Year: 1888

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by THE GAS MOTOREN FABRIK DEUTZ, of Deutz on the
Rhine, in the German Empire, Manufacturers.]
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in
the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to that class of motor engines worked by combustible gas or
vapour and air, in which the engine operates with a cycle of four strokes, namely:
drawing in the combustible charge, compressing the same, firing and working stroke,
and expelling the products of combustion. The present invention has for its object to
obtain increased power and useful effect from such engines, and it consists in a
modified method of working, whereby firstly, there is admitted to the cylinder charge
at the end of the suction stroke, a charge of compressed air or other non combustible
gas under a certain pressure, so as to increase the volume of the charge, and give it
an initial compression before the compressing stroke, and, secondly, at the end of the
working stroke a portion of the combustion gases are caused to pass into a reservoir
in order to be further utilised by subsequently performing work in expanding.
For effecting these objects the following construction of engine is by preference
employed.
The engine cylinder is closed at both ends and communicates at the front end, that
is, the end opposite that at which the combustible charge is admitted, with a reservoir,
there being two communicating passages, one at the extreme end of the cylinder and
a second one that is uncovered by the piston as it completes its suction and working
outstrokes. Furthermore, there is provided at the front end of the cylinder a valve
serving both for the inlet of air and the escape of combustion gases to and from the
front end of the cylinder. The back end of the cylinder being provided with the

page_text: usual chamber for the compressed charge, the valve for the admission of the com-
bustible charge, the escape valve for the products of combustion, and the igniting
slide, worked by a countershaft moving at half the speed of the engine shaft, the
action of the engine will be as follows.
Assuming that the reservoir is filled with air or other noncombustible gas under
pressure the piston on completing its suction outstroke, uncovers the communication
between the reservoir and cylinder so that a portion of the air under pressure will
enter the latter, thus increasing the cylinder charge and putting it under an initial
pressure. The piston then performs its compressing instroke for compressing the
charge, and at the same time the air still remaining under a certain pressure in the
reservoir, will expand into the front end of the cylinder, assisting in the work of
the compressing stroke until it has expanded down to atmospheric pressure, when the
before mentioned inlet and discharge valve will be opened so as to allow atmospheric
air to enter while the piston completes its compressing stroke. On the compressed
charge being now fired, causing the piston to perform its working outstroke, the said
valve may be either closed or open so as either to cause the air in front of the piston
to be compressed into the reservoir, or to allow it to escape into the atmosphere, in
which latter case the valve is, however, closed before the piston uncovers the before
mentioned communication with the reservoir, so that when this takes place a portion
of the combustion gases will pass into and be stored up in the reservoir, in order,
when the piston performs its following instroke for expelling the combustion gases
from the cylinder in the usual manner, to pass into the front end of the cylinder and
and in expanding to perform work. When the piston has completed its expolling
stroke, the valve to the front end of the cylinder is opened so as to allow the com-
bustion gases under pressure still remaining in the front end of the cylinder to escape
into the atmosphere, and on its being again closed, the piston, in performing its
suction outstroke at the commencement of the next cycle, will compress the gas and
air in front of the piston into the reservoir. The engine is then in the condition first
above described, and the cycle of operation as set forth is repeated.
The discharge and admission valve to the front end of the cylinder may be actuated
by a sliding cam on the countershaft of the engine which is controlled either by hand
or by a governor, so as, by opening or closing the valve sooner or later, to vary the
degree of compression of the air and gases in the reservoir.
Instead of arranging the second before mentioned communicating passage at the
front end of the cylinder so as to be opened and closed by the piston itself, it may be
arranged at the back end of the cylinder, in which case it will be provided with a valve
controlled by a cam on the counter shaft so as to open and close the communication at
the proper times.
n

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Motor Engines Worked by Combustible Gas or
Vapour and Air.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, 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 that class of motor engine worked by combustible gas or
vapour and air, in which the engine operates with a cycle of four strokes, namely,
drawing in the combustible charge, compressing the same, firing and working stroke,
and expelling the products of combustion.
The present invention has for its object to obtain increased power and useful effect
from such engines, and it consists in a modified method of working whereby firstly,
there is admitted to the cylinder charge at the end of the suction stroke, a charge of
compressed air or other non combustible gas under a certain pressure so as to increase
the volume of the charge and give it an initial compression before the compressing
stroke, and secondly, at the end of the working stroke a portion of the combustion
gases are caused to pass into a reservoir in order to be further utilised by subsequently
performing work in expanding.
For effecting these objects the following construction of engine is by preference
employed.
The engine cylinder is closed at both ends and communicates at the front end, that
is, the end opposite that at which the combustible charge is admitted, with a reservoir,
there being two communicating passages, one at the extreme end of the cylinder and
a second one that is uncovered by the piston as it completes its suction and working
outstrokes. Furthermore, there is provided at the front end of the cylinder a valve
serving both for the inlet of air and the escape of combustion gases to and from the
front end of the cylinder. The back end of the cylinder being provided with the
usual chamber for the compressed charge the valve for the admission of the com-
bustible charge, the escape valve for the products of combustion, and the igniting slide,
worked by a countershaft moving at half the speed of the engine shaft, the action of
the engine will be as follows:-
Assuming that the reservoir is filled with air or other non-combustible gas under
pressure, the piston on completing its suction outstroke, uncovers the communication
between the reservoir and cylinder so that a portion of the air under pressure will
enter the latter, thus increasing the cylinder charge and putting it under an initial
pressure. The piston then performs its compressing instroke for compressing the
charge, and at the same time the air or gas still remaining under a certain pressure
in the reservoir, will expand into the front end of the cylinder, assisting in the work of
the compressing stroke until it has expanded down to atmospheric pressure, when the
before mentioned inlet and discharge valve will be opened so as to allow atmospheric
air to enter while the piston completes its compressing stroke. On the compressed
charge being now fired, causing the piston to perform its working outstroke, the said

