Improvements in Engines Operated by the Explosion of Mixtures of Combustible Vapour or Gas and Air.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th July, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 28th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 14th July, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECITICATION.
Improvements in Engines Operated by the Explosion of Mixtures
of Combustible Vapour or Gas and Air.
We,
WILLIAM HORNSBY and ROBERT EDWARDS, both of Spittlegate Iron-
works, Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in explosion engines of that kind in
which a chamber is attached to the working cylinder for the purpose of receiving
the explosive charges of oil or other combustible vapour and air.
In such engines when using petroleum or other oil for the explosive mixture we
employ a pump to inject the oil into a valve box which is attached to the said
chamber. This valve box contains two valves, one of which when opened allows
the oil to pass into the chamber whilst the other is arranged to open and allow the
oil to return or flow back again and thus prevent it going past the first named
valve into the chamber. The first named valve is kept closed by a spring or other
suitable means and opens when the pump forces oil against it always providing that
the second valve is not open. The second valve is closed by its own weight, or by
a spring, or by the pressure of oil, and is opened by the action of a governor, so
that when the engine is running too fast the governor opens this valve and releases
the oil thus preventing it from passing the first named valve and going into the
chamber.
As the valve box containing the above valves is attached direct to the chamber
in which the oil is vaporised the heat of this chamber is communicated to this
valve box, and in order that it should not detrimentally affect the oil in the valve
box by vaporising it or heating it too much before it gets into the chamber, we
connect the valve box to the chamber by a small pipe or a neck of small diameter
and of sufficient. length to prevent the heat of the chamber from being com-
municated to the valve box in sufficient quantity to vaporise or excessively heat
the oil.
When the chamber in which the explosions take place does not retain its heat
sufficiently to cause the explosion of the mixture therein we cover it with a muff
lined with a non-conducting or fire resisting material so as to keep the chamber
hot. Also in case the above named chamber should become excessively hot in
working we may have ribs or projections inside the chamber which ribs or
projections are only slightly connected to the chamber for instance by being cast
with thin connections or by being bolted lightly to the chamber. Or an internal
piece of metal made with ribs or projections can be placed inside the chamber.
These ribs can thus get very hot without communicating much of their heat to the
external casing or surface of the chamber so that the external chamber can by
various means be readily kept cool for instance by being made of considerable
thickness or by a water jacket or by a current of air being sent or drawn over its
external surface, the internal ribs or projections still retaining enough heat to cause
explosions. In some cases a blind hole is made through the external chamber and
into the ribs or projections so as to be able to see at what heat they are.
In engines in which the combustion chamber is at the end of the cylinder we
arrange two exhaust valves one at or about the extreme end of the vaporising

page_text: chamber and the other at the end nearest the cylinder and these can be opened or
closed by a suitable cam or other.devices when required.
Dated the 28th day of July 1893.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Engines Operated by the Explosion of Mixtures
of Combustible Vapour or Gas and Air.
We, WILLIAM HORNSBY and ROBERT EDWARDS, both of Spittlegate Iron-
works, Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, Engineers, 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 explosion engines of that kind in
which a chamber is attached to the working cylinder for the purpose of receiving
the explosive charges of oil or other combustible vapour and air.
In such engines when using petroleum or other oil for the explosive mixture
we employ a pump to inject the oil into a valve-box which is attached to the said
chamber. This valve-box contains two valves, one of which when opened allows
the oil to pass into the chamber whilst the other is arranged to open and allow
the oil to return or flow back again and thus prevent it going past the first
named valve into the chamber. The first named valve is kept closed by a spring
or other suitable means and opens when the pump forces oil against it always
providing that the second valve is not open. The second valve is closed by its
own weight, or by a spring, or by the pressure of oil, and is opened by the action
of a governor so that when the engine is running too fast the governor opens
this valve and releases-the-oil thus preventing it from passing the first named valve
and going into the chamber.
When the chamber in which the explosions take place does not retain its heat
sufficiently to cause the explosion of the mixture therein we cover it with a muff
lined with a non-conducting or fire-resisting material so as to keep the chamber
hot. Also in case the above named chamber should become excessively hot in
working, we may have ribs or projections inside the chamber, which ribs or
projections are only slightly connected to the chamber, for instance, by being cast
with thin connections or by being bolted lightly to the chamber. Or a piece of
metal made with ribs or projections can be placed inside the chamber.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawing, in which :-
Figures 1 and 2 are sectional views at right angles to each other of a valve-box
constructed and arranged according to our invention; and,
Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views at right angles to each other shewing the
arrangement of ribs in the combustion chamber.
a is the valve-box, and b, c are the valves therein, the former of which opens
automatically under the oil-pressure to allow of the oil introduced by the pump
through the passage d to flow through the passage e into the vaporizer whilst the
latter is adapted to open under the pressure of a leverf operated by the engine
governor and acting against the stem g of the said valve which is normally retained
against its seat by a spring h.
It will be understood that the oil-pump discharges oil into the valve-box at
regular intervals, the valve 6 opening at each stroke to allow the oil to pass to the
vaporizer except when the valve c is opened, in which case the oil delivered by the
pump instead of opening the valve 6 passes the valve c and is returned to the oil
reservoir through the pipe i.

page_text: As the valve-box containing the above valves is attached directly to the chamber
in which the oil is vaporized the heat of this chamber is communicated to this
valve-box, and in order that it shall not detrimentally affect the oil in the valve-box
by vaporizing it or heating it too much before it gets into the chamber, we connect
the valve-box to the chamber by a neck; of small diameter through which the
passage e extends, the said neck being of sufficient length to prevent the heat of
the chamber from being communicated to the valve-box in sufficient quantity to
vaporize or excessively heat the oil.
kis the vaporizer, and l, I are the ribs or projections therein. As shewn these
ribs are represented as being formed upon a projecting arm m cast in one piece
with the vaporizer, the said ribs extending only partly along the arm so that only
the slight connection composed of the unribbed part of the arm exists between the
ribs and the walls of the vaporizer. These ribs can thus get very hot without
communicating much of their beat to the vaporizer walls so that the latter can by
various means be readily kept cool, for instance, by being made of considerable
thickness or by a water-jacket or by a current of air being sent or drawn over the
external surface, the internal ribs or projections still retaining enough heat to
cause explosions. In some cases a blind hole n is made through the vaporizer into
the ribs or projections so as to be able to see at what heat they are.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
:-
1. A double valve-box, through which oil is pumped to the vaporizer of an oil
engine, constructed with a thin neck for connecting it to the vaporizer so that
the heat of the said vaporizer is not conducted rapidly to the valve-box, sub-
stantially as described.
2. A vaporizer for an oil engine having internal ribs which are only slightly
connected to the vaporizer, substantially as described.
3. The improvements in engines operated by the explosion of mixtures of
combustible vapour or gas and air, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated the 28th day of April 1894
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.