AN UNIVERSAL ISOCHRONOUS PENDULUM SPEED REGULATOR FOR MOTIVE ENGINES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederic Angelus Peter Vandeputte, of Ghent, in
the Kingdom of Belgium, Engineer, Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"AN UNIVERSAL ISOCHRONOUS PENDULUM SPEED REGULATOR FOR MOTIVE
ENGINES."
Sealed the 16th August 1867, and dated the 1st March 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederic Angelus Peter
Vandeputte at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 1st March 1867.
I, FREDERIC ANGELUS PETER VANDEPUTTE, of Ghent, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, Engineer, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN UNIVERSAL ISOCHRONOUS PENDULUM SPEED REGULATOR FOR
MOTIVE ENGINES," to be as follows:-
The isochronous pendulum speed regulator for motive engines which forms
the subject of the present Invention is applicable to steam or water engines,
and windmills, or other engines, and has for its object to keep these engines at
an uniform speed whatever may be their load. It is as applicable to engines
which run at a great speed as to those which have a slow motion.
The regulator consists of two toothed or stud wheels of the same diameter,
and over which is passed an endless chain, the links of which fit over the
teeth or studs of the wheels; between these two wheels and supported by the
chain is a grooved pulley, from which is suspended a weight; one of the
toothed wheels is rotated (by means of toothed gearing) by the main shaft of

page_text: the machine. The other toothed wheel by means of gearing actuates a stud
or pin wheel, the studs of which project into a space between two discs on the
axle or shaft of a pendulum, so that the pin or stud wheel although drawn by
the weighted pulley will be prevented from turning, except when a notch in
one of the discs is brought opposite to the pin, which will then be allowed to
escape. When one of the pins of the stud wheel escapes from the notches of
one of the discs the toothed wheel in connection with the stud wheel will deliver a
link of the endless chain, and if the engine is going at the proper speed the
other toothed wheel will take up the same length of chain so that the weighted
pulley will neither rise nor fall, but if the speed of the engine is too fast then
the engine wheel will take up the chain faster than it is given off, and will
consequently raise the weighted pulley, and as a rod connected by any suitable
arrangement of levers with the throttle valve is attached to this pulley it
follows that the raising of the pulley will tend to close the throttle valve and
shut off the steam; if, on the other hand, the engine is going too slowly the
weight w end until it opens the throttle valve to its full extent. The
disc wheels on the pendulum shaft act as an escapement, and communicate
motion to the pendulum by causing one of the pins on the stud wheel to bear
against the inclined surface of the notches in the discs and thus give an
impulse to the pendulum.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederic Angelus Peter Vandeputte in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 29th August 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERIC
ANGELUS PETER VANDEPUTTE, of Ghent, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Engine
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Frederic Angelus Peter Vandeputte, Her special licence that I, the
said Frederic Angelus Peter Vandeputte, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Frederic Angelus Peter Vandeputte,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time, and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,

page_text: within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN UNIVERSAL ISOCHRONOUS PENDULUM
SPEED REGULATOR FOR MOTIVE ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Frederic Angelus Peter Vandeputte, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederic Angelus Peter Vandeputte,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :—
The isochronous pendulum speed regulator for motive engines which forms
the subject of the present Invention is applicable to steam or water engines,
and windmills, or other engines, and has for its object to keep these engines
at a uniform speed whatever may be their load; it is as applicable to engines
which run at a great speed as to those which have a slow motion.
The apparatus is represented in various views in the several Figures of the
accompanying Drawing; it consists of two toothed or stud wheels A, A',
(Fig. 1) of equal diameter, over which passes an endless chain B, the links of
which are made exactly to fit on to the teeth or studs of the wheels; this
chain also carries between the wheels A, A', a grooved pulley C provided with
an arm or link having a hook to which a weight is suspended. Rotary
motion is communicated to the wheel A in the direction of the arrow from the
main shaft of the engine. In order that the relation between the number of
revolutions of the main shaft and of the shaft A shall be invariable, the trans-
mission of motion is effected by means of toothed gearing instead of bands or
friction surfaces. The wheel A¹ is made to communicate by means of toothed
gearing indicated by red lines with the stud wheel C₁; this latter it will be
seen consists of a circular plate or disc which carries on its circumference a
certain number of pins or studs set radially around it; these studs abut against
the two discs D and D', and thus prevent the wheel A¹ from yielding to the
action of the weight Q. The discs D and D₁ are mounted upon a shaft E,
carrying the pendulum F; suitable notches are made in the discs D and D₁
for the purpose of allowing the pins of the wheel C₁ to successively escape
when the pendulum is in motion. The pendulum F with its shaft E,
dises D, D', and stud wheel C thus form together an escapement which,
capement

