A New or Improved Motive Power Engine.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Sept., 1896-Accepted, 21st Nov., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Motive Power Engine.
I, ALEXANDER GUSTAV GUIDO LAABS of Gersdorf, District of Zwickau, in the
Kingdom of Saxony, Empire of Germany, Doctor of Medicine and Practising
Physician, 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 :-
This invention relates to a new and extraordinarily effective power engine in which
the daily regularly recurring increase of temperature, which amounts to at least
5° Celsius per diem and may be expected to periodically return between 5 to 7 o'clock
in the morning to 1 to 3 o'clock in the afternoon, is employed as the driving power.
The differences of temperature can be increased by sprinkling water by means of
shower apparatus suitably arranged above the engine, or by intermittingly submerging
the engine in large water-tanks which serve as reservoirs of cold and warmth as their
contents follow the outside temperature only in the course of days or even weeks, or
by the supply of artificial warmth.
The apparatus consists of a boiler-shaped drum made from very strong metal of
the greatest possible thickness. The cubic contents of the drum or series of drums
placed beside each other, must amount to more than 50 to 100 cubic meters for
smaller engines, and larger ones require a proportionately larger cubic measurement.
The form of the drum should admit of the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere,
water, soil or as the case may be, being communicated to the contents of the drum
in a space of time not exceeding 6 to 9 hours, which purpose may be attained by
the insertion of tubes or a flat construction of the drum, and its contents may
consist of salt water, diluted alcohol, spirits or any other suitable inexpensive
liquid.
The liquid contents of the drum, or drums connected with each other, are warmed
by the increase of temperature and thereby expanded. This expansion may amount
to
to
.
1
1.5
of the cubic contents per diem, according to the coefficient of
1000 1000
expansion of the liquid contained in the drum or drums and also according to the
increase of temperature on the particular day. The expansion of liquids arising
from increase of warmth is so powerful as to amount in any case to many thousands
of atmospheres, and is utilized by causing it to act upon a piston of very small
diameter, which can be moved forward and backward in a very strong closed
cylinder, similar to the cylinders of steam engines, hydraulic presses and the like.
The movement of the liquid can thus easily be communicated to the driving gear of
any kind of machinery or generators of electricity.
The accompanying drawing illustrates one form of construction of the engine
forming the subject of this invention, and Fig. 1 is a front view and Fig. 2 a section
of the same, on line x-x Fig. 1.
The apparatus consists of a drum A, which, in this constructive form, is provided
with tubes a arranged horizontally from front to back of the drum and left open at
both ends. Above the drum a water reservoir B is provided, connected with the
lower part of the drum by tube b. Another tube c connects the bottom part of the

page_text: drum respectively at d and d¹ with cylinders D and D¹. These cylinders which
must be of the, smallest possible diameter and have the strongest possible sides are
at their bases connected by tubes e and e¹ with the reservoir B, and within them
work powerful pistons, the upper portions of the piston rods being toothed at one
side so as to form rack bars fand f¹ which work the toothed wheels g and g' loosely
mounted on shaft h, and in such manner as to cause the said wheels, when the rack
rods move in an upward direction to clutch by means of pawls i and i¹ with ratchet
wheels and k¹, which are firmly secured to the shaft h, and thereby revolve them
together with the shaft. For the purpose of ensuring a constrained movement of
the two rack-rods, their upper extremities are connected by a jointel rod, consisting
of a jackets and two rods t and t which are displaceable within the said jacket.
Above the rods and a suitable contrivance for alternately opening and closing
the inlet valves, d and d¹ in cylinders D and D' is provided for the purpose of
admitting the liquid first to one and then to the other cylinder, said contrivance
consisting of a laterally displaceable horizontal shaft having three projecting
arms, m, mand n. One of these, lateral projections m and. m..must always stand
above the corresponding rack bar for f. The middle arm is weighted at its
outward extremity with weight o, and connected by rod p with the distributing
valve device g which alternately opens and closes the inlet valves d and d' as herein-
before described.
The laterally displaceable jointed shaft / rests on masonry suitably arranged, having
at its upper portion the projections r and for a purpose hereinafter to be described.
It has to be mentioned that all connecting tubes, have to be provided with suitable
valves to ensure the liquid taking its prescribed course.
The apparatus or engine works in the following manner :-
As soon as
.g
a difference in temperature occurs, the liquid flowing from the
reservoir B into the drum A passes through tube.c at d into cylinder D, raises the
piston and through the rack rod revolves the toothed wheel together with shaft h;
the rack-rod then reaches the arm m, and in its further upward movement causes
the latter to slide along the slanting, side-surface of the projection r, whereby the
said arm, together with the shaft-sleeve 1, (to which it is secured), is pushed sideways
until it finally ceases to be in contact with the top of rack rod f. This causes the
weight o on arm n to turn the shaft / together with its arms m and m¹ in a downward
direction actuating the distributing valve device q through rod p, that is to say
closing the inlet valve d and opening inlet valve d', thus allowing the liquid to
flow into cylinder D'. While the piston and rack rod of cylinder D' ascend and
the shaft is again re-displaced through contact of arm m¹ and projection », thus
again actuating the distributing valve device 9, the piston and rack-rod fof
cylinder D descends (the toothed wheel g now being freed from ratchet wheel K
and loose on shaft /) and forces the liquid through tube e back into reservoir B.
This process is repeated again and again.
The new power generator can be, employed for driving every description of
machinery and obviously offers very considerable advantages compared with the
motors hitherto,employed for such purposes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
(1.) A power generator in which any difference in the temperature of any liquid
is employed as motive power.
(2.) A mode of constructing, a machine, as claimed, having..as. a special feature
the drum A, provided with horizontal tubes passing from the front to the. rear, of
said drum, and being open, at, both ends, from which the liquid is, according, to the
change of temperature alternately conducted to two cylinders D.and D', made. with
very small diameter, and very strong, the piston rods of which being..thereby
alternately, impelled in,an-upward and downward direction, actuating a distributing

page_text: valve device for alternately opening and closing the feeding apertures or valve
and of the cylinders.
Dated this 12th day of September 1896.
HUGHES, ELI & HUGHES,
Agents for Applicant.