Improvements in or applicable to Gas Engines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Improvements in or applicable to Gas Engines.
I, CORNELIUS CRASTIN, of 16, Tollington Road, Holloway, in the County of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates chiefly to gas engines of the Otto type, the object being to
lessen the cost of manufacture; to simplify the parts, and to reduce the consumption
of gas for heating the ignition tube, the improvements being more especially
applicable to small engines designed to be used as domestic or laboratory motors.
In carrying out my invention as applied to a horizontal engine I form or cast
upon a suitable base or bed-plate an upright piece having a circular hole throngh
which passes a prolongation of the cylinder, a flange being cast thereon to allow of
it being bolted to the upright. At the other end of the cylinder is a corresponding
flange and the space between these flanges forms the water chamber when covered
with a piece of tube preferably wrought iron or steel boiler tube which forms the
jacket; the said piece of tube can be shrunk on or a joint can be made with rubber
or other suitable rings or packing between the back cover and the upright to hold
the cylinder. The advantage of building cylinders in this manner is that the
jacket can be readily replaced by a new one in case of accident by frost and the
cylinder and jacket can be very casily and cheaply made and readily cleaned
internally.
To allow of regulating the stroke of the valves particularly of the exhaust valve
and to provide a simple means of reversing the engine, I employ a toothed wheel
wide enough to allow a cut to be made in the centre of the teeth so as to divide the
wheel nearly to the hole in the centre. Upon one side of the wheel I cut a semi-
circular slot, each end of the slot being opposite a hole in the other side of the
wheel, which hole may be tapped to receive the screw-threaded end of a set-screw
or a jin kept in its place by a spring. According to which hole the set-screw or
pin is placed in so the engine will run in one or the other direction. When the
set-screw or pin has been passed through, a small steel roller is placed on it in the
space formed by the cut in the wheel; this roller acts upon an upright lever having
an adjustable base by means of which I am able to vary the stroke of the rod
which operates the valve. The lever acts upon a rod to open the valve and the
top or bottom end of the lever may be fitted with a cushion or spring to prevent it
striking back upon the wheel and making a noise, or instead of the rolier I can fit
a cam between two wheels built up to form one wheel and adjust the cam with a
suitable pin or screw.
I provide a combined ignition tube holder, burner and outer chamber, chimney
or shield especially applicable for fixing ignition tubes formed of porcelain or other
refractory material or brittle substances. I form the base of the holder with a
flange (or with a screw-thread) and the outlet of the ignition or combustion
chamber of the engine cylinder leading to the tube is also provided with a flange,
the flange of the tube holder being fitted with a projection to enter the bottom
flange forming a gland, the space between being filled with a suitable packing or
cement around the tube to make a tight joint; the top holding down flange is
formed so as to constitute the central core of a circular Bunsen or atmospheric
burner and the chamber or chimney holder forms the outer ring of the said burner,

page_text: the chamber chimney or shield being preferably elbowed at the top. The chamber
chimney or shield round the ignition tube is made of cast iron or other suitable
material but I have found it advantageous to make them of aluminium as it is a
bad radiator of heat. Instead of the flange or collar upon the end of the tube of
porcelain or other refractory brittle material as hitherto generally employed,
I prefer to make it with a slight swelling or outside thickening a given distance up
the tube to prevent it being forced up through the top flange and also to allow it
to descend into the ignition or combustion chamber of the cylinder when a timing
valve is not used, allowing the flame to strike direct from the hot tube into the
igniting mixture of gas and air without loss of heat and breaking up of the igniting
flame in its transit. By the herein before described combination I provide an
arrangement whereby I heat the ignition tube with a comparatively small
consumption of gas.
A timing valve can be suitably arranged inside the combustion chamber if
required.
