Improvements in or connected with Ignition Gear for Explosion Engines.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Ignition Gear for Explosion
Engines.
I, FREDERICK RICHARD SIMMS, of Amberley House, 12, Norfolk Street, Strand,
in the County of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with electric ignition
gear for explosion engines and has for its object to provide means whereby the time
at which ignition of the explosive charge takes place can be regulated as desired.
According to the invention I preferably make use of magneto-electric ignition
apparatus of the kind described in Bosch's Patent No. 15411 of 1897, that is to say,
of a magneto-electric machine having a stationary armature and stationary magnets
and a rocking envelope or the like arranged between the armature and the magnet
poles.
The envelope is oscillated by a crank-pin upon a half-speed or counter shaft
rotated from the crank-shaft of the motor through the medium of suitable toothed
gearing, and sparking is effected by a device comprising a hollow plug adapted
to be fixed to the ignition chamber of the motor and carrying a contact insulator
from it and electrically connected to one terminal of the magneto-electric machine,
the other terminal of which is connected with, or any convenient portion of, the
engine which forms a good conductor. A lever is pivoted to the plug and normally
rests upon the contact held in the said plug. This contact lever is operated by a
rod from a cam upon the said half-speed or counter shaft, the said oam raising
the rod and then suddenly releasing it so that it is sharply returned and caused to
strike the pivoted contact lever which is thus made to momentarily break contact
and produce a spark, both rod and contact lever being returned to their normal
positions by springs.
The counter shaft is, as above stated, rotated from the crank-shaft of the motor
by spur gearing, the spur wheel on the half-speed shaft being made in one with,
or rigidly connected to, a bevel wheel which gears with a second bevel wheel
mounted loosely upon a shaft fixed vertically to the said half speed shaft and
gearing with a third bevel wheel also mounted loosely upon the said shaft and
rigidly connected with the above described cam for operating the rod of the ignition
device. The cam also carries upon its face the pin which reciprocates or rocks the
intermediate envelope of the magneto-electric machine.
To vary the time of ignition, that is to say, the point in the cycle of the motor
at which the charge is exploded, I provide for moving the second or intermediate
bevel wheel radially around the shaft upon which the first and third wheels are
mounted. By so doing it will be obvious that the third bevel wheel and the cam
are partially rotated, as the counter shaft is held against rotation by, the crank-

page_text: shaft, so that the relative positions of the cam and crank-shaft are altered as
desired, thus varying the time at which ignition takes place.
Dated this 24th day of March 1898.
G. F. REDFERN & Co..
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or connected with Ignition Gear for Explosion
Engines.
I, FREDERICK RICHARD SIMMS, of Amberley House, 12, Norfolk Street, Strand,
in the County of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with electric ignition gear
for explosion engines and has for its object to provide means whereby the time
at which ignition of the explosive charge takes place and thereby the speed of
the engines can be regulated as desired whilst the said engines are actually running
at full speed.
According to the invention I make use of magneto-electric ignition apparatus
preferably of the kind described in Bosch's Patent No. 15411 of 1897, that is to
say, of a magneto-electric machine having a stationary armature and stationary
magnets and a rocking envelope or the like arranged between the armature and
the magnet poles.
The envelope is oscillated by a crank-pin upon a half-speed or counter-shaf
rotated from the crank-shaft of the motor through the medium of suitable toothed
gearing, and sparking is effected by a device comprising a hollow plug adapted to
be fixed to the ignition chamber of the motor and carrying a contact pin insulated
from it and electrically connected to one terminal of the magneto-electric machine,
the other terminal of which is connected with any convenient portion of the
engine which forms a good conductor; or the magneto machine may be fixed
A lever is pivoted to
directly to the cylinder or other suitable part of the engine.
the plug and normally rests upon the contact held in the said plug. This contact
lever is operated by a rod from a cam upon the said half-speed or counter-shaft,
the said cam raising the rod and then suddenly releasing it so that it is sharply
returned and caused to strike the pivoted contact lever which is thus made to
momentarily break contact and produce a spark, both rod and contact lever being
returned to their normal positions by springs.
The counter shaft is, as above stated, rotated from the crank-shaft of the motor
by spur gearing, the spur wheel on the half-speed shaft being made in one with,
or rigidly connected to, a bevel wheel which gears with a second level wheel mounted
loosely upon a shaft or spindle swinging vertically on the said half-speed shaft
and gearing with a third bevel wheel also mounted loosely upon the said half-speed
shaft and rigidly connected with the above described cam for operating the rod of
the ignition device. The cam also carries upon its face the pin which reciprocates
or rocks the intermediate envelope of the magneto-electric machine. This motion
may also be obtained by means of a connecting rod instead of as shown.
To vary the time of ignition, that is to say, the point in the cycle of the motor
at which the charge is exploded, I provide for moving the second
or intermediate bevel wheel radially around the shaft upon which the
first and third wheels are mounted. By so doing it will be obvious

