Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 7th June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 7th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 13th Apr.,
1895
We, GEOFFREY HOWARD, EDWARD TENNEY BOUSFIELD and TOM ALBERT
BASTIN, all of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Engineers, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to engines operated by the explosion of mixtures of
combustible vapour or gas, and air.
When hydro-carbon oil is used for our improved motor a vaporizer is fixed to
the end or side of the cylinder which vaporizer consists of two or more tubes
connected together so as to form a continuous passage through which the air and
vapour pass. The oil for the charge is injected to meet an indraught current of
air in one of the tubes whereby it is effectually atomized and carried onward to the
hottest part of the vaporizer where it is more or less gasified before admission to
the cylinder. Between the vaporizer and the cylinder a gas admission valve is
placed so that the vaporizer is cut off from the cylinder excepting through the
gas admission valve which is opened automatically by the governor by means of a
"hit and miss" device which also serves to regulate the number of charges of oil
admitted to the vaporizer according to the duty of the engine.
In a convenient arrangement of our improved vaporizer there are three tubes, one
of which is utilized for heating the air preparatory to receiving a charge of oil,
injected into the second tube so as to impinge upon the heated current passing from
the first tube, whilst the third tube which is the hottest and constitutes the
vaporizer proper serves for the gasification of the charge. By preference the
vaporizer is inclined downwards from the cylinder so that the gasified oil rises
from the vaporizer and any free liquid oil is retained in the vaporizer in contact
with the heated surface.
The oil to be vaporized is drawn from the oil tank and injected into the vaporizer
preferably by a force pump which is capable of adjustment so as to admit of the
proper quantity of oil for an explosive charge being forced into the vaporizer
during each cycle of the motor, but as the governor is so timed that the maximum
number of oil charges are never required in actual working, it is arranged that the
surplus charges of oil from the force pump pass to the lamp which heats the
ignition tube and vaporizer. In the pipe connections which lead from the force
pump to the vaporizer and to the lamp we interpose an oil regulator controlled by
the "hit and miss" device.
The lamp used for heating the ignition tube and the vaporizer is advantageously
a modification of the well known self vaporizing oil lamp. As above stated the
surplus oil from the force pump is delivered into the lamp chamber upon which a
the
relief valve is placed whereby the necessary internal air pressure is maintained,
surplus oil, if any, overflowing into the oil tank.
When our improved engine is to be worked by ordinary coal or other suitable
gas, the vaporizer and the oil force pump are not used.
The gas supply pipe is then connected so that the pressure of the
gas supply
tends to keep the gas admission valve to its seating, the "hit and miss" device of
the governor opening the valve against the pressure of the incoming gas charge
and thus controlling its admission. The gas thence flows to the chamber or pipe
outside the air admission valve where it meets the air and mixes with it during its
passage into the cylinder.

page_text: The firing of the charge in the cylinder may be effected by an ignition tube or
other well known means.
Dated the 7th day of June 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Explosion Engines.
We, GEOFFREY HOWARD, EDWARD TENNEY BOUSFIELD, and TOM ALBERT
BASTIN, all of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Engineers, 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:-
Our invention relates to engines operated by the explosion of mixtures of
combustible vapour or gas, and air.
When hydrocarbon oil is used for our improved motor a vaporizer is fixed to
the end or side of the cylinder, which vaporizer consists of two or more tubes
connected together so as to form a continuous passage through which the air and
vapour pass. The oil for the charge is injected to meet an indraught current of air
in one of the tubes, whereby it is effectually atomized and carried onward to the
hottest part of the vaporizer where it is more or less gasified before admission to
the cylinder. Between the vaporizer and the cylinder a vapour admission valve is
placed so that the vaporizer is cut off from the cylinder, excepting through the
vapour admission valve which is opened automatically by the governor by means
of a "hit and miss" device which also serves to regulate the number of charges of
oil admitted to the vaporizer according to the duty of the engine. .:
The oil to be vaporized is drawu from the oil tank and injected into the vaporizer
preferably by a force pump which is capable of adjustment so as to admit of the
proper quantity of oil for an explosive charge being forced into the vaporizer
during each cycle of the motor, but as the governor is so timed that the maximum
number of oil charges are seldom required in actual working, we provide that any
surplus charges of oil from the force pump pass to the lamp which heats the
ignition tube and vaporizer. In the pipe connections which lead from the force
pump to the vaporizer and to the lamp we interpose an oil regulator controlled by
the hit and miss" device.
