IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS-MOTOR ENGINES AND IN THE VALVES OF SUCH ENGINES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Halle well, of the Firm of Messieurs Hallewell,
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> 4:
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Bentley, and Company, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS-MOTOR ENGINES AND IN THE
VALVES OF SUCH ENGINES."
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:
Sealed the 21st August 1877, and dated the 28th February 1877
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Hallewell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th February 1877:
t
RICHARD HALLEWELL, of the Firm of Messieurs Hallewell; Bentley, and Company,
of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS-
MOTOR ENGINES AND IN THE VALVES OF SUCH ENGINES."
This Invention relates to the class of engine in which are two pistons, and piston
rods working in connection with one cylinder, and the Invention comprises,
Firstly. An improved apparatus for momentary holding or suspending the "loose"
piston and piston rod in position during the effective or "in" stroke of the working
piston, which latter is connected by piston rod to the crank.
Secondly. To an improved combination and arrangement of shafts and gearing for
transmitting the motion from the crank shaft.
Thirdly. "To an improved construction of valve to be used in connection with the
gas-motor engine above referred to, or other gas-motor engine.
The rod of the loose piston is taper or wedge shaped on one side, forming an
inclined plane in the direction of the piston. The cylinder is open at the top, and,
spanned by a bridge piece through which the piston rod works, the aperture in the
bridge being of form similar to the shape of the piston rod. A sliding block piece
mounted on the bridge is actuated so as to wedge and hold the piston rod when
required by means of an inclined piece mounted upon a rod worked from the crank
shaft of the engine. When the loose piston and piston rod are to be released, the
rod and inclined piece are raised by a cam acting upon and lifting the said rod and
incline clear of the sliding block above referred to.
--Motion from the crank shaft is transmitted by gear wheel to a second shaft, on
which is the fly or balance wheel and driving pulley; this arrangement" admits' of
FINE
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page_text: an increased speed, by reason of difference of diameter of the gear wheels, being
imparted to the second or driving shaft of the engine.
con..
The valve I employ comprises a disc valve seat communicating with the cylinder,
and on the seating is a disc having a series of inclined gas and air warp or
ductors" for supplying air and gas and for firing or exploding the same, the inclines
being formed around the periphery of the disc on which is the ordinary cover, the
latter being held in position by means of a crank and lever and weight or spring,
an eccentric and hand lever being employed for raising the lever so as to liberate the
valve cover when requisite to remove the latter, the necessity of adjusting and read-
justing screws being obviated. The supply of gas to the engine will be regulated by
govenor as ordinary.
.
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SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Richard Hallewell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
August 1877.
RICHARD HALLEWELL, of the Firm of Messieurs Hallewell, Bentley, and Company,
of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS-
MOTOR ENGINES AND IN THE VALVES OF SUCH ENGINES,"
This Invention relates to the class of engine having two pistons working in con-
nection with one cylinder, and the Invention comprises,
First. An improved apparatus for momentarily holding or suspending the "loose"
or supplementary piston and piston rod in position during the effective or "in"
stroke of the working piston, which latter is connected with the crank shaft.
Secondly. An improved combination and arrangement of shafts and gearing for
transmitting the motion from the crank shaft.
And, Thirdly. An improved construction of valve to be used in connection with
the gas-motor engine above referred to or in connection with other descriptions of
gas-motor engine.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I have appended here-
unto a Sheet of Drawings marked with letters of reference.
Referring in this place to the said Drawings, Fig. 1, drawn to a scale of about two
inches to the foot, represents a vertical section of so much of a gas engine as is
necessary to the illustration of the first and second parts of my Invention.
In the said Fig. A is a cylinder which is bored to receive the two pistons b and c.