page_text: under the action of the weight Q will allow the wheel A¹ to have a regular
movement in the direction of the arrow in consequence of the regular oscil-
lations of the pendulum F. Suppose now that the communication of move-
ment between the wheel A and the main shaft be such that when the engine
makes its normal number of revolutions, and the wheel A rotates at the same
speed as the wheel A', then the chain by winding on to the wheel A in exactly
the same quantity as it unwinds from A, the pulley C carrying the weight Q
will remain at the same height. If, however, from any cause whatever the
engine shall have a tendency to accelerate its motion the weight will be
raised, and if the speed should have a tendency to slacken the weight will
descend; it is therefore only necessary in order to maintain the engine at its
normal speed to take advantage of this ascending and descending movement
of the weight Q to act upon the regulating or throttle valve by means of
suitable jointed rods, as shewn at Fig. 1. It will be seen that the rod H which
is connected to the pulley C passes through an eye J of an oval form, which is
large enough to allow the rod H to move sideways according to the movement
of the lever to which it is fixed. A collar K mounted upon the rod and fixed
to it by an adjusting screw is intended to bear upon the eye J when the valve
is completely open; the weight Q will then remain suspended and the
pendulum will stop. This effect will be produced when the engine receives
such an additional load that it cannot work at its normal speed, but when the
additional load is removed the weight Q will be raised and the pendulum will
be again set to work; this is also the case when the engine is stopped, the
pendulum will continue to work until the weight Q is suspended by the
collar K resting upon the eye J. On the engine being again started the pen-
dulum will be again put in motion as soon as the weight is raised by the
movement of the wheel A.
It will be seen at Fig. 1 that the throttle valve is set in such manner as to
have a tendency to close by the action of the weight X. The lever which
works this valve is connected with the rod L by means of a short chain, and
it bears upon the bracket M when the valve is completely closed. The
object of this arrangement is to avoid rupture of any of the parts of the
apparatus when by reason of a rapid and considerable diminution of the load
the regulator suddenly closes the valve.
It will be readily understood that the dimensions of the apparatus may be
varied, also that any other arrangement of pendulum escapement might be
employed, and that instead of the pendulum a spring balance movement such
as is used in watches might be adopted; I prefer the stud wheel escape-
ment shewn in the Drawing, as it is more easily constructed and repaired.

page_text: If instead of a binged valve the engine be provided with a cock or a conical
or crown valve, a butterfly valve, or other arrangement of valve, the regulator
apparatus would act upon any of them in the same manner.
The endless chain is shewn partially on an enlarged scale at Figs. 2;
Figs. 3 shew (also upon an enlarged scale) the construction of the discs
D and D. It will be seen that the studs escape by slipping along the
inclined side of the notches at the moment when the pendulum is in a nearly
vertical position; it is for this reason that the pendulum can start itself; in
fact, when it is at rest (that is, in a vertical position) one of the studs will
bear against an inclined face of one of the discs, and the moment the weight Q
begins to act the stud slips along the inclined plaue and presses against its
side, thus putting the pendulum in motion. In order to lessen the noise of
the fall of the studs upon the discs, and also shocks or jerks in the action of
the chain, the toothed wheels upon the wheels A¹ and C¹ are arranged in the
following manner :-They are mounted with slight friction upon their shaft,
and are provided with a flat radial spring, and the wheels A¹ and C¹ carry a
projecting stud which bears against this spring; the pressure of the studs
against the discs D and D₁ tends to force the shaft E from left to right, and
the pointed screw N offers resistance to such movement.
Figs. 4 shew (detached and on an enlarged scale) an arrangement for
reducing as much as possible the friction of the shaft E in its bearings. The
shaft is cut away so as to form a knife edge, the thin edge of which corre-
sponds with the geometrical axis, and it is upon this stop that the oscillation
takes place, the bearings being of the form shewn in the Drawing. The
bob O being fixed to the pendulum rod by means of an adjusting screw it
may be shifted to any point along such rod, and may thus be made, to
regulate the speed of the engine by raising or lowering it, as will be readily
understood.
Fig. 5 shews an arrangement to be employed when the engine is required
to work at several different speeds, and to work with regularity at each of
such speeds. The bob O is provided with two lugs which fit on to the pendulumi
rod; this bob is suspended from a flexible cord of silk, catgut, or other
suitable material, which passes over the grooved pulley R (the axis of rotation
of which is at the same level as the axis of oscillation of the pendulum) and
passes round the drum S, which is provided with a ratchet wheel and click T';
by turning the shaft of the drum by means of a key fitted on its squared end
the bob may be shifted up or down the rod without stopping the engine, and
the speed may thus be altered. Reference marks may for this purpose be
made upon the rod to indicate the position of the bob in order to obtain

