IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS MOTOR ENGINES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Livesey, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster,
in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS
MOTOR ENGINES." A communication from abroad by Fernando Harry
Whitehead Livesey, at present residing at Calais, in the Republic of
France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Livesey at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th December 1880.
JAMES LIVESEY, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS MOTOR ENGINES." [A communication from
abroad by Fernando Harry Whitehead Livesey, at present residing at Calais, in
the Republic of France.]
This Invention relates to the construction and arrangement of a gas motor engine
worked by the expansion of a mixture of combustible gas and air ignited in a
cylinder, the chief object of the Invention being to employ a combustible charge in
a compressed condition when ignited, the compression being effected in the same
cylinder as that in which the combustion takes place, and the same cylinder being
also available for working the engine as a compound engine. The cylinder for
this purpose is made for part of its length, towards the front, of larger diameter
than towards the back end. It is fitted with two pistons rigidly connected so that
they work together, the one in the larger and the other in the smaller part of the
cylinder. At the back part of the cylinder is fitted a slide, governing ports for
ignition and for emission of products of combustion. The smaller piston also acts
as a slide, governing a port which communicates with the back end of the cylinder
by a passage which may contain a check valve. The space between the two pistons
has inlets for the admission of gas and air, those inlets being provided with check
valves. The pistons are connected in the usual way to a crank shaft, an eccentric
or cam on which works the slide. The action of the engine is as follows:-The
pistons being propelled through their forward stroke, a charge of air and gas is
drawn into the space between the two pistons. As they make their back stroke
this charge is compressed, and at the same time products of combustion are expelled
ID 1

page_text: from the back end of the cylinder. When the smaller piston passes the port above
mentioned, compressed gaseous mixture flows by it from the space between the
pistons to the back end of the cylinder. When the pistons have completed their
back stroke, or a little after, the charge at the back end of the cylinder is ignited,
and the pistons are propelled through their forward stroke, when the cycle of
operations above described is repeated. In what has been described above, the
cylinder at its larger end has been supposed to be open. By closing this end with
a cover, and making a communication from it to a port, governed by the slide, the
products of combustion, as they are expelled from the smaller part of the cylinder,
may be led to the large part thereof to expand therein, the engine thus being
worked as a compound engine. Or, instead of thus employing the products of
combustion in the front end of the cylinder, that end may be arranged so that the
larger piston by its back stroke draws in air, which, during part of its forward
stroke, it compresses, and the air thus compressed is at or about the end of the
forward stroke admitted to the back end of the cylinder to sweep out products of
combustion therefrom. The ignition of the gaseous charge may be effected in any
known manner, or according to a method which forms part of this Invention, and
which is as follows:-In the slide is formed a chamber which receives a charge of
the compressed gaseous mixture. From this chamber there is passage by a burner,
preferably of non conducting material, into a cavity in the slide. This cavity at
one part of the stroke of the slide comes opposite to an orifice in the slide cover, at
which an external flame is kept burning, and the jet of compressed gaseous mixture
issuing from the burner is thus ignited. As the slide moves, the cavity containing
the burning mixture is brought opposite to the cylinder port, and the charge in the
cylinder is thus ignited. In order to moderate the velocity of the jet issuing from
the burner, and to prevent communication of flame back into the chamber, the tube
of the burner is nearly filled up with a sheaf of copper wires or small fragments of
metal. For the purpose of regulating the engine, a centrifugal or other known
governor is connected to the slide or to a separate slide or valve, so that when the
speed of the engine exceeds a certain limit, the discharge of products of combustion
from the cylinder is entirely arrested until the engine returns to its normal
speed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Livesey in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th June
1881.
JAMES LIVESEY, of No. 9, Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS MOTOR ENGINES." A communication from
abroad by Fernando Harry Whitehead Livesey, at present residing at Calais, in
the Republic of France.
This Invention relates to the construction and arrangement of a gas motor engine
worked by the expansion of a mixture of combustible gas and air ignited in a
cylinder, the chief object of the Invention being to employ a combustible charge in
a compressed condition when ignited, the compression being effected in the same
cylinder as that in which the combustion takes place, and the same cylinder being
also available for working the engine as a compound engine. The cylinder for
this purpose is made for part of its length, towards the front, of larger diameter
than towards the back end. It is fitted with two pistons rigidly connected so that
they work together, the one in the larger and the other in the smaller part of the
cylinder. At the back part of the cylinder is fitted a slide, governing ports for
admission and ignition, and a slide for emission of products of combustion. The
smaller piston also acts as a slide, governing a port which communicates with the
back end of the cylinder by a passage which may contain a check valve. The
space between the two pistons has inlets for the admission of gas and air, those
inlets being provided with check valves. The pistons are connected in the usual
way to a crank shaft, eccentrics, or cams, on which work the slides. The action of
the engine is as follows:-The pistons being propelled through their forward stroke
a charge of air and gas is drawn into the space between the two pistons. As they
make their back stroke this charge is compressed, and at the same time products of
combustion are expelled from the back end of the cylinder. When the smaller
piston passes the port above mentioned, compressed gaseous mixture flows by it
from the space between the pistons to the back end of the cylinder. When the
pistons have completed their back stroke, or a little after, the charge at the back end
of the cylinder is ignited and the pistons are propelled through their forward stroke,
when the cycle of operation above described is repeated. In what has been
described above the cylinder at its larger end has been supposed to be open. By
closing this end with a cover and making a communication from it to a port,
governed by the slide, the products of combustion as they are expelled from the
smaller part of the cylinder may be led to the larger part thereof to expand therein,
the engine thus being worked as a compound engine. The ignition of the gaseous
charge may be effected in any known manner or according to a method which forms
part of this Invention, and which is as follows:-In the slide is formed a chamber
which receives a charge of the compressed gaseous mixture. From this chamber
there is passage by a burner, preferably of nonconducting material, into a cavity in
the slide. This cavity at one part of the stroke of the slide comes opposite to an
orifice in the slide cover at which an external flame is kept burning, and the jet of
compressed gaseous mixture issuing from the burner is thus ignited. As the slide
moves, the cavity containing the burning mixture is brought opposite to the cylinder
port, and the charge in the cylinder is thus ignited. In order to moderate the
velocity of the jet issuing from the burner and to prevent communication of flame
back into the chamber, the tube of the burner is nearly filled up with a sheaf of
copper wires or small fragments of metal. For the purpose of regulating the engine
a centrifugal or other known governor is connected to the slide or to a separate
slide or valve, so that when the speed of the engine exceeds a certain limit the
discharge of products of combustion from the cylinder is entirely arrested until
the engine returns to its normal speed.

