US732202A - Governing and reversing mechanism for gas-engines. - Google Patents

Description

No. 732,202. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903. E. LOKER.

GOVERNING AND'REVERSING MECHANISM FOR GAS ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9. 1901.

No. 732,202. PATENIED JUNE 30, 1903. E. LOKER. GOVERNING AND REVERSING- MECHANISM FOR GAS ENGINES.

PL 9. 1 1. H0 MODEL. AP NATION FILED MAR 90 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED JUNE 30-, 1903,

E. LOKER. GOVERNING AND REVERSING MECHANISM FOR GAS'ENGINES.

APPLIO TION F L 9. 1901. N0 MODEL. A I ED [AR 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Mal 076:3

UNITED STATES Patented June 30, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN LOKER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL MOTOR COMPANY, OF SOURI.

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MIS- SEEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,202, dated June 30, 1903. Application fil d March 9, 1901. Serial No. 50,417. (No model.)

To (I/ZZ whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN LOKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain newand useful Improvement in Governing and Reversing Mechanism for Gas-Engines, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, such. as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap- IO pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a gas-engine to which is applied my improved mechanism. Fig. 2 is a side elevational view,

partly in section, of a gas-engine and showing a portion of my improved mechanism. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view, enlarged, of the mechanism. Fig. 4. is a vertical sectional view, partly in side elevation, of my improved mechanism. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View on line 5 5, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View on line 6 6, Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is an elevational view, partly in sec tion, of my improved governing and reversing mechanism. Fig. Sis a top plan view of the same; and Fig. 9 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing the parts in a different position.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a governing and reversing mechanism for gas-engines, the object being to render the governing mechanism automatic in its control of the exhaust-valves, many of the moving parts of said mechanism being housed in the casing of the engine.

WVith these objects in View the invention consists in the arrangement, construction, and combination of the several parts, all as will hereinafter be described, and afterward pointed out in the claims.

The type of engine shown in the drawings, to which my improved mechanism is attached, is commonly known as a four-cycle engine, said engine consisting of two cylinders A in alinement and the pistons B, cooperating with a two-throw crank-shaft O. The pistons in operation move toward or away from each other in unison.

A brief description of the admission and exhaust of the gases to and from the pistonchambers will be given in order that abetter understanding may be had of my improved mechanism. Assuming that a charge of gas is ignited behind the piston at the right, the same will be forced inwardly, and the piston at the left will also move inwardly, said piston atthe left drawing in a supply of mixed air. and gas behind it. Ofcourse the exhaust-valve (shown open in the drawings at the leftin Figs. 1 and 2) will beclosed when the gases are being sucked in, while the intake valve (shown closed in Fig. 2) will be open. When the pistons move outwardly, the exhaust-valve of the righthand piston will be open, and the spent gases will be forced therethrough by the piston at the right, the. piston at the left in this operation compressing its air and gas, so that when it reaches the outward extremity of its movement it will be in a position to best receive the impulse due to the explosion of said compressed air and gas, such explosion resulting, preferably, from the use of an electrical igniter.

The piston at the left now becomes the powerpiston and moves inwardly, and the'piston at the right draws in a new charge of air and gas. \Vhen the pistons move outwardly, the air and gas is compressed behind the piston at the right, while the piston at the left forces its spent air and gases out through the exhaust-valve, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In the drawings, a indicates the intakevalve, which is preferably in the form of a check-valve, one of such valves being provided for each cylinder, and b the exhaustvalve, there being one for each cylinder, which exhaust-valves are positively operated by a cam D, arranged upon the crank-shaft. Oam D cooperates with bell-crank levers d, 0 connected to the stems of the exhaust-valves, as shown in Fig. 2. I

I do not in this application make any claim to the details of construction of the engine, except such parts as cooperate with and are directly affected by myim proved mechanism.

