US950126A - Gas-engine igniter. - Google Patents

Description

- S. F. BRIGGS.

GAS ENGINE IGNITER APPLICA ION FILED PEB.4, 1909.

950,126. v Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

4 SHEETS-QUIET 1.

S. P. BRIGGS.

GAS ENGINE IGNITER.

APPLIGATION FILED FEBA, 1909.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

S. P. BRIGGS.

GAS ENGINE IGNITIBR.

APPLICATION FILED TERA, 1909.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

S. P. BRIGGS.

GAS ENGINE IGNITER.

APPLICATION FILED I334, I909.

Patentd Feb.22, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED 1 STATES accompanyingdrawings, .which are a part of this specification. I

This invention has for its object to provide an igniter-for gas engines and the like of a construction which will be neat and compact, combining the induction coil and the timer and the distributor in a. single mechanism which is simple and efficient its operaton, inexpensive to construct and easily" maintained in operative condition.

. 3 use of the battery Another object of the invention is to provide for a uniform period of contact of the .20

timer or interrupter in the primary circuit whateverthe speed of the engine may be, which period will be just suflicient for the purpose and thereby assure economy inthe current with a resulting increase in life of. the battery.

Another object is to-provide such an igniter with simple means for advancing or I retarding the ignition.

' With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the igniter for gas eng nes herein claimed, its parts and combinations of parts and all equivalents.

. y y I desire/it to be understood that this invention is not limited to any specific-form or arrangement of parts except in so faras such limitations are specified in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in'whichlike characters of reference indicate the. same parts in the dilferent views; F 're'l is an endelevation of an igniter em odying the principles of this invention the circuit connections being shown in diagram; 2 is a side elevation thereof;

F ig. 3 1s a sectional view thereof on the ,planeof line 3 3 of Fig. 1, circuit. connec tions being shown in diagram; Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the plane of line H of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a rear endelevation; 6 is'a detail plan view of the parts at the front end of the igniter; and, Fig. 7 is a-view' of said parts-looking outwardly from the casing with their casing connections in section on the plane of line 7--7 of Fig. 2.

these drawings '13 indicates a cylin- Speeifieation of Letters Patent. 'Patented Feb, A licati n filed February 4, 1909. Serial No. 475,957.

' drical casing,

PATENT. QFH' E smmmon, ormwauxnn; WISCONSIN, A cqranrniinsnre.

' sism man-Ea are pro erly insulated.- At the f ends or heads 0 the cylindrical casing 10 are bearlikewise be of metal with proper. insulation for conducting parts.' The trunnion 14 the trunnion 15 which is journaled'in-the bushing 12,. each consists of a-dis k like plate firmly secured to the inner cylindrical casing l3i-andan outwardly extending projecingfit in the hearing. The trunnion '15 is preferably connected with the cam shaft of the gas engine so'as to be driven thereby to cause the inner cylindrical casing to turn within the casing 10 while the latter is held again stturning by an arm 16 secured to its rear endand preferably connected with the spark advance mechanism on the steering wheel. in the case of a motor vehicle.

Within theinner cylindrical casing 13 there is an induction coil,.the primary windcQnnected respectively to the tri nnions l t and 15 while the secondary winding 20 has \i 5 one of its terminals 21 connected with the terminal 19"o'f the primary coil and its other terminal 22 connected with a distributer swarms. BRIGGS, OF mwxmn, Wisconsin, assienon To mm or I which as here-shown is of in-- sulating material, but which may be ofv metal when circuit carrying parts thereon ing bushings 11 and 12 respectively in which. v are journaled the trunnions on the ends of an inner cylindrical casing 13, also shown to' be" of insulating material though it may tionwhich is turned down to have a work which is journaled in the bushingll, and

ing- 17 of,which has its terminals 18 and 19 'plate23 on the surface of the cylindrical casing 13. The plate 23 is provided with an turning movements of the casing 13 passes close to the inner pointed ends of a series of binding posts 25, 25 25 and 25 to connect therewith by means'of a jump spark at proper times. there being one of the binding within'the inner cylindrical casing-13 and filled with sealing wax 26 or other suitable assist in holding the parts in place. At the front'end of the outer casing .10 is posts for each of the cylinders of the engine and in connection with the spark plug there of as will be later described. The space" surrounding the induction coil is preferably 0 I outwardly extending rib 24 which during the 1 insulating material which will harden and 105. provided a circiiit interrupter or timer ac-. tuated by the turning movements of themnercasing; A ratchet wheel 27 is'loos'elg J mounted on the trunnion 14, just outside of the bushin 11 and between stepped reducing shou ders of said trunnion, so as to be capable of freely turning thereon, while a four toothed cam 28 is keyed on the trun-' nion 1. next to the ratchet wheel 27 with' a set nut 29 bearing thereagainst to hold it in place. A bell crank lever 30 with its two arms in difierent vertical planes, is pivotally mounted on a screw stud or post 31 on the end of casing 10 and carries a hook shaped do 32 on one arm engaging the ratchet 27 and a spring actuated pawl 33 on its other arm to engage the teeth of cam 28. The spring of pawl 33 normally holdslit against a stop lug 34 on the arm of the bell crank lever to which it is pivotally, mounted and a spring 35conne'cts the do 32 with the casing 10 to serve the doube purpose of swinging said dog toward the ratchet wheel and for swinging thebell crank lever 30 against a stop 36 on casing 10. The turning of'thetrunnion 14 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1 causes the teeth of cam 28 to successively engage the pawl 33 and .cause it to swin I the bell crank lever 30 and advance'the 0g 32 on the ratchet until the tooth of cam'28 passes out of engagei ment with the pawl, when the spring 35 quickly returns the bell crank lever to its normal position against the stop 36 and in the ineantime feeds the ratchet 27 the distance of one tooth by the'engagement of the dog 32 therewith, the direction of feed of the ratchet being opposite to the direction of movement of the trunnion and the cam 28. The front edges of the teeth of ratchet.

