IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Wallis and Charles James Steovens, both of
Basingstoke, in the County of Hants, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN STEAM ENGINES."
Sealed the 9th April 1880, and dated the 14th October 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Wallis and Charles
James Steevens at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th
October 1879.
ARTHUR WALLIS and CHARLES JAMES STEEVENS, both of Basingstoke, in the
County of Hants. "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES."
In working steam engines at various speeds it is important that the governor
should have approximately uniform action for the purpose of regulating the supply
of steam, but as governors are usually constructed they are liable, under varying
speeds, to exert a variable regulating action. One part of my Invention relates
to means of overcoming this defect. For this purpose instead of driving the
governor at a speed always bearing a definite relation to that of the engine shaft,
I drive it by means admitting of variation of the relative speed, so that when
the speed of the engine has to be changed the speed of the governor may be
nevertheless kept constant, or approximately so. The gearing or connections for
driving the governor in the manner stated may be of any known kind applicable
for that purpose, such as conical or expanding pullies, or a roller driven by friction
on the face of a disc or cone at a variable distance from its centre or apex, or a
pinion gearing with rows of teeth of various numbers on the surface of a cone or
disc, the object in all cases being so to arrange the driving that the relative
speeding can be changed while the engine is in motion. Another part of my
Invention relates to means of firmly securing the brackets for the shaft bearings
to the body or boiler of an agricultural, portable, or self moving engine. For
this purpose I extend the side plates of the fire box and also the crown
plate some distance beyond the end of the boiler, and on the haunches of the
crown plate and its extended part I bolt or rivet the two side brackets for
supporting the crank shaft of the engine. In engines which have axle shafts and
countershafts, the bearings for the former are supported in the known manner on the
extended side plates, and those of the countershaft or shafts either on the extended
side plates or on the above mentioned brackets, or on the parts that are extended
with the crown plate beyond the end of the boiler, according as the position of the
shaft may in each case determine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Arthur Wallis and Charles James Steevens in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th April 1880.
ARTHUR WALLIS and CHARLES JAMES STEEVENS, both of Basingstoke, in the
County of Hants. "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES."
In working steam engines at various speeds it is important that the governor
should have approximately uniform action for the purpose of regulating the supply
of steam, but as governors are usually constructed they are liable, under varying
speeds, to exert a variable regulating action. One part of our Invention relates
to means of overcoming this defect. For this purpose instead of driving the
governor at a speed always bearing a definite relation to that of the engine shaft, we
drive it by means admitting of variation of the relative speed, so that when the
speed of the engine has to be changed the speed of the governor may be nevertheless
kept constant, or approximately so. The gearing or connections for driving the
governor in the manner stated may be of any known kind applicable for that
purpose, such as conical or expanding pullies, or a roller driven by friction on the
face of a disc or cone at a variable distance from its centre or apex, or a pinion
gearing with rows of teeth of various numbers on the surface of a cone or disc,
the object in all cases being so to arrange the driving that the relative speeding can
be changed while the engine is in motion. Another part of our Invention relates
to means of firmly securing the brackets for the shaft bearings to the body or
boiler of an agricultural, portable, or self moving engine. For this purpose we
extend the side plates of the fire box and also the crown plate some distance beyond
the end of the boiler, and on the haunches of the crown plate and its extended
part we bolt or rivet the two side brackets for supporting the crank shaft of the
engine. In engines which have axle shafts and countershafts, the bearings for the
former are supported in the known manner on the extended side plates, and those
of the countershaft or shafts either on the extended side plates, or on the above
mentioned brackets or on the parts that are extended with the crown plate beyond
the end of the boiler according as the position of the shaft in each case determines.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a side view, and Fig. 2, a plan of one arrangement according to our
Invention for varying the speed of a governor relatively to that of the engine
while the engine is at work. A is the engine shaft on which is fixed al coned
pulley a; B is the governor driven by gearing from the shaft of another coned
pulley b, which is driven by a strap C from the pulley a. The strap passes through
two eyes or forks c, c, which are on slides and can be moved by means of screws
d, d, to and fro parallel with the axes of the pullies a and b respectively.
The
screws d, d, are connected by bevil gear and a spindle D, so that when either screw
or this spindle is turned by a hand wheel or otherwise both screws are turned
equally and the eyes or forks c, c, are thereby made to guide the strap C along
the coned pullies a and b, causing it to act at a larger part of the one and at a
smaller part of the other, and so regulating as desired the relation of the speed of
the governor to that of the engine shaft.
According to the modified arrangement shewn in side view at Fig. 3, and in
plan at Fig. 4, a disc wheel a fixed on the engine shaft A drives by friction a
drum e on a shaft E, which by bevil gear drives the governor B. The drum e has
a collar embraced by the fork of a sliding rod F, screwed at the end and passing
through the screwed boss of a hand wheel G. By turning this hand wheel in the one
direction or the other the drum e is caused to slide along the face of the disc a and
to be acted on nearer to or farther from the centre thereof, according as the speed
8

page_text: of the governor is required to be lessened or increased. The drum e may be made
to slide along a coned drum, and instead of being driven by friction it may drive
by friction the coned drum against which it is pressed, as shewn in the plan,
Fig. 5. In this case A, the engine shaft, drives by bevil gearing the drum e, which
can be slid by a screw along a coned drum b that gives motion to the governor.
Fig. 6 is a part longitudinal section, and Fig. 7, a front view of the fire box of an
agricultural, portable, or self moving engine, shewing the means according to our
Invention for securing the brackets for the shaft bearings. The side plates H, H,
and crown plate I are made of greater length than is necessary for the fire box,
so as to extend forwards and take the bearings of the countershaft K and road
wheel shaft L, and two bracket plates M, M, fixed to the haunches of the crown
plate I project upwards to carry the bearings for the crank shaft N.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, we claim,-
First. Driving the governor of a steam engine by gear whereby the speed of the
governor relatively to that of the engine shaft can be varied while the engine is
working, as herein described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the
accompanying Drawings.
Second. In an agricultural, portable, or self moving engine extending beyond
the fire box, its side and crown plates to receive the shaft bearings, as herein
described with reference to Figs. 6 and 7 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Arthur Wallis and Charles James Steevens,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Tenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty.