US1180393A - Gas-engine. - Google Patents

Description

yD. K. HAU..

GAS ENGNE.

APPLmATxoN man AuG.8, 1914.

Patented 211x125, 19%..

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. D. K. HALL.

GAS ENGINE.

vAPFLICMION FILED AUG.8, 1914.

Lcwf -l Patented Apr. 25,1916.

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"untreu arianne ramena numbin- GAS-ENGINE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr.. 25, 11913..

Application led August 8, 1914. Serial No. 855,733.

K To all whom t may-concern.'

Be it known that I, DWIGHT K. HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montclair', in the county of Essex and State of New Jerusey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gras-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gas engines, and comprises a rotating part madeup of a plurality of cylinders, each having a piston reciprocating therein and by their reciprocations rotating the rotary member.

One of the objects of theinvention is to provide an engine of the kind? described having great efficiency with the minimum number of operating parts.

A further object of the invention is to provide in an apparatus of the kind described an explosion chamber which is adapted to be air cooled inside and out and completely scavenged after each explosion.

Another object of the invention is to provide an engine of the kind described inl which there is a plurality of cylinders having a common ignition device, a common exhaust port and a common feed or fuel iiijection.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less broad than those stated above, together with the advantages inherent, will be in part obvious and in part specifically referred to in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations,

arrangements'of parts, and applications of principles constituting the invention; and thev scope of protection contemplated will appear from the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as part ofthis specication and in which I have showua form of embodiment of the invention as atv present preferred, Figure 1 is ,a sectional View taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, 'looking in the direction of the arrows, parts being shown in elevation and parts being broken away, and Fig. 2 'is a sectionv on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, some of the parts being shown in elevation and some of the parts being broken away.

Referring to the numerals on the drawings, there is shown at 3 a circularband or casing, within which the rotary element rotates. This circular casing 3 is provided with brackets 4 by which it may be secured in place upon a proper foundation or supwith this port. Tapped into the upper side of the circular casing 3, preferably about midway of its width, is a spark plug 5, which is illustrated as an example of ignition device. The circular casing 3 is also provided withl an opening 6, from which extends a pipe 7 that is connected to a gasolene vaporizer, or other fuel-supplying member 8, this member 3 having an opening'9 extending through the circular casing 3. The casing 3 is also provided on its lower side with an elongated slot, which has the functions of, and will be hereinafter referred to as, an exhaust port. Extending transversely of, and through, the circular casing 3 there is a crank shaft provided with an eccentric portion 11, the said shaft is supported 1n stationary bearings 12 and 14 arranged in opposite sides of the casing. Connected stationaryl and eccentrically mounted shaft 11 are the piston rods 15 of a series of cylinders 16. These cylinders 16, which are open at both ends, are radially disposed within the circular casing 3,`and

they have their inner ends connected by al web 17, while their outer ends are connected by and open through a circular member or web 18, formed on substantially the arc of the inner circular face of the casing 3. The effect is to make all the vseveral cylinders (eight being shown in the present instance) .a substantially unitary structure, which is adapted to rotate about the shaft 11, this unitary rotary structure rotating about the stationary bearing 14 at one side 4 of the casing and about the stationary bearing 19 at the other'side of the casing, ball bearings or the like 20 and 21 being interposed as desired. l

Beyond the web 17 the several cylinders diverge radially, and the spaces between them are left open for the circulation of air, each cylinder being preferably provided with the usual radiating portions 22.- Also,

for cooling purposes and to further the scavenging -of the cylinders, each cylinder is provided at a certain point in its length with a series of ports 24, which. are so located that they will be uncovered when the piston 25 is at the limit` of its innermost stroke, as shown in the lowermost one of the cylinders in Fig. 1. Each piston is pivotally connected,asshown at 26, w' h a piston rod 15, and these several piston rods 15 have attheir inner ends integral ringsl shown in Fig. 2, one of the piston rods has y.simply one ring, this being the one in the iniddleof the row of fifteen rings appearing in Fig. 2; while all of the other piston l 5 rods have forked ends, each 'branch being formed. into a. ring, and the branches ofthe forks of theseveral rods will be variously spaced apart so that they may be' nested-in position on the shaft 11. The relations of .the parts are preferably about as shown, so that. the uppermost` one of the cylinders 4shown in Fig'. l will have its piston in the outermost or compression position, while -the lowermost one of the cylinders in Fig. l will haveV itscyliiider in the innermost position,.and the cylinders between these two on either side of the vertical diameter will bev in various intermediate positions. It will' be evident that when the rotary element made up of -the'several cylinders 16, web 17 and web 18, is caused to rotate, the several pistons will be caused to reciprocate in theirv cylinders' in a definite relation.

