Improvements in Internal Combustion Heat Engines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 20th Sept., 1890-Accepted, 25th Oct., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Internal Combustion Heat Engines.
1, JAMES ATKINSON, of 3 Nassington Road, Hampstead, London, N.W., Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
The improvements constituting this invention are for the purpose of enabling a
regenerator to be applied in a satisfactory manner to heat engines, which obtain the
heat from internal combustion either of gas, oil or liquid fuels, coal, coke, or other
solid fuels, and for the purpose of regulating the working medium in the engine.
The engine consists of two cylinders, which may be placed close to and parallel
to each other, one called the working cylinder, and the other the distributing cylinder.
The working cylinder is much larger in capacity than the distributing cylinder, the
proportions varying according to circumstances, but where gas or oil are used as fuel
a ratio of three to one would be a suitable proportion, this ratio however may be
varied to suit varying conditions, as for instance, if it is desired to make a small
compact engine two to one might be used, but it would probably not he so economical
as three to one. Each of these cylinders are single-acting, and fitted with pistons,
their connecting rods being so coupled to the crank shaft that the working piston is
in advance of the distributing piston so that when the working cylinder has completed,
(say) the inward stroke, the distributing piston is about half way making its inward
stroke.
Each of these cylinders have holes through the cylinder walls which are passed and
opened by their respective pistons, when near the ends of their outward strokes,
remaining open for some considerable time, say about a quarter revolution ; the
fresh air to support combustion is drawn in through the holes in the working
cylinder, and the foul air or residuum is expelled through the holes in the distributing
cylinder.
If gas or oil is used as fuel there is a small pump for pumping it in at the proper
time.
The regenerator is placed in a passage between the closed ends of the cylinders
where also there is another passage connecting the cylinders, made as short and direct
as possible; a baffle valve or slide being used to decide as to whether the current passes
through the regenerator or the short passage.
The action of the engine is as follows:-
Supposing the engine to be in the position when the exhaust commences, the
distributing piston has just commenced to open the holes at the outer end of the
distributing cylinder travelling outwards, the working piston is just closing the holes
in the working cylinder, having just commenced its inward stroke, driving the
contents of the working cylinder through either the regenerator or the short passage
into the closed end of the distributing cylinder, through this, and out at the holes at
its outer end into the exhaust pipe; this action continues until the working piston
has completed about two-thirds or three-fourths of its stroke, during which time the
distributing piston having completed its outward stroke has returned a short distance
on its inward stroke covering up the holes; the charge is now shut in between the
two pistons, both of which are travelling inwards compressing it between them,
the compression continuing until after the working piston has completed its inward
stroke and commenced its outward stroke, at this time the gas or oil is injected
into the space at the end of the working cylinder, is ignited on its admission thus
expanding the charge, and giving a working pressure; the charge in passing from
the distributing cylinder to the working cylinder passes through the hot contents of
the regenerator thus acquiring heat which increases the working pressure, and
economises fuel, this working pressure drives out the working piston so as to drive the

page_text: engine (the return strokes being performed by the momentum stored up in the fly
wheel); when the working piston has almost completed the outward working stroke,
it passes the holes letting out any excess pressure above atmospheric pressure, mean-
while however the distributing piston has returned, say about one-third on its outward
stroke, drawing back the very hot contents of the working cylinder through the
regenerator, the hot gases then give up heat, are in consequence reduced in volume,
and the pressure in the working cylinder rapidly reduced, so that little, if any, excess
pressure remains when the working piston passes the holes. The distributing piston
is now travelling outwards, drawing the hot gases from the working cylinder through
the regenerator and owing to their reduction in volume drawing a largely increased
volume of fresh air in through the holes in the working cylinder, this action
continuing until the distributing piston has commenced to uncover the exhaust holes,
by which time the working piston having completed its outward stroke has returned
a short distance, and is covering the inlet holes. At this time the distributing
cylinder is filled with the foul gases of combustion, which have given up a consider-
able proportion of their heat to the contents of the regenerator and the working
cylinder is mostly filled with fresh air, but may also have some of the foul burned
gases near its closed end; the exhaust now commences by the working piston on its
continued inward stroke driving out the foul gases through the exhaust holes in the
distributing cylinder. The baffle valve previously mentioned, is moved by a cam or
excentric, so as to close the passage through the regenerator when the hot foul gases
have passed or almost passed, and by opening the short direct passage allows the cool
fresh air to pass freely between the two cylinders, during the final portion of the
exhaust, and the greater part of the compression interval; this baffle valve is placed
at the cool end of the regenerator, so that is not liable to injury from excessive
heat. This completes the cycle which gives a working stroke for each revolution of
the crank shaft.
