Improvements in Oil Engines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 11th June, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 28th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 4th May,
1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Oil Engines.
I JOHN HENRY HAMILTON of Sandiacre in the County of Derby Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My present improvements relate chiefly to that type of four stroke internal
combustion engine in which the oil is vapourised before it enters the working
cylinder, though some of these improvements are applicable to oil engines of other
types.
I propose to operate the exhaust valve, the charge admission valve and the oil
admission and measuring device by means of one cam and one lever the latter
being arranged so that the roller through which it receives its movement is kept
pressed against the cam by means of a spring attached to the lever this spring
being of sufficient strength to overcome the resistance of the spring which closes
the admission valve, the latter being thus operated by the permissive movement
of the lever while the exhaust valve is operated by the positive movement of
the lever.
By the action of the governor when the speed is too high this lever is held in
such a position that the exhaust valve is open and the admission valve closed the
oil delivering and measuring device being also inoperative.
I prefer to arrange the exhaust and admission valves horizontally at the back
end of the cylinder the former being below the centre line and the latter above.
In the space between the casings containing these valves I place the ignition tube
which passes through a block of metal lined with non-conducting material and
preferably open on the top side so that the lower side of the admission valve casing
shall be exposed to the heat of the burner which heats the ignition tube.
The oil delivering and measuring device is placed above the admission valve
casing into which it drops the charge of oil and it may consist of a conical plug in
which is a recess which is alternately brought opposite a port above-(which is in
communication with the oil tank placed so that the oil flows to this port by
gravity) and opposite a port below, which opens into the admission valve casing.
A standpipe placed above the former port allows the air carried up in the recess
to escape.
The conical plug may also be arranged so that some of the air drawn in by the
suction of the piston shall pass through it and follow the course of the oil which
should preferably be dropped into the admission valve casing immediately after the
admission valve closes.
A crank arm
or sector attached to the conical plug and connected to the
operating lever by a short connecting rod gives the necessary oscillating movement
to the conical plug.
The admission valve casing may have internal ribs, plates or other parts for
exposing a large surface to the oil and air.
I construct the combustion chamber of the engine with two surrounding jacket
spaces the inner one-which may be provided with ribs &c.-being an air jacket
through which the air going to the cylinder passes and is in direct cominunication
with the atmosphere on the one hand and with the interior of the admission valve
casing on the other.
The outer jacket space is filled with water and may be in connection with the
water space round the cylinder.

page_text: The governing arrangement may consist of a horizontal lever provided with a
catch adapted to engage a corresponding tooth attached to the valve operating
lever, the horizontal or governor lever having further an inclined surface which is
struck by another inclined surface attached to the arm of the oil feeding device or
to the valve operating lever the action of these inclined surfaces being to bring the
catch opposite the tooth when the exhaust valve is full open. Should the speed be
too great the inertia of the horizontal lever will prevent the inclined surface on the
latter remaining in contact with the other inclined surface and thus the tooth on
the valve operating lever will engage with the catch on the governor lever and the
former lever will be held stationary for nearly a complete cycle.
When the greatest projection of the cam comes round again (corresponding to
the full opening of the exhaust) it presses in the lower end of the valve operating
lever drawing back the tooth, which is at its upper end out of engagement with the
catch which is however again pressed down so as to come opposite the tooth when
the valve operating lever is at its extreme position. Should the speed now be low
etiough the incliued surfaces will not part company and when the tooth on the lever
comes forward again it will not engage with the catch.
A spring may be used to keep the inclined surfaces together-or instead of using
the inertia of the horizontal lever to determine whether the engagement shall or
shall not take place, I may connect this lever to a centrifugal governor.
To heat the ignition tube I use a burner of the following construction. Air
under pressure is supplied by a pump to a reservoir where it is led to a fine orifice
outside of which the oil for the burner is allowed to trickle down. A larger
trumpet mouthed pipe is placed opposite this fine orifice the whole forming an
injector the small high pressure jet of air sprays the oil and draws in a larger
volume of air.
This pipe is preferably curved the upper end at which the air and oil enter
being vertical and the lower end which opens opposite the ignition tube horizontal.
The ignition tube as mentioned above passes through a refractory block the cavity
in this block being more or less conical and having its open and large end just
opposite the horizontal end of the curved pipe. This latter is enclosed for either
the whole or a portion of its length in a casting provided with an outlet to the
atmosphere at the end remote from the ignition tube. This casting is also
preferably provided with passages to conduct the air to the injector end of the
curved pipe the air thus becoming heated before entering the pipe.
