CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN CALORIC ENGINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bonneville, of the British and
Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris,
France, and 6, Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, for the Invention of " CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS
IN CALORIC ENGINES.”—A communication from Felix Brown, residing
in the City, County, and State of New York, United States of
America. Engineer.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 30th December 1875, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRI
ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices, 18,
Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, France, and 6, Piccadilly, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "CERTAIN NEW
AND USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN CALORIC ENGINES," (communicated to me by

page_text: Felix Brown, a person resident in the City, County, and State of New
York, United States of America, Engineer,) and have petitioned Her
Majesty to grant unto me, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns,
Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and made solemn Declaration
that it is a communication.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand
and seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawing, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon, that is to say:—
This Invention consists in the combination of a feed apparatus
composed of a fuel reservoir and a valve. which opens downward, and
which is operated by an arm and rock shaft situated above said valve
with the hot air furnace of a caloric engine, so that when the valve is
closed the mechanism for operating the same is protected against the
injurious action of the heated products of combustion, and the escape of
heated air is effectually prevented; also in the combination of an air
jacket with the doors which lead one into the combustion chamber and
the other into the ash box of the furnace of a caloric engine, said doors
being provided with openings leading into the air jacket, so that by the
action of the air in the air jacket the doors are cooled, and at the same
time the air from the air jacket has free access to the ash box and to the
combustion chamber of the furnace; further, in. the combination of
3.
a packing with the cylinder and the plunger of a caloric engine,
said packing being composed of two rings of leather or other suitable
material which are secured to the top flange of the cylinder, one of said
rings being provided with a flange projecting downward into a recess
formed for its reception in the cylinder, while the other ring is provided
with a flange which projects upward and forms an annular cistern for
oil, whereby the plunger is kept lubricated and its motion is materially
facilitated; also in the combination of a concave bearing formed in the
plunger of a caloric engine with a knuckle on the end of the piston rod
which fits said concave bearing, and which is held in position by caps
catching over its ends, said concave bearing forming a receptacle for oil
so that the joint between the plunger and the piston rod can be readily
kept lubricated, and undue wear of this part of the mechanism is
prevented, also in combining with the air pump of a caloric engine an

page_text: From the under side of the valve I is suspended a protecting plate
or screen to protect it against the direct action of the products of
combustion.
By raising the lid F while the valve I is closed, the reservoir E can
be supplied with fuel, and when the lid has been closed the fuel can be
dumped into the furnace without permitting any portion of the hot air
or of the products of combustion to escape.
From the furnace A extend two tubes d, e, through the air jacket C,
one above and the other below the fire-grate. These tubes form the
doors to the combustion chamber and to the ash box of the furnace, and
they are provided with apertures f, g, through which the air from the
air jacket finds access to the interior of the furnace. The air jacket is
supplied with cold air by the air pump M, and by these means the
doors d, e, are kept cool while a regular supply of air is admitted to the
furnace.
The heated air passes from the furnace through the pipe g into the
lower part of the cylinder N which contains the plunger O, and by the
pressure of the air the plunger is raised and the engine is set in
motion.
The cylinder is provided at its upper edge with a packing consisting
of two rings h, i, of leather or other suitable material, which are
held down by a metallic ring j. The ring has a flange which projects
downwards into a recess formed for its reception in the body of the
cylinder, while the ring i is provided with an upwardly projecting
flange, between which and the ring j is formed an annular cistern / for
the reception of oil or other suitable lubricating material. By this
arrangement the plunger O is kept uniformly lubricated all round, and
its motion in the cylinder is rendered easy, while at the same time
the leakage of air between the plunger and cylinder is avoided (see
Figure 5).
The plunger connects with the working beam P by means of the
piston rod Q, which is secured at its inner end to a knuckle which fits
a concave bearing m, and which is held in position by caps n extending
over its ends. The concave bearing can be readily supplied with oil
which has no chance to escape therefrom, and undue wear in the joint
between the piston rod and the plunger is thereby avoided. A detached
plan view of this joint is shown in Fig. 3.

page_text: The air pump M. communicates by a channel o with a transverso
channel p (see Figures 1 and 4), from one end of which extends a
channel q through the body of the bed plate to the air jacket C, while
its other end leads into the open atmosphère, and may be connected to
a fog horn or other device.
8
The communication between the channels o and q is controlled by a
valves, and that between the channel o and the opening by a check
valve t. The valve s is operated by a cam u, which raises the same as the
piston of the air pump begins its down stroke and keeps it raised until.
said piston has completed two-thirds or three-fourths (more or less) of its
stroke. As long as said valve is kept open all the air escaping from
the air pump is forced into the air jacket C, but when the valve s is
closed the pressure of the air raises the check valve t, and the air
still left in the cylinder of the air pump is forced out through the
opening r.
By this arrangement one and the same air pump serves to supply air
to the furnace A, and also to the fog horn or other device connected to
the opening r, and additional machinery for blowing the fog horn,
or for operating such other device as may be connected to the opening »
is saved.
Having thus described. the nature of the said improvements and the
manner of carrying them into effect, what I claim is,―
1. The combination of a feed apparatus composed of a fuel reservoir
and a valve which opens downward, and which is operated by an arm
and rock shaft or other equivalent means situated above said valve with
the hot air furnace of a caloric engine, the whole being constructed and
operating substantially in the manner shown and described.
2. The combination of an air jacket with the doors which lead one
into the combustion chamber, and the other into the ash box of the
furnace of a caloric engine, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
3. The combination of a packing with the cylinder and plunger of a
caloric engine, said packing being composed of two rings of leather or
other suitable material which are secured to the top flange of the
cylinder, one of said rings being provided with a flange projecting
downward into a recess formed for its reception in the cylinder, while

page_text: the other ring is provided with a flange which projects upward and forms
an annular cistern for oil to keep the plunger lubricated, substantially
as set forth.
4. The combination of a concave bearing formed on the plunger of a
caloric engine with a knuckle on the end of the piston rod which fits
said concave bearing, and which is held in position by caps catching over
its ends, said concave bearing forming a receptacle for oil, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
°
5. The combination of an air escape channel with the air pump of a
caloric engine, said channel being made to branch off from the air
channel leading to the furnace, and being controlled by a valve operated
from the engine, whereby the branch air channel can be made to open
at any part of the down stroke of the air piston, and the air escaping
from said channel can be used for blowing a fog horn, or for any other
purpose, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, have here.
to set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
fivc.