page_text: certain speeds. This regulator is at the same time a safety apparatus in case
a driving shaft or the teeth of a pinion should break and the engine be thereby
suddenly fully charged with steam and without any load; when this occurs
the regulator will keep the engine at its normal speed, instead of allowing it
to run away and break to pieces. The framing of the apparatus is not shewn
in the Drawing; it will be very simple as it will only be required to carry
three shafts, those of the wheels A, A', and C, and two arms which support
the bearings of the shaft E and the screw N; the collar J is also supported
upon this framing. The apparatus may be mounted according to circum-
stances upon the wall of the engine room or upon a pillar.
When the regulator is applied to an hydraulic engine the movement of the
weiglit will be transmitted to the double-acting lever, which is usually
employed for the purpose of opening or closing the throttle valve by the
working of the engine itself.
.
When adapted to a windmill having sails, the surface of which can be
varied during the working, an analogous arrangement will be adopted, in this
case it would act upon the apparatus which serves to vary the surface
presented to the action of the wind by the sails.
For hydraulic engines, and hot air or compressed air engines, and also
engines worked by any other vapor besides steam, the regulator will be
arranged as for ordinary steam engines. In cases where these engines are
provided with a variable cut off it will be advantageous to cause the regulator
to act upon the cut-off instead of acting upon a throttle valve.
The essential difference between this improved regulator and the pendulum
regulators heretofore invented is this, in these latter in consequence of their
arrangement the variations in speed of the engine exert a direct influence
upon the duration of the oscillations of the pendulum, the result of which is
that the speed to which the engine is brought back by the action of the
regulator is not a fixed and invariable speed, but a speed varying with per-
turbations occurring in the working of the pendulum, in other words, in the
old pendulum regulators as the pendulum did not oscillate constantly under
the action of the same forces it lost its isochronism, and was therefore not a
true pendulum.
In the present apparatus all the clockwork movement which forms a portion
of it is actunted by the action of the chain upon the wheel A¹. Now this
action is equal to half the excess of the weight and pulley rod, &c.
connected with it upon the weight of the rod L and the action of the counter-
weight X. It is evident that this excess is constant, whether the weight Q
remains at the same level, or whether it rises or falls. The drag exerted

page_text: upon the clockwork by the chain is therefore invariable and independent of
the speed of the engine, therefore as the pendulum constantly works under
the action of the same forces it is a true pendulum, and always performs its
oscillations in the same space of time. It will be seen, also, that the
arrangement of the apparatus is such that if desired the escapements usually
applied to the best timepieces may be adapted to it.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and having explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I desire it to be understood that
what I intend to claim under the above in part recited Letters Patent is, the
peculiar arrangement of apparatus herein set forth, by which I am enabled to
isolate the pendulum of the regulator from the influence of the engine, and
which arrangement consists of an endless chain, applied as shewn in the
accompanying Drawing, to two wheels, one of which is in communication with
the main shaft of the engine, and the other in communication with a clock-
work escapement actuated by a weight or spring, the chain descending ver-
tically between its two wheels and supporting the weight Q, the ascent or
descent of which regulates the supply of steam to the engine. I would also
rehat the chain may be made of any other form, or may be replaced by
a cord made of any suitable material, or by any other flexible connection com-
bined with a suitable arrangement of the wheels A and A¹ for preventing
any slipping upon their peripheries.
I also claim the employment of the counterweight X and its lever acting
upon the throttle valve, the bracket M, and the flexible connection at the
extremity of the rod L, for the purpose of preventing ruptures as above
explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederio Angelus Peter Vandeputte, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
1. KIRBENJEK.
F. VANDEPUTTE. (L.S.)