Year: 1898

page_text: I, COLOMBO RICCI, of 8, Denmark Street, Soho, in the County of London,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
My invention relates principally to that class of motor engines worked by com-
bustible gases or petroleum vapor or spray, wherein a combustible charge is
only fired at the end of every alternate stroke of the piston and has reference to,
and comprises improvements in the construction or arrangement and combination
of the different mechanical parts, as well as in the construction and arrangement
of the firing appliances, silencing and cleansing the exhaust gases, and other
details of minor importance.
The principal object of my present invention is to construct and produce a
motor of the highest possible standard of efficiency coupled with the simplest
and smallest number of parts, so that it may be capable to run satisfactorily even
in the hands of the most inexperienced persons.
The motor described hereafter has been specially designed and arranged for
autocars and other vehicles, but when mounted on a suitable bedplate or other
stand, can be also used as an ordinary stationary motor.
In carrying my invention into practice I generally use two cylinders (mounted
horizontally and one opposite the other as described hereinafter) with their pistons
connected by means of ordinary piston rods, to one and the same crank-pin.
This construction gives me the advantage over the one cylinder motor of the
same power of reducing the total weight of the motor by reducing the diameter
and thickness of the cylinder and piston, the size of the crank shaft and the weight
of the flywheel by one half, beside the more important advantage of obtaining
one impulse every revolution, giving thus greater regularity of speed, much less
vibration, greater facility of starting it and above all, the advantage of economising
the gases by using one cylinder only, when running on a flat road or when only
a small power is wanted; and of using both cylinders when the car has to run
up a steep incline or when the full power is required.
Each cylinder is fitted and mounted in an outer case or water jacket which
extends in a conical shape as far as the centre of the crank shaft and is joined
and bolted to a similar water jacket bearing the other cylinder, the whole thing
forming thus a body with the middle part of the shape of a barrel with a cylindrical
extension at each end.

page_text: All the moving parts are thus enclosed in a dust proof and water tight compart-
ment and can be easily and thoroughly lubricated in their motion by a quantity
of oil placed in the middle part of the water jacket and without any use of ordinary
lubricators.
This arrangement has the advantage of rendering the motor self contained i.e.
it can be run satisfactorily either placed on, or suspended from a vehicle without
the necessity of a bed plate or any other additional frame.
Its construction is also greatly simplified, for the motor being symmetrical only
the pattern for one half of it is necessary; and the facing for the middle joint
can be easily done on the lathe at the same time as the boring and the heading.
The crank shaft is mounted on suitable bearings horizontally and at right angles
with the axis of the motor, and suitable openings are provided on the upper part
of the body of the water jacket so as to enable the pistons to be withdrawn for
the purpose of cleaning the cylinders without the necessity of taking the whole
motor to pieces.
Each cylinder head is provided with a suitable inlet valve which opens auto-
matically on the suction stroke of the piston, and with an exhaust valve which
is opened immediately before the end of the working stroke by means of an
eccentric geared direct to the crank shaft, inside the water jacket and completing
one revolution for every two of the main shaft.
When the motor is run with petroleum or heavy hydro-carbon oils I preferably
provide the entrance of the inlet valve with one or more perforated plates, metallic
gauze or net, asbestos cloth or sponge or any other equivalent and suitable material
for the purpose of breaking the liquid into spray and aiding its evaporation and
thus dispensing with the troublesome and very dangerous carburator.
The mode of ignition of the charge I preferably use, is the electric spark by
breaking contact at the proper moment and with a mechanism capable to regulate
the time of ignition, i.. capable to ignite the charge either before, or at the end
of the compressing stroke.
In order however to economise the electric current as much as possible, and to
render my source of electricity more efficient and more durable, I provide each
cylinder head with a mechanical automatic igniter which after one minute or
so that the motor has been running, will be capable of igniting the compressed
charge as accurately and without any help of the electric spark.
The electric current can then be switched off and only used for a starting purpose.
This automatic igniter consists of a knob formed with a series of copper discs
or any other suitable material interpolated or separated from each other by means
of other discs of asbestos, clay, porcelain or other equivalent material; the whole
tightly bolted together and fixed inside the cylinder head within a cylindrical box
so as to protect it from the incoming charge and keep it at the highest possible
temperature.
After a few strokes of the piston, the metallic discs will be hot enough to be able
to ignite the compressed charge without any help of the electric spark; and the
asbestos or clay discs will store up enough heat to enable the metallic discs to
ignite the charge even if one or more explosions were missed.
Once the motor started the electric current can be switched off and the explo-
sions will afterwards take place without any further attention.
In connection with this motor, I sometimes employ a specially arranged
silencing box, through which the exhaust gases pass, and are thoroughly washed,
cleansed and combined, so that besides reducing the noise generally produced
by exhausting direct into the atmosphere, the objectionable smell emitted by these
unburnt gases, is also completely eliminated.
This silencing box consists of an ordinary cylindrical reservoir, of three or four
times the capacity of the motor cylinder, half filled with water saturated with
sulphate of iron, chloride of lime, permanganate of potash or any other suitable
substance.
The upper part of this silencing box, is entirely separated from the bottom one

