IMPROVEMENTS IN. GAS MOTOR ENGINES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick William Turner of St Alban's Iron Works
St Albans in the County of Hertford Engineer for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN. GAS MOTOR ENGINES
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick William Turner
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd August 1880.
FREDERICK WILLIAM TURNER of St. Alban's Iron Works, St. Albans, in the
County of Hertford Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS MOTOR ENGINES"
This invention relates to motor engines worked by the explosive and expansive
force of mixed gas and atmospheric air and consists partly in improvements in the
engines described in the specification of my former Letters. Patent Dated 29th
March A.D. 1879 N° 1270.
According to one part of my present invention I provide the engine with two
slide-valves, one to regulate the entrance of gas and air to the cylinder and the
ignition of the same, the other to exhaust the foul gases from the cylinder. These
valves are arranged together between the cylinder port face and the hollow back-
plate which has water circulating through it as described in the specification of
my said former patent, the latter valve, which is a flat plate provided with a port
or passage covering the exhaust ports worked by an excentric on the main shaft
of the engine by means of a rod, while the other valve in which is formed the
chamber containing the igniting jet is arranged to work in contact with the said
back plate and is actuated by means of trip-gear which consists of a pawl attached
to a lever or to a cross head connected to the said slide valve rod and operated by
a catch attached to the said excentric rod or to the excentric strap. By this
arrangement both valves receive from one excentric the required movements to
effect the opening and closing of the ports and passages at the proper times; I
may however have one valve worked by an excentric while the other is moved by
a second excentric working the trip gear or by a quick motion cam, or a circular
valve arranged to drop upon a seat may be in some cases conveniently applied in
place of the exhaust slide and operated by the same excentric and rod.
Hitherto considerable difficulty has arisen from the presence of the foul gas in
the igniting chamber of the slide-valve of gas-engines; this foul gas prevents
ignition and renders it impossible to fire the gases. in the cylinder with sufficient

page_text: rapidity to obtain an impulse at every stroke of the piston in quick running engines.
But according to this invention I provide for drawing the foul gases at each stroke
from the igniting chamber preferably by the action of the engine piston, or by the
plunger of the air and gas charge supply pumps or an auxiliary pump. For this
purpose the said igniting chamber is in communication with a passage leading to
the air supply port and by another passage with the external atmosphere so that
a current of fresh air with the igniting flame will pass through the igniting chamber
removing the foul gas and ensuring the ignition of the charge of gas and air at
each successive stroke of the engine.
I provide for closing the ports quickly at each stroke of the engine by arranging
a spring to force the valve down after each action of the said trip gear. This spring
is preferably placed around a rod extending up from the valve through a hollow
bracket and the said rod is provided with an adjustable stop or with a piston
working in an air-cylinder by which the descent of the said valve is limited.
Another part of my improvements relates to motors in which it is necessary to
use a pump to compress the explosive charge in the cylinder For this purpose I
propose to place the cylinder and compressing pump side by side and to connect
the piston of the cylinder and the plunger of the pump by ball-joints to connecting
rods which I couple together by a crosspin working in the end of a rocking plate
or beam from which pin a connecting rod extends to the crank-shaft. By this
arrangement I ensure the parallel and simultaneous working of the piston and
plunger without guide bars and with one crank only. In these engines, instead of
adopting the ordinary arrangement of placing the burner of the igniting flame
within the slide valve (which arrangement is a great source of trouble by reason of
the high temperature to which it raises the valve) I place the burner for the
igniting flame in the hollow back plate through the other parts of which water
circulates as above specified and as described in the said former specification. This
flame is composed of gas and air under compression and may be led by suitable
passages from the combustion-chamber or compressing pump, and to support the
combustion of such flame within the said chamber I draw out the foul gases by
putting the chamber by means of a pipe or passage, in communication with the
air compressing pump.
I provide for regulating the flame, a device somewhat similar to that used in the
well known "Giffard" injector for regulating the passage of steam; no other jet of
gas will be necessary within the slide valve as heretofore.
I free the cylinder of these motors of foul gas after every explosion, and previous
to the admission of a subsequent fresh charge of gas and air, by causing the
compressing pump to force through the cylinder, combustion chamber, and passages
at every alternate stroke, a charge of pure air. For this purpose I arrange across
the bottom or rear end of the cylinder and air pump a combustion-chamber which
is always in direct communication with the cylinder and intermittently in com-
munication with the air-pump during a portion of each stroke through a cavity in
the slide valve which is arranged at the side of the said air-pump. The slide valve
may be worked directly from the crank-shaft by an excentric or it may be
operated from a second shaft. The exhaust valve is arranged at the side of the
cylinder and is moved once in every two revolutions of the engine. At each
alternate stroke of the pump plunger a charge of mixed air and gas will be drawn
through the said slide-valve which charge during the inward stroke of the pump
plunger will be compressed in the said combustion chamber and ignited there
while at every other alternate stroke of the said plunger, air only is drawn into the
pump this air being forced through the said combustion chamber and cylinder and
through the exhaust port carrying with it and expelling the foul gases. The gas-
supply valve is operated with the exhaust valve so as to admit gas at the required
intervals.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Frederick William Turner in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd February 1881.
