IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF STEAM TO STEAM ENGINES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Dixon Churchill, of Langdon Road, Upper
Holloway, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF STEAM
TO STEAM ENGINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Dixon Churchill at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st December 1880.
JAMES DIXON CHURCHILL, of Langdon Road, Upper Holloway, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE
SUPPLY OF STEAM TO STEAM ENGINES."
This Invention has reference to double acting apparatus for regulating the
supply of steam to steam engines, or in other words to governors that will operate
equally well whichever be the direction in which what I call the driving shaft is
caused to rotate by the engine to be controlled. According to my present Invention
a shaft or spindle driven from the engine to be controlled, and which I call the
driving shaft, and another shaft or spindle provided with retarding or brake
mechanism, such for instance as vanes revolving in liquid, or pumps with delivery
capable of regulation or brake apparatus, such as used in Siemens' chronometric
governor, and described in a paper read by C. W. Siemens to the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers in 1853 (which shaft or spindle I call the vane or brake
spindle), are used in conjunction with means for operating a valve when there is a
variation between the speed of the shaft or spindle driven from the engine to be
controlled and the speed of the vane or brake spindle. On one of the shafts or
spindles referred to I mount shifting plates or pieces I will call rockers, against
which I cause to bear parts of a connecting device that revolves with the other
shaft or spindle, and is able to move lengthwise thereof. The connecting device is
recessed to receive, or is provided with projections to act upon the rockers, and
through it and them motion is imparted from the one shaft or spindle to the other
TE

page_text: in such a way that sudden increase in speed of the engine to be controlled will be
checked by causing the rockers to change their attitude and to operate the
regulating valve through the medium of an auxiliary motor, by moving the
connecting device in opposition to a spring or other suitable load capable of
adjustment.
In another arrangement the connecting device is operated through a cross-head
carried by the driving shaft, and drives the vane or brake spindle through anti-
friction wheels or rollers on a suitable axis that act on a càm mounted on the vane
or brake spindle. The valve of the auxiliary motor is operated by the movement
of the connecting device (in opposition to a spring or adjustable load), which occurs
when there is a variation between the speed of the driving shaft and that of the
vane or brake spindle.
In another arrangement the vane or brake spindle is tubular; the driving shaft
extends through it, and upon the driving shaft is mounted freely a cross-head that
is caused to rotate with the driving shaft, but can move lengthwise thereof.
Antifriction wheels or rollers on the cross head bear against a cam carried by the
vane or brake spindle in such wise that when there is a difference between the
speed of the driving spindle and the speed of the vane or brake spindle the cross
head is moved lengthwise of the driving shaft in opposition to a spring or other
adjustable load, and so operates the valve of the auxiliary motor.
On the cross
head being fixed on the one shaft, and the cam on the other shaft, the driving shaft
may be made capable of endwise movement in relation to the vane or brake spindle
to operate the valve of the auxiliary motor.
In another arrangement the liquid containing vessel has internal projections or
baffles, and is mounted on trunnions, one of which is hollow, and is provided with
a stuffing box. The said vessel carries liquid round against the resistance of a fan
or vanes mounted on another spindle, rotation of which is retarded by a spring or
other adjustable load applied through the cam hereinafter mentioned. The last
mentioned spindle I call the vane or brake spindle. It operates the valve of
the auxiliary motor through a cam or tappet or equivalent device when the driving
shaft and vessel rotate so fast that the resistance of the brake spindle to partial
rotation is overcome.
In all the above described modifications of apparatus the driving shaft may be
rotated in either direction.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Dixon Churchill in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st June 1881.
JAMES DIXON CHURCHILL, of Langdon Road, Upper Holloway, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE
SUPPLY OF STEAM TO STEAM ENGINES."