page_text: by means of a perforated plate, bearing some twenty or more small pipes pro-
jecting downwards and plunged in the above mentioned bath to the depth of one
inch or more.
The box is thus divided into two compartments: the upper one which is connected
by means of an ordinary tube to the exhaust valves of the motor, and the lower
one containing the liquid, the uppermost part of the lower compartment is open
to the atmosphere.
The gases are first exhausted in the upper compartment where they expand,
and are then forced downwards through the small pipes and the bath of chemicals
where the unburnt hydrocarbons are partly condensed and combined with the
chemicals above mentioned completely losing thus all their objectionable odour
and after expanding a second time in the lower compartment are ultimately easily
and noiselessly driven into the atmosphere.
Sometimes, instead of the above described perforated plate and pipes I use
one or more metallic or asbestos diaphragms soaked in the above mentioned
liquid through which the exhaust is forced, leaving behind all the impurities
and unburnt hydrocarbons and completely losing whatever pressure there was
left before passing into the atmosphere.
Improvements in Gas and Oil Motors.
I, COLOMBO RICCI, of No. S, Denmark Street, in the County of London,
Mechanical 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:-
My invention relates principally to that class of motor engines worked by com-
bustible gases, petroleum vapour or spray wherein a combustible charge is only
fired at the end of every alternate out stroke of the piston and has reference to
and comprises improvements in the construction, arrangement, and combination
of the different mechanical parts, as well as in the construction and arrangement
of the firing appliances, silencing and cleansing of the exhaust gases, and other
details of minor importance.
The principal object of my present invention is to construct and produce a
motor of the highest possible standard of efficiency coupled with the simplest
and smallest number of parts so that it may be capable of running satisfactorily
even in the hands of the most inexperienced persons.
The motor described hereinafter and shewn in the accompanying drawings has
been specially designed for autocars and other vehicles, but when mounted on a
suitable bedplate or other stand, can be also used as an ordinary stationary motor.
Fig. 1 is a general view in elevation with the right hand cylinder sectioned.
Fig. 2 is the plan of the same with the left hand cylinder sectioned.
Fig. 3 is an end view showing the cylinder head with the inlet and the
exhausting valves.
Fig. 1 is also an end view showing the motor divided in the middle, with the
crank shaft and fly wheel in place.
Fig. 6 & 7, are details of the evlinder head and automatic igniter on a larger
scale.

page_text: Fig. 8, 9, 10 & 11, represent a silencing box with arrangement for cleansing
and deodorising the burnt gases.
Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7, C, and C¹, are respectively the two cylin-
ders, K, and K', the water jackets and their extensions, provided with ribs k, k¹,
and connected together by means of bolts b.
P, P', are the pistons, B, B', the connecting rods. A, the crank shaft and
V, the fly wheel.
At each end of the water jacket are bolted the cylinder heads T, T, provided
with suction valves S, S¹, and exhaust valves E, E¹; a, a¹, are the bearings of
the crank shaft and L, L', are two openings through which the two pistons can
be withdrawn from the cylinders and the different parts of the mechanism can
be lubricated.
The crank shaft A is provided with two pinions d, d, which gear with the
wheels D, D', in the proportion of 1, to 2, i.e. the wheels D, D¹, will complete
one revolution for every two of the crank shaft. The wheels D, D¹, are mounted
and fixed on spindles F, F, capable to rotate freely in the hearings G, G¹; on
the inner side these spindles F, F, are provided with excentrics f, f¹, which by
means of the small connecting rods g, g, cause the small rods e, e', to slide to and
fro, for the purpose of opening the exhaust valves E, E, as described hereafter.
H, H¹, are two levers hinged at h, h³, and provided with a hole J, J, through which
passes the stem N, N', of the exhaust valves E, E; a small wooden handle m, m³,
is provided for the purpose of opening the valves by hand when the motor has to
he started.
The stems N, N¹, of the valves E, E¹, are provided with two nuts n, n¹, between
which the levers H, H can work freely when the motor is running. These two
levers H, H, are mounted (as shewn by Fig. 3) with their axis in front of the
centre of the rods e, e', so that at every turn of the wheels, D, D', these rods e, e¹,
will push these levers outwards and open the exhaust valves at the proper time.
During the return motion of the rods e, e¹, the exhaust valves are instantly
closed by means of coil springs R, R¹, attached in r, r¹, on the water jackets K, K³.
The inlet valves S, S¹, open automatically at every suction stroke of the
pistons P, P, and close also automatically by means of coil springs 0, 0, the
tension of which can be regulated at will by means of the sleeves i, , which are
screwed on the stems I, I¹.
These valves are moreover provided with an opening (funnel shaped) M, M¹,
which I sometimes cover with metallic gauze for the purpose of facilitating the
vapourization of the oil or other liquid to be sucked into the cylinder. Q, Q¹,
q, q', are inlet and outlet tubes through which a circulation of cold water is kept
running automatically for the purpose of cooling the cylinders and pistons when
the motor is running.
5
The two connecting rods B, B1, are hollow as shewn by the drawings Fig. 1,
and 2, and the little holes , v, serve for the purpose of filling them up with
oil so as to lubricate the spindle p, p, of the pistons and also the crank pin and
pivot p³.
These two connecting rods are connected to the crank shaft A, by means of the
stirrup B, which in 61, is articulated with the connecting rod B¹, and on the
left hand side is fixed to the connecting rod B, by means of a cotter 68.
The bosses or brackets X, X', X2, X3, are provided for the purpose of fixing
the motor by means of four ordinary screws to the carriage or vehicle withou
any need of additional frame or other support.
The igniting mechanism that I preferably use in this motor is the same as the
one shewn and described in a previous Specification No. 16,380 of 1897 but i
order to economise the electric current as much as possible, in conjunction with
the above mechanism, I employ an automatic igniter which I place inside th
cylinder head see Fig. 1 & 2 and which after the motor has been running a fe
minutes, will be capable of igniting the compressed charge as regularly as th
electric spark itself.

