A New or Improved Governor for Rotary Steam and other Engines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Oct., 1895-Accepted, 7th Dec.. 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Governor for Rotary Steam and other Engines.
I, JOHAN LUDVIG JONSSON, of Kungsholmsgatan 18, Stockholm, in the
Kingdom of Sweden, 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 :-
My invention relates to an automatic speed regulator or governor for lotary and
other steam and like engines or motors whereby, should the speed of the engine or
motor increase to an abnormal extent, the supply of power thereto will be
temporarily cut off or diminished and any permanent increase of velocity beyond
a predetermined rate prevented.
My improved governing or regulating apparatus consists essentially of one or
more spheres or balls held between radial grooves in the inclined surfaces of two
adjacent rapidly rotated bodies, the one being permanently fixed upon its spindle
while the other is keyed thereto but capable of a certain lateral movement thereon,
the centrifugal force developed in the spheres or balls operating to slide the last-
mentioned rotated body along its spindle and thereby to govern or regulate the
driving power.
The accompanying drawings illustrate my said invention applied to a rotary
engine or steam turbine,
Figure 1 being a vertical central section,
Figure 2a horizontal section on the line x, x of Figure 1 some of the parts being
removed, and
Figure 3 a vertical section showing details of construction hereinafter described.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
is a casing enclosing a cylindrical chamber, and is a disc or wheel so mounted
upon a shaft or spindle e as to be free to move laterally thereon through a certain
distance. The rim b' of the disc or wheel b is constructed with teeth, serrations,
projections or vanes against which a jet of steam is projected so as to cause the said
wheel to rotate within the cylindrical chamber a. ¿ (Figures 2 and 3) is the steam
inlet, and e is the exhaust port or passage.
According to my invention the main disc or wheel is provided with a boss 6º
and is secured by means of a feather, pin, koy or the like to the shaft or spindle c.
Figure 1 shows the attachment effected by the pin p and the necessary lateral
movement provided for by the slots p on the boss. Adjacent to the said main
disc or wheel is a mushroom or saucer shaped disc of smaller diameter than
the said main disc or wheel b and the concave or hollow side of which is 90
placed as to face the latter. Figure 1 shows the attachment of the disc to the
spindle c effected by the same pin p that seemes the disc or wheel b but it will
be seen that such pin passes through openings in the shaft c and boss fl of
similar section to itself while those of the disc or wheel are elongated. The
said auxiliary disc f 18 provided with the inwardly extending boss f¹, recessed
or bored out, as shown, to receive the upwardly extending portion of the boss b³
of the main disc or wheel b. 918 a collar pinned or otherwise firmly secured upon
the shaft or spindle c and fitting into a recess formed' in the lower portion of the
boss 6 of the main disc or wheel b. h is a spiral spring one extremity of which
abuts the collar g and the other the main disc or wheel so as to maintain the
latter normally in the position shown in Figure 1, that is, in close contact with the
auxiliary disc fi, are elliptical radial giooves o recesses formed in the main
'disc or wheel b, and j, j are corresponding grooves or recesses formed in the auxiliary

page_text: disc., are spheres or balls which are placed in the said grooves or recesses
so that a portion of each of the said spheres or balls engages in one of the
grooves or recesses and another portica thereof in the corresponding groove or
recess J.
80
The internal peripheral surface of the cylindrical casing a is so formed that the
extremities of the teeth or projections on the run of the main wheel or disc b,
are in close contact therewith for about half the circumference thereof, but
cut away for the remaining half or portion as indicated at a' that there is a slight
clearance between the said internal surface and the teeth or projections as clearly
shown in Figures 1 and 2. The rim b' morcover is only toothed throughout a
portion of the width of its face, the upper untoothed surface or portion being of
the same diameter as the extremities of the teeth or projections. The steam iulet d
16 so atranged that under normal conditions it is completely uncovered (as shown
in Figure 3) and corresponds with the toothed portion of the rim & Should,
however, the main disc or wheel b (which as already mentioned is so mounted upon
the shaft or spindle c as to be free to move through a certain distance longitudinally
thereon) descend on the said shaft o spindle the blank or untoothed portion of
the said im 6 will come more or less in front of and partially or completely close
the orifice of tho said steam inlet d.
In operation the steam, having been admitted through the free inlet d, forcibly
impinges against those teeth or projections on the rim 6 which happen to be at the
time opposite the said inlet, and the main wheel or disc b and auxiliary disc fare
unmediately rotated thereby thus continually presenting fresh teeth or serrations
to the action of the steam, which latter after having performed its duty passes out
through the exhaust port or way e This action continues so long as the speed of
the disc or wheel & remains normal but should its velocity become excessive the
tendency of the balls or spheres k, by reason of centrifugal action, to fly outwards
in the elliptical radial grooves or recesses i, and thus to separate the discs and f
will overcome the strength of the spiral spring / which maintains them in close
contact under ordinary conditions. The main disc or wheel 6 will then move
downwards or along the shaft or spindle c through a distance corresponding with
the proportion borne by the centrifugal force generated by the action of the
spheres or balls & on the inclined surfaces of the grooves or recesses and, to the
Strength of the spring h, and the steam inlet will be consequently closed or blocked
up to a greater or less degree by the blank or untoothed portion of the flange or
rim b', and the supply of steam decreased until such time as the speed shall have
again become normal, when the spheres or balls fall back to their original
position and the disc bis again raised or moved under the action of the spring h
into contact with the disc fand the full steam supply once more admitted.
Although I have hereinbefore described and shown my improved speed regulator
or governor as applied to a rotary-steam engine or motor wherein a peripherally
toothed or sorrated wheel is caused to rotate within a steam tight casing or cylinder
by the direct action of a jet of steam, it will be readily understood that my
improvements may by obvious modifications be rendered applicable to other engines
or motors.
Although a set of three elliptical radial grooves or recesses in the main disc or
wheel and a corresponding number of grooves or recesses in the second or auxiliary
saucer shaped or dished disc are shown in the drawing, it is obvious that two or
any other suitable number of pairs of grooves or recesses can be employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim 18:
1. A speed regulator or governor for rotary engines or other motors wherein the
centrifugal action of one or more balla held in radial grooves between inclined
sui faces is utilized to overcome the force of a spring or other power, for the

page_text: 2. A speed regulator or governor for a lotary engine or other motor having
evolving wheel or disc so mounted upon its shaft or spindle as to have a limited
lateral movement or adjustment thereon, a second or auxiliary concave disc,
suitable grooves or recesses and balls or spheres therein, and a spiral or other
spring substantially as hereinbefore described and for the purpose specified.
3. In a speed regulator or governor of a rotary-steam or other engine the
combination of a wheel or disc longitudinally movable or adjustable upon ite shaft
or spindle provided with teeth or serrations or their equivalents throughout a
portion of the width of its periphery and an untoothed flange throughout the
remainder of the width rotated within a casing by the direct action of a jet of
steam or other power with an auxiliary disc secured to the wheel shaft or spindle,
radial grooves or recesses in both of the discs, balls or spheres therein, and a
spiral or other spring operating to maintain the said discs normally in close contact
against the centrifugal action of the said balls or spheres to separate them when in
rapid revolution, substantially as and for the purpose descubed
4. The improved speed regulator or governor for rotary and other steam and
like engines or motors substantially as set forth and illustrated in the annexed
drawings.
Dated this 23rd day of October 1895.
A. F. SPOONER,
124 Chancery Lane, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.