Improvements in Station Gas Governors.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 15th Apr., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Station Gas Governors.
We JOHN HAWKYARD of Shaws Lane Upper Mill Saddleworth in the County
of York Foreman and JosEPII BRADDOCK of 72 Windsor Road Oldham in the
County of Lancaster, Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of these improvements is to produce a station gas governor that will
automatically give an increased outlet pressure whenever the demand for gas
increases, and a diminished outlet pressure as the demand for gas falls, such increase-
or decrease being constant notwithstanding variations of inlet pressure.
The nature of our invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed
or carried into practical effect will be readily understood on reference to the sheet
of drawings hereunto annexed and the following explanation thereof.
Fig. 1 on the drawings is an elevation of a station governor with our invention
shown as applied thereto.
Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are detached sectional views on a larger scale hereinafter
more particularly referred to showing the details of our invention and slight modi-
fications thereof.
The particular construction of station gas governor represented on the drawings.
is one made according to the drawings and Specification of Letters Patent granted
to us No. 16065% bearing date the 10th day of October 1890 but our invention
may also be applied to other forms of station gas governors.
On Fig. 1 of the drawings a is the gas chamber divided by a midfeather into an
inlet and an outlet chamber; in the midfeather are two valves connected by rods
and chains passing through water seals to the ends of the balance beam 6 which
oscillates on knife edges supported on the pillar c as described in the said Specifi-
cation above referred to.
d is the governor bell and e the water tank for the same.
According to our present invention we employ a loading or pressure changing
tank fixed upon the crown of the governor bell d, and containing water or other
liquid, and we so arrange the supply and overflow of this tank that the height of
the water or other liquid therein shall increase automatically as the demand for gas
increases, and shall decrease as the demand for gas falls, and in order to compensate:
for the effect of a varying inlet pressure which would alter the position of the valves
for the same quantity of gas passing through the governor, we employ two bells
and a float g working in a liquid in a tank h, which bells and float vary in height,
to any desired degree with the variation of the inlet pressure.
On the top of the float g we place an overflow vessel i connected to the loading
tank above named by a flexible pipe k (or other equivalent means) so that the
level of the water or other liquid will be the same in both the overflow vessel i and
the loading or pressure changing tank f.
A constant supply of water may be given to the overflow vessel i which is
provided with a suitable overflow pipe / or a nozzle to carry off superfluous liquid,
or a contrivance may be introduced to prevent the waste of water when not
required.
When the governor is loaded to give the maximum outlet pressure desired at any
time and the valves are open to the full extent required therefor the level of the
water or liquid in the loading tank f will be at the highest relative point, and as
the inlet pressure increases from any cause the tendency of the governor bell d is
to rise and partially close the balanced valves, and thus to throw off some of the
liquid from the loading tank f into the overflow vessel i and reduce the outlet
pressure, but the bells and float g being subjected to the inlet pressure and also to

page_text: the outlet pressure rises to the same extent, carrying up the overflow vessel i
thereby retaining the original level of the water or other liquid in the loading
tank and thus maintaining the maximum outlet pressure.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section and Fig. 3 a horizontal section illustrating the bell
and float arrangement.
The float grises and falls between two vertical guides m in the tank which is
provided with an overflow at m* and the float has attached to it two bells n and *.
The pipes o and ox are open above the water level and communicate one to the
inlet division and the other to the outlet division of the gas chamber a or they may
communicate direct with the inlet and outlet mains, so that both the inlet and
outlet pressures are brought to bear upon the two bells n and n* (which are
suitably proportioned according to the requirements of the governor) and through
them and the float g upon the overflow vessel i.
Figs. 4 and 5 show enlarged views of this vessel ; it is provided with an over-
flow lip leading to the waste water pipe l.
We may here remark that the water may be supplied either direct to the vessel i,
as shown, or to the loading or pressure changing tank f, and that the latter may be
provided with an overflow at p which is at the ordinary maximum pressure so that
the highest desirable maximum is attained when the water overflows at the said
point p, and even this can be exceeded if required by plugging the overflow
aperture p and allowing the loading or pressure changing tank to be filled to the
top, giving the highest possible maximum pressure.
We prefer to apply a small tapt to the flexible pipe k to regulate the flow of the
water between the vessel i and the tank f.
Instead of arranging the float g and bells n and n* as shown at Figs. 2 and 3 they
may be arranged in a concentric form as shown at Fig. 6, in which case the float g
is made of an annular section the internal space being divided by a midfeather q
into two suitably proportioned chambers n and n with which the inlet and outlet
pressure pipes o and o* communicate.
In cases where it may be more convenient to have the tank placed somewhere
above the station governor the overflow vessel i instead of being supported by a
rod as shown may be suspended by a similar rod, chain or equivalent attached
to the float g and passing out through a water seal.
This arrangement is applicable with special advantage to governors made as
above described according to the invention for which Letters Patent No. 16065
dated October 10th 1890 were granted to us. It is also applicable to governors
where the bell is weighted, or gives the maximum pressure, and the loading or
pressure changing tank is fixed as a counterbalance in which case the supply vessel
must be provided with a chain which passes over a pulley or must be otherwise
similarly balanced; and it is applicable also to governors with internal floats.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
In a station gas governor, the combination with a loading tank placed on the
crown of the main governor bell, of an overflow vessel connected to such tank by a
flexible pipe (or equivalent) so as to maintain an equal water level in both the
overflow vessel and loading tank, such vessel being supported by a rod or otherwise
attached to a float acting in a tank and provided with two bells one of which is in
communication with the inlet pressure and the other with the outlet pressure sub-
stantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth and illustrated
by the drawings annexed.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicants.