Improvements relating to Fixed or Oscillating Cylinder Motors.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th July, 1893
2000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Fixed or Oscillating Cylinder Motors.
I, JOSEPH BARBE FOURNIER, of No. 3, Rue de Tournon, Paris, in the Republic
of France, Teacher at the Sorbonne, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:―
This invention relates to a motor which can be arranged either as a fixed or an
oscillating cylinder motor and is more particularly intended for use with lique-
fied gas, but it can be used with all fluids acting by expansion, and the invention
consists in the special construction of the cylinder, and of the distribution, variable
expansion, and reversing mechanism.
The two ends of the cylinder are composed of blocks against which rest screw
caps or flanged rings, which are screwed onto the cylinder ends, to drive home
packing, to make the cylinders air and gas tight. The gland for the piston rod
is made in the same way.
The piston is packed with an elastic ring, which is held in position by a cap
piece mounted on a screwed stud carried by the piston.
This distributing mechanism consists of two pipes, one at each end of the
cylinder, connected to a main pipe in communication with the reservoir of the
fluid under pressure.
At the connection are small valves, which close the ends of these pipes; are
fixed to rods; and are enclosed in suitable cylinders.
Springs drive the valves forward, to close the pipes.
On the outer ends of these rods are fixed pieces on which are provided small
levers.
The pipes are also connected with exhaust valves contained in two chambers,
& which are provided with a rod which passes through a tubular piece -enclosed
in the chamber cylinder.
The parts are operated by an excentric which is mounted on the motor shaft,
and this excentric is operated by means of a connecting rod, a rod sliding in
guides & lying parallel with the valve mechanism. On this rod is mounted an
arm which slides on the rod of the exhaust valves between suitable springs.
Similar pieces or arms operate the admission valve rods, such pieces striking
against the small levers before mentioned. These levers have, at one end, a bowl
which rests on inclined planes mounted on a rod & capable of adjustment longi-
tudinally thereon, & these levers are raised by the inclined planes into contact
with the arms.
The rod on which the arms are mounted receives reciprocating motion from the
excentric, and, through the arms and levers, operates the valves, and, by the adjust-
ment of the planes, the variable expansion is regulated.
The reversing is effected by means of the excentric, on opposite sides of which
are formed two recesses. The excentric turns on a collar keyed to the shaft, which
collar is provided with a groove in which slides a double key. As this double
key is slidden to one side or the other, so one or other of the keys will enter its

page_text: proper recess, and the timing of the cam will thus be changed, and the engine
will be reversed.
When an oscillating cylinder is employed, the rod which carries the arms is
connected by a connecting rod to a slide working in a fixed curved race carried
by the cylinder, and according to the amount of motion required, the slide is shifted
in the race nearer to or farther from the centre of oscillation. The reversing is
effected by shifting the slide from one end to the other of the race.
-Dated this 18th day of July 1898
Improvements relating to Fixed or Oscillating Cylinder Motors.
I, JOSEPH BARBE FOURNIER, of No. 3, Rue de Tournon, Paris, in the Republic
of France, Teacher at the Sorbonne, 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 motor which may be fitted with a stationary or an
oscillating cylinder, and is designed more particularly with a view to its employ-
ment in connection with liquefied gases, while it is capable of operating with any
fluids acting by expansion.
The main features of the motor reside in the special construction of its cylinder,
its distributing mechanism, and its variable expansion and reversing gear.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the cylinder, together with its distributing
devices.
Fig. 2 represents the said distributing devices in a position at right angles to
that in which they are shown in the preceding figure.
Fig. 3 is an axial section of the driving shaft, showing the excentric which
actuates the distributing gear; and
Fig. 4 is a diagram of the apparatus for reversing the direction of motion, where
the motor is constructed with an oscillating or rocking cylinder.
The two ends of the cylinder K are formed of circular plates or pieces k, k,
which are fitted to its interior, and are each provided with a flange, whereon rests
a metal ring. is packing, and a gland which is forced down onto the
packing by the flange, when driven forward by screwing up the ring, the
cylinder being recessed to receive the packing and the gland.