It will be seen that the bulk of the working fluid does not pass through any valve,
excepting the holes in the ends of the cylinders, and the baffle valve which is not
intended to be more than approximately tight; so that one of the greatest difficulties
experienced in engines of this type is eliminated.
The regenerator not only receives a considerable portion of the heat which would
otherwise be wasted in the exhaust, giving it up to the new charge when compressed
or during the final stage of compression, but it enables a very small distributing
cylinder to draw in two or three times its volume of fresh air for the next charge.
The barrels of the cylinders should be more or less perfectly water jacketted, that of
the working cylinder sufficiently so, to ensure the satisfactory working of the piston,
but that of the distributing cylinder so as to cool down the contents as much as
possible, its cover also may be water jacketted, also the passages about the baffle valve
and the cool end of the regenerator.
When a good quality of gas, such as ordinary town illuminating gas, is used, only
a small pump is required, as 1 prefer not to have gas in excess of the proper proportion
required for the fresh air drawn in, but rather considerably below this quantity. To
enable it to be burned during the earlier portion of the working stroke the plunger of
this pump should be driven by a cam or excentric having a very short excentric rod,
so that it delivers the gas in a short space of time. The speed of the engine is
controlled by means of a suitable governor, which as the speed rises, throttles, more or
less, the gas inlet to the gas pump, which supplements its contents by drawing in air
through a spring-loaded suction valve; the governor may also be so constructed as
to shut off the gas entirely in case the engine stops from any cause, or if the gear
or belt driving the governor should fail, thus preventing the engine from running
away.
The ignition is caused by means of a porcelain tube passing through the space at
the end of the working cylinder; the tube is open at its ends to the outside, and is
kept red hot by means of an external flame passing into the tube. The gas being
admitted in very fine jets, some of it comes in contact with the red hot tube, is
ignited, and ignites the rest. Only a portion of the porcelain tube need be exposed

page_text: to the inside of the engine, the rest being protected by non-conducting refractory
material; instead of porcelain other refractory material or suitable metal may
be used.
When petroleum or other oils are used it is pumped in in very fine spray, partly
against the ignition arrangement, the hot ends of the plates in the regenerator, and
the hot end of the cylinder, it will immediately flash into flame and be burned
before it can come into contact with the cold walls of the cylinder, so that its
combustion is perfect, the whole of its heating powers utilized and little or no deposit
caused.
When coal, coke or other solid fuel is used the furnace is preferably placed below
the working cylinder, the air is not driven through the fuel, and part of it only is
compressed into it, some of the air not being compressed into it is thus kept fresh, so
as to combine with any carbonic oxide or other gas requiring more air to complete its
combustion. The solid fuel may be introduced through holes passing through a revolving
plate, which passes between an external plate and a passage leading to the
furnace.
Thick and impure oils may be injected onto an incandescent layer of fuel, clinkers or
seme suitable refractory material.
Instead of the porcelain tube for the ignition a porcelain nipple may be used
constructed as follows:-A circular flange is used for making the joint, springing
from the circular flunge is a short cylindrical portion standing outwards from the
engine, the porcelain then returns inward forming an inner return cylindrical portion
which is closed by a dome top which projects into the engine, and is kept red hot by
an external Bunsen flame, to guide this flame a cross bridge of the porcelain is formed
across the mouth of the inner cylinder; preferably the nipple is placed at an angle to
assist the flow of the flame. The annular space between the two cylinders may be
packed with asbestos to prevent conduction. Instead of porcelain, other refractory
material or metal may be used. Other well known methods of ignition may be used
if desired.
