of Steam and other Motive Power Engines.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Sept., 1886.
Complete Left, 2nd June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 5th July, 1887.
of Steam and other Motive Power Engines.
I, WILLIAM DEEBLE FERGUSON, of 37 Bentinck Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention to be as follows:-
My invention comprises certain new or improved apparatus or appliances devised
for attachment to ordinary governors, which will cause the governors fitted with them
to automatically maintain an almost uniform speed in the engine to which they are
attached, notwithstanding any contingent variations which may occur in the load
being driven or in the pressure of steam in the boilers.
The nature and novelty of my invention consist in the adoption and use of a small
hydraulic cylinder, supplied with water under pressure, and fitted with a valve
actuated by the motion of the governor, so that when the governor rises or falls more
than a certain or fixed distance above or below the normal speed position, (corre-
sponding to the permissible variation in speed), water is permitted to enter before or
behind the piston in the hydraulic cylinder and to escape from the opposite side, (the
cylinder remaining constantly full of water), thus, as will be hereinafter described,
diminishing or increasing the amount of steam entering the cylinder of the steam
engine, (or the pressure fluid used in other main engines), and bringing back the
speed inside the desired limits. To enable the governor and hydraulic cylinder to act
at the same time to produce the said differential governing or controlling action on
the usual connection to the cut-off motion, or the throttle valve, and still act
independently of each other, I cause the motion from the governor to the cut-off
motion or the throttle valve, to be transmitted through a lever, either bent or straight,
so that the hydraulic cylinder, acting on the fulcrum of the lever in a direction
parallel to the motion from the lever to the cut-off motion, can change the point of
cut-off, without moving the governor.
As an example of my new or improved simple hydraulic cylinder regulator and its
fittings and action automatically through the same lever by which the governor
actuates the cut-off or throttle valve, I carry the fulcrum block of this lever on a fixed
'

page_text: slide, (or equivalent parallel motion), and connect the piston-rod of the small
hydraulic cylinder to the said slide block, so as to move it to and fro in its slide.
Thus, if this lever is a bellcrank lever, having its horizontal arm directly connected to
an ordinary vertical governor to rise and fall with it, and having the vertical arm of
the bell-crank directly connected to actuate the cut-off or throttle valve acting in a
horizontal direction, then in this case the fulcrum block of the lever is reciprocated to
and fro horizontally by the piston of the hydraulic cylinder; thus increasing or
decreasing the amount of steam entering the cylinder, and so that the said motion of
the fulcrum of the lever in no way affects the action of the governor on its horizontal
lever and its action in giving less or more steam. The piston of the hydraulic
cylinder is caused to move slowly or quickly according as the variation in the speed of
the engine has been less or more marked, by the water valve opening less or more in
proportion to the change that has taken place in the position of the governor. The
piston is enabled to maintain its various positions by always having water on both
sides and the water valve closing both ports when in its central position.
The water under pressure for supplying the hydraulic cylinder may be taken
directly from the steam boiler, or from a collector connected directly to the steam
pipe, and into which the condensed water runs, or from a reservoir overhead into
which water is forced.
T
1
1
1000

page_text: of Steam and other Motive-power Engines.
I, WILLIAM DEEBLE FERGUSON, of 37 Bentinck Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention comprises certain new or improved apparatus or appliances devised
for attachment to ordinary governors, which will cause the governors fitted with them
to automatically maintain an almost uniform speed in the engine to which they are
attached, notwithstanding any contingent variations which may occur in the load
being driven, or in the pressure of steam in the boilers.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner of performing or carrying
the same into effect or practice may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended
an explanatory sheet of Drawings, in which the same reference letters indicate
corresponding parts in all the figures where shown. Figure 1 shows the elevation of
the governor G, of a horizontal-engine as fitted with one construction, or arrangement
and combination of the parts, of my new or improved regulating mechanism or
apparatus as applied thereto. And figure 2 shows a plan of the mechanism corre-
sponding to figure 1, and as attached to the slide or guide frame F of the crosshead
carrying the governor G, arranged between the cylinder and the crank-shaft.
