Improvements in Gas Engines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 7th May, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 25th June, 1889-Accepted, 27th July, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Engines.
I, SAMUEL LAWSON, of Nos. 203 & 205 Center Street in the City and State of New
York, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to that class of gas engines in which a cylinder is
provided with a piston, and a connecting rod extending to the crank on the main
shaft, and gas and air are admitted into one end of the cylinder as the piston 1s
moving in one direction, and upon the return stroke the air and gas are partially
compressed and then ignited immediately after the crank turns the center so that
the force of the explosion operates every second stroke of the piston to rotate the
main shaft and fly wheel.
In engines of this character difficulty has been experienced in igniting the gas
with reliability, and my present improvements relate to the peculiar valves made use
of for admitting the mixture of air and gas, and for igniting the gas at the proper
time, and for clearing the valve of spent gases.
To the port leading into the engine cylinder, a tubular case is connected, and the
air and gas pipes lead into this case usually at the upper portion thereof, and within
this tubular case there are sliding tubular valves with ports passing through such
tubes, and to these tubular valves an end wise motion is given by a connecting rod
and crank, or by cams, and one portion of the tubular valve serves to adunt air and
gas at the proper time to pass into the engine cylinder and then to shut off the supply
Another portion of the tubular valve forms a chamber into which gas, or air and gas
combined, is admitted to form an igniting charge and from the portion of the tubular
valve containing this igniting charge there are ports or valves so arranged that after
the igniting charge has been received into the tubular valve chamber, such tubular
valve is moved end wise, and the port thereof is caused to coincide with an opening
in the tubular case, outside of which there is a flame constantly burning, and this
flame sets fire to the igniting charge, and the parts are moved in such a manner that
the igniting charge communicates through the port with the gas in the engine
cylinder to explode the same and and accelerate the movement of the main shaft and
fly wheel. In one of the forms made use of by me, the valve at the end of the
chamber containing the igniting charge is provided with a central stem and an
external helical spring connected by arins to such stem and the valve is raised bodily
by the end movement of the tubular valve containing the igniting charge.
spent gases are drawn out of the chamber in the valve so that fresh igniting gas
enters freely.
The
In another form made use of by me, the valve is pivotted within the tubular
valve and opened by a tail piece coming in contact with the stationary screw at the
proper period in the endwise movement of the tubular valve, the exhaust valve is
made use of and the same is opened at the proper time by the action of a cam, and
this cam is upon a shaft that receives one revolution for two revolutions of the
main shaft and fly-wheel, hence the valve is open every second revolution to allow
the spent gas to flow, out of the cylinder. In order to start the engine with but little
labour it is desirable to change the parts so that there will not be a compression of
the gases; this is accomplished by opening the escape valve, once for each rotation
of the main shaft, by a second cam and a moveable rod that may be placed so that
the cam comes in contact with it, or the rod is moved out of contact as may be
desirable.

page_text: By these improvements the ignition of the air and gas in the cylinder is rendered
positive, and the engine can be operated in the most economical manner.
Dated this 7th day of May 1889
ERNEST DE PASS,
68, Fleet Street, London, Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Gas-engines.
I, SAMUEL LAWSON, of Nos. 203 and 205 Center Street, in the City and State of
New York, United States of America, Manufacturer, 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, reference being had
to the accompanying drawing and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say
These improvements relate to that class of gas engines in which a cylinder 13
provided with a piston and a connecting rod extending to the crank on the main
shaft and gas and air are admitted into one end of the cylinder as the piston 18
moving in one direction, and upon the return stroke the air and gas are compressed
and then ignited immediately after the crank tuins the center so that the force of
the explosion operates every second stroke of the piston to rotate the main shaft and
fly-wheel.
In engines of this character difficulty has been experienced in igniting the gas
with reliability, and my present improvements relate to the peculiar valves made use
of for admitting the mixture of air and gas and for igniting the gas at the proper
time, and for clearing the valve of spent gas.
To the port leading into the engine cylinder, a tubular case is connected and the air
and gas pipes lead into this case usually at the upper portion thereof, and within this
tubular case there are sliding tubular valves with ports passing through such tubes
and to these tubular valves an endwise motion is given by a connecting rod and
crank, or by cams, and one portion of the tubular valve serves to admit air and gas
at the proper time to pass into the engine cylinder and then to shut off the supply
Another portion of the tubular valve forms a chamber into which gas or air and gas
combined is admitted to form an igniting charge, and from the portion of the
tubular valve containing this igniting charge there are ports or valves so arranged
that after the igniting charge has been received into the tubular valve chamber, such
tubular valve is moved endwise and the port thereof is caused to coincide with an
opening in the tubular case outside of which there is a flame constantly burning,
and this flame sets fire to the igniting charge and the parts are moved in such a
manner that the igniting charge communicates through the port with the gas in the
engine cylinder to explode the same and accelerate the movement of the main shaft
and fly-wheel. In one of the forms made use of by me the valve at the end of the
chamber containing the igniting charge is provided with a central stem and an
external helical spring connected by arms to such stem, and the valve is raised bodily
by the end movement of the tubular valve containing the igniting charge.
