Improvements in or relating to Electrically Controlled Valve Gear for Gas and other Motors.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Apr., 1899-Accepted, 13th May, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Electrically Controlled Valve Gear for
Gas and other Motors.
A communication from DAVID W. PAYNE, of Elmira, Chemung County, New
York, United States of America.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of London,
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 ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates more particularly to improvements in valve gear wherein
the valves are operated by electro-magnets, the magnets being energized at the
proper times by means of a commutator and brushes actuated by a moving mem-
ber of the motor; and the main object of these improvements is to provide a valve
gear of this nature which shall be especially adapted for gas, oil and other explosive
motors, and by which mechanically operated valves and their attendant noise and
vibration can be dispensed with. A further object is to provide means for govern-
ing and controlling the magnets which actuate the admission valves according to
the speed of the motor.
These objects are attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying
drawing, in which―
Figure 1 is an elevation of a gas motor showing the electrical connections;
Fig. 2, a side elevation of the governor wheel, with a governor and contact brushes
attached; Fig. 3, a cross-section on the line - in Fig. 2, showing also portions
of the governor casing in section; and Fig. 4, an inside view of a portion of the
governor casing showing the commutator plates.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
A and B represent the magnets which actuate the admission valves, and C and D)
the magnets operating the exhaust valves of the motor. From magnets A and B
un wires a and b to their commutator plates on the inside of the case F, and from
magnets C and D run the wires c and d to their respective commutator plates.
The return circuit is established through a generator E, which may be a battery,
or a small dynamo run by the motor itself, or other source of electricity, the current
being carried back to the magnets through the wires e.
The gas motor taken for illustration is a double cylinder single acting engine,
the gas being admitted above the pistons once in every two revolutions of the shaft;
the cycle of operation comprising, first, the admission of gas into the cylinders on
the down stroke, then the compression of gas on the up stroke, then the
explosion and expansion of the gas on the next down stroke and finally the exhaust

page_text: from the cylinders on the next up stroke. The valves must therefore be operated
once in every two revolutions of the crank shaft. In order to accomplish this,
two gear wheels G and H are provided, the gear G being keyed to the crank shaft,
and the gear H being hung above this gear within the gear case F. The gear His
double the diameter of gear G and therefore makes one revolution to two of the
shaft. This gear H carries a centrifugal governor and the brushes which establish
the electric currents to energize the magnets when passing over the commutator
plates with which the magnets are connected. In Fig. 2, this gear H is represented
as carrying a centrifugal governor J, pivoted at I and regulated in the usual
manner through a spring K. At a point a little away from the centre of rotation,
when the governor arm is in its normal position, is located a boss or socket carry-
ing a contact brush which may be of any approved design. As the governor
arm is thrown away from normal by increased speed of the motor it will follow the
path represented by the broken lines in Fig. 2, and the brush j will be thrown
away from the centre of rotation as indicated by said broken lines, and this will
cause the magnets A and. B, controlling.the.admission valves, to be energized and
the valves to be held open for a shorter time as will presently appear. On the
pivot stud is rigidly attached an arm L which carries a brush, this brush always
following a circle at a fixed radius from the centre of rotation and controlling the
magnets which actuate the .exhaust valves, which valves are given the same
relative period of opening no matter what the speed of the motor.
In Fig. 3, M represents a plate of insulating material attached to the inside of
case and in axial alignment with the gear H. In this insulating plate are
embedded the commutator plates a¹, b, c and d, (see Fig. 4), which by means
of binding posts on the outside of the case are connected respectively to the
wires a, b, c, and d. The brushes and pass over the face of plate A, being
pressed lightly against it by springs in the sockets, the brush j contacting alter-
nately with the commutator plates a, b, and the brush contacting alternately
with the plates c, d, which latter plates are set in a circle outside of the extreme
points of the plates a¹, b¹
The gears Gand H are preferably insulated from the other parts of the motor,
and the return circuit is made in any approved manner; as, for instance, by means
of a brush N which contacts with the hub of gear H, a binding post on the outside
of the casing connecting this brush with the return wire e.
In operation, when the motor is running at low speed, or with its maximum load,
the governor arm J will assume its normal position as shown in Fig. 2, and the
brush will travel in an arc across the commutator plates a, b, where they are
widest, and the admission ports will be opened for their longest periods. As the
lead lightens and the speed increases, the brush will be thrown away from the
centre of rotation and as the plates a', 6' taper outwardly, the travel of the brush j
across these plates will be shortened and the point of admission or cut-off of the
admission ports will consequently be made later or earlier respectively, according
to the position and adjustment of the commutator plates, until the minimum load
is reached, when the brush j will be thrown out far enough so that the period of
contact will be just sufficient to admit the required amount of gas to maintain the
motor at normal speed.
While the commutator is shown arranged for a two cylinder motor of the single
acting type, it will be readily seen that the commutator by doubling the number
of plates and setting them at 90 degrees apart can be arranged for either a two
cylinder double acting motor, or a four cylinder single acting motor. The com-
mutator, as shown could also be applied to a single cylinder double acting motor;
and by arranging the plates in three pairs at 120 degrees apart, a three cylinder
motor could be accommodated. Likewise a proper arrangement of the plates will
provide for a single cylinder single acting motor.
Moreover, while the invention is shown and described as applied to gas motors,
my correspondent does not wish to be confined to this particular application of it,
since the essential points of the invention might also readily be adapted to other