Figure 3 shows a detailed sectional elevation, and figure 4 a transverse section, and
figure 5 a plan, both corresponding to figure 3, of the small controlling cylinder and
other details of my improved water regulating mechanism corresponding to, but to a
larger scale than that shown in figures 1 and 2.
Referring to these drawings, the nature and novelty of my Invention consist in the
adoption and use of a small hydraulic cylinder A supplied with water under pressure
from a pipe a with screwed down valve a¹ and fitted with a regulating or controlling
tap or valve b actuated by the motion of the governor G, so that when the governor
rises or falls more than a certain or fixed distance above or below the normal speed
position (corresponding to the permissible variation in speed,) water is permitted to
enter before or behind the piston A' in the hydraulic cylinder A through the inlet
port c and to escape from the opposite side through the exhaust ports and pipes c¹, c¹,
(the cylinder remaining constantly full of water on both sides of the piston), thus, as
will be hereinafter described, diminishing or increasing the amount of steam entering
the cylinder of the steam-engine, (or other pressure fluid used in main-engine), and
bringing back the speed inside the desired limits to enable the governor G, and
hydraulic cylinder A to act at the same time to produce the said differential governing
or controlling action on the usual connection to the cut off motion, or the throttle
valve, and still act independently of each other, I cause the motion from the

page_text: governor G, or its lever g, g¹, to the rod R of the cut off motion or the throttle-valve,
to be transmitted by the rod g² through a lever, either bent or straight and shown in
the drawings as a bell-crank lever h, h', so that the piston A¹ of the hydraulic
cylinder A, acting on the fulcrum h² of the lever h, h¹, in a direction parallel to the
motion from the lever to the cut-off motion, can change the point of cut-off without
moving the governor G.
As an example of my new or improved simple hydraulic-cylinder regulator and its
fittings, which thus acts automatically through the same lever h h¹ by which the
governor G, actuates the cut-off or throttle-valve rod R. I carry the fulcrum block i of
this lever on a fixed slide ¹, (or equivalent parallel motion,) and connect the piston-
rod A² of the small hydraulic cylinder A to the said slide block i, so as to move it to
and fro in its slide i. Thus, if this lever h, l', is a bell-crank lever, as shown, having
its horizontal-arm h, directly connected by the rod g² to the arm g¹ of the governor or
lever g g¹ of an ordinary vertical-governor G, to fall and rise as the governor G, rises
and falls, and having the vertical-arm h¹ of the bell-crank directly connected to actuate
the cut-off or throttle valve rod R, acting in a horizontal direction parallel to the
motion of the slide i, then, in this case the fulcrum-block i, of the lever h, h¹, is
reciprocated to and fro horizontally by the piston A¹ of the hydraulic cylinder A ;
thus increasing or decreasing the amount of steam entering the cylinder of the engine
and so that the said motion of the fulcrum h² of the lever h, h', in no way affects the
action of the governor G, on its horizontal lever h, and its action in giving less or
more steam. The piston A¹ of the hydraulic-cylinder A is caused to move slowly or
quickly according as the variation in the speed of the engine has been less or more
marked, by the controlling-water-valve b opening less or more by its lever 6¹ and
rod 62, in proportion to the change that has taken place in the position of the
governor G, and its lever g, to which the rod 62 is connected above. The piston A' is
enabled to maintain its various positions by always having water on both sides, and
the water-valve b closing both ports c, c', when in its central position.
The water under pressure for supplying the hydraulic cylinder A may be taken
directly from the steam boiler, or from a collector connected directly to the steam-
pipe, and into which the condensed-water runs, or from a reservoir overhead into
which water is forced.
