IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GOVERNING OR REGULATING THE SPEED OF MOTIVE POWER ENGINES, and for IndicaTING THE POWER OF THE SAME
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "
IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GOVERNING OR REGULATING THE
SPEED OF MOTIVE POWER ENGINES, and for IndicaTING THE POWER OF THE
SAME." A communication from abroad by Jacques Théophile
Gautreau, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Scaled the 6th September 1870, and dated the 15th March 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th March 1870.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GOVERNING OR REGULATING
THE SPEED OF MOTIVE POWER ENGINES AND FOR INDICATING THE POWER OF THE
SAME," a communication from abroad by Jacques Théophile Gautreau,
of Paris, in the Empire of France, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved apparatus for regulating the
speed of motive power engines and for indicating the power of the same,

page_text: which apparatus it is proposed to designate a " dynamometrical
governor," and it consists essentially in utilizing the differences of tension
of the tangential strain produced on the driving wheel or pulley in
consequence of variations in the work to be performed as the regulating
agent, and to indicate the amount of motive power transmitted by the
driving shaft.
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to mount the driving
wheel or pulley loose on the shaft of the engine, and to impart rotatory
motion to it by the intervention of springs, the various deflections of which
effect an angular displacement of the driving wheel in relation to the
driving shaft, such angular displacement being converted into a rectilinear
displacement by means of a helicoidal groove, clutch, screw thread, or
other suitable appliance, and transmitted to the throttle valve or steam
cock to the eccentric which actuates the slido valves, or to the expansion
gear, the extent of such displacements measuring at each instant the
quantity of motive power transmitted by the driving shaft.
According to one modification it is proposed to employ blade springs,
which are secured to a boss fast on the driving shaft and connected with
the driving wheel or pulley to which they transmit the motion, and the
variation in the position of the wheel around its shaft is transmitted to
the valves by a collar of a conical form which is capable of moving freely
along the driving shaft to which it is connected by a key guide and is
provided with a pin which enters a helicoidal groove formed on the boss
of the driving wheel by which its position on the shaft is varied. A
jointed lever connected by a rod with the valve which regulates the
admission of steam is constantly maintained in contact by means of a
counterweight or otherwise with the conical collar herein-before referred
to, and as this collar is moved along the shaft it acts on the lever in
contact with it, and thus regulates the opening of the valve, and by means
of a suitable dial and pointer it indicates the power transmitted by the
engine, the original position of the valve may be readily adjusted by
means of a suitable screw coupling and a series of notches which admit
of the length of the connecting rod being varied as required.
According to another modification, in lieu of the springs being attached
directly to the boss they may be acted on by rollers carried by the same.
The boss of the wheel is caused to enter slightly the collar, hercin-before
referred to, and carries a projecting pin or button which enters a helicoidal

page_text: groove formed in the collar, and thus causes the latter to move along
the shaft, and act on the valve as before..
According to a further modification it is proposed to employ disc
springs in lieu of blade springs and to obtain the rectilineal displacement
which is required to regulate the valves on the driving pulley itself.
This arrangement is only applicable where a belt and pulley are employed;
a clutch is provided fast on the driving shaft, and the loose pulley which
is formed with teeth or inclined planes corresponding thereto is kept in
contact with it by springs which are disposed in a box surrounding the
shaft, provision being made for the adjustment of the position of such
box. When any variation takes place in the strain the springs yield
and the oblique teeth on the boss enter more or less the teeth of the
clutch, so that the position of the pulley on the shaft is changed. The
boss of the pulley carries a ring which is connected by a jointed lever
with the valve rod and thus transmits its variations thereto, but in licu
thereof a conical socket may be employed attached to the boss of the
pulley, and which may also serve as a box to contain the discs. An
indicating hand and dial are provided in this as also in the preceding
arrangement, and a counterweight to bring the pulley to its required.
position when the action of the springs is reversed.
In lieu of the preceding modification a helical spring may be
employed enclosed in a box fast on the driving shaft, such shaft having
a screw thread cut on it at the part where it receives the driving wheel
which is loose thereon, and being provided with a shoulder to maintain
the wheel in its place.
The description of valve which it is proposed to employ with this
system of governor is composed of a box of hard brass fixed inside the
steam pipe in which turns a species of seat which is actuated by a rod in
communication with the regulating apparatus, herein-before described.
This seat carries the valve proper which by turning uncovers more or less
the steam orifice and which is maintained against the face by a helical
spring to compensate for wear in the working. This arrangement admits
of the quantity of steam introduced being varied without any rtrain on
the parts.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN HENRY
JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or assigus, should at any time agree with,
رو
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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR GOVERNING OR REGULATING THE SPEED OF
MOTIVE POWER ENGINES, AND FOR INDICATING THE POWER OF THE SAME," a
communication from abroad by Jacques Théophile Gautreau, of Paris, in
the Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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 accompanying
Drawing and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:
The said Invention relates to an improved annamtus for reculating the

