Tractor Principles: The Action, Mechanism, Handling, Care, Maintenance and Repair of the Gas Engine Tractor — John Shaqi
Tractor Principles: The Action, Mechanism, Handling, Care, Maintenance and Repair of the Gas Engine TractorWhitman, Roger B. (Roger Bradbury)
Science
Tractor Principles: The Action, Mechanism, Handling, Care, Maintenance and Repair of the Gas Engine Tractor
Whitman, Roger B. (Roger Bradbury)
Traction-engines
A magneto for an engine with more than one cylinder is provided with
a _distributor_, which passes the sparking current to the particular
cylinder that is ready for ignition. A distributor is a revolving
switch built into the magneto, with as many _points_, or _contacts_, as
the engine has cylinders. At the instant when the magneto produces a
sparking current, the revolving distributor arm is in position to pass
the current to one of the contacts, and the current flows to the spark
plug with which it is connected.
An electric current must have a complete path, or circuit, in order
to be able to flow. In a magneto ignition system this path is partly
of wire and partly of the metal of the engine. The diagram in Figure
45 indicates that the current returns to the magneto from the circuit
breaker lever and the spark plug by wire, but in actual construction it
returns by the metal of the engine. This is called a _ground return_;
the circuit is said to be _grounded_.
[Illustration: FIG. 52.—“BOSCH” MAGNETO IN SECTION]
Figure 52 is a side view of a Bosch magneto, partly broken away to
show the interior. As can be seen, one end of the primary winding is
screwed to the armature, and is thereby connected with the metal of the
magneto; as the magneto is attached to the engine the primary winding
is thus in contact with that also. The other end of the primary winding
leads to the insulated block of the circuit breaker, Figure 50. This
block is _insulated_ from the disk; that is, while it is attached to
the disk, it is kept from touching it by means of pieces of hard rubber
or mica. Through these an electric current cannot pass.
The lever is grounded; that is, it is in contact with the metal of
the magneto. When the lever touches the screw of the insulated block,
current can flow; when they are separated, the circuit is broken.
One end of the secondary winding, Figure 52, is attached to the outer
end of the primary. The other end leads to the _slip ring_, which is a
metal rim on a hard rubber wheel attached to the armature and revolving
with it. Sparking current flowing to the slip ring is led off by a
carbon brush and passed to the distributor.
Should a spark plug wire fall off while the engine is running, the
current would lose its path and would seek another; it is quite
powerful enough to make a path for itself by breaking through the
windings. As this would injure the magneto, such a thing is prevented
by providing a _safety spark gap_, which acts like a safety valve in
giving the current a path when the regular path is interrupted. It
consists of two points of metal, one attached to the metal of the
magneto and the other connected with the slip ring brush; it is a more
difficult path than the one through the spark plug, but easier than
breaking down the windings.
Figure 53 is a section of the K-W magneto. As the coil does not
revolve, no slip ring is necessary; the sparking current flows directly
to the distributor.
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