IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR PRIME MOVERS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR
PRIME MOVERS."A communication from Francois Theophile Moison,
of Mouy, in the Empire of France, Mechanician.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th June 1855.
I, JOHN HENRY. JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGU-
LATORS FOR PRIME MOVERS," a communication from Francois Theophile Moison,
of Mouy, in the Empire of France, Mechanician, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of steam
engine or other governors or regulators, whereby greater compactness & pre-
cision of working are obtained than in governors of the ordinary construction..
The improved governor consists of a fan wheel, rotating in water, oil, or
any other suitable fluid contained inside a closed vessel .or metal box, which is
fitted with blades or stops to obstruct the rotation of the fluid. This box serves.
as the support for the gearing of the apparatus. On the top of the vertical
spindle which carries the fan wheel is keyed a bevil pinion, gearing into a bevil
wheel,-which-is-screwed-to-a-disc-fast-on-a-transverse-shaft, which passes

page_text: through a tubular shaft carrying a driving pulley; this pulley has imparted to
it the motion of the machine or engine to be regulated. On the opposite end
of the tubular shaft to that which carries the driving pulley is fixed a spur
wheel, with internal teeth gearing into two spur pinions running loose on stud
pins in a horizontal-lever arm, the transverse shaft.forming. the fulcrum of this
lever. These two spur. pinions gear with a corresponding spur pinion fast on
the transverse shaft. The horizontal lever is connected at one end with the
valve or other apparatus for controlling the engine, and is weighted at the
other end to overcome the resistance or friction of such apparatus. The motion
is-transmitted to the fan wheel from the driving pulley, through the tubular
shaft running loose on the transverse shaft, and to the internal toothed spur
wheel, which imparts a rotatory motion to the transverse shaft through the
spur pinions, and the rotation of this shaft is transmitted to the fan wheel by
the bevil wheel & pinion herein-before referred to. The fan wheel is made
heavy to act as a species of fly wheel, and the disc to which the bevil wheel is
secured is also made heavy for a similar purpose, by which means the trans-
verse shaft will always tend to rotate at an even and regular speed; but when
the speed of the engine increases, the tubular shaft and internal toothed 'spur
wheel will overrun the small pinion fast on the transverse shaft, and the pinions
which run loose on the lever will consequently mount up the side of the central
pinion, and alter the position of the lever, the same effect reversed taking
place when the motion becomes too slow. Another mode of obtaining the
differential movement required consists in having an ordinary spur wheel in
place of an internal toothed wheel, such wheel gearing into pinions working
loose through the lever, the opposite ends of their spindles carrying spur
wheels which gear into a spur pinion on the transverse shaft.
A third modification consists in having four-bevil wheels working together.
One of these wheels is fast on the tubular shaft, and gears into two bevil
wheels running loose on the lever, which wheels again gear into a fourth
bevill wheel fast on the transverse shaft....
A fourth modification consists of a bevil wheel fast on the end of the tubular
shaft, this wheel gearing into two differential bevil wheels which work loose on
the arms of a large bevil or spur wheel running loose on the transverse shaft,
this bevil or spur wheel gearing into a pinion on the shaft of the fan wheel.
The differential bevil wheels gear on their other sides with a corresponding
wheel fast on the transverse shaft, to which shaft is fitted the lever or other
suitable mechanism for actuating the regulating apparatus of the engine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION. in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th December 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
5 HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent: Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent; bearing date: the Eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
o reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson, Hèr special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
5 times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS POR PRIME MOVERS," a communication from
Francois Theophile Moison, of Mouy, in the Empire of France, Mechanician,
20 upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson,
by an.
instrument in writing .under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
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,
25 the date of the said Letters Patent..
the
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the accompanying. Drawings, and,
30 to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say,:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
steam engine or other governors or regulators, whereby greater compactness.
and precision of working are obtained than in governors of the ordinary con-.
struction. The improved governor consists of a fan wheel, rotating in water,
35 oil, or any other suitable fluid contained inside a closed vessel or metal box,
which box is fitted internally with fixed blades or stops to obstruct as much as
possible the rotation of the fluid. This box serves as the support for the gearing.
of the apparatus. On the top of the vertical spindle which carries the fan

