IMPROVEMENTS IN VAPOUR OR GAS MOTOR ENGINES
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Simon at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 25th February 1879. A communication
from abroad by Albert Todt, of Frankfort on the Oder, in the German
Empire.
HENRY SIMON, of No. 7, St. Peter's Square, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN VAPOUR OR GAS MOTOR ENGINES." [A com-
munication from abroad by Albert Todt, of Frankfort on the Oder, in the German
Empire.]
According to the present Invention a vapour or gas motor engine is constructed
as follows: A large and a small cylinder are placed end to end with their axes in
line with each other, the end of the small cylinder being made to communicate
with the large one by a light flap valve. The other end of the large or working
cylinder is open to the atmosphere, it contains a piston having a number of openings
closed by flap valves, which when at the end of the instroke are pushed open by a
fixed pin and are held open by a spring catch which is released when the piston
arrives at the end of the outstroke so as to allow the valves to close. The piston is
connected by a connecting rod with a crankshaft having two opposite cranks
connected by rods and levers to a plunger piston contained in the small or charging
cylinder, such piston being provided with an extension of porcelain or other bad
conductor of heat so as to protect the packing of the piston from the heat of
combustion taking place at the inner end of the cylinder. For the same reason
also the charging cylinder is by preference made of two separate lengths separated
from each other by a disc of porcelain so as to prevent the conduction of heat to
the outer end. The charging cylinder communicates by a passage closed by a
loaded valve with a chamber into which an explosive mixture of inflammable gas
or vapour and air is supplied, so that on the outstroke of the piston the valve being
opened a combustible charge is drawn into the cylinder. While this is taking place
the piston of the working cylinder is also moving outwards, its valves being open
so as to allow the air to pass freely into the cylinder. The charging cylinder being
filled, a spring valve in a small side passage in the charging cylinder is momentarily
opened so as to allow a small external gas flame to communicate with the com-
bustible charge in the cylinder, which is thus ignited. The resulting expansion of
the gaseous products of combustion drives the air in the working cylinder out
through the openings of its piston, and immediately afterwards the valves of the
latter are made to close as before described, whereupon the pressure of the atmosphere
acting against the partial vacuum of the working cylinder produced by the expansion

page_text: and cooling of the gases therein causes the piston to perform its working instroke.
At the same time the piston of the charging cylinder is made to perform its instroke,
and the above described cycle of operations is repeated.
The arrangements for actuating the admission and ignition valves, and for
controlling their action by the governor, are as follows: To the connecting rod
actuating the charging piston is connected the one end of a lever, the other end of
which has a slotted hole into which takes a pin on an arm that can move up and
down in the slot, but which is held fixed therein by a spring catch controlled by a
lever on the governor. The arm is fixed on a spindle carrying two other arms, one
of which is connected to a rod actuating the loaded admission valve, while the
other has a double ended lever pivotted thereto, one end of which is weighted while
the other is connected by a rod to the spring ignition valve. Thus on the outstroke
of the piston the motion imparted to the slotted lever causes this to raise the before-
mentioned arms so as to open the admission valve until by the action of the governor
lever the before mentioned catch is released, and the arms in falling allow the
admission valve to close again. The motion of the arms being suddenly arrested
by the closing of the valve on its seat, the downward momentum imparted to the
weighted end of the lever carried by the third arm causes its other end to be jerked
upwards, thereby opening the ignition valve momentarily against the action of its
spring. The combustible gas employed for working the engine may be that produced
by ordinary gas generators, the gas from which may be led directly in a heated
condition through a chamber containing tubes through which the air required for
the explosive mixture is made to pass, so that as the air becomes warmed the gas is
cooled to a corresponding extent, and both are then conducted into a chamber where
their admixture is effected preparatory to their admission into the charging cylinder.
The working cylinder may as usual be provided with a jacket through which cold
water is made to flow.