Year: 1886

page_text: 9.
I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex
Engineer. do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from
Axel. O. Tengvall, residing at New York, United States of America, Engineer);
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
;
11
This invention has relation to Governors operated by electricity and adapted
more particularly for marine engines. In this class of engines there are at
present two distinct classes of governors viz:-those whose ac ion is influenced by
the variation of motion or speed of the engine itself; and those whose action is
due to the motion, of the sea only. The former class if properly designed and
constructed will check "racing" from any and every cause but is necessarily slow
in its action and does not always prevent the engine from acquiring a dangerous
change of velocity; the latter while it anticipates the change in velocity and if
properly designed and constructed prevents it does not check racing from every
cause, as, for example, if the racing is caused by the breaking of a shaft or a
propeller...
+
In land engines, the quantity or pressure of the steam or other fluid or gas from
which; power is derived, is, regulated by means of a governor whose action is
influenced by the variation of motion of the engine itself; but this class of a
governor fitted to land engines is not admissable on board ship owing to its
susceptibility to derangement from the motion of the ship. In marine engines or
engines on ship-board as is well known the engine will run or should run at its
normal speed as long as the propeller is fully immersed; but the moment a part of
the propeller gets out of the water the engine or engines will commence to "race."
Whenever this happens it becomes necessary to partially close the throttle valve so
as to regulate, the steam supply to correspond to the hydrostatic pressure at the
stern of the vessel, and if possible this should be effected by the said hydrostatic
pressure. In all governors hitherto designed and founded on this principle, the
L
!

page_text: area through the throttle-valve has been made to vary in direct proportion to the
hydrostatic pressure at the stern of the ship; but inasmuch as the speed or velocity of
the engine does not vary directly either with the area through the throttle-valve or
with the head of water at the stern it will readily be seen that such governors
cannot effectually control the speed or velocity of the engine to which they are 5
applied except under certain limited conditions.
The object of this invention is to overcome all these difficulties by constructing
a governor which will at all times prevent a dangerous change of velocity from
whatever cause and absolutely control the speed of the engine under all conditions
and circumstances, I attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the 1
accompanying drawing in which :-
Figure 1 represents a side elevation partly in section of the engine stop valve
and throttle-valve with the appurtenances for working the same.
Figure 2 represents a longitudinal section of the electric switch mechanism
which is actuated by the hydrostatic pressure at the stern of the vessel.
Figure 3 is a side elevation partly in section of the electric switch-mechanism
which is actuated by the velocity of the engine itself.
Figure 4 is a sectional view of the same at right angles to the view represented
in Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating one way in which the said switch-mechanism
may be attached to the main-shaft of the engine; and
Figure 6 is a similar diagram looking sideways at the shaft.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
Commencing with Figure 1 the letter A denotes the throttle-valve which is
opened and shut by the lever B. This lever B is connected by the rod C and
lever B¹ to the shaft w which derives its motion from the piston r by means of the
piston rod t and lever p. The letter s denotes a steam cylinder in which works
the piston r; and q is a balanced slide-valve through which steam is admitted on
either side of the piston r by pulling down or raising the rod D. This rod or
spindle D communicates its motion to the slide valve q by means of an elbow
lever m link n and valve rod, u. After steam has been admitted and the piston r
put in motion the slide valve q. will be brought back to its middle position by
means of an extension p¹ of the lever p in connection with the rod o and link n
thus arresting the motion of piston r. It will thus be seen that when the rod or
spindle D is pulled down or raised a certain distance the piston r will move a
corresponding distance and thus the throttle valve A will be closed or opened to a
corresponding extent.