In the arrangement of governor G shown, it actuates its lever g, by a brass collar
ring and centre pins at G¹, and this arm g of the lever is connected direct by a rod C,
to the piston of an oil cylinder (for steadying the vibration of the governor G, and
lever g, the outer arm g¹, of which is connected to the bellcrank lever h, h², of the
regulating cylinder A. The regulating tap-valve b of the cylinder A is actuated
direct from the lever g, by the rod 62 connected to the pin d of its lever ¹ preferably
by a slightly elliptical hole in the lower end of the rod 62 so that the governor G, and
its lever g, have a certain amount of motion for controlling the throttle valve or cut off
valve, through its lever g, g¹, and the bell-crank lever h, h', without the intervention
of the water-cylinder and piston A, A'. But should this motion be exceeded either
by the speed of the engine falling below or rising above its normal speed, controlled
by this degree of motion, then the valve would open the pressure of water through
the inlet port c to the one end or other of the cylinder A and exhaust the water from
the other end of the cylinder through the outlet port c¹ and by its piston A¹ give a
greater and quicker action to the fulcrum h² and vertical lever h¹in the same direction
as the governor moved it, so as to open or cut-off the steam from the main engine and
so act quicker and more directly than the governor could have done through its
lever g, g¹, and h, h', direct. The pin d is secured in the eye or end of the lever b₁
and has preferably mounted on its back end behind the lever 6', a sliding sleeve d¹ and
re-acting springs e, e, on a stationary rod e¹, secured to an arm f. The sliding
stationary pin e secured to the fixed arm is preferably made of steel, and thinned
away at e, to yield with the slight radial action of the lever 61. The rod e¹, has a
rectangular part sliding within the sleeve d¹ with a long slot at d², in it, which allows
the pin d and sleeve d¹ to move either up or down with the governor, against the
power of the light springs e, e, in either direction to, the extent the governor G was

page_text: allowed to move to control the valve of the cylinder A, and the greatest variation of
speed this governor and engine would move to with this new or improved controlling
water cylinder A, but which springs e, e, bring the lever back to its normal position,
with the valve closed to either end of the cylinder A as soon as the governor G
reattains its normal position and speed; thus by these improvements preventing either
the governor or the engine making the great variation of motion and speed peculiar to
governors and governor mechanism as heretofore constructed.
It will be understood that other arrangements of rods and levers may be adopted to
take the motion from the governor, and communicate it to the throttle or cut-off
valves of steam-engines and that this new arrangement of the regulating water
cylinder for actuating the sliding block carrying the fulcrum of one of the
intermediate levers, whether that was a straight lever or a bell-crank lever, all in an
equivalent manner to that described, always so that a small motion of the governor
would open the valve of the cylinder in the direction to move the fulcrum of the rod
in the same direction as the governor, but in a quicker and more direct manner to
give or cut-off the steam or motive-fluid to the cylinder of the main-engine without
interfering with the action of the governor for doing the same. And although a tap
oscillating valve has been shown as fitted on the water regulating cylinder Å it will
be understood that slide valves might be used in an equivalent manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
First. The construction, or arrangement and combination of the parts of the new
or improved regulating apparatus or appliances connected with the governors of steam
and other motive fluid engines, for the better regulation of the speed thereof, all
substantially as herein described, in reference to and shown in the accompanying
Drawings.
Second. The use of a water cylinder and piston whose valve is actuated by the early
motion of the governor in either direction, to control the quick action of the inlet or
cut off steam to the cylinder of the main engine in the same direction as the governor
without interfering with its action, all substantially as herein described, in reference
to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Third. The connecting of the piston of a regulating water cylinder direct to the
fulcrum of the governor lever mechanism, so as to give or cut-off steam to the main
engine, in the same direction that the governor does without interfering with its
action, having the valve of the water cylinder controlled by a slight carly motion of
the governor, all substantially as and in the manner herein described in reference to
and shown in the accompanying drawings.
D