IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER PRIME MOVERS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Armand Gilbee, of the Firm of L. de
Fontainemoreau & Co., Patent Agents, 4, South Street, Finsbury, in
the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER PRIME MOVERS."
—A communication from abroad by Robert Runquist, of Stockholm,
in the Kingdom of Sweden.
Sealed the 29th November 1872, and dated the 3rd September 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Armand Gilboe
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd September 1872.
I, WILLIAM ARMAND GILBEE, of the Firm of L. de Fontainemoreau
& Co., Patent Agents, 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "In-
PROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER PRIME
MOVERS," to be as follows, that is to say :—
The object of the Invention communicated to me is the construction.
of oscillating governors for regulating and equalising the speed of steam:

page_text: engines and other motive power engines and wheelwork driven by a
spring or a weight in which the power is variable in comparison with
the resistance caused by the work to be done, or in which the velocity
without a regulator is subject to greater or less variations; and the
Invention consists chiefly in the employment of a ring or a plate, or an
annular combination of several parts arranged more or less symmetrically
around the centre of gravity, and caused to continually oscillate by
suitable arrangements of mechanism as herein-after described.
arms,
To carry out this Invention for steam engines I employ an oscillating
plate or ring connected by means of a universal joint or coupling to a
suitable support or bearing through which passes a horizontal shaft, the
outer end of which being reduced in diameter carries three radiating
the outer ends of which on the side next the oscillating plate or
ring are furnished with friction rollers or buttons; these arms can slide
on the shaft, and their friction rollers or buttons are pressed against the
oscillating plate by the action of a spiral spring on the arms, or by a
suitably suspended counterweight. The arms are caused to revolve with
the shaft on which they are placed by a projection or crank arm. The
horizontal shaft is provided at one end with a bevil wheel gearing with
an intermediate bevil wheel, driven by a third bevil wheel fixed on a
hollow shaft moving on the horizontal shaft and driven by a pulley,
receiving its motion from the engine; the intermediate bevil wheel
rotates on a shaft, the end of which passes into a socket in a counter-
weight which can rotate round the horizontal shaft carrying the inter-
mediate wheel with it, but this motion is prevented by a cog wheel fixed
to the counterweight and gearing with a toothed segment fixed to one
end of a bell crank or other suitable lever, the other end of which lever
carries a counterweight; the bell-crank lever is connected by means of
a rod with the steam valve of the engine.
Instead of the arrangement of bevil wheels herein-before described,
the worm of a screw may be employed.
In some cases the oscillating plate instead of being acted upon by
arms as herein-before described is provided with a bow piece, from the
centre of which projects a pivot passing into one end of a bell-crank
lever connected by .a suitable support to a horizontal shaft receiving its a
motion from the engine; the other end of the bell-crank lever is con-

page_text: nected to a sliding coupling on the said horizontal shaft, which coupling
is acted on by the lever of a suitably suspended counterweight; the said
lever is connected to the steam valve of the engine by a rod.
The arrangements herein-before described are applicable to steam
engines, but it is obvious that the same may be modified for other
applications.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Armand Gilbee in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 1st March 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ARMAND GILBEE, of the Firm of L. de Fontainemoreau and Co., Patent
Agents, 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Armand Gilbee, Her special
licence that I, the said William Armand Gilbee, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Armand
Gilbee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER PRIME
MOVERS," (a communication to me from abroad by Robert Runquist, of
Stockholm, in the Kingdom of Sweden) upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Armand Gilbee, my executors or ad-
ministrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
.

