Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Apr., 1887
Complete Left, 16th Jan., 1888
Complete Accepted, 17th Feb., 1888
I JAMES HARGREAVES of Widnes in the County of Lancaster Chemical Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
1. My present invention consists in improvements upon the inventions described by
me in the specifications to Patents No. 3540 of the year 1882, and No. 325 of the year
1884, and has for its, object to still further increase the efficiency of the fuel
employed.
2. The working cylinder of the engine, which is that in which the packed end of
the said piston works is arranged to form a continuation of the combustion cylinder.
The body of the said working piston alternately advances and recedes in the said
combustion cylinder. The said combustion cylinder and the said working cylinder
are kept slightly apart by means of a layer of asbestos or other suitable material so as
to prevent communication of heat by conduction from one to the other.
3. The said combustion cylinder together with the furnace and regenerator are
surrounded by a water jacket. The said water jacket serves at once to keep the
temperature of the cylinder linings and the end of the said working piston at
practicable working temperatures and also to generate steam which is to be used to
mix with the air used in producing motive power. The furnace is lined with suitable
refractory material as is also the regenerator chamber in such manner as to keep the
gases at a temperature sufficient to ensure combustion and avoid the production of an
excess of steam. The said working cylinder and the furnace are provided with
suitable doors and sight holes for observing the temperatures.
"
4. I compress the air used for combustion into a vessel which for brevity and the
purpose of this specification I call the "saturator where the air is saturated with
moisture by means of water sprays wetted capillary surfaces or by other suitable
means and heated by means of the waste heat exhausted from the combustion cylinder
of the engine. If necessary I cause the said wetted surfaces to be moved about so as
to keep the heated surfaces in the interior of the saturator moist. The said heating
surface may consist of a series of tubes with exhaust gases passing over one of the
surfaces while the air to be heated and saturated with water vapour is exposed to the
other surface.
5. To force the said air which is to be used for combustion into the said saturator I
employ an air pump into which is forced a spray of water. To produce the said spray
I use a valve held to its seat by a spring so that the said water may be caused to issue

page_text: in a thin stream and at any desired pressure, and I supply the water required by
means of a separate pump of variable stroke so that it can be set to give a supply
which can be varied at pleasure. The excess of water remaining after the air has
heen saturated in the saturator is then removed by another pump and forced through
the working piston which I make hollow. The said working piston has on the part
exposed to heat in the combustion cylinder a covering which I call a "thimble." I
provide a space between the said thimble and the body of the said working piston.
The said space is filled with clay or other non-conducting material, so as to prevent
too much heat being conducted to the piston, and allow the said thimble to acquire a
high temperature, so as not to check unduly the combustion of the fuel. The said
non-conducting material must not however be too thick, for otherwise there would be
heat enough to soften or even melt the said thimble. The water forced through the
said working piston, together with any steam that may be produced therein, is then
made to flow into the said water jacket which surrounds the combustion cylinder, the
furnace and the regenerator of the engine.
6. I attach a vessel by means of suitable connections to the said water jacket. The
said vessel is to be used as a priming chamber to separate the steam and water which
circulate from the said water jacket and I attach a furnace thereto, so that the said
vessel can at will be used as a steam boiler. To the said vessel or steam boiler 1 attach
a steam engine which can be used to work a pump so as to force an extra supply of
air into the said saturator in addition to the air supplied by the air pump proper,
and the said steam engine with its air pump may also be used to compress the first
supply of air to start the main engine with.
7. The said steam engine may also be made to serve as a "barring engine" to turn
the main engine into a suitable position for commencing work. The said vessel or
boiler also serves by the circulation of the water through the said water jacket to warm
up the main engine so as to have it the sooner working up to its full power, and the
said steam engine can also be used to pump air into the said saturator in cases where
the steam produced is in excess of what is desirable to mix with the air used in
combustion, or where the temperature of the furnace and regenerator is too low to
allow of a large addition of steam without serious interference with the combustion.
Hence I provide for keeping the steam producing surfaces in the said hollow piston
the water jacket and the aforesaid vessel or boiler isolated from the said saturator and
the hereinafter mentioned "superheater" and provide means for admitting at pleasure
such a proportion of steam as may be desirable to mix with the air employed in
combustion.
8. I regulate the admission of steam to the aforesaid saturator or to the hereinafter
mentioned superheater or either of them by means of a jet whose area may be regulated
by a conical spindle, and by maintaining the pressure of the steam somewhat higher
than the air, I produce currents of mixed air and steam which cause a rapid circulation
in the said superheater or saturator or either of them, so as to increase the transfer of
heat from the exhaust gases to the compressed saturated air in the said superheater
or saturator or either of them.
