US1353990A - Ignition system - Google Patents

Description

A. 0. DE LORME IGNITION SYSTEM.

APPLICATION F ILED DEC.3I. 1918.

Patented Sept. 28, 1920.

NVENTOR FILFEED DE LEE/4E.

BY ,87? WW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED C. DE LORME, OIE EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO SPLITDORF ELECTRICAL COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

IGIEITION SYSTEM.

I Specification of Letters Patent. Patented S t 28 192() Application filed December 31, 1918. Serial No. 269,088.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALFRED C. DE LORME, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ignition Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an ignition sys tem for use in connection with internal combustion engines, and more particularly to large multi-cylinder engines, such as used on airplanes, which are hard and in many cases dangerous in starting. In the latter class of engines it is customary to provide two ignition devices, preferably in the shape of magnetos, one of which is directly connected with the engine to' furnish the ignition current after the engine has been started and another ignition machine, which can be operated by hand independently of the engine, for furnishing starting current.

In starting airplane engines with this type of an ignition system installed thereon, it is the usual practice to prime the engine cylinders by the injection of liquid fuel or by turning the engine over through the medium of the propeller, the ignition being switched to the off position while the engine is being turned. The act of turning the engine over by the propeller draws in charges of fuel into the cylinders and there will be at least one such cylinder in which the piston has passed over dead center and is in what is known as the working stroke. It is the function of the starting magneto then to furnish current to the spark plug of the cylinder in which the piston is in the working stroke. The charge in this cylinder being under a certain amount of compression will be ignited and the explosion will turn the engine over sufliciently for the service magneto, which is connected to a spark plug in the cylinder in which the piston is on the compression stroke or in advance of the one that is in the working stroke, to pick up the engine after which the operation of the starting magneto is discontinued. One method of operating such an ignitlon system is described in a patent to G. Honold et ah, #1,014,824, issued January 16, 1912.

It'isthe object of my present invention to provide improvements 1n certain details which will add to the efliciency of such system.

In the drawing Figure 1 is an end View of a distributer block used in the system.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but for a block used with an ignition machine having a direction of rotation opposite that us ing the block for Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the distributing member operating within the distributer block.

Fig. 5 is a right hand end view of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a part longitudinal and sectional view of Fig. 4 showing diagrammatically the electrical connections of the starting and running ignition devices to the distributing member.

Referring now to the details, wherein like numbers refer to corresponding parts in the various views, 1 is a distributer block which is adapted for use in connection with an eight cylinder engine. The distributer contacts are arranged in two rows A and B, there being eight contacts in each row. The contacts in the row toward the front of the block have connectors 2 adapted to be connected to the spark plugs 3 to 10 inclusive which it is understood are located in the engine cylinders. A distributing member 11, which is operatively driven by the engine, )referably through the gearing mechanism between the engine and the ignition generator, is adapted to rotate within the hollow portion of the distributer block 1 in such relation that the'distributing terminal 12, which is connected to the secondary S of the running ignition machine, comes in operative relationship with the row of contacts B; while the distributing terminal 13, which is electrically connected to the secondary s of the starting generator, comes in operative relationship with the row of contacts A. The contacts 14 in rows A and B are preferably serrated while the distributing terminals 12 and 13 are also serrated and pass in close proximity to the contacts 14 without coming in actual engagement therewith. I prefer this jump spark type of construction for certain classes of work as it eliminates the carbon trail where a rubbing contact is used, although it is to be understood that my invention is applicable to distributing mechanism wherein the contacts are of the rubbing type.

The running generator has the usual primary P and condenser K and circuit breaker tributing member 11 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2, the individual contacts 14 in row A are cross con-V nected to corresponding contacts in row B,

inders, an ignition device adapted to prog displaced one firing interval from the contact in row A. By this arrangement, it will be seen that when the distributing member 11 is in a position in line with adjacent contacts in rows A and B that the terminal 12 will be in electrical operative position to deliver ignition current to a contact in row A one ignition interval ahead of the contact which is in line with the terminatl3; therefore, it is readily seen that when the terminal 13 is connected electrically to a spark plug in a cylinder in which the piston is on the working stroke that the terminal 12 .Wlll be in electrical operative position to deliver current to a spark plug in a cylinder in which the piston is on the compression stroke. 7

