Improvements in or relating to Internal Combustion Engines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1898-Accepted, 29th July, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Internal Combustion Engines.
I, EDGARD DESIRÉ NICOLAS GEORIS, of 15, Boulevard Audent Charleroi, in
Belgium, Barrister, 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 an improved internal combustion engine worked by
explosive mixtures such, for instance, as air and heavy or light hydrocarbons,
essence or spirit, ordinary lamp oil etc., such engine being of a simple, strong
and light construction and of extremely small dimensions and developing a
relatively high power. This engine may be used as a stationary motor, but it
is also particularly suitable for motor-cars and like purposes.
1. The invention more particularly relates to a rigid coupling or connection of
the opposite pistons of the engine, and the means for transmitting into rotary
motion the rectilinear movement of one or more series of compensated pistons
working in the cylinders couples in pairs and arranged opposite each other.
2. The construction of the pistons so as to constitute an explosion chamber.
3. The arrangement of valves in the interior of the cylinders, ensuring a
perfectly tight closing of openings etc.
4. Operating these valves by cams or cam grooves actuating a set of levers
connected to said valves.
5. The arrangement between the cylinders of a closed compartment or chamber
constituting an oil bath and ensuring perfect lubrication of the cylinders and
movable parts and excluding dust etc.
6. A fly wheel constituting a blower and a frictional transmission device.
The accompanying drawings represent by way of example, a construction of
an engine according to this invention, designed specially for motor-cars and
the like.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the motor,
Figure a plan partly in section,
Figure 3 is a transverse elevation, partly in section, and
Figure 4 is an end view showing the valve gear for the two cylinders.
The engine illustrated is a four-stroke motor and consists of cylinders A
acting together in pairs and arranged opposite each other, and formed or cast
with a chamber B between them constituting an oil bath for the parts connecting
the pistons and for the parts transmitting the movement. The pistons Care
hollow so as to constitute an explosion and compression chamber, the orifice
being towards the bottom of the cylinder. The bottom of the piston is preferably
of semi-spherical shape. This piston body is cast together with a rigid rod 1)
with strengthening ribs d, terminating in an angle piece E, constituting one half
of an elongated rectangular frame (Fig. 1), the other half of which is con-
stituted by a similar angle piece E of the other piston. These two angle pieces
are rigidly connected by bolts and sunk nuts. In each frame E, E, is placed a
crank pin of a double crank F (Fig. 2) rotating in a bearing f, sliding inside
the frame E E. The frames reciprocate rectilinearly in the chamber B, in which

page_text: they are guided by guides 6 secured to the bottom, and against the cover 6¹.
The guide may be of any suitable shape corresponding to the shape of the
bottom and top of the frame. The pins of the crank are set at an angle of 180°
so that the forward movement of one of the pistons causes the crank to make half
a revolution, upwards and downwards, whereas the movement of the opposite
piston will cause the crank to continue the rotation through the other half a
revolution, downwards and upwards. As the motor comprises a double series of
compensated pistons, the action on the crank is continuous except at the dead
point which is a negligible quantity in high speed motors. By utilising three
series of oppositely arranged cylinders, and by arranging the cranks at angles
of 1200, the dead points are completely avoided. By means of this arrangement
of rigidly connected pistons the explosion motor works, so to say, like a steam
engine, as the two opposite rigidly connected pistons are in each stroke under the
action of driving fluid like the single piston of a steam engine.
By means of the rigid connection the eccentric effort of the connecting rod
on the piston and cylinder is entirely suppressed. All the eccentric strains will
be exercised in the new motor on the rectangular frames and their guides, and
consequently there will be no excessive wearing of the pistons and cylinders.
The frames E E and the crank shaft F rotate in an oil bath constituted by
the chamber or enclosing casing B and in their movement project oil into the
cylinders.
