Improved Mechanism for Regulating the Ignition Point in Oil and other Motors.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Mechanism for Regulating the Ignition Point in Oil and
other Motors.
I, COLOMBO RICCI, of 47, Campana Road, Fulham, in the County of London,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention refers principally to gas and oil motors, but may also include
other motors of the same nature, in which the exploding charge, i.c. gas, oil vapour
or other exploding substance is fired by electricity.
It is a known fact that in all these motors, the time of ignition, te. the instant
the charge has to be fired, varies according to the quality, richness, temperature
and degree of compression of the gases; as well as the speed of the motor and
other minor circumstances inherent to the construction and general design of the
motor itself.
It is also advisable, in starting a motor, to be able to fire the charge as close as
possible, to the dead point so as to avoid back explosions and accidents; and once
the motor started, to be able to set the ignition point some degrees in advance
according to the circumstances above mentioned in order to insure a maximum of
efficiency.
The object of my present invention is to provide these motors with a suitable
mechanism which will enable the charge to be fired at any time, at will, from 45°
in advance on the crank, up to the dead point.
I for this purpose, provide the cylinder head, or explosion chamber of the motor,
(which in this case we assume to be vertical), with a rocking lever or tumbler
fixed at one end of a spindle, the whole making thus a piece in the shape of a T,
the upright stroke representing the spindle and the horizontal one, the tumbler.
The spindle is made to oscillate in a plug (which is screwed in the wall of the
cylinder head) and projects outside about one inch beyond the plug; and both
spindle and tumbler, are horizontally placed when in their normal position.
The spindle is also provided with a conical collar and the plug with a seating of
a corresponding shape, for the purpose of checking the gases at the moment of the
explosion.
At the outer end of the spindle is mounted a small lever or handle, which by
means of a suitable spring tends to rotate the spindle in one direction; and to keep
one arm of the tumbler continually in contact with the electrode or fire plug.
The electrode (which is composed of a central rod, mounted on, and insulated
from an outer tube), is screwed in the cylinder head vertically and just opposite
the end of one of the two arms of the tumbler above mentioned.
On the upper face of the piston. I screw a small pillar or pusher, immediately
opposite the end of the other arm of the tumbler; so that in its up stroke will
cause the tumbler to oscillate, breaking the contact with the electrode and firing
the charco

page_text: The two wires of a primary or secondary battery, (or any other source of elec-
tricity) are connected, one to the electrode and the other to the frame of the motor
or to the end of the spindle itself; so that supposing no commutator is employed,
the current would be continually on, and only broken at the instant the pusher
touches the tumbler.
It is obvious by this arrangement that if the electrode is so screwed in that the
pusher will only slightly touch the tumbler, in its up stroke, the spark will take
place almost at the dead point; if on the contrary, the electrode is unscrewed to a
certain extent, the arm of the tumbler which is kept in contact with it, will be
raised and the opposite arm lowered, so that the piston in its up stroke will come
in contact with it sooner than before and the current will thus be broken seme
degrees in advance of the dead point.
In this manner, all that is necessary to do, to vary the moment of ignition of
the charge is simply to screw in or out the electrode, as the circumstances may
require.
I sometimes, instead of placing the electrode vertically, as described above,
place it horizontally and at right angles with the spindle. In this case however,
in order to be able to obtain the same results as in the previous case, I make the
end of the electrode (which gears with one arm of the tumbler, inside the cylinder
head) in the shape of an eccentric cam, snail or other irregular shape; so that by
rotating the electrode I obtain the same displacement of the tumbler, and conse-
quently the spark sooner or later as obtained with the previous arrangement.
Instead of obtaining the oscillation of the tumbler by means of the pusher on the
piston, inside the cylinder the motion of the valve rods or connecting rods outside
the cylinder, may be utilised, or also the motion of the crank or cams or any other
oscillating or rotating piece of mechanism may be utilised, without departing from
the principle of my invention.
Dated this 10th day of July 1897.
MARKS & CLERK,
. 18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.
Improved Mechanism for Regulating the Ignition Point in Oil and
other Motors.
I, COLOMBO RICCI, of No. 8, Denmark Street, Soho, in the County of London,
late of 47, Campana Road, Fulham, in the County of London, Mechanical 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 follow-
ing statement:-
My invention relates principally to that class of motor engines worked by com-
bustible gases or petroleum vapour or spray, but it may also include other motors
of the same nature, in which the exploding charge is fired by electricity.
It is a well known fact, that in all these motors, the time of ignition, i.e. the
instant the charge has to be fired, varies according to the quality richness, tempera-
ture and degree of compression of the gases; as well as the speed of the motor and
other minor circumstances inherent to the construction and general design of the
motor itself.
It is also necessary, in starting one of these motors, to be able to fire the charge
when the crank is as close as possible to the dead point, so as to avoid back explo-