The projecting upper end of the rod or spindle D is screw threaded and upon
this end is screwed a disk or plate F to which are attached a number of movable
links or arms, two of which L¹ and L³ are shown on the drawing. A spring G
encircles the upper part of spindle D bearing with its upper end against an
adjustable screw threaded collar g by means of which the tension or spring G may
be increased or decreased in such a manner that it will exactly balance the weight
of the spindle D and its appurtenances; and it follows that the balanced slide valve
may be worked by a minimum of power the valve rod u working through an
anti-friction bushing E. Under normal conditions spring G is so adjusted that it
will keep the slide valve q in its middle position when the piston ris at the end
of its stroke.
The movable links L are connected to the outer ends of levers J' and J2 there
being one of these levers for each link upon plate F. In the drawing I have
shown only two of these levers but any other number may be used each with its
appropriate armature and electro-magnet; but as they are all constructed alike, a
description of the two shown in the drawing will be sufficient to a proper under-
standing of the working of this part of the apparatus.
Each of the levers J and Ja bas an armature 11 and I placed over its appro-
riate electro-magnet H¹ and H2. It will be seen that the stroke of the armature
levers J' and J' may be regulated by means of set screws or adjusting screws K

page_text: and K' working in the links L' and L' and when an electric current passes through
the electro magnets these will attract their respective armatures thereby depressing
the outer ends of their respective levers and thus depress the spindle D, and move the
slide valve q. so as to partially open the ports of the steam cylinder 8, thereby
putting the piston r in motion which causes the throttle valve to be closed. It will
also be seen that the area through the opening closed by throttle valve A may be
more or less throttled simply by adjusting the set screws K¹ and K' and when the
circuit is broken, the spring G will instantly put the slide valve in motion and
thus bring the piston r back to its former normal position; and thereby open the
throttle valve A.
Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawing the letter M denotes a pipe which
communicates with the sea by means of a suitable cock or valve. This pipe opens
up into a cylinder P in which works a piston or plunger N the stem or rod d of
which projects into a casing N' through a screw threaded sleeve or bushing e.
A spiral spring O encircles the piston rod d so as to bear at one end against the
piston N and at the other end against a plate upon the lower or inner end of the
screw threaded bushing e so that the tension of spring O. may be decreased or
increased by screwing the sleeve or bushing e up or down. This bushing e having
been properly adjusted to cause spring O to exercise the required pressure against
the piston, which will exist under normal conditions corresponding to the hydro-
static pressure at the stern of the vessel when the propeller is fully immersed it
will be seen that the piston will be affected on its side facing the pipe M by the
pressure due to any variation in the head of water at the stern of the ship so that
the piston will be worked up or down within its cylinder P according to the
varying hydrostatic pressure at the stern of the vessel which of course depends
upon the depth to which that part of the vessel is immersed in the water.
Upon the upper end of the piston rod d is fastened an insulating piece f to which
two metallic springs b₁ and 62 are attached in such a manner that the said springs
are in metallic contact with each other but insulated from the piston rod d. One
of these springs 61 bears against a series of metallic strips or contacts à a² and a²
on one side of the casing N1, while the other spring 6' bears against an insulated
metal strip c attached to the other side of the casing.
Before proceeding to describe the operation of this device I shall describe the
construction of that portion of the apparatus which is actuated by the velocity of
the engine itself. This device which may be attached to the main shaft of the
engine or to any other shaft run by the engine is operated by means of the centri-
fugal force and is illustrated in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings. This device
consists of an insulating piece Q which is fastened to the shaft in question in such
a way that the line marked xx on Figures 4 and 6 shall coincide with the centre
line of the shaft upon which the device is placed and by which it is operated. This
insulating piece Q which revolves with the shaft, has attached to it on one side a
frame or box U inside of which slides a weight T which is suspended by a spring W
from the upper part of said box or frame. Another insulating piece R is fastened
at the free end of a stationary rod S the lower end of which is fastened in the floor
of the engine room or to any other suitable support. This stationary. insulating
piece R is provided with contact pieces i¹ and is in the form of metallic springs
insulated from rod S which press against metallic rings or circular contacts upon
the revolving part Q, but insulated from the said part; the said.rotating contact
pieces being denoted by the letters h¹ and h² as clearly shown on Figure 4 and on
the smaller Figure marked 4ª which shows a section through the line y-y in
Figure 4.
