Improvements in or relating to Internal Explosion Engines.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Internal Explosion Engines.
I, MONTAGUE HERBERT CHURCHILL SHANN, of Westfield, Bromley, in the County
of Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to engines of that class in which the power is obtained by
the ignition of an explosive mixture inside the cylinder or in a combustion
chamber communicating therewith, oil or spirit or gas being mixed with air to
produce the mixture.
In carrying out the invention I employ any suitable cylinder closed at both ends
and provided at one end with a suction valve by which atmospheric air may be
drawn into the cylinder in the inward stroke of the piston. The piston itself is
hollow and also provided with a valve so that the two valves and the piston operate
a pump to compress air both between the piston and the cover of the cylinder and
in the interior of the piston. The piston is provided with preferably two openings
so arranged that when the piston reaches a point near the end of its inward stroke
two cominunications are made; one by a suitable passage with the explosion end
of the cylinder and the other by another passage with the oil supply. By the first
air under a suitable pressure is admitted to the explosion portion of the cylinder
through a nozzle or equivalent opening into the cylinder in such a manner as to
impinge upon the combined air and oil entering by another nozzle or equivalent
under the pressure supplied by the other opening in the piston. Or instead of
employing separate nozzles the two may be combined.
From the pump end of the cylinder the air compressed passes by a suitable
passage to a collecting vessel which delivers to the back or explosion end of the
cylinder and if desired I may employ a form of air injector in or in connection
with this passage so as to increase the volume of air admitted to the cylinder. This
can be done under slight pressure during the time that the piston is making its
return stroke while the exhaust valve is open, so that an additional impulse for tho
expulsion of the spent gases is provided and the air required for the next charge is
supplied. The exhaust valve is closed at a suitable period after which the air
supply is compressed, a non-return valve preventing its return to the pump end
of the cylinder or to the injector.
Any suitable means of ignition may be employed if required.
The oil supply may be effected in various ways but a suitable device consists in
a curved or syphon pipe connecting with one of the cylinder orifices so as to receive
the pressure from the interior of the piston which thus forces into the explosion
portion of the cylinder the selected quantity of oil or spirit; a pipe from the oil
supply may communicate with the dip or syphon portion of the oil supply apparatus.
A communication provided with a non-return valve may be provided upon one
limb of the syphon, the other delivering into the cylinder so that the pressure on
both sides of the syphon may be equalised during the explosion and proventing
the syphon being cleared out excepting at the proper time.

page_text: Any convenient arrangement of oil supply to the syphon may be provided and
any suitable non-return or other valves employed.
With the arrangement described an explosion is obtained at overy stroke of the
engine and the spent gases are efficiently ejected.
In the previously mentioned injector I prefer to use one or more non-return 5
valves, in order to ensure the correct working of the apparatus.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to Internal Explosion Engines.
I, MONTAGUE HERBERT CHURCHILL SHANN, Engineer, formerly of Westfield,
Bromley, Kent, now of Shoreham, in the County of Sussex, do hereby declare the
Dature 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 engines of that class in which the power is obtained
by the ignition of an explosive mixture inside the cylinder or in a combustion
chamber communicating therewith, oil, spirit, or gas being mixed with air to
produce the mixture.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the cylinder, piston, air chamber and
injector of an engine constructed according to this invention.
Figure 2 is a cross section on line 2-2 of Figure 1 and Figure 3 shows tho
arrangement of the pipes for feeding the oil into the combustion chamber, and
vapourising it.
Like lotters indicate like parts in all drawings.
The cylinder is shown constructed in two parts, the crank end or working
portion A hereafter called the pump end, the other part B, forming the combus-
tion chamber. The end A instead of being open as is usual in engines of this
description, is closed by a cover A', and forms an air pump being provided, prefer-
ably in the cover, as shown in Fig. 1, with a valve or valves A for the inlet of air,
which is sucked in on the inward stroke of the piston. The cover has a stuffing
box A³ for the piston rod to work in. Two openings AA are provided in the
walls of the pump end A of the cylinder, placed so as to correspond respectively
with openings (C, in the side wall of the hollow piston C, when the piston is
at or about the end of its inward stroke, as shown in Fig. 1. The use of these
correlating orifices is described hereafter.
