Improvements in Gas and Oil Motor Engines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 28th May, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 12th Jan., 1892-Accepted, 20th Feb., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas and Oil Motor Engines.
I JOSEPH SOUTHALL of Woodleigh, Selborne Road in the City of Worcester,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN GAS AND OIL MOTOR ENGINES to be as follows:--
ን፡
The object of my invention is to simplify the construction of gas and oil
motor engines and it also relates to making the larger sizes in such a way that they
may be readily started with compressed air controlled by a hand lever. To
accomplish the first mentioned object I use a valve so made as to perform the
double duty of admitting the gas and air to the cylinder and also of letting out
the products of combustion during the exhaust stroke; and, to make an engine
of a large size self starting I close in the front end of the cylinder, as in a double
acting steam cylinder, using on this front end a special arrangement of valves, so
that it acts simply as an air pump and is available for starting, the clearance space
in the front end of the cylinder being as small as practicable.
I prefer to make the double duty supply and exhaust valve of the disc or mush-
room type. Exhaust, gas, and air passages are formed in the cylinder casting or
in a ring shaped casting fitted into it, these passages are annular and communicate
with the inside of the ring shaped casting which is bored out true, a seat for the
mushroom valve being formed at the end of it next the charge space of the cylinder;
the mushroom valve has a stem of large diameter so turned as to form a good
sliding fit when in the bored out ring shaped casting and so recessed and formed
that as the valve is raised and lowered part of its surface covers and uncovers
the various passages in the cylinder at the proper times to perform the operations
required. Although I prefer to use a disc or mushroom headed valve as giving
a form of scat capable of working properly under the high pressures which
occur in these engines, 1 do not bind myself to this precise form of valve as it
evident some modified form of valve to accomplish this double duty might be
designed.
The front end of the cylinder I provide with one port which connects with a
chamber in which are two valves, working in the same manner as in a force pump,
excepting that they are so made that by means of a lever in the chamber working
on a spindle passing airtight out through one side of it, they can be controlled by
an exterior hand lever in the following manner, namely, that whilst the suction
valve is on its seat the delivery valve can be raised off its seat or vice versa, or if
the lever is put in a neutral position both valves are free to rise and fall.
Supposing the engine to be running with the lever in this last position, the front
space of the cylinder will be acting as an air pump drawing in air through the
suction valve and forcing it up through the delivery valve thence into a reservoir
provided to receive it, this is allowed to go on until a pressure gauge on the reservoir
shows the desired pressure has been reached, the lever is then moved and fixed so
as to hold the suction valve open allowing the piston to simply draw in air and
expel it without effort, the delivery valve serving to retain the pressure in the
reservoir or if this is not considered to be sufficient an additional valve may be
provided near the point where the connecting pipe joins the reservoir.
If preferred instead of holding up the suction valve the delivery valve can be
held up allowing the air in the reservoir to act on and be acted upon alternately by
the reciprocating piston; the suction valve being unable to rise and release the
pressure.
DAL
CM 1001

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas and Oil Motor Engines.
I, JOSEPH SOUTHALL, Woodleigh, Selborne Road, Worcester, 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 object of my invention is to simplify the construction of gas and oil motor
engines, and to provide for readily starting engines of considerable size by the
action of compressed air under control of a hand lever. For simplifying con-
struction of these engines generally, I employ a valve shewn in section in Fig. 1
of the accompanying drawings, arranged both to admit the charge of gas or oil
vapour and air to the cylinder and also to discharge the products of combustion, as
I shall now describe referring to Fig. 1. C is part of the compression space of
the working cylinder having an opening for both admission of charge and emission
of discharge provided with a valve V, part of the stem of which at P is made as a
piston slide covering and uncovering three annular ports in a truly bored lining L.
One of these ports A communicates with the external atmosphere, another G in
communication with the gas supply, and the third D communicates with the discharge
pipe.
The valve V is held closed by a spring S and is opened to a greater or less
extent by a lever worked by a cam or otherwise bearing on the end E of the valve
stem. The valve is in the position shewn in Fig. 1 during the compressing
and working strokes of the engine entirely closing the opening to the cylinder
space C.
After the working stroke, the valve is moved towards the cylinder so as to
open free passage therefrom, but not so far as to uncover the ports A. and G or
to cover the port D by which the products of combustion pass away. When the
piston is making its charging stroke, the valve is moved so far towards the cylinder
that the part P covers the port D but uncovers A and C, by which air and gas
are admitted to the cylinder. The lever which moves the valve may have its
stroke controlled by a governor in a known manner, so that, when the speed of
the engine is excessive, the gas port G shall not be opened during the charging
stroke.
For facilitating the starting of gas or oil motor engines of considerable size I
arrange the front part of the cylinder with valves such as are shewn in longitudinal
and transverse section in Figs. 2 and 3 respectively, so that it can be made to
operate as an air pump, forcing air during the working of the engine into a
reservoir in which it is retained under pressure, and from which it can be
re-admitted to the front part of the cugine to act on the piston and so aid in
starting the engine.
The valves for this purpose are arranged under the control of a hand lever
as I shall now describe. C, the front part of the working cylinder, is closed by a
cover through packing in which the piston rod works, and it communicates with
a valve box B in which are fitted a suction or inlet valve and a discharge or
outlet valve O both preferably held closed by springs as shewn. Between the two
valves is a spindle F which passes through packing on one side of the valve box
and has its end outside squared or otherwise suitably formed to receive a hand
lever applied to turn it. On this spindle within the box B is fixed a double armed
lever Fl, the one end of it entering a slot in the stem of the valve I and the other
end presenting itself under the stem of the valve O.
When the lever is in the position shewn, both valves I and O are free to open
and close, and, the engine being at work, they operate respectively as the suction
and discharge valves of an air pump, air being drawn in by I and forced by O into
a suitable reservoir.

page_text: When the pressure in the reservoir is sufficient the lever H is moved so as to
raise the valve 1 and, so long as that valve is held up, the piston of the engine
merely draws in air and expels it through the valve opening I.
The reservoir having been charged with compressed air during the working of
the engine, this is utilised for aiding the starting of the engine by moving by hand
the lever H so as during each back stroke of the engine piston, to let I remain
closed and raise the valve O admitting compressed air from the reservoir to the
cylinder to act upon the piston, and during each forward stroke of the piston to
open the valve I permitting discharge of the air from the cylinder. By a
few revolutions, aided in this manner, the flywheel attains sufficient momentum
to continue the movement of the engine until it is in the normal state of action.
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. For a gas or oil motor engine a valve substantially as described with reference
to Fig. 1, arranged to operate for the charging and discharging of the cylinder and
for closing it during compression and working strokes.
2. In combination with the cylinder of a gas or oil motor engine and a reservoir
for storing compressed air to aid in starting the engine, a pair of valves and
lever arranged and operating substantially as described with reference to Figs. 2
and 3.
Dated this 10th day of L1000
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.