invention of improvements in gas engines
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Oct., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 11th July, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 17th Aug, 1888
I TOM BIRKETT Barker of No. 66 Scholefield Street Birmingham in the County
of Warwick Machinist do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as
follows:-
:―
certain
My invention consists First of the improvements in an invention of
improvements in gas engines" for which Letters Patent were granted to James
Alfred Ewins and Henry Newman both of Birmingham in the County of Warwick
on the 29th day of March 1881 No. 1388 of which Letters patent I am the
proprietor.
In the specification of the said Letters Patent there is described represented and
claimed among other things an arrangement of mechanism for igniting the detonating
mixture of gas and air in the cylinder of the engine the said mechanism consisting
essentially of a rotating disc having a series of equi distant radial slots. The rotary
motion of the said disc is intermittent and is produced by a pawl acting on a ratchet
formed on the periphery of the disc and the ignition of the charge is effected when
by the motion of the disc one of the radial slots in the disc is brought between a
stationary ignited gas jet and a passage opening into the charged cylinder.
The first part of my invention has reference to the said igniting mechanism and has
for its principal object to prevent the noise attending the working of the said
mechanism as originally constructed. According to this part of my invention I make
the radiating slots in the rotating disc of much larger capacity than in the original
invention the said slots constituting small gas chambers.
Instead of the said slots simply opening a communication between the igniting gas
flame and the charged cylinder of the engine I employ the said slots in the following
manner. I cause each slot as it approaches the igniting gas flame to receive a charge
of gas and in passing the igniting flame the said charge becomes ignited. By the
motion of the disc the charged slot the gas in which has been ignited is rapidly brought
to the opening in the charged cylinder of the engine the detonating mixture in which
is ignited by the flame carried by the slot. By this arrangement the ignition of the

page_text: detonating gaseous mixture in the cylinder is effected noiselessly or nearly noiselessly.
The igniting gas flame is situated in a small chamber formed in a fixed plate or disc
against which the rotating slotted disc works approximately gas tight.
The second part of my invention has for its object to bring to rest the rotating
slotted disc hereinbefore referred to when by the action of the governor the cylinder
of the engine is not being charged with gas and consists of mechanism constructed in
the following manner. A lever is so connected with the governor that as the balls of
the governor rise the long arm of the lever rises and as the said balls fall the said arm
of the lever descends. The short arm of the said lever is connected with an incline
to which it communicates a sliding motion. As the balls of the governor ascend and
cut off the supply of gas to the cylinder of the engine the said incline is made to
advance under the end of the pawl which actuates the rotating slotted disc and raise
the said pawl out of the range of the ratchet teeth on the periphery of the said disc.
The said disc is consequently not actuated by the pawl and the wear and tear of the
said disc is arrested and the waste of the igniting charges of gas prevented. When
by the diminished speed of the engine the governor balls descend and restore the
supply of gas to the cylinder the incline by which the pawl was supported out of
action is at the same time withdrawn and the pawl again coming into action the
igniting mechanism is again operated. The supply of gas to the cylinder and the
wórking of the igniting mechanism take place simultaneously. Although I have
found that the gearing of the incline to the governor by means of a lever acts well in
practice I do not limit myself thereto as other equivalent goaring may be employed.
And although for convenience of description I have described this part of my invention
as applied to the igniting mechanism constituting the first part of my invention
I wish it to be understood that by slight modification in details this part of my
invention may be applied to gas gas engines generally.
Dated this Fifteenth day of October 1887.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Engines.
I TOM BIRKETT BARKER of No. 66 Scholefield Street, Birmingham in the County
of Warwick, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 consists first of improvements in an invention of "Certain
improvements in gas engines" for which Letters Patent were granted to James Alfred
Ewins and Henry Newman both of Birmingham in the County of Warwick on the
29th day of March 1881 No. 1388 of which Letters Patent I am the proprietor.
In the specification of the said Letters Patent there is described represented and
claimed among other things an arrangement of mechanism for igniting the detonating
mixture of gas and air in the cylinder of the engine the said mechanism consisting
essentially of a rotating disc called in the said specification a disc or ratchet plate
having a series of equidistant radial slots. The rotary motion of the said disc is
intermittent and is produced by a pawl acting on a ratchet formed on the periphery
of the disc and the ignition of the charge is effected when by the motion of the disc
one of the radial slots in the disc is brought between a stationary ignited gas jet and
a passage opening into the charged cylinder.
The first part of my invention has reference to the said igniting mechanism and
has for its principal object to prevent the noise attending the working of the said
mochanism as originally constructed. According to this part of my invention I mako
the radiating slots in the rotating disc of much larger capacity than in the original
invention the said slots constituting small gas chambers.
Instead of the said slots simply opening a communication between the igniting
gas flame and the charged cylinder of the engine 1 employ the said slots in the
following manner. I cause each slot as it approaches the igniting gas flame to receive
a chargo of gas and in passing the igniting flame the said charge becomes ignited.
