IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPERTAINING TO MARINE ENGINE GOVERNORS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Gardner Colton, of the Office of W. P. Thompson
& Co., British and International Patent Agents and Consulting Engineers, of
6, Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPERTAINING TO MARINE ENGINE GOVERNORS."
A communication from abroad by John A. Svedberg, of Washington, District
of Columbia United States.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Gardner Colton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd September 1878.
EDWARD GARDNER COLTON, of the Office of W. P. Thompson and Co., British
and International Patent Agents and Consulting Engineers, of 6, Lord Street,,
Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPERTAINING TO
MARINE ENGINE GOVERNORS." (A communication from abroad by John A. Sved-;
berg, of Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
The object of this Invention is to produce a simple and efficient mechanism for
the purpose of automatically regulating the speed of a marine engine when the
vessel is exposed to rough seas, in which the vessel is often raised partly or wholly
out of the water. When this occurs in steam vessels not provided with proper
automatic governors the speed of the engines is dangerously increased, if not
checked in time by the engineer in charge, causing serious damage to engine shaft
and propellor. The present device is designed to obviate the difficulty, and unlike
most governors for this purpose it anticipates the movements of the engine.
fact regulates the engine to a uniform speed, as the governor admits and shuts off
steam exactly in proportion as the propellor is more or less immersed. The device
is constructed as follows:-
It in
A pipe is fixed outside the vessel, or its lower end passes through the vessel below
the shaft bearing, having its mouth open for admission of water, and communicating
on the inside of the vessel with an air vessel or chamber by means of a valve or

page_text: stop-cock (hereafter called the admission valve). A small pipe is suspended under
the deck, fixed to the top of the air chamber and communicating with a diaphragm or
its equivalent. To this diaphragm is jointed a lever, which again is pivotted to the
stem of the balanced piston valve.in connection with a small intermediate steam
cylinder.
This valve is hollow through its axis, and has suitable communications
with the exhaust. The outside central concavity of the valve communicates with
a steam pipe leading from the main steam pipe of the boiler. The piston and rod of
the small intermediate steam cylinder are fixed to a stanchion or frame, and remain
stationary while the cylinder moves back and forth on the same. The cylinder has
a stuffing box on it on one of its heads, and a rod fixed to the other. This rod is
guided by means of the frame or stanchion, and is connected to the main throttle
valve by a link. The valve chest is placed below the cylinder, so that all condensed
steam can easily pass through into the exhaust pipe whenever the valve opens.
There are two chambers, one on each side of the valve chest, provided with stuffing
boxes, through which the steam and exhaust pipes pass. A cross piece bolted to
the stanchion clamps the steam and exhaust pipes firmly when the chambers afore-
said ride thereon.
The operation of the governor is as follows:-When the propellor is immersed as
the vessel ordinarly floats in smooth water the air in the air chamber is considerably
compressed by water issuing in through the communication pipe, with a head nearly
equal to the perpendicular distance of said pipe from the water line at the stern
post, and as the air communicates with the diaphragm the latter will be expanded,
thereby forcing the lever and valve forward. As live steam surrounds the outside
of the valve it will enter the intermediate cylinder through the steam port and
move the cylinder with its connections in the same direction, thereby keeping the
throttle valve open for the admission of steam to the main engine. As soon however
as the propellor rises upwards, or its immersion is lessened, the head of water, and
consequently the pressure, becomes gradually less; the diaphragm will be contracted,
thereby pressing the valve in the opposite direction, causing a similar movement in
the cylinder and throttle valve, thus gradually shutting off or admitting steam to
the main engine, according to the greater or less immersion of the propellor blades.
Should the air in course of time become less in bulk in the chamber through leakage
or absorption of water, all that is necessary to do would be to shut the valve con-
necting it with the outside water, and by means of a pet cock or small screw let out
all the water which has come into the chamber. This being done the pet cock is
closed, the valve is again opened, and the governor is ready for use.
I am aware
that compressed air has been heretofore used to operate the throttle valve of marine
engines, but so far as I know and believe the connection between the air chamber
and the throttle valve has always been direct, or at least without the intervention
of an intermediate steam cylinder, necessitating very large and cumbersone
apparatus.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edward Gardner Colton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th March 1879.
EDWARD GARDNER COLTON, of the Office of W. P. Thompson & Co., British and
International Patent Agents and Consulting Engineers, of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
in the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPERTAINING TO MARINE
ENGINE GOVERNORS." (A communication from abroad by John A. Svedberg, of
Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
The object of this Invention is to produce a simple and efficient mechanism for
the purpose of automatically regulating the speed of a marine engine when the
vessel is exposed to rough seas, in which the propellor is often raised partly or
wholly out of the water. When this occurs in steam vessels not provided with
proper automatic governors the speed of the engines is dangerously increased if not
checked in time by the engineer in charge, causing serious damage to engine shaft
and propellor. The present device is designed to obviate the difficulty, and unlike
most governors for this purpose, it anticipates the movements of the engine, it in
fact regulates the engine to a uniform speed, as the governor admits and shuts off
steam exactly in proportion as the propellor is more or less immersed.