An opening A³ is formed in the cylinder wall, making a communication between
the pump end A and an air-chamber which may be affixed to the cylinder in
any convenient manner, preferably by being screwed on a boss A, (Fig. 1), The
opening As is placed as shown at a certain distance back from the cylinder head
for
purpose hereafter explained. In Fig. 1 the openings A5 A6 C are shown in
the same longitudinal plane for the sake of clearness, but in practice the opening A³
must be placed in a different longitudinal plane to AC, to ensure that no com-
munication takes place between the piston and the air chamber at any portion of
the stroke. The air-chamber D, preferably cylindrical in shape has a non-return
valve D', to prevent the return of air from the chamber to the pump end A of the
cylinder through A³, and is connected by the injector E, casting F, and inlet B¹
with the combustion chamber B.
The piston C is hollow and has an inlet valve or valves C' in its crank end so
that the air drawn in to the cylinder by the piston on its inward stroke through

page_text: the valves A³ is forced into and compressed within both the piston C and the air
chamber D on the outward stroke.
During the first portion of the outward stroke the air may be driven into the air
clamber or into both the air chamber and the piston, but owing to its position
as before described the opening A5 is covered by the piston during the later
portion of the stroke, so that the air is received only by the piston which thus
attains a higher pressure than the air-chamber.
The air injector E may be of any usual kind, as shown it comprises a double
cone E, forming a narrow circular opening with the walls of the injector at E
for the passage of the high pressure air from the chamber D. An outer casing E³
has nou-return valves E, through which and the circular passage E³, opening into
the side of the passage 1, external air is drawn and carried forward through the
casting F into the combustion chamber, by the induced current set up by the high
pressure air from D. The casting F has a non-return valve F¹ preventing the
passage of air or gas from the combustion end B of the cylinder.
A suitable arrangement for supplying the oil to the combustion chamber and
for vapourizing it therein is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and comprises a trap or
U pipe G, connected with any suitable oil reservoir by the pipe G', a needle or
other valve being provided to regulate the supply of oil.
The arm G of the trap G is carried through the wall of the combustion chamber,
ending in a nozzle G. The other arm G3 is connected to the opening AⓇ before
described by the pipe As, which may be carried to any desired level but must not
be flooded with oil as the cylinder might be flooded also.
When in operation during each revolution the oil collects in the curved portion
of the trap G and forming a solid column of oil and or the opening A coming in
correlation with the opening C in the piston the high pressure air within the piston
blows the oil from the U tube into the combustion chamber through the nozzle G
The oil issuing from the nozzle G meets with an independent blast of high
pressure air, by which it is completely vapourised, and formed into an explosive
mixture. This air blast is discharged from a nozzle A placed close to, but at an
angle with the mouth of the nozzle Gº. The nozzle A receives its supply of air
from the piston through the openings CA by means of the pipe connection Aº.
From the position of the air nozzle A and oil nozzle G as shown in Figure 2,
the mixture of air and oil would impinge against and sweep around the wall of
the combustion chamber; the position of the nozzles may, if desired, be reversed,
so as to direct the blast across the centre of the combustion chamber.
Instead of the arm of the trap G, communicating by the tube AB with the
piston C it may be connected with any convenient. supply of air under pressure;
or the arm G may connect with the combustion chamber alone, pressure behind
the oil being dispensed with and the oil injected into the combustion chamber by
the sucking action of the air blast discharge through the nozzle A⁰ alone.
Instead of separate nozzles G³ 10 being used, these may be combined so that
the pipes A discharge through a single nozzle. Any suitable form of ignition
tube may be employed, preferably an electric one as shown at H in Figure 2.