9. I use a three way cock in such a manner that when the aforesaid steam engine
is at work the steam is prevented from flowing through the said jet in such a manner
that the engine driver cannot be both working the said steam engine and the said jet
at one and the same time.
10. The compressed air after being saturated with water is caused to pass through
another vessel which 1 call the superheater.
11. I cause the exhaust gases from the engine to pass through the said superheater
by means of a series of tubes, or by means of suitably arranged surfaces I cause the said
exhaust gases to first heat the said superheater, and then to heat the said saturator so
as to increase the proportion of water vapour present in the compressed air contained
in the said saturator. After the said compressed air has been saturated with water
vapour and then superheated 1 conduct the said compressed air to the inlet valve of
the engine and then through the regenerator and furnace into the combustion cylinder
where the said air has its volume still further increased by combustion,

page_text: 12. After the working piston has made its outstroke I exhaust the burnt gases
through the regenerator, and then through the heating tubes of the said superheater
and afterwards through the heating tubes of the saturator to the outlet pipe. In some
cases I make the pipe which conducts the compressed air from the superheater to the
inlet valve of the engine pass through the pipe which conducts the exhaust gases to
the superheater, or vice versa, in such manner that the exhaust gases may communicate
a part of their heat to the air and water vapour which are on their way to the engine.
13. I provide a metal liner to the sides of the combustion cylinder, leaving a small
space between the said liner and the water jacket. The said space may be filled with
some non conducting material, but not in excess, inasmuch as it is desirable to be able
to raise the said liner to a high temperature but not so high as to injure or distort the
said liner.
14. I also provide a liner for so much of the end of the combustion cylinder as is
not occupied by the furnace or regenerator, and I also leave a space between the said
liner and the water jacket for the same reasons as in the case of the liner of the sides
of the combustion cylinder, and as in the case of the thimble on the end of the working
piston.
15. The regulator which is used to return the heat of the exhaust gases to the
furnace, is in some cases made to revolve so as to equalise the temperature of each
part of its cross section. It may be packed with strips of metal, tubes, rods or porous
blocks of earthenware or other refractory material.
16. I employ corrugated strips of metal alternately with straight strips, so as to
allow free passage for the inlet and exhaust gases and provide a long area of heating
surface. Or I employ rod strips or tubes of earthenware, which may be grooved
corrugated or twisted in such a manner as to present a large surface and cause intimate
mixture of the gases entering or leaving the cylinder.
17. The supply of fuel when it is liquid or viscous is regulated by altering the
stroke of the feed pump, or by stopping its working altogether, as may be desirable
by means of the governor which is made at the same time to close a throttle valve in
the air supply pipe and alter or stop the supply of fuel. Where I stop the supply of
fuel altogether I provide a latch which falls into gear and prevents the outstroke of
the fuel pump until speed is reduced. Where I only shorten the supply of fuel I
provide a lever with a slot in which the crank which drives the pump is made to slide
further from or nearer to the radial point of the said crank, and thus lengthen or
shorten the stroke of the fuel pump as may be desired.
18. Where gas is the fuel employed I force the said gas into the furnace by means
of a separate pump, and either with or without superheating. When I superheat the
said
gas
I do so by causing it to pass through the said superheater in advance of
the air supply so that there may be as little combustion as is practicable within
the regenerator itself, and also to prevent any combustible gas from being exhausted
from the regenerator without having been first passed into the combustion cylinder
and burnt.
19. I provide a light quickly moving check valve for the inlet pipe of the engine so as
to close the inlet when the pressure in the working cylinder exceeds that in the
superheater and saturator.
20. Where vessels furnished with a multitubular arrangement are employed as
the aforesaid saturator and superheater I make one of the end plates of the said
superheater and saturator with a turned up flange and make the said flange pass
through a stuffing box so that the said tubes may be allowed to expand or contract
freely, without straining unduly the tube plates. And also allow the outer shell to be
removed so that the tubes can be all got at to be cleaned, and also to allow of the
practical arrangement of the aforesaid capillary surfaces in the said saturator.
Dated this Fourteenth day of April 1887.

page_text: Improvements in and Connected with Internal Combustion
Thermo-dynamic Engines.
I JAMES. HARGREAVES of Widnes in the County of Lancaster Chemical 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:
My present invention consists in improvements upon the invention described by
me in the Specification to Patents No. 3540 of the year 1882 and No. 32 of the
year 1884 and has for object to still further increase the efficiency of the fuel
employed.
