Improvements in Compound Gas or Petroleum Engines.
Year: 1889

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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
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[Communicated from abroad by PIERRE FERNAND FOREST and GEORGES GALLICE, of
No. 6, Boulevard de Strasbourg, Paris, in the French Republic, Engineers.]
Improvements in Compound Gas or Petroleum Engines.
IHENRY HARINGTON LEIGH, Fel. Inst. P.A., Assoc. Mem. Inst. C.E., practising as
Phillips & Leigh, of No. 22 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, 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 improvements in Compound Gas or Petroleum Engines.
Up to the present time it has not been found possible or practicable to utilize
the total energy due to the combination of the gas or vapour and air mixture in gas
or petroleum engines and consequently the exhaust carries away with it a considerable
amount of mechanical energy which is accordingly lost.
According to the improvements forming the subject of the present invention a
result analogous to that achieved in the well known compound engines is attained.
Instead of leading the exhaust direct into the atmosphere it is led into a second and
larger working cylinder for the purpose of utilizing the energy contained in the
imperfectly expanded gases.
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:
The carburator which according to the present invention is made use of for the
purpose of supplying the engine can be used with either heavy or light oils and
therefore the ordinary commercial oils' of a specific gravity of about 700 or 750 sp. gr.
can be used.
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The main objects of this invention are effected
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1. By the preliminary heating of the combustion air before its admission into the
carburator.
1.
2. By the maintenance in the carburator of a constant temperature which is effected
by a hot water circulator.
3. By a methodical and strictly conducted supply of combustible.
The above three processes are essential and indispensable for effecting the carbu-
risation of air with heavy oils of a sp: gr: of 700 or 750.
.
In order that the present invention and the best means for carrying the same into
practical effect inay be thoroughly understood I will now describe the same in detail
referring in so doing to the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as part of
this specification and read therewith.
Fig. 1 is a sectional front elevation.
Fig. 2 is a sectional plan corresponding therewith but on a larger scale.
Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section through the high pressure cylinder.
Fig 4 is a transverse vertical section through the low pressure cylinder.
Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the carburator.
Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of the heater.
The engine has four high pressure cylinders A B C D and a fifth or low pressure
cylinder E
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In the position illustrated in the drawings the gaseous mixture is introduced into the
cylinder C while the compression is being effected in the cylinder A and ignition in
the cylinder D. It is only the cylinder B which is in communication with the
Fexpansion cylinder E.
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The ignited and exploded mixture in the cylinder B still possesses a considerable
amount of energy which is brought to bear upon the piston of the cylinder E through
the pipe TT further work being done thereby, the said piston possessing an area four
times that of the high pressure pistons.
The expansion of the gaseous mixture in the cylinder E is therefore analogous in

page_text: respect of both principal and circumstance with that of steam in the low pressure
cylinder of the well known compound engine.
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When the cylinder B has done its work it is the turn of the cylinder D in
which ignition has just taken place to be put in communication with the cylinder E.
And so will it be with the others of the four high pressure cylinders, in each of
which the several phenomena of supply, compression and ignition will take place;
and also expansion in the low pressure cylinder E.
It will be observed that the four cylinders A B C D are single acting, while the
low pressure cylinder is double acting, the exhaust being through R.
As to the distribution of the motor fluid, it is effected through the valves 8, 81, 82, 83.
Air is supplied through the valves, and the hydrocarbon through grooves or channels
provided so as to effect an admixture proper for ignition.
The valves d, d, m, n, d₂, ds, are controlled by cams c, c¹, c², c³, c^, and c5, for the
purpose of effecting the exhaust at the proper moment.
The said cams are mounted on a shaft which is driven from the crank shaft by
means of a crank and connecting rod. Suitable intermediate gearing is introduced
for the purpose of establishing the proper relationship in point of speed between the
two shafts.
The reversal of the engine is effected by changing the position of the cams which
operate the exhaust and which are connected in such a way that it is those to the
rear which will operate when the engine goes ahead. This is done by means of the
lever shewn to the right of Fig. 2. At the same time the ignition is interrupted by
breaking the electric current adapted to effect it.
Under these conditions the mixture is compressed in the cylinders and the engine
begins to pull up forthwith. Then at the moment when the cranks are horizontal,
and before they have passed the dead point, the current is made again, the ignition
is effected against the motion of the pistons, stops them, and causes them to retrace
their motion, thereby reversing the engine.
Referring to Fig. 5, the atmosphere is led through a serpentine pipe S in the
heater F which may be, and preferably will be, furnished by, or constructed in, the
exhaust pipes of the engine.
The atmosphere is intimately mixed with the heavy oil in the cylinder of the
carburator by means of a shaft PQ provided with knots of bristles adapted to effect
the desired admixture. The shaft P Q is rotated through the pulley V.
The temperature is maintained at a constant point by a hot water circulation from
below. The water from the cylinder jackets is used to supply this circulation, and as
the water leaves the jackets at a temperature sufficiently high for the requirements
of the carburator, the heat which has hitherto been lost has been utilised.
Moreover, in cases where the temperature will not be sufficiently high (as for
instance with small engines without water circulation) a special heater is provided
for the purpose of heating the water regularly, even at a distance from the carburator,
thereby diminishing the risk of fire.
The engine herein before described can be worked with very heavy hydrocarbons
such as vaseline; and we effect this by keeping them at a temperature of from 25°
to 30° below their boiling point.
Referring to Fig. 6, G is a sheet metal vessel provided with a feed H and a
thermometer K. The heavy hydrocarbon to be heated is led through the pipe o from
any suitable reservoir situated at a distance sufficient to prevent risks of fire, and
flows away after being raised to the necessary temperature through the pipe p. A
lamp U or its equivalent supplies the necessary heat, the intensity of which is
regulated according to the thermometer K.
The carburator is provided with an upper vessel or reservoir X which allows the
:heavy oil to flow down into the regulator Y. This regulator is a leading feature of
the invention and special attention is drawn to it. It consists of two portions, an
upper one into which the oil falls cascade-wise and a lower one from which it can
How away to the carburator. The said lower portion is furnished with a float Z
adapted to control a supply-valve which allows of the regulation of the supply by the
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page_text: adjustment of the level of the fluid. It is only by means of the said regulation
that a proper homogenous and constant mixture of air and hydrocarbon for use in the
engine is effected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I would have it understood
that what I claim is,
1. In gas or petroleum engines the application of a double expansion as herein-
before set forth as well as the particular devices for distribution and reversal sub-
stantially as herein before set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. In combination with an engine of the construction claimed in the preceding
claim, a carburator consisting of a heater F having a serpentine tube S a shaft PQ
provided with brushes and actuated through a pulley V and an upper reservoir X
adapted to a flow of the heavy hydrocarbon falling into the regulator Y composed
of two portions an upper one into which the oil falls cascade-wise and a lower one
from which the oil can flow away towards the carburator, it being also provided with
a float Z adapted to control a supply valve.
3. In combination with the motor and the carburator above described, a heater
consisting of a reservoir G provided with a feed H, a thermometer K, a supply
pipe o, a draw-off pipe p, to lead the heated fluid away, and a heating device U.
Dated this 4th day of July 1889.
HENRY H. LEIGH.