The lamp used for heating the ignition tube and the vaporizer is advantageously
a modification of the well known self vaporizing oil lamp. As above stated the
surplus oil from the force pump is delivered into the lamp reservoir or chamber
upon which a relief valve is placed whereby the necessary internal air pressure is
maintained, the surplus oil, if any, overflowing into the oil tank.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-—
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of an engine having our improvements
applied thereto; and,
Figure 2 an end view of the same :
:
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the vaporizer and of the valve-box to which the
latter and the ignition tube are connected :.
Figure 4 is a sectional plan of the same:
Figures 5 and 6 are end elevations of the vaporizer and of the valve-box
respectively:
Figure 7 is a transverse section on the line 7-7, Figure 3:
Figure 8 is a similar view to Figure 3 but shewing the ignition tube differently
arranged:

page_text: Figure 9 is a sectional side elevation o1 сле он ришр апа
levice; and,
Figure 10 is a vertical sectional elevation at right angles to Figure 9:
Figures 11 and 12 are respectively a side elevation and an end elevation of the
lamp burner:
Figure 13 is á longitudinal section of the same; and,
Figure 14 is a transverse section of a part of the lamp:
Figures 15 and 16 are respectively similar views to Figures 11 and 12 but
shewing a slightly different form of burner.
Figures 17 and 18 are respectively a side sectional elevation and an end elevation
illustrating the modifications necessary for operating the engine by coal or other
gas instead of by hydrocarbon vapour; and,
Figures 19 and 20 are respectively a rear elevation and a side sectional elevation:
of a part of this arrangement detached:
Figure 21 is a horizontal section on the line 21-21, Figure 19.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the bed-plate of the engine which is made hollow and provided with an
internal tank a¹ for containing the liquid hydrocarbon, and is the engine cylinder
which is of the usual jacketted type and provided with an elongation which is also
water jacketted and forms a combustion chamber b'. To this combustion chamber,
is connected the air inlet pipe c which preferably extends into the base a from
which the air is drawn so as to reduce noise as much as possible, the portion of the.
pipe c within the said base plate being perforated as shewn in Figure 1. c¹ is the
A box d containing
air inlet valve which operates automatically under the suction.
the exhaust valve is also connected with the combustion chamber 61; the said
exhaust valve being operated from the usual shaft d' at the side of the engine by
means of a cam 2 acting against a lever d³.
00
is our improved vaporizer which, as shewn, is attached to a valve-box
secured to the end of the combustion chamber band having within it the valve e¹
(the operation of which is controlled by the governor as hereinafter described) and
fixed to it the ignition tube f which communicates directly with the interior of the
combustion chamber through the passage f³. In our improved vaporizer as shewn
there are three passages g, g', g² the former of which communicates directly with
the atmosphere through an aperture g³ guarded by a non-return valve go whilst the
latter cominunicates with the valve-box e", the other passage g¹ serving to connect
the passages g, g² so that a current of air can pass from the aperture g³ up the
passage g, thence back down the passage gl and thence up the passage g² into
the valve-box e. ° is the oil inlet nozzle which is immediately opposite the
end of the passage g¹, whereby as a current of air passes down the said passage g¹
it will meet the jet or spray of oil injected through the oil inlet and thereby
mingle with the latter much more effectively than if the oil was injected in
the same direction as the air current. The mixture of air and gas thus formed
passes up through the passage g² whereby as the vaporizer is continually heated by
a lamp it will be obvious that the hydrocarbon vapour carried by the air in
mechanical suspension will be vaporized before passing into the cylinder.