In another form made use of by me the valve is pivoted within the tubular valve
and opened by a tail-piece coming in contact with a stationary screw at the proper
period in the end wise movement of the tubular valve An exhaust valve is made use
of and the same is opened at the proper time by the action of a cam, and this cam is
upon a shaft that receives one revolution for two revolutions of the main shaft and
fly-wheel, hence the valve is open every second revolution to allow the spent gas to
flow out of the cylinder.
In order to start the engine with but little labor it is desirable to change the parts
so that there will be no compression of the gases. This is accomplished by, opening

page_text: the escape valve once for each rotation of the main shaft by a second cam and a
movable rod that may be placed so that the cam comes in contact with it, or the rod
1s moved out of contact as may be desirable By these improvements the ignition of the
air and gas in the cylinder is rendered positive and the engine can be operated in the
most economical manner.
In the drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved engine Fig. 2 is a vertical
section of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical sections of the tubular valve and case at
right angles to each other: Fig. 5 is an elevation of the engine in a form adapted to
the use of a swinging valve in the tubular valve case; and Figs. 6 and 7 are vertical
sections at right angles to each other of such tubular valve case and swinging valve:
Fig 8 is an elevation and Fig 9 a vertical section of the engine containing the
attachment for opening the exhaust valve every stroke of the engine when desired:
Figs 10 and 11 are vertical sections at right angles to each other of the tubular valve
or case Fig. 12 is a sectional plan at the line of Fig. 11, Figs. 13, 14, 15, are
detailed views of the cams and mechanism for moving the escape valve Fig 16 is a
section on the line x, x, of Fig. 7.
The cylinder A is supported by a stand G and usually there is a case or jacket B
around the cylinder A through which water is caused to circulate for keeping the
cylinder cool. The piston C within the cylinder A is connected by arod D to the
crank E upon the shaft F, and this shaft receives a fly-wheel as usual and upon
the shaft F is a pinion 23 to a gear wheel 24 of twice the diameter upon a short
shaft supported in a suitable traine and provided with a cam K that gives motion to
the rod 6 for the exhaust valve within the case H. This exhaust valve may be of
any desired character, usually conical and resting upon a seat and closed by the
action of a spring 7 around the rod 6
Upon reference to figs. 2 and 9 it will be seen that the piston C does not reach
the upper end of the cylinder A, hence there is always a space that is filled with
explosive gas, or with spent gas, and as the piston rises the spent gas passes off by
the port and the escape valve H until such port is closed by the piston as seen in
Fig. 9, and as the piston descends the valve H remains closed and air and gas are
drawn in through the port S and being lightest remain in the upper part of the
cylinder A, and if the valve H is open every stroke a portion of the spent gaS03
will pass out upon each upward movement of the piston C, and if the valve II 1>
only opened every other upward movement of the piston C the gases will be com-
pressed in the upper part of the cylinder A before they are ignited as hereinafter
described, and in order to provide for opening this valve H each stroke I provide a
second K', Fig. 13, set in an opposite position to the cam K so that such cams act
each half revolution of the gear wheel 24 and there is a movable pin o passing through
an arm n that projects from the valve rod 6 above the standing arm m' of the cross
frame m and this pin o is normally raised by a helical spring of above the arm but
when such pin is pressed down against the cam K' a bolt t within the case n' is
projected by a spring t¹ into a hole in the pin o so that first one cam K and then
the other cam K acts at the proper time to lift the valve H and open it each move-
ment of the piston C. When the bolt t is drawn back, the spring o' lifts the rod o
and the cam K' becomes inoperative.
Upon the gear 24 is a crank-pin giving motion to the connecting rod that is united
at its upper end by a pivot screw to the sliding tubular valve d within the tubular
valve case L.
Upon reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 4 it will be seen that the tubular valve case
contains two sliding tubular valves, the upper one 6 has through it ports 2, 3, 4 the
lower one d has through it ports 14, 15, 16, and there is a stem b¹ passing out
through the top of the tubular valve-case L and having an eye and lover f¹ to the
contractal helical spring , and the lower end of this spring his connected to a
lever upon a pivot g' and the other end of this lever passes into an eye upon the
lower end of the valve stem e' which stem passes through the closed end of the
tubular valve d to the disc valve e that rests upon a valve seat in the inside of
the case L adjacent to the lateral port S.

page_text: The tubular case L is made in two parts screwed together to allow for the intro-
duction of this valve e and also for the introduction of the tubular valve b the lower
end of which is conical to rest upon a seat at the lower end of the portion a¹ of the
tubular valve case, and the spring hacts to keep the valve e and the conical
portion of the tubular valve b upon their respective seats unless otherwise acted
upon.
