Improvements in Gas and Oil Motor Engines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 30th June, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 28th Mar., 1893-Accepted, 29th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas and Oil Motor Engines.
I, FRANK HERBERT ANDERSON, Engineer, of Messrs. Crossley Brothers
Limited, Openshaw, Manchester, Lancashire, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in gas or oil motor engines of the kind in
which compression of the combustible charge is effected in the cylinder and
particularly to engines working on what is known as the "Otto" cycle.
The chief object of the invention is to increase the power of such engines and to
adapt them for working as compound engines.
Other objects of the invention are;-to provide means for ensuring equality of
effective charges in the cylinder under various conditions of working;-to render
"Dowson" or other producer gas as effective as coal gas or oil vapour or spray ;-to
provide means of obtaining power from the gases after they have performed work
in the combustion cylinder;-to prevent premature ignition in the cylinders,
ignition during charging strokes and explosions in the discharge passages.
For these purposes, I provide, besides the ordinary working cylinder, a cylinder
of larger diameter in the same line, having its piston rigidly connected by a trunk
to the smaller piston and linked to the crank shaft by a connecting rod.
As the connected pistons make their forward stroke, the smaller piston draws
into the working cylinder, through the ordinary charging valves, a very rich
explosive mixture of air with gas or oil vapour or spray, and the larger piston
draws air into the annular space surrounding the trunk through a valve which may
be controlled by a "timing" arrangement; on the return stroke, the smaller piston
compresses the charge of explosive combustible mixture in the clearance or charge
space of its cylinder, the larger piston, reaching the end of its cylinder with little
clearance, delivers the air into the charge space of the smaller cylinder which is
thus charged with an extra quantity of more or less combustible mixture.
This being ignited, the pistons are propelled forwards, the larger piston again
drawing in air.
On the completion of this forward stroke, the exhaust valve is opened and the
pistons make their fourth or return stroke, the smaller piston expelling products of
combustion and the larger piston delivering air into the working cylinder, so as to
sweep out the residues of the products, and clear the cylinder ready for reception
of the next explosive charge. This completes the "four stroke" cycle which is
repeated.
By suitably proportioning the mixture drawn into the smaller cylinder, a com-
bustible charge of great power may be thus obtained because the large quantity of
air delivered into the cylinder admits of a proportionally large quantity of gas or
oil vapour.
The charge space of the smaller cylinder being always left full of air at the end
of the fourth stroke ensures that each successive combustible charge shall be the
same whether there has been an explosion or not during the previous cycle.
The excess air over that delivered into the clearance space during the exhaust
stroke, passes into the exhaust passages and acts as an incombustible wad or
partition between the burning gases from the cylinder and such combustible gases
as might be in those passages owing to defective ignition or other causes; thus
explosions in the exhaust pipe are prevented.
According to a modification, a cylinder cover is provided to the larger cylinder
and the large piston has a piston rod passing through a stuffing box.
The space in the large cylinder next the cover communicates with the exhaust

page_text: valve of the smaller cylinder, another exhaust valve being provided for the larger
cylinder.
In this case, instead of opening the exhaust valve of the smaller cylinder to the
atmosphere, the exhaust gases pass to the larger cylinder and act on the larger
piston so as to perform useful work by expansion. These gases being at com-
paratively low pressure when they are ultimately discharged into the atmosphere,
are ejected with little or no noise. In this arrangement, the suction valve admitting
to the annular space in the larger cylinder is held open by a timing lever during
the first half of every alternate delivery stroke so that air is not delivered into the
smaller cylinder until the pressure in it is sufficiently reduced by expansion.
An engine, constructed and arranged as described, is peculiarly suited for working
as a compound engine on account of the great amount of combustible charge and
the high terminal pressure obtained from its combustion.
A twin engine compounded in this manner may have its two sets of cylinders
placed side by side but arranged "head and tail," thus simplifying the pipe
connections and equalising the successive propulsions given to the crank shaft.
During the forward and backward strokes of the larger piston, corresponding to
the suction and compression strokes of the smaller piston, the final exhaust valve
may remain open so that no work is done by the larger piston during this portion
of the cycle; or a valve may be arranged in the cylinder cover to admit air which
is afterwards discharged into the exhaust passages.
The twin cylinder compound engine, instead of having the cylinders side by side,
may have them arranged tandem, and one of the larger pistons may be made of
still greater diameter subject to the exhaust from both of the smaller cylinders
alternately.
Dated this 30th day of June 1892.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas and Oil Motor Engines.
I, FRANK HERBERT ANDERSON, Engineer, of Messrs. Crossley Brothers
Limited, Openshaw, Manchester, Lancashire, 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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in gas or oil motor engines of the kind
in which compression of the combustible charge is effected in the cylinder and
particularly to engines working on what is known as the "Otto" cycle.
The chief object of the invention is to increase the power of such engines and
to adapt them for working as compound engines.
Other objects of the invention are, to provide means for ensuring equality of
effective charges in the cylinder under various conditions of working; to render
"Dowson" or other producer gas as effective as coal gas or oil vapour or spray;
to provide means of obtaining power from the gases after they have performed
work in the combustion cylinder; .to prevent premature ignition in the cylinders,
ignition during charging strokes and explosions in the discharge passages.
For these purposes I arrange an engine as I shall describe referring to Fig. 1 of
the accompanying drawings which is a longitudinal section of the working
cylinder. provide, besides the ordinary working cylinder A a cylinder B of
larger diameter in the same line, having its piston C rigidly connected by a trunk
to the smaller piston D and linked to the crank shaft by a connecting rod E.
As the connected pistons C and D make their forward stroke, the smaller
piston D draws into the working cylinder, through the ordinary charging valves
(not shown) a very rich explosive mixture of air with gas or oil vapour or spray,
and the larger piston C draws air into the annular space surrounding the trunk

