US291065A - Hie am s - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1.

H. S. MAXIM.

\ Y GAS MOTOR'. No. 291.065.`

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v(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. s. MAXIM.

GAS MOTOR.

No. 291,065. Patented Jan. 1, 1884.

N. PETERS. Fhowulmgnpmr. washingmn, 0.a.

UNITED. STATES tArnNr rrrcii.

HIRAM s. MAxiM, or rAnis, FnANcn.

GAS-Moro R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters kPatent No. 291,065, dated January 1, 1884. Application filed Januaryv 16, 1883. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it' may concern:

Beit known that I, HIRAM S. MAXIM, a citizen of the United States, atpresent resid- Y ing in Paris, in the Republic of France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Motors, of` which the following is Va specification, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the same.

, My invention relates to motors operated by the explosion of mixed charges of air and gas under a piston, connected with suitable mechanism for converting and utilizing the power developed by the explosions. The main ob-l I jects of the invention are to produce a cheap,

' engine of the kind described, of two cylinders` a working and exhaust cylinder-the latter of relativelylarge size,`and both opento avacuumcompact, and durable engine, and one which will run at a high rate of speed and develop-a? great amountv of power for a given quantity of gas consumed.

The general and distinguishing features of the invention are, first, the combination, in an chamber with connected pistons working in the same, these and the remaining parts of the engine being so constructed that the` larger or exhaust piston will produce a partial vacuum and remove at the end of each stroke the products of combustion from the smaller or working cylinder; secondly, the'combination, with the working-cylinder, of a pump for forcing in charges of air and gas,W the piston of which is raised by a cam and'forced downward byA the combined action of gravity and a spring,

in section; Fig. 3, ardetail of the governing or regulating mechanism; Figg'a horizontal section on areduced scale on line xx of Fig. 1. Similar letters indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

A and B are two cylinders, placed in line one above the other. Ais the working-cylinder of the engine; B, a cylinder of larger diameter, designed as a vacuum-cylinder.

A is a piston working in cylinder A; B', a larger piston, working in cylinder B. These pistons are both mounted on or operated by the .same rod, C, and may .be cast in a single piece when so desired. OylinderA is inclosed in the usual water-jacket, D, through which a circulation of water is maintained for cooling the cylinder, a and a being respectively the inlet and outlet for the water. The upper portion of the jacket D is separated from the wa- `piston f of pump F is on a rod, F, the upper end of which connects with the openV or slotted plate G. Through this plate passes the crankshaft E, and a guide-wheel, e, fixed to the frame ofthe engine, holds the plate in position, permitting it to move freely upand down. On the crankshaft E, and keyed to it, is a sleeve, e', capable of a to-and-fro movement.

Gr is a cam carried by sleeve e and d, a wheel carried by the plate G. A stout spiral spring, S, connected to the frame of the engine and to the rod F', tends to draw the latter downward.

v weights H H, with arms H H', that are connected with thegsleeve e. Spiral springs s s .connect the governor-weights, and tend to IOO the quantity or quality of each charge. It will be understood, then, that when the engine is first started, or is running at slow or normal speeds, the force of springs s s keeps the weights H H in such position that the cam G is held over under the wheel d, so that a charge of gas or gas and air is admitted to the cylinder A at every revolution of the crank-shaft. Should the speed run up, however, as by lightening the load on the engine, weights H Hare thrown outward by centrifugal force against the force of springs s s', the sleeve c is by this means shifted, and the cam G carried out of line with the wheel d. No charge will in consequence be delivered to the working-cylinder until the normal speed is again reached.

Entering the lower part of the cylinder A is an exploding-piston, I, that is operated by a bell-crank lever, h, connected by a rod, 7:,with the strap of an eccentric,

.I is a flame-chimney of ordinary construction, in which a flame is kept constantlyburning. A passage is formed from this chimney through the casing or cylinder, in which works piston I, as shown in Fig. 4. The piston I consists of a solid portion, i', and a chambered end with openings on both sides, as shown in Figs. l and 4, so that when it is drawn out it carries with it a charge of gas which is ignited by contact with the flamej. On the return of the piston the burning charge in its cham- 'bered end is thrust suddenly into the space beneath the piston A, thus iguiting the charge therein. Above the plate bisarecess, K, into which the piston B partly enters when in its lowest position.