Referring now to Figs. 3 to 6, it will be seen that the crank-shaft O finds a bearing in the engine-casing. 0 indicates a wearing sleeve or bushing arranged in the bearing and em- IOO bracing the shaft, as is commonly practiced. This sleeve is interrupted near its inner end by a gear E, which is keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft and which gear will hereinafter be termed the driving or power gear. F indicates a segment loosely mounted on the sleeve adjacent the gear E, said segment having a projection in which is mounted a pinion G in mesh with the gear E. H indicates an internal gear loosely mounted on the sleeve 0 adjacent the gear E and preferably opposite the segment F. The pinion G is in constant mesh with this internal gear. The cam D, before referred to, is conjoined to the gear H, being preferably arranged on the inner face or back thereof, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The ratio of the gears E, G, and His preferably two to one and one to fourthat is, one revolution of the crankshaft 0 will impart half a revolution to the internal gear H-two revolutions of the.

crank-shaft being necessary for a complete revolution of the cam D. The segment F, before referred to, meshes with a pinion I, to which is conjoined, preferably, a smaller pinion I, said smaller pinion engaging a rack J. The reason for employing the small pinion I is to enable a short stroke of the rack J to impart a complete rotation to the larger pinion I in order to rotate the segment (which is necessarily of comparatively large size on account of the diameter of the crank-shaft O) and circumferentially displace the pinion G. The rack J is mounted in suitable guideways on the casing and is connected,preferably, by a linkj to one member of a bell-crank lever K, said bell-crank lever being pivoted to a projection on the'nose extending from the casing, which nose affords a bearing, for the shaft. The other member of this bell-crank lever carries a roller, which is received in an annular groove of a longitudinally-movable collar L. This collar also cooperates with the inner members of bell-crank levers M, said levers being pivotally mounted'in projections extending from the collar M, secured to shaft 0. The outer ends of levers M carry balls, which are preferably connected by a spring. The halls M being connected by a spring will not be thrown outwardly by centrifugal force when the engine is running at an ordinary speed. v Therefore the parts normally occupy the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which the pinion I is in mesh with the segment at one end in readiness to rotate said segment to the left when the normal speed of the engine is exceeded when said engine is running in one direction.

It has been found by experiment that the best condition under which an engine of the character described may be operated is to open the respective exhaust-valves before the pistons complete their inward movement, said exhaust-valves remaining open until the pistons reach the extremity of their next succeeding outward movement. The exhaustvalves are then closed and a full charge of air and gas received, which when compressed and exploded will impart an impulse whose greatest power is exerted at thebeginning of the inward movement of the pistons. In the event that the engine exceeds its normal speed, so that the centrifugal force of the governingballs overcomes the tension of their connecting-springs, said balls flying on twardly will cause the segment to be-circumferentially displaced, which results in advancing the cam D, so that the exhaustvalves are openedbefore the pistons reach the position of their inward stroke where the exhaust-valves were opened in the normal operation of the engine. Thus the force of the exploded charge is effective on the powerpiston for a smaller portion of its stroke, and any increment in speed of the engine will gradually advance the cam D to shorten the power of the impulse proportionately. This construction is very effective when the engine is running under load and the load suddenly released, which release might cause the engine to race. The instant that the speed of the engine increases beyond normal the cam D is advanced proportionately to the increase in speed, the governing mechanism being automatic in its action in this regard. Furthermore, as the exhaust-valve is opened in advance it will likewise close in advance of the predetermined time with respect to the normal operation of the engine. The exhaust-valve being positively operated and closing before the piston reaches the outward extremity of its movement, will cause a portion of the spent gases to remain in the cylinder, which are compressed, and to the extent of the spent gases remaining in the cylinder the charge of fresh gases is correspondingly reduced. Thus as the piston starts upon its inward movement the initial part of said movement is consumed by the expansion of the compressed spent gases, the spring holding the intake check-valve closed until the piston creates suction suflicient to lift said valve from its seat and induce a charge of mixed air and gases to enter the cylinder therethrough. When the piston compresses this small charge of live gases (mixed with the remaining portion of the spent gases) in its outward movement, the subsequent ignition of such a smallcharge will'not be as powerful as the charge which is normally admitted behind the piston when the engine is running at ordinary speed. The engine being governed as above described, there is practically no waste of fuel, and when'the engine is running under load a release of the load will not cause the engine to race; but, on the contrary, fuel will be consumed proportionately to the speed of the engine-and the load it carries. This automatic governing mechanism of course acts in the same way with respect to both cylinders. It will be observed that the mechanism can also be employed in connection with an engine having a single cylinder or in connec- ICO tion with an engine having two or more cylinders arranged differently from those shown in the drawings.