The working Cylinder of the Engine which is that in which the packed end of
the said piston works is arranged to form a continuation of the combustion cylinder.
The body of the said working piston alternately advances and recedes in the said
combustion Cylinder. The said combustion cylinder and the said Working Cylinder
are kept slightly apart by means of a layer of asbestos or other suitable material so
as to prevent communication of heat by conduction from one to the other. The
said combustion Cylinder together with the furnace and regenerator are surrounded
with a water jacket. The said Water Jacket serves at once to keep the temperature
of the Cylinder linings and the end of the said working piston at practicable working
temperatures and also to generate steam which is to be used to mix with the air used
in producing motive power. The furnace is lined with suitable refractory material
as is also the regenerator Chamber in such manner as to keep the gases at a tempera-
ture sufficient to ensure combustion and avoid the production of an excess of steam.
The said working cylinder and the furnace are provided with suitable doors and sight
holes for observing the temperature.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of apparatus illustrative of the above described
improvements 1 Working Cylinder, 2 Combustion cylinder, 3 working piston
4 packing between the working and combustion cylinders 5 furnace 6 regenerator
7 water jacket surrounding the combustion cylinder furnace and regenerator 8 furnace
lining 9 door to furnace 10 fuel injector.
I compress the air used for combustion into a vessel which for brevity and the
purpose of this Specification I call the Saturator where the air is saturated with
moisture by means of water sprays wetted capillary surfaces or by other suitable
means and heated by means of the waste heat exhausted from the combustion cylinder
of the engine. If necessary I cause the said wetted surfaces to be moved about so as
to keep the heated surfaces in the interior of the Saturator moist. The said heating
surface may consist of a series of tubes with exhaust gases passing over one of the
surfaces while the air to be heated and saturated with water vapour is exposed to the
other surface.
To force the said air which is to be used for combustion into the said saturator 1

page_text: employ an air pump into which is forced a spray of water. To produce the said
Spray I use a valve held to its seat by a spring so that the said water may be
caused to issue in a thin stream and at any desired pressure and I supply the
water required by means of a separate pump of variable stroke so that it can be set
to give a supply which can be varied at pleasure.
Figure 1 above referred to shows pumps combined and constructed so as to
compress air mix it with water and force the mixture into the Saturator. 11 Air
pump 12 inlet valve 13 delivery valve 14 water pump and connections for
delivering water into the air pump 11 in the form of spray. The opening for
supplying water to the air pump is closed with a valve held to its seat with a
spring.
The excess of water remaining after the air has been saturated in the saturator
is then removed by another pump and forced through the working piston which I
make hollow.
The said working piston has on the part exposed to heat in the combustion
Cylinder a covering which I call a "thimble." I provide a space between the said
thimble and the body of the said working piston the said space is filled with
Clay Asbestos or other non-conducting material so as to prevent too much heat
being conducted to the piston and to allow the said thimble to acquire a high
temperature so as not to check unduly the combustion of the fuel. The said
nonconducting material must not however be too thick for otherwise there would
be heat enough to soften or even melt the said thimble. The water forced through
the said working piston together with any steam that may be produced therein is
then made to flow into the said Water Jacket, which surrounds the combustion
Cylinder, the furnace and the regenerator of the Engine. In fig. 1 connections 15
from the bollow piston 3 to the water Jacket 7 are shewn whereby water from
the Saturator is made to circulate through the said hollow piston and water jacket.
16 is a covering or thimble applied to the piston and separated therefrom by a
packing of material having low capacity for conducting heat.
I attach a vessel by means of suitable connections to the said Water Jacket.
The said Vessel is to be used as a priming chamber to separate the Steam and
water which circulate from the said water jacket, and I attach a furnace thereto, so
that the said Vessel can at will be used as a Steam boiler. To the said Vessel or
Steam boiler I attach a Steam Engine which can be used to work a pump so as to
force an extra supply of air into the said saturator in addition to the air supplied by
the air pump proper and the said Steam Engine with its air pump may also be used
to compress the first supply of air to start the main Engine with.
The said Steam Engine may also be made to serve as a barring Engine to turn the
main Engine into a suitable position for commencing work. The said Vessel or
boiler also serves by the circulation of the water through the said water Jacket to
warm up the main Engine so as to have it the sooner working up to its full power
and the said Steam Engine can be also used to pump air into the said saturator, in
cases where the steam produced is in excess of what is desirable to mix with the air
used in combustion or when the temperature of the furnace and regenerator is too
low to allow of a large addition of Steam without serious interference with the com-
bustion. Hence I provide for keeping the Steam producing surfaces in the said
hollow piston, the Water Jacket and the aforesaid Vessel or boiler, isolated from the
said Saturator and the hereinafter mentioned "super heater" and provide means for
admitting at pleasure such a proportion of Steam as may be desirable to mix with the
air employed in combustion.
