Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 19th May, 1888-
Complete Specification Left, 18th Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 23rd Mar., 1889
I, ALFRED FERNANDEZ YARROW of Isle of Dogs Poplar in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a method of working engines by the vapour of volatile liquids
and to the construction and arrangement of engines for that purpose.
I provide a generator, preferably in the form of a coil, into which the engine pumps
a quantity of the volatile liquid to be converted into vapour. This vapour works an
engine, which may be of any known construction, but has preferably three single
acting cylinders working cranks on one shaft, the cranks, connecting rods, the slide
valve gear and such pumps as may be required being all within a tight casing which
receives the exhaust, and the crank shaft passing through a stuffing box to the out-
side. The exhaust vapour is condensed by a surface condenser, which, especially in
the case of a marine engine, inay consist of pipes exposed to the water outside the
vessel, and the liquid of condensation returns to a reservoir whence it is again pumped
to the generator. An air pump worked by the engine may be employed to exhaust
the condenser and deliver the condensed liquid into the supply reservoir.
For heating the generator, I employ mineral oil, which may be the ordinary petro-
leum oil of commerce, in the following manner. I cause a quantity of this oil to be
pumped or forced into a coil or other heater exposing extended surface subject to the
heat of the flames so that the oil is converted into vapour.
This vapour issuing from a nozzle into a pipe having air inlets, draws with it a
quantity of air and the mixture forms flames which heat the oil coil and also the
generator.
In some cases instead of vaporising the oil, I employ it in a liquid state, drawing it
into a jet pipe by a current of air compressed by the engine and projecting it in spray
mixed with the issuing air.
The air or the oil or both may be warmed on their way to the burner, and for this
purpose the heat of the exhaust vapour. may be partly utilised.

page_text: The compressed air may also serve to force the oil from its receptacle to the jou
For the purpose of compressing the air I may use one end of the pump, the other end
of which is used for exhausting the condenser.
In cases where the volatile liquid employed is inflammable, instead of heating it
directly by the oil flame, I prefer to apply the flame to heat water and to circulate the
hot water or steam generated from it through tubes of coils in the spirit or over tubes
or coils containing the spirit.

page_text: 1, ALFRED FERNANDEZ YARROW, of Isle of Dogs, Poplar, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
My invention relates to a method of working ongines by the vapour of volatile
liquids and to the construction and arrangement of engines for that purpose.
I provide a generator preferably in the form of a coil into which the engine pumps
a quantity of the volatile liquid to be converted into vapour. This vapour works an
engine, which may be of any known construction, but has preferably three single
acting cylinders working cranks on one shaft, the cranks, connecting rods, the slide
valve gear and such pumps as may be required being all within a tight casing which
receives the exhaust, and the crank shaft passing through a stuffing box to the outside.
The exhaust vapour is condensed by a surface condenser, which, especially in the case
of a marine engine, may consist of pipes exposed to the water outside the vessel, and
the liquid of condensation returns to a reservoir whence it is again pumped to the
generator. An air pump worked by the engine may be employed to exhaust the
condenser and deliver the condensed liquid into the supply reservoir.
For heating the generator I employ mineral oil which may be the ordinary petro-
leum oil of commerce, in the following manner. I cause a quantity of this oil to bo
pumped or forced into a coil or other heater exposing extended surface subject to the
heat of the flames produced, so that the oil is converted into vapour. This vapour,
issuing from an injector nozzle, draws with it a quantity of air and the mixture forms
flames which heat the oil coil and also the generator.
In some cases instead of vaporising the oil, I employ it in a liquid state drawing it
into a jet pipe by a current of air compressed by the engine and projecting it in spray
inixed with the issuing air. The air or the oil or both may be warmed on their way
to the burner and for this purpose the heat of the exhaust vapour may be partly
utilised by being passed through pipes placed in the exhaust. chamber of the engine.
The compressed air may also serve to force the oil from its receptacle to the jet. For
the purpose of compressing the air I may use one end of the pump the other end of
which is used for exhausting the condenser. In cases where the volatile liquid
employed is inflammable, instead of heating it directly by the oil flame, I prefer to apply
the flame to heat water and to circulate the hot water or steam generated from it
through tubes or coils in the spirit or over tubes or coils containing the spirit.
Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings are respectively an elevation and plan
of the fore and aft ends of a launch provided with engine and appliances according
to my invention. At the fore end of the vessel are situated the two tanks A and B,
A containing the volatile liquid to be converted into vapour for working the engine, B
containing petroleum or other suitable oil to be used as fuel. C is the generator
which is a casing containing a coil c having its lowest convolution connected to pipe T

page_text: by which it is supplied with volatile liquid, and its highest convolution comm
by a central pipe e with a pipe el leading to the valve case of the engine E. D is the
lower part of a pump worked by the engine; S is its suction pipe and T its discharge
pipe. The suction pipe S communicates with the tank A by a pipe s' which through-
out the greater part of its length is arranged in the water outside the vessel, running 5
along the keel. N is a shut off valve in this pipe and O is a hand pump to be used
for feeding a small quantity of the liquid to the generator when it has been warmed
before the engine is started. is a hand pump by which air can be forced by a
pipe to the upper part of the tank A. This air mixed with vapour of the spirit in
the tank passes by a pipe s³ to an auxiliary burner M under the generator coil, whence
it issues through a number of small holes and is kindled for the purpose of heating
the coil c at starting. From the tank B the oil passes by the suction pipe to the
upper part H of the pump and thence by the discharge pipe &³ to a vaporising coil G.
The oil vapour generated in G passes by pipes 6 and 65 to the injector nozzle J and
the jet draws with it air, in quantity regulated by valve K; the mixture of air and oil
vapour descends the pipe to the burner L and, being ignited, heats the oil coil G
and the main generator coil c. At the junction of the pipes & there is a change
cock or valve with a branch k communicating with the vapour pipe e¹; so that at
first, until the coil G is sufficiently heated to vaporise the oil, spirit vapour from the
pipe e¹ can be sent by the pipes k and to the injector J. The exhaust from the
engine passes by the pipe F to two pipes which are conducted in the water outside
the vessel, one on each side of the keel, until they reach the fore part. Here they
bend upwards and deliver the liquid of condensation back into the tank A.
to the
On first starting, the air pump s is worked causing mixed air and spirit vapour to
be fed to the auxiliary burner M warming the coil c, and the pump O being worked
sends spirit into the coil c thus warmed. The spirit vapour passes by el and
injector J and thence with air to the burner L; and, when the coil G is heated, the
pipe is shut off and the communications to the pipes b² * are opened, the burner L
being then supplied with mixture of air and oil vapour.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood
that I make no general claim to the use of vapour of volatile liquid or spirit for
working an engine, nor to the use of petroleum or other oil as fuel for the vaporiser, nor
to the use of an engine having its working parts enclosed in a casing with its shaft
passing through a stuffing box, but what I claim in respect of engines of this kind.
thus worked is :-
1. The combination of the spirit tank A, the oil tank B the generator C with its
coils c and G and burner L, the engine E, the injector J and the communicating pipes
with their cocks or valves, arranged and operating substantially as described.
2. In combination with the parts referred to in the preceding claim, apparatus for
starting consisting of the hand pumps s and O, the auxiliary burner M and the
communicating pipes, substantially as described.
1880