page_text: wheel is keyed a bevil pinion, gearing into a bevil wheel which is screwed to
a disc fast on a transverse shaft, passing through a tubular shaft which carries
a driving pulley. This pulley has imparted to it the motion of the engine or
machine to be regulated. On the opposite end of the tubular shaft to that
which carries the driving pulley is fixed a spur wheel with internal teeth
gearing into two spur pinions running loose on stud pins in a horizontal lever
arm, the transverse shaft herein-before referred, to forming the fulcrum of this
lever. These two spur pinions gear with a corresponding spur pinion fast on
the transverse shaft. The. horizontal lever is connected at one end with the
valve or other apparatus for 'controlling the engine or other prime mover, and
is weighted at the other end to overcome the resistance or friction of such
apparatus. The motion is transmitted to the fan wheel from the driving pulley
through the tubular shaft, running loose on the transverse shaft, and to the
internal toothed spur wheel, which imparts a rotatory motion to the transverse
shaft through the spur pinions, and the rotation of this shaft is transmitted to
the fan wheel by the bevil wheel and pinion herein-before referred to.
The fan wheel is made heavy to act as a species of fly wheel, and the
disc to which the bevil wheel is secured is also. made heavy for a similar pur-
pose, by which means the transverse shaft will always tend to rotate at an even
and regular speed; but when the speed of the engine increases, the tubular
shaft and internal toothed spur wheel will overrun the small pinion fast on the
transverse shaft, and the pinions which run loose on the lever will consequently
mount up the side of the central pinion, and alter the position of the lever,
the same effect, but reversed, taking place when the motion of the prime
mover becomes two slow.
Another mode of obtaining the differential movement required consists in
having an ordinary spur wheel in place of an internal tooth wheel, such
wheel gearing into pinions working loose through the lever, the opposite ends
of their spindles carrying spur wheels, which gear into a spur pinion on the
transverse shaft.
A third modification consists in having four bevil wheels working together.
One of these wheels is fast on the tubular shaft, and gears into two bevil wheels
running loose on the lever, which wheels again gear into a fourth bevil wheel
fast on the transverse shaft.
A fourth modification consists of a bevil wheel fast on the end of the tubular
shaft, this wheel gearing into two differential bevil wheels, which work loose
on the arms of a large bevil or spur wheel running loose on the transverse
shaft, this bevil or spur wheel gearing into a pinion on the shaft of the fan
wheel. The differential bevil wheels gear on their other sides with a corre-

page_text: sponding wheel fast on the transverse shaft, to which shaft is fitted the lever or
other suitable mechanism for actuating the regulating apparatus of the engine.
And in order that the said Invention may be more fully understood, I shall
now proceed particularly to describe the same, and for that: purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto.annexed..
I have represented in the accompanying Drawing, at Figs. 1, 2, and 3, á
regulator, the blades of which turn in a liquid, such as water, oil, &c.. As the
density of liquids is much greater than that. of air, and as consequently a much
greater resistance is offered to the fan, I give them a very much smaller areȧ
than those for the regulators wherein the resistance of the air alone is used.
Figs. 4 to 6 represent, in detail, the various arrangements for obtaining the
different movements required..
I
The frame supporting the apparatus is simply composed of a circular box of
cast iron. A. Inside this box are placed the fixed blades or partial partitions a,
a small clearance being left to allow of the passage of the circular disc or fan
wheel B, to which are fixed the blades 6: The advantage of this disc is that
it acts as a fly wheel, and regulator the movements of the blades in the liquid.
The cover C is cast in one piece with the socket'c and arched support c¹. This
arch serves to maintain the vertical shaft D in its proper position; it may, if
necessary, be replaced by: a footstep placed at the bottom of the box A. The
cover is fixed to the box by means of the screws d, and is hollowed internally
at e to receive the liquid, which is increased in volume when the fly wheel B
heats it by its rapid rotation. An aperture E serves to introduce the liquid.
On this cover are fixed the two supports F, in which the horizontal shaft G
turns; and the socket H, on which is keyed the pulley H¹, which receives
motion from. the prime mover, and transmits it to the various wheels which
produce the movements required for the regulation of the prime mover.
This movement, which can be obtained by various methods, as I am about
to describe, consists, as represented at Figs. 1, 2, and 3, of a wheel I, toothed
on the inside and fixed to the tubular shaft or collar H. This wheel gears
with the two pinions J, mounted on studs in the lever J', the 'centre of which is
traversed by the shaft G. These two pinions gear in their turn with the pinion K,
fixed upon the horizontal shaft G. On this same shaft is mounted the bévil
wheel L, connected with the disc l, which forms a fly wheel. This wheel drives
the pinion M, fixed upon the vertical shaft D, which carries the fan and fly
wheel B. The lever J¹ is put into communication either with the sluice of a
water wheel or with the throttle valve of a steam engine, and is furnished
with a weight Pat its extremity, sufficiently heavy either to raise the sluice or
turn the valve, and transmit motion through the pulley H to the fan blades b.

