A New or Improved Gas and Oil or Petroleum Engine.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Gas and Oil or Petroleum Engine.
We, JOHN HENRY TANGYE, of Cornwall Works, Soho, in the County of Stafford,
Mechanical Engineer, and WILLIAM JOHNSON, the younger, of No. 33 Beeches Road,
West Bromwich, in the County of Stafford, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
Our said invention consists of a motive power engine to be operated by a
detonating mixture of coal gas and atmospheric air, or a mixture of the vapour of a
highly volatile liquid hydro-carbon such as petroleum and atmospheric air or other
detonating mixture. Motive power engines of the kind referred to are commonly
called gas engines and oil or petroleum engines.
The new or improved gas and oil or petroleum engine constituting our invention
is constructed as follows. In place of the cylinder and piston used in the ordinary
gas engine we employ a chamber consisting of two parallel or nearly parallel plates
one of the said plates being rigid. The other plate is made preferably of thin sheet
steel. The plates are preferably circular and the elasticity of the steel plate may be
increased by forming a series of concentric corrugations in it. The two plates are
connected together at their edges either directly or by means of thin folded edges
which will expand or collapse as the corrugated elastic steel plate recedes from or
approaches the rigid plate. The two joined plates described constitute the detonating
chamber of the engine, the elastic corrugated plate when the detonation of an
explosive mixture in the said chamber takes place having the function of the piston
of the ordinary gas engine. A piston rod is connected by one of its ends to the
centre of the elastic plate. The other end of the said piston rod is jointed to a
connecting rod by which on the to-and-fro motion of the elastic plate rotation is
given to a crank on the shaft of the engine.
Passages for the introduction of inflammable gas or vapour and atmospheric air
into the space between the two plates are provided together with an exhaust passage
for the escape of the products of combustion and the residual nitrogen; but as the
opening and closing of these passages as well as the working of the appliances
whereby the ignition of the detonating gases is effected differ in no essential respects
from the like parts in ordinary gas and oil engines we do not think it necessary
here to describe the same.
Dated this Seventeenth day of October 1896.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: A New or Improved Gas and Oil or Petroleum Engine.
..
We, JOHN HENRY TANGYE, of Cornwall Works, Soho, in the County of Stafford,
Mechanical Engineer, and WILLIAM JOHNSON, the younger, of No. 33 Beeches Road,
West Bromwich, in the County of Stafford, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of our invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our said invention consists of a motive power engine to be operated by a detonating
mixture of coal gas and atmospheric air or a mixture of the vapour of a highly
volatile liquid hydro-carbon such as petroleum and atmospheric air or other
detonating mixture. Motive power engines of the kind referred to are commonly
called gas engines and oil or petroleum engines.
The new or improved gas and oil or petroleum engine constituting our invention
is constructed as follows. In place of the cylinder and piston used in the ordinary
gas engine we employ a chamber consisting of two parallel or nearly parallel plates,
one of the said plates being rigid. The other plate is made preferably of thin sheet
steel. The plates are preferably circular and the elasticity of the steel plate may be
increased by forming a series of concentric corrugations in it. The two plates are
connected together at their edges either directly or by means of thin folded edges
which will expand or collapse as the corrugated elastic steel plate recedes from or
approaches the rigid plate. The two joined plates described constitute the detonating
chamber of the engine the elastic corrugated plate when the detonation of an
explosive mixture in the said chamber takes place having the function of the piston
of the ordinary gas engine. A piston rod is connected by one of its ends to the
centre of the elastic plate. The other end of the said piston rod is jointed to a
connecting rod by which on the to-and-fro motion of the elastic plate rotation is
given to a crank on the shaft of the engine.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents in side elevation, partly in
vertical section, an oil or petroleum engine constructed according to our invention;
and Figures 2 and 3 are respectively a plan and end elevation of the same.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawings.
A is the explosive chamber of the engine formed by connecting together edge to
edge a rigid plate a and a compound elastic plate B, the said compound elastic
p'ate B consisting of an inner thin sheet steel disc b and an outer thin sheet steel
disc b¹. The central part of the inner disc b is plain and parallel to the rigid plate a
but the portion of the plate b near its margin has, preferably two, circular
corrugations concentric with the edge of the plate for permitting of the expansion of
the chamber A in the manner hereinafter described. The whole or nearly the whole
surface of the outer disc b' is corrugated with concentric circular corrugations the
said outer disc b¹ having for its object to prevent permanent distortion of the inner
elastic disc b on the firing of an explosive charge in the chamber A. The compound
elastic plate B is strengthened by being bolted at its centre to a backing or inelastic
plate 62 connected by an arm or upright b³ to the long arm c' of a lever c', c² which
is pivoted at d to uprights e2 on a ring e bolted to the rigid plate a and binding
thereto the compound elastic plate B of the explosive chamber A. The end of the
long arm c' of the lever c', c² is jointed to a connecting rod f attached to the crank g¹
of the fly wheel shaft g of the engine.
The engine is arranged upon a base H containing two petroleum or oil tanks or
reservoirs h', h² one for the supply of oil to the lamp i by which the ignition tube k
is heated and the other for the supply of oil to the chamber A. The supply of oil to

page_text: the lamp and also to the inlet valve I, by which the mixture of oil and air is
admitted to the chamber A, is maintained by pressure of air on the surface of the oil
in the reservoirs h' h². The pressure of air is obtained by connecting to air inlet
valves at h³, h on the said reservoirs A, air compressing pumps by the working of
which air is forced into the said reservoirs. The supply of oil to the lamp i and
chamber A is controlled by stopcocks inarked respectively h', to which the feed
pipes m, n are respectively connected.
