Improvements in Governors for Steam Engines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 4th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 9th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Governors for Steam Engines.
We, HENRY JAMES TAYLOR PIERCY, of The Broad Street Engine Works,
HENRY LEA, and WILLIAM HENRY THORNBERY, the Younger, of 38 Bennetts
Hill, all of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineers, and
ALBERT EDWARD ALEXANDER EDWARDS, of Kings Heath, in the County of
Worcester, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of our said
invention to be as follows :—
The governor to which our invention refers is of the class known as spring
governors and it is usually applied so as to act through appropriate mechanism
upon a cut off or expansion valve in a steam engine so as to automatically control
the point at which steam is cut off in the cylinder according to the load on the
engine. It may however be used to work an equilibrium or other form of
throttle valve.
We will describe our invention thus: We provide two balls or weights each of
which is carried by one arm of a bell crank lever the arms carrying the weights.
pointing downwards from the fulcra. The horizontal arms of the bell crank levers
point inward towards the governor spindle and their inner ends are forked and
carry rollers which engage with a grooved sleeve, which slides on the vertical
governor spindle: this we call the upper sleeve. We form the fulcra of the bell
cranks by means of pins working in roller bearings carried by a yoke secured
to the top of the governor spindle and revolving with it.
The upper sleeve slides on the governor spindle and its outer surface is guided
in a bushing fixed in the upper part of the governor standard, the lower end of the
upper sleeve bears on the upper end of a strong helical spring which is threaded
on the governor spindle and the lower end of which bears on adjusting nuts screwed
onto the governor spindle.
To enable the motion of the upper sleeve to be communicated to the valve gear
we attach it (by means to be presently described) to a lower sleeve which slides on
the lower part of the governor spindle in a convenient position for the governor.
lever to take on to it.
The attachment of the upper sleeve to the lower sleeve is effected by making the
governor spindle tubular and placing inside it a bar which is long enough to reach
from the upper to the lower sleeve. To the upper end of this bar we secure the
upper sleeve by means of a cottar and to the lower end of the bar we secure the
lower sleeve by means of a similar cottar.. We cut slots or apertures in the tubular
governor spindle for these cottars to pass through freely these slots being long
enough to enable the sleeves to have the proper and predetermined range
; of motion.
Dated Oth Wabrur 1803
THOS. KENDRICK,
Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Governors for Steam Engines.
We, HENRY JAMES TAYLOR PIERCY, of The Broad Street Engine Works,
Birmingham, HENRY LEA, and WILLIAM HENRY THORNBERY the Younger
both of 38 Bennetts Hill Birmingham aforesaid, Engineers, and ALBERT EDWARD
ALEXANDER EDWARDS of Kings Heath, in the County of Worcester, Mechanical
D77

page_text: Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
The governor to which our invention refers is of the class known as a spring
governor. It belongs to that description of spring governor in which the spring
surrounds the governor spindle, which is usually vertical.
Our improved governor is usually applied, so as to act, through appropriate
mechanismi, upon a cut off or expansion valve in a steam engine, to automatically
control the point at which steam is cut off in the cylinder, according to the load on
the engine. It may be however used to work an equilibrium or other form of
throttle valve.
We provide two balls or weights, each of which is carried by one arm of a bent
lever of the kind commonly known as a bell crank lever, the arms which carry the
weights point downwards from the fulcra. The horizontal arms of the bell crank
levers point inward toward the governor spindle, and their inner ends are forked,
and carry rollers, which engage with a grooved sleeve which slides on the vertical
governor spindle; this we call the upper sleeve. We form the fulcra of the bell
cranks by means of pins, working in bearings, carried by a yoke secured to the top
of the governor spindle, and revolving with it.
The upper sleeve slides on the governor spindle, and its outer surface is guided
in a bushing which is fixed in the upper part of the governor standard, the lower
end of the upper sleeve bears on the upper end of a strong belical spring, which is
threaded on, and surrounds, the governor spindle. The lower end of this spring
bears on adjusting nuts screwed on the governor spindle.
To enable the motion of the upper sleeve to be communicated to the valve gear
of the engine, we attach it, by means to be presently described, to a lower sleeve,
which slides on the lower part of the governor spindle in a convenient position for
the governor lever (which communicates the motion to the valve gear) to take on
to it. The attachment of the upper sleeve to the lower sleeve is effected by making
the governor spindle tubular, and by placing inside it a bar which is long enough
to reach from the upper sleeve to the lower sleeve. To the upper part of this bar
we secure the upper sleeve by means of a cottar, and to the lower part of the bar
we secure the lower sleeve by means of a similar cottar.
We cut slots or apertures in the governor spindle where required, to enable
these cottars to pass through freely, these slots being long enough to enable the
sleeves to have the proper and predetermined range of motion.
And in order that our said invention may be particularly described and ascertained,
reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of
reference indicate corresponding parts.
Figure 1 shews a vertical section through an engine governor constructed
according to our invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is a section through the fulcrum of one of the bell crank levers.
Figure 4 is a section through the upper sleeve, and parts adjacent; to a larger
scale.
a, a, are the balls or weights. Each of these is secured to, and carried by, the
vertical arm of a bell crank lever. The fulcra or centre upon which these
bell crank levers work are at c, c. 2, 62, are the horizontal arms of the bell
crank levers, these point inwards towards the govenor spindle f. The inner ends
of the horizontal arms of the bell crank levers are forked, and each carries a
roller 63 which engages in a semicircular groove d' in a sleeve d which we call the
upper sleeve.
We form the fulcra of the bell crank levers b, b, in the outer extremities of
a yoke e, which is firmly secured to the upper end of the governor spindle f.
The upper sleeve d slides up and down, within defined limits, on the governor
spindle, and its outer surface revolves in and is guided by a bushing 9', which is
fixed in the upper part of the governor standard 9. The lower end d² of the upper

