US2521299A - Throttle control for a plurality of engines - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 5, 1950 M. MALLORY 2,521,299

THROTTLE CONTROL FOR A PLURALITY 0F ENGINES Filed March 1, 1945' FIG: 1.

. INVENTOR. Mar/0n M'aflofy Patented Sept. 5, 1950 UNITED THROTTLE CONTROL FOR A PLURALITY OF ENGINES Marion Mallory, Detroit, Mich.

Application March 1, 1945, Serial No. 580,449

Claims. (01. 6097) engines of the radial type I, 2, 3 each having an intake passageway 4. The governor for each engine comprises a throttle valve 5 of the butterfly type mounted on valve shaft 6, crank arm I fixed on shaft 6, rod 8 between arm I and flexible diaphragm 9, suction chamber In connected by conduit II with orifice l2 on the engine side of valve 5 and. by conduit I3 with orifice l4 on the atmosphere side of valve 5, compression spring 5, air bleed conduit l6 connected to conduits H and 3 by branch conduits l1 and I8, metering pin H) for metering and completely closing ofi air flow through line Hi, link 20 connecting valve IS with throttle lever 2|, shaft 22 upon which throttle lever 2| is mounted, tension spring 23 tending to close valve IS.

The air bleed control comprises a valve housing 24 fixed on an engine driven shaft 25, such as the distributor shaft, bearing 25 for shaft 25, circumferential groove 21, axial bore 28 in shaft 25, port 29 connecting groove 21 and passageway 28, centrifugally unbalanced valve body 30, tension spring 3|, screw 32 for adjusting the tension of spring 3|, longitudinal grooves 33 in valve body 30, valve 34, air bleed port 35 preferably to atmosphere. i

The operation of my speed control mechanism is as follows: It is understood that there is but one centrifugally unbalanced valve arrangement for controlling the air bleed and only one manual throttle valve I9 regardless of the number of engines controlled. As herein used, the term manual operation includes both hand or foot operation or control.

Assuming th engines I, 2, 3 are started with manually controlled throttle valve I9 in idle position, that is, nearly closed. At idle speed centrifugally unbalanced valve 34 will be wide open, but since valve I9 is in idle position, suction chambers 0 in the suction device for each engine will be only slightly air bled. Therefore, the sucticns in chambers III will act through diaphragms 9 to close governor valves 5 to idle position. All of the engines will idle under such conditions. If throttle valve I9 is now opened wide, each suction device will be air bled through port 35, grooves 33, passageways 28, 29, l6, l1, l8 and springs l5 will act through diaphragms 9, rods 8 and cranks I to swing governor valves 5 to wide open position. The engines will now accelerate. Shaft 25 (which can be run off of any one of the governed engines) and valve housing 24 will correspondingly increase their speed until the centrifugal force acting on valve 30, 34 will overcome the tension of spring 3| and the suction obtaining in the valve housing in back of the valve until valve 34 momentarily closes air bleed orifice 35. The velocity by ports l4 and I2 will cause a vacuum to build up in suction chambers l0 thereby causing the diaphragms 9 to swing governor valves 5 toward closed position to admit only suficient charge to each engine to operate it at its governed speed under the then obtaining load. Valve 34 actually stays closed only momentarily and meters the air flow through air bleed port 35 in accordance with the load conditions on the engines so that the suction device will control throttle valves 5 to maintain the engine speed under varying loadconditions.

'If it is desired to operate all of the engines at a speed less than their governed speed, then throttle lever 2| is actuated counterclockwise'to permit spring 23 to close metering pin or throttle valve l9 to partially close air bleed line |6 to whatever extent necessary to cause the suction devices to actuate valves 5 to throttle the engines down to the speed desired. Thus, by controlling valve l9 one is able to simultaneously and automatically throttle all of the engines down to the same desired speed. If while metering valve I9 is partially closed, the loads on the engines should be decreased, then the engines will be prevented from overspeeding because centrifugally unbalanced air bleed valve 34 will momentarily close and take over the governing of the engine as soon as the engines reach their governed speed. Thus, it is evident from the above that I have provided a simple arrangement for either manually or automatically, or both automatically and manually, controlling the speed of a plurality of engines from a point which, if desired, can be remote from the engine and which arrangement is simple and efficient.

