Improvements in or connected with Regulating Devices for Explosion Engines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Reprinted
as amended in accordance with the decision of the Comptroller General,
dated the 30th day of November, 1900.
[The Amendments are shown in erased & italic type.]
Improvements in or connected with Regulating Devices for
Explosion Engines.
We, BERTRAM CHARLES JOY, 118, Broadhurst Gardens, Hampstead, in the
Administrative County of London, Engineer, and ERNEST ESTCOURT, of 23, Compayne
Gardens, Hampstead, aforesaid, no occupation, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in regulating devices for explosion engines
more especially those having automatic inlet valves.
According to this invention we pivot a small bell-crank in close proximity
to the exhaust valve rod or spindle, one arm of which bell-crank is made so as to
form a catch, the other arm engages a block mounted on & fixed to the said rod,
through the medium of which block the bell-crank is oscillated in one direction,
oscillation in the other direction being obtained by means of a spring of any suitable
form & which is so arranged as to be adjustable. The bell-crank is advantageously
weighted so as to be in balance about its centre of oscillation & is so mounted with
reference to the exhaust valve rod & block thereon that when the said bell-crank is
oscillated by one end of the block, on the opening stroke of the exhaust valve the
said catch will engage the other end of the said block, & on the closing stroke of
the exhaust valve the bell-crank will be oscillated in the opposite direction by the
said spring & the catch on the bell-crank will disengage the block.
Hence the bell-crank will have an oscillating movement during each exhausting
stroke of the engine & this movement will take place so long as the speed of the
engine is constant. But should there be any increase of speed of the engine, the
block on the exhaust rod moving at a correspondingly increased speed will impart
sufficient momentum to the bell-crank to overcome the action of the spring & the
said bell-erank will continue its movement while the exhaust valve is commencing it;
return stroke; consequently the block in falling will be caught by the catch on the
bell-crank arm & the exhaust valve will be held open thus preventing a fresh charge
of combustible gas from entering the cylinder through the automatic inlet valve &
so reducing the speed of the engine. At the next exhausting stroke the rod &
valve will lift through a distance equivalent to that which the block had previously
fallen before engaging in the catch & this movement will be adequate to release
the catch if the engine speed has been sufficiently decreased or to again cause it to
engage if the engine speed is still too great.
We may employ any of the usual methods to operate the exhaust valve. In the
case of applying the invention to the engines of motor vehicles we advantageously

page_text: employ a wire or rod connected to the said bell-crank so as to throw the governor
out of gear & thereby allow the engine to "race," or by moving the rod in the
opposite direction stop the motion of the engine..
Improvements in or connected with Regulating Devices for
Explosion Engines.
We, BERTRAM CHARLES JOY, of 118, Broadhurst Gardens, Hampstead, in the
Administrative County of London, Engineer, and ERNEST ESTCOURT, of 23, Compayne
Gardens, Hampstead, aforesaid, No Occupation, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in regulating devices designed for the
purpose of automatically governing high speed explosion engines such as are applied
to motor carriages, where all that is required of a governor is that it shall prevent
"racing" when the motor is thrown out of gear for speed-changing or stopping.
As engines of this class are almost invariably governed by frequency of impulse
and not by variable explosive mixture the centrifugal governor is unnecessarily quick
in action, and although the governor weights may answer to the increase of speed
instantaneously, the speed of the engine can only be affected after the next explosion
stroke, which may be as much as two revolutions ahead in the single cylinder motor.
The moving part of the regulating device or governor forming the subject of the
present invention is in perfect balance (as in the centrifugal governor) so that it is
unaffected by vibration.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of part of an explosion
engine showing the exhaust port and valve with the improved governing device fitted
to the latter; Fig. 2 is a similar view representing another position of the parts and
a modified form of catch; and Figs. 3 and 4 are detached elevations showing further
modifications of the governing device. Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 1 showing the
governing device connected to the accelerator. The same parts are lettered to
correspond in all the views.
In these drawings A represents the combustion chamber of the engine, E is the
exhaust valve, E¹ the valve spindle, E2 the spring on the exhaust valve normally
closing it, E3 is the exhaust port, C is the exhaust cam, and G a guide for the
valve spindle E¹; all these parts being of the ordinary well known character.
On the valve spindle a block or piece B is rigidly secured or it may be formed
integrally with the spindle, said block or piece having an inclined edge or flange B
serving as a keeper to hold the nose J of the catch piece M when engaged therewith.
The catch piece M is mounted loose on a pivot pin P, to which latter is secured one
end of a helical spring S whose other end is secured to the catch piece M as shown
at m.
W is a balance piece or weighted arm on the catch piece M, and D is a
driving arm on said catch piece. This catch piece is so constructed and mounted
on the pivot pin P that the arm D lies in the path of the block B on the exhaust
valve spindle E¹, and is driven forward by the movement of the valve spindle in
opening the valve from the position shown by the full lines to that shown by the
dotted lines in Fig. 1; and in the latter position the nose J of the catch piece then
lies in the path of the inclined edge or flange B' on the rear of the block B. The
spring S acts in the direction shown by the arrow S₁ in Fig. 1 so as to bring the
catch piece M back to the original position shown by the full lines,