page_text: sleeve (see Figures 1 and 2) bears on the upper end of a strong helical spring h,
which surrounds, and is threaded on to, the governor spindle f. The lower end h¹.
of the spring, bears on adjusting nuts f2, 2, which are screwed on the governor
spindle the spindle being slightly increased in diameter at that part to receive
the screw. thread. The upper sleeve d not being in a convenient position for giving.
motion to the governor lever i we place a lower sleeve on the governor spindle,
which sleeve, slides up and down on the spindle for the purpose of giving motion to:
the lever i.
it.
To communicate the up and down motion of the upper sleeve d to the lower:
sleevej, we make the governor spindle tubular, and place a rod or bar k within
The upper part of this rod k is secured to the upper sleeve d by means of a
cottar m (Figures 1 and 4) and the lower part of the rod k is secured to the lower
sleeve by means of a cottar n (Figure 1). Apertures or slots f³, 13, (see Figures 1
and 4) are cut in the tubular spindle f, to enable the cottar m to pass through, and
to communicate the requisite movements up and down, and similar slots (Figure 1)
are cut in the tubular spindle to enable the cottar n to pass through and to have a
similar motion.
The vertical motion of the lower sleeve j is communicated to the governor lever
The outer end of the governor
at i, by means of a collar in a well known manner.
lever i gives motion to the valve gear of the engine to effect the regulation of the
speed. The yoke e, bell cranks b, b, balls a, a, upper sleeve d, lower sleeve j,
spring h, and bar k, with the cottars, nuts and pins appertaining, all revolve,
when the engine is running, with the governor spindle f. This spindle f is caused.
to revolve at a predetermined rate, by well known means, such as a band pulley
and a pair of bevel wheels as shewn in the drawings. The action of the governor
is as follows.
When at rest, the helical spring his extended as far as the construction of the
governor will allow. As the lower end of the spring is incapable of moving
downwards, the spring presses the upper sleeve d upwards as far as it will go..
This causes the bell crank levers and balls to assume the positions shewn by the
dotted lines a¹, a¹. The lower sleeve being drawn up by the rod k, is also at its
When the engine is
highest position, and the governor lever is in the position i.
running, and the governor revolving, the balls a, a, move outwards under the
influence of centrifugal force, and against the resistance of the spring, exerted
through the upper sleeve d, and the bell crank levers, b. The number of revolutions
in a given time, and the weight of the balls are so proportioned to the strength of
the spring h, that, when the engine is running at its normal speed, the position of
the balls, bell crank levers, sleeves and governor levers, is as shewn by the full lines.
in the drawings.
Should the speed of the engine, and consequently of the governor, increase above
the normal, then the balls move out to the position a², a², and the sleeves descend to
their lowest position, thereby acting, through the intervention of the governor lever,
(which will now be at or thereabouts) upon the valve gear of the engine, for the
purpose of diminishing its speed.
We do not limit ourselves to the exact form and configuration of parts as
shewn on the drawings, as we may modify them without departing from our said
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is —
First. The combination of a tubular governor spindle with an internal bar
which connects two sleeves sliding on the outside of the spindle, all forming part
of an engine governor of that kind wherein the centrifugal force of revolving balls
or weights carried by the arms of bell cranks, is resisted by a spring coiled
around the spindle, substantially as herein before described and illustrated by the
drawings.

page_text: Second. The method of steadying the upper part of the governor spindle by
causing the upper sleeve, which slides on the spindle, to fit in a bushing carried in
the upper part of the governor standard, the sleeve revolving in the bushing and
also being capable of movement therein in the direction of its axis, substantially as
herein before described and illustrated by the drawings.
Third. The general construction and combination of parts in an engine governor
with revolving balls carried by bell cranks a spring surrounding the tubular spindle
to resist the centrifugal force of the balls, two sleeves and a connecting bar,
substantially as herein before described and illustrated by the drawings.
Dated 3rd November 1893
THOS. KENDRICK,
-Victoria Chambers, Martineau Street, Birmingham,
Agent for said Applicants.