In the Drawing Fig. 1 is a vertical section, Fig. 2 a plan, Fig. 3 a cross section
through the cylinder I, and Fig. 4 a vertical section of the stern of the ship.
The device is constructed as follows:-A pipe A, Fig. 4, is fixed outside the vessel,
or its lower end passes through the vessel below the shaft bearing B, having its
mouth open for the admission of water, and communicating on the inside of the
vessel with an air chamber C by means of a valve or stop-cock D. E is a small
pipe suspended under the deck, fixed to the top of the air chamber C, and com-
municating with a diaphragm F or its equivalent, shown in elevation at Fig. 1 and
in plan in Fig. 2. I have shewn in the Drawing a flat coiled diaphragm. The form
of this device is not essential, but I find in practice that a diaphragm formed of a
series of hollow discs connected like an accordion gives the best results. To this
diaphragm is jointed a lever G, which again is pivoted to the stem of the balanced
piston valve H in connection with a small intermediate steam cylinder I.
This valve is hollow through its axis, and has suitable communications with the
exhaust J. The outside central concavity of the valve communicates with the
steam pipe K, which leads from the main steam pipe or boiler.
The piston and rod L are fixed to the stanchion M, and remain stationary while
the cylinder moves back and forth on the same. The cylinder has a stuffing box N
on one of its heads and a rod O fixed to the other. This rod is guided by means of
the stanchion P, and is connected to the throttle valve Q by the link R. The valve
chest S is placed below the cylinder, so that all condensed steam can easily pass
through into the exhaust pipe whenever the valve opens.
There are chambers T and T¹ on each side of the valve chest provided with
stuffing boxes V, VI, through which the steam and exhaust pipes pass. A cross
piece W, bolted to the stanchion P, clamps the steam and exhaust pipes firmly when
the chambers T, T, ride thereon.
The operation of the governor is as follows:-When the propellor is immersed as
the vessel ordinarily floats in smooth water, the air in the chamber C is considerably
compressed by water issuing in through pipe A, with a head nearly equal to per-
pendicular distance from said pipe to the water line at the stern post, and as the
air communicates with the diaphragm F the latter will be expanded, thereby forcing
the lever G and valve H to the left, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. As live steam
surrounds the outside of the valve it will enter the intermediate cylinder I through
the left-hand steam port and move the cylinder, with its connections, in the same
direction, thereby keeping the throttle valve V open for the admission of steam to
the main engine.

page_text: As soon however as the propellor rises upward or its immersion is lessened, the
head of water, and consequently the pressure, becomes gradually less. The diaphragm
will be contracted, thereby pressing the valve H in the opposite direction, causing a
similar movement in the cylinder and throttle valve, thus gradually shutting off or
admitting steam to the main engine according to the greater or less immersion of
the propellor blades.
Should the air in course of time become less in bulk in the chamber C through
leakage or absorption of water, all that is necessary to do would be to shut the
valve D, and by means of a pet cock or small screw let out all the water which has
come into the chamber; this being done, the pet cock is closed, the valve D is
opened, and the governor is ready for use.
:
If it is desirable to take the motion of the governor from the engine itself, and
not from the external water, a ball governor may be substituted for the diaphragm F,
the balls rotating from a suitable connection with the engine. This ball governor
is to be connected with the piston valve H of the intermediate steam cylinder I, so
that upon an acceleration of the speed of the engine the intermediate cylinder
moves so as to shut the throttle and cut off steam gradually until the engine is
brought down to its normal speed.
If the speed of the engine decreases the reverse of this takes place, and more
steam is admitted through the throttle.
I am aware that compressed air has been heretofore used to operate the throttle
valve of marine engines, but so far as I know or believe the connection between
the air chamber and the throttle valve has always been direct, or at least without
the intervention of an intermediate steam cylinder, necessitating very large and
cumbersome apparatus.
I do not therefore claim broadly the Invention of the direct application of com-
pressed air to control the speed of marine engines, but having thus described my
Invention, what I do claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―-
1st. The combination of the air chamber C, the diaphragm F or its equivalent,
and the valve of the intermediate steam cylinder, the said valve being opened and
closed, and thereby admitting or shutting off steam to the cylinder as the pressure
in said air cylinder is increased or lessened by the greater or less immersion of the
vessel in the water, arranged substantially as described..
2nd. In a governor for marine engines the combination of the throttle valve of
said engines, controlled by an intermediate steam cylinder, with the valve of said
cylinder operated by the varying pressure of the external water as the stern of the
vessel is more or less immersed by rising and falling on the waves, arranged substan-
tially as described and shown.
3rd. The combination of the intermediate steam cylinder I and the throttle
valve Q, arranged, substantially in the manner described, with mechanism (such as
diaphragm F or the link of a ball or other governor), the pulsations or movements
of which are accelerated or retarded (other things being equal) according as the
work on the engines is temporarily diminished or increased.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Gardner Colton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.