The weight T which is guided between the sides of the frame or bracket U in
which it slides has attached to its free end by an insulated piece t a pair of springs
which are in metallic contact with each other, but insulated from the body of the
weight in the same manner as the contact springs described in connection with
Figure 2. One of these springs bears against the metallic strips j and k on. one
side of frame U while the other bears against a metallic strip on the opposite

page_text: side. The tension of the spring W should be so arranged or adjusted that the
weight as it is being revolved will when the engine is running at its normal speed
send the electric current through the metal strip or contact piece j, while if the
velocity of the engine increases the rotating weight T will be forced outward by
the centrifugal force overcoming the tension of spring W in such a manner as to
send the electric current through the metallic strip or contact piece k the contact
pieces h¹ and the electro-magnet H which actuates the slide valves q.
On Figures 5 and 6 of the drawing I have shown the manner in which the
revolving frame or bracket U with its insulating piece Q may be fastened to
the shaft so as to coincide with its centre line. This may be done conveniently
by attaching it to the face of the forward shaft coupling in the engine room the
lower end of the rod or standard S being suitably fastened in the floor of the
engine room. Where there is no coupling the mode of attachment is substantially
the same the revolving part of the device being in that case fastened to the butt
end of the shaft.
The operation of the apparatus as a whole is as follows;
Let V represent the electric battery storage battery or the electro-dynamo
machine by which the electric current is generated. The lines running out from
and back to the battery represent in the form of a diagram, the conducting wires
and the arrows indicate the direction of the electric current. When the throttle
valve is open to its full capacity and the propeller is fully immersed the piston N
will be at the upper end of the stroke which breaks the current sending it
through the metal strip a and back to the battery without passing through
the coils of any of the electro-magnets. But when the stern of the vessel is
lifted out of the water exposing part of the propeller and thus decreasing the
hydrostatic pressure at the stern the spring O will overcome the pressure of the
head of water and moving down will send the current through the contact
piece a¹, the coils of the electro-magnet H₁ and back to the battery. As soon
as the current passes through the coils of the electro-magnet H₁ its armature I'
is attracted and the area through the throttle valve is so reduced as to keep the
engines under control. On the propeller emerging still more or becoming still
further exposed the piston N will by the further reduction of the hydrostatic
pressure against it move still further down until its contact piece b¹ is opposite
to and in contact with the fixed contact piece a², when the current will flow
through a the metallic springs b' and 62 which as we have seen are in metallic
contact with each other, the coils of the electro magnet H2 and back to the
battery; and when this occurs it will be seen that the armature I' will be
attracted and thus still further reduce the area of the throttle-valve by means of
the intermediate mechanism consisting of the lever J with its armature, the
connecting link the spring, the slide-valve, the piston and the other connecting
parts. It will thus be seen that by introducing a sufficient number of electro-
magnets and properly adjusting their several armatures, the engine can always be
kept under perfect control, no matter how much of the propeller may be out of
the water.
Again if the propeller or any of the shafts should break or if for any other
reason the engine should acquire a certain increase of speed the weight T will be
forced outwardly by the increased velocity of the shaft thus sending the current
through the contact strip the sliding contact piece connecting the same with the
contact pieces or k (as the case may be); the contact piece k; the revolving
contact piece, the stationary contact piece, the coils of the electro-magnet H³, and
back to the battery or generator V; thereby throttling the area through valve A
and keeping the engine under control so as to prevent any dangerous racing. The
number of switches in this device may, of course, be increased at will to correspond
to any number of electro-magnets and to suit any requirement.
