Improvements in and relating to Gas Engines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 31s! Mar., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Gas Engines.
I, LÉON BÉNIER, of 21 Boulevard Poissonnière, Paris, in the Republic of France,
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 to an engine especially constructed to be operated by
poor gas.
The operation of the generator in which gas is formed entirely depends on the
engine, for the latter sucks the mixture of air and steam which enters the furnace
of the gas generator in order to form the gas.
This improved gas engine is arranged for giving one push in each revolution of
the shaft, which push is more or less strong according to the power to be produced,
and does not need to be suppressed...
A form of this engine is represented in the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through the axis of the engine
cylinder.
Figure 2 shows a horizontal section through the axis of the engine cylinder.
Figure 3 shows a transverse section through the axis of the admission valve.
Figure 4 is a partial longitudinal section through the axis of the pumps.
In my improved gas engine the air and gas are sucked in each revolution of the
shaft by the pumps a and b, the air passing through the valve a¹ and the gas through
the valve . The air and the gas pass into the engine cylinder through the valve c
where the mixing takes place.
d is the engine cylinder; hh are the discharge orifices. The discharge takes
place naturally while the piston uncovers the orifices h; they are uncovered when
the piston has traversed about five-sixths of its forward stroke, therefore they
remain open during the last sixth of the forward stroke and during the first sixth
of the backward stroke.
During this time the piston of the pumps, which is actuated by a crank forming
au angle of 90 degrees with the crank of the engine, has forced into the engine
cylinder the air and gas which have been sucked. This mixture enters the
cylinder through the valve c, the air arriving at and the gas at p. The mixture
passing through the pipe provided at the centre of the cylinder cover, traverses
the small plates which have for their object to cause the current of the mixture to
take the section of the cylinder so as to completely drive away the burnt gases
which fill the cylinder.
The engine piston returning to the rear after it has covered the discharge orifices
compresses the mixture introduced until it reaches the end of its rear stroke. At
this moment the explosion takes place and the expanding gases push the engine
piston in its forward stroke until the discharge orifices open, when the same
operations re-commence.
In order that the replacement of the burnt gases by the fresh mixture may be
effected under economical conditions, without loss of gas by escape, it is necessary
that the first portions delivered by the pumps shall not contain gas, but only pure
air which comes in contact with the burnt gases and drives them away. As the
two pumps operate together the gas pump must cominence by delivering pure air
like the air pump.
This is obtained in the following manner: The two pumps are in constant
communication by means of their delivery pipes through the interior of the valve
box c.
A valve is placed upon the gas delivery pipe to prevent the gas pump

page_text: being filled with air during the suction, the air entering more easily than the gas
which must traverse the whole gas generator. By incompletely closing this valve !
during the suction a certain quantity of air is only permitted to pass into the gas
pump, this quantity being limited to the volume necessary for filling the delivery
pipe. A nut g regulates the opening of the valve during the suction.
From this it follows that, when the piston of the pumps commences the delivery,
only air will at first pass into the engine cylinder until the air contained in the gas
delivery pipe has been driven away. Then gas enters through p and air through n
in suitable proportions for forming the explosive mixture, which are determined by
the section of the cylinders of the pumps. (The gas pump and the air pump have
approximately the same volume.)
Accordingly the gas pump sucks in each stroke a certain volume of gas and
delivers it directly into the engine cylinder. This suction causes the admission into
the gas generator of an equivalent quantity of air and steam which traverses the
furnace of the gas generator.
The quantity of gas sucked in each stroke and consequently the inlet of air and
steam into the furnace of the gas generator may be varied by the governor.
The governor placed at fand actuating the throttle valve m allows only the
quantity of gas necessary for producing the work which the engine is required to
perform to pass into the pump in each stroke. I obtain more or less strong
explosions without any need for suppressing them even when the engine
runs idle.
The ignition of the explosive mixture is effected by an electric igniting device
placed at v.
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 :-
First. A gas engine operated by poor gas, which is characterized especially by a
pump designed to suck the gas into the gas generator and then force it directly
into the engine cylinder, without passing through a reservoir, this suction causing
in each stroke the passage into the gas generator of an equivalent quantity of air
and steam, which may be varied by the governor, substantially as hereinbefore set
forth.
Second. In gas engines the arrangement for filling the delivery pipe of the gas
pump with fresh air so as to deliver first pure air and then the mixture to the
engine cylinder, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
Third. The general arrangement of the various parts of the gas engine,
substantially as hereinbefore set forth with reference to the drawing.
Dated this 24th day of January 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.