The rigid connection of the pistons by means of frames or angle pieces con-
nected to the rods rigidly connected to the pistons enables hollow pistons to be
used, which acts as compression chambers, and this may be done without in-
juriously effecting the strength of the pistons and without making them un-
necessarily long. In fact, they may be made very short, compared with the
considerable length of pistons of well-known motors (said lengths being some-
times two or three times the diameter) which was necessary to prevent them
from having an injurious effect upon the cylinders.
In the new motor the pistons C present only a very small surface of friction in
the cylinders, the surface of friction betwen the frames E E and the guides bb
being sufficient to support all the strain or resistance.
The semi-spherical bottom of the piston C constitutes as it were, an extension
of the cylinder, the length and the thickness of which may be correspondingly
reduced, the more so that the explosion takes place in the interior of the piston.
The lightness of construction, the result of the arrangement of the driving parts,
constant lubrication and the fact that the excess of heat produced by the
explosion is less retained in the reduced metallic walls of the cylinders enable the
overheating of the motor to be more easily avoided.
In the interior of the cylinders A and against their bottom ends, are arranged
obturating discs, plates or rotatory valves by means of which the admission of
carburreted air, ignition of the mixture, and the exhaust of combustion gases is
effected. This arrangement avoids on the one hand the use of very delicate
distributing valves, and, on the other hand the heavy rectangular reciprocating
slide valves, which require frequent and continuous lubrication on both faces
and are continuously jamming and getting out of order. The cover a of the
cylinder is perforated in the centre, and in this opening is placed a pin g carrying
against the inner wall of the cylinder, an obturating plate G constituting a
valve of the shape shown in Fig. 4 although of course it may be of any other
suitable shape. This plate can rotate or oscillate with friction, against the
corresponding surface of the cover of the cylinder which is provided with two
openings or ports gl and g², one for the admission, communicating with the
admission tube g³ of the explosive material, and the other for exhaust and com-
municating with the exhaust pipe g. The friction surface of the valve is
relatively reduced. A tight joint between the valve G and the inner face of the
cover is ensured by a spring surrounding the pin g and having the tendency
to keep the valve G in contact with the cylinder cover. To each ping is secured

page_text: an arm receiving an oscillating movement from a set of levers 97 g operated
by a cam or groove 9, said cam groove having somewhat the shape of the
Figure S, the grooves, intersecting at given points, being formed on a disc or
roller go. The same cam groove may be utilised for the valve gear of all the
four cylinders as shown on the drawing Figure 2, but each valve can if necessary
be operated separately, and also the valves of two cylinders on the same side may
be operated by a common cam. This cam may be a cam groove as shown in
the drawing, Figs. 2 and 3, or be a rib or other guide in relief completely
closed in itself, the guiding rollers g with which the arms and levers 98 are
provided, corresponding of course as to their shape and disposition to the cam
selected.
The cam groove operates by means of the levers 7 the pin g in such
a manner that the plate G is caused to oscillate alternately in one direction and
in the other so that during the first stroke of the motor the plate uncovers the
opening g', during the second and third stroke, the two openings g1 and 2 are
closed and during the fourth stroke the exhaust port g2 is open, and so on. The
ignition takes place as soon as the port g is closed at the moment when the
roller g passes the intersection point of the cam groove. The ignition may
be effected by means of an electric igniter, the plate G preferably constituting
an electric commutator. The arrangement of the plate enables the fitting of the
friction surfaces to be easily effected. The lubrication of this valve may be
effected automatically by means of oil carried into the cylinder by the carburetted
air.
Owing to the friction between the valve and the face of the cover, the valve
remains free from all impurities, which generally interferes so easily with the
proper working of the valves of motors. The obturating plate being held in
contact with the cover, there is no danger of jamming and when once the plate
has been fitted, it cannot get damaged or injured.