page_text: motors wherein an expanding gas or vapor is used with a varying point of admis-
sion or cut-off, and also wherein the valves are to be actuated at every stroke of
the piston.
By the use of the term centrifugal governor it is intended to designate and
include any form of shaft or fly-wheel governor as distinguished from the ball
governor; it being.customary in the engine trade to so designate and distinguish
these two types of governors. The terms commutator plate" and commutator
brush are relative terms, and my correspondent does not wish to be confined to
the positions assumed for them as herein described, as such positions might very
readily be reversed without departing from the spirit of this invention; that is
to say, the contact plates might be carried on the governor and the brush or
brushes made stationary.
My correspondent is aware that electro-magnets have heretofore been applied
to the valve gear of steam and other motors, and he does not claim this broadly
as his invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. The combination, with an electrically controlled valve gear, of a commutator
contact plate in circuit with the valve controller, a commutator brush also in
circuit, one stationary and the other revoluble, and a centrifugal governor carrying
the revoluble member whereby the latter is made to traverse the stationary member
and control the operation of the valve.
2. The combination, with an electrically controlled admission valve of a gas or
other motor, of a commutator contact plate in circuit with the valve controller,
a revolving commutator brush also in circuit, and a centrifugal governor carrying
the brush, whereby the latter is made to traverse the contact-plate with varying
periods of contact to regulate the point of admission or cut-off according to the
speed of the motor.
3. The combination, with the admission and exhaust valves of a gas or other
motor, of electro-magnets to actuate the valves, a commutator in circuit with the
magnets, a centrifugal governor also in circuit, and a commutator brush carried
on the arm of the governor in contact with the commutator to actuate the admission
valve, and a second commutator brush revolving with the governor in a fixed orbit
in contact with the commutator to actuate the exhaust valve, substantially as
described.
4. In a motor, the combination of electrically controlled admission and exhaust
valves, a commutator comprising a tapering contact plate radiating from the centre
of the commutator and an annular contact plate concentric therewith, a centrifugal
governor in axial alignment with the commutator, a commutator brush on the
governor to traverse the first named plate, and a commutator brush revolving with
the governor in a fixed orbit to traverse the second plate, all in proper circuit with
the valve controllers, whereby a variable admission or cut-off and fixed exhaust
is obtained, substantially as described.
5. The combination, with an electrically controlled admission valve of a gas or
other motor, of a commutator contact plate in circuit with the valve controller, a
revolving commutator brush also in circuit, a centrifugal governor carrying the
brush, and means for imparting from the motor to the governor a different speed
from that of the motor, whereby the commutator brush is made to traverse the
contact plate once in a fixed number of revolutions of the motor shaft to actuate the
valve at the proper periods and vary the point of admission or cut-off.
6. In a gas motor, the combination with an electrically controlled valve gear,
of a commutator contact-plate in circuit with the valve controller, a commutator
brush also in circuit, one stationary and the other revoluble, and means for
imparting from the motor to the revoluble member a different speed from that of

page_text: the motor, whereby the one is made to traverse the other once in a fixed number
of revolutions of the motor shaft to operate the valve at the proper periods.
Dated this 10th day of April 1899.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.