The operation of the device is as follows:

.,215l Assuming the parts to be related as shown,

the cylinder shown at the top of Fig. 1 may be supposed. to contain a proper explosive mixture, and the piston in that cylinder is at the end of its outward or compression 80 stroke, so that the explosive mixture is under compression, assuming that there is a gas tight fit between the end of the cylinder and j the inner face of the casing 3. This compressed cliarge is ignited by means of the 35. spark ping `5, which may be continuously acting, and as theA explosion takes place the rotary element,.comprising the cylinders and webs that tie them together, moves to the right in Fig. l. This is because theorbital i0 path of least resistance is to the right, since the cylinder next to the left of the uppermost cylinder in Fig. 1 has already received .a chargeofexplosive mixture and its piston is in a position in which the charge is under i5 considerable compression. As stated, there- Afore, the whole rotary element moves to the right in Fig. lxand the cylinderwhich was exploded continues its travel until it reaches a position next to the right of the lowermost cylinder in Fig. 1, at which point the open 1 end of the cylinder communicates with the I outer air through the exhaust port 10. The cylinder continues until it reaches the position of the l'owermost cylinder in Fig. '1, at which-point the ports 24 are exposed and through these and'through the exhaust port 10 the interior of the cylinder may be thorj oughly scavenged ,and cooled, centrifugal force'having, as I believe, considerable to 4do with this result. From .this position, which y,corresponds to the outermost positien ofthe pistonythe cylinder moves along ytojbhe'l'eft and upwardly, thel piston gradually inciting butward, .untilthe cylinder reachesy i5 resulten where its mouth is I`in cation withthe fuelinjection port .9. When the particular cylinder is in this position, the next adjacent cylinder, looking in a clockwise direction, has its mouth in communication withthe port 6, and this adjacent cylinder will already have received a charge from the port 9, which will have been considerably compressed by reason of the moving inward of its piston. Consequently, a part of the compressed charge in this adjacent cylinder will travel through the pipe 7 to the member 8, to assist in injecting a charge into the cylinder which is in com- 'munication with the port 9. This lastnamed cylinder, having now received its charge, moves on to a position in which it is in communication `with the port 6, where part of its compressed charge goes oif the use of any valves or injectors or timing devices; there is need for only one ignition device, all of the cylinders exhaust through la common exhaust port, and receive their charges of fuel from a common and single source of supply.

Inasmuch as this is a rotary device the effect of centrifugal force will need to be considered. In this connection attention is force, after a cylinder has been charged with the explosive mixture of air and vapor, the vapor, which is the heaviest constituent of the mixture, will tend to fly toward the called to the fact that because of centrifugal mouth of the cylinder, and the richest part of the mixture will be at the mouth, while the leaner part of the mixture will be inwardly of the cylinder. Consequently, when the cylinder comes around to the ignition point the sparking points will be in the midst of the richest part of the mixture and ignition will, on that account, be the more certain, while at the same time the potential power of the mixture is in no wise affected. Centrifugal force also will tend to scavenge the cylinder when the latter is in communication with the exhaust part 10, and particularly when in the further travel of the cylinder vthe ports 24: are exposed.

One possible objection to the device as hereinbefore described is that since the fit of the rotary element within the circular casing 3 must be snug, that in time the end of the cylinder wouldbe worn away and there would no longer be a gas tight it between the mouth o'f the cylinder and the surface of the circular casing. In' order to take care of this objection I have provided each cylinder with a' flange -30 surrounding the mouth,

medusa 34. Each rod 35 is pivoted as at 36 to a rod` 37 which is pivoted on the flange 30, and which rod 37 carries at its outer end a weight 38. The consequence ot this arrangement is that by'proper adjustment-,of the weights 38 the sleeve 31 with its flange 34, which may be termed a shoe, will always be in the proper engagement --with the inner surface of the circular casing 3, to insure a gas tight joint and to prevent undue friction.

rl.`he rotation of the rotary member may be utilized in any proper manner. For instance, the reduced portion 40 of the webV 17 might be encircled by a gear secured thereto and power transmitted from this gear. rl`his, however, is obviously immaterial.

Inasmuch as many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiment voit my invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all lmatter contained in the above description or ,shown inthe accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to Coverall the generic and specific teaturesof the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a. matter of language,

vmight be said to fall therebetween.

open-ended cylinder traveling in an orbitaly path and having a port in its side wall, a piston adapted-.to cover the port except when at its limit of inward movement, and a'circular casing defining said path and having an opening with which the open end of the cylinder is adapted to register, while the port is uncovered.

2. ln a device of the character described, a cylinder moving in an orbital path and provided near its outer end with a flange and having a movable sleeve at its outer end, Aa weighted arm pivoted to the flange on the cylinder..and connected to the sleeve constituting a means for balancing the latter, and a circular casing defining the orbital path or" the cylinder and with which 4the outer end of the sleeve makes contact. v

3. ln a device of the character described,

- a cylinder moving in an orbital path and provided near its mouth with a flange, a movable sleeve located within the mouth end of the cylinder and provided with an outstanding circular flange, a casing defining the path of said cylinder, and a plurality of weighted members pivoted to the cylinder flange and connected to the circular flange on the movable sleeve thereby counterbalanoing said sleeve at' all points et its contactwith the circular casing.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature in presence of two witnesses,

. DWlGH'l K. HALL.

Witnesses:

MARY H. Lewis, CLAan'Ncn G. CAMPBELL.

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