In the above description I have described a governing mechanism for use in connection with an engine designed to run in one direction only. Most stationary engines are built on this plan; but in engines for marine and other work, where reversals are required, it is obvious that the governing mechanism should be effective when the engine is running in either direction.

In Figs. 7, 8, and 9 I have shown a construction for reversing the engine and at the same time preserving the automatic action of the governing mechanism in such reversal of movement of the parts. The pinion I is here shown as cooperating with a rack-yoke N, to which the end of the governing bell-crank lever K is connected by a link connection, as has been described with respect to the rack J. This rack-yoke, as it has been termed, is essentiallya frame carrying two racks which are designed to cooperate with the pinion 1, depending upon the direction in which the engine is run. For the sake of distinction I will refer to one of said racks as n and the other of said racks as n. The position of the parts shown in Fig. 7 corresponds to the position of the parts shown in Fig. 4, except that the pinion I is in vertical alinement with the shaft 0 instead of one side thereof, as shown in Fig. l, which necessarily displaces the pinion Gfrom the position shown in Fig. 4. To reverse the engine, a lever O is operated so as to move the yoke-rack to the left. This movement is accomplished while the pinion I is in mesh with the rack n, and consequently the segment is caused to rotate onehalf a revolution. To do this, the rack 11 (and also the rack 12) is provided with a suii'icient number of teeth to impart a complete revolution to the pinion I, also to I, which latter is provided with a number of teeth corresponding to those on the segment F. When the lever O is operated and the position of the segment changed, it follows that the position of the cam D is also changed, being displaced laterally one-fourth of a revolution. While the lever O is in its outward position a lever P is operated, so as to depress the yoke-rack and disengage the rack n from the pinion I. The spring connecting the governor-balls having been placed under tension when the lever O was moved to the left now acts to draw the yoke-rack back to its original position, and when said original position is reached a continuation of the movement of lever P will cause the rack n to engage the pinion I on the opposite side from that where it was formerly engaged by the rack n, and consequently the rack-yoke, while moved by the governor-balls in the same direction, to the left, in governing the engine, will cause pinion I to rotate in directions depending upon whether the rack 11 or n is in engagement therewith. Thus the cam D, al-

though advanced by the governing action resulting from the engagement of the rack 02, say, to the right, will when the engine is running in an opposite direction and the rack 71 is in engagement be advanced to the left. As the yoke-rack moves in one direction in its governing action, I prefer to slot one end of the frame for the engagement of the lever P, so that the movement of said rack and its frame will not interfere with the stationary position of said lever P. The lever 0, however, may be moved idly by the rack-frame, as this movement is practically of no consequence. To accommodate the vertical movement of the rack-frame, due to the disengagement of the pinion I from either of the racks n or n, I prefer to provide a finger 0 on the lever, which is in constant engagement with the rack-frame, said finger preventing independent longitudinal movement of the rack-frame, but permitting independent vertical movement thereof. Also the lever P preferably has a spring-pressed finger p at its inner end designed to cooperate with openings 19 in the engine-casing for determining its position, said lever also having a spring 1) connected toit, which spring serves to hold the lever in either of its extreme positions by passing to either side of what might be termed a dead-central position of said lever.

I am aware that minor changes in the arrangement, construction, and combination of the several parts of my device can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat out, is--- 1. In a governing mechanism for gas-engines, the combination with a centrifugallyactuated lever, of a sliding collar actuated thereby, a lever K operated by said collar, a rack connected to said lever K, a pinion in mesh with said rack, a segment which is rotated by said pinion, a pinion carried by said segment, a driving-gear meshing with said pinion, an internal gear also meshing with said. pinion, and a cam carried by said internal gear; substantially as described.