The combustion chamber is furnished with an exhaust port I and valve of any
usual construction, and both the combustion chamber and the portion of the piston
which enters the combustion chamber are preferably provided with liners and
non-conducting sheathing.
When the engine is running the cycle of operation is as follows:-
When at the end of the inward stroke, as shown at Figure 1, the piston is in
communication through the openings C, A6, and C, A', and the connecting
pipes AA with the trap G and nozzle A10, a charge of oil is blown into the com-
bustion chamber vapourised and mixed with air as before described, and the mixture
exploded by the electric igniter H or the heat of the combustion chamber. The
explosion forces the piston on the outward stroke during which the air in the pump
end A of the cylinder is compressed into the piston and the air chamber, through
the valves C D¹. On the exhaust valve being opened at the commencement of the

page_text: inward stroke the pressure on the valve F is relieved and a rush of air takes place
into the combustion chamber from the air chamber and injector through the
casting F and inlet B', giving an additional impulse for the expulsion of the spent
gases and providing the air required for the next charge. At the same time a
fresh supply of air is drawn into the pump end of the cylinder through the
valves A. The exhaust valve is closed at a suitable period after which the air
in the combustion chamber is compressed, and at the end of the stroke a fresh
charge of oil is blown in vapourized and mixed with this compressed air, and the
mixture exploded.
An explosion is thus obtained at each revolution of the engine and the spent
gases efficiently ojected.
The invention can be applied to engines of the type known as double engines,
that is, having two pistons in one cylinder, the combustion chamber being placed
in the middle of the oylinder and the explosion taking place between the two
pistons. In this case one piston may be hollow, as above described and supply
the air for vaporizing and injecting the oil, the other acting as a pump to supply
the air chamber with air, or each piston may fulfil the double function, the necessary
double connections being provided for the nozzles and air chamber.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. In an internal combustion engine the combination with a closed cylinder
having air admission and escape valves and a piston reciprocating therein, of an
air chamber such as 1), and injector E, valve and connecting passages to the
explosion end of the cylinder, the whole operating substantially as described and
illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.
2. In an internal combustion engine the combination with a closed cylinder
having air admission and escape valves and a piston reciprocating therein, of an
air chamber such as 1) the port A to which is so placed as to be closed by the
piston before an excessive pressure is reached whereby the pressure obtained
inside the piston is greater than the pressure obtained in the air chamber D
substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in Figure 1 of the
accompanying drawings.
3. In an internal combustion engine the combination with the working cylinder
of a liquid fuel supply device comprising a trap and fuel supply respectively such
as G G G G substantially as described.
4. In an internal combustion engine the combination with the working cylinder
of a liquid fuel supply device comprising a trap and fuel supply, respectively such
as G G¹ G³ G and an air pressure supply substantially as described.
5. In an internal combustion engine the combination with the working cylinder
of a liquid fuel supply device comprising a trap, fuel supply and air pressure
admission respectively such as GGG AS communicating at stated intervals
with the pressure stored inside the piston substantially as described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
6. In an internal echmbustion engine utilizing the air pressure stored in the
hollow piston for the purpose of injecting the supply of liquid fuel into the
explosion chamber.
7. In an internal combustion engine utilizing the air compressed in the interior
of the hollow piston for injecting the supply of liquid fuel into the explosion
chamber and also for spraying or vapourising such fuel after it enters the explosion
chamber.
8. In an internal combustion engine compressing air inside the hollow piston
to a pressure greater than that of the air compressed in the explosion chamber
whereby such excess pressure may be employed for injecting or pulverising the
liquid fuel substantially as described.
9. In an internal combustion engine compressing a portion of the air to a

page_text: pressure in excess of that of the compressed charge prior to explosion for the
purpose described.
T
1
104
MONTAGUE H. CHURCHILL SHANN.
Boult & Wade,
Agenta for the Applicant.