IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS ENGINES
Year: 1885

page_text: I JOHN EDWARD ROGERS of Poplar Street Smethwick in the County of Stafford,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
GAS ENGINES to be as follows:-
The design of Engine I shall describe constructed according to my Invention
would be what is known as the single acting type with the slide Valve geared up
to give an impulse to the Piston every other outward stroke or more according to
the set of the Governor.
The Piston would be what is known as the Trunk Piston and the cylinder water
cased.
The Piston gives motion direct by the connecting rod to the main shaft through
the crank.
There is the necessary clearance between the Piston end at its instroke and the
cylinder end to receive the compressed explosive mixture for giving motion to the
.Engine.
From the Crank Shaft the gear is worked for driving the Slide Valve for
regulating the supply of the explosive mixture to the cylinder and also for igniting
the mixture for giving motion to the engine.
Hereafter I shall call the explosive mixture (Live Gas) and that which remains
after the explosion (Dead Gas).
One of my Improvements is to practically dispose of the Dead gas remaining after
an explosion and, the arrangement of the parts of my Engine for doing so would
be as follows.
Supposing the Piston has taken up its charge of live gas, completed its instroke
and exploded, the Piston in its outstroke passes over an exhaust port fitted with
a back pressure valve opening outwardly through which the cylinder is exhausted.
to about the pressure of the atmosphere. The Piston in the inward stroke exhausts
a further portion of the Dead gas remaining in the cylinder, equal to the distance
the edge of the Piston had uncovered what I shall call the forward exhaust.
At the moment that the forward exhaust has been covered by the Piston in its
inward stroke an exhaust at the back of the cylinder has been opened by trip gear,
worked by the slide Valve rod, and through this back exhaust the dead gas is further
reduced to what remains between the Piston at the end of its inward stroke and
the cylinder cover.

page_text: On the next outward stroke the speed of the engine would be such that it would
only take up pure air the whole length of its stroke, and in its inward stroke.
discharge a portion of the Dead Gas through the forward exhaust, this operation
can be repeated as often as is necessary to practically dispose of the dead gas.
The number of strokes necessary to dispose of the dead gas would be equal to
the ratio of the difference between the travel of the Piston over the forward
exhaust and the length of the clearance between the end of the cylinder and the
Piston end at the completion of its instroke.
For the purpose of thoroughly blending the mixture called live gas I make the
following arrangement of parts.
A vertical pipe admits the atmosphere behind the slide Valve down which pipe
projects the gas pipe a suitable distance this arrangement of pipes together with
the perforated passages leading to the cylinder thoroughly blends the mixture that.
I call live gas.
The governor for regulating the speed of the engine would be something like the
letter L with a pin through the.corner working in a joint fixed to and working
with the slide Valve.
The horizontal rod of the governor presses the Valve for admitting the gas to
the air for forming the live gas and the vertical rod of the governor is fitted with
a Fan Blade which the pressure of the atmosphere (when the engine has exceeded
its speed) acting on the Fan Blade throws the horizontal rod of the governor out
of line with the Gas Valve' and thereby regulating the number of explosions and
speed of the engine.
The igniting or light port in the slide. Valve in construction and method of
igniting the charge in the cylinder would be as follows.
The port would be an oblong recess arranged vertically but not cutting through
to the inside of the Valve the gas for the travelling light is supplied in the usual
way; a communication is made with the live gas in the cylinder at the upper part
of the light port and another towards the lower part of the light port; these
communications when the live gas in the cylinder is to be exploded come on to it
both together and nip the, travelling light between them and' so' ensure the ignition
of the charge of live gas in the cylinder.
A small passage is made in the back of the valve face for ventilating, the upper
communication of the light port.
In a double acting engine this description of parts would be to a certain extent
duplicated.

