CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING ENGINES BY THE AGENCY OF AIR OR GASES, FOR OBTAINING OR PRODUCING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
ROBINSON, of Old Jewry, in the City of London, Solicitor, send greeting.
WHEREA'S Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Hér
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fifth day of December, in the seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Joseph Robinson, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that the said Joseph Robinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said Joseph Robinson, my executors, administrators, o
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in
the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, an Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MODE OF WORKING ENGINES
BY THE AGENCY OF AIR OR GASES, FOR OBTAINING OR PRODUCING MOTIVE POWER,"
being a communication from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Joseph Robinson,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had; will more fully aud at large appear,

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Robinson, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described andascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The Invention for which I have obtained Her Majesty's Letters Patent as
aforesaid consists of an improved inflammable gas or vapour engine, whereby
power is obtained by the expansion consequent upon the combustion of the
vapour of spirits of turpentine, or of other evaporable inflammable liquids, or
of gas or vapour, or gas and vapour combined, obtained from undistilled tur-
pentine, or from rosin or such other substances as will produce inflammable
vapour, carburetted hydrogen, or other inflammable air, by the aid of atmo-
spheric air within a cylinder similar to that used in the steam engine. The
description of the improved inflammable gas engine has been communicated
to me by my correspondent abroad in nearly the following words:-It is
well known to engineers that various attempts have been made to generate
power by the combustion of explosive compounds within a cylinder, the expan-
sive force of such compounds, when ignited, being in some cases allowed to
act directly upon a piston, whilst in other cases the compounds have been
exploded for the purpose of obtaining a vacuum, into which the piston might
be forced by pressure induced on the opposite side of it; but such at.cmpts
have not resulted in the production of a machine which could be practically
used with advantage. In my engine, however, I have, as I verily believe,
fully succeeded in obtaining a large amount of power more economically than
in the ordinary steam engine, and under an arrangement of parts which
renders it readily manageable, employing, as above indicated, the expansive
force of the ignited compound to operate upon the piston.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective representation of my
machine, and Fig. 2 an elevation of that side of it not shown in Fig. 1.
The other Figures show in detail certain parts to be hereafter fully explained.
In cach of these Figures, where the same parts are represented, they are
designated by the same letters of reference. A is the main cylinder, which
is similar to that of the double-acting steam engine. B is a reservoir, which
is to contain the spirits of turpentine, naphtha, or evaporable liquid, the vapour
of which is combustible; but this reservoir will not be used when the inflam-
mable gases are employed, as the rosin or other substances from which this
gas is obtained will require a vessel to which a higher degree of heat may be
applied than is necessary for the simple evaporation of liquids, as is well

page_text: understood. I will here remark, however, that it is my intention in general
to use liquids of the above description, instead of carburetted hydrogen,
although this latter may be substituted by a slight change in the generating
apparatus, or wherever there are gasworks, in combination with my other
improvements in the engine. But by the employm ent of the kind of liquids
herein designated, my engine may be applied to the purposes of locomotion,
and may be used also in other situations where the gaseous hydrocarburetts
are not readily obtainable. In describing my engine, I shall therefore sup-
pose the apparatus for
generating the inflammable vapours to constitute a
component part of it. C is the vapor generator, retort, or evaporating vessel,
into which a portion of the liquid contained in B is to be admitted through
the connecting tube D, which is governed by a cock, as seen in Fig. 2. The
retort C is shown in Figures 1 and 6, as having tubular openings through it
to increase its surface, and as surrounded by a case E, E, so as to leave a
space between the two for the passage of heated air for warming the retort.
F is a small furnace, lamp, or other heating apparatus, which is placed under
the centre of the retort, where the outer case E is perforated to admit the heat
directly to the bottom of the retort. This heating apparatus, although neces-
sary in the commencement of the action of the machine, may be dispensed
with afterwards, by allowing the heated air discharged from the cylinder to be
brought into contact with the retort, in a manner to be presently described,
or the retort my be placed in contact with or so near to the main cylinder
as that the heat radiating therefrom will be communicated to the retort. This
mode of heating it I have essayed, and have found it efficient, without using
the heated air discharged from the interior of the cylinder. G is a valve box
connected with the cylinder A, so as to give a supply of the combustible gas
or vapor and of atmospheric air at each end of the cylinder alternately, in the
same manner in which steam is ordinarily supplied to the cylinder of a steam
engine. Sliding or other valves constructed in known modes may be used in
governing this supply, and as these are well known, they do not require to be
described; but as I have represented the revolving cylindrical valve in the
Drawing, I will proceed to describe its particular construction:-Theinterior
of the valve box G, which is shewn detached at Fig. 5, I make truly cylin-
drical, and into it I accurately fit a cylindrical tube H, Fig. 3, which is to
revolve within the box. I is a bevel wheel on its shaft, which is driven by
gearing connected with the shaft of the fly wheel J. The tube H is closed
atits ends, and its interior is divided into three chambers by partitions, shewn
by the dotted lines a, a. Into the middle chamber b there are two openings,
shewn at c, c, and in each of the end chambers there are likewise two open-