For keeping the cylinder cool I place the engine bed upon the top of a square
or oblong closed cistern and from the top of the cylinder jacket a short tube leads
up into a small cistern or chamber above the cylinder jacket, a portion of which
chamber may be formed with a glass ring so that the quantity of water can always
be seen; or it may be fitted with a glass tube as in a water gauge. From the
bottom or side of this small cistern or chamber a pipe is led to near the bottom of
the cistern upon which the engine may stand and from the top of this cistern a
pipe passes up through the underside of the cylinder jacket. The water will
ascend into this small cistern on the top of the cylinder and then circulate back
through the other cistern when the engine is working or a pipe may be led into a
small self-supplied cistern fixed in any suitable position and returned to the larger
cistern. Or I may fix the engine upon a suitable iron frame and place a closed
cistern underneath this frame and connect as herein before described. By this
means I am enabled to fit the water cisterns of gas engines below the ground level
or below the engine if required.
For starting the engine by hand I form the end or side of one of the connecting
rod brasses or head (when used with a disc in place of a crank) with a projection
to receive a handle, the projection and handle being so arranged as to give a
greater and increased leverage to overcome the compression of the charge in the
cylinder according to the direction in which it is intended to run the engine. The
starting handle may be either fixed or made to unscrew in the hand when gripped
while the engine is running.
In order to admit the gas to the air-pipe leading to the cylinder and to allow of
dispensing with a gas bag in small engines, I form the outlet of the gas cock or
valve with a small opening or jet capable of passing the maximum quantity of gas
consumed by the engine at ordinary gas pressure; this jet opens into a chamber
and the outlet of the chamber is provided with a regulating screw and allows the
gas to enter on the side of the air supply pipe and become well mixed with the air
as it enters. The regulating screw may be connected to a governor and a light
valve may be fitted to the bottom of the air supply pipe or other portion below the
regulating screw, to prevent the gas escaping should the engine be stopped without
turning off the gas supply.
Although I have described my improvements as applicable to horizontal engines
it will be obvious that they are equally applicable to other designs of engines.
Dated this 5th day of Fabnue 100%
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: CORNELIUS CRASTIN, O 10, Lomington
London, Engineer, 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:-
My invention relates chiefly to gas engines of the Otto type, the object being
to lessen the cost of manufacture; to simplify the parts, and to reduce the
consumption of gas for heating the ignition tube, the improvements being more
especially applicable to small engines designed to be used as domestic or laboratory
motors.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a plan of a horizontal gas engine of the Otto type provided with my
improvements :
Fi
igure 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same:
Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Figure 1, the section also passing through
the cistern on which the engine is fixed:
Figure 4 is an elevation of the toothed wheel for driving the exhaust valve;
and,
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of the same:
Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6, Figure 4:
Figure 7 is an edge view of the lever for operating the exhaust valve :
Figures 8 and 9 are respectively views similar to Figures 5 and 6 of a
modification:
Figure 10 is a vertical section of the combined ignition tube holder, burner and
chimney or shield :
Figure 11 is a sectional plan shewing the means for regulating the supply of gas
to the engine.
Similar reference letters indicate similar or corresponding parts throughout the
drawings.
In carrying out my invention I form or cast upon a suitable base or bed-plate a
an upright bracket 6 having a circular hole through which passes a prolongation c
of the cylinder c¹, a flange 2 being cast thereon to allow of it being bolted or
attached to the upright b as shewn in Figure 2. At the other end of the cylinder
is a corresponding flange c³ and the space between these flanges forms the water
chamber which I cover with a piece of tube d (preferably wrought iron or steel
boiler tube) which forms the jacket. The said piece of tube can be shrunk on to
the flanges, or joints can be made with rubber or other suitable rings or
packing d', between the back cover e (containing the combustion chamber e¹)
and the upright b, the said cover and upright being provided with annular
grooves e², 2 to receive the ends of the tube d and the said rings or packing d¹.