This Invention has reference to double acting apparatus for regulating the supply
of steam to steam engines, or in other words to governors that will operate equally
well whichever be the direction in which what I call the driving shaft is caused
to rotate by the engine to be controlled. According to my present Invention a
shaft or spindle driven from the engine to be controlled, and which I call the
driving shaft, and another shaft or spindle provided with retarding or brake
mechanism, such, for instance, as vanes revolving in liquid or pumps with delivery
capable of regulation or brake apparatus, such as used in Siemens' chronometric
governor, and described in a paper read by C. W. Siemens to the Institute of
Mechanical Engineers in 1853 (which shaft or spindle I call the vane or brake
spindle), are used in conjunction with means for operating a valve when there is
a variation between the speed of the shaft or spindle driven from the engine to be
controlled and the speed of the vane or brake spindle. On one of the shafts or
spindles referred to I mount shifting plates or pieces I will call rockers, against
which I cause to bear parts of a connecting device that revolves with the other
shaft or spindle and is able to move lengthwise thereof. The connecting device is
recessed to receive, or is provided with projections to act upon the rockers, and
through it and them motion is imparted from the one shaft or spindle to the other
in such a way that sudden increase in speed of the engine to be controlled will
be checked by causing the rockers to change their attitude, and to operate the
regulating valve through the medium of an auxiliary motor, by moving the
connecting device in opposition to a spring or other suitable load capable of
adjustment. In another arrangement the connecting device is operated through a
cross head carried by the driving shaft, and drives the vane or brake spindle through
antifriction wheels or rollers on a suitable axis that act on a cam mounted on the
vane or brake spindle. The valve of the auxiliary motor is operated by the
movement of the connecting device (in opposition to a spring or adjustable load),
which occurs where there is a variation between the speed of the driving shaft and
that of the vane or brake spindle.
In another arrangement the vane or brake spindle is tubular; the driving shaft
extends through it, and upon the driving shaft is mounted freely a cross-head that
is caused to rotate with the driving shaft, but can move lengthwise thereof.
Antifriction wheels or rollers on the cross head bear against a cam carried by the vane
or brake spindle in suchwise that when there is a difference between the speed of
the driving spindle and the speed of the vane or brake spindle the cross head is
moved lengthwise of the driving shaft in opposition to a spring or other adjustable
load and so operates the valve of the auxiliary motor. Or the crosshead being
fixed on the one shaft and the cam on the other shaft, the driving shaft may be
made capable of endwise movement in relation to the vane or brake spindle to
operate the valve of the auxiliary motor. In another arrangement the liquid
containing vessel has internal projections or baffles and is mounted on trunnions,
one of which is hollow and is provided with a stuffing box. The said vessel carries
liquid round against the resistance of a fan or vanes mounted on another spindle,
rotation of which is retarded by a spring or other adjustable load applied through
the cam hereinafter mentioned. The last mentioned spindle I call the vane or

page_text: brake spindle. It operates the valve of the auxiliary motor through a cam or
tappet or equivalent device when the driving shaft and vessel rotate so fast that
the resistance of the brake spindle to partial rotation is overcome.
In all the above described modifications of apparatus the driving shaft may be
rotated in either direction.