The piston 6 is connected by means of a connecting rod d with the crank shaft e,
which is fitted to revolve in bearings as is usual. The piston c is fitted with a rod
f, which is fitted to slide in a cover or cap g, which is bolted to the upper end of the
cylinder. The rod f is by preference of a rectangular form in cross section, but
the said form may be varied as found to be most suitable. The said rod is of a
wedge shape, that is to say, it tapers in width from the piston to the upper end of
the said rod, as seen in the Drawing. A block h is fitted to slide to and fro in the
cap g, and the inner end of the said block is tapered to suit the incline of the face
on the rod f. A wedge piece i is fitted to slide up and down in a bearing formed in
the cap g. The inclined face of the said wedge piece is towards the block h, and the
end of the said block which is opposed to the said wedge piece is formed to a corre-
sponding angle of inclination. The arrangement is such as that when the wedge
piece is drawn downwards the block h is forced against the rod f. A spiral spring
k tends to draw the said wedge piece in the direction which will tend to force
the said block against the said rod. A cam l is fixed upon the crank shaft e
Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of this cam. The said cam acts upon an anti-friction
bowl, which is mounted on the lower end of a rod m which is fitted to slide in an
endwise direction, that is to say, upwards and "downwards in the example. The
upper end of the said rod is opposed to the lower end of the wedge piece i. When
the said rod is raised by the action of the cam the upper end of the said rod bears

page_text: against the said wedge piece and pushes it up, whereby the pressure upon the sliding
block his relieved.
The action of the parts is as follows:-The pistons are represented in the positions
assumed at about the time when the mixture of gases is exploded. The force of
the explosion drives the piston c upwards. At this time the wedge piece i is free
to be drawn downwards by the spring, and the block h is thereby forced towards
the rod f, and follows it up as the piston moves upwards. When the piston ceases
to move upwards, the block h holds the rod f firmly, and the piston is prevented
from moving downwards by reason of the taper or wedge form of the said rod. The
piston b now moves upwards, being impelled by the vacuum, as is usual in this class
of engine. When the last named piston has completed its upward stroke or there-
abouts, the cam cominences to raise the rod m, whereby the sliding block his
released, and the piston c is permitted to follow the piston b in its downward move-
ment. In the example the upper end of the rod f is formed with a projection, which
descends upon an elastic buffer n at the termination of the downward stroke of the
piston c.
...
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention:-Upon the
crank shaft e is fixed a spur wheel o which gears with a spur pinion ? which is
fixed upon a second motion shaft R, which is fitted to revolve in suitable bearings
indicated by the dotted lines. Upon the shaft R is fixed a suitable fly wheel, which
it has not been thought necessary to show in the Drawing. The driving pulley or
other part or parts for transmitting motion and power from the engine to the
machinery to be actuated is or are also fixed upon the shaft R. In the example the
shaft R revolves at about three times the velocity of the crank shaft, and by reason
of this increased velocity the fly wheel having a greatly increased momentum has
an increased controlling and regulating effect upon the engine, and a more steady
and equable revolving motion is obtained at the same time that a lighter fly wheel
may be employed.
'
The valve constituting the third part of my Invention is indicated at 8 in Fig. 1;
and is illustrated by Figs. 3 to 6, which are drawn to a scale of about five inches to
the foot; Fig. 3 represents a front view of the valve seating with the valve removed
therefrom; the said seating is fixed to the side of the cylinder, and in it is formed a.
port t which communicates with a port in the cylinder, seen in Fig. 1. Two other
ports and v are also formed in the said seating; the port u communicates with a
passage formed in 'the part w, to which is connected the pipe which conveys the
mixture of gas and air to the valve.
.The gas mixer may be of an ordinary description, or of the description illustrated
and described in the Specifications of previous Patents granted to me.
The port v
communicates with the outer air through a passage which opens out at the side of
the seating. A tube x is fixed in the centre of the seating, and on this tube is
mounted the revolving valve of which Fig. 4 is a front view, Fig. 5 representing a
section on the line b in Fig. 4, and also a section of the valve cover and of the two
ports u and t in Fig. 3.
A separate view of the valve cover is shewn in Fig. 6, in which the face which
bears against the valve is represented; Fig. 4 represents the front face of the valve,
that is to say, the face which is outwards from the engine. The said front face of
the valve is formed with four ports, numbered to 4, and the back of the valve is
formed with four corresponding ports. The front and back ports are connected by
spiral passages, as indicated to some extent in Fig. 5.