FREDERICK WILLIAM TURNER, of St. Albans Ironworks, St Albans in the
County of Hertford, Engineer, "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS-MOTOR ENGINES
"
This Invention relates to motor-engines worked by the explosive and expansive
force of mixed gas and atmospheric air, and consists partly in improvements in the
engines described in the Specification of my former Letters Patent dated 29th
March A.D. 1879 N° 1270.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of my improved gas-engines sbewing
the cylinder and valves in vertical section, and,
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the said engine.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 4 shews the face of the admission and ignition valve adjacent to the
exhaust valve, and,
Figure 5 shews the other face of the said valve.
Figure 6 is a face view of the exhaust-valve, and,
Figure 7 is an elevation of the cylinder port-face and ports and illustrates the
position of the gas-supply pipes.
Figure 8 is a plan, partly in horizontal section, and,
Figure 9 a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of another form of my
improved gas-engines hereinafter described.
Figure 10 is a side elevation of the said engine with the hollow back plate
removed.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.
I will first describe the engine illustrated in Figures 1 to 7 in which A is the
bed or base-plate and B a column or standard; a is the cylinder-b is the piston
and c the piston-rod of the said engine; d is the main shaft carrying the crank-
disc e and supported in suitable bearings on the said column; f is the exhaust slide-
valve; g the admission and ignition slide-valve, and a hollow back-plate at the
rear of the said slide-valves; i is an air-cylinder provided with a piston j for
arresting and regulating the motion of the slide-valve g as hereinafter explained.
The remaining parts are hereinafter described. The valve g serves to regulate the
entrance of gas and air to the cylinder a and to effect the ignition of the same,
and the valve f serves to permit the escape of foul gases from the said cylinder.
These valves are arranged together between the cylinder port-face k and the hollow
back-plate h; the latter has a space h¹ through which water circulates as described
in the Specification of my said former Letters Patent. The exhaust-valve f which
consists of a flat plate provided with a port or passage 1 is worked by an excentric
and strap on the main shaft d of the engine by means of a rod 1, while the
admission and ignition valve g (in which is formed the chamber 2 containing the
igniting jet port 3, and the passages for regulating the admission of gas and air) is
arranged to work in contact with the said valve f and with the back-plate h and
is actuated by means of trip-gear. This trip-gear is constructed and arranged as
follows, that is to say, a lever m is pivotted at m² to a fixed standard m³ and
connected by a rod n' with the valve-spindle n. To this lever m, or to a cross-
head upon the rod n', I secure a pawl or projecting piece m¹ which is attached to
the said lever m with a capability of lateral adjustment therein, and which is
operated by a catch fixed on the excentric-rod . This catch is so arranged
relatively to the projection m' that in the upward movement of the rod / the
catch engages with the said projection and raises the lever m, and consequently the
valve g, whilst on commencing its downward movement the catch disengages
8469. Wt. 8497.

page_text: the said projection and allows the said valve and lever to drop thereby closing the
whole of the ports in the back plate h and bringing the igniting chamber 2 into
communication with the port 7 through the port 1 of the exhaust valve. By this
arrangement both of the valves f, g, receive from the one excentric the required
movements to effect the opening and closing of the ports and passages at the
proper times; in some cases however I arrange one valve to be worked by an
excentric while the other is moved by a second excentric working the trip-gear,
or by a quick-motion-cam. A circular valve arranged to drop upon a seat may in
some cases be conveniently employed in place of the exhaust-slide-valve and be
operated by the same excentric and rod.
Hitherto considerable difficulty has arisen from the presence of foul gas in the
igniting chamber of the slide-valves of gas-engines; This foul gas prevents ignition
and renders impossible the firing of the gases in the cylinder with sufficient
rapidity to obtain an impulse at every stroke of the piston in quick running
engines. But according to this invention I provide for drawing the foul gases at
each stroke from the igniting chamber by the action of the engine-piston. For this
purpose the igniting chamber 2 is in communication, by a passage 4, with the port 5;
through the latter and the air-inlet ports 6, the port 1, the cylinder inlet port 7,
and cylinder inlet and exhaust port 8, air is supplied to the said cylinder. The
said chamber 2 is also in communication by another passage 9 with the external
atmosphere so that when the valve g is in the position shewn in Figure 1 the
current of air entering the port 5 and passing into the engine-cylinder will draw
out the foul gas from the passage 4 whilst at the same time a current of fresh air
will pass with the external igniting flame from the pipe o through the igniting
chamber 2 and further assist in removing the foul gas, thereby ensuring the
ignition of the charge of gas and air at each successive stroke of the piston. In
some cases however I provide for drawing the foul gases from the igniting
chamber by means of the plunger of an air and gas pump combined with the
cylinder of the engine as hereinafter described, or by means of a separate auxiliary
pump. 10 represents the gas-supply port, and 11 the exhaust-port through which
the foul gases from the cylinder pass when the said port is put in communication
with the port 8 by the port 1 of the slide-valve f in its downward movement.