page_text: The accompanying drawings represent two different arrangements of a mechan-
ism constructed according to my present invention.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a cylinder head or explosion chamber showing
the mechanism with the piston immediately before the charge is fired:
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.
Fig. 3 is a modification of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 & 5 are details of the electrode.
Referring to Fig. 1 & 2, A is the cylinder head, B the water jacket, C the
cylinder and D the piston. H, is a spindle provided with two arms F & G, forming
thus a rocking lever mounted on a plug I which is screwed in the cylinder head
at T.
The plug I is provided with a seating J & the spindle H with a collar h of a
corresponding shape so as to check any exit of gases from the explosion chamber.
On the outer end of the spindle H is mounted a lever Q, which by means of
the coil spring R (fixed on the water jacket at S), keeps the arm G. of the rocking
lever continually in contact with the end of the electrode L.
E is a small pusher or stud, fixed on the piston D, which in its upward stroke
causes (through the arm F) the rocking lever to swing round its spindle H and the
arm G to break contact with the end of the electrode L.
The electrode L is mounted on, and insulated from the plug K (which is screwed
on the cylinder head at a) by means of asbestos packing, mica or any other suitable
material k.
A hand nut O is provided at the outer end of the electrode for the purpose of
fixing one of the wires P coming from a battery, accumulator or any other source
of electricity; the other wire N may be connected at any suitable place of the
motor, but preferably at the end of the spindle H.
It is obvious by such an arrangement, that whenever the piston completes its
upward stroke, the arm G, of the rocking lever will break contact with the end of
the electrode L, and the electric current being interrupted, a spark will pass
between the two points of contact and the charge will be ignited.
In Fig. 1 the mechanism is shown in such a position that the contact will be
broken when the piston is almost at the end of its upward stroke, and the crank
at the dead point; this is the position necessary for starting the motor.
When however the engine has been started and is running at its normal speed,
it is necessary, (in order to ensure a maximum of efficiency), to shift the ignition
point from 5° to 45° in advance; i.e. the contact must be broken from 5° to 45°
before the crank reaches the dead point in the upward stroke of the piston.
For this purpose, the only thing to be done, is to unscrew of one or more turns
the plug K, of the electrode L, (according to the number of degrees in advance
required); by so doing, the coil spring R, will cause the rocking lever to swing
with its arm F downwards and the piston D, with its pusher E, will consequently
come in contact with the arm F much sooner, with the result that the charge will
thus be ignited earlier than in the previous case.
The electric current can be used with or without a coil, and also with or without
a commutator; in this latter case a spark will take place at every upward stroke
of the piston instead of every other one.
This is undoubtedly an advantage for those motors in which an explosion takes
place every revolution of the crank, but it can be used as well in those motors in
which the explosion takes place at the end of every other out stroke of the piston,
although for reasons of economy it is preferable to use a commutator.

page_text: An ordinary switch is always used in all cases so as to cut off the current when
the motor is not running or also when the motor has to be stopped.
In Fig. 3 I have shown a modification of the herein before described mechanism.
The arrangement of the rocking lever FG with spindle H and coil spring R,
together with the pusher E and working of the piston D remain the same as before,
but the electrode L, instead of being placed vertically as shown in Fig. 1, it is
placed in a horizontal position, mounted & insulated from the plug K by means of
suitable material k in the same manner as before.
The end of the electrode L in this figure however, instead of being pointed, is
of the shape either of Fig. 4 or Fig. 5.
It is obvious, that by rotating this electrode L by means of the knob M the
end G of the rocking lever will be shifted upwards in the same manner as described
for Fig. 1, & the contact will be broken sooner or later according to the position
given to this electrode L.
U is a finger fixed on the knob M corresponding with the largest diametre of the
electrode L, Fig. 4 & 5, showing the right position of the electrode inside the
cylinder.
Instead of utilizing the upward motion of the piston D & pusher E for the
purpose of breaking contact inside the cylinder, an excentric and excentric rod
driven from a secondary shaft (geared two to one with the crank shaft) may be
used, for the same purpose, outside the cylinder without departing from the prin-
ciple of my said invention.
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:
1st. In a gas or petroleum motor engine, in which the charge is exploded by elec-
tricity, the method of regulating the ignition at the exact moment, in relation to
the dead point, by means of a movable electrode, substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2d. In a gas or petroleum motor engine, in which the charge is exploded by
electricity, the combination with the rocking lever F, G, and spindle H, of the
plug I, provided with a seating J, substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
3d. In a gas or petroleum motor engine, in which the charge is exploded by
electricity, the combination with the rocking lever F, G, of the electrode L, &
plug K, substantially as described and illustrated in Fig. 1 & Fig. 2 of the accom-
panying drawings, and for the purpose specified.
4th. In a gas or petroleum motor engine, in which the charge is exploded by
electricity, the combination with the rocking lever F, G, of the electrode L, &
plug K, substantially as described and illustrated by Fig. 3, 4, & 5, of the accom-
panying drawings and for the purpose above specified.
Dated this 27th day of March 1898.