A NEW AND IMPROVED SPEED INDICATOR & REGISTERING APPARATUS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, THOMAS THORP of Whitefield in the county of Lancaster, Architect do hereby
declare the nature of my invention for A NEW AND IMPROVED SPEED INDICATOR
& REGISTERING APPARATUS to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to indicators for showing the speed of shafts &c and its
object is to show on a dial or scale the number of revolutions made during any unit
of time, to register such velocity continuously on a diagram & to show the number
of revolutions made during any particular interval.
To effect this a spindle is mounted on bearings & is driven from a shaft or other
revolving body of which it is required to determine the speed; on the spindle is
fixed a cross bar to which at each or one end only is attached a spring, curved
inwards having at its inner end a weight or ball; to this weight is fixed a slender
rod attached by a link to a sheave loosely fitted on to the spindle, this sheave
carries at its other extremity a disc composed of metal or other substance for
marking on prepared paper. On the sheave are a number of adjacent rings forming
a revolving rack which gears into the teeth of a pinion mounted on an arbor, this
arbor carrying a hand or pointer over a scale or dial.
Near the end of the spindle and adjacent to the metal disc on the sheave, a
"metallic" paper is carried by a drum or drums driven by means of gearing from
the spindle.
A rod or plate is carried behind the paper in such a manner that when the
spindle has made a certain number of revolutions, the rod or plate is caused to
press against the paper.
When the apparatus is in action the weights by centrifugal tendency press the
springs backwards away from the spindle and in doing so cause the sheave on the
spindle to alter its position which gearing into the pinion moves the pointer & thus
indicates the speed at which the shaft is revolving.
At the same time the paper on the drum or drums is made to press at intervals
against the disc on the sheave so that a series of marks which may be close enough
to form an almost unbroken line are made; the position of this line on the paper
registers the speed while the distance travelled by the paper shows the number of
revolutions made during any particular interval.

page_text: I THOMAS THORP of Whitefield in the County of Lancaster, Architect do hereby
declare the nature of my invention for A NEW AND IMPROVED SPEED INDICATOR
AND REGISTERING APPARATUS and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This Invention relates to Indicators for showing the speed of Shafting &c and
its object is to show on a dial or scale the number of revolutions made in a unit of
time, to register such velocity continuously on a diagram and to show the number
of revolutions made during any particular interval.
To effect this a spindle is mounted on bearings and is driven from the shafting
or other revolving body of which it is required to determine the speed, on the
spindle is fixed a cross bar to which, at each or one end only is attached a spring
curved inwards having at its inner end a weight or ball; to this weight is fixed a
slender rod attached directly or by a link to a sheave or sliding tube loosely fitted
on to the spindle. This sliding tube carries at its other extremity a disc composed
of the Metal made use of for which is commonly known as metallic pencils, the
upper portion of the sliding tube or the spindle is made up of a series of adjacent
rings which gear into the teeth of a pinion mounted on an arbor, this arbor
carrying a band or pointer near the end of the spindle and adjacent to the metallic
disc a metallic paper is carried by a drum or drums driven by means of gearing
from the revolving spindle. A rod or plate is carried behind the paper in such a
manner that when the spindle has made a certain number of revolutions this rod
or plate is caused to press against the paper.
When the apparatus is in action, the weight by its centrifugal tendency presses
the spring backwards away from the spindle and in doing so causes the sliding tube
on the spindle to alter its position and this gearing into the pinion moves the
pointer and thus indicates on the dial previously marked the speed at which the
shaft is revolving. At the same time the paper on the drum is made to press at
intervals on the metallic disc so that a series of marks which may be close enough
to form an almost unbroken line are made. The positions of this line on the paper
registers the speed while the distance travelled by the paper shows the number of
revolutions made during any particular interval. Instead of the cross bars having
springs and weights and connected to the sliding tube by a rod or links, an
arrangement may be made use of similar to what is commonly adopted for
Governors for Engines. i.e. a ball. on each side of the spindle suspended from the
top by links attached to the spindle and connected with the sliding tube by other
links and in such a manner that when the spindle and with it the balls are
revolving the centrifugal tendancy causes the balls to raise the sliding tube and so
to indicate the speed as before described: a spiral spring may be placed between
the points at which the links attached to the governor balls are secured to the
spindle and sliding tube. When the apparatus is in this form a balance weight
may also be attached to the sliding tube to enable the governor balls to raise it
and so to indicate the speed when only a very slow motion is imparted. In lieu of

page_text: the metallic disc a hardened steel disc may be used to perforate the paper which
may be of the ordinary kind or a pointer carried by the sliding tube may be used
to perforate the moving paper, when it is not intended to register the speed on the
continuous paper, the drum or drums, metallic disc and gearing may be dispensed
with.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the accompanying sheet of drawings referance
being had to the figures & letters therein marked, similar letters refer to similar
parts throughout the several views.
Fig 1. is a sectional elevation. Fig 2. is a sectional plan through A A and Fig 3.
is a sectional plan through B B of my improved speed indicator and registering
apparatus and Fig 4 is an elevation of my improved Speed indicator without
registering apparatus.
In Fig 1. a is a spindle mounted in bearings b b¹. c is a cross bar, d a spring
curved inwards, e a weight or ball carried by the spring d, f is a rod attached to
the ball e and to the sliding tube g, h is a disc of soft metal for marking the
paper i, or it may be a disc or pointer of hardened steel for perforating it, k is a
series of adjacent rings on the sliding tube g gearing into the teeth of the pinion
mounted on the arbor m carrying the hand or pointer n. o and o¹ are the drums
between which the paper i is carried from the larger drum p round the rod q;
r is a rod or plate actuated by the teeth of the wheels and spring t, in such a
manner that it presses the paper i against the disc h as the wheel 8 rotates, u and u¹
are governor balls attached to the links v, and wis a spiral spring fitted between
the sliding tube g and the shoulder x on the spindle a.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The sliding tube g having adjacent rings k gearing into the pinion 7 mounted
ou the arbor m and carrying the hand or pointer n whether seperate or in com-
bination with the disc or pointer has and for the purposes substantially herein as
shown and described.