In order that the heat of the lamp shall be utilized as thoroughly as possible for
heating the said vaporizer the latter has formed upon its external surface a series
of knobs or projections against which the flame of the lamp will impinge. It is to
be understood that the air which mingles with the hydrocarbon vapour in the
vaporizer is not sufficient to .form an explosive mixture, it only serving for the
purpose of carrying the vapour forward into the cylinder where the main supply of
air mingles with the gas formed in the vaporizer. By preference the vaporizer is
inclined downwards from the cylinder, as shewn in the drawings, so that the hydro-
carbon vapour rises from the vaporizer and so that the free oil if any is retained in
the vaporizer in contact with the heated surface.
.
It will be noticed by referring to the drawings that the ignition tube f is placed 1
immediately beneath the. vaporizer, either in a horizontal position as shewn in

page_text: Figures 1 and 3, or in an inclined position as shewn in Figure 8, so that the lamp
which heats the vaporizer is also utilized for heating the ignition tube.
, h¹ are the barrel and plunger respectively of the pump injecting the oil into the
vaporizer, the said plunger being driven by means of a caini on the side shaft
through the medium of a bell-crank lever ¹, the said cam being arranged to operate
the plunger in one direction whilst a spring serves to operate it in the reverse
direction. In connection with the bell-crank lever is arranged a set-screw by
means of which the extent of movement of the lever and consequently also the
movement of the plunger and the quantity of oil delivered thereby during each
stroke may be regulated. The lever is provided with a handle by means of
which the pump may be operated by hand when desired, for instance, when starting
the engine.
k is our oil regulator which has two chambers A, k2 (as shewn in section in
Figure 10) between which a valve ³ is arranged normally held upon its seat by a
spring and adapted to be operated through the medium of the governor as
hereinafter described, the chamber being connected with the delivery of the
pump by the pipe 7 which pipe is also connected by a pipe with a lamp,
hereinafter described, for heating the ignition tube and the vaporizer, whilst the
chamber k² is connected by a pipe m with the nozzle through which the oil is
injected into the vaporizer.
In order to permit of affording ready access to the chambers k¹, and also to
the delivery valve of the pump, the pipes l, and have each secured to them a
mitred block n designed to fit into a corresponding seat so that in order to form a
tight joint it is only necessary to hold the said blocks firmly into their seats, for
instance, by means of clips n', n¹ which bear upon the top surfaces of the said
blocks n, n, as shewn clearly in Figures 9 and 10.
In order to operate the valve k³ by means of the governor as hereinbefore
mentioned we advantageously provide the following arrangement.
6
"
"
Adjacent to the lever and upon the pivot carrying the said lever is arranged
another lever o acted upon by a cam o' similar to the cam i, the said lever carrying
a knife-edged block o forming one member of the "hit and miss device. Upon
an arm p on the bracket p of the governor is pivotted one end of a link p²
provided with a projection or lug which bears upon the usual lifting flange p₁ of
the governor in such a manner that as the said flange rises and falls the free end
of the link p will also move. To the free end of the link is connected one end
of a bar p, the other end being connected by a link p with a swinging arm p', the
free end of which is designed to impinge against the stem of the valve k³. On
the bar is a block p having a hollow Vedge and forming the other member of
the "hit and miss" device. The said two members o² and p³ of the "hit and miss
device are so arranged relatively with each other that they shall co-operate when
the engine is running at or below the normal speed. When such co-operation
takes place it will be obvious by referring to Figure 10 of the drawings that
as the lever o is moved forward by the cam of the bar is also moved and
through the medium of the link po operates the swinging arm p' and causes its
free end to impinge against the stem of the valve thereby moving the said
valve from its seat and allowing the supply of oil which is injected by the pump
into the chamber of the oil regulator to pass into the chamber k² and thence
to the vaporizer. A spring o³ is arranged in connection with the lever o for
returning the same after it has been moved forward by the cam o¹.
