US607613A - Hydrocarbon-gas engine - Google Patents

Description

Nu..eo7,6|s. Patented July I9, |898. w o. woRTH.

HYDROCABBUN GAS ENGINE. (Application filed Juy 1, 1895. Renewed July 3, 1.897.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets- Sheet l.

WI/VESSE'S No. 607,6!3. Patented July I9. |898.

W. 0. WORTH.

HYDBOCARBON GAS ENGINE.

(A'pplication filed July 1, 1895. Renewed July 3, 1897.) (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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e UN-TTEE STATES PATENT OEETEE.

IVILLIAM O. WORTH, OF BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN.

HYDROCARBON-GAS ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 607,613, dated July 1.9, 1898.

Application filed July 1, 1895. Renewed J'uly 3, 1897. Serial No. 643,467. (No model.)

T0 all 1072/0772/ it may concern.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM O. IVORTH, of Benton Harbor, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydrocarbon-Gas Engines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofrreference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

This'invention is an improved double-acting gas or hydrocarbon' engine, and its objects are to obtain great efficiency in operation, economy of gas or fuel, and simplicity of construction; and to these ends the invention consists in the construction and combination of parts' set forth in the claims, and the engine illustrated'in the accompanying drawings embodies the invention and forms the basis of the following detailed description.

In said drawings,Figure lis a side elevation of an engine with a rotary air-blower. Fig. 2 is a similar view of an engine with a tandem-cylinder air-pump and air-receiver. Fig. 3 is a horizontal longitudinal section of the engine, cylinder, and valves on line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. is a vertical longitudinal section on line 4 1i, Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line 5 5, Fig..3.

The working cylinder A of the engine has double walls, between which water or air can be circulated to reduce the temperature thereof. In one side of said cylinder, and near the center thereof, are two ports B b, which communicate with the interior of the cylinder near the center thereof and with a cylindrical pump-chamber C, in which is a cylindrical piston and valve D, divided centrally by a partition D', to which the piston-rod D2 is attached, said rod being connected to a slide DS, connected by a pitman D4to an eccentric D5 on the main shaft, so as to be reciprocated from the latter. This piston-valve is provided with ports CZ d in its side adapted to respectively, but alternately, register with ports B l), and it will be noticed that the ports are not registered until the gas is compressed in the pump cylinder. Thus the pump-piston acts first as a piston to compress the gas and then as a valve to permit the compressed gas to escape into the cylinder through the proper port.

Gas is admitted into either end of cylinder C through pipes or ports c, provided with check-valves c and connected to a gas-supply pipe c2.

Between ports B l) in cylinder A is a main air-inlet port a, which communicates bya passage or pipe a with, as indicated in Fig. 1, a rotary blower G or, asA shown in Fig. 2, with an air-receiver A3 in the base of the pump-cylinder P.

In the bottom and at center of the cylinder A is an exit-port F, which communicates with an escape passage or pipe f to conduct away the burned gases.

The piston E in cylinder A constitutes both a working piston and main valve. It is about half as long as the interior of cylinder and has short 'recesses e e' in its opposite ends, adapted to register with port a as the piston nears the ends of its opposite strokes. The piston also has recesses F f' in its opposite ends and lower side, adapted to alternately register with port F when the cylinder is at the opposite ends of its stroke.

Piston E is connected to rod E and the latter to the crankshaft by cross-heads and pitmen, as in ordinary engines.

I-I designates a pipe tapped through the wall of the cylinder midway of its length and supplying a lubricant to the piston in position to lubricate it thoroughly, the piston E being of such length that pipe I-I cannot communicate with the explosion-chambers.V

Instead of providing a pump and reservoir for each engine or where very large engines are t0 be used I employ a rotary blower G, which may be driven from the main shaft, as indicated in Fig. l, or by other suitable means, an independent fan-motor being preferable where a large engine or a battery of small ones is employed. The blower is connected directly to the port a' of the engine, and as soon as this port opens quantities of air are blown through the exploding-chamber, driving out the burned gases and filling the chamber with pure air, the draft of fresh air pouring through the cylinder as long as the air and exhaust ports are uncovered and preventing burning or undue heating of the IOO piston and cylinder and enabling a waterjacket to be dispensed with. Thus the blower does away with an air-reservoir, and

the air is used to clear the exploding-chamber of burned gases, fill it with pure air, and cool the internal wall of the cylinder. In practice several times the volume of air that can be contained in the exploding-chamber should be blown through it after each explosion. The employment of a blower connected directly to the air-inletport of the engine (doing away with a reservoir) I consider a decided improvement in the operation of gas engines and is a great practical and economical advantage in large engines or power plants. However, for isolated and small engines the pump P and reservoir may be used, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The pump-cylinder P in Figs. 2 and 8 is of ordinary construction, but of greater crosssection than cylinder A, and may be arranged tandem with the latter and its piston P be connected to piston E by an extension of rod E', as shown. The pump-cylinder P is provided with suitable inlet and outlet Valves andports, so as to compress air on both strokes of the piston into receiver A3.