By the motion of the disc the charged slot, the gas in which has been ignited, is
rapidly brought to the opening in the charged cylinder of the engine the detonating
mixture in which is ignited by the flame carried by the slot. By this arrangement
the ignition of the detonating gaseous mixture in the cylinder is effected noiselessly
or nearly noiselessly. The igniting gas flame is situated in a small chamber formed
in a fixed plate or disc against which the rotating slotted disc works approximately
gas tight.
The second part of my invention has for its object to bring to rest the rotating
slotted disc hereinbefore referred to when by the action of the governor the cylinder
of the engine is not being charged with gas and consists of mechanism constructed
in the following manner. A lever is so connected with the governor that as the
balls of the governor rise the long arm of the lever rises and as the said balls fall
the said arm of the lever descends. The short arm of the said lever is connected
with an incline to which it communicates a sliding motion. As the balls of the
governor ascend and cut off the supply of gas to the cylinder of the engine the said
incline is made to advance under the end of the pawl which actuates the rotating

page_text: slotted disc and raise the said pawl out of the range of the ratchet teeth on the
periphery of the said disc. The said disc is consequently not actuated by the pawl
and the wear and tear of the said disc is arrested and the waste of the igniting charges
of gas prevented. When by the diminished speed of the engine the governor balls
descend and restore the supply of gas to the cylinder the incline by which the pawl
was supported out of action is at the same time withdrawn and the pawl again coming
into action the igniting mechanism is again operated. The supply of gas to the
cylinder and the working of the igniting mechanism take place simultaneously.
Although I have found that the gearing of the incline to the governor by means
of a lever acts well in practice I do not limit myself thereto as other equivalent
gearing may be employed.
And although for convenience of description I have described this part of my
invention as applied to the igniting mechanism constituting the first part of my
invention I wish it to be understood that by slight modification in details this part of
my invention may be applied to gas engines generally.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in end olevation a portion of a gas engine to which my
improvements are applied; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same; Figure 3 is a
vertical longitudinal section and Figure 4 a plan of the same: Figure 5 is a s
horizontal section taken through the line A. Figure 1 and Figure 6 is an elevation
of the rotating disc of the engine, the said Figures 5 and 6 being drawn to a larger
scale than the other figures.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawing.
I will first describe the construction of parts for effecting the ignition of the
explosive gaseous mixture which construction of parts constitutes the first portion of
my Invention.
The rotating dise which constitutes an improved ignition valve is marked a. The
said disc a is situated at the rear of the water jacket a³ of the cylinder or detonating
chamber a of the engine. This jacketted cylinder is of the construction usually
adopted in gas engines. The side or valve shaft u is actuated from the main shaft
of the engine (not shown in the Drawing) by gearing of the ordinary kind. The
mechanism for actuating the rotating disc a consists of a pawl gearing with the
teeth e on the periphery of the said disc a. The said pawl is carried by the lever n
to the end of which it is jointed. The said lever n is actuated by a crank u¹ on the
end of the side or valve shaft u.
The coal or inflammable gas is admitted into the mixing chamber by means of
the tappet valve » operated upon by the lever o. The said lever o receives its motion
by means of the cams on the side shaft u operating upon the lever o' the said levers o
and o being at opposite ends of the shaft o¹ (see Figure 2). These parts are herein
after more fully explained in connection with the description of the second part of
my invention.
The charging or admission and exhaust valves are operated in the usual manner.
The general arrangement of the gear is best seen in Figures 1 and 2. The slots or
passages in the rotating disc a, constituting small gas chambers, are best seen in the
section Figure 3 and elevation Figure 6, where each slot or small gas chamber is
markedf,g. The mechanism for operating the rotating disc a and for arresting the action
of the said disc through the action of the governor is best seen in Figures 1 and 4.
The operation of the parts of the rotating disc a and appliances for effecting the
ignition of the explosive gaseous mixture in the cylinder a³ is as follows:-
The cylinder a being charged with compressed explosive gaseous mixture, the port d
opening into the said cylinder a² is also charged with the said gaseous mixture. The
disc a is by the intermittent motion imparted to it brought into position at the required
time for igniting the gaseous mixture in the cylinder a² as best seen in Figures 3
and 5. The slot or small gas chamber f, 9 in the disc a which is approaching the
port d receives inflammable gas from the fixed gas duct j' in the cover (sea

page_text: Figure 3) the passage in the rotating disc a being brought opposite during the
motion of the said disc and communicating with the duct or curved slot j₁ in the
cover b. The slot or small gas chamber f, receives atmospheric air to form an
inflammable mixture with the gas in the said small chamber through the duct f² in
the fixed cover b, which duct f2 communicates with the port g of the small gas
chamber fg.
It will be seen by reference to Figure 3 that the port of the small gas chamber f, g,
communicates through a port f' in the fixed cover b with the chimney x.
By the action of the ratchet motion the small gas chamber f, g in the disc a having
been charged in the manner described is carried rapidly forward and the gaseous
mixture therein is ignited by the fixed relighting gas jet h¹. The igniting of the
charge in the small gas chamber f, g takes place immediately before the passage h
(see Figure 5) comes opposite the port d into the gas cylinder a². The passage
coming opposite the port d the flame in the small gas chamber f, g ignites the gaseous
mixture in the port d and the engine cylinder a². It will be understood that by the
motion of the disc a, the duct is cut off from communication with the duct *
immediately before the closing of the small gas chamber f, g in the said disc a is
effected. The passage opens into the port of the small gas chamber f9
immediately after the said small gas chamber and the port 2 are closed, the duct
communicating with the port d a little before the port communicates with the said
port d to effect the detonation of the gaseous mixture in the gas chamber or
cylinder a².
