Improvements in and relating to Vaporizers for Use with Internal Combustion Engines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Vaporizers for Use with Internal
Combustion Engines.
- Ι,
THOMAS TOMLINSON, of Ballywaltrim Cottage, Bray, in the County of Wick-
low, Ireland, Civil and Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to vaporizers for use with internal combustion and other
engines, and comprises the improvements hereinafter set forth by which I am
enabled to vaporize the heavier classes of oils in a more efficient manner than
heretofore.
My improved vaporizer for heavy oils, by ensuring a more thorough vaporiza-
tion and therefore a more complete combustion, obviates or greatly reduces the
unpleasant smell at present given off by engines of the said class. My said
vaporizer is applicable to engines wherein the charge is drawn into the cylinder
(as in
Otto cycle engine) or forced into the cylinders (as in that known as
the Brayton engine) or to the engine described in the Specification of my former
Application for Letters Patent No. 18546 of 1897.
According to my said invention I divide the air feed, by means of suitably-
dimensioned orifices, into two pertions one of which constitutes the main air
feed and flows direct to the cylinder and the other of which constitutes the
vaporizing part of the air feed and is, by suitably dimensioned orifices, sub-
divided into two, three, or other suitable number of properly-proportioned parts.
Of these two, three, or other number of parts, one is heated as usual by waste
heat, and being very small in volume, a much higher temperature can be attained
than is possible when the whole of the vaporizing air is so heated. This highly-
heated or superheated part then passes over or through a suitable measured
quantity of heavy oil heated in any usual or suitable manner which it vaporizes
and carries on with it towards the cylinder where it meets the second part of the
vaporizing air which is of such proportion as to suffice for the complete combus-
tion of the oil vapour it holds. This mixture should be ignited at the point of
junction,, which ignition, may be effected, in any desired manner such as by an
electrical ignition device, an ignition tube, or otherwise.
The ignited mixture is then passed on towards the cylinder and may be cooled,
if necessary, by the junction or admixture with it of the third portion of the
vaporizing air, to such a temperature as will thoroughly vaporize the heated main
oil feed, over or through which it passes on its way to the said cylinder, and
without forming tarry or other deleterious compounds.
The vaporizing air thus charged with the proper amount of heavy oil vapour
will then pass into the cylinder and meet the main air charge, the mixture being
ignited in any desired manner.,
The lamp which heats the first part of the vaporizing air also heats the ignition
tubes, one for igniting the vaporizing flame and the other the charge in the

page_text: sylinder (where tube ignition is used) and the other parts of the vaporizing air
may be likewise heated if desired but not to the same degree.
The cooling part of the vaporizing air, that is to say the third part thereof, may
be included as excess air in the second part, if it does not interfere with the
ignition, and in any case would usually be omitted until the engine had become
thoroughly warmed up after starting.
In certain cases instead of providing special hot or superheated vapours for
vaporizing the oil charge as above described, hot vapour may be used for this
purpose, which heated vapour can be drawn from the exhaust box, or from a
hood surrounding the lamp heating the ignition tube in the Otto cycle engines.
In engines using other cycles, in which the vaporizing oil must be passed into
the cylinder under pressure, I provide at a fixed point on the explosion stroke of
the piston for allowing a small portion of the heated gases at a suitable pressure
to escape from the cylinder into a small lagged reservoir, which gases are then
passed into the cylinder at the commencement of the next stroke so as to vaporize
the oil charge. This vapour, being practically free from oxygen, may, if desired,
be passed over the oil charge when leaving the cylinder so as to hold the said
oil vaporized until the succeeding stroke, and provide a better mixture and a more
thorough vaporization by reason of there being no possibility of a premature
explosion.
prefer to keep the reservoir hot by means of the exhaust gases.
A. F. SPOONER,
323, High Holborn, London,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in and relating to Vaporizers for use with Internal
Combustion Engines.
1, THOMAS TOMLINSON, of Ballywaltrim Cottage, Bray, in the County of Wick-
low, Ireland, Civil and Electrical 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 has for its objects to effect the vaporization of heavy hydro-
carbon oils in a more efficient way than has been hitherto practicable." This I
accomplish by the adoption of what I denominate "stage vaporization."
My
invention relates, further, to the provision of means for the application of the
said system of vaporization to the production of power in an internal combustion
engine wherein the charge is drawn into the cylinder (as in the "Otto" cycle
engine) or forced into the cylinders (as in that known as the "Brayton" engine)
or to the engine described in the Specification of prior Letters Patent granted to
me No. 18546 of 1897.
In any attempt to utilize the energy of combustion of hydrocarbon oils with air
(or with pure oxygen if intense heat be desired) the problem is to add to a definite
quantity of air a definite quantity of oil in a state of vapour. Generally the
vaporizing of the oil is effected by taking a relatively small proportion of the
total air, heating such air to a high temperature by passing it through a coil sur
rounding a flame and passing the air so heated over the measured quantity of oil
(also preferably heated) which is carried off as vapour to mix with the remainder
of the air.
According to my invention I usually retain the same main division of air into