Practically it is desirable to have the pump of such capacity that enough air will be kept in the reservoir to cause three or four times more air than the explosion-chamber of the engine can contain to enter and iiow through said chambers after each explosion therein, so that the air will thoroughly drive the burned gases out of the explosion-chambers after each explosion, and this forcible' oversupply of air materially assists in keeping down the temperature of the cylinder.

The gases may be red in the explodingchambers by any suitable igniters.

The operation of this engine is exceedingly simple. For example, as the piston E nears the end of its rearward stroke port F is uncovered and the explod ed gases pass out of the cylinder. Simultaneously or directly after uncovering of port F port a is uncovered and volumes of fresh air rush into the explodingchamber, expelling all the waste gases and filling it with fresh air. Then as piston E is driven forward ports a F are closed, and thereupon piston D, having compressed a charge of gas in the forward end of cylinder C, brings port d into register with port b,and the highlycompressed gas is injected into the forward end of cylinderand mingled with the air therein before the piston E has compressed the air therein. The piston D moving backward in cylinder C cuts off the outer end of port l), and piston E moving forward in cylinder A closes the inner end of port Z). As the piston E reaches the forward end of its stroke, compressing the charge of fresh air and gases therein, ports F and a are again uncovered, as above explained, allowing the burned gases to escape andXbe driven out of the rear explosion-chamber, which is filled with fresh air, and after the piston has been moved back enough to cover lports a F once more piston D allows the charge of compressed gas in the rear end of cylinder C to enter the rear exploding-chamber through port B, and the charge of mixed air and gas therein is compressed by the backward stroke of the piston E due to the explosion of gases in the forward when properly constructed, is impossible.

The main piston, in fact, forms the main engine-valve and controls the exhaust and the main air-inlet port and may also alone control the gas-ports for both explosion-chambers, the pump piston-valve being employed principally as an additional precaution against back-firing.

In practice an auxiliary air-holder should be provided. A sufficient supply of air can be stored for use when starting up the engine; but this is a known expedient, and it need not be illustrated or further described herein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is

l. In a double-acting gas-engine, the combination of the cylinder, having an exploding-chamber in each end, and an exhaustport, an air-inlet port and gas-inlet ports on IOO opposite sides of the air-inlet port, so arranged near the center of the cylinder that the piston forms the main valve for controlling said ports for both explosion-chambers; with said piston,a compressed-air supply communicating with the air-inlet port, and means for injecting a charge of highly-compressed gas into the explosion-chambers of the cylinders after the exhaust and air-inlet ports are closed, substantially as described. y

2. In a double-acting gas-engine the combination of the cylinder having an explosionchamber in each end and piston, with exhaust, air-inlet, and gas-inlet, ports; all arranged near the center of the cylinder so that the piston forms the main valve for controlling the said ports for both explosion-chambers, substantially as described.

' 3. In a gas-engine, the combination of a cylinder having an explodin g-chamber at each end and an elongated piston; with the exhaust, air, and gas ports, so arranged near the center of the cylinder that the power-piston also constitutes the controlling-Valve for said ports, a compressed-air receiver communicating with the air-inlet port, an air-pump for forcing air into said receiver, and means for injecting a charge of highly-compressed gas into the explosion-chambers of the cylinders after the exhaust and air-inlet ports are closed, substantially as described.

IIO

4. In a double-acting gas-engine, the combination of the cylinder having an explodingchamber in each end, and an elongated piston; with a single central exhaust-port, a single central air-inlet port; and two gas-inlet ports on opposite sides of the air-inlet port so arranged that the piston forms the main valve for controlling the said ports for both explosion chambers, a compressed air receiver commu nicating with the air-inlet port, an air-pump for forcing air into said receiver; and means for injecting a charge of highlycompressed gas into the explosion-chambers of the cylinders after the exhaust and air-inlet ports are closed,substantially as described.

5. In-a gas-engine the combination of the cylinder having a central exhaust-port, a central air-inlet port,v and a gas-inlet port at each side of the air-inlet port and the'power-piston in the cylinder forming the main valve for opening and closing the proper gas-inlet port alternately, and also controlling the exhaust and air-inlet ports; with the gas-pump cylinder, the port therein connecting with the gasinlet port, and the ported piston in said pumpcylinder whereby the gas is primarily compressed and then allowed to escape suddenly into the explosion-chambers, after the exhaust-port is closed, substantially as described.

6. In a gas-engine the combination of the cylinderhaving an explosion-chamber at each end, an exhaust-port, two gas-inlet ports near 4its center and an air-inlet port; and the power- WILLIAM O. WORTH.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR E. DowELL, JAMES R. MANsFIELD.

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