Improvements in Apparatus for Governing Engines, especially applicable to the Engines of Motor Cars.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 11th July, 1899-Accepted, 12th Aug., 1899
Improvements in Apparatus for Governing Engines, especially
applicable to the Engines of Motor Cars.
I, ROBERT BOLTON RANSFORD, of 41, Waldegrave Road, Upper Norwood, in
the County of Surrey, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention.
(which has been communicated to me from abroad by La Société de Dietrich et
Cie, of Niederbronn, Alsace, in the Empire of Germany, Ironmasters), and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
This invention has for its object a novel governor, which by means of a special
combination of parts, acts upon the exhaust, valves altering their travel, so that
they open more or less in such a manner as to retain a certain quantity of the
burnt gas, and consequently to reduce the admission at the stroke following
which will cause the engine to do less work.
The governor is shown in the accompanying drawings in which;
Figure 1 is an elevation of the governor.
Figure 2 is a plan of the same.
--
It is composed of the parts hereinafter described: a are the valves actuated by
a tumbler which is worked by the distributing mechanism of the engine.
c is the axis of the tumbler which is mounted in a block which slides in a
grooved formed in a cam e.
The function of this cam is to raise the axis of the tumbler or lower it accord-
ing as the engine does more or less work. The tumbler on being raised or
lowered presses more or less upon the valve spindles and alters their travel, for
this cam turns about a pivot f located slightly to the right of the centre of the
cam grooved and the arrangements are such that when the sector is in its
extreme position on the right, the centre of the groove is at its lowest position:
the axis of the tumbler is then in its lowest position and the engine is working
at its maximum.
If the engine is working too quickly the ball governor y pushes the cam to
the left and causes the tumbler axis to be raised.
The variations in the travel of the valves are continuous by reason of the
sector or cam being curved and the valves can pass from their maximum open-
ing to zero, that is to say, to stopping the engine.
The governor g, when the speed increases, causes the sleeve to be lowered
and to press upon the lever i fixed upon a spindle which carries at its other
end a two armed lever k, one arm of which is attached to the spring 1, and the
other jointed to a small connecting rod m pivotted to the sector e at n.
spring has for its object to limit the action of the governor and allow a power
varying from zero to the maximum to be assigned to the engine by means of
its greater or less tension.
The
If the spring / be fully stretched the lever j will be brought into the
position 2-2 (the position 1-1 of the lever being considered as the mean
position). Consequently the cam e is displaced by the connecting rod m towards
the right in such a manner that the block carrying the axis c of the tumbler

page_text: turns into its lowest position corresponding to the maximum travel of the valves,
that is to say, to the maximum power of the engine.
If the spring be completely relaxed the lever will come into the extreme
position 3-3 and the axis of the tumbler will correspond to the minimum
travel of the valves and each phase of tension of the spring / will correspond
to a given power of the engine. Maximum tension corresponds to the greatest
power and no tension to zero.
The governor can only act when it has overcome the tension of the spring,
so that the power of the engine can be regulated in advance by regulating the
spring by hand and the governor has for object only to.govern the speed of the
engine, as soon as the resistance to be overcome is less than that which
corresponds to the tension of the spring.
The tension of the spring may be adjusted as desired either by a hand lever
or by a pedal.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
The combination of a cam with an eccentric groove, a tumbler the axis of
which is vertically displaced by the said groove for the purpose of altering the
travel of the valves, and connections for shifting the cam to positions varying
from those of zero to maximum power and causing the position of the tumbler
to be altered in a corresponding manner thus allowing all the required inter-
mediate speeds between the two extreme limits to be obtained.
Dated thin 11th
e T 1
1000