page_text: The action of the governor is as follows:-
When the exhaust stroke of the engine occurs the cam C operates the rod E³, the
exhaust valve E, and with them the governor block B, the block imparts a rotary
movement to the momentum catch piece M through the medium of the arm D, thus
bringing the catch nose J behind the inclined edge B¹ (as shown in dotted lines in
Fig. 1). On the second half of the exhaust stroke the exhaust valve is closed by the
exhaust valve spring E2, the block B moving with it, and allowing the helical spring
S to rotate the momentum catch piece M, thus returning the catch nose J to the
original position. This action takes place at every operation of the exhaust valve,
and as long as the speed of the engine is normal; but should there be any increase
of speed, the momentum catch M rotated at an increased velocity, continues in
motion after the block B has reached the forward end of its stroke. The catch nose
J therefore reaches a lower position than its normal one, and moreover the block B
returns quicker owing to the increased speed of the engine, so that the catch nose J
engages in the inclined edge B¹ and the exhaust valve is held open, as shown by the
full lines in Fig. 2, thus preventing the inflow of a fresh charge at the next suction
stroke of the motor and thereby reducing the speed. On the next exhaust stroke,
the block B will only be moved the amount it has travelled before engaging in the
catch nose J (probably about rd. of the stroke), but this movement will impart
sufficient momentuin to the catch piece M, if the speed of the engine is still too
great, to cause the catch nose J to engage a second time, or if the speed has decreased
sufficiently, to allow it to disengage; in which latter case the exhaust valve would
again close and a fresh charge of combustible gas would be drawn into the cylinder,
compressed, and exploded in the usual way.
Fig. 2 shows a modified form of catch nose having three teeth or notches, Fig. 3
shows another modification wherein the catch nose J' is made separate from the
catch piece M and attached thereto by a screw j or other readily detachable means,
so that it can be removed when worn and a new nose piece substituted; in this
modification also the block is made with three inclined indentations b', and in Fig. 4
the block is shown with two such indentations and is used with a catch piece M
These however are minor
having a catch nose J of the kind shown in Fig. 1.
details of construction not affecting the principle of the invention, and other
modifications of construction will readily occur to motor engineers.
It will be observed that this type of governor can only be used on engines having
automatic admission valves, which are at present the prevailing type used on
motor carriages.
The catch piece M may have a flexible wire attached to it, if desirable, to throw it
out of action temporarily to allow the motor to race.
The valve spindle E¹ must of course be provided with means, or be guided, so as
to prevent it from rotating; or the block B may be made of a cylindrical form with
the flange B' or indentations 61 all round it so that the rotation of the valve spindle
will not interfere with the effective operation of the governor.
Any risk of explosion of the vapour in the exhaust box may be obviated by
placing a valve opening inwards by suction on the exhaust pipe as near the cylinder
as convenient. A charge of cold air will thus be drawn into the cylinder at every
stroke when the governor is holding up the valve thereby cooling the cylinder and
diluting the mixture in the exhaust box.
Another great advantage gained by the use of this governing device is that by a
simple arrangement of wire rod or line, the valves can be held open so as to allow
of the motor being easily turned and started; furthermore when the motor is running
freely the governor can be released.
This application of the invention is shown in Fig. 5 wherein P¹ is a drum fast on
the spindle P, and 12 is a cord or chain wound on said drum and one end connected
thereto. S2 is a spring having one end fast to the spindle P or to the drum P, and
the other end connected to a fixed part S3 of the frame of the motor.
By a pull on the cord P2, the drum P¹ is rotated and the spring S² tightened up, and
the spindle P is correspondingly rotated thereby putting the governor spring Sunder

page_text: greater tension causing it to act more rapidly on the cam M to withdraw same out of
the path of the block B. When the pull on the cord P² is released, the spring S² will
return the drum P¹ and the connected connection spindle P to the initial position and
the spring S will then be under its normal tension. A lever arm fast on the spindle P
may be used in place of the drum and cord shown in Fig. 5.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
(1) A governor for the exhaust valves of explosion engines of the indicated type,
comprising an oscillating momentum catch-piece mounted on a fixed centre of motion
and oscillated thereon in one direction by a block or projection on the valve spindle
and in the opposite direction by a spring, substantially as described.
(2) A governor for the exhaust valves of explosion engines, of the indicated type,
comprising a block or projection on the valve spindle and a spring-controlled catch
piece mounted on a centre of motion adjacent to the valve spindle and having an arm
lying in the forward path of the block or projection thereon, whereby the opening of
the valve brings the nose of the catch piece behind the block or projection and the
spring returns it to its original position, the parts co-acting to check the closing of the
valve, substantially in the manner herein described.
(3) The oscillating momentum governor for the exhaust valve of an explosion
engine of the indicated type, constructed and arranged to operate, substantially in the
manner and for the purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.