In the foregoing description we have described two levers and o when it might
appear that one lever would have served, that is to say, that the member o2 of the
"hit and miss" device might have been fixed upon the pump lever ; the object,
however, of providing the two levers is this, namely, that the member o2 of the
"hit and miss" device must always occupy a certain position relatively with the
member p whilst the lever i must be capable of adjustment in order to provide for
regulating the charges of oil and, if such lever carried the member o° of the "hit

page_text: and miss" device, the result would probably be to place such member out of its
proper position with the other member p³ of the device.
To shut off the supply of oil to the vaporizer and so stop the engine we arrange
on the governor bracket p' a shaft p10 carrying a cam p" and having arranged in
conjunction with it a hand lever pls, the said cam p₁ being arranged in such a.
position relatively with the link p² that when moved by the hand lever p¹ from the
position in Figure 10 to an upright position it lifts the bar p' so that the member p
of the "hit and miss" device is out of coincidence with the member o².
As each charge of oil is injected into the vaporizer it is necessary to operate
the valve e in the valve-box e simultaneously with the valve k³, and for this
purpose we provide the following arrangement, that is to say:-Upon the
shaft y to which the swinging arm p' is fixed, we fix a lever g¹ connected to or
engaging with the arm q² of a double armed lever g³, the other arm q' of which
acts against the stem of the vapour admission valve e' as will be most readily
understood by reference to Figure 2.
As hereinbefore stated the chamber of the oil regulator into which the oil is
directly delivered by the pump is in direct communication with the lamp so that so
long as the valve 3 is closed to prevent the passage of the oil to the vaporizer the
oil passes through the pipe to the lamp; as, however, when the said valve is
open, the oil passes to the vaporizer as being the most ready means of exit, it is
In order
obvious that the supply of oil to the lamp would be interrupted.
therefore that the supply to the lamp shall be continuous, we arrange in the base
of the engine an oil reservoir r, which is hermetically closed and connected with
the pipe of the pump by means of the pipe s, and partially fill the same with oil
from the bottom so that the air in the said reservoir is confined and more or less
compressed in the upper portion thereof and serves to give a continuous supply
of oil into the pipe 1. With this arrangement it will be obvious that if the pump
delivers oil into the pipe / faster than such oil is consumed by the lamp, the surplus
oil will pass into the reservoir r through the pipes and so maintain the level of the
oil and consequently the air pressure therein.
is a check valve arranged in the pipe and serving to prevent the return of the
oil into the oil regulator under the pressure of the air in the reservoir r.
When the engine is working with a very light load the condition might arise
that a relatively small quantity of oil is being injected into the vaporizer and that
the lamp reservoir is filled to its proper capacity, it is necessary to provide for the
escape of the surplus oil. For this purpose we arrange in the pipe a box u
containing a relief valve set to open when the desired pressure of the air in the
reservoir is reached, the said box being provided with an overflow pipe u¹
extending into the tank so that any oil which passes the valve in the said box u
may be returned into the said tank.
is the lamp burner which we advantageously make use of for heating the
vaporizer and the igniting tube, the said burner being what is known as a
vapour burner. The construction of the burner will be readily understood by
reference to Figures 11 to 14. In these figures the nozzle v at which the flame
burns is directly arranged under the tube through which the oil is led to
the said nozzle so that the said tube will be heated by the flame and thereby
vaporize the oil passing through it so that it only reaches the burner in the form of
vapour.
As if the flame of the nozzle o' impinged directly against the oil pipe it might
injure the same, we provide a shield which is fixed to the burner as shewn, and
we make the nozzle v movable so that it may be turned sideways, as shewn in
Figure 12, to direct the flame against the said shield whereby the flame first strikes
the shield and then is deflected onto the tube and at the same time caused to
spread:
It is obvious that a cock must be arranged in the supply pipe to regulate the.
quantity of oil which passes to the burner, such quantity being in proportion to the .
flame required.