I find that when the steam generated by the surface of the jackets is allowed to
flow freely into the air space there is great liability to prime so that water is carried
into the regenerator and there are also produced periods in which the Steam is in
such great excess as to seriously interfere with the combustion of the fuel and to
avoid this I regulate the admission of steam from the Jackets to the aforesaid
Saturator or to the herein after mentioned super heater or either of them by means of
a jet whose area may be regulated by a Conical spindle and by maintaining the

page_text: pressure of the steam somewhat higher say one atmosphere of pressure than the air
and to increase the efficiency of the heating surfaces I produce currents of mixed air
and steam which cause a rapid circulation in the said superheater or saturator or
either of them so as to increase the transfer of heat from the exhaust gases to the
compressed saturated air in the said superheater or saturator or either of them.
I use a three way cock in such a manner that when the aforesaid Steam Engine is
at work the steam is prevented from flowing through the said jet in such a manner
that the Engine Driver cannot be both working the said Steam Engine and the said
jet at one and the same time.
Figure 2 is an elevation of a separating vessel and Starting Engine to be used in
combination with an internal combustion engine having a water jacket as above
set forth 17 is the separating vessel provided with upper and lower pipes 18 and 19 for
connecting it to the water jacket shown in figure 1. 20 is a furnace within the said
vessel to enable it to be used as a steam generator. 21 is an engine, and 22 an air
pump attached to the Vessel 17. 23 three way cock for directing steain to the
Engine 21 or to an injector or jet.
The compressed air after being saturated with water is caused to pass through
another vessel which I call the "superheater." I cause the exhaust gases from the
Engine to pass through the said Superheater by means of a series of tubes or by
means of suitably arranged surfaces. I cause the said exhaust gases to first heat the
said superheater and then to heat the said saturator so as to increase the proportion
of water vapour present in the compressed air contained in the said Superheater.
After the said compressed air has been saturated with water vapour and then super-
heated along with the additional steam from the water jacket I conduct the said
compressed air and water vapour to the inlet valve of the Engine and then through
the regenerator and furnace into the combustion cylinder where the said air has its
volume still further increased by combustion. Figure 3 is a vertical section of a
combined saturator and superheater under my invention 24 Saturator Chamber
25 inlet from air pump 26 way from the saturator to superheater, 27 superheater
28 way from superheater to the combustion chamber. 29 tubes in the superheater
and saturator through which the exhaust products from the Engine pass 30 Water
injector 30 air inlet 30 steam injector After the working piston has made its
outstroke 1 exhaust the burnt gases through the regenerator and then through the
heating tubes of the said superheater and afterwards through the heating tubes of the
Saturator to the outlet pipe.
In some cases I make the pipe which conducts the compressed air from the super-
heater to the inlet valve of the engine pass through the pipe which conducts the
exhaust gases to the Superheater or vice versa in such manner that the exhaust gases
may communicate a part of their heat to the air and water vapour which are on their
way to the engine.
I provide a metal liner to the sides of the combustion Cylinder leaving a small
space between the said liner and the water jacket. The said space may be filled with
some non conducting material but not in excess inasmuch as it is desirable to be able
to raise the said liner to a high temperature but not so high as to injure or distort the
said liner. I also provide a liner for so much of the end of the combustion cylinder
as is not occupied by the furnace or regenerator and I also leave a space between the
said liner and the water jacket for the same reasons as in the case of the liner of
the sides of the combustion cylinder and as in the case of the thimble on the end of
the working piston.
In figure 1, 31 is a liner separated from the sides and end of the Combustion
Cylinder by packing.
The regenerator which is used to return the heat of the exhaust gases to the
furnace is in some cases made to revolve so as to equalize the temperature of
each part of its cross section-It may be packed with strips of metal, tubes rods, or
porous blocks of earthenware or other refractory material.
I employ corrugated strips of metal alternating with straight strips so as to allow
free passage for the inlet and exhaust gases and provide a large area of heating

page_text: surface, or I employ rods, strips or tubes of glass or earthenware which may be
grooved corrugated or twisted in such a manner as to present a large surface and
cause intimate mixture of the gases entering or leaving the Cylinder.
Figure 4 is a cross section of a revolving generator under my invention.