page_text: vaporizing air and main air supplies, but in order to obtain a greater efficiency
of vaporization I treat the vaporizing air differently. Instead of heating the
whole vaporizing air by external means and passing the air so heated over the
measured oil supply for the purpose of vaporizing it, I divide the vaporizing
portion of the air supply into a number of suitably-proportioned divisions (of
which one only, the first, is externally heated) and I similarly divide the measured
oil supply into a number of suitably-proportioned divisions. I effect the com-
bination of the total vaporizing air and the total supply of oil as vapour in the
following manner. I take the small quantity of externally heated air and by its
means vaporize the first portion of the oil; next I utilize the heat of combustion
of the oil so vaporized (ignited after combination with the second portion of the
vaporizing air) to heat the third portion of the vaporizing air to such a tempera-
ture as shall vaporise the second oil supply and so on until the main air supply
is added and the final ignition and utilization takes place.
By this means I obtain a very efficient vaporization without the necessity of
providing a large external flame and so am able to utilize the denser and cheaper
hydrocarbon oils (possibly even oil refuse) where the lighter and dearer oils are
now used.
The accompanying drawing illustrates the application of my invention to an
ordinary oil engine using the "Otto" cycle.
The drawing being diagrammatic, it has been assumed, for the sake of sim-
plicity, that the oil is drawn up in proper quantity by the heated air upon the
well-known "scent-spray" method; but it is to be understood that any method
by which the oil is delivered in proper quantity proportional to the air supply
at the points where it is vaporized is available. It has also been assumed that
oils of different qualities are used at the first and second points of delivery; this
is to cover the case where, on account of using after the first ignition an oil
(or refuse) which is vaporizable with difficulty, it may be necessary to use (at
least at starting) a more easily vaporized oil or spirit at the first point (if spirit
such as benzoline be used no heating of the first portion of air is required). It
has also been assumed that electric ignition is used, but any form of ignition is
available; and in particular, where the action of the apparatus is continuous,
ignition by heated surfaces will be available after the inner surfaces, or parts of
them specially prepared, have reached the requisite temperature.
In the diagram, the reservoirs from which the oils are drawn are shown at h
and j. Tubes and serve for conveying the oils from the reservoirs to the
orifices at the nozzles g, g. The ignition point is shown at and the electric
circuit is indicated by. 2. The admission orifices b, c and d are illustrated as being
formed by the superposed conical parts or castings 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, the
interstices being filled with refractory material v.
i
The action of the apparatus as applied to an ordinary explosive oil engine is
as follows: Upon the outstroke of the oil engine piston (supposed to be the
first stroke of the "Otto" cycle) air is drawn through the admission valve into
the cylinder through the pipes or openings 1, 2, 3, 4; the orifices a, b, c and d
being of such dimensions that suitable quantities of the air supply flow through
the pipes or openings 1, 2, 3, 4. That portion of air which flows through the
pipe 1 is heated by passing it through the coil w surrounding the flame of the
lamp fand in its passage over the nozzle g it draws up, sprays, and vaporizes a
suitable portion of oil from the reservoir . Passing on towards the cylinder i
this mixture of heated air and vapour of oil meets the portion of the vaporizing
air which flows through the pipe or opening 2 and issues from the annular
opening b. This is sufficient to supply the extra air necessary for the combustion
of the oil vapour present. The resultant mixture of vaporized oil and the air
necessary for its combustion is ignited by the spark ; it is of course arranged
that this spark shall be in action only upon the admission stroke of the "Otto"
cycle of the engine. The products of combustion, caused by the ignition, at an
extremely high temperature, passing onwards towards the cylinder, meet the third
portion of the vaporizing air which flows through the pipe 3 and issues from the

page_text: annular opening C. This is sufficient in quantity and will be heated to a suffi-
ciently high temperature when mixed with and heated by the products of
combustion, to efficiently vaporize the principal oil supply (which it draws from
the reservoir) without the formation of deleterious products. The mixture of
products of combustion, air, and vaporized oil still flowing on towards the cylinder i
meets the main air supply which flows through the pipe 4 and issues from the annular
orifice d, and which is sufficient to supply the extra oxygen required for the
combustion of the oil supply taken up by the vaporizing air, and the whole flows
through the lift-valve into the cylinder (or the vaporized oil and main air
may enter through separate valves) where it is subjected to compression, ignition,
expansion and expulsion according to the "Otto" cycle. If instead of being
drawn in by inspiration due to the outward movement of the piston, air is forced
through the apparatus by the action of a pump cylinder separate from the engine
cylinder, it is evident that the vaporizer becomes applicable to the ordinary
impulse-every-revolution oil engine.
It is obvious that the cycle of vaporization, ignition, and addition of air described
with reference to the diagram may be progressively repeated until the resultant
mixture is finally admitted to the engine cylinder, the object being to deal with
large quantities of air and oil by vaporization and combustion in successive stages.
It is also obvious that, while for the purpose of explanation the quantities of
air flowing through the openings 1, 2, 3, 4 are taken as those just necessary for
the particular purposes required at the various stages, there is no necessity in
practice for strict adherence to such division. In particular it is desirable (for
the sake of keeping the temperature at all points of the apparatus, outside the
cylinder, as low as possible), that the quantity supplied for combustion (as at 2)
should be much larger than the quantity actually necessary-the quantity supplied
for cooling (as at 3) being correspondingly reduced or possibly suppressed, care
being taken that the ignition (as at e) is not thereby made uncertain.
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
I claim is-
-
1. In an apparatus for the vaporization and combustion of hydrocarbon oil,
dividing the vaporizing air and the oil in such manner that an initial or one
mixture thereof is ignited, the heated products of combustion of which meet
a further portion of the vaporizing air and serve to vaporize a second or following
part of the oil supply, the resultant mixture meeting a further air supply and
being in turn ignited, substantially as set forth.
2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination, with an initial or one
vaporization, of means serving respectively (a) to ignite the initial or one mix-
ture, (b) to admit thereto a portion of the vaporizing air for the purpose of
vaporizing a second or following part of the oil supply, and (c) to admit the main
air supply which final mixture is utilized in the engine cylinder, substantially
as set forth.
3. The construction, arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
improved vaporizer and internal combustion engine substantially as set forth
and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
D
own
1
1000
A. F. SPOONER,
323, High Holborn, London,
Agent for the Applicant.