Referring to the accompanying 4 Sheets of Drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevation
partly in section, and Fig. 2 is an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1, shewing an
arrangement of gear for use in an apparatus for regulating the supply of steam to
steam engines such as that described in my former Specification, No. 4977, of the
year 1879. In such apparatus rotation is communicated from a driving spindle
to a second spindle provided with retarding or brake mechanism (which in my
former Patent hereinabove referred to I called the vane or brake spindle) by inter-
mediate gear controlled or regulated by an adjustable load, such as a spring, and
when the speeds of the driving and brake spindles differ the said intermediate
gear operates the slide or distributing valve of an auxiliary motor connected to and
controlling the position of the throttle or regulating valve of the engine to be
governed. 1 is a part of the vane or brake spindle, which at its lower end is pro-
vided with retarding mechanism; it may be vanes rotating in a vessel provided
with baffles and charged with liquid, or it may be pumps with delivery capable of
regulation or other means for effecting the same object. Upon the crosshead 2 on
the vane or brake spindle are pivotted shifting plates or pieces 3, 3, which I call
"rockers." They support or bear against a connecting device 4 which by the
crosshead 5 fixed to the driving shaft or spindle and provided with antifriction
wheels or rollers 7, 7, engaging with slots 7, 7a, in the said connecting device, is
caused to revolve with the driving shaft 6. The connecting device is free to move
lengthwise on the driving shaft against a collar or washer 8 connected to an
adjustable load, as, for example, a spring, and has recesses 9, 9, to receive the
rockers. In operation the driving shaft transmits motion to the connecting device
through its cross head and anti friction rollers, which motion is transferred by the
connecting device through its recesses 9, 9, and the rockers 3, 3, to the crosshead 2
and the vane or brake spindle. Upon the speed of the engine to be controlled
increasing beyond the normal speed for which the governor is set the rockers
change their attitude, and in so doing shift the connecting device in opposition to
the spring or other adjustable load and operate the slide or valve of the auxiliary
motor that works the throttle or other regulating valve of the engine to be con-
trolled. It will be evident that this arrangement can be modified by the connecting
device 4 being fixed to the vane or brake spindle 1, and the cross head 2 and
rockers being attached to the driving shaft, which in such case must be capable of
endwise movement. Fig. 3 is an elevation of another form of apparatus for regu-
lating the supply of steam to steam engines; Fig. 4 is a section through the vessel
containing the retarding mechanism, which in this case consists of pumps with
delivery capable of regulation; Fig. 5 is a section in a plane at right angles to
Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the differential or intermediate gear connecting
the driving and brake spindles, and Fig. 7 is a cross section in line y, y, of Fig. 6.
6 is the driving spindle; 1, the brake spindle; 10, the cam; 4, the connecting
device, which works against the lever 11 and the adjustable spring 12, and is
driven by the anti-friction wheels 7, 7, on the cross-head 5. In the cam 10 are two
angular recesses or pairs of inclines 13, 13, which receive the antifriction rollers 14, 14,
carried by the connecting device. The rollers engaging in these recesses act as
carriers to transmit the motion from the driving to the brake shaft. When the
speed of the engine to be controlled is increased beyond the speed for which the
governor is set the power required to overcome the resistance offered to the brake
spindle at the augmented velocity becomes too great to be balanced by the spring 12,
and the antifriction wheels roll on the inclined surfaces 13, 13, of the cam 10,
thereby shifting the connecting device 4 with relation both to the driving shaft
and to the brake spindle, and operating through the lever 11 the distributing

page_text: valve of the auxiliary motor 15. In the pumping apparatus constituting the brake
mechanism shewn in Figs. 4 and 5, a, a, a, a, are four pump barrels or cylinders in
which work the plungers b, b, b, b, actuated by the eccentric c by means of the
frames d, d. Each plunger is provided with a passage e for inlet of liquid from
the vessel 16 to the pump barrel or cylinder, and with a valve at f. The delivery
outlets of all the pumps can be controlled by the cock g which regulates four
distinct discharges into the vessel 16, and the resistance offered to the passage of
the liquid and consequently to the rotation of the brake spindle, is thereby regu-
lated; Fig. 8 is an elevation partly in section of another form of governor
according to my Invention, and Fig. 9 is a cross section in line x, x, of Fig. 8.
1 is the vane or brake spindle, which is tubular; 6 is the driving shaft, which
extends through the vane spindle; 5 is the crosshead, which is caused to rotate
with the driving shaft, but is free to move lengthwise thereon; 10 is a cam
mounted on and fixed to the vane or brake spindle 1, and provided with angular
recesses or double inclines 13, 13, as already described with reference to Figs. 3
and 6, which receive the antifriction wheels or rollers 14, 14, on the cross head 5;
4 is the connecting device which is fixed to the driving shaft and transmits the
motion of the said shaft through the anti-friction wheels or rollers 7, 7, and 14, 14,
to the cam 10 and vane or brake spindle 1; 17, 17, are two studs or pins fixed
to the crosshead 5 and passing through holes bored through the connecting device 4
to the underside of the friction washer 8, and serving to convey the movement of
the crosshead to the lever 11 and the distributing valve of the auxiliary motor 15,
by which the regulating valve of the engine to be controlled is actuated. In
operation when the speed of the engine to be controlled exceeds the speed for
which the governor is set the antifriction wheels or rollers 14, 14, roll upon the
inclines 13, 13, of the cam and move the crosshead 5 end wise on the spindle 6,
and operate by means of the studs or pins 17, 17, the lever 11 connected to the
distributing valve of the auxiliary motor 15.