2. In a gas-engine, the combination with a movable controlling part, of a governing mechanism therefor, means for driving said governing mechanism, a yoke-rack included in said governing mechanism, means for moving said yoke-rack to move said governing mechanism, and means for disengaging one rack of said yoke from the governing mechanism and throwing the other rack of said yoke into engagement with the governing mechanism; substantially as described.

3. The combination with a movable controlling part, of a governing mechanism therefor and its means for driving the same, in which governing mechanism is included a frame carrying two racks for operating the governing mechanism in different directions depending upon which of said racks is in engagement therewith, there being means for throwing either of said racks into operative connection with the member of said governing mechanism driven thereby; substantially as described.

4E. The combination with a movable controlling part,of a governing mechanism therefor and means for driving the same, in which governing mechanism is included a frame havin g two racks, said racks operating said m echanism in different directions depending upon the rack in engagement with the governing mechanism, there being means for throwing either of said racks into operative connection with the member of said governing mechanism driven thereby, and mechanism enabling manual manipulation of said frame; substantially as described.

5. The combination with a movable controlling part,0f a governing mechanism therefor and means for driving the same, in which governing mechanism is included a frame carrying a plurality of racks designed to operate said governing mechanism in ditferent'directions, and means for disengaging one of said racks from said governing mechanism, and throwing another of said racks into engagement with said mechanism; substantiallyas described. I

6. In a device of the character indicated including a movable controlling part, the combination with a governing mechanism for said controlling part and including a rotatablymounted member, of a yoke-rack adapted to have its respective racks separately engage said member, -means for moving said yokerack to move said member, and means for disengaging one rack of said yoke from said member and throwing the other rack of said yoke into engagement therewith; substantially as described.

7. In a device of the character indicated including a movable controlling part, the combination with operative mechanism for governing the operation of said part and including a rotatablymounted member, means whereby rotation of said member causes said governing mechanism to shift its position to alter the movement of said part, a yoke-rack whose respective racks are adapted to separately engage said member, a governor controlled by the driven shaft, connection between said yoke-rack and said governor for operating the former by the latter, and means other than said governor for throwing said yoke-rack, there being provision for causing either of the racks of said yoke to engage said member; substantially as described.

8. The combination with agoverning mechanism in which is included a lever Kdesigned to be moved in one direction for governing the engine, a frame carrying two racks, said frame being connected to said lever, a pinion with which said racks are designed to engage, but on difierent sides, whereby said pinion is rotated in different-directions depending upon the rack in engagement therewith, means for throwing said racks into and out of engagement with said pinion, and mechanism for locking said means in position; substantially as described.

9. In combination with a governing mechanism in which is included a pinion I, and a frame carrying two racks designed to engage with said pinion, depending upon the direction of movement of the engine, of a lever connected with said rack-frame whereby said pinion may be rotated manually, a lever engaging with said rack-frame, to disengage one of said racks from said pinion, and to engage the other of said racks with said pinion, and means cooperating with said lever to hold the same and said rack-frame in their adjusted positions; substantially as described.

10. The combination with governing-halls,

of a spring connecting the same, a collar op-. erated by said balls, a lever engaging said collar, a rack-frame connected to said lever and carrying two racks, a pinion designed to engage one or the other of said racks, a segment which is actuated by said pinion, a pin-.

ion carried by said segment, an internal gear and a power-gear in mesh with said last-mentioned pinion, a cam carried by said internal gear for operating an exhaust valve, and means connected to said rack-frame, whereby the same may be manually operated to circumferentially displace the segment, and means for moving said rack-frame to disengageone of its racks from the pinion, permitting said frame to return to its normal position and for engaging the other of said racks with said pinion; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses, this 6th day of March, 1901.

EDWIN LOKER.

Witnesses: GEORGE BAKEWELL, HARRY L. ARNED.

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