page_text: which apparatus it is proposed to designate a "dynamometrical
governor," and it consists essentially in utilizing the differences of tension
of the tangential strain produced on the driving wheel or pulley, in
consequence of variations in the work to be performed as the regulating
agent, and to indicate the amount of motive power transmitted by the
driving shaft.
The driving wheel (whether a pulley or gearing) is loose on the shaft,
which transmits rotatory motion to it by the intervention of springs, the
various flexions of which effect an angular displacement of the driving
wheel in relation to the shaft which carries it, or to a boss keyed thereon.
This angular displacement is converted into a rectilinear displacement
by various means, such as by an helicoidal groove, a clutch with teeth of
wide pitch, a screw thread or other suitable contrivance, and transmitted
either to the butterfly valve or cock, to the slido valve, eccentric, or to
the expansion gear, the regularity of which is thus ensured whatever
may be the variations in the work. One result of this system is, that the
amount of the angular and rectilinear displacements thus obtained
measures at each instant the amount of motive power transmitted by the
shaft.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
corresponding Figures.
In the arrangement shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3 the driving wheel a
is loose on the shaft b, and rotatory motion is transmitted to it by means
of a spring c which is formed of a blade of steel, and passes through the
shaft to which it is thus firmly secured, the curved ends of such spring
acting on rollers d which are carried in bearings e cast in one with
the pulley a. The angular displacement which may thus be produced
betweeen the wheel a and the shaft is transmitted to the valves by a
boss f fitted so as to move with but little friction along the shaft and
recessed in order to admit of the spring c passing through it, by which
means it is caused to turn with the shaft a, whilst at the same time it is
free to move longitudinally along it. The boss f has formed on its
periphery a helicoidal groove 9 in which a pin h works, which pin is
carried by a projection cast in one with the boss i of the pulley a. By

page_text: this means any displacement of the pulley in relation to the boss f
produces a corresponding linear displacement of the latter in the direction
of the centre of the shaft b. This linear displacement is in its turn
transmitted to the valves by the intervention of a rod ; which actuates
the steam inlet cock.k, or the steam inlet sector in the cylinder, for this
purpose the boss fis provided with a conical surface on which an inclined
abutting piece 7 slides, which is maintained between the bifurcated
.extremities of the rod j.
In order to facilitate the regulating of the engine the rod j is provided
<with a screwed socket m which admits of the length of the rod being
varied, and the original position of the cock or sector k being determined
the plug n of the cock is also furnished with a slot in which a button on
the end of the rod j is capable of moving, by which means the opening
of the cock for a given amount of linear displacement of the rod j may
lic varied at will.
In order to utilize this apparatus as a dynamometer it is simply
necessary to interpose on the rod ja lover o provided with a hand or
pointer p to move over a divided dial or quadrant q. By this means the
amount of motive power transmitted by the engine may at cach instant
be ascertained, and the relative proportions of the two arms of the lever o
cooperate to determine the admission of steam to the engine in proportion
to the tractive strains which the driving belt has to overcome.
The form and arrangement of the blade spring c may be varied as found
desirable, as, for example, a number of thin blades superposed may be
substituted for it, such blades being secured both to the driving shaft b
and to the wheel a, the only essential point being that the wheel a should
be capable of assuming under the action of the tractive strains of the
strap different angular positions from those of the shaft 6 on which it is
loose.
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 illustrate another type of governor which differs
from that herein-before described, in that the blade springs are replaced
by discoidal springs, and that the rectilinear displacement which has to
act on the valves is obtained on the driving wheel itself. This arrange-
ment therefore is not applicable where gearing is the medium used for
transmitting power, but simply when a belt and pullies are employed.
B is a collar which is fast on the shaft A, and is provided with a series
of teeth or inclined planes corresponding to similar inclined planes cut on