When engines constructed according to this invention are pushed to their utmost,
with maximum supply of fuel, there might bo a material prossure in the cylinder
when the working piston opens the holes near the end of its working stroke. This
would permit some of the contents of the working cylinder to pass out through the
holes; if desired this could be allowed to lift a self-acting valve and be conducted
into the exhaust pipe, another self-acting valve preventing it passing into the suction
pipe but which will lift to allow the fresh air to be drawn in.
When oil is used it can be dispersed into fine spray in the cylinder by means of a
spray valve which opens into the cylinder being held down to its conical seat by means
of an adjustable spring.
Dated this Nineteenth day December 1889.
JAMES ATKINSON.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Internal Combustion Heat Engines.
I, JAMES ATKINSON, of 3 Nassington Road, Hampstead, London, N.W., 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:
The improvements constituting this invention are for the purpose of enabling a
regenerator to be applied in a satisfactory manner to heat engines which obtain the
heat from internal combustion, either of gas, oil, or liquid fuels, coal, coke, or other
solid fuels; and for the purpose of regulating the working medium in the
engine.
In the accompanying drawings the application of this invention is shown to gas
engines in Figs. 1, 2 & 3, Sheets 1 & 2, and the modifications necessary for hot air
engines burning solid fuel in Figs. 4, 5, 6 & 7, Sheets 3, 4 & 5.

page_text: I will first describe the engine adapted to burning gaseous fuels. The engine has™
two single-acting cylinders the pistons of which are connected in the ordinary manner
to a crank shaft. I call A the working cylinder, and B the distributing cylinder, their
respective pistons being C and D, the piston C is connected to a crank pin which is in
advance of the crank pin to which the piston D is connected; the working cylinder A
is constructed with a larger working capacity than the distributing cylinder B; the
difference of these capacities, and the angular advance of the working cylinder crank
pin, may vary through a somewhat wide range, according to circumstances, such as
the desired amount of expansion, the efficiency of the regenerator, the character of
the fuel, the desired amount of compression and other conditions. In the engine 1
shown in Figs. 1, 2 & 3, Sheets 1 & 2, they are, angular advance 80°, and working
cylinder twice the capacity of the distributing cylinder; I wish it to be understood
however that these proportions may not be the most suitable as experience may show
that the best results may be obtained with other proportions.
The two cylinders A & B are always in communication with each other at thoir
inner ends, where I place the regenerator E, and also a short direct passage F, with
the baffle valve G, which decides whether the current passes through the regenerator E
or the short passage F.
The pistons C & D when near the ends of their outward strokes uncover
holes H I K for the admission of fresh air and for the exhaust as will be herein-
after explained..
There is a gas pump L, which delivers a measured quantity of gas into the space at
the inner end of the cylinder A at the proper time, this is a single-acting pump driven
in such a manner that the latter part of its compressing stroke is performed more
rapidly than the earlier part, so as to deliver its gas in as short a time as !
possible.
