Improvements in and relating to Explosion Engines.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Dec., 1897-Accepted, 5th Feb.,
1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Explosion Engines.
I, ERNEST FREDERICH LLOYD, of Fort Wayne, County of Allen and State of
Indiana, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
-
This invention relates especially to that class of engines in which the fuel is
introduced directly into the engine cylinder, and particularly to that class of
engines known as explosion" engines, in which the heat or energy is formed by
the explosion of a mixture of hydro-carbons and air within the engine cylinder.
The object of the invention is to provide a simple, economical and efficient fuel
engine of the explosive type, provided with an automatic electro-mechanical
governor for regulating the admission of fuel; and the invention consists in the
combination of an engine cylinder provided with a reciprocating piston and a
It consists further in providing
governor operated by electro mechanical means.
the cylinder with a supply valve or valves operated by mechanical means which
supply one or more cylinder ends with fuel, and an electrical relay controlling
magnets or means for regulating the several admissions of fuel. It consists finally
in the features, combinations and details of construction hereinafter described and
claimed.
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation-in diagrammatic
form of an engine cylinder fitted with my electrical mechanical governor; and
Fig. 2 a transverse section taken on line 2 of Fig. 1, showing an enlarged view of
a portion of the mechanism hereinafter described and claimed.
In the art to which this invention relates, it is usual to control, or attempt to
control, the speed of the engine, by shutting off the supply of fuel at one or both
This necessitates a large amount of
ends of the cylinder by mechanical means.
mechanism between the different styles of governors and the valves, which are
sluggish in action, in that there are numerous bearings, pivotal points and
mechanism that make considerable friction, so that the governor is not very
sensitive, and consequently the speed or speeds must vary considerably before the
This is a serious objection in this class of engines,
governor has a chance to act.
in that they cannot be used successfully for electric lighting plants, where the
variation in speed should be very small. To overcome this objection, and provide
a sensitive electro-workable governor that will act with very slight variations in
speed, is the principal object of the invention.
In describing my improvements and illustrating the same, I will only show a
portion of the engine, viz., the cylinder in connection with the new portions. As
to the old portions left out, they are well understood by those skilled in the art,
and I do not desire to be limited either to the class of engines or the mechanism
herein shown and described, any further than is pointed out in the claims; for
it is evident that it can be varied to suit different circumstances and conditions
by the exercise of mechanical skill.
In constructing this improved engine, I provide a cylinder A of the desired

page_text: type, having a reciprocating piston therein, and prefer to use an engine having
valves B at each end of the cylinder for the admission of the requisite supply of
gas or fuel. I use an ordinary centrifugal governor C, and connect its rotating
shaft with the operative parts of the engine by means of the shaft C₁ and the
bevel gears cc, so that, the rotations of the crank shaft lare transmitted to the
governor, it being understood of course that the higher the speed the more rapidly
will the governor balls revolve. The fuel admission valves B are provided with
the usual valve stem b. and, an extensible auxiliary pivoted valve stem b¹, both of
which are set with the valve normally closed. "A magnet D'is provided and con-
nected with a source of electric energy, as hereinafter described, for the purpose
of pulling over the pivoted valve, stem until contacted therewith, so that it may
be operated by the vibrating lever E arranged to be contacted by a cam E¹ on a
revolving shaft. e. This revolving shaft is connected with the crank shaft of the
engine not shown-for the purpose of opening the admission valve at the proper
time. When the auxiliary valve stem is, brought into contact, with the. magnet,
its end enters a notche¹ in the vibrating lever, so that the admission valve is
opened. The auxiliary valve stem is held in its normal. "off position ",.by means
of a small spiral spring 63, while a set screw 63 is used for the purpose of limiting
the motion of the pivoted valve stem.,
To supply current to this magnet, at the desired time, one or more contact
points G G are provided and arranged to be contacted by a vibrating lever g on
the governor. The normal position of these points is such that this vibrating
contacting lever contacts both of the contact points, so, that current will flow from
the battery G, through wire g¹, through contact G, thence by wire through
the magnet D at the front end of the cylinder, and back by wire g³ to the
battery. Current will also flow from the battery through wire g¹, contacting
lever g, contact point G¹, wire g', magnet D¹, and back by wires and to
battery. This action furnishes current to both magnets, so that the pivotal valve
stem 6¹ may be brought into contact with the magnets, to be operated by the
vibrating levers E as the crank shaft rotates to open the admission valve at
the proper time and admit the proper quantity of fuel. When the speed of the
engine increases, the governor arms will fly out so as to lift the sleeve C, thereby
lifting up the inner end of the contact lever g and breaking contact between it
and the contact point G, thus cutting off the current from the magnet at the
rearward end of the cylinder and allowing the admission valve at such end of the
cylinder to close, which consequently shuts off the 'fuel at that end when the cam E¹
has made a rotation so as to permit the vibrating lever E to move away from
contact or engagement with the pivotal valve stem. If the engine exceeds its
regular speed and attains a higher speed, the vibrating contacting lever will be
further operated to break contact between both of the contact points, thus shutting
off current from both of the magnets until the speed drops to the regular point and
permits contact to be again made."
It will be seen, therefore, that the advantages accruing from the use of my
improvements are that the influence of the governor is instantaneously felt at the
admission valves the governor only acting to make and break the electric
circuits, which is done instantaneously, thus avoiding friction of all kinds. These
contact points can be so set that a very small percentage of variation in the speed
of the engine is felt in the governor and transmitted back again to the admission
valves.
1.
t
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
$
1. In a fuel engine, the combination of a centrifugal governor, a cylinder pro-
vided with a reciprocating piston, a valve for admitting fuel to the cylinder and
arranged to be kept normally closed, mechanical means for positively opening such
valve, and an electric circuit embracing an electro magnet for connecting such
:

page_text: valve with the mechanical means, such circuit being arranged to be opened and
closed by the movements of the governor, substantially as described.
2. In a fuel engine, the combination of a centrifugal governor, a cylinder pro-
vided with a reciprocating piston, a valve for admitting fuel into the cylinder, a
vibrating lever arranged to be actuated by mechanical means, and an electric
circuit embracing an electro magnet arranged to bring the valve mechanism
inte contact with the vibrating lever so that such valve may be opened by positive
mechanical means, such circuit being arranged to be opened and closed by the
movements of the centrifugal governor, substantially as described.
3. In a fuel engine, the combination of a centrifugal governor, a cylinder pro-
vided with a reciprocating piston, a valve for admitting fuel into the cylinder and
provided with a projecting pivotal stem portion, said pivotal stem provided with
or forming the armature for the electro-magnet, mechanical means for positively
acting on the valve stem to open the valve and hold it open a predetermined time,
and an electro-magnet for bringing the pivotal valve stem into the working range
of the mechanically operating mechanism, substantially as described.
4. In a fuel engine, the combination of a centrifugal governor, a cylinder pro-
vided with a reciprocating piston, a valve for admitting fuel into such cylinder
and arranged to be normally closed and provided with a pivotal stem portion
forming the armature lever of an electro-magnet, a vibrating lever arranged to be
operated by the movements of the engine, an electric circuit embracing an electro-
magnet arranged when energized to bring the pivotal armature lever of the valve
into operative connection with the vibrating lever, such circuit being arranged to
be opened and closed by the movements of the centrifugal governor, and spring
mechanism for normally holding the pivotal stem away from the magnet and
vibrating lever, substantially as described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.