The joint of the piston rod passing through one of the cylinder end-plates is
made in a similar manner.
The joint of the piston L is formed by the aid of an elastic or flexible washer,
retained in place by a ring 1, integral with, or attached to a disc, which is
adapted to be screwed onto a screw-rod or spinille integral or connected with the
piston, the firmness of the joint being secured by means of a, counter-nut 13.
The distributing devices are constructed with the object of avoiding, as much
as possible, the reduction of the fluid to thin sheets as it enters the cylinder, and
of obtaining the maximum degree of tightness. The two sides of the cylinder
communicate through two pipes M, N, with a double tube 0, which is connected
to the boiler, liquefied-gas-receiver, or the like, constituting the reservoir for the
fluid under pressure, the said pipes M, N, being made to communicate with the
double tube O, through small valves m, n, which rest in contact with the ends

page_text: of such pipes M N, being of a tapering and slightly rounded shape, and such
valves being secured to rods m', n', and guided by the wall of the fluid-tight
chambers m², n², while the passage of the said rods m², n¹, through the bottoms
of such chambers is ensured by joints similar to that of the piston rod.
Springs, such as m³, n³, tend to restore the valves to the position wherein they
cut off the pipe connection M, N. Onto the rods m, n, externally, there are
secured the pieces m, n, to which certain short levers m³, n³, presently to be
described, are pivotted.
The pipes M, N, through which the two sides of the cylinder communicate
with the inlet valves just described, bifurcate and communicate likewise with
the outlet valves, which are arranged as follows:-
The two pipes terminate in two chambers P, Q, wherein are movably arranged
two valves p, q, integral with, or secured to, a rod p¹, q', and capable of placing
one or the other of the two chambers 1', Q, into communication with a double
tube p, q, connected to the space into which the gases are to be discharged.
The rod p, q, extends axially through the bottoms of each of the chambers 1', Q,
forming a joint similar to those already described. The inlet and outlet devices
are controlled or operated from an excentric R, mounted upon the driving shaft R¹,
and presenting certain peculiarities which shall be described further on.
excentric, through the medium of a link, actuates a rod e, which slides in guides 8, 8, 8.
On to this rod there is secured, in the first place, a piece s capable of sliding
upon the outlet valve rod p', q', between two stops p, q, with which the said rod
is provided. And, in the second place, such rod S carries two pieces, such as s², 2,
capable of engaging with the short levers m³, n, which are pivotted to the
pieces m, n, connected with the valves m, n, by the rods m¹, n².
This
The central parts of these levers m³, m³, are so pivotted that one end thereof
will be situated in proximity to the parts s², s, while the other end, supporting
a roller m, n, rests upon the parts T, T", having inclines tt; contact with these
being ensured by springs m³, n².
The parts T, T, are capable of moving along a screw rod or spindle U, mounted
in bearings at uu, and capable of being rotated by means of a crank u.
Inasmuch as the rod U cannot alter its position, it is the parts T, T", that must
advance or recede, according to the direction in which the screw spindle is
turned; the screw threads being reversed in such a manner that the said parts T
shall move in opposite directions.
The spindle or rod S, which is reciprocated from the excentric through the
medium of the parts s¹, s2, controls the inlet and outlet valves; the inlet valves
suddenly opening when the parts 2 meet the levers m³, n, while the time of
closing such valves is dependent upon the position of the parts T, T¹, pressed
upon by the levers m, n, for it will be understood that, according as the said
levers m, n, rest upon the raised or the depressed portion of those parts,
their opposite ends will occupy either of two corresponding positions, between
which, however, there is a whole range or cycle of intermediate positions,
owing to the action of the inclines t By turning the screw U, the two
parts T, T, may be moved simultaneously, and the time during which the
inlet valves remain open may thus be varied at will, and a correspondingly
varying expansion be created. In the case of the outlet valves p, q, there
is no occasion for any such arrangement, and therefore the rod pq is invariably
(and uniformly) moved along by the piece s', as it travels between the stops p³, q
Reversion of motion is provided for by the peculiar manner in which the
excentric is arranged. In the plate R of this excentric, at diametrically opposite
points, there are formed recesses or notches, such as rr; one, in one face of the
excentric plate, and the other in the other face. The plate or disc itself is adapted
to revolve on a collar ¹, integral with or secured to the shaft R', and to be locked
in two different and diametrically opposite positions by means of a double
wedge, the portion of which serves for locking it in the opposite position.