It will be obvious that this arrangement may be modified by the crosshead being
fixed on the driving shaft, the said driving shaft being made capable of endwise move-
ment to operate the valve of the auxiliary motor. Fig. 10 is a side elevation partly
in section of another modification of governor according to my Invention. In this
case the liquid containing vessel 16, which has internal projections or baffles 18, 18,
is mounted on trunnions 6 and 20, one of which, viz. 20, is hollow and is provided
with a stuffing box, whilst the other 6 forms the driving shaft. 1 is the vane
spindle carrying the vanes or fan 24; 10 is the cam; 21 is the valve spindle of
the auxiliary motor 15 terminating in a crosshead upon which are four antifriction
wheels or rollers, of which one only, viz. 7, is shewn in the Drawing. Two of
these rollers run in guide slots 22 in the cylindrical recess 23 bored in the
bracket 24, and the remaining two lie in the angular recesses or double inclines 13
in the cam 10, and are pressed therein by the lever 11 and adjustable spring 12.
In operation the vessel 16 carries the liquid round against the resistance of the
fan or vanes 24 on the spindle 1, which is held or retarded by the action of the
spring 12 applied through the lever 11, spindle 21, crosshead and antifriction
rollers 7 and cam 10, and when the driving shaft and vessel rotate so fast that the
resistance of the brake spindle to partial rotation is overcome, the valve spindle 21
is forced endwise, and the distributing valve of the auxiliary motor 15 is operated.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of
carrying the same into practical effect, I would have it understood that what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as secured to me under the
Letters Patent first hereinbefore in part recited is,―
1. In an apparatus for regulating the supply of steam to an engine, the use in
combination with what I have called respectively the driving shaft and the vane
or brake spindle of differential gear, constructed, arranged, and operating sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and shewn in Figs. 1 and 2
of the Drawings, for operating the slide or distributing valve of the auxiliary

page_text: cylinder that contains the piston which actuates the throttle or regulating valve of
the engine to be controlled when there is a variation between the speed of the
said driving shaft and that of the vane or brake spindle.
2. In apparatus of the kind hereinbefore referred to for regulating the supply
of steam to an engine, the use as a brake or retarding medium of a series of
pumps with regulated delivery, the said pumps being worked through differential
gear from a shaft or spindle driven by the engine to be controlled, substantially as
hereinabove described.
3. In an apparatus for regulating the supply of steam to an engine, the use in
combination with what I have called respectively the driving shaft and the vane
or brake spindle, of differential gear, constructed, arranged, and operating sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and shewn in Figs. 3, 6,
and 7 of the Drawings, for operating the slide or distributing valve of the auxiliary
cylinder that contains the piston which actuates the throttle or regulating valve
of the engine to be controlled when there is a variation between the speed of the
said driving shaft and that of the vane or brake spindle.
4. The improved governor or apparatus for regulating the supply of steam to an
engine, constructed, arranged, and operating as shewn in and described with
reference to Figs. 3 to 7 inclusive.
5. In an apparatus for regulating the supply of steam to an engine, the
combined arrangement of driving shaft, differential gear, and vane or brake spindle,
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 8 and 9 of the
Drawings.
6. Arranging apparatus for regulating the supplying of steam to an engine,
substantially as hereinabove described with reference to Fig. 10 of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Dixon Churchill, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty first day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
JAMES D. CHURCHILL.
(L.S.)