The action of this burner is as follows:-When the oil and air mixed issue from
the horizontal end of the pipe (the latter having been previously slightly heated
by asbestos, cotton or waste &c. soaked in oil) the mixture burns at the end of the
pipe and soon heats up the inside of the refractory block the flame after passing
the ignition tube and striking against the end of the cavity in the block returns
and escapes through the space in the casting surrounding the curved burner pipe.
The latter thus becomes sufficiently hot to completely vapourise the oil before it
issues from the end of the pipe and the heat of the combustion is thus very intense
and the ignition tube becomes red hot in a short time. The pump for supplying
the air may be of any ordinary construction but I adopt the following method to
allow of its being worked by hand or by the engine. I place an eccentric on the
side shaft or crankshaft of the engine and pivot the lever which operates the air
pump to an extension of the eccentric strap the said lever being connected at one
of its ends to the pump plunger or piston the other end being provided with a
handle. Between this handle and the eccentric strap pivot is a hole to receive a
removable pin which pin also enters some fixed part of the engine. When it is
desired to operate the pump by hand the removable pin is taken out and the pivot
in the extension of the eccentric strap then forms the fulcrum for the lever.
Dated this 9th day of June 1894.

page_text: improvements RECR
I, JOHN HENRY HAMILTON of Sandiacre in the County of Derby, 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 present improvements relate chiefly to that type of four stroke internal
combustion engine, in which the oil is vaporised before it enters the working
cylinder, though some of these improvements are also applicable to oil engines of
other types.
I now proceed to describe the several parts of my invention with reference to
the accompanying drawings in which,
Fig. 1 represents an elevation of the back end of the engine,
Fig. 2 a cross section through the lamp and valves and
Fig. 3 a horizontal section through the centre line of the cylinder and combustion
chamber.
The valves are three in number, and consist of the admission valve A, the
exhaust valve E and the oil valve O. These three valves are operated by means
of one lever L, which receives its motion from a cam C secured to a side shaft,
driven in the usual manner at half the speed of the crankshaft. A spring S,
attached to this lever keeps the roller at its lower end pressed against the cam C.
This spring is of sufficient strength to open the admission valve A against the
action of the spring, which holds it to its seat. The oil valve has secured to it, a
crank arm or sector Q, which receives motion from the lever L through the rod R.
The oil supply pipe P leads from a raised tank, so that the oil will flow to the
valve O by gravity, a stand pipe B rises to such a height that its upper end, which
is open,
is above the level of the oil in the supply tank. The oil after passing a
stop cock G passes to a cavity 1 above the oil valve, which is a conical plug
having a recess 2, the bottom of which is formed by the head of a screw, as
shewn in Fig. 2, which thus serves to regulate the capacity of the recess.
A port 7 below the valve, leads the oil which falls out of this recess on to a plate 4,
From this port
preferably perforated, situated opposite to the air inlet port 5.
leads another port 6, which is put in communication with the port 7 by means of
the passage 3 in the oil valve when the latter is in its other extreme position. In
this position the recess 2 in the oil valve is opposite to the cavity 1 from which it
is filled with oil, and into which the air carried up in the recess escapes. The air
before entering the vaporiser by the port 5 passes through an aunular passage ✗,
Fig. 3, round the combustion chamber. This passage is surrounded by a space Y
filled with water, in connection with the water space round the cylinder. The
passage X may have ribз connecting its inner and outer walls, thus exposing a
larger surface to the air and preventing overheating of the inner wall by conducting
the heat more rapidly to the water jacket.
To govern the speed of the engine, I provide a catch which engages with a
projection or tooth on the lever L when the exhaust valve is open. The whole of
the valve motion is thus brought to rest, the exhaust valve being kept open and
the admission valve closed. The catch may be fixed on a lever, controlled by a
centrifugal governor of any ordinary type, or I may use the novel form of
governor shewn in Fig. 1. This consists of a lever D, pivotted on a fixed part of
the engine, and provided with a catch K and a cam piece H, and acted on by an
adjustable spring V. The action is as follows:-When the top of the lever L,
moving to the right, approaches the end of its stroke, the inclined part of the
sector comes in contact with the piece H, thus raising it and depressing the
catch K till the latter is in line with the tooth N on the lever L. If the engine is

page_text: running below the normal speed, the spring V will keep the piece H pressed
against the sector Q, and the catch K will be raised clear of the tooth N. If on
the contrary the engine be running too fast, the inertia of the lever D will
prevent H and Q remaining in contact, and the tooth N will engage with the catch
and a charge of air and oil will be omitted. It is evident that the same action
will take place whether a charge has been cut out the previous cycle or not; that
is to say, every time the large projection on the cam comes round, it will push
the tooth back clear of the catch, and will cause the latter to come opposite the
tooth when this is full back. In other words, the position and velocities of the
parts, during the portion of the cycle in which the governor acts, are independent
of the action of the valve gear during the rest of the cycle, a condition essential
to good governing.