page_text: valve may be either closed or open, so as either to cause the air in front of the piston
to be compressed into the reservoir, or to allow it to escape into the atmosphere in
which latter case the valve is, however, closed before the piston uncovers the before
mentioned communication with the reservoir, so that when this takes place, a portion
of the combustion gases will pass into and be stored up under pressure in the
reservoir, in order, when the piston performs its following instroke for expelling the
combustion gases from the cylinder in the usual manner, to pass into the front end of
the cylinder and in expanding to perform work.
When the piston has completed its expelling stroke, the valve to the front end of
the cylinder is opened so as to allow the combustion gases under pressure still
remaining in the front end of the cylinder to escape into the atmosphere, and on its
being again closed, the piston, in performing its suction outstroke at the commence-
ment of the next cycle, will compress the combustion gas and air in front of the
piston into the reservoir through both the said passages. The engine is then in the
condition first above described, and the cycle of operation as set forth is repeated.
The discharge and admission valve to the front end of the cylinder may be actuated
by a sliding cain on the countershaft of the engine which is controlled either by hand
or by a governor, so as, by opening or closing the valve sooner or later, to vary the
degree of compression of the air and gases in the reservoir.
The accompanying drawing shews diagram sections of the cylinder and reservoir of
a gas motor engine constructed according to the aoove described invention. Fig. 1
shews a sectional plan and Fig. 2 a cross section. The engine cylinder a is closed at
its front end and communicates firstly, by two passage and i with the reservoir b
and secondly, by a passage with an inlet and outlet valve g actuated by cams n on the
countershaft o which revolves at balf the speed of the engine shaft. The stroke of
the piston c extends to the dotted line, leaving the space a in the back end of the
cylinder for containing the compressed charge, which is admitted through the valve e
and ignited by the igniting tube m made to communicate with the cylinder at the
proper moment by the slide worked from the countershaft in the known manner. fis
the discharge valve for the combustion gases, opened at the required moment by
means of a cam 7 on the countershaft, also in the known manner. It will be seen
that piston e, towards the end of its suction and working outstrokes uncovers the
passage leading to the reservoir so that in the one case compressed air and com-
bustion gases previously stored in the reservoir will pass from the same into the
combustible charged contained in the cylinder, while in the other case, the products
of combustion will expand from the cylinder into the reservoir. The passage i on the
other hand always communicates with the front end of the cylinder so that during
the compressing instroke the air and gases under pressure remaining in the reservoir
will expand into the cylinder, doing work first through passage i, and then through
both and while during the expelling instroke the products of combustion will
expand from the reservoir into the cylinder in the same manner.
The valve g opens
towards the end of the compressing instroke to admit the outer air and also during
the working outstroke, for the escape of air and gases, while during the suction out-
stroke and expelling instroke, the valve remains closed, it being opened momentarily
at the end of the last named stroke for the escape of the combustion gases.
The valve may either be immediately closed again before the commencement of the
suction outstroke, so as to effect the compression of the air and gases in front of the
piston during the whole of such stroke, or it may be kept open during part of such
stroke so as to limit the degree of compression to any desired extent. For this purpose
the cam n actuating the valve g is mounted on a sleeve p that can be slid out he shaft o
so as to bring parts thereof with a longer shorter dwell opposite the valve or lever las
may be required.
Instead of arranging the passage h in the position shewn so that the opening and
closing thereof is effected by the piston itself, it may be placed in other positions
such as at h', in which case the opening and closing thereof at the proper times for
effecting the above described operations would have to be effected by a valve and a
cam on the countershaft o in a similar manner to the valves fand g.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A gas and oil motor engine working with a cycle of four strokes, wherein the
piston during one outstroke draws in a combustible charge on one side of the piston
and compresses air and combustion gases into a receiver on the other side, in
order to admit such compressed air and gases into the charge at the end of such
stroke; at the following instroke the piston compresses the said charge, which on
being fired causes the piston to perform its working outstroke, at the end of which a
portion of the combustion gases are made to pass into the said reservoir, in order, on
the following expelling stroke, to perform work in acting expansively on the outer
side of the piston, substantially as herein described.
2. In a gas or oil motor engine of the kind working with a cycle of four strokes
and having a compression space, the combination of a working cylinder closed at both
ends with a reservoir communicating with the cylinder by two passages, one situated
at the extreme front end and the other at an intermediate point, so that at the suction
stroke the piston compresses air and combustion gases into the reservoir through both
passages, which air and gas are admitted into the charge through the second passage
at the end of such stroke, while at the end of the working outstroke a portion of the
combustion gases pass into the reservoir through the second passage, in order to pass
back into the cylinder through the said passages during the expelling instroke, and
in expanding to perform work, substantially as herein described.
3. In a four-stroke-cycle gas motor engine wherein the cylinder is closed at the front
end and communicates with a reservoir by a passage at the front end and by a second
passage at an intermediate point of its length, a valve connected to the front end of
the cylinder, which valve is opened during the working outstroke of the piston to
allow of the escape of air and combustion gases in front of the piston, and also during
part of the compressing instroke to allow of the entrance of air in front of the
piston, but is closed during the suction outstroke and expelling instroke in order in
the first case to allow air to be compressed in the reservoir and in the second case
to allow the combustion gases to perform work in expanding in the front of the
cylinder, substantially as herein described.
Dated this 20th day of November 1888.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.