page_text: The construction of the burner shewn in Figures 15 and 16 is substantially the
same as that herein before described, except that the part of the supply pipe
above the nozzle is arched upwards whereby the pipe leading to the burner
may be kept full of oil up to the top of the arch.
to is a casing arranged around the vaporizer and the lamp and serving to prevent
the cold external air from coming into contact with the said vaporizer and with the
igniting tube. The said chamber is provided with a chimney at the top for the
escape of the products of combustion and with holes or apertures for admitting
the requisite supply of air through the chamber.
It will be understood that when our engine after having been at work is brought
to rest for a time, for instance; at meal times, the lamp may be kept burning, the
compressed air in the lamp reservoir serving to keep up the.requisite supply of oil
to the burner, whereby the vaporizer and other parts are kept at the required
temperature for restarting without loss of time.
When our improved engine is to be worked by coal or other gas manufactured
independently of the engine, we dispense with the valve-box e, the vaporizer e, the
lamp and with the oil pump and we apply to the end of the combustion chamber
certain parts shewn in Figures 17 to 21. In these figures is a valve-box
which is fixed to the end of the combustion chamber, the said valve-box
having within it two chambers, the former of which is connected to the
gas supply pipe whilst the latter is connected by a pipe with the air
supply pipe e of the engine. Between the two chambers, is an aperture y
normally closed by a valve y¹ the stem of which is designed to be operated by
the lever through the intervention of the "hit and miss device of the
governor in the same manner as the vapour admission valve e¹ herein before
described. When the said valve y¹ is opened the gas passes through the opening y
into the chamber and thence through the pipe into the air inlet pipe c where it
mingles with the necessary quantity of air for forming the combustible charge
which enters the cylinder through the valve c'.
"
In practice we prefer to arrange our engine so that it can in a very short space
of time be converted from an oil engine into a gas engine or vice versa, and for this
purpose the air supply pipe c is connected to a hollow boss y² on the combustion
chamber which is also formed with an opening to which the pipe may be
readily connected, the said opening being covered with a cap or plug when the
engine is being used as an oil engine.
z
On the top of the valve-box is arranged the igniting tube which communicates
directly with the interior of the cylinder, the said igniting tube being heated by
gas introduced through the pipe into a passage formed around the base of a
chimney surrounding the said igniting tube, as shewn in Figure 20, in which figure
23 indicates the aperture through which the gas enters the chimney, and the
holes through which the air for supporting the combustion of the gas enters the
chimney.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. In an engine operated by the explosion of mixtures of hydrocarbon vapour
and air, a vaporizer having two or more passages into one of which the oil for the
formation of the explosive charges is introduced in such a manner that it meets a
current of air drawn through the said passage and mixes therewith, the mixture of
air and vapour thence passing through another passage wherein the vaporization of
the bydrocarbon is completed, substantially as described.
2. In an engine operated by the explosion of mixtures of hydrocarbon vapour
and air, an oil regulator into which the oil from the oil pump is delivered and
which is connected with the vaporizer the said oil regulator being so arranged that
the charges of oil delivered by the pump and not required for working the engine
shall be delivered to a reservoir from which a lamp is supplied or to the oil tank

page_text: the said regulator being directly controlled by the engine governor, substantially as
described.
3. In an engine operated by the explosion of mixtures of hydrocarbon vapour
and air, a heating lamp the oil in the reservoir for supplying which is maintained
under constant pressure by having delivered into it the charges of oil raised by the
oil pump and not required by the engine, substantially as described.
4. The manufacture and use of the improved explosion engine herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 16 of the accompanying drawings.
5. The arrangement of apparatus substantially as described by reference to
Figures 17 to 21 for enabling the engine to be used as a gas engine, substantially
as set forth.
Dated the 7th day of March 1895.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.