Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th July, 1899-Accepted, 19th Aug., 1889
A communication from WILLIAM SAMUEL SHARPNECK, Mechanical Engineer, of
Blanchon Avenue, West Grossdale, in the County of Cook and State of
Illinois, United States of America.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of London,
Chartered 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 improvement is designed to provide a reversible gas engine which shall
be simple in construction, cheap to make, economical in running, and not likely
to get out of order. To these ends the invention consists in the peculiar con-
struction and combination of parts hereinafter more particularly described and
then definitely claimed at the end thereof.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1 is a side view of an engine constructed according to this improve-
ment partly in section.
Figure 2 is a plan of the same also partly in section.
Figure 3 is an end view of the same.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 are transverse sections of the cylinder and piston in different
positions.
Referring now to the details of the drawings by numerals-1 indicates the
base or frame of the machine, provided with a pillow block 2, in which is mounted
the shaft 3, having a crank 4, whose wrist pin 5 is set at an angle as shown
in Figure 2. This wrist pin is provided with two fixed collars 6, between which
works the collar 7, to which is connected the pitman 8 by bolts which snugly fit
holes in the forked end of the pitman, or the bolts may be screwed fast in the
pitman and their ends snugly fit in holes in the collar either of
which would he an equivalent for the other, the object being to allow of the
forked end of the pitman being capable of moving slightly on the collar, and yet
have no "lost motion." The other end of the pitman is connected to the piston 9
by a link 10, which piston travels in the cylinder 11, having an inlet 12 for the
gas and air, and two exhaust ports 13, 131, provided with a valve 14 by which
either one of the exhaust ports may be cut off from connection with the cylinder.
At 16 is shown a cylindrical block or filler secured centrally in the axis of the
cylinder by the cap 16 which is bolted to the cylinder as shown. Through this
filler runs one part of the electric conductor 17 which is properly insulated by the
covering 18, and terminates in a spiral spring 19 whose outer extremity is bent
so as to be parallel with the axis of the cylinder.
The piston 9 has a diaphram 20 in which is secured by screwing or otherwise
a chisel-point contact piece 21 which when the piston is put in motion comes
in contact with the end of the spring 19, thus making an electrical connection

page_text: which is broken as the parts separate when the piston moves past the center and
an electric spark is produced.
The operation is as follows:-Supposing the engine is started to run in the
direction of the arrow, that the valve 14 is set to close port 131 and open port 13,
and that the explosion has taken place, driving the piston and shaft in the
proper direction until the exhaust port 22 of the piston comes in line with the
exhaust port 13, of the cylinder, as shown in Figure 4, when the burnt charge is
exhausted and the pressure brought down to the atmosphere.
As the piston continues its travel, the exhaust port is immediately closed and a
vacuum is formed which will draw in the charge of air and gas when the port 22
arrives in line with the inlet 12 (see Fig. 5) and the engine is passing over the
center. As the piston starts back the charge is being compressed, and as the
piston is turned by the peculiar action of the crank, the port 22 passes over
tho port 13 which being closed the charge does not escape, but is still held
and compressed. As the piston continues its motion, the contacts touch thus
making the circuit complete and as the crank passes over the center, the
connection is broken and a spark formed which niakes the explosion, when the
operation above described is repeated.
Supposing the engine is wanted to run in the opposite direction, the valve 14
is set so as to close port 13 and open 13', as shown in Figure 6. The engine
will now run in the opposite direction because the port 22 will pass over the
closed port 13 as the charge is being, carried towards the ignition point, and
does not pass over the open port 131 until after said charge has been exploded:
From the above and an inspection of the drawings it will be seen that my
correspondent has have invented a gas engine that will be found to be very
simple and consequently cheaply built, that there are few parts and thus not
likely to become disarranged and that notwithstanding its simplicity it may be.
readily reversed:
In addition to these good features it may be stated that the engine is self
governing, which is accomplished by making the exhaust ports of a size corre-
sponding to the speed the engine is to be run, for if they are small the engine
will not run so fast, as if large, for the reason that if they are small and the
engine speeded up the exhaust is not brought down to atmospheric pressure,
because the port in the piston travels so quickly that the exhaust has not time
to get out entirely and of course this small pressure remaining prevents just that
much vacuum being formed, less charge taken into the cylinder and makes a
lighter explosion, which consequently brings the speed of the engine down
to where it will admit of the proper vacuum being formed.
My correspondent does not limit himself to the exact construction shown as it
may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of this invention.
In practice the cylinder should be surrounded by a water jacket, but as this forms
no part of this invention it has not been shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. The combination in an engine, of a cylinder, a piston impelled by the direct
action of the motive fluid, a crank having its wrist pin set obliquely to the
axis of the shaft, and a connection for transmitting the power from the piston
to the crank, substantially as described.
2. The combination in an engine, of a cylinder, a piston working therein
arranged to be impelled by the direct force of the motive fluid, a shaft, a bearing
surface on said shaft set eccentrically and at an angle to the axis thereof, a collar
on said bearing surface, and a connection between the collar and the piston
transmitting power from the piston to the crank, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
3. The combination in an engine, of a hollow piston, arranged to he acted on

page_text: directly by the impelling fluid and having an inlet port, a cylinder therefor
having an inlet port near the end of the stroke of the piston, an exhaust port
near the center of said stroke, a shaft, a crank having its wrist pin set obliquely
to the axis of the shaft and a connection for transmitting the power from the
piston to the crank, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
4. The combination in an engine, of a cylinder having two exhaust ports
substantially in line transversely of the cylinder, a valve arranged to close one
when the other is opened, a piston working in said cylinder having an exhaust
port registering with one of the ports as it passes in one direction and with the
other port on the return stroke, substantially as described.
5. The combination in an engine, of a cylinder having an inlet port, two
exhaust ports, and a valve arranged to close one exhaust port when the other
is opened, with a piston travelling in said cylinder having a port registering
with all three of the ports in the cylinder, substantially as described.
6. The combination in an engine, of a cylinder having an inlet port, two
exhaust ports substantially in line transversely of the cylinder, and a valve
arranged to close one exhaust port when the other is opened, with a piston
travelling in said cylinder, and mechanism for partially rotating the piston to
cause a port in said piston to register with all the ports in the cylinder, sub-
stantially as described.
7. The combination in a gas engine, of a cylinder having inlet and outlet
porta, with a hollow piston having an electrical contact point, and a port connect-
ing with cylinder ports, a filler around which the piston travels, and a second
contact point passing through the filler to make contact with the contact point
of the piston, substantially as described.