page_text: that the third Devel wheer an
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the counter-shaft is held against rotation by the crank-shaft, so that the relative
positions of the cam and crank-shaft are altered as desired, thus varying the time
at which ignition takes place.
To enable the invention to be fully understood I will describe it by reference to
the accompanying drawing, in which:-
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of electric ignition gear made according to my
invention:
Figure 2 is a similar view at right angles to Figure 1:
A is the magneto-electric ignition apparatus which said apparatus is preferably,
as above mentioned, of the kind described in Bosch's Patent No. 15411 of 1897.
a is the crank shaft of the engine or motor and b is the half-speed or counter
shaft, the said half-speed or counter shaft b being driven from the crank-shaft a by
the spur wheels a and b mounted on the two shafts a and b respectively.
c is the bevel wheel which is made in one with or rigidly connected to the spur
wheel b. d is the bevel wheel which is mounted loosely upon the spindle fixed
vertically to a sleeve which is loosely mounted upon the counter shaft b,
the said bevel wheel d gearing with the bevel wheel e and with the third bevel
wheel e which is also mounted loosely upon the shaft b. f is the cam which
operates the rod of the sparking device as hereinafter described and is rigidly
connected to the boss of the wheel e so as to rotate therewith, f' is the pin with
which the face of the cam f is provided, the said pin f' engaging with a slide fa
working in a slot få in a crank g so as to reciprocate or rock the intermediate
envelope of the magneto-electric machine.
h is the hollow plug or cap, the said hollow plug or cap being adapted to be
screwed to the ignition chamber of the engine or motor or to be otherwise fixed in
position by means of nuts, studs and the like i is the pin which is insulated from
it and is, as shewn, electrically connected to one terminal of the magneto-electric
machine, the other terminal of which is connected to any convenient portion of the
engine which forms a good conductor. is the lever which is pivotally mounted in
the plug and one end of which normally rests upon the pin i (or if not normally
held upon the pin it is allowed to make contact with the insulated pin momentarily
previous to sparking) whilst the other end is outside the said plug. k is the
controlling rod which is provided with a spring, to return it to its normal position
and with a spring to make contact between the parts j and ; the upper end of
the said rod is provided with a tappet collar whilst the lower end is furnished with
an arm m having a toe m³ which rests upon the cam f. This cam is of such a
construction that, when rotating in the direction of the arrow shewn in Figure 2,
it gradually raises the rod k, lifts the collar and then suddenly releases it so
that the said collar is suddenly brought against the arm and momentarily
lifts the arm ¹ from the contact i thereby causing a spark to be produced in the
ignition chamber of the motor.
As above explained to vary the time of ignition, that is to say, the point in the
cycle of the motor at which the charge is exploded, the bevel wheel d is adjusted
radially around the shaft b by means of the spindle . By so doing the bevel
wheel e and the cam f are partially rotated, as the counter shaft is prevented from
rotating by the crank-shaft a, so that the relative positions of the cam f and of
the crank-shaft a can be altered to the desired extent, thus varying the time at
which ignition takes place and consequently the speed of the motor.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In electric ignition gear for explosion engines, the combination of a suitable
current generating device, of a sparking device, of a counter shaft driven from
the engine crank-shaft for operating the said sparking and current generating
devices, and of means whereby the relative time at which the sparking device is

page_text: operated, and thereby the speed of the engine, can be varied when running,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. In electric ignition gear for explosion engines, the employment of a sparking
device comprising a plug or cap secured to the ignition chamber of the engine
and connected to one terminal of the current generator, and carrying an insulated
contact connected to the other terminal of the current generator, a lever pivoted
to the said plug or cap and normally resting upon the said insulated contact,
and means, such as a spring rod and cam, for momentarily breaking contact
between the lever and insulated contact so as to produce a spark, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
3. In electric, ignition gear for explosion engines of the kind described in
Claim 1, the arrangement, for varying the time at which ignition takes place, of a
bevel wheel on the countershaft, arranged to be rotated from the crank shaft and to
gear with a second bevel wheel, mounted upon a spindle loosely fitted to the counter-
shaft and gearing with a third bevel wheel which carries the cam for operating
the sparking device and the current generator, substantially as hereinbefore
described..
4. The improved electric ignition gear for explosion engines hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Paved the way
TA
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.