The advantage of building gas engine cylinders in this manner is that the jacket d
can be readily removed and replaced by a new one in case of fracture by frost or
otherwise and both the cylinder and jacket can be easily taken to pieces so that
they can be cleaned internally.
ff are spur wheels for operating the exhaust valve g, the wheel being keyed
to the crank shaft h while the wheel f¹ carries a roller f' designed to impinge
against a lever i pivotted to a bracket a' carrying one of the crank shaft bearings
on the bed-plate a and having jointed thereto by a pin a guided rod i designed
to bear against the end of the exhaust valve spindle and open the said valve when
required, the valve being closed and the lever i kept in contact with the roller f2
by a spring. The wheel f¹ is twice the size of the wheelf so that the exhaust

page_text: valve g will be operated every fourth stroke of the engine in the usual manner.
I form the spur wheel wide enough to allow a cut to be made in the centre of the
teeth so as to divide the wheel nearly to the hole in the centre as shewn clearly
in Figure 6, the space formed by the said cut serving to receive the roller ƒ³
Upon one side of the wheel I cut a semi-circular slot f³, each end of the slot being
opposite a hole in the other side of the wheel, which hole may be tapped to
receive the screw-threaded end of a set-screw f' which carries the roller; or a
pin kept in its place by a spring may be used. According to which hole f* the
set-screw (or pin) is placed in so the engine will be caused to run in one or the
other direction. To vary the stroke of the exhaust valve I provide a vertical
slot in the bracket a', as shewn in Figures 2 and 7, in which slot the pivot pin i³
of the lever i can be adjusted vertically so as to alter the operative length of the
said lever, the lever also being provided with a slot for the pin so that the said
lever can be so adjusted without affecting the guided rod i'.
Instead of the roller 2 I can fit a cam or eccentric between two wheels built
up to form one wheel as shewn in Figures 8 and 9 similar to the wheel and
adjust the said cam with a screw or pin in a similar manner to the said roller f2.
The top (or bottom) end of the lever i may be arranged to strike a cushion or
spring, Figure 2, to prevent it striking back upon the roller or cam f² and
making a noise.
In Figure 10 I illustrate my combined ignition tube holder, burner, and outer
chamber and chimney or shield, the said holder being especially adapted for fixing
or holding ignition tubes formed of porcelain or other refractory material or brittle
substance. I form the base of the holder with a flange k (or with a screw-thread)
and the outlet ³ of the ignition or combustion chamber of the engine cylinder
leading to the ignition tube is also provided with a flange e', the flange k of the
tube holder being fitted with a projection or spigot to enter a recess on the bottom
flange e so as to form a stuffing gland, the space between being filled with a
suitable packing or cement around the ignition tube to make a tight joint. The
flange k is also formed with an upward projection k¹ constituting a central core
screwing into the inner or gas ring m of a circular Bunsen or atmospheric burner,
the outer or air ring m' of the said burner serving to receive the chimney n which
also acts as a shield for the ignition tube and is preferably elbowed at the top;
m² is the gas pipe connected to the inner ring m and m³, m³ are holes for the
admission of air to the ring m¹. The chinney or shield n is made of cast iron or
other suitable material but I have found it advantageous to make it of aluminium
as it is a bad radiator of heat. Instead of the flange or collar upon the end of the
ignition tube of porcelain or other refractory brittle material as hitherto geuerally
employed, I prefer to make it with a slight swelling or outside thickening 1,
whereby it can be clamped in place by the tube holder as shewn, the said swelling
being advantageously a certain distance above the bottom of the tube which
projects into the ignition or combustion chamber e' of the cylinder when a timing
valve is not used, allowing the flame to strike direct from the hot tube into the
igniting mixture of gas and air without loss of heat and breaking up of the
igniting flame in its transit. By the hereinbefore described combination I provide
an arrangement whereby I heat the ignition tube with a comparatively small
consumption of gas.
A timing valve can, however, be suitably arranged inside the combustion chamber
if required.