In certain special cases, depending on the arrangement of the engine cylinders, I may arrange the row of contacts A in somewhat staggered relation with reference to contacts in row B, that is to say, my invention contemplates the relative shifting in angular position of the contacts in row A with reference to those in row B to meet anyoperative condition necessary, bgt by way of illustration the contacts in both rows are shown directly adjacent each other. I preferably employ a groove 17 between the two rows of contacts, in order to increase the surface therebetween so as to prevent interference between the two sources of ignition current. i It will be understood that various changes may be made in the details of my invention without departing from the spirit of the same and the scope of the appended'claims. Having now particularly described my invention what I claim is 1, In an ignition system for engines using spark plugs for igniting the fuel in its cylduce a spark at any one of said plugs for starting ignition, an independent ignition device adapted to produce a spark at said plug for running ignition, means for electrically connecting the starting ignition device to said plug'when the piston in the cylinder containing said plug is in the working stroke and means for electrically connecting the running ignition device to said plug 'when the said piston is in the compression stroke, .said means including a distributer block having two rows of contacts, the conspark plugs for igniting'the fuel in its cylinders, anignition device adapted to produce a spark at any one of said plugs for starting ignition when the engine is at rest, a second ignition device operatively connected to saidjengine and adapted to produce a spark at said plug for running ignition when the engine is rotated at sufficiently highzspeed, and means for electrically connecting said ignition devices alternately to said plug, said means including a distributer block having two rows of contacts, the contacts of one row being cross connected individually to a corresponding contact one firing. interval away in the other row as describe 3. In an ignition system for engines using spark plugs for ignitin the fuel in its cylinders, an ignition devlce adapted to produce a spark at any one of said plugs, a second ignition device operatively connected to the engine and adapted to produce a spark at said plug for running ignition when the engine is rotating at sufliciently high speed, means including a distributer block having two rows of contacts, the contacts of one row being cross connected individually to a corresponding contact, one firing interval away in the other row for electrlcally connecting said ignition devices in succession to said plug and means disconnected from the engine for operating'the first mentioned ignition device to produce a spark at said p ug for starting ignition when the engine is at rest.

4. In an electrical "ignition system for multi-cylinder enginesusing spark plugs for igniting the charges of fuel in its cylinders, a current supply adapted to produce a spark at said plugs for starting ignition, a second current supply adapted to produce a. spark at said plugs for running ignition, a distributer having two rows of electrical contacts, those of one row being individually connected to corresponding contacts 'one firing interval away in the other row, said connected contact pairs being electrically connected to said plugs according to the firing order of the engine, means for electrically connecting the first mentionedsource of current to successive contacts in one row and means for connecting the'second mentioned source of current to successive. adjacent contacts in the other row.

5. In an electrical ignition system for multi-cylinder engines using spark;plugs for igniting the charges of fuel in its cylinders, a current supp y adapted to produce a spark at said plugs for startin'g ignition, a

second current supply adapted to produce a spark atwsaid plugs for runnin ignition, a

distributer having two rows of e ectrical contacts with electrical connections from the contacts of onerow to said plugs, means for electrically connecting the first mentioned source ofcurrent .to the contacts in one row, means for connecting the second mentioned source of current to the contacts inthe other row and means for cross connecting said contacts whereby the second mentioned source is connected to a plu in advance of the one connected to the rstg mentioned source in the direction of rotation of the engine.

6. In n ignition system for engines usin spark plugs for igniting the fuel in its cy inders, an ignition devlce adapted to produce a spark at any one of said plugs, a secat sai plug for running engine is rotating at su 0nd ignition device operatively connectedto the en 'ne and adapted to produce a spark ignition when the ciently high speed,

a distributer block having a row of contacts electrically connected to said plugs, asecond row of contacts in said block, two distribut-- ing terminals operativelyconnected to the engine to be rotated thereby in cooperation with the contacts in the distributer block, means for connecting the first named ignition device to one 0; said distributing terminals, means for connecting the second named ignition device to-the other of said terminals, means for cross connecting the contacts in the distributer block so that the second named ignition device is connected to a plug in advance of-one connected to the first named ignition device and means independent of the engine for operating the first mentioned ignition device to produce a spark at one of said plugs when the engine is at rest. a

In witness whereof I aflix my signature.

ALFRED C. DE :LORME.

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