Appliance Employed in Starting Gas and Oil Motor Engines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd June, 1896-Accepted, 4th July, 1896
[Communicated from abroad by THE GASMOTOREN FABRIK DEUTZ, of Koeln-
Deutz, in the German Empire, Manufacturers.]
Appliance Employed in Starting Gas and Oil Motor Engines.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, 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 the known method of starting gas and oil motor engines
which consists in bringing the piston to about half-stroke position, and after holding
it there by suitable means, forcing an explosive mixture of gas and air under
pressure into the cylinder and then igniting it, the holding device being at the same
time released, so that the force of the explosion can start the engine.
The present invention relates to the employment of an elastic frictional device
applied to the fly wheel for locking or holding the piston at or about the middle
position, such device having, in combination with the fly wheel, a kind of toggle-
joint action which will yield automatically to the force of the explosion of the
compressed charge.
The said elastic frictional device can be constructed in various ways; on the
accompanying drawing are shewn two arrangements thereof.
Figure 1 shews a longitudinal section of a gas motor engine with one arrangement
applied thereto.
Figure 2 shews a section of a modified construction.
A is the working cylinder and P a hand force pump for charging it with explosive
mixture when the piston has been brought to about the middle position shewn.
b is the elastic frictional locking or holding device for holding the fly wheel in the
said position. It consists of a curved spring arm turning on a pivot at 5 and
bearing with a frictional surface against the rim of the fly wheel so as to act as a
frictional pawl in preventing its forward rotation in the direction of the arrow.
The explosive mixture can consequently be forced into the cylinder under consider-
able pressure without forcing the piston forward. The radius of the fly wheel
thus forms with the point of contact 1 of the arm b and with the pivot 5 thereof,
a kind of toggle joint 4, 1, 5, with spring action, the position of the arm b and the
degree of elasticity thereof being so arranged, that on the ignition of the compressed
charge, the sudden generation of considerable force acting on the crank causes the
fly wheel to bend the toggle joint downwards through the central position 5, 2, to
the position 5, 3, the spring action of the arm allowing it to yield; the arm then
falls into the position 5, 6, leaving the fly wheel free to be rotated by the force of
the explosion.
The above described locking or holding device has the following advantages:-
1. The energy which is expended by the motor at the moment of explosion for
forcing the toggle joint through its middle position, is regained immediately after-
wards (with the exception of the loss by friction) inasmuch as the spring arm b
after being compressed during the motion from 1 to 2, will, in expanding after
point 2 has been passed, give off an equivalent amount of energy to the fly wheel
in accelerating its motion, while moving from 2 to 3.
2. In replacing the spring arm 6 from its position of rest at 6 to the position 1

page_text: for again starting the engine, it is not requisite to put any initial compression on
the spring arm, as such compression is effected entirely automatically by the
compression and explosion of the preliminary charge as above described.
3. The position adopted for the piston for the above described starting action is
quite optional, which is of considerable importance, as with different descriptions
of combustible gases the most advantageous position for the piston will vary.
It will be obvious that the spring arm 6 may be variously constructed for
carrying out the above described function; thus it may be constructed of two
separate rigid pieces 6' 6 as shewn at Figure 2 with an intervening spring 63 of
the required strength to resist the force exercised by the piston during the
compression of the charge, but to yield to the force of the explosion. Or again,
the entire arm may be rigid and the required spring action be provided by
arranging the pivot 5 to yield in compressing a spring.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Appliance for starting gas and oil motor engines consisting in a pivotted arm
having spring action, which arm is adapted to lock or hold the fly wheel of the
engine by frictional contact while the engine cylinder is being charged with
compressed combustible mixture, but which yields by its spring action being com-
pressed by the motion of the fly wheel on the explosion of the charge, the said
arm, in combination with the radius of the fly wheel constituting a toggle joint
which is forced through its middle position by the fly wheel so as afterwards to
liberate the latter, substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of June 1896.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.