IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS ENGINES
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Foulis at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 7th December 1880.
WILLIAM FOULIS, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Civil
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS ENGINES."
This Invention, which relates to certain improvements in gas engines, is in part a
further development of the improvements in such engines set forth in the
Provisional Specification of my former improvements in gas engines, No. 2422,
A.D. 1880.
Under the present improvements the compression pump, by means of which the
air and gas are forced into the cylinder or cylinders of gas engines, is connected by
means of a passage or passages to a chamber or chambers containing layers of wire
gauze, through which the compressed mixture of air and gas passes to the
combustion chamber or chambers accordingly as the engine has one, two, or more
cylinders. The chamber containing the layers of wire gauze is cooled by a water
or air jacket, which may also extend round the tubular part wherein the igniter is
placed so as to keep the said part at a sufficiently low temperature. By preference
one valve only is used between the compressing pump and the chamber containing
the wire gauze layers, but more than one valve may be used.
Under another head of these improvements the exhaust valve and the admission
valves, where the latter are used, are driven from one and the same eccentric.
For the purpose of rendering gas engines reversible in their direction of motion
the eccentric by which the valve or valves is or are driven is or may be carried
loosely in the crank shaft, in which case stops are placed equidistant on either side
of the crank. Against one or the other of these stops the eccentric rests, according
to the direction of motion of the engine.
For the purpose of diminishing the friction of the trunk of the cylinder it is
formed of less diameter than the piston or cylinder, and works against strips or
bearing pieces let into the top and bottom of the cylinder.
For the purpose of regulating the speed and power of gas engines this may be
effected by placing a throttle valve on the suction pipe or by placing a chamber
attached to the delivery end of the pump, and coupled to the said pump by means
of a pipe provided with a stop cock. When it is required to deliver less gas and
air into the cylinder or cylinders of the engine than that which is due to the whole

page_text: stroke of the pump piston, this valve on the pipe between the pump and the
aforesaid chamber or chambers is opened to any desired extent, so that a portion of
the mixture of air and gas is forced thereinto at each compressing stroke, and drawn
out therefrom at each outward stroke.
For the purpose of arresting the flow of oil from the cylinder into the combustion
chamber and also for preventing particles of dirt from passing into the cylinder a
groove is formed at the junction of the cylinder with the combustion chamber,
which constitutes a receptacle for such oil and dirt.
For the purpose of supplying gas to the igniter an apparatus analogous to a wet
gas meter is provided, and which is driven by a weight or spring; this apparatus
has two inlets, one for gas and the other for air, the areas of the inlets being in the
proportions of the mixture of air and gas.
.
For the purpose of enabling the air and gas to be shut off from the igniter as
soon as possible the supplementary piston is or may be mounted with asbestos
or equivalent material which attains a high temperature more rapidly than
metal.
Gas engines constructed with the aforesaid improvements may be placed
horizontally, vertically, or at any angle; they may be constructed with one single
acting cylinder, or they may be made with two single acting cylinders coupled to
cranks opposite each other, and having the compressing pump situated between the
two cylinders, in which case the compressing pump is made a double acting pump,
the same eccentric by preference driving the valves of both cylinders. It is to be
understood that although I prefer to so construct a two cylinder gas engine with
my improvements, yet I do not limit myself to the use of a compressing pump
placed between the two cylinders, nor do I limit myself to the use of a
double acting compressing pump, as single acting pumps may be substituted.