Since my throttle control system uses air as the actuating fluid, it will operate eificiently regardless of atmospheric temperatures. This feature is important in governing aircraft engines which must operate in the high temperatures of the tropics as well as the extremely low temperatures encountered at high altitudes and in winter in the northern latitudes.

I claim:

1. In combination with a plurality of internal combustion engines each having an intake passageway, a throttle valve in each intake passageway, each engine having a separate means responsive to the pressures obtaining in the intake passagewa of its respective engine for actuating the throttle valve of said engine to control the flow of motive fluid to said engine, Speed controlled fluid bleed mechanism for all of said pressure responsive means, said speed controlled fluid bleed mechanism being responsiveto the speed of one of said engines and tending to close,

actuates its-respective throttle valve to control the speeds of all said engines at their governed speeds, a manually operated metering valve for controlling the fluid bleed to said pressure responsive means whereby all the saidrrneans respond to their respective intak passagewa pressures to control the engines at a desired speed less than the governed speed.

2. In combination with a plurality of internal combustion engines each having an intake passageway, a throttle valve in each intake passageway, a suction device for each engineand con nected into the intake passageway for its re? spective engine, a connection between the suc tion device and the throttle valve for each engine, the suction'devicefor each engine-being responsiveto pressures in its respective intake passage, way ,for actuating its respective throttle valve to control the flow of motive fluid to its respective engine, speed controlled fluid bleed mechanism for bleeding said suction devices controlled in accordance with the speed of one of said engines and tending to close when said engine reaches its governed speed whereby each suction device re- Spends to its respective intake passagewa pres-. sure and the throttle valves are actuated to con- Mimi the speeds of the" engines at thei governed speed, and a manually controlled metering valve for controlling the fluid bleed to said suction devices whereby the suction devices respond to their respective intake passageway pressures to control-the engines at a speed less than the governed speed. i

3. In combination with a plurality of internal combustion engines each having an intakepassageway and a throttle valve in each intake passageway, mechanism for simultaneously controlling all of the engines at substantially the same speed, comprisin a suction device for each engine responsive to the intake passageway pressures for its respective engine for actuating the throttle valve to control the flow of motive fluid to its respective engine, a common speed controlled fluid bleed mechanism for simultaneously bleeding all of said suction devices, said speed controlled fluid bleed mechanism being responsive to the speed of one of said engines and tending to close when the said engine reaches its governed speed whereby the suction devices for all said engines respond to their respective intake passageway pressures and actuate their respective throttles to control the speeds of the engines at their governed speed.

4. In combination with a plurality of internal combustion engines each having an intake passageway and a throttle valve in each intake passageway, mechanism for simultaneously contrOlling all of the engines at substantially the same speed, comprising a suction device for each engine responsive to the intake passageway pressures on the engine side of its respective throttle valve for its respective engine for actuating the throttle valve to control the flow of motive fluid to its respective engine, conduits connecting each of said suction devices to a common air bleed orifice, a centrifugally unbalanced valve controlling said orifice in accordance with the speed of one of said engines and tending to close said air bleed orifice when the said engine reaches its governed speed whereby the suction devices for all said engines respond to their respective intake assageway pressures and actuate the throttle valves to control the Speed of the engines at their governed speed.

5. In combination with a plurality of internal combustion engines each having an intake passageway, a throttle valve in each intake passageway, a suction device for each engine and connected into the intake passageway for its respective engine, a connection between the suction device and the throttle valve for each engine, the suction device for each engine being responsive to pressures in itsrespective intake passageway for actuating itsrespective throttle valve to control the flow of motive fluid to its respective engine, a cylinder rotated in accordance with the speed of one of the said engines and having an air bleed orifice, a reciprocating valve in said cylinder for controlling said air bleed orifice, said valve being centrifugally unbalanced and itself constituting the centrifugal weight, conduits connecting the cylinder with said suction devices, said centrifugally unbalanced valve tending to close said air bleed orifice at the governed speed of the said engine whereby each suction device responds to its respective intake passageway pressure and the throttle valves are actuated to con trol the speeds of the engines at their governed speed.

MARION MALLORY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record 'in' the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,065,909 Rockwell Dec. 29, 1936 2,148,305 Sanford Feb. 21, 1939 2,362,655, Mallory Nov. 14, 1944

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