K is an exhaust-passage containing a checkvalve, k, connected with this space and serving to carry off the products of combustion withdrawn from cylinder A.

In the bottom of cylinder Ais a large valve, L, opening inward for admitting air into the cylinder A when the piston A has reached a point above aline of perforations, m, leading into the space D. lith valveLaspring may be used for controlling its action.

The valve mechanism connected with the pump is as follows: M is a valve composed of a short cylinder, thehead of which rests upon a seat, a. A line of perforations, t, is formed in the side of the cylinder near the head, and a spindle, o, connected to the valve, extends through the passage of communication between the cylinder A andthe pump-cylinder. A spiral spring, p, is used to keep valve M closed, and a cap, t', is screwed over the end of the spindle to prevent leakage. Into the passage In lead two valves, one, as r, an airvalve with a lid, yr', or similar means for closing it, the other, as v, a gas-valve controlling communication with a suitable gas-supply through a pipe, lt". As it is desirable to vary the amount of gas admitted to the engine, I use an ordinary cock-valve consisting of a cup, w', with an opening that registers with the pipe o. Ahandle, or, turusthis cup and closes o more or less the passage. A pointer, ./r, may be attached tothe handle w and a scale cut on the valve-casing for indicating the amount of gas that is being admitted for a given position of the handle a?.

For maintaining the necessary lubrication ofthe crank and shaft, I use oil-cups T U V. The cups T U supply oil to the bearings. The cup V has a wick, V', that is touched by a cup, W, at each revolution of the crank. A drop of oil is thus taken oil' at each contact.

Other details of construction will be indicated in the following description of the opereration of the engine. The crank-shaft being rotated by hand or otherwise in the direction indicated by the arrow, the pump F is operated, being illed with a mixture of gas and air through the valves r and t. When cam G', which causes this, has reached a point where the wheel d drops off from it, the combined action of the weight of the piston f and the spring S will force the mixed gases through valve M into the cylinder. The valve M being cylindrical in form and provided with a number of holes, the gases entering are driven with great force through these holes, and its mixture with the air in the cylinder is quickly accomplished. The cam is so adjusted on the crank-shaft that the pump-piston falls at the moment when the working-piston A has passed far enough into the cylinder to close off the openings m m. XVhen the gas and air are both in the cylinder and the piston A has reached the point shown in the drawings, the air and gas beneath it in the cylinder A will have been compressed about forty pounds to the square inch. At this moment the llame is thrown into this chamber by the action of the eccentric t', bell-crank lever 71, and exploding-piston I. Then the explosion takes place, the pressure produced in A will beabout one hundred and seventy-five pounds to the square inch; but complete combustion will not take place until the piston has traveled nearly its whole stroke from the fact that the gases do not have time enough to dispose of their heat, and perfect' combustion cannot take place except the gases have some means of disposing of their heat. Therefore a high pressure is maintained during nearly the complete length of the stroke. When, however, the piston has passed over the openings m m, the exploded gases instantly' escape into the chamber D. As the piston B is attached to the same rod that A is, a partial vacuum will be produced in D and in cylinder B, and the gases escaping from the smaller cylinder not being able to iill this vacuum, fresh air is drawn in through the large valve L. The piston B being considerably larger tha-11 the piston A, the quantity of fresh air drawn in at L will be suiiicient to re! move all the exploded gases completely from the smaller cylinder. WVhen the piston A' has again covered the openings m m in its upward stroke, the piston of the pump F agaii"falls, and a fresh charge of explosive gases is forced IIO into the space below the piston. The piston vents destructive heating of the apparatus.