page_text: Fig. 1 is a plan, partly in section, of a gas motor engine according to this
Invention; Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sections of the cylinder respectively on the
lines X, X, and Y, Y, of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a part longitudinal, and Fig. 5 a part
transverse section of the admission and ignition ports and passages drawn to an
enlarged scale. A is the front part of the cylinder, which is fitted with a piston A¹.
This piston has a trunk C', which may be partly hollow, as shewn, and which
works as a plunger in the back part C of the cylinder. The annular space B
surrounding the trunk in the front part of the cylinder receives a charge of gas
and air, which are drawn into this space as the piston makes its forward stroke
through the valves D and D¹. At the one side of the cylinder C is a slide case
containing a cylindrical slide E, which is worked by an eccentric E¹ on the engine
shaft. The end of the slide case communicates by a passage F with the interior of
the cylinder C near its front end, but the mouth of this passage is open only while
a groove F¹ formed in the trunk C³ passes over it, putting it in communication
with the annular space B. A port C2 leads from the casing of the slide E into the
cylinder C. Facing an aperture in the case of the slide E an external flame H is
kept burning. In the slide E is formed a cavity I, into which projects a burner,
consisting of a short tube filled with short pieces of wire, forming a species of wick,
through the interstices of which a mixture of gas and air, admitted by the small
passages shewn in Fig. 4, can flow to the cavity I. At the other side of the
cylinder is another cylindrical slide K, worked by an eccentric K³; the casing of
this slide has a port K¹ leading to it from about the middle of the cylinder Cand
a port K2 leading to the front of the cylinder A. From this slide case there is also
an exhaust passage L, and in the slide there is a D shaped cavity M and a cross
passage N. The cylinder is surrounded by a casing W, through which water
circulates to keep the cylinder cool. The operation of the engine is as follows:-
The piston A¹ and plunger C in making their forward stroke, urged by the
pressure of the ignited gaseous mixture in C, draw into the annular space B
through the valves D, D₁, the charge of gas and air, the ports 02 and K¹ being at
this time closed by the slides E and K respectively, but the contents of the
cylinder A in front of the piston A¹ escaping by the port K2 and the cross
passage N, which is then open to the exhaust L. As the piston A¹
approaches the extreme of its forward stroke, the slide K closes the exhaust
passage and shortly afterwards puts the two ports K' and K2 in communication
through the D shaped cavity M. The products of combustion from the cylinder C
thus pass by K¹ and K2 to the front end of the cylinder A, and expanding therein,
aid the piston A' in making its back stroke. When the piston has performed
about one quarter of its back stroke, the groove F" forms a communication between
the annular space B and the passage F leading to the end of the case of the slide E,
and the slide being at this time moving forward so as to open the port C², the gaseous
mixture somewhat compressed in the space B flows thence into the cylinder C, partly
assisting to expel the products of previous combustion by the port K². When the
piston has made about half its back stroke, the slide K closes communication
between the ports K' and K2, and now the contents of the cylinder C become
compressed by the continued back stroke of the piston A¹ and its trunk C', the
combustible gaseous charge being thus transferred under pressure from the annular
space B to the space provided at the end of the cylinder C. When the piston has
about completed its back stroke, the port C is closed by the slide E, and the
cavity I, containing flame which had been ignited by the external flame H, is
brought to face the port C³, whereby the gaseous contents of C3 and C are ignited.
The increase of pressure and expansion resulting from the combustion urge forwards
the trunk C¹ and piston A', when the cycle of operation is repeated.
When it is not desired to work the engine as a compound engine, the front of the

page_text: cylinder A may be left open, the products of combustion being discharged directly
by the exhaust L.
Having thus described the nature of this Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my correspondent, I claim,-
First. The construction of gas motor engine having a differential cylinder and
trunk piston so arranged and operating that successive charges of combustible gas
and air drawn into the annular space surrounding the trunk in the larger part of
the cylinder are thence transferred under pressure to the smaller part of the
cylinder where they are ignited, and whence the products of combustion after
performing work in propelling the piston are conducted to the larger part of
the cylinder to perform farther work by expansion, substantially as herein
described.
Second. The construction of a gas motor engine having a differential cylinder and
trunk piston so arranged and operating that successive charges of combustible gas
and air drawn into the annular space surrounding the trunk in the larger part of
the cylinder are thence transferred under pressure to the smaller part of the cylinder,
where they are ignited and whence the products of combustion are discharged after
performing work in propelling the piston, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Livesey, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one.
JAMES LIVESEY. (L.S.)