2 Combustion Cylinder 5 furnace 6 regenerator Chamber 32 body of regenerator
carried on a spindle 33 caused to rotate.
Figure 5 is an elevation of a series of sheets of metal. alternately straight and
corrugated disposed so as to form a regenerator.
Figure 6 is an elevation of a spirally grooved earthenware Strip for use in
regenerators of internal Combustion Engines and Figure 7 angend view of a number
of Strips combined to form a regenerator.
The supply of fuel when it is liquid or viscous is regulated by altering the Stroke
of the feed pump or by stopping its working altogether as may be desirable by
means of the governor which is made at the same time to close a throttle valve in the
air supply pipe and alter or stop the supply of fuel-When I stop the supply of fuel
altogether I provide a latch which falls into gear and prevents the outstroke of the
fuel pump until speed is reduced. When I only shorten the supply of fuel I provide
a lever with a slot in which the Crank which drives the pump is made to slide further
from or nearer to the radial point of the said Crank and thus lengthen or shorten the
stroke of the fuel pump as may be desired.
Figure 8 is an elevation of a fuel injecting pump under my invention, 34 pump
35 connecting rod one end of which is attached to the plunger of the pump the other
end being attached to a block 36. 37 screw for moving the block 36 along a slot 38.
The slot 38 is formed in the lever 39 pivotted at 40. According as the block 36 is
at one or other end of the slot 38 the stroke of the pump will be longer or shorter
and the quantity of fluid delivered more or less. The lever 39 is caused to
oscillate by means of a cam 41 and spring 42. To stop the supply of fuel when
the speed of the Engine becomes too great the free end of the lever 39 is provided
with a projection 43 which engages with a catch 44 operated by a governor in
any usual manner. The lever is held out of contact with the Cam 41 until the
speed of the Engine is sufficiently reduced and the governor withdraws the Catch 44
and the lever is set free.
When gas is the fuel employed I force the said gas into a furnace by means of
a separate pump and either with or without super heating. When I superheat the
said gas I do so by causing it to pass through the said superheater in advance of
the air supply so that there may be as little combustion as practicable within
the regenerator itself and also to prevent any combustible gas from being exhausted
from the regenerator without having been first passed into the combustion cylinder
and burnt.
I provide a light quickly moving check valve for the inlet pipe of the Engine
so as to close the inlet when the pressure in the working cylinder exceeds that in
the superheater and saturator.
When Vessels furnished with a multitubular arrangement are employed as the
aforesaid saturator and superheater I make one of the end plates of the said super-
heater and saturator with a turned up flange and make the said flange pass through a
stuffing box so that the said tubes may be allowed to expand or contract freely
without straining unduly the tube plates and also allow the outer shell to be removed
so that the tubes can be all got at to be cleaned and also to allow of the practical
arrangement of the aforesaid capillary surfaces in the said saturator.
In Figure 3 multitubular superheater and saturator are shown with one of the tube
plates 45 fitting in a stuffing box 46.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
First. Constructing internal combustion thermo dynamo engines with working and

page_text: combustion cylinders separated from each other by packing and with the combustion
cylinder furnace and regenerator surrounded with a water jacket.
Second. Compressing air to be used in internal combustion Engines into a saturator
where the said air is heated whilst being mixed with water either by jets to form
spray or other suitable means.
Third. The combination of internal combustion engines with an air pump into which
water is admitted and from which air mixed with water is forced into a saturator
substantially as set forth.
Fourth. Providing internal combustion engines with a hollow piston a water jacket
and a saturator and connecting such parts so that water is caused to circulate
therethrough.
Fifth. Constructing hollow pistons of internal combustion engines with a covering
or thimble separated therefrom by nonconducting material for the purpose set forth.
Sixth. The combination of a water jacket of internal combustion engines with a
separating vessel substantially as set forth.
Seventh. The combination of a steam generator engine air pump and jet. with
internal combustion engines for the purposes set forth.
Eighth. The combination in internal combustion engines of a superheater with a
saturator for the purpose set forth.
Ninth. Constructing combustion chambers furnaces and regenerators of internal
combustion engines with liners and nonconducting packing substantially as
set forth.
Tenth. The combination of internal combustion engines with rotating regenerators.
Eleventh. Constructing regenerators of internal combustion engines of alternate
sheets of plain and corrugated metal.
Twelfth. Constructing regenerator of internal combustion engines of groups of
spirally grooved strips of earthenware.
Thirteenth. Constructing multitubular saturators and superheaters with tube plates
fitting within stuffing boxes substantially as set forth.
Dated this Fourteenth day of January 1888.