page_text: upwards & backwards & to its extremity a minor bell crank-lever H is affixed.
The outward arm of this latter one is pulled down by a spring H³ affixed below so
as to ensure that its opposite or forward arm is in a vertical position, & that being
60, it is free of oscillation relatively to the major bell crank only in a forward
direction. A horizontal stud pin H affixed to the back of the slide valve extends
sideways across the cylinder cover into the path of the vertical arm of the minor
bell crank & by it backward motion is imparted thereto, & since it cannot oscilate
backwards upon its own fulcrum it thereby oscillates as one piece with & on the
fulcrum of the major one & thus presses open the exhaust valve.
There is a point in the backward stroke at which the extremity of the vertical
arm of the minor bell crank by virtue of this oscillation slips underneath the said
stud, & a corresponding action in the forward or return stroke takes place, but in-
this forward repeat action the oscillation is confined to the minor bell crank since
it is free to oscilate in a forward direction, the vertical arm of which is drawn up
again into its normal position by the spring at its outer extremity to complete the
cycle of motion due to one revolution of the Engine & so on.
On the next outward stroke the speed of the Engine would in consequence be
such that it would only take up pure air the whole length of its stroke, and in its
inward stroke would discharge a portion of the dead gas through the forward
exhaust; this operation can be repeated as often as it is necessary to practically
dispose of the dead gas.
The number of strokes necessary to dispose of the dead gas is equal to the ratio
of the difference between the travel of the Piston over the forward exhaust and the
length of the clearance between the end of the cylinder and the Piston end at the
completion of its stroke.
For the purpose of thoroughly blending the mixture called live gas, I make the
following arrangement of parts.
A vertical pipe J admits the atmosphere behind the slide valve E down which
pipe projects the gas pipe K. a suitable distance this arrangement of pipes together
with perforated passages E³ leading to the cylinder thoroughly blends the mixture
that I call live gas.
The governor G for regulating the speed of the engine would be something like
the letter L with a pin G¹ through the corner working in a joint G2 fixed to and
working with the slide valve E.
The horizontal rod Gs of the governor presses the valve Go for admitting the gas
to the air for forming the live gas, and the vertical rod of the governor is fitted
with a Fan Blade Go, which by playing the part of a fan brake is partially arrested
by the pressure of the atmosphere (when the engine has exceeded its required
speed). and so caused the horizontal rod of the governor to be thrown out of line
with the gas valve and thereby regulating the number of explosions and speed of
the engine.
The igniting or light Port M. in the slide valve E in construction and metliod
of igniting the charge in the cylinder is as follows:-
It is an oblong recess arranged vertically but not cutting through to the inside
of the valve E, the gas for the travelling light N is supplied in the usual way a
communication M¹ is made with the live gas in the cylinder at the upper part
of the light port; and another M² toward the lower part of the light port; these
communications when the live gas in the cylinder is to be exploded come on to it
together and nip the travelling light N between them and so ensure the ignition
of the charge of live gas in the cylinder.
In a double acting engine this description of parts would be to a certain extent
duplication.
1
I do not bind myself to the arrangement as shewn and described since there are
other modes of expressing the same Invention without substantial departure thére-
from but I consider that the arrangement as shewn to be the best form of carrying
my Invention into effect..

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
1 claim is
་
1. The arrangement and combination with the cylinder and piston of the back
and front exhaust ports respectively substantially as herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. The arrangement and combination of parts forming the Trip Gear substantially
as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. The arrangement and combination of the light port M, gas port N, the pair
of ports M¹ and M' substantially as herein before described and illustrated.
4. The mode of avoiding the risk of extinguishing the Travelling light so
common in Gas Engines due to the draught caused by the pressure of gas at the
instant of communicating with the cylinder dividing the direction of the said
current by means of one or more pairs of passages or ports, or their equivelents.
thereby leaving the gas impinging upon the light practically notionless.
5. The arrangement and combination of parts forming the governor substantially
as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
6. A Gas Engine Governor consisting of a striker and a retarding plate, or disc
for the one part and a release valve for the other, the former of which is free
to vibrate out of the path of the latter when actuated upon by the resistance of
the atmosphere when travelling through it at undesirable speeds.
Dated this 17th day of Contambas 1906