page_text: Supposing this apparatus to be in communication with a prime mover which
drives the pulley H at a velocity of one hundred revolutions per minute, this
motion is transmitted through the apparatus to the fans b.. At this velocity
the fans produce against the air or the water, according to which element is
used, a resistance.equal to the force exercised by the weight P. If, for example,
this weight weighs about 20 lbs., the resistance of the water added to the
friction produced by the various parts of the apparatus will equalize or balance
the weight. The motion is thus re-established in the pinion K, which transmits
the motion to the fans by the aid of the bevil wheel L.
. The lever maintains its horizontal position so long as the fans driven by the
prime mover revolve at the proper velocity; but if, through the speed of the
prime mover being improperly increased, the wheel I has a greater velocity
given to it than the pinion K, the speed of which is invariable, there results
a differential movement of the pinions J, which produces a corresponding.
movement in the lever J', which, by acting upon the sluice or valve, diminishes
the speed of the prime mover. If, on the contrary, the prime mover is going
at too low a speed, the speed of the wheel I is, by a reverse of the motions,
préviously explained, diminished, and, acting upon the lever in a reverse direc
tion, produces a differential movement in the opposite direction to the one
described in the previous case, and opens the valve, admitting more steam to
the engine.
The. arrangement which I have just described may be replaced by one of
those shewn at Figs. 4, 5, and 6, without any change being made in the prin-
ciple; thus, in Fig. 4 the internal toothed wheel is replaced by the ordinary
spur wheel I, mounted upon the collar H, and actuated by the pulley H¹.
This wheel actuates, as in the preceding case, the two pinions J, the spindles
of which are carried by the lever. J. In juxtaposition to these pinions J, on
the other side of the lever and on the same spindle, are fixed the two parallel
wheels N, N, which at the same time are in gear with the pinion K, fixed upon
the shaft G. The difference of the speed of the wheel I. and the pinion K
produces an oscillation of the lever, thereby effecting an opening or closing of
the valves, as may be required.
A third combination of gearing producing the same results as in the two
preceding cases, is shown at Fig. 5. This arrangement consists of four bevil
wheels gearing together. The wheel I is mounted upon the collar or tubular
shaft H, upon which is fixed the driving. pulley H, the two pinions J, J, run-
ning loose upon the lever J'; and, finally, the fourth wheel K is keyed on to
the shaft G. As each of the wheels performs the same work, and is designated
by the same letter as in the preceding cases, their motions and the effect

page_text: produced upon the prime mover will be easily understood by referring to the
herein-before described arrangements.
Fig. 6 represents a fourth modification. In this example, the bevil wheel L,
which drieves the pinion M, mounted upon the axle of the fan wheel, instead
of being fixed upon the shaft G is loose upon it, whilst two of its arms which
When
are fitted in by screws serve to carry the differential bevil wheels J, J.
the regulators are constructed with spur wheels toothed internally or externally,
the differential wheels J, J, may still be carried by the wheel L in place of
upon the lever. The object of the bevil wheel K is simply to open or close
the valves or sluices which are in communication with the levers J', shown
partly broken away in the Drawing. This lever is fixed upon the shaft
G, and may be replaced either by a wheel actuating a rack or by a pulley.
The action of the apparatus when thus arranged is the same as in the
herein-before described examples, the only difference being that the wheel L
occupies the place of the lever J', and the lever J¹ in its turn taking the place
of the wheel L.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried.
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of the said Invention; but
what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general constructions and arrangements of differential governors
or regulators, as herein-before described.
Second, the application of a differential motion to regulators or governors,
in the manner herein-before described.
Third, the peculiar arrangement of fan fly wheel turning horizontally or
vertically either in air or in any liquid, as is herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five