page_text: This automatic igniter consists of a conical body U formed with a series of
discs u, see Fig. 5 & 6 preferably gun metal or copper, fixed in the centre of
the cylinder head T, and surrounded by a cylindrical cover t, which protects it
from the incoming charge and keeps it at the highest possible temperature.
Instead of this, I sometimes form this body, with a series of metallic discs u,
see Fig. 7, separated from each other by means of other discs Y, of a smaller
diameter, of asbestos, clay, porcelain or other equivalent material bolted together
and fixed in the centre of the cylinder head in the same manner as the above.
After the motor has been running a few minutes this body will be raised to
such a high temperature as to be able to regularly ignite the compressed charge,
after the electric current has been switched off.
The silencing box that I use in connection with this motor is shewn by Figs. 8
& 9, and consists of an ordinary cylindrical reservoir A, of three or four times the
capacity of the motor's cylinder and of which the upper part B, is completely
separated from the lower one C, by means of a diaphragm b, which is perforated
with a number of small holes provided with tubes d, which plunge in a bath of
one inch or so of water saturated with sulphate of iron, chloride of lime, perman-
ganate of potash or any other equivalent substance. The upper chamber B,
receives directly the exhaust gases from the motor's cylinder through the
pipes D, D¹, which are attached by means of an ordinary union to the exhaust
valves E, E¹, (see Fig. 1 & 2,) and as they come out with a pressure of between
twenty and thirty pounds per sqr. inch they are forced through the small tubes d,
and the bath E above mentioned; thus leaving behind whatever impurity they
might contain and passing noiselessly into the atmosphere through the passage R,
cool and without any objectionable smell. Instead of the above mentioned
apparatus I sometimes, and especially in the case of auto-carriages employ,
preferably a horizontal cylindrical reservoir A, as shown by Fig. 10 and 11 which
besides embodying all the above mentioned conditions and advantages is more
easily adapted and does not require so much space.
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 :-
First: An explosion motor, in which one impulse is given for each alternate
out-stroke of the working piston comprising two working cylinders, mounted
opposite each other inside symmetrical water-jackets provided with conical
extensions and means for connecting them together as described and shown by
Fig. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.
Second: In explosion motors as described in Claim 1, the combination with
the connecting rods B, B', of the stirrup B2, as shewn and described and for the
purpose specified.
Third: In explosion motors as described in Claim 1, the combination with the
exhaust valves E, E', of the levers H, H¹, rods e, e¹ and excentrics f, f¹, the whole
as described and shewn in the accompanying drawings and for the purpose
specified.
Fourth In explosion motors as described in Claim 1, the combination with
the inlet valve S, (working automatically by means of a coil spring O) of a regu-
lating sleeve i, as described and shewn in the accompanying drawing and for
the purpose specified.
Fifth: In explosion motors generally the combination with the cylinder head
or explosion chamber of an automatic igniter composed of a series of metallic
discs as described and shewn by Fig. 5 & 6, and for the purpose specified.
Sixth In explosion motors generally the combination with the explosion
chamber of an automatic igniter composed of a series of metallic discs separated
by other discs of smaller diameter of asbestos etc., the whole bolted and fixed in
the centre of the cylinder head and surrounded by a cylindrical cover substantially
as described and shown by Fig. 7 and for the purpose specified.

page_text: Seventh: In explosion motors as described in Claim 1, a silencing box sub-
stantially as described and shewn by Fig. 8, 9, 10 & 11, of the accompanying
drawings and for the purpose specified.
Eighth In explosion motors as described in Claim 1 the construction or arrange-
ment of the different parts all combined and operating substantially as described 5
and shewn in the accompanying drawings and for the purposes above specified.
Dated this 24th day of October 1898