Improvements in Gas and like Engines, and in the Method of Mixing and Volatilizing the Gases in the same.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 25th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 16th Jan., 1897
Improvements in Gas and like Engines, and in the Method of
Mixing and Volatilizing the Gases in the same.
WALTER ROWBOTHAM 27, Vittoria Street Birmingham in the County of
Warwick Electrical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
In
In my improved engine I insulate my combustion chamber & butt of piston or
pistons with asbestos, indestructible porcelain or other refractory substance.
the cylinder or cylinders in suitable positions between the butt of the piston when
the crank is on the out-centre, & the combustion chamber, I fit one or more pairs
of insulated non-sparking electrodes (to be called hereafter non-sparking electrodes)
connected to suitable insulated terminals on the exterior of the cylinder or cylinders.
In the combustion chamber I fit two or more insulated sparking electrodes (which
I shall call sparking or igniting electrodes) connected to insulated terminals on the
exterior of the cylinder & placed much more closely to each other than are the
non-sparking electrodes. I use a powerful induction coil & electric generator or
accumulator & by means of suitable electrical contacts & wires I make an electric
circuit with the non-sparking & sparking electrodes.
The action is as follows:-By means of suitable connecting rods, cams & valves
I admit air & spirit, oil or other hydro-carbon into the cylinder, & during the state
of compression by means of the above-mentioned electrical contacts I discharge
from the non-sparking electrodes, a non-sparking current of electricity through the
air & spirit, oil or other hydro-carbon in the cylinder, thus obtaining a supply of
nascent oxygen & vapourizing the spirit, oil or other hydro-carbon. I ignite the
above mixture when compressed by means of the contacts & the sparking electrodes.
obtaining a much greater force of explosion & less heat-waste
Dated this 24th day of February 1896.
WALTER ROW BOTHAM.
Improvements in Gas and like Engines, and in the Method of
Mixing and Volatilizing the Gases in the same.
I, WALTER ROWBOTHAM, of 27 Vittoria Street, Birmingham, in the County'
of Warwick, 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 more particularly to that class of motor engines worked by
explosive or combustible mixtures of air and gas or air and a bydrocarbon which
mixtures are ignited within the working cylinder or within a chamber communi-
cating with the said cylinder.

page_text: The chief object of my invention is to subject the explosive mixture to the
action of a silent. electric discharge preferably whilst the said mixture is under
compression in the cylinder or combustion chamber. By reason of this silent
electric discharge the explosive force of the explosive mixture is increased, the
ignition thereof is facilitated and its combustion is rendered more perfect.
A further feature of my invention consists in providing the space or combustion
chamber wherein the explosive mixture is ignited and also the inner end of the
piston with a lining of insulating or refractory material such as asbestos or
indestructible porcelain by which I am enabled to retain and confine within the
said space or chamber a large proportion of the heat resulting from combustion,
which heat was heretofore wasted or absorbed by water contained in a jacket
surrounding the working cylinder.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the same more fully with reference to the
accompanying drawing in which :-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the working cylinder of an engine in which
two pistons are employed and in which the combustion chamber is situated between
the said pistons.
Figure 2 is a similar view but shows a modified arrangement for effecting the
ignition of the charge.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of one of the pistons shewn in the last mentioned
figure.
A is the cylinder, B B the pistons and C the space or combustion chamber
wherein the explosive mixture is admitted and ignited. C' is the lining of
refractory material such as asbestos or indestructible porcelain with which this
space or chamber is provided and B is a similar lining with which the inner ends
of the pistons are likewise provided.
Referring more particularly to Figure 1 D D are two electrodes or terminals of
an electric circuit the said electrodes being preferably composed of metal with
points of platinum or other suitable material and projecting into the aforesaid
space or chamber C. The inner ends of these electrodes are situated at such a
distance apart as to avoid "sparking" and their outer ends are mounted in
adjustable holders d d which are screw threaded or otherwise formed so as to
permit the distance between the said electrodes to be conveniently regulated by
adjusting the holders in sockets a a with which the wall of the cylinder A is
provided. The aforesaid electrodes D are insulated from their holders by suitable
insulating material, and are furnished with binding screws d¹ for the electric
conductors to be connected thereto. These electrodes D are hereinafter referred to
as "silent discharge" electrodes.
E E are other electrodes which are mounted in insulated holders e e similar in
construction to the holders d d and which may likewise be adjustable in sockets on
the cylinder A, so that the distance apart of their inner ends can be regulated to
insure that a spark or sparks will leap from one to the other for igniting the
explosive charge when the electric current is allowed to pass between the said
electrodes. These electrodes are hereinafter referred to as "ignition" electrodes.
el el are binding screws on these electrodes for enabling the electric conductors to
be connected to them.
The electric circuits for supplying current to the "silent discharge" and
ignition" electrodes are advantageously arranged in the manner illustrated in the
drawing where in Figure 1 F is an induction coil the primary winding of which
is in circuit with an electric battery or other source of electric supply. This
circuit is opened and closed by means of contacts at f¹. The secondary
winding g of the induction coil is in circuit with both the electrodes D and E and
is provided with contacts 91 92 9³. The contacts ff2 in the primary circuit and
the contacts gg2 93 in the secondary circuit are so arranged in conjunction with
some moving part of the engine that at and during compression of the explosive
charge by the inward stroke of the pistons B the primary contacts f¹ƒ³ and the