page_text: ings d, d, and e, e. The tube H is represented in such a position as to shew
about one half of each of those openings. K, Fig. 4, is a chamber on the
under side, and L, Fig. 5, one on the upper side of the valve box, M, Figs. 1
and 6, is a tube furnished with a cock, and forming a communication between
the retort and lower chamber K, for the passage of the vapor and air from
the retort. From the chamber K there are two small openings c¹, c1, Fig. 4,
corresponding with those marked c, c, in Fig. 3. The interior of this chamber
is shewn at K, Fig. 4. In the upper chamber L, there is a partition dividing it
into two parts, as shown atf, Fig. 5, and on each side of this partition there
are two openings, one of which in each division is represented by dotted lines;
these are covered by clapper valves, which close them by their own gravity.
These openings, like those in the lower chamber K, correspond with the
openings c, c, in Fig. 1; the others marked g, g, lead into the air passages
opening into the two ends of the cylinder, in the same manner with steam-
ways. The openings d, d, and e, e, in Fig. 3, are exhaust openings; e, e, ad-
mitting the residuary contents of the cylinder to pass alternately from the
ends of the cylinder into the chambers, between the partitions a, a, and the
ends of the revolving tube H. The tubes N, N, Fig. 1, are exhaust tubes
leading from the exhaust openings d, d, into the space which surrounds the
retort. The air and vapor resulting from the combustion of the inflammable
compound within the cylinder is highly heated, and as it passes through the
above-named space, it will communicate sufficient heat to the retort to evapo-
rate the liquid admitted into it from the reservoir B, thus rendering the
further use of the furnace or lamp F unnecessary. I have already mentioned
that the heating of the retort after the engine is at work may be effected
by placing the retort in contact with the cylinder, When this is done
its shape must be so altered as to adapt it to its situation; its nature and
operation will not be otherwise changed. The partition fin the upper valve
chamber, and the clapper valves which close the openings in the said chambers,
serve to prevent the explosion or combustion of the inflammable compound in
one end of the cylinder from extending beyond the said partition; and imme-
diately after such explosion has taken place, the revolving valve cylinder Hwill
have passed around, so as to cut off all communication with the opposite end
of the cylinder. O, Fig. 2, is an escape tube, leading from the upper part of
the space which surrounds the retort into a flue or elsewhere, for conducting
off the heated air and vapour after they have performed their office.
I have spoken above of the production of the ignitable vapour which is, in
conjunction with atmospheric air, to supply the combustible mixture in the
cylinder; and I will now proceed to describe the manner of supplying

page_text: the atmospheric air, which must be made to, commingle with the gas or
vapour.
Pis the cylinder of a pump which is intended to force atmospheric air into
the retort.
This pump is double acting, having a valve in each end for the
admission of air, and being in other respects constructed in a manner resem-
bling that of many blowing machines. The air from this pump passes through
a trunk Q, Fig. 2; R is an air tube leading from the trunk Q into the retort.
Within the said retort there may be an agitator made to revolve by motion
communicated to it from the current of air entering the retort, and acting
upon its wings in a manner well known, for the purpose of intimately mixing
the air and vapor; or the air may be made to enter the retort through
numerous small openings for the same purpose. As the pressure of the air is
to be nicely regulated, I place an air regulator S upon the air trunk, its sides
being formed of leather or other elastic material; or it may be otherwise con-
structed in any of the well-known modes of forming such regulators. In the
top of it there is a valve, through which the air escapes when the pressure
becomes too great. T is an air tube leading from the air trunk directly into
the lower chamber K of the valve box. The air from the pump P may be
made to pass through either or in part through both of the tubes R and T.
The openings into these tubes I have sometimes regulated by means of a
revolving valve or conical key, like that of a cock, within the trunk Q of which
valve, Uat the outer end of the said trunk, represents the handle, and by turn-
ing this handle one or other of the tubes may be closed, or they may both be
left partially open; the quantity of atmospheric air entering the retort may
thus be governed, or a portion of it may be carried immediately into the valve
box, should it be desired to mix a larger quantity thereof than usual with the
vapor. Fig. 6 is a vertical section, from front to back, through a part of the
machine, in the line X, X, of Fig. 2, shewing the manner in which the air
tubes R and T enter the retort and the valve box, and convey the air from
the trunk Q into them. The piston of the main cylinder may be made solid,
and of metal; I prefer, however, to make it expanding, in any of the modes
used for that purpose. The Drawings represent the manner in which I com-
municate motion from it to the fly wheel and to the air pump, which is as
follows:-The piston rod V is connected by a joint to a vibrating arm lever
or bar W, which lever is at its lower end jointed to the vibrating rod X. To
the arm or lever W the piston rod Y of the air pump is also connected, and
from the upper end of the lever or arm W the connecting rod or shackle Z
extends to the crank A¹ on the fly-wheel shaft. The vibrating armor lever W
is supportel in its place by the pendant rods B1, which also preserves the