of a springjtongue switchniember 38 carried thereby moving into engagement with an adjustable contact screw 39 on ablock 40 secured to the casing 10. The hook 37 and its spring contact tongue 38 are pivotally mounted on the casing 10 by having the pivot block 41 by which they are-connected mounted on a pivot post 42 on said casing, there being a spring 43 connecting these pivoted parts to the casing to hold the hook member against the teeth of the ratchet. A. wire 4-1 connects the pivot post 42 with the bushing 11 to include the normally disengaged contact points of the spring 38 and the screw 39 in the primary circuitof the induction coil.

In wiring the igniter of this invention the battery 45 has one terminal connected with tion coil.

the'other terminal connected with the stationary contact block 10. The spark plugs plosion for the cylinders, and the ground or casmg connection 49 of the engine is;- :connec'ted to the binding post 46. In operation, the turning motion of the inner cylindrical casing, producedby its driving connection with the engine, causes the four toothed cam 28 to swing the bell crank lever 30 against the action of its spring 35 and release the pawl 33' thereof at the exact time that one .of the cylinders of the engine is in condition to-receive ignition. The release of the bell crank lever causes the dog 32 to quickly turn the ratchet wheel 27 the distance of one tooth and thereby swing the hook member 37 by the cam action of a tooth of the said ratchet wheel and momentarily bring the contacts of spring tongue 38 and screw 39 into engagement to complete the primary circuit of the induc- The primary circuit may be traced from the battery 45 to the binding post 416 on arm 16, and through the bushing 12 and the trunnion 15 to the terminal 19 of the primary winding of the induction coil, and through said primary winding and by way of its other terminal 18 to the trunnion 14, and from the bushing 11 in engagement therewith through wire -14 and the pivot post 42 for the movable member of the interrupter, and through the engaged contacts of tery 45.

As the circuit is only closed during the brief interval that a tooth of ratchet 27 passes by the hook 37 the switch action is very rapid and is always uniform, bein independent of the turning movement 0 the the interrupter back to the primary'battrunnion after the bell crankis released.

This quick make and break of the primary circuit induces a current of high otential in the spark plug 48 ignites the charge in that cylinder of the engine, and as the connections with the binding posts 25 are made with the spark plugs of the different cylinders with respect to the order of their explosion,'the binding post through which the circuit is made by the distributer plate 23 being close thereto is alwaysthe one in connection with the cylinder-which is in condition to re induced current is ceiye-the'esplosion, and the ;position of; the iently made so as to simplify the construccam 28 on the trunnion 1% is so fixed thatthe sent at the exact time that the ignitionis required.

In order that the spark maybe advanced or retarded according tothe wish of the operator, the outer cas1ng10 is shifted in-its position on; the'trunnions bymeans of the arm 16. ;By shifting the positionof the cas ing 10 in a clockwise direction, when viewed as in Fig. 1, the ignition in the various cylinders "of the engine will beuniformly-rcftarded, whereas by shifting the position of thecasing in the opposite direction the ignition is advanced, To permit offthis adjustment in the timingof the'ignition without varyingthe distance of the varc gapbetween the distributer" plate 23 and the bindposts 25 provided will depend upon the ing posts 25 said distributer plate. is provided with theraised rib 24, which as seen in Fig. at, will remain close to one, of the binding posts through an anglezof movement. of the inner casing which will be ample to include the turning movements of the outer casing.

The object in pivotally mount' the pawl 33 to thebe-ll crank 30 is to enable it to avoid the teeth of the cam 28 in event of the parts turning in the wrong direction.

It. is obvious that the number of-binding number of cylinders of the engine with gine, and likewise'the number of teeth. on the cam 28 will correspond with thenumber Y of cylindersto the engine. Itis also obvi ous-tha-t- .it is immaterial where the binding posts 25 are located for they may be at-any convenient placeon the casing 10, the end of i the casing being. suitable for the purpose if preferred. {It .is further obvious that a K sweeping contact may be made between the between the distributer plate 23 and the binding'posts if desired, instead ofdividing the arc gap spark plugs and the binding posts.