The action of the engine is as follows:- -Commencing with the engine in the posi-
tion shown in Figs. 1, 2 & 3, Sheets 1 & 2, at the time when there is the least volume
in the spaces between the two pistons C & D the contents being compressed, the baffle
valve G having just closed the short passage F so that the communication between a
the two cylinders A & B is by means of the regenerator E, the gas pump L is
delivering gas into the space at the end of the cylinder A where it becomes ignited;
as the large piston O is now travelling outwards, the compressed air in passing from
the cylinder B into the cylinder A, takes up heat from the regenerator E, meets the
gas from the gas pump L, they burn together and thus make the working pressure
which drives the large piston outwards; the distributing piston D following it at,
say, 80° commences its outward stroke just before the working piston A has got half
way on its outward stroke; by this time the gas pump L has delivered all the gas
and the pressure is falling due to expansion, both pistons C & D are now travelling
outwards, causing the pressure to fall rapidly from expansion and also from the
small piston D drawing the very hot contents of the cylinder A back through the
regenerator E; these very hot gases give up a large portion of their heat to the
regenerator and in consequence are very much reduced in volume, and occupying
much less space in the distributing cylinder B than they did in the working
cylinder A so adding to the rapid fall in pressure in the working cylinder A;
by the time the working piston C approaches the end of its working stroke it
uncovers the exhaust holes I in the walls of the working cylinder A, letting out any
excess of pressure above atmospheric pressure, (should there be any), through those
holes into the exhaust chamber, and into the exhaust pipe, by means of the self-acting
exhaust valve M which will only allow the gases to pass outwards into the exhaust
pipe; very shortly after opening the exhaust holes 1. the working piston O uncovers
the suction holes H, as the pressure falls below atmospheric pressure, air is now drawn
in through the suction self-acting valve N, the suction chamber and the suction
holes H, into the outer end of the working cylinder A, displacing the hot burned
gases which are drawn towards the inner end, through the regenerator E, when giving
up a considerable portion of their heat they are reduced in volume, when they pass
into the distributing cylinder B, so that the distributing piston D in its continued.

page_text: outward stroke is enabled to draw out of the working cylinder, say, two or three times
the volume of burned gases which are replaced by fresh air drawn in as above
described; this suction continues until the working piston C has returned, com-
menced its inward stroke, and closed the suction holes H, by which time the dis-
tributing piston D, in approaching the end of its outward stroke, uncovers the exhaust
holes K in the walls of the distributing cylinder B, the working piston C as it moves
inwards continues to cause the current to pass from the working cylinder A, into the
distributing cylinder B, out through the exhaust holes K, and the exhaust valve M;
as however a considerable portion of the contents of the working cylinder A consists
of fresh air recently drawn in, the baffle valve G opens the way through the short
passage F soon after the working piston Chas commenced its inward stroke, other-
wise the fresh air would be beated up before compression and the regenerator
uselessly cooled down; the exhaust continues until the distributing piston D has
returned a short distance on its inward stroke, closing the exhaust holes K, by which
time the working piston () is about midstroke, or a little beyond, the fresh air having
been drawn in close to the end of the working piston C will have displaced the
burned gases and any of these latter now left in between the two pistons will be mostly
near the distributing piston D, where they will not interfere with the combustion of
the gas during the next working stroke; compression now commences as both pistons
are moving inwards, and the position commenced with is reached. This completes the
cycle which gives a working stroke for each revolution.
As will be observed from an inspection of Fig. 3 Sheet 2 the cylinders A & B are
water-jacketted in the working part of the barrels so as to insure the satisfactory wear
of the pistons C & D. The baffie valve G is placed at the cool end of the regenerator E
where it will not be liable to damage from excessive heat, it may also be partially
water-jacketted. It is not necessary that this valve G should be more than approxi-
mately tight.
Gas engines made under this invention, if suitably proportioned may be constructed
without the exhaust holes I in the working cylinder A, so that the whole of the exhaust
will take place through the exhaust holes K in the distributing cylinder B, in these
instances the exhaust valve M is not necessary, and can be done without, also in any
case the suction valve N is not necessary; as however these valves are constructed in
a very light manner, are not exposed to any material heat, have to deal with only very
molerate pressures, and are not required to be absolutely tight, it may be desirable in
most instances to use them.
When a good quality of gas, such as ordinary town illuminating gas is used, only a
small punip is required, as I prefer not to have gas in excess of the proper proportion
required for the fresh air drawn in, but rather considerably below this quantity. To
enable it to be burned during the earlier portion of the working stroke the gas pump L
should be driven by a cam or as shown in Fig. 2 Sheet 1 by an excentric having a
very short excentric rod, so that it delivers the gas in a short space of time.
