IM- PROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MACHINERY
Year: 1853

page_text: ите
no prescriven by the
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Jones at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
December 1858.
I, JOHN JONES, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER
MACHINERY" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the so arranging governors, or the regulating
apparatus for steam engines and other prime movers and machinery,
that superior uniformity of motion may be secured, more especially
where the load is excessively variable; whilst such improved governor,
or modifications thereof, are particularly suitable for marine purposes,
as in screw steamers. This arrangement consists of a horizontal
tubular spindle, driven by suitable pulley or other gearing from the
engine or prime mover, and carrying at one end of it an internally
toothed spur wheel. Through this shaft a solid spindle is passed, this
being carried in separate bearings, and it has a fly wheel keyed on one
end, whilst at the other end projecting through the internal spur wheel

page_text: it carries fast upon it a small spur wheel, in gear with a similar
wheel, which again gears with the internal teeth of the larger sur-
rounding wheel. The stud of this latter or second intermediate spur
wheel is set in a bearing in the shorter arm of a horizontal lever,
the working centre of which is formed by the projecting end of the
central solid spindle passed through the tubular one. The opposite
longer arm of this lever has upon it an adjustable pendant weight,
capable of being set back or forward to give more or less leverage
effect. This arm is connected to the throttle or steam valve, whilst the
extremity of the shorter arm works between a pair of fixed stops.
These tops, however, may be variously arranged, and instead of one
intermediate spur wheel, two may be used, set diametrically opposite to
each other, and both carried by the lever, and both gearing with the
internal wheel. Then, as the engine works, the rotation of the tubular
shaft drives the central solid spindle in the reverse direction, thus giving
an impetus to the fly wheel in a direction opposite to that of the tubular
shaft. Then, if the engine exceeds its allotted rate of working, the fly
wheel's momentum presents the internal solid shaft, with its spur wheel,
from immediately accommodating itself to the change. Hence the drag
of the fly wheel acts through its spur wheel, and from the latter through
the intermediate spur wheel in the lever, so as to adjust the steam or
other valve to suit the alteration. On the other hand, if the engine
goes too slow, the forward momentum of the fly wheel acts in the
reverse manner through the spur gearing and lever, and re-adjusts the
valve in the opposite direction. This arrangement may be slightly
modified, so as to secure still greater delicacy of action by adding a
secondary fly wheel, or a weighted double lever, like the arms and balls
of a fly press. This runs loose upon the solid shaft alongside the fly
wheel fast on the solid shaft. These two wheels are connected together
by a volute or other spring, the inner end of the spring being attached
to the main fly wheel fast on the solid shaft, and the outer end to the
fly or weighted arm loose on the solid shaft. This latter fly carries a set
of clutch pins or arms, which gear with a screw threaded or spirally
grooved collar on the solid shaft. The other end of this screw threaded
collar has a ring groove for connection to one arm of a lever, the other

page_text: end of which lever passes to a friction brake on the outer end of the
solid shaft. In this way, if the engine exceeds its due rate of working,
the secondary fly being simply drawn round through the medium of the
connecting spring from the main primary wheel does not at once
follow up at the increased rate, and the consequence is, that a differ-
ential rate arises between the revolution of the secondary fly, and the
spiral collar or boss connected with the brake. Hence the spiral boss
is traversed slightly along its solid shaft (being set on a key for that
purpose), and this traverse causes the lever to act upon the brake move-
ment, so as to bring the frictional action to bear, to retard the rate of
working of the primary fly wheel. On the other hand, when the engine
goes too slow, there is less drag upon the volute spring connecting
the two fly wheels, and hence the reaction of the spring causes a reverse
traverso of the spiral collar, and takes off the brake action. A further
source of delicacy and regularity of action is attainable by suspending
a pair of weighted pulleys from pendant links jointed to overhead
pillars, one pulley being made to rest on the main valve regulating
lever of the differential gearing arrangement on one side of the centre
of motion, and the other pulley on the other side of that centre. In
other words, one weighted pulley throws its power upon the long arm,
and the other upon the short arm of the lever; then, as the lever
rises or falls accordingly as changes occur in the engine's rate, these
pendant pulleys traverse on the vibrating lever, and impart a greater
leverage weight to one side of the lever, and a less one to the other,
thus resisting the tendency of the governor to a too serious alteration
of the valve.