' I Byformingthe induction coil on the movable part within the outer" casing the 0011- A feature of merit in the present invention is thefact that whatever the speed of the engine maybe the period of contact made by the circuit interrupter remains the "same, that period being of. the shortest duration under which the desired results may-be attained. This period depends upon. the length of the outer ends of the teeth of the ratchet '27 and the speed withwhich said .ratchet is moved by the jdog 320i the bell crank '30. If this period is desired to be shortened or lengthened it may be done by substituting a ratchet wheel of a greater or a less number ofteethforthe one shown.

struction may be made very compact and the electrical connections may be convene I l l i tion and render it less expensive to construct and more eflicient and durable in use. What I claim as my invention is: 1 An igniter for gas engines, comprising an engine driven member, a cam carried thereby, a spring retracted switch actuating return movement of the switch actuating member, and an induction coil with its primary circuit including the switch and it= secondary circuit including the spark plug of the englne. I

2. An igniter for gas engines, comprising an engine driven member, a cam carried thereby, a sprlng retracted bell crank having a pivoted pawl on one arm and a pivoted dog on the other arm, the pivoted pawl standing in the path of the cam to 'be en.-

gaged thereby for moving the bell crank out .of its normal position, a ratchet wheel en-.

gaged and turnedby the dog on the return movement of the bell crank, a switch having I a spring retracted pivoted member engaging theteeth of the ratchet, and an induction coil with its primary circuit including the switch and its secondary circuit including the spark plug of the engine. 3. An igniter for gas engines,comprisingan engine driven member, a cam carried there- 'y, a spring retracted bell crank having a pivoted pawl onone arm and a pivoted dog on the other arm, the pivoted pawl; standing in the path of the cam to be engaged thereby for moving the bell crank out of its normalposition, a ratchet wheel loosely mountedon the engine driven member and engaged and turned by the dog on the return movementpf the bell crank, a switch having a spring retracted pivoted member with a. hook engaging the teeth of the ratchet to be swung thereby and a. contact tongue to engage a stationary member'of the switch, and an induction coilwith its primary circuit including the switch and its secondary circuit including the spark;

plug of the engine. V

An igniter for multiple cylinder gas ,engines, comprising a casing, an induct1on coil rotatably .mounted in the casing and having driving connection with the engine, 'a, circuit interrupter for the' primary circuit of the induct-ion coil actuated by the movements of the induction'coil, cylinder terminals on the casing for connection with the spark plugs of the several-cylinders of the engine, and a distributing terminal carried by the induction coil for the secondary circuit thereof adapted to'establish connection cylinder terminals on thecasing.

, the spark plugs of the several cylinders of a I v distributing terminal carried by the induc- 5. An igniter for multiple cylinder gas engines, comprising a casing, an induction c011 rotatably mounted in the casing and having driving connection with the engo'ne,

a circuit interrupter for the primary cir-. cult of the induction coll actuated by the movements of the induction coil, cylinder terminals on the casing for connection with the engine, and a distributing terminal carried by the induction coil in connection with the secondary winding thereof adapted to travel close to the cylinder terminals to establish connection therewithby means of a jump spark.

6, An igniter for gines, comprising an induction coil, insu lated trunnions on which the induction coil is mounted, a casing, insulated bushings on the casing in which the trunnions are journaled for rotatablymounting the induction coil in the casing and forming electrical connections for said trunnions, one end of the primary winding of the induction coil being connected to -,one trunnion and the J other end of the primary winding and one end of the secondary winding being-connected to the other trunnion, an insulated tion coil and ,connectedwith the other end of the secondary winding oi the induction coil, one of the trunn'ions'being adapted for driving connection, with the' engine, a circuit interrupter for the primary circuit actuated by the movements of one of the trun nions and having electrical connection with the bushing thereof, insulated cylinder terminals onthe casing close to the path of the distributing terminal for connection with the spark plugsof the several cylinders of the engine whlch are also in connection with one of the bushings, and a battery multiple cylinder 7 ent I i i l I connected to the circuit interrupter and to the last mentioned bushin 7. An ignitenfor multlple cylinder gas engines, comprising a caslng, an inner casing contained therein, an induction coil in the inner casing, insulated trunnions on which the inner casing is mounted, insulated bushings on the outer casing in which the trunnions are journaled for rotatably mounting the inner casing and forming electrical connections for said trunnions, one end of the primary winding of the induction coil being connected to one trunnion and the other end of the primary winding and one end of the secondary winding being connected to the other trunnion, an insulated distributing terminal comprising a plate with a projecting flange carried by the inner casing and "connected with the other end of the secondary winding of the induction coil, one of the trunnions being adapted for driving connectionwith the engine, a circuit interrupter for the primary circuit actuated by the movements of the other trunnion and having electrical connection with the bushing thereof, insulated cylinder terminals on the casing close to the path of the flange of the distributing ternnnal for connection with the spark "plugs of the several cylinders of the engine which are also in connection with the bushing of the driving trunnion, a battery connected to the circuit interrupter and the bushing of the driving trunnion respectively, and means for rocking the outer casing on the trunnions for advancing or retarding the ignition.

In testimony whereof, I atfix my signature, in presence'of two witnesses.

STEPHEN F. BRIGGS.

-Witncsses:

R. S. C. CALDWELL, ,ALfMA A. KLUG.

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