The speed of the engine can be controlled by a governor in any well known manner,
either by shutting off the gas entirely so as to miss delivering any gas during some of
the working strokes, or in addition so to throttle the gas admission to the gas pump L
that it does not obtain its full volume, which in some instances may be supplemented
by air drawn in through a spring-loaded valve.
The ignition may be caused by means of a porcelain tube O, Fig. 8, Sheet 6, which
pusses through the space at the back end of the working cylinder A, and open at the
top and bottom, being made tight by means of glands packed with asbestos; an
external flame is maintained inside the porcelain tube O, and with a view to keeping
this tube small in diameter, the flame may be supported by means of a jet of air under
a light pressure, thus as much as possible localizing the heat in one part of the tube O,
near where the gas from the gas pump is admitted in fine jets, some of the gas coming
into contact with the red hot part of the tube is ignited and inflames the rest.
Instead of porcelain, terra-cotta, other refractory material, or suitable metal may be
used for the tube O. When this form of igniter is used with an oil engine, as will be

page_text: hereinafter described, a fine spray of oil may be used in place of the gas for the flame
which heats the tube O, the spray being induced by the air pressure.
The application of this invention to engines burning solid fuel is shown in Figs. 4,
5, 6 & 7, Sheets 3, 4 & 5. The action is just the same as that previously described
excepting that an enclosed furnace P is substituted for the gas pump. This furnace is
kept as small in capacity as convenient, and is connected to the working cylinder A
by the passage R. When compression takes places some of the fresh air is compressed
into the fuel in the furnace P, when its oxygen is converted into carbonic-oxide, the
heat thus obtained distilling a portion of the fuel into other kinds of combustible gus;
as the working piston C makes its outward working stroke, those gasos pass out of the
furnace, meet the hot air coming from the regenerator E, and are burned, thus making
the working pressure. The fuel may be introduced through holes S in the revolving
feed plate T, the rammer U being used to consolidate the fuel in the furnace P. In
this engine I have shown the baffle valve G constructed only to close the short
passage F, leaving the greater resistance of the gases in passing through the regene-
rator E to prevent any material proportion passing that way when the short passage F
open. The governor valve V is a small valve kept closed by means of a spring, but
opened by another spring operated by the governor when the speed increases beyond
that to which the governor is adjusted; the result is, that as compression would other-
wise take place in the engine this valve being opened by the governor more or less
prevents it, and less air is compressed into the fire, a lower working pressure is
obtained, and less fuel burned.
The arrangement of engine constructed under this invention for the use of oil or
liquid fuel is the same as previously described for those using gaseous fuel when the
oil is pure and will burn completely away leaving scarcely any solid residuum; an oil
pump being substituted for the gas pump L. When however thick, impure oils, tars
or fatty matter is employed as fuel, I construct the engine more like the engine
described for using solid fuel, the oil being injected onto a small furnace containing
incandescent fuel, clinkers or suitable refractory materials; some of the air may be
compressed into this small furnace, or a portion or the bulk of it passed through as:
may be most suitable to the fuel to be used.
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. The general arrangement and construction of internal combustion heat ongines
using gaseous fuel, as described and illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 & 3, Sheets 1 & 2 of the
accompanying drawings.
2. The general arrangement and construction of internal combustion heat engines
using solid fuel, as described and illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6 & 7, Sheets 3, 4 & 5 of the
accompanying drawings.
3. The general arrangement and construction of internal combustion heat engines
using liquid fuel, as described and illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7, Sheets 1, 2,
3, 4 & 5 of the accompanying drawings.
4. In internal combustion heat engines the use of a regenerator operating sub-
stantially as described and illustrated.
5. In internal combustion heat engines the use of a regenerator in combination
with the arrangements for admitting fresh air and removing the burnt gases substanti-
ally as described and illustrated.
6. The construction and arrangement of an igniting apparatus substantially us
described and illustrated in Fig. 8, Sheet 6 of the accompanying drawings.
1L ALL
1000
Witness-
G. E. PRIDDLE,
60, Mansfield Road, London, N.W.
JAMES ATKINSON.