page_text: within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Armand Gilbee, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereto.
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to
say:
The object of the Invention communicated to me is the construction
of oscillating governors for regulating and equalizing the speed of steam
engines and other motive-power engines and wheelwork driven by a
spring or a weight in which the power is variable in comparison with
the resistance caused by the work to be done, or in which the velocity
without a regulator is subject to greater or less variations; and the
Invention consists chiefly in the employment of a ring or a plate, or an
annular combination of several parts arranged more or less symmetrically
around the centre of gravity, and caused to continually oscillate by
suitable arrangements of mechanism as herein-after described.
To carry out this Invention for steam engines I employ an oscillating
plate or ring connected by means of a universal joint or coupling to a
suitable support or bearing through which passes a horizontal shaft, the
outer end of which being reduced in diameter carries three radiating
arms, the outer ends of which on the side next the oscillating plate or
ring are furnished with friction rollers or buttons; these arms can slide
on the shaft, and their friction rollers or buttons are pressed against the
oscillating plate by the action of a spiral spring on the arms or by a
suitably suspended counterweight. The arms are caused to revolve with
the shaft on which they are placed by a projection or crank arm. The
horizontal shaft is provided at one end with a bevil wheel gearing with
an intermediate bevil wheel driven by a third bevil wheel fixed on a
hollow shaft moving on the horizontal shaft and driven by a pulley
receiving its motion from the engine; the intermediate bevil wheel
rotates on a shaft, the end of which passes into a socket in a counter-
weight which can rotate round the horizontal shaft carrying the inter-
mediate wheel with it, but this motion is prevented by a cog wheel fixed
to the counterweight and gearing with a toothed segment fixed to one

page_text: end of a bell crank or other suitable lever, the other end of which lever
carries a counterweight; the bell-crank lever is connected by means of
a rod with the steam valve of the engine.
Instead of the arrangement of bevil wheels herein-before described,
the worm of a screw may be employed.
In some cases the oscillating plate instead of being acted upon by
arms as herein-before described is provided with a bow piece, from the
centre of which projects a pivot passing into one end of a bell-crank
lever connected by a suitable support to a horizontal shaft receiving its
motion from the engine; the other end of the bell-crank lever is con--
nected to a sliding coupling on the said horizontal shaft, which coupling
is acted on by the lever of a suitably suspended counterweight; the said
lever is connected to the steam valve of the engine by a rod.
The arrangements herein-before described are applicable to steam
engines, but it is obvious that the same may be modified for other
applications.
To make the Invention communicated to me better understood I'
will proceed to describe the same by reference to the accompanying
Drawing, which shews several different arrangements of the improved
governor.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a governor suitable for a steam
engine. It is described here first because it shews the principle on which
the oscillating governor is constructed. a is the ring or plate with a
bow piece b fastened to it; c is the pivot of the bow piece b, the axis of;
which if continued would meet the centre of the ring or plate a at right-
angles. The plate a is connected by a suitable universal joint to the
support 8, and the pivot c is connected to the bell-crank lever d pivotting
at its elbow on the end of the support e and connected at its other end
to the sliding coupling f. The support e is connected to and rotates.
with the, shaft g, which receives its motion from the engine. by means
of the pulley h. The coupling is connected with the weight by the-
lever or rod, which exerts a pressure on f in the direction indicated by:
the arrows R. This pressure increases with the sine of the angle which
the rod forms with the vertical line. To the rod is jointed the end.
of a rod which closes the steam valve when the coupling f is moved in.
:

page_text: Instead of the arms a round and somewhat concave plate may be
used, which will move the plate a in a similar manner.
The arms are pressed in the direction of the arrow R in the following
manner: The arms are fixed on the shaft l, which by means of the
weight suspended to the rod p may be moved to the left by means of
the screw q until it forms the required angle with the vertical line,
which angle may be easily ascertained by trial. The broad pinion m in
which gears the driving wheel o of the machine allows of the shaft z
being moved as far to the right or left as required.
The motion of the apparatus is as follows:-If the oscillations of the
plate increase in an -almost inappreciably short time the screws or friction
knobs, and with them the arms f, f, f, and the shaft l, are pressed farther
to the right, so that the latter by means of the screw t causes the bar p
to form a less acute angle with the vertical line. If from the com-
mencement the bar p is adjusted to a proper inclination the power of
the weight (increasing as the sine for the angle of inclination) increases
in the same ratio as the extent of the oscillations; but if these should
be isochronous their power and the resistance made by the weight >
ought to increase in the same ratio. This being the case, as the extent
of the oscillations and the sine for the angle of inclination of the bar p
increase proportionately, and also the pressure of the plate being con-
stantly in equilibrium with the counterpressure of the weight r, the
oscillations must be isochronous in the same manner as in the regulator
herein-before described; but in the same proportion as the oscillations
increase the friction between the plate a and the friction knobs repre-
sented in Figures 3, 4, and 5, or the friction against the taps in the
friction rollers, Figure 2, will increase. If therefore an alteration takes
place in the ratio between the driving force and the work which is to be
performed by the machine so that for a short time the power becomes
greater, the result will only be that the extent of the isochronous
oscillations of the plate will increase until the greater friction caused
by the greater force of the oscillations will counterbalance the increased
power, and the oscillations will not further increase.
For printing telegraph apparatus these governors possess the great.
advantage that their velocity may be increased or diminished at pleasure,
maintaining within certain limits the isochronism of the machine. In

