Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Jan., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 31st Oct., 1898-Accepted, 28th Feb., 1899
CHARLES M. JOHNSON, 22 and 23, Laurence Pountney Lane, Cannon Street, E.C.,
Nechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention pertains to operating a motor car in which I may use more than
one explosive engine in connection therewith. If an explosive engine is to do the
work of the horse, it must be able to develop from 1 to 2 H.P. at one time, and
from 3 to 6 H.P. at another; viz., like starting & pulling a heavy load, hill-
climbing, or propelling the motor car at a high speed. Now when these conditions
ure to be complied with I may use 2 separate explosive engines arranged in such
a manner as to be operated alone or together as desired: that is to say that when
both are required I am able to connect on to & work jointly the active engine
with the engine in reserve, & disconnect at will. The active engine starting the
reserve engine and the reserve engine used to assist. Ordinarily but one engine
may be used the reserve engine used only when extra power is needed. I do not
clain as new the combining of two separate engines one to help the other in
stationary work but for motor car work, where the load is so varied, I do claim
that the combination is new, novel and useful.
Dated this 27th day of January 1898.
Motor Car.
I, CHARLES M. JOHNSON, Mechanical Engineer, of 22 and 23, Lawrence Pountney
Lane, Cannon Street, E.C., do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:―
This invention relates to motor cars its object being to provide an improved
construction of motor car such as will be capable of developing a large amount
of power required under conditions of heavy loads such for example as starting
with or pulling a heavy load, of climbing very steep hills or of running at a high
speed and which yet will, under conditions of light or moderate loads be capable
of economical operation.
In order to effect this object the car is according to this invention, provided
with two or more engines, arranged so that any one or more may be operated at a
time as desired, that is to say any one engine may be employed alone to propel the
vehicle under conditions of light or moderate load, and two or more employed
Dries B7 i

page_text: the former to propel the car. The one engine employed alone to operate the car
under conditions of light or moderate load may be run far more economically
than a larger engine capable of performing the two of the two or more engines,
employed according to this invention, could be at the same light load; thus the
placing in reserve of one or more engines in the above described manner conduces
to economy.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is an elevation showing one arrangement according to this invention
of two explosion engines.
Figure 2 is a sectional plan on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 some parts being
omitted for convenience,
Figure 3 is a sectional plan on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, and
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of another arrangement according to
this invention.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
With reference first to Figures 1, 2 and 3. A is a base or foundation plate
common to the two engines whose cylinders are shown at B: the two engines are
similar in all respects. C¹ are the two cranks on a common crank shaft. The
piston of the right hand engine is exposed to view at D, Figure 3, the connecting
rods being omitted in all the views.
A rotary valve E in each cylinder is driven from the vertical shaft F by gear-
ing the shaft being driven from a skew wheel on the crank shaft C.
Each valve E is contained in a valve chamber G provided with a cover G¹ and
placed above the cover 13 of the cylinder. The cylinders are prefer-
ably water jacketted as indicated at B¹. The exhaust and inlet ports are shown
at B and B respectively. In order that either engine may be readily thrown in
or out of work the inlet port of each is connected through a three-way cock 135
either to the carburettor H through the pipe H¹ or through the opening in the
flange Be with the atmosphere direct according to the position of the cock.
The operation is as follows:-
-
When the car is to be propelled say along a level road either engine alone may
suffice and the other engine is cut out of action by turning the cock B5 so that
that engine draws no explosive charge from the carburettor but merely a charge
of atmospheric air through the opening 136. When it is desired to put the reserve
engine into work all that is necessary is to turn its three-way cock B5 so as to
draw in an explosive charge from the carburettor H through the pipe H¹. Owing
to the fact that the two engines operate a common crank shaft the reserve engine
is always in motion and may therefore be thrown into operation without delay by
the admission of the required explosive charges; this obviates the difficulty of
starting incidental to explosion engines.
The alternative arrangement depicted diagrammatically in Figure 4 comprises
three engines the cylinders of which are seen at B: these operate through their
connecting rods C3 upon the three cranks O' of the driving shaft on which the
driving road wheels L¹ are mounted. The engines are carried upon a platform K
supported on the axle of the wheels L and attached to the wheels L¹ by arms K¹.
In order to enable the requisite number of engines to be used simultaneously
to propel the vehicle and to allow one or more to be placed in reserve, clutches M
are placed on the shaft by which the centre crank may be coupled to or uncoupled 5
from either side crank.
By this arrangement the right-hand engine may be used alone to drive the
right-hand wheel or the left hand engine for the left hand wheel or both simul-
taneously, the centre engine remaining stationary; or the centre engine may be
coupled either to the right or left hand engine or all three may be coupled together, 5
and simultaneously operate to propel the car.

page_text: If desired this arrangement may be used in combination with the three-way
cock method of throwing one engine in or out of operation, so that, where constant
and rapid changes are to be made in the power developed the three-way cock may
be used but where an engine is to be put into or out of operation for a considerable
length of time it may be uncoupled by a clutch M.
Instead of the three way cock two cocks may be used in the well known manner
one to cut off or open the supply from the carburettor and the other to open or
close communication between the interior of the cylinder and the atmosphere.
The use of a three-way cock after the manner of this invention is however pre-
ferred on account of its simplicity and handiness.
This invention is not limited to any specific method of putting the reserve
engine or engines in or out of operation although that illustrated in Figures 1, 2
and 3 of the accompanying drawings is the preferred method. Neither is it
limited to any particular kind of explosion engine; the oil engines and carburettor
shown and described may for example be replaced by gas engines and the three-
way cock communicate with the gas supply instead of with the carburettor.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a motor car the employment of two or more explosion engines so arranged
that the number simultaneously employed in propelling the car may be varied
while the car is in motion.
2. In a motor car the combination substantially as described with two explosion
engines one active and one in reserve of a three-way cock by which the reserve
engine may be put into or out of working operation with the active engine.
3. The combination and arrangement of mechanism for varying the power
employed in propelling a motor car substantially as described and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2 or 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th day of October 1898