Improvements in Vapour and Gas Engines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application 26th July, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 25th Apr., 1890-Accepted, 26th July, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Vapour and Gas Engines.
I, JOHANNES CATHARINUS BULL of The Yews, Belvedere in the County of Kent,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
This invention has for its object Improvements in Vapour and Gas Engines.
When employing the vapour of petroleum or other carbonaceous material in an
explosion engine I proceed as follows:-I produce the vapour under pressure in a
I admit
generator by means of heat. I also compress air by mechanical means.
this compressed air and this vapour under pressure into a cylinder containing a
piston as usual in gas engines. At the commencement of the stroke the valve
opens and admits the compressed air alone up to a certain point then the further
movement of the valve causes vapour also to be admitted to the cylinder. After
a time an explosive mixture is formed and this then ignites at an ignition apparatus
which is in readiness and then the effective stroke of the engine is made.
It will be seen that premature explosion is impossible because it is not till the
cylinder has received its full charge that an explosive mixture is formed.
Self acting valves prevent any return of products of combustion into the vapour
and air supply pipes; when the explosion takes place and soon afterwards the main
valve closes the admission ports.
During the return stroke the products of combustion are expelled.
I provide for this purpose exhaust valves upon the piston--these valves are actuated
by rods or instruments passing through the piston rod which is made hollow for
them.
Similar arrangements are applicable to gas engines. The engines may be made
double acting.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Vapour and Gas Engines.
I, JOHANNES CATHARINUS BULL of The Yews, Belvedere in the County of Kent,
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:
This Invention has for its object Improvements in Vapour and Gas Engines.
I so construct a vapour or gas engine that air and it may be some gas or vapour is
admitted to the working cylinder at the commencement of the stroke and that as the
stroke proceeds gas or vapour is admitted in sufficient quantity to render the mixture
explosive and so that the mixture when it becomes explosive is at once fired by reason
of its being in contact with ignition apparatus and then the effective stroke of the
engine is made.
It will be seen that premature explosion is impossible because it is not till the
cylinder has received its full charge that an explosive mixture is formed.
In order that my said Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is an horizontal section of a vapour or gas engine constructed in accord-
ance with any Invention.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 show the discs or cams which actuate the valves in their proper
relative positions.
Figure 5 is a face view of the bottom of the working cylinder and Figure 6
a section on a larger scale shewing how a spring may be in the valve rods used for
opening the valves.
A is the working cylinder, B is an air compressing cylinder, a and b the correspond-
ing pistons. A¹ is a water jacket round working cylinder. C is the crank shaft.
D and E are shafts worked off the crank shaft, through bevel gearing in such a
manner that shaft E makes exactly one revolution for every revolution of the main
shaft and in the opposite direction. c. d. e are cam wheels keyed on to shaft E and
working the valves gh in a manner to be presently described. The cams shewn are
discs with grooves in their faces but other ordinary kind of cam might be used. F is
a reservoir for the compressed air, it is placed below the engine. is a small tube
which is kept red hot by an external flame m. I make the tube so as to return into
the cylinder to ensure that the entering mixture shall be as near as possible of the
same nature as the contents of the cylinder. n is an asbestos funnel to preserve the
heat of flame m.
The motions are as follows :—
The reservoir F is filled with air to start with, under a fair amount of pressure say
10 to 20 lbs. per square inch by closing the inlets to valves and h and turning the
crank; by which operation piston b is caused to draw air from the atmosphere through
inlet valve i and compress it into the reservoir F through outlet valve k. As soon
as a sufficient pressure is obtained the air from the reservoir is allowed access to
valve f, and the vapour or gas under pressure to valve h. These valves as well
as the exhaust valve g are worked by the cam wheels c d e as will now be described.
Each valve rod has a forked end which takes into the groove on each face of the
wheel, and it will be seen that the arrangement of the cain grooves is such that when
a is at the bottom of the cylinder and begins moving forward valve f will be almost
fully open and a moment afterwards completely open thus allowing the compressed air
to enter freely into A. At the same time h is slightly open and the area of opening
is so arranged that the vapour or gas mixing with the entering air will form a mixture
which is not rich enough in gas or vapour to be explosive. When the piston has
reached the position indicated by dotted line (position 1) the valve / will open more
fully and at position 2 the mixture in cylinder becomes explosive and is fired through
the tube 7. The exploding gases force the piston a forward and thus do the work of
the engine.
The igniting tube is in communication with the cylinder all through the stroke
except when the piston covers the entrances to it. The valves f and h may be
allowed to close so soon as the mixture explodes the pressure upon them. then over-
coming the springs fl and ¹ which form part of their rods as seen most clearly in
Figure 6. As shewn in this figure each rod is in two parts with the spring interposed
between them.
In place of using springs the inner sides of the grooves in the cams c and e
might be cut away at the points c¹ and e' as shewn by dotted lines in Figures 2 and 4
to allow the valves to close or nearly so when the pressure in the cylinder is greater
than the pressure that holds them open.
The valves and h are held down to their seats after about stroke of the piston
as soon as possible after the explosion has taken place. They remain by preference
fully closed for the remainder of the working stroke as well as the greater part of the
return stroke.
The exhaust valve on the other hand opens fully at the very first stage of the
return stroke, and the exploded gases can thus be entirely exhausted from the working

page_text: cylinder the exhaust valve closes completely at or about the end of the return
stroke.
Whilst the working and exhausting stroke is taking place, the air pump piston, the
crank of which forms an angle of 180° with the working crank will have compressed
the last charge of air into reservoir F, and drawn another charge into cylinder B ready
for compression.
I propose to work the engine at the following pressures when in full operation viz.
at 40 lbs. pressure in reservoir F and at 60 lbs. pressure in the gas or vapour reservoir
but I do not limit myself to these pressures, indeed the engine can be used without
any greater pressures of the fluids than in the ordinary gas and vapour engines.
I secure by the foregoing arrangement complete exhaustion of the exploded gases
and further any amount of expansion desired.
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 vapour or gas engine so arranged that air and it may be some gas or vapour is
admitted to the working cylinder at the first portion of the stroke, and that at a
later portion of the stroke gas or vapour is admitted in sufficient quantity to render
the mixture in the cylinder explosive and also so arranged that the mixture is fired
immediately that it becomes explosive by ignition apparatus which is always open to
the cylinder and always ready to act; so doing away with ignition slide valves.
2. A vapour or gas engine with separate admission passages for air and for gas or
vapour to the working cylinder and with each passage fitted with a non return
valve which closes when explosion takes place in the cylinder and is held closed
by the action of a cam on a cam shaft until it is to be again opened.
3. A vapour or gas engine with three valves in the end cover of the working
cylinder, which valves are opened and closed by the action of cams on a cam shaft,
one valve for admitting air, a second for admitting vapour or gas and a third for the
exhaust.
4. The construction of vapour or gas engines substantially as herein before described
and illustrated in the drawing annexed.
Dated this 22nd day of April 1890.