The lamp heats the ignition tube, the vaporiser and itself.
It consists of a tube F enclosed in a casing I, and having opposite its upper end
a nozzle piece W, and opposite its lower end a block Z with a cavity lined with a
refractory material.
The ignition tube 9 passes through this cavity, and the upper part of the block
may be cut away, as shewn in Fig. 2, so that the flame shall come in contact with
the bottom of the vaporiser. A branch 8, from the oil supply pipe, drops oil into
a recess in the piece W, and this flows through a small hole on to the point of the
nozzle, where it meets a jet of air from the pipe 10 leading from the air pump.
The oil thus becomes mixed with the air issuing from the nozzle, and sprayed by
it, the combined jet acting as the jet of an injector and drawing in more air through
the passages 11 and 12 in the lamp casing.. This air becomes heated in its passage,
and thus helps to vaporise the oil and ensure complete combustion. Regulating
screws are provided on the air and oil supply to the burner, so that the quantities
may be accurately adjusted.
The action of this lamp is as follows:-When starting, waste or asbestos cotton
like, soaked in the lamp oil is placed in the cavity 13, Figs. 2 and 3, and
ted, then the oil is turned on at the top of the lamp and the air pump worked
toy hand. The flame is blown into the cavity Z, the products of combustion being
reflected from the end and passing back in contact with the refractory lining and
around the pipe F and escaping by the orifice 14, Fig. 1. The pipe F thus
becomes highly heated in a short time, and the oil is completely vaporised in its
passage through it, and the mixture ignites at its mouth. The intense heat thus
produced, makes the cavity Z and the tube 9 red-hot, and heats up the vaporiser.
When the latter is hot enough the engine is started.
મ
The air pump J, Fig. 1, may be of ordinary construction and the discharge is
preferably in connection with a reservoir, (not shewn) which equalises the blast.
To enable the pump to be worked either by hand or by the engine, I use the
arrangement shewn in Fig. 1. In this an eccentric 15, secured to the side shaft,
operates the lever 17 by means of the extension 16 of the eccentric strap, the pin 18,
passing through a fixed bracket 19, forming the fulcrum of the lever. When it is
desired to work the pump by hand, the pin 18 is removed and the pin 20 now forms
the fulcrum of the lever, which is operated by the handle end 17.
The spaces 21 and 22, Figs. 2 and 3, are in communication with the water jacket,
and serve to keep the cylinder cover from becoming too hot.
It is evident that the governor above described is applicable to any oil engine
in which the governing is effected by arresting the movement of a lever operating
the exhaust valve.
The lamp also is applicable to any oil engine, as is the arrangement for operating
the air pump.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1.) In oil engines the use of a lever operating the exhaust, admission and oil

page_text: valves, the said lever being operated by one cam and roller, and being provided
with a tooth or catch or equivalent, whereby it is brought to rest when the speed
of the engine is too high; substantially as described with reference to Fig. 1 of the
accompanying drawing.
(2.) In oil engines in which the speed is controlled by arresting the movement
of a lever operating the exhaust valve, the use of a governor consisting essentially
of a lever, or pivotted bar having an inclined or cam shaped surface with which
another surface, moved by the first named lever, comes in contact so as to bring a
catch on the second lever in line with a tooth on the first against the action of a
spring or weight tending to keep the catch from engaging with the tooth
substantially as described.
(3.) The improved lamp for heating the ignition tube and vaporiser of oil
engines, consisting of an injector, a pipe such as F, Fig. 2, enclosed in a casing
through which the products of combustion pass, and a block such as Z, all arranged
and operating substantially as described.
(4.) For the purpose of heating the air passing to the vaporiser of an oil engine,
the use of an air passage surrounding the combustion chamber and communicating
on the one hand with the atmosphere, and on the other with the vaporiser, and
surrounded in its turn by a water jacket substantially as described.
(5.) The arrangement for operating the air pump by hand or by the engine
substantially as described.
(6.) The general arrangement and combination of parts substantially as described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 18th day of March 1895
J. H. HAMILTON.