The oil for the explosive chamber A may however be contained in a reservoir or
vessel supported at or about the height of the said chamber A in which case the said
oil descends by gravitation to the inlet valve L.
It will be understood that the flame of the lamp in addition to heating the
ignition tube & also heats the rigid plate a of the explosive chamber A to such a
temperature that the oil supplied to the explosive chamber on the drawing in of a
charge is immediately converted into vapour of oil and mixes with the air which
enters the chamber A through the inlet valve simultaneous with the oil. The
heating surface of the rigid plate a is increased preferably by forming gills on the
underside of the said plate. The supply of air to the chamber A is obtained by
the pipe which opens immediately below the inlet valve l. The outer end of the
pipe x is shown broken away in Figure 3. The said pipe is of such a length that
it terminates beyond the edge of the chamber A and thus a supply of pure air or air
uncontaminated by the products of combustion of the lamp is ensured for the
chamber A.
The chamber A is provided with a passage p terminating in an exhaust valve r
which is opened on each alternate depression of the short arm c2 of the lever c', c² as
follows. The short arm c² of the lever c², c² carries at its extreme end a compound
toothed wheel 8, 82 one half or part 82 of which has double the number of teeth of the
other half or part s. The compound toothed wheel 8, 82 is rotated in the direction of
the arrow in Figure 1 by the turned in end of a spring or pawl which end
of the pawl engages with the part 82 of the compound toothed wheel and ensures
the turning of the same through the space of one tooth of the part only, on each
depression of the short arm c² of the lever c1, c2. The teeth of the parts of the com-
pound toothed wheel coincide with alternate spaces between the teeth of the part s² of
the said wheel. The end of the spring raised rod rt of the exhaust valve ŕ is wedge
shaped (see the enlarged view bracketted to Figure 1) and has a breadth equal or
nearly equal to that of the part s of the compound toothed wheel 8, 8. When the
toothed wheel a, s is in the position Figure 1 the wedge shaped end of the exhaust
valve rod engages, on the depression of the short arm c² of the lever, in the space
between the teeth of the part of the compound toothed wheel and the exhaust
valve is consequently not affected by the said depression of the short arm c of the
lever but on the raising of the said short arm ² the pawl t, effects the slight
turning of the wheel and thereby brings one of the teeth of the part 8 over the wedge
shaped end of the exhaust valve rod so that on the next depression of the short
arm c² of the lever the said tooth of the part s coming in contact with the exhaust
valve rod rl effects the depression of the said rod and the opening of the exhaust
valve r, thus it will be understood that the exhaust valve r is opened on each
alternate motion of the lever c only.
The engine is provided with a governor u, on the fly wheel shaft g which
governor, should the rotations of the shaft g exceed the desired or normal speed, effects
the turning of the levers v', v2 and w¹, w². The arm of the lever w¹, w²
terminates in a hook or finger w which, on the turning of the said lever in the
direction of the arrow in Figure 3, by the action of the governor, engages with the
collar 2 on the exhaust valve rod 1 and preserves the exhaust valve r open until
the speed of the fly wheel shaft has resumed its normal speed.
Although we prefer the arrangement of governor described and represented yet
other governors may be used with the same or nearly the same effect.
The action of the engine is as follows;-
The engine is started by the turning of the fly wheel by hand in the ordinary way.

page_text: The cycle of operations is similar to that known with respect to ordinary gas and
oil engines as the Otto cycle, that is, on the raising of the long arm c' of the
lever c¹, c² the compound elastic plate B is raised and produces a partial vacuum in
the explosive chamber A. By the production of the said partial vacuum the inlet
valve is momentarily raised and a mixed charge of petroleum and air enters the
chamber A. On the downward motion of the long arm c¹ of the lever the compound
plate B is pressed into its normal or closed position and the charge of petroleum
vapour and air is compressed. The explosive mixture is fired by the heated ignition
tube and by the expansion of the detonated mixture the compound elastic plate B
is raised and gives motion to the lever c¹, c² and through it to the connecting rod f
crank g and fly wheel shaft g. On the long arm c' of the lever c¹, c² nearing the
top of its stroke the short arm c2 brings the toothed wheel s, s down and one of the
teeth of the part s being on this down stroke presented to the exhaust valve rod 71
the said rod is pressed down and the exhaust valve r opened. The continued
rotation of the fly wheel and fly wheel shaft g effects the bringing down of the long
arm c of the lever c1, c2 and the closing of the compound clastic plate B and thus
the clearing of the chamber A of the spent gas is effected and the cycle of operations
described is repeated.
Although we have described and represented and prefer to use an automatic inlet
valve we may employ a mechanically controlled inlet valve.
We wish it to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the mechanism
described and represented for operating the exhaust valve of the engine as the same
may be operated by the use of the side shaft and levers common to ordinary gas and
oil engines.
When we wish to work the engine described by an inflammable mixture of coal
gas and air we replace the oil supply pipe by a large gas supply pipe or a series of
small gas supply pipes.
Having now particularly described and
invention and in what manner the same is
we claim as our invention;-
ascertained the nature of our
to be performed we declare that
The new or improved gas and oil or petroleum engine hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, the said engine consisting essentially of
an expansible chamber formed of a rigid plate and a parallel or nearly parallel elastic
plate into which expansible chamber the explosive charge is drawn and in which it is
compressed and fired and the elastic plate thereby bulged or made convex, the said
chamber being provided with inlet and exhaust valves and mechanism for operating
the same and also with mechanism for transmitting the motions of its elastic plate to
a fly wheel shaft substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated the d ST... 1007
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.