This double wedge is capable of sliding in a groove provided in the surface of the

page_text: collar, which arrangement materially facilitates the reversion of the positions.
All that is necessary is to move the double wedge, either direct, or through the
medium of suitable mechanism, and the required reversion of motion will be
effected, and inasmuch as the collar is secured to the shaft by means of set
screws, the position or direction of such collar may be varied at will, and con-
sequently the excentric set at any desired angle.
Where the motor is to be constructed with a rocking cylinder, the expansion
and reversing gear, as hereinabove described, cannot be employed, and in that
case the following arrangement may conveniently be adopted.
Let the cylinder be made to oscillate on a shaft such as X, Y, for example.
The rod S, S is, by means of a journal v, pivotted to another rod V, the opposite
end of which is linked to a slide movable in a stationary annular slideway W,
which consequently does not participate in the oscillation of the motor, and the
radius of whose curve may be equal, say, to the distance v, vl,
Hence, given a cylinder which oscillates on the said shaft X, Y, it will be
seen that if the end t be stationary, the rod S, S, will be reciprocated, and the
inlet and outlet valves will be operated in the manner described above, it will only
be necessary to vary the position of the point upon the slide L, in order to vary
the expansion, when motion in one direction will correspond to the position of
of the slide upon the arc of the circle, while the reverse motion will correspond to
the arc itself, and the point of stoppage will be at j (assuming this point to be
coincident with the shaft X, Y).
In this arrangement, the movable parts I, II, are permanently secured on the
cylinder, the rod U becoming superfluous; while the adjustable levers m³, n³,
are retained, and operated as described above.
As stated at the beginning of this specification, my motor may operate with
any fluids, although it has been mainly devised as a liquefied gas motor. Its
siz, and the dimensions of its parts, may vary according to requirements, and it
may be constructed with either one or any number of cylinders, either for direct
admission, or on the compound system for double or triple expansion, &c.
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:
-
1. A motor with a reciprocating piston driven by a fluid acting by expansion,
the main feature thereof being certain mechanism for admitting the fluid into the
cylinder and discharging the same, comprising independent valves, such as m, n,
for controlling the introduction of the fluid on either side of the cylinder, such
valves tending to resume their "closed" position under the action of springs, such
as m³, m³, and their valve rods m³, n¹, carrying short levers, such as m², n³, which,
being guided at one end by stationary pieces, such as T, provided with an incline,
engage at the other end with a stop forming part of, or attached to, a distributing
rod, such as S, which receives reciprocating motion from an excentric, the escape
valves, which are connected together, being moved by the operation of a
stop projecting from the said distributing rod S, which moves between two pro-
jections on the rod p, q, of such, escape valves, as described with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
2. In the motor with a reciprocating piston forming the subject of the 1st
Claim, the arrangement for effecting a varying expansion by a proportionate
movement of pieces, such as T, T¹, provided with inclines which are pressed upon
by the short levers m, n, linked to the rods of the inlet valves m, n, as described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
3. In the motor forming the subject of the 1st Claim, the arrangement of the
excentric controlling the distributing rod, whereby such excentric is enabled to
effect the reversion of motion; it being adapted for the purpose, to be instan-
taneously shifted to and locked in either of two different positions by means of a
movable double wedge, 2, 3, capable of engaging in either of two recesses provided

page_text: on the two sides or faces of the excentric disc R, as described with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
4. In the motor forming the subject of the 1st Claim, the arrangement for
expansion and reversion applicable to those cases where such motor is constructed
with an oscillating cylinder; such arrangement consisting of a distributing rod S
jointed to a link, the other end of which is situated upon a stationary slide-way,
along which it may be moved; the parts T T with the inclines being in this case
stationary upon the cylinder, as described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.