page_text: simplifying Hughes's type printing telegraphic apparatus, the most
perfect but also the most complicated and most difficult to manage of
the kind which has been constructed, they will contribute in a very high
degree.
The construction of oscillating governors herein-before described, may
be adapted to give to all steam engines a perfectly isochronous motion
whether the usual throttle valve, or a round valve, or the now generally
employed expansion valve is employed.
The construction I prefer and which is the most simple for steam
engines is shewn in longitudinal section, plan, end elevation, and
transverse section respectively at Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6. In the first
place it must be understood that the velocity of the governor and the
weight of the plate must be adapted to the velocity and size of the
engine. a is the oscillating plate or ring which is connected by
means of the universal joint herein-before described to the hollow
shafts through which passes the shaft c. One end of the shaft c
carries the three arms f with friction knobs; these arms may be
moved to the right or left, and are pressed against the plate by. the
spiral spring employed in place of the herein-before described
counterweight r in Figures 1, 2, and 7. Meanwhile the crank arm
causes the arms to rotate with the same velocity as the shaft c. If
the driving power which causes the motion of the shaft c increases,
the extent of the oscillations becomes greater, the three arms are
forced to the right, and the power of the spring increases in the same
ratio as the extent or power of the oscillations. The same results, as
before described, videlicet, increased friction and unaltered rotary speed
are thereby obtained. The power transmitted by the shaft c is obtained
from the bevil wheel d driven by two other bevil wheels e and h, which
latter, by means of the drum or coupling i revolving on the bearing k,
receives its motion from the engine by means of the pulley n, and
rotates independently of the shaft c which passes through it. The
bevil wheel e rotates on a shaft o, the end of which is fixed in a socket
in the counterweight p placed on the shaft c, so that the shaft o can
rotate on the shaft c with the counterweight. The bevil wheel e may
thus rotate on its own shaft and on the shaft c. This latter motion
however is prevented by the cog wheel 9 (fastened to the socket or to
the counterweight p) moving with the shaft o and gearing with the

page_text: toothed segment 7, fastened on the end of the bell-crank lever n pressed
in the direction of the arrow R, by means of the counterweight wat
the other end of the lever. If the speed of the engine becomes greater
than that of the governor, it follows that the counterweight (the weight
of which must be adapted to the friction resistance in the governor when
making oscillations of ordinary extent) is raised by the increased re-
sistance of the friction, and the rod x passing from the lever u to the
steam valve will gradually cut off the steam until the speed of the
engine is the same as the governor, which always moves at the same
velocity whether the steam valve is to be shut or opened. In the first
case the resistance of the friction in the regulator ought to be the sum
or more of the power of the weight w and the resistance in the valve;
in the other case it must be less than the weight minus the resistance
in the valve.
These governors are very suitable for marine engines, as during a
storm this apparatus would be found particularly accurate.
Fig. 7 is an elevation of a governor or regulator for a marine engine.
In this arrangement instead of the bevil difference wheels d, e, h, a worm
or screw a is employed with an inclination of about forty-five degrees.
This worm moves the shaft to the left when the velocity of the engine
is increased in proportion to the speed of the governor. By employing
a chain two arms may be united, the one fastened on the engine shaft,
the other on the shaft of the governor, by which means the chain will
communicate any differences between the speed of the engine and of
the governor to the valve. In both these contrivances a counterweight
is required.
For regulating other kinds of power engines and water wheels, only
slight alterations of the before-described arrangements are necessary.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention communicated
to me, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it to be under-
stood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein laid
down and shewn in the Drawing, as the same may be varied without
departing from the principle of the Invention; but what I claim is, the
construction of governors applicable to steam engines and other prime
movers, with a ring or plate, or an annular combination of several parts
arranged more or less symmetrically around the centre of gravity, and

page_text: caused to continually oscillate by suitable arrangements of mechanism
worked by the engine or other machine, as herein-before described and
represented in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Armand Gilbee, have
hereto set my hand and seal, this First day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.