For keeping the cylinder c cool 1 place the engine base plate a upon the top of
a square or oblong closed cisteru o, Figure 3, and from the top of the cylinder
jacket d I lead up a short tube into a small cistern or chamber p above the cylinder
jacket, a portion of which chamber may be formed of a glass tube p' so that the
quantity of water can always be seen; or it may be fitted with a glass tube as in a
water gauge. From the bottom or side of this small cistern or chamber p a pipe g
is led to near the bottom of the cistern o and from the top of this cistern a piper
is led up and connected to the underside of the cylinder jacket d. By this

page_text: arrangement the heat of the cylinder will cause the water in the jacket d to ascend
into the small cistern p, water from the cistern o taking its place, the water then
descending to the cistern o through the pipe q. Instead of the cistern pa pipe
may be led into a small self-supplied cistern fixed in any suitable position and
returned to the larger cistern.
Instead of the engine being supported upon the cistern o as described, it may be
supported upon an independent framing with the said cistern arranged just below,
or below the ground level.
For starting the engine by hand I form the end or side of one of the connecting
rod brasses or connecting rod head (when used with a single crank instead of a
double crank) with a projection s, Figure 2, to receive a handle s', the projection
and handle being arranged in such a position that a great leverage is obtained to
overcome the compression of the charge in the cylinder at the time required
according to the direction in which it is intended to run the engine.
By referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that assuming the crank to be turning in
the direction of the arrow the compression stroke takes place while the crank
pin is moving below the horizontal centre line of the cylinder and crank-shaft, so
that by arranging the projections below the connecting rod brasses, as shewn, it
will be at a greater distance from the centre of the crank than even the crank pin,
thereby giving a great leverage whereas the position it now occupies, as shewn in
the drawings, is close to the centre of the crank shaft. If the crank shaft were
turning in the opposite direction it would be obvious that the projections would
have to project above the connecting rod brasses instead of below.
The handle s' may be either fixed or made to unscrew in the hand when gripped
while the engine is running.
In order to admit the gas to the air supply pipe t leading to the cylinder c¹ and
to allow of dispensing with a gas bag in small engines, I form the outlet of the gas
cock or valve u with a small opening u', Figure 11, capable of passing the
maximum quantity of gas consumed by the engine at ordinary gas pressure. This
opening communicates with a chamber v and the outlet of the chamber is provided
with a regulating screw w and allows the gas to enter on the side of the air supply
pipet and become well mixed with the air as it enters. A light flap valve c,
Figure 2, may be fitted to the bottom of the air supply pipe t or other portion below
the regulating screw w, to prevent the gas escaping should the engine be stopped
without turning off the gas cock u, and the regulating screw w may be connected
to a suitable governor if desired.
Although I have described my improvements as applicable to horizontal engines
it will be obvious that they are equally applicable to other designs of engines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a gas engine the improvements relating to the construction of the water
jackets of the cylinder herein before described and illustrated in Figure 2 of the
accompanying drawings.
2. In a gas engine the combination with a gear wheel operated from the crank
shaft and carrying a roller or eccentric, of a lever for operating the exhaust valve
when impinged upon by the said roller or eccentric and so arranged that its
operative length can be varied substantially as herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a gas engine having a gear wheel carrying a roller or eccentric for
operating the exhaust valve, forming the said wheel with a cut for the reception
of the said roller or eccentric and with means whereby the engine can be easily
reversed substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
4. In a gas engine forming the ignition tubes with a swell or enlargement
whereby it can be clamped in position in a stuffing box on the cylinder by means

page_text: of a gland substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
5. In a gas engine having an ignition tube of the kind described in the preceding
claiming clause, the combination with the said tube of a combined Bunsen burner
and chimney or shield, substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
6. In a gas engine the arrangement whereby the water tank for cooling the
cylinder is arranged below the same substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
7. In a gas engine the combination with the connecting rod head or the
brasses thereof, of a projection thereon provided with a handle for starting the
engine substantially in the manner described and as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
8. In a gas engine the arrangement of gas cock, gas chamber, regulating screw
and flap valve in connection with the air pipe to the cylinder substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
9. The improved gas engine herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated thin 10th d...
J
1005
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.