The cubic capacity of the pump F should be about one-sixth part of that of the cylinder A,so that if the pump F should be completely filled. with gas the charge in the cylinder A would be six of air-to one of gas. To effect this the air-valve r will have to be closed, then at each stroke of the pump the pump will be filled completelyl with gas, the index-valve being opened sufficiently to admit of this. If, however, it is desired to put a less quantity of gas in at each stroke, the index-valve is partially closed and air is admitted at r. If the quantity of air and gas admitted be equal, then the Working-cylinder would contain at each explosion a mixture of twelve parts of air to one of gas. By mixing a portion of the air with lthe gas before it enters the exploding-cylinder, and then passing it with great rapidity through the perforations in the sleeve of the valve M, the mixing is performed quick enough to admit of a very high speed of the engine. rIhe gases pass from the chamber D to the chamber K through the annular check-v alve b', and when the piston B descends these gases are forced out through the exhaust check-valve k. Of course it would be possible to dispense altogether with the check-valve b and to construct thepistons both in one piece. This would admit of making the engine somewhat shorter, but it would also require that the piston B should be somewhat larger, in order to suck all the gases out of the smaller cylinder. Y

In other applications I have described more fully and claimed this and other improvements not embodied in the present claims.

I am aware that two connected cylinders or a cylinder having one portion of greater diameter than another, and connected pistons uniting therein, have been heretofore used,and such, therefore, I do not broadly claim.

Having thus described my invention and the most practicable manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, what Iclaim as new 1s#- 1. An air or gas engine comprising, in com- -bination,the following instrumentalities, to

wit: .a working-'cylinder and means for exploding therein charges of gas and air, a pisl ton impelled by such explosions, a vacuous chamber brought into communication with the working-cylinder by the movement of the piston, avalve for admitting air into the cylinder when connected with the vacuous chamber, and means for introducing explosive charges into the cylinder, these parts being constructed and combined for co-operative action in substantially the manner set forth. Y

2. Ina gas-enginathe combination,with the working-cylinder and piston, of avacu'um-cylinder of greater capacity, a piston working therein, and an intermediate recess or chamber with which theworking-cylinder isbrought into communication by the withdrawal of its piston, whereby at the end of each stroke the gases are withdrawn froml the working-cylinder, in the manner described.

3. The combination, with the working-cylinder of a gas-engine, of a pump for introducing explosive charges into said cylinder, means for positively raising the piston of the pump and then disengaging it, and a spring for forcing it downward, all as set forth. y

4. rIhe combination, in a gasengine, of the working and vacuum cylinders connected in the manner described, the pistons working in said cylinders, and the intermediate chambers of communication at and aroundthe ends of said cylinders, as described.

5. The combination, with the working and vacuum cylinders and pistons contained therein, of intermediate chambers of communication ator around the ends of the cylinders, the working-cylinder being perforated in substantially the manner described, whereby communication is established between the two cylinders through said intermediate chambers on the partial withdrawal of the pistons, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, with the working and vacuum cylinders and pistons contained therein, of chambers or vacuous spaces located around the ends of and between said cylinders, and exhaust connected with the said chambers, as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination, in a gas-engine, of a working cylinder and piston and a vacuum cylinder and piston, an automatic air-check valve opening into the working-cylinder, and an exhaust-valve opening outward, these parts being combined in substantially'the manner described.

8. rThe combination, with the working-cylinder of a gas-engine, of a pump forintroducing charges of air and gas into the cylinder, and a valvelocated between the cylinder and pump,

' and provided with a number of perforations,

through which the air and gas are forced when the valve is open, as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination, with the working-cylinder, of the pump F, the perforated valve M, with air and gas inlet valves, and means for controlling the Same, as and for the purpose specified.

l0. The combination, with the pump F, piston-rodf, and plate G, of spring S and cam G', all as set forth.

11. The combination, with the working-cyl inder, of the chambered piston, the Hamechimney, a bell-crank lever connected with the piston, and an eccentric for operating the bell-crank lever, all as set forth.

12. The combination of the bell-crank lever h, rod h', eccentric 17, piston I, containing a IOO IIO

chamber at its inner end, und the flzune-chimvalve M, pump F, and valves eonnectingthereney J, these parts being eonstrueted'and n1'- With, and exhaust-vulve, these parts being 1o ranged in such a manner that ldie piston I constructed in the manner spee1iied.

thrusts the izune directly into the interior of y x j Y n the working 0r explosion cylinder, in the HIRAM S' MAXIM' manner described. \Vit11esses:

13. The combination, with the Working-Gy]- SARAH HAYNES, inder, of :u1 induction-valve, L, perforated EDMOND M.OLOUG11LIN.

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