page_text: secondary contacts g' g² are closed so that the "silent discharge
electrodes D
elec-
come into action. When the pistons terminate their inward stroke and the
explosive charge is under full compression the said contacts g g are opened and
the contacts g g are closed, the contacts g g still remaining closed. The "silent
discharge" electrodes are thus thrown out of circuit and the "ignition
trodes E brought into operation thereby igniting the charge. The contacts fif
and gg³ then open and all the contacts remain open until the next explosive charge
is undergoing compression by the inward stroke of the pistons when the said
contacts again come into action in the manner above described.
In Figures 2 and 3 I have shown a modification in which "ignition" electrodes
of the kind represented in Figure 1 are dispensed with and in lieu thereof each
piston is provided with a pivoted finger b carried by a bracket b'. These fingers.
have tail-pieces 6x which rest against the ends of the pistons and retain the fingers
in proper position to enable them to come into sliding contact with one of the
"silent discharge" electrodes when the pistons arrive in proximity to each other
as shown in the drawing.
The circuits and contacts may in this case be arranged as shown in Figure 2
where F is the induction coil, the primary winding fof which is in circuit with an
electric battery or other source of electric supply and with the pivoted fingers b
through the cylinder or other metallic part of the engine, one of the electrodes D
is also included in this circuit which is provided with contacts at ff. The
secondary winding g of the induction coil is in circuit with both of the electrodes D.
The said contacts123 are operated by some moving part of the engine so that
during the inward stroke of the pistons B and the compression of the explosive
charge the contacts are closed whereby the "silent discharge" electrodes D
come into operation.
As the pistons B terminate their inward stroke and the charge becomes fully
compressed the contacts f¹ƒ are opened and the contacts are closed
whereby igniting sparks are produced as the fingers bb leave the electrode D and
the charge is thus ignited. The contacts ff are then opened and all the contacts
remain open until the next explosive charge is undergoing compression by the
inward stroke of the pistons when the said contacts again come into action as
above described.
I do not confine myself to the manner of effecting the ignition of the charge by
the electric circuits and contrivances above described as any other suitable means
may be employed for the purpose. Although in the drawing I have shewn au
engine provided with two pistons I wish it to be understood that my invention is
also applicable to engines having only one piston.
The lining or insulating material C' with which the cylinder is provided, is,
when formed of fire-clay indestructible porcelain or other refractory material of a
solid nature, moulded to the form of a hollow cylindrical block whose external
diameter is approximately equal to that of the internal diameter of the explosion
chamsher C. This hollow block is placed in position by being forced into the
cylinder from one end thereof, the said block remaining firmly in its place by
reason of its tightly fitting the interior of the cylinder. When the said block is
made of asbestos or other refractory material of a comparatively soft nature it is
preferably constructed as shewn in Figure 2, wherein C is a metallic cylinder
furnished with flanged ends C³, the space between the said flanges being filled with
the asbestos C'. The external circumference of the asbestos projects somewhat
beyond the periphery of the flanged ends C so that when the cylinder C2 with its
asbestos covering is inserted into position within the cylinder A the aforesaid
flanges will not come into contact with the interior of the cylinder A. Conduction
of beat from the flanges to the working cylinder is thus prevented.
7
The inner ends of the pistons B are formed with recesses for the reception of the
refractory material B' which when in the form of plates, is secured to the piston
by countersunk screws B2 as in Figure 1. When the said refractory material is
composed of such substance as asbestos it is retained in place by means of metal

page_text: plates or rings B³ affixed to the pistons by screws B (see Figure 2). These
metal plates are of less diameter than that of the interior of the working cylinder A,
so that their edges do not touch the cylinder and therefore do not impart their heat
thereto by conduction.
By applying the refractory lining material to the engine in the manner above
described, it will be observed that the ignition of the explosive mixture for
working the engine takes place in what is virtually a completely refractory lined
chamber so that the flame of explosion does not come into contact with the metallic
part of the working cylinder or the pistons. The refractory lining becomes highly
heated and acts as a sort of oven for effectually vapourizing the oil admitted to the
combustion chamber. The radiation of heat from the working cylinder or combus-
tion chamber is also very considerably reduced, so much so that I can in some cases
dispense altogether with a water-jacket for the cylinder.
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. An explosion engine in which the explosive mixture is subjected to the action
of a silent electric discharge for the purposes specified.
2. The combination with the working cylinder or combustion chamber of an
explosion engine, of adjustable electrodes which are so arranged that a silent
electric discharge and an igniting electric discharge are produced at the requisite
times, substantially as described with refere ce to the accompanying drawing.
3. An explosion engine having its combustion chamber and the portion of the
piston or pistons in contiguity to the combustion chamber, lined or provided with
refractory material substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
.4: An explosion engine in which the working cylinder has a refractory lined
combustion chamber and is provided with means for subjecting the explosive
mixture to the action of a silent electric discharge prior to its ignition substantially
as described with reference to Figure 1 or Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying
drawing.
.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,.
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.