page_text: through a valve F which may be controlled by a "timing" arrangement. On the
return stroke, the smaller piston D compresses the charge of explosive combustible
mixture in the clearance or charge space of its cylinder A the larger piston,
reaching the end of its cylinder B with little clearance, delivers through a valve G
the air into the charge space of the smaller cylinder A which is thus charged with
an extra quantity of more or less combustible mixture.
This being ignited, the pistons are propelled forwards, the larger piston C again
drawing in air.
On the completion of this forward stroke, the exhaust valve H is opened and
the pistons make their fourth or return stroke, the smaller piston D expelling
products of combustion and the larger piston C delivering air through the valve G
into the working cylinder so as to sweep out the residues of the products and clear
the cylinder ready for reception of the next explosive charge. This completes
the "four stroke "cycle which is repeated.
By suitably proportioning the mixture drawn into the smaller cylinder A a
combustible charge of great power may be thus obtained because the large
quantity of air delivered into the cylinder admits of a proportionally large
quantity of gas or oil vapour.
The charge space of the smaller cylinder A being always left full of air at the
end of the fourth stroke ensures that each successive combustible charge shall be
the same whether there has been an explosion or not during the previous
cycle.
The excess air over that delivered into the clearance space during the exhaust
stroke, passes by the valve H into the exhaust passages and acts as an incom-
bustible wad or partition between the burning gases from the cylinder and such
combustible gases as might be in those passages owing to defective ignition or
other causes; thus explosions in the exhaust pipe are prevented.
According to a modification shewn in longitudinal section in Fig. 2 (in which
similar letters are employed to denote parts corresponding to those in Fig. 1) a
cylinder cover L is provided to the larger cylinder B and the large piston C has a
piston rod M passing through a stuffing box.
The space in the large cylinder next the cover communicates by a passage N
with the exhaust valve H of the smaller cylinder, another exhaust valve K being
provided for the larger cylinder.
In this case, instead of opening the exhaust valve H of the smaller cylinder to
the atmosphere, the exhaust gases pass by the passage N to the larger cylinder
and act on the larger piston C so as to perform useful work by expansion. These
gases being at comparatively low pressure when they are ultimately discharged
into the atmosphere on the valve K being opened are ejected with little or no
noise. In this arrangement, the suction valve F admitting to the annular space in
the larger cylinder B is held open by a timing lever worked by a suitable cam
during the first half of every alternate delivery stroke so that air is not delivered
into the smaller cylinder A until the pressure in it is sufficiently reduced by
expansion.
An engine constructed and arranged as above described, is peculiarly suited for
working as a compound engine on account of the great amount of combustible
charge and the high terminal pressure obtained from its combustion.
A twin engine compounded in this manner may have its two sets of cylinders
placed side by side but arranged "head and tail" thus simplifying the pipe
connections and equalising the successive propulsions given to the crank shaft.
During the forward and backward strokes of the larger piston C corresponding
to the suction and compression strokes of the smaller piston D the final exhaust
valve may remain open so that no work is done by the larger piston during this
portion of the cycle; or a valve may be arranged in the cylinder cover to admit
air which is afterwards discharged into the exhaust passages.
The twin cylinder compound engine instead of having the cylinders side by side
may have them arranged tandem, and one of the larger pistons may be made of

page_text: still greater diameter subject to the exhaust from both of the smaller cylinders
alternately.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. In combination with the working cylinder of a gas or oil motor engine a
larger cylinder with piston rigidly connected to the working piston, with suction
valve supplying air and discharge valve delivering into the working cylinder,
arranged and operating substantially as described with reference to Fig. 1 of the
accompanying drawings.
2. The modified arrangement wherein the larger cylinder is utilised for
expansion operation of the products of combustion from the working cylinder,
substantially as described with reference to Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.
· Dated this 28th day of March 1893.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.