The crank shaft F carries a fly wheel H, which owing to the motor being a
four-stroke motor, and owing to the moving parts being very light and perfectly
balanced, need not be very heavy, its weight being only sufficient to overcome
the dead points at the end of each stroke and to regulate the working during
half a stroke, that is to say, as the fly wheel need not store up any force, it may
be made of much smaller weight and dimensions than usual. The fly wheel
constitutes at once a ventilator, and a part for transmitting movement and
changing speed. Its inner face, that is to say the one towards the motor, is
provided with inclined blades, ribs or projections, preferably having a curved
shape, the height of which blades gradually diminishing towards the circum-
ference, whereas its external face is flat and is provided with a recess h¹ in
the centre. The cylinders may be provided with thin helical ribs so that the
powerful air current produced by the inclined blades h will be forced to pass
all round the cylinders and so cool them. In front of the external flat surface
of the motor is arranged vertically a friction wheel which may be moved on
its shaft by means of a toothed rack h³ and pinion or other suitable parts, the
operating lever being arranged within reach of the driver of the motor car etc.
When the wheel 2 is in front of the recess h¹ the motor is thrown out of
gear, but when the wheel is brought in contact with the flat surface of the fly
wheel the motor is thrown into gear, and by moving the said wheel more or
less to the right or to the left the speed of transmission is increased or reduced.
Chain wheels h keyed to the shaft of the transmission wheel h² may be used
to transmit the movement to the part to be driven say to the wheels of a car.
The frictional transmission wheel may be provided with leather, rubber etc. or
it may have a celluloid etc. rim. In the interior of the roller 10 may be
arranged a Pickering governor with springs provided with centrifugal semi-
spheres I. The movements of the ring i thereby regulate by means of a
lever connected to the valve plug the admission of the carburetted air etc..
entering the motor through the tube K.

page_text: 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. An engine characterised by two or more series of oppositely arranged pistons
rigidly connected and working in series in similarly arranged cylinders, the
series of pistons alternately receiving an impulse from the motive fluid.
2. An engine characterised by a single, double or treble series of oppositely
arranged pistons rigidly connected by means of frames enclosing the crank pins of a
crank shaft, whereby said crank pins slide in the interior of said frames and
effect the rotation of the crank owing to the reciprocating rectangular action
of the pistons.
3. An engine characterised by a single double or treble series of oppositely
arranged pistons rigidly connected by means of frames enclosing the pins of a
cranked axle, and guided rectangularly in an enclosing casing or chamber
constituting an oil bath, said chamber being arranged between the two series of
oppositely arranged cylinders in which the pistons work.
4. In an engine a hollow piston the opening of which is turned towards the
bottom of the cylinder, said piston constituting a compression chamber.
5. An engine characterised by the arrangement of hollow pistons constituting
compression chambers, the pistons having a semi-spherical bottom and being
provided with a rod cast together with or rigidly secured to the body of the
piston, said rod terminating in an angle piece constituting one half of a connecting
bracket or frame, substantially as described.
6. An engine characterised by the arrangement in the interior and against
the bottom of the cylinder of an obturating plate or rocking valve adapted to
move so as to alternately uncover and cover inlet and exhaust ports arranged in
the cylinder.
7. An engine characterised by the arrangement in the interior of the cylinder
of an oscillating obturating plate held in contact with the cylinder by a spring
and operated by a set of levers co-operating with a cam groove on a roller operated
by the driving shaft.
8. An engine characterised by the arrangement in the interior and against
the bottom of the cylinder of an obturating plate or valve having an oscillating
movement and controlled by a pin passing through the cylinder, said pin being
connected by a set of levers operated by a cam groove intersecting at given point,
said cam groove being arranged on the outer surface of a roller or sleeve in the
driving shaft.
9. In an engine the arrangement of fly wheel provided with blades or ribs
on its surface turned towards the motor and having a flat transmission surface on
its other side, with a recess in the centre, a frictional transmission disc being
arranged in front of said fly wheel and being adapted to be moved so as to be
in contact in different circumferential positions with the transmitting surface
or to be moved out of gear therewith.
10. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete engine
substantially as described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 14th day of November 1898
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.