12 is the pipe for supplying gas to the port 3 of the internal gas jet or flame of the
valve and 13 is the main gas-pipe for supplying gas to the cylinder. 14 represents
the pipe for supplying gas to the pipe o of the external igniting flame.
I provide for closing the ports quickly at each stroke of the piston by the
employment of a spring to accelerate the downward motion of the valve g after
each action of the aforesaid trip-gear. This spring is preferably placed as shewn
at around the rod n extending up from the valve g, and the said rod is
provided with the piston j which works within the air-cylinder i and serves to
limit the descent and regulate the motion of the said valve; or the said rod may
be provided with an adjustable collar which falls upon a stop to limit the down-
ward motion of the said valve.
Another part of my improvements which is illustrated in Figures 8, 9 and 10,
relates to motors wherein it is necessary to use a pump to compress the explosive
charge in the cylinder. For this purpose I prefer to place the cylinder a and the
compressing pump p side by side and to connect the piston b of the said cylinder
and the plunger 9 of the pump by ball-joints r, r, to piston rods ',, which I
couple together by a cross-pin s' working in the end of a rocking plate or beam 8,
from which pin a connecting rod t extends to the crank-shaft d. By this arrange-
ment I ensure the parallel and simultaneous working of the piston and plunger
without guide-bars, and with one crank only. In these engines, instead of adopting
the ordinary arrangement wherein the burner of the igniting flame is within the
slide-valve (which arrangement is a great source of trouble by reason of the high
temperature to which it raises the valve) I place the burner u for the igniting
flame in the hollow back plate h through the parts or spaces h¹ of which water
circulates as above specified and as described in the said former Specification. This

page_text: flame is the result of gas and air under compression and may be led by suitable
passages u¹ from the combustion-chamber vor compressing pump p
To support the combustion of such flame within the said chamber I draw out
the foul gases by putting the igniting chamber of the valve, by means of a pipe or
passage w, in communication with the air-compressing pump; the action of the
plunger of this pump produces a partial vacuum in the said igniting chamber
thereby clearing it of foul gases, that is to say, the pump-plunger in its inward
stroke or movement draws the foul gases from the said igniting chamber u into the
pump-cylinder through the pipe w, and in its outward stroke discharges such foul
gases through the outlet-valve w*.
The slide-valve g may be worked directly from the crank-shaft by an excentric
g*, or it may be operated from a second shaft. The exhaust-valve f*, which
preferably consists of a spindle-valve, is arranged at the side of the cylinder a
and is moved once in each revolution or in every two revolutions of the engine.
At each stroke, or at every alternate stroke of the pump-plunger q, a charge of
mixed air and gas may be drawn through the said slide-valve which charge during
the inward stroke of the said pump-plunger will be compressed in the said com-
bustion-chamber and ignited therein. The gas-supply valve is so operated with
the exhaust-valve as to admit gas at the required intervals.
When it is desired to obtain an impulse by an ignition of the gaseous charge at
every revolution of the crank-shaft, I prefer to work the exhaust-valve directly by
an excentric on the same.
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing the
same I wish it understood that I claim-in a gas-motor-engine.
First. The employment of two slide-valves which operate conjointly to regulate
the supply of air and gas to the cylinder, ignite the charge, and exhaust the said
cylinder of the foul gases, as above set forth.
Second. The combination of the admission and ignition slide-valve, the exhaust-
valve, the trip-mechanism worked from the excentric-rod or from a cam, the spring,
and the air-cylinder and piston or equivalent devices for limiting the descent and
regulating the motion of the said admission and ignition-valve, all substantially as
above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Third. The means whereby the foul gases are drawn out of the igniting
chamber of the ignition-valve or back-plate, substantially as herein described.
Fourth. The arrangement wherein the cylinder-piston and the compressing
pump-plunger are connected to the same crank, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
Fifth. I claim a gas-motor-engine embodying in its construction the above
described improvements in combination with the other parts of such engine
substantially as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, or in Figures 8, 9 and 10 of the
accompanying drawings, and as above set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Frederick William Turner have hereunto set
my hand and seal this Second day of February in the year of Our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
FW TURNER (L.S.)