Letters Patent in the United States is 1. A flint and steel i niter, for gas engines, comprising a flint holder and a flint therein, a steel, and actuating means so associated with said members that they pass each other with a clearance in one direction and contact to produce a spark in the other direction.

2. A flint and steel igniter for gas engines, comprising a movable flint holder and a flint therein, a movable striker, and actuatin mechanism associated with said flint an striker in such fashion that the flint is moved out of the path of the striker with reference to the travel of the latter in one direction, but moved into the path thereof with reference to its travel in the reverse direction.

3. A flint and'steel igniter for gasengines, comprising a movable flint holder and a flint therein, a movable striker, and reciprocable,

actuating mechanism which has positive engagement with the flint holder and yielding engagement with the striker during movement in one direction, whereby the int is lifted out of the path of the striker, and positive engagement with the striker on the return movement, whereby the striker is brought into violent contact with the flint.

'4. A flint and steel i niter for gas engines,

comprising a pivoted flint holder and a flint therein, a pivoted striker, a spring tending to draw the flint holder to position the flint in the path of the striker, and a cam actuated operating rod adapted during its movement in one direction to engage positively with said flint holder to move the same against the tension of its spring to carry the flint out of the path of the striker, together with a spring encircling said rod and adapted to yieldingly engage and move the striker during the same operation, said rod in its reverse travel being adapted to engage the striker positively to cause the latter to contact forcibly with the flint which has been permitted by this movement of the rod to occupy a position in the path of said striker.

5. A flint and steel igniter for as engines comprising an'ignition pocket, a int holder pivoted therein,afiint carried by said holder, 1 other period of their movement to permit and a pivotal striker, one of said members i said members to co-act. being cushioned; together with means adapt- DAVID S. BROWN J R. ed to be mechanically operated whereby a, FRANK C. STINZING.

clearance is provided between the flint and In the presenceof striker at one period of their movement, and F. W. BARKER, whereby said clearance is eliminated at an B. MANTEL.

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