Improvements in Gas or Vapor Engines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1891
omplete Specification Left, 15th Jan., 1892-Accepted, 26th Mar., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas or Vapor Engines.
We WILLIAM Robert RideaLGH of 18 Deptford Terrace Sunderland
Engineer and ROBERT WELFORD of 6 Summerhill Sunderland Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
Our improvements consist in being able to work the valve gear by one cam,
arranging the valves that both inlet and outlet charges can pass into and out of the
cylinder or working chamber the same way, and regulating the speed of an engine
by means of a momentum governor arranged to work the gas valve by catch and
miss motion.
Dated this 16th day of April 1891.
WILLIAM ROBERT RIDEALGH.
ROBERT WELFORD.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas or Vapor Engines.
We WILLIAM ROBERT RIDEALGH of 18 Deptford Terrace Sunderland
Engineer and ROBERT WELFORD of North Hylton, late of 6 Summerhill, near
Sunderland 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 :-
Our improvements have for their object the construction of simple and efficient
gas or vapor engines and consist substantially in utilising one cam for working the
valve gear having one passage to the working chamber for inlet and outlet and
having a momentum governor for regulating the speed; this governor acting by
having momentum imparted first the gear then acting by hitting or missing the gas
valve connection.
The accompanying drawing shew the features of our invention as they may be
applied to a small gas engine of vertical type.
Fig. 1 is a general arrangement.
Fig. 2 a plan of valve box with part of governor gear and Fig. 3 a section
through valve box and governing gear.
Like letters and figures apply to the same parts in each fig.
Fand Fare
A is the cam actuated from the crank shaft by two to one gear.
rollers on arms of the lever H, through which motion is given by the cam to the
admission and di-charge valves respectively as well as to the governor gear and
through this to the gas valve. The lever i pivots on a pin at P and the lever G
for the governor arrangement on a pin at P B is the passage way for inlet and
outlet to and from cylinder or working chamber and communicating at the proper
time through the admission valve M to gas and or air or through the exhaust
valve N to discharge.
The main acting features of the momentum governor gear may be said to consist
of the weighted spindle (or pendulum) D and an adjustable spring D'. This
spring D is set (or adjusted) by a screw S which causes a sliding block D" to press
strongly or lightly as the case may be against the spindle D. L is a connecting
link between H and G and L'another link between G and P. P is a fixed guide
for the rod P. The parts of the gear marked G consist of (or work as) one piece
and pivot as already stated on a pin at P. The surfaces D allow for the swing
or motion to and fro of the spindle D. E is the gas valve spindle upon which (in
this case) D rests (and pivot-) and which when hit by the rol P prese open the

page_text: gas valve E". X and X are a guide and cross pin for preventing D leaving its
seat (or rest) on the spindle E. E is the port or opening leading (gas) to M
through M
Kis the air entrance also lending to M through M'. N" is the
exhaust box connection communicating through N to the discharge valve N. The
gas or vapor connection is at E. and O and O¹ are water pipe connections for
cooling purposes.
The action of the engine shewn is on the well known Beau de Rochas or Otto
cycle and may be described using the reference letters as follows:—
Supposing the engine to be on the top centre (as shown) the piston out and the
cam A on roller F' the engine turning onward will cause the cam to press roller
ont and actuate levers Hand G with set pin G³ so as to open valve N thus con-
necting the cylinder with exhaust through passage B until the piston has reached
its instroke when the cam A having left roller will be touching roller F this
causes the admission valve M to open by means of Hand G with set pin and
also opens through lever Glink L rod PU spindles D and E' the gas valve E
The piston returning on its outstroke draws in the gas through Eu together with
air from inlet K through M³ past M and passage Binto the cylinder until the
crank has reached its outstroke when the cam A having left roller Fallows
valve M and gas valve E to close permitting no escape for the mixture. The crank
on continuing its instroke for the second time forces the piston to compress the
mixture until the piston has again reached the end of its instroke when the mixture
being also compressed into that part of the valve box V (always in connection with
the cylinder through passage B) and up the hot tube V1 fixed thereon, ignition takes
place when the resultant pressure forces the piston out and the cam A having
again come round presses on the roller Fopens the discharge and releases the
pressure. The same cycle of operations can be repeated whilst the engine is
running.
As regards the action of the governor gear it will be seen that if the set screw S
is slacked out the motion on the weighted spindle (or pendulum) D given through
the levers Hand G will cause its momentum to be greater and so cause it to pitch
quicker forward so that the rod P will miss catching the nicked projection on D
thus not opening the gas valve E". On the other hand if S is screwed up the
weighted spindle D will come under the rod P and the gas valve be opened.
It will thus be seen that by means of this governer arrangement the speed of an
engine can be regulated.
Though in the engine shewn ignition is effected by a plain heated tube in other
and larger types of engines we use time lighter gear and when required provide
special starting apparatus. We can also make other alterations and modifications
to carry out our improvements as may be understood but
Having now described our invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed what we claim is :-
1. In a gas or vapor engine the use of one cam for imparting motion to the valve
gear.
2. In a gas or vapor engine the use of one passage for inlet and outlet to and
from chamber substantially as shewn and described.
3. In a gas or vapor engine the use of a momentum governor arrangement
substantially as described.
4. In a gas or vapor engine using one eam for imparting motion to the valves in
combination with the governing arrangement substantially as shown and described.
5. In a gas or vapor engine using one cam, one inlet and outlet passage and
momentum governing arrangement in combination substantially as shown and
described.
Dated this 14th day of January 1892
WILLIAM ROBERT RIDEALGH.
ROBERT WELFORD.