page_text: parallelism of the piston rods and Y. The direction of the engine may
be reversed by means of a clutch throwing either of the wheels I or I1, Fig. 1,
into
gear with the wheel h.
In the various explosive or gas engines which have been heretofore con-
structed, one of thegreatest difficulties experienced in their management has
been to obtain absolute certainty in igniting the explosive mixture, and without
this such engines must be valueless. It has been usually attempted to effect
this by drawing a portion of the flame into openings leading into the cylinder,
but the result is in this case extremely uncertain, and that more especially
when the inflammable vapors are used, the quantity of air drawn in with the
flame appearing manifestly to interfere with the production of the intended
combustion. By the combined use of the air pump and air regulator, and of
the cocks which govern the admission of atmospheric air into the retort orinto
the valve box, and of those which govern the admission of the inflammable
liquid into the retort, and the admission of the mixed air and vapor into the
valve box, I am enabled to adjust the quantity of each, and the pressure within
the cylinder, with great precision. This pressure is but slightly to transcend
that of the atmosphere. At each end of the cylinder there are openings,
governed by valves, through which openings the ignition is to be effected, and
opposite to, and nearly in contact with them, is the flame of a burning lamp.
The valves which close these openings are removed at a time a little after the
crank has passed its dead centre, say, when the piston has made about one
eighth of its stroke, and the cylinder has therefore about one eighth of its capa-
city filled with the aeriform gaseous compound; there being then a slight excess
of pressure above that of the external air, there will be a momentary jet of the
ignitable mixture outwards, and as the supply is at that instant cut off,and the
piston is travelling onward, there will be an immediate draught inward.
As this is taking place the ignition will be effected with certainty, and the
valve will then be closed. The ignition openings are seen at i, i, Fig. 2;
the circular boxes in which they are shown as being made, lead immediately
into the cylinder; and as the piston passes back and forth it touches a
projecting piece or pin, which opens the valve at the proper time, or the valve
may be opened by its own gravity, or by a slight spring, and closed by the
expansion consequent on the firing, the firing not taking place until the
change of action is produced by cutting off the supply. When in the construc-
tion of this engine the retort is placed in contact with or close to the cylinder,
the cylinder is warmed thereby sufficiently to prevent a condensation of
the vapor in setting the engine at work. If the retort is not thus placed
the cylinder must be warmed by other means. I have found that the main

page_text: cylinder, by the continued operation of the machine, is liable to become too
highly heated; it is proper, therefore, to adopt means to prevent this, which
may be effected in various ways. That which I prefer is, to enclose the
cylinder and its immediate appendages in a case, through which cold air may
be blown by means of a rotary fan or other blowing apparatus, which may be
operated by the engine in any convenient manner.
Having thus fully set forth the nature and operation of my improved inflam-
mable gas or vapor engine, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure
by Letters Patent,is, the manner in which I have combined and arranged the air
pump, the reservoir, the retort, the air regulator, the cocks which govern thead-
mission of atmospheric air into the valve box, and their immediate appendages,
as above described; by which arrangement I am enabled to supply the inflam-
mable vapor or gas in regulated proportions, and to produce a pressure within
the cylinderslightly exceeding that of the atmosphere at the moment of opening
one of the ignition orifices, which outward pressure is to be immediately
succeeded by a draught inwards, this being effected in the manner and for the
purpose above described.
I claim,also, the manner set forth of heating the retort by placing it in
contact with the cylinder, and thus using the heat radiated therefrom for this
purpose, or of employing the heated air which escapes through the eduction
tubes, so as to render such air effective in heating the retort, and thereby of
converting the combustible fluid employed into vapor, or of employing such
heated air in combination with the heat radiated from the cylinder.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Robinson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thand night bundual d