page_text: the boss C of the driving wheel, the boss C which is loose on the shaft A
is maintained against the collar B by a series of discoidal springs D
disposed around the shaft and enclosed in a box E, the position of which
is adjusted by means of the nuts F which determine the degree of
tightness of the springs D. The effect of this arrangement is that when
any variation takes place in the strain transmitted by the belt the
springs D bend and the oblique teeth of the boss C engage more or less
with those on the collar B, the position of the driving wheel on its shaft
is thus changed, and this variation is transmitted to the valves by means
of the collar G and the cranked arm H. In this type of governor, as in
the preceding one, an indicating hand or pointer I moving over a dial
or quadrant J is employed for the purpose of indicating at each instant
the amount of motive power transmitted by the engine, and a
counterweight K is provided which has a constant tendency to bring
back the driving wheel to the required position when a change in the
flexion of the springs D takes place.
The description of valve which it is proposed to employ with this
system of governor is shewn in Figures 5, 6, and 7. It is composed of a
brass box L fixed in the interior of the steam pipe M, in which moves a
piece N actuated by the rod O which carries the indicating hand or
pointer I and the counterweight K and actuates a cylindrical closer P
intended to more or less cover the aperture through which the steam
enters the slide valves. In order to compensate for the wear which may
take place during the working, the cylindrical closer P is constantly
maintained against the inlet aperture by means of a helical spring Q,
which is disposed in the interior of the piece N.
Figures 8, 9, and 10 shew a modification of the preceding arrangement
of governor in which the relative position of the parts is simply changed,
that is to say, the collar B occupies the place of the disc springs and
vice versa, motion is morcover imparted to the valves by means of a
conical boss which is secured to the boss of the driving pulley and serves
also as a receptacle for the disc springs.
Figure 11 represents a further modification in which the driving
shaft R has keyed on to it a boss S containing a helical spring T, the
shaft R is also screw cut at the part U where it receives the boss V of
the driving wheel which is loose on the shaft, a shoulder ✗ being
provided to maintain it in its place. The result of this arrangement is

page_text: that under the influence of the variations which are produced in the
traction of the driving belt the boss of the pulley V takes a different
angular motion from that of the shaft R, and at the same time moves
along the shaft in the direction of its axis, the latter motion being
transmitted to the valves by means of a collar Y and arms Z, in a similar
manner to that herein-before described in reference to Figures 4, 5, 6,
and 7. It will be understood that the action of the arms or levers
intended to act on the valves may be also applied to regulate the
expansion by causing them to actuate directly the slide valve excentrics
or expansion blocks, and the Inventor reserves to himself the right to
employ any suitable arrangement for the said
purpose.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to
be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Lotters Patent is,―
"
First. The construction and arrangement of "governors
wherein the
differences of tension in the strains transmitted by the driving pulley or
gear when at work are utilized or made available for the regulating of
the speed of steam engines, substantially as herein-before described and
illustrated by the Drawings.
Second. The fitting of the driving pulley or gear loosely on the
driving shaft, and transmitting rotatory motion to such pulley through
or by the aid of springs, the flexions of which cause variations in the
relative angular positions of the shaft and driving wheel, such differences
in the angular positions being converted by any suitable means into a
rectilinear or lateral displacement of the driving wheel itself, or, which
is preferable, of a boss or collar disposed on the shaft, and which actuates
the valves substantially as hercin-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings.
Third. The peculiar modifications of governors herein-before described
and illustrated by Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the Drawings, the
essential feature of which is the combination of inclined teeth on a fixed
collar with corresponding teeth on the boss of a loose pulley and with
springs acting endwise upon such loose pulley boss.
Fourth. The application and use of this system of governor as
a dynamometer whereby the motive power transmitted by the engine

page_text: may be ascertained at each instant, substantially as herein-before
described.
Fifth. The peculiar construction and arrangement of circular regulating
valve, as hercin-before described and illustrated by Figures 6 and 7 of the
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification, set my hand and scal, the Fourteenth day
of September, One thousand cight hundred and seventy.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)