In Fig.
the course of one of the four passages is alone indicated by dotted lines,
and the form and position of the back port which is connected with the front port 1
is indicated by the portion covered by the dotted inclined lines. It will be seen
that the back port is larger than the front port, and is situated below the front
port 2. In the same manner the back port 2 is below the front port 3, and so on
for the others. The passages connecting the front and back ports are spirally
formed, and are also inclined from front to back, so that they are enabled to overlap

page_text: each other. The front cover is also mounted on the end of the tube x; the said
tube is supplied with gas by means of a pipe y, and a connecting passage indicated
by dotted lines. The gas flowing from the end of this pipe enters a groove z, and
communicates with holes which are drilled in the valve, as represented at each end
of the ports in Fig. 4. Taking for example the two holes which are in line with
port 2, the said holes lead into the port or passage which communicates with
port 1, and so on with the other holes. The said valve is formed with four
recesses b¹, b, by means of which the valve is rotated. A pawl actuated by means
of a cam c¹ fixed on the crank shaft imparts an intermittent rotatory movement to
the said valve, which is caused to make one-fourth of a revolution during each stroke
of the engine.
The parts for connecting the valve with the said cam may be greatly varied, and
may be of any suitable form and arrangement. An opening is formed in the
front cover,
and within this opening is situated an igniting burner e¹ which is
supplied with gas.
The action of the valve may be described as follows:-When the valve is at rest
gas flows from the pipe x through the groove and the two holes, say, for example,
into the passage leading to port 2. The gas flowing into the passage is ignited by
the flame of the burner e¹, and as the said passage is in communication with the air
port vair is supplied through the last-named port to support the combustion. At the
proper time the valve makes a partial rotatory movement which brings the back
port 2 into communication with the port leading into the cylinder. Concentric
groves leading into the groove z are formed in the valve cover in order to keep
open the supply of gas to the flames in the said passage. The said movement of
the valve has brought the said flames in the passage into communication with the
gases in the cylinder, the communication being effected through the port t, and the
explosion takes place. The lengths of the said concentric grooves are such as that
the supply of gas to the said passage is cut off by the movement of the valve just
before the explosion takes place. The cam c is so formed as to permit a slight
dwell of the valve long enough to permit the gases to be fired, and to permit the
piston b to complete its upward stroke. The valve now completes its movement
which brings the back port 2 over the port u, the cam being so formed as that the
movement of the valve completing its quarter revolution shall be completed by the
time the two pistons are in the positions assumed when the gas is to be drawn into
the cylinder. The said back port 2 being now over both the ports t and u serves as
a passage of communication, and the mixture of gas and air flows from the port u
through the said passage and the port t into the cylinder. The holes in line with
the port 4 have now been brought into communication with the groove z, whereby
gas is admitted to the passage 3, and becomes ignited preparatory to the next move-
ment of the valve. The valve cover is pressed towards the valve so as to keep the
parts in sufficiently gas-tight contact by means of a spring or of springs, or by other
suitable means. The valve may be formed and arranged to make less or more than
one-fourth of a revolution at each movement.
"
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same may be carried into effect, I would have it to be
understood that I claim,-
First. The combination and arrangement of parts, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth and indicated herein-before, and by Figs. 1 and 2 of the accom-
panying Drawings.
Secondly. The tapering or wedge-shaped piston rod, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth and indicated.
Thirdly. The combination of the taper piston rod, the sliding block, and the
sliding wedge piece for sustaining the said block against the thrust of the said
taper piston rod, substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
Fourthly. Fixing the fly wheel upon an accelerated shaft connected by gearing
with the crank shaft, for the purpose herein-before indicated.

page_text: Fifthly. The valve rotating intermittently and establishing the necessary con-
nections for supplying and exploding the gases two or more times during each
revolution of the valve, substantially as set forth and indicated.
And, Lastly. The valve formed and acting in connection with its cover and
seating, substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Hallewell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Signed and sealed by the said
Richard Hallewell, in the
presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentee,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
RICHARD HALLEWELL. (L.S.)