It will be readily seen that many other modifications and changes in the
arrangement as well in the mechanical construction of the operating parts of my
invention might be made without in the least alterating the principle thereof or

page_text: changing its spirit and the above described modification has been selected merely
as an example. I would therefore have it distinctly understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts herein described
but reserve to myself the right to all modifications which may be resorted to
without departing from the spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
:-
1. An engine governor consisting of a throttle valve or a valve adapted to
control the quantity of pressure of the fluid or gas from which power is derived
which said valve is operated automatically by a number of independent electro-
magnets, whose armatures are connected to adjustable levers connected by suitable
intermediate mechanism to the rod or lever by which the throttle valve is operated
and to which said electro-magnets currents of electricity are communicated through
a series of switches which are worked automatically by the varying speed or
velocity of the engine substantially as set forth.
2. An engine-governor consisting of a throttle valve or a valve adapted to
control the quantity of pressure of the fluid or gas from which power is derived
which said valve is operated automatically by a number of independent electro-
magnets whose armatures are connected to adjustable levers connected by suitable
intermediate mechanism to the rod or lever by which the throttle valve is operated
and to which said electro-magnets currents of electricity are communicated through
a series of switches which are worked automatically by the varying bydrostatic
pressure at the stern of the vessel in which the engine is placed; substantially as
set forth.
3. In a marine engine a governor consisting of the following essential elements,
in combination viz-a suitably constructed throttle-valve or valve adapted to
control the quantity or pressure of the fluid or gas from which the motive power
is derived; an engine or other suitable motor connected to the rod whereby the
throttle-valve is opened or closed; mechanism for regulating the working of the
said engine or motor; and a series of electro-magnets adapted to be excited
consecutively by an electric current and to actuate and regulate by suitable
mechanical means, the mechanism which controls the engine or motor whereby the
throttle valve is opened or closed substantially as set forth.
4. A governor for marine-engines comprising the following essential elements;
an electrical circuit; an electric battery or generator of any desired construction;
a series of switches connecting said battery or generator with a series of independent
electro-magnets, adapted to be excited consecutively and independent of one
another by an electric current passing through the circuit; mechanism whereby
the said switches are worked automatically by the varying speed or velocity of the
engine; a second or auxiliary set of switches adapted to be worked automatically
by the varying hydrostatic pressure at the stern of the vessel; armatures adapted
to be operated by the aforesaid electro-magnets; an engine or other suitable motor
adapted to open or close the throttle valve; and suitable intermediate mechanism
whereby the said intermediate engine or motor may be controlled by the aforesaid
armatures substantially as set forth.
5. The combination in a throttle-valve for engines of the main-stop valve; the
engine or motor for opening or closing the same; a valve or other suitable
mechanism for controlling the motion of the said engine or motor; and means
whereby the said valve or other suitable mechanism may be regulated electrically
and automatically by the varying speed or velocity of the engine; substantially as
set forth.
6. The combination in a throttle valve for engines of the main stop valve; the
engine or motor for opening or closing the same; a valve or other suitable
mechanism for controlling the motion of the said engine or motor; and means

page_text: whereby the said valve or other suitable mechanism may be regulated electrically
and automatically by the varying hydrostatic pressure at the stern of the vessel in
which the engine is placed; substantially as set forth.
7. The herein described improvement in governors for marine engines comprising
the following essential elements to wit: a suitably constructed throttle valve or
valve for regulating the supply of steam, gas, or other fluid to the engines; suitable
power mechanism for opening or closing the said valve; a series of suitably
arranged electro-magnets adapted to control the said power mechanism auto-
matically; a device constructed substantially as described for actuating the said
'electro-magnets automatically by the varying speed or velocity of the engines;
another device constructed substantially as described for actuating the said electro-
magnets automatically by the varying hydrostatic pressure at the stern of the
vessel on which the engine is placed; a suitable electric battery or generator; and
an electric circuit connecting the electro-magnets with the devices whereby the
electric current is broken when the speed or velocity of the engine is varied, or by
variations in the hydrostatic pressure at the stern of the vessel in which the engine
is placed; substantially as set forth.