The communication of the duct with the port h before the detonation prevents a
rush of the compressed gaseous mixture in the cylinder which but for the said
communication might extinguish the flame in the small gas chamber f, g. After tho
detonation in the cylinder has been effected the disc a continues its motion a short
distance until the ports d and h are nearly but not quite closed when the said disc a
comes to rest. The partial closing of the ports d and ½ permits of the port being
cleared of residual gas. The ports d and h are completely closed when the disc a is
next set in motion when the cylinder a³ is recharged and the operations described are
repeated.
The communication of the ignition from the relighting jet ¹ to the small gas
chamber fg is indicated in Figure 3 by a tongue like flame.
The rotating disc a works upon a central stud sleeve or boss k which runs upon a
stud as shown in Figure 3 so that when the pawl engages with tho said disc a
they all lock and friction is reduced to a minimum by their moving as one.
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my invention which has for its
object to bring to rest the rotating disc a when by the action of the governor the
engine is not being charged with gas.
This mechanism is best seen in Figures 1 and 4.
The pawl by which the intermittent motion of the disc a is effected is held out of
gear with the ratchet teeth e of the said disc a when no combustible gaseous mixture
enters the cylinder a³ by means of a bolt which takes into a slot g' in the said
pawl. The said bolt q is carried by the lever p which lever is actuated by a cam p¹
upon the lever o (best seen in Figure 4) the said lever o as herein before explained
being attached to the rocking shaft o¹ and operated by the cams (see Figure 2)
acting upon the lever o and through the shaft of lover o and cam pl upon the lever p
carrying the bolt q. The said lever pis held in position by a spring p². Upon the
lever o moving so as to open the gas tappet valve r the cam p¹ operates upon the
lever p causing the bolt q to be disengaged from the slot g¹ when the pawl 7 by its
weight falls into gear with the teeth e on the rotating disc a: m is a leather pad on
the pawl which prevents the noise which would otherwise be made by the falling of
the pawl upon the teeth e.
The action of the parts constituting the second portion of my Invention is as
follows:-
When the governor of the engine runs above the normal speed, the cams no longer
operating on the lever o³ the lever o retires from the gas tappet valve r and the said

page_text: valve is closed, the cam p¹ is at the same time withdrawn from the end of the
lever p and the bolt 7 engages in the slot q' in the pawl by the action of the
spring p² and the said pawl is held out of gear with the ratchet teeth e and no motion
is communicated to the rotating disc a and no gas is being supplied to the engine.
When by the diminished speed of the engine the governor balls fall, the lover o is
operated upon by the cams and the said lever o again operates upon the gas tappet
valve r thereby admitting gaseous mixture to the cylinder and releasing the pawl
which again gears with the ratchet teeth e and communicates the required inter-
mittent motion to the rotating disc a as before described.
Any form of governor or arrangement of cams and levers may be employed in
carrying this part of my invention into effect. A simple pin or bolt may be made to
gear into the pawl at the slot or part q' or a riding or sliding lever on the underside
of the pawl which may be disengaged by a system of levers by the action of the gas
tappet valve lever o. The form of the pawl may be varied and the direction of
motion may be reversed, that is, a pull instead of a thrust may be used. The rotating
disc a may be attached or secured to the side of a gas cylinder or part thereof of any
construction and the number of igniting ports in the said rotating disc may be varied.
The cover 6 of the rotating disc a is secured in position by the studs shown in
Figure 5. A spring to in the hollow nut v keeps the cover b pressed against the face
of the disc a and the nut v just touches the horns on the cover to receive the
force of the explosion. The nuts are kept in position by check screws y which are
locked when the nuts v are set on the ends of the studs as shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my Invention and
the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
Invention of "Improvements in gas engines
"
:-
First An improved disc having an intermittent rotary motion constituting an
improved ignition valve for effecting the ignition of the detonating gaseous mixture
in the cylinder of the engine, the said disc or ignition valve being provided with a
series of slots or small gas chambers in which charges of inflammable gas are ignited
as required by a stationary relighting jet, the flame in one of the said slots or small
gas chambers being carried to the port opening into the engine cylinder and igniting
the compressed gaseous mixture in the said port and cylinder, the several parts of
the intermittent rotary disc or ignition valve being constructed, arranged and working
substantially as and for the purpose herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawing.
Secondly Causing the rising of the governor balls above their arranged normal
position to throw out of gear the pawl which gives the intermittent motion to the
rotating disc or ignition valve and causing the falling of the said balls to permit the
said pawl to fall into gear when the speed of the engine is reduced to the normal
speed so that when the combustible gaseous mixture is prevented from entering the
engine cylinder the said gearing mechanism comes to rest and the wear and tear
which occurs when it works uselessly is avoided substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Dated the Ninth day of July 1000