Year: 1886

page_text: I, JOHN CHARLES RAYMOND OKES, of 39 Queen Victoria Street, London, in the
County of Middlesex, 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:-
The present invention relates to improvements in hot air engines and more
especially to the vertical type of such engines in which the fire acts externally on
the lower part of the pot or heater, the products of combustion not passing through
the engine.
It is well known that in engines of this class the heaters or pots are liable to
burn out and must be replaced, and in engines of ordinary construction this can
only be effected with considerable difficulty and delay and consequent inconvenience
and expense. This is due to the fact that as the engine itself is partly supported
by the furnace, a large portion of it must first be removed before access can be
obtained to the worn out pot or heater contained in the furnace or fire box which
it is desired to repair or replace..
In order to avoid this difficulty I construct my improved hot air engine as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section of
my improved engine; Fig. 2 a plan view; Fig. 3 a transverse section; Fig. 4 a
sectional plan view; Fig. 5 an end elevation, and Fig. 6 a side elevation of same.
The engine is supported at one side by the air compressor A and at the opposite
side by a frame B resting on or secured to the ground or to a bed plate C. An open
space is thus left between the air compressor A and frame B, to receive the furnace
or fire box E, the hot air cylinder D being above such space, and from the underside
of the latter the furnace or fire box E is suspended by bolts E¹. The furnace or
fire box is divided vertically into two parts or sections as represented by the
drawings, and secured together by bolts F, so that by removing the latter and then
detaching each part or section from the underside of the hot air cylinder D, the
sections drop and can be taken right away and thus lay bare the pot or heater G,
which can then be inspected, renewed or repaired, without in any way disturbing
the engine itself, the support of which quite independent of the furnace or
fire box.
In order to allow the fire box to drop when it is detached from the hot air
cylinder, the bottom of the fire box does not extend quite to the ground or bed

page_text: plate, a ring E being arranged on the bed plate or ground to close the space left
between the latter and the bottom of the fire box.
The fire box or furnace E may be made self-feeding by attaching a receptacle, to
contain coke or other fuel, to the mouth H of such fire box.
The water jacket I for protecting the packing of the hot air cylinder plunger J
may have a continuous circulation of water made to pass through it, by causing
pipes K and L to communicate respectively with the top and bottom of the water
space of such jacket, and suitably connecting such pipes with a tank M containing
water, as shown in Fig. 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. Making the fire box or furnace of hot air engines in two or more sections or
parts secured together by bolts or other suitable means, and suspending such fire
box from the underside of the hot air cylinder, for the purpose of enabling free
access to be had to the pot or beater without disturbing the engine, all substantially
as specified.
2. Supporting vertical hot.air engines at one side the air compressor and at the
other side by a frame or column resting on or secured to the ground, or to a bed
plate, a space being left between the air compressor and such column or frame
sufficiently large to receive the fire box and allow it to be attached to and
detached from the underside of the hot air cylinder without disturbing the engine,
all substantially as and for the purpose specified.
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