AN IMPROVED MARINE STEAM ENGINE GOVERNOR
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn,
in the County of Middlesex, and No. 28, Saint Enoch Square, in the City
of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MARINE STEAM ENGINE GOVERNOR."-A communication from
William H. Elliot, of Plattsburgh, in the State of New York, U. S. A.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
July 1857.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of
Middlesex, and No. 28, Saint Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED MARINE STEAM ENGINE GOVERNOR," a communication
from William H. Elliot, of Plattsburgh, in the State of New York, U. S. A.,
to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to cause the rising or sinking of the stern of
the vessel in the water to act upon the throttle valve, so as to keep the action
of the steam engine uniform at all times.
In the "dead wood" at the stern of the vessel and immediately in front of
the propeller (or the rudder where paddles are used) is a chamber flush with
the "dead wood" at both sides, and having openings along the lower part of
each side, through which the water can enter. This chamber is connected
to the lower part of a cylinder above by means of a pipe which is furnished
with a stop-cock, in order to shut off the communication between the chamber

page_text: and the cylinder when desirable. The upper part of the above-named
cylinder is divided from the lower part by means of an elastic diaphragın, to
the centre part of which is connected a rod, which (by means of a bell-crank
lever and rod) communicates with the throttle valve of the steam engine, and
by which the movement of the diaphragm is transmitted to the throttle valve.
The action of this apparatus is as follows:-The sinking of the stern of the
vessel causes the rising of the water in the chamber to compress the air in
the lower part of the cylinder, thus raising the centre part of the diaphragm,
and by means of the bell crank and rods acting upon the throttle valve.
When the stern of the vessel rises the pressure is withdrawn, and a spring
connected to the diaphragm rod returns the diaphragm (and consequently the
throttle valve) into its former position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 2nd
January 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Davies, Her special licence that I, the said George Davies, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Davies, 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 "AN IMPROVED MARINE
STEAM ENGINE GOVERNOR," being a communication from William H. Elliot, of
Plattsburgh, in the State of New York, United States of America, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Davies, my executors
or administrators, 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,

page_text: and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Davies, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to cause the rising or sinking of the stern of
the vessel in the water above or below the ordinary level, to act upon the
throttle valve so as to keep the action of the steam engine uniform at all
times.
In the "dead wood" at the stern of the vessel, and immediately in front of
the propeller (or the rudder where paddles are used) is a chamber flush with
tho "dead wood" at both sides, and having openings along the lower part
of each side, through which the water can enter. This chamber is connected
to the lower part of a cylinder above by means of a pipe, which is furnished
with a stop-cock, in order to shut off tho communication between the
chamber and the cylinder when desirable. The upper part of the cylinder is
divided from the lower part by means of an elastic diaphragm, to the centre
part of which is connected to a rod, which (by means of a bell-crank lever and
rod) communicates with the throttle valve of the steam engine, and by which
the movement of the diaphragm is transmitted to the throttle valve.
Such being the nature and object of the said Invention of "An Improved
Marine Steam Engine Governor," I will proceed to describe more in detail
the manner of carrying the same into practical effect; and in order more
clearly to shew the construction and application of the various parts, I have
annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked
the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the
following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
Figure 1 represents a portion of the stern of a steam vessel with the Inven-
tion applied thereto; and Figure 2 is a section of the chamber and other
parts of the governing apparatus drawn on an enlarged scale. A, A, is the
propellor; and B, B, the keel of the vessel; C, C, is an inverted chamber
placed in the "dead wood" of the keel, and flush with it on each side; J, J,
are openings at the bottom of the side of the chamber for the admission of
water thereto; D, D, is a pipe connecting the chamber C with the diaphragm
cylinder E, E; F is a stop-cock in the pipe D to shut off communication
with the sea when it becomes necessary to repair or alter the set of the

page_text: diaphragm; G, G, is the diaphragm, which is made of any suitable elastic
material, and has its outer circumference firmly secured between the flanges
of the cylinder E, E; H, H, is a spiral spring, to restore the diaphragm to
its original position when the extra pressure upon it produced by the sinking
of the stern of the vessel below its usual line is removed; I, I, is a rod
attached to the centre of the diaphragm, and connecting it to the bell-crank
lever K, K, by which the movement thereof is transmitted to the throttle
valve L by the connecting rod M, M.
The action of this apparatus is as follows:-In use the chamber C and
cylinder E are mostly filled only with air, and as the only external opening is
at J, the water, by its tendency to rise in the chamber C as the stern of the
vessel sinks, communicates an upward pressure to the diaphragm G exactly
in proportion to the height of the water or the depth to which the stern of
the vessel sinks in the water, the movement of the diaphragm G being trans-
mitted to the throttle valve L through the connections shown, so as to open
it when the vessel sinks, and close it when the vessel rises above or below its
usual level in order to keep the action of the engine uniform in all cases.
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention of "An
Improved Marine Steam Engine Governor," together with the manner of
carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that I
claim as the Invention communicated to me by the above-named William
H. Elliot,
Firstly, the employment and use of the pressure of the water to regulate
the supply of steam admitted to the engine, as set forth.
Secondly, the employment of the pressure of the water admitted through
the openings J, J, at the point from which the indication of the said pressure
is required, in combination with the spring H and throttle or cut-off valve, as
described and for the purpose set forth.
And, thirdly, the chamber C, cylinder E, diaphragm G, and spring H, when
arranged in combination with each other, and with the steam engine and bull
of the vessel, as and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
GEORGE DAVIES. (L.S.)