From the pivot screw i¹ a rod k passes up through the eye c¹ upon the stud that
passes through a vertical slot in the valve case and into the tubular valve b and there
is a small gas pipe passing through the valve case adjacent to the port 16 and a gas
jet 30 furnishes the igniting flame adjacent to a vertical slot in the valve case that
communicates with the port 14 Air is to be admitted by the pipe 12, and gas by
the pipe 13, into the upper part of the valve case adjacent to the ports 3 and 4 in the
tubular valve b.
2
The connecting rod draws down the tubular valve d the valve e remaining closed,
and gas passes in from the pipe through the ports 16 into such tubular valve d
below the valve e and the head upon the rod k acting upon the eye c¹ draws down the
valve b opening the ports 2, 3, and 4 for air and gas to draw in through such tubular
valve 6 into the cylinder A, and as the connecting rod rises, the valve d is moved
upwardly and the spring h draws the valve 6 up shutting off the supply of air and
gas at the proper time and the valve 6 closes on its seat; at this moment the port 14
coinciding with the slot in the valve case L allows the igniting flame to set fire to
the gas within the tubular valve d and the parts assume the position shewn in Fig. 4,
the port 14 being closed and the connecting rod i then lifts the valve d and e
together just at the moment that the crank E passes the center, and the igniting
gas within the tubular valve d passes out through the port 15 beneath the valve e
and ignites the gas in the port S and cylinder A giving a powerful movement to the
piston Cand accelerating the velocity of the shaft and fly-wheel, and the operations
before described are repeated the parts being so timed that the valves open and close
at the proper time in relation to the movement of the engine piston.
Upon reference to Figs 6, 7, and 16 the operation of the parts there shewn will
be apparent by an explanation of the differences between the same and the parts
before described. The tubular pistons d and b are directly connected together and
instead of making use of the levers f, f, and spring h, there is a central opening at d²
for the valve e which in this modification is pivotted at e¹ and closed by the
expansive spring g and opened by the stationary screw facting upon the tail of the
valve. It is preferable to make use of packing around the tubular piston d as shown
at 7 to prevent the escape of gases and the mode of operation of this modification
corresponds with that before described, the gas from 7 passing into the chamber c
through the port 16 while the gas and air from the pipes 12 and 13 pass by the port 4
into the tubular valve band by the ports 2 and Sinto the engine, and when the
tubular valves are moved upwardly the supply of air and gas is cut off and the flame
from the jet 30 passes through the ports and 14 and ignites the gas in the
chamber and as the parts assume the position shewn in Figs. 6 and 7 the port 14
is closed at the moment the valve e is opened by coming in contact with the screwf
and the flame passes to the ports S, cylinder A, as before described.
The tubular valve b shewn in Figs 10, 11, and 12 is much simpler than those
before described, the air and gas mixed together pass through the lateral port into
the tubular valve case L, when the closed top of the tubular valve b is drawn down
below such lateral opening the air and gas then passing through the case and port S
to the cylinder At this time the port 16 coincides with the gas pipe and gas 19
passing into the chamber c and spent gases are drawn out through the ports 4
and 9 by the movement of the main piston hence the gas passing into the chamber c
will be positive and reliable in igniting the charge in the cylinder A, and as the valve
rises the port S is first closed then the port 14 is made to coincide with the port r
and the flame from the jet 30 ignites the gas in the chamber c and at this moment
the port 15 coincides with the port S and the flame is allowed to pass from the
chamber c into the cylinder to ignite the gases therein as before described.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained my invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I claim
-
1. The combination with the cylinder, piston, connecting-rod and crank, of a tubular
valve case and a tubular valve with ports for admitting air and gas to the cylinder
and a chamber chaving ports by which an igniting flame is caused to ignite the gas
within the chamber c and the movement of the valve opens the port that passes the
flame to the engine cylinder for exploding the gas, substantially as set forth.
2 In a gas engine, the combination with the tubular valve case, of a tubular valve
having two chambers, and a valve e serving to close one chamber but allow the
igniting flame to pass to the gases in the cylinder, when such valve is open,
substantially as set forth.
3. In a gas engine, the tubular valve case and tubular valve having a chamber c
into which gas is admitted and ignited, and ports for the air and gas and for the
passage of the flame, substantially as set forth.
4 The combination in a gas engine with the escape valve of a cam and rod for
opening the escape valve every second movement of the piston and a second cam
and movable rod whereby the escape valve can be opened every movement of the
piston when desired, substantially as set forth.
5. In a gas engine, a valve having a chamber for gas to ignite the charge in the
engine cylinder, and ports from the chamber of the valve for the spent gases to be
passed out from such chamber substantially as described
6. The improved gas engine having its parts arranged, combined, and operating as
hereinbefore described and as shewn with reference to the annexed drawings.
ERNEST DE PASS,
68, Fleet Street, London, Agent for the Applicant
ERNEST DE PASS,
68, Fleet Street, London, Agent for the Applicant