Improvements in Adjustable Cut-off Reversing Valve Gear for Steam Engines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in Adjustable Cut-off Reversing Valve Gear for
Steam Engines.
I, MARTIN OLSON ARNEGAARD, of Hillsboro', in the County of Traill and State
of North Dakota, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a governor adapted to operate adjustable cut-off
reversing valve gears for steam engines. The principal novel features of the
invention, are, first, a pivoted bar forming a flexible downward extension of the
vertically slidable governorshaft" or bar, and the combination of such exten-
sion with other parts, second, a tension adjustment for the spring counterbalance
for the governor shaft or bar whereby the speed of the engine may be changed
at will without materially affecting the sensitiveness of the governor; and third,
an improved attachment of the governor arms to the cross-head of the sliding
shaft or stem.
The movable parts of the governor are mounted and supported upon a vertical
standard having
a tubular upper end and a lateral tubular portion or arm, the
latter constituting a bearing for the driving shaft which is geared with a tubular
shaft which carries and rotates the governor proper. This shaft has its bearings
in the tubular upper end of the standard and is constructed with branches or
lateral right angular arms to which the obtuse angle governor arms are pivoted,
said arms being connected with the governor shaft as hereafter described.
The governor shaft or stem is adapted to reciprocate without rotating in the
tubular shaft and extends below the same where it is connected with devices
constituting part of the governor as will be presently described. The upper end
is pro-
of the shaft has a cross head attached rotatably thereto and
its ends adapted to receive
vided with recessed lateral projections at
spherical or cylindrical terminals with which the inner ends of the governor
arms are provided and permit the necessary sliding movement thereof as the
governor balls rise and fall. The said terminals may rest in sockets formed in
plates having a flat bottom and adapted to slide easily in the recesses of the cross
head. The said recessed projections are on opposite sides of the shaft so that
the governor arms which are curved to permit of this, pass by the latter and have
consequently a greater length and leverage than would otherwise be the case.
The governor shaft is connected with the cross head by means of a single collar.
To the lower end of the governor shaft is pivoted a short bar which constitutes
practically a flexible extension thereof and the shaft works vertically between
fixed guide rollers which are journalled on the standard, while the bar works
between another pair of rollers which are journalled on a swinging support.
The latter comprises a crank fixed on a horizontal rock-shaft which is connected

page_text: with a link or equivalent valve shifting device as will be presently described.
The bar is connected with a hand lever having a locking spring pawl that engages
a segmental rack fixed contiguous to the governor proper which serves for shirt-
ing the bar from the vertical position to a lateral inclination, right or left, for
the purpose of shifting the slide valve and thereby reversing the engine.
A roller on the end of the eccentric strap works in the slot or groove in a
boss or block on the rock shaft and a rod is pivoted to the eccentric strap and
to the valve. On the lower end of the crank is pivoted a bar having the rollers
between which the governor-shaft extension is arranged to slide journalled on its
ends. It is therefore apparent that, by shifting the said bar laterally the rock
shatt will be rotated more or less and the valve gear reversed or placed in mid
gear. The governor can shift the bar up or down so as to rotate the rock-shaft
and vary the throw of the valve.
It will be understood that I may use any other 'adjustable cut-off reversing
valve gear, for example an ordinary link for shifting the valve, in place of the
gear described. The link or bar is provided with ears, and the end of the
governor shaft is fitted and pivoted between them by which means the joint
between shaft and bar can be made stronger in proportion to the weight of the
governor stem or shaft.
The rollers between which the said bar works are constructed with peripheral
grooves into which the side edges of the bar fit, these side edges being made as
thick as the lower part of the governor stem for the purpose of preventing the
bar from twisting and for guiding the lower end of the stem into the grooves
of the rollers when the stem is pushed down. The edges of the bar are extended
and form points, triangular projections, or ears that abut on the sides of the stem
or shaft when the bar is thrown laterally. The governor stem can be pushed
down until the pivot bolt has passed below the rollers and the governor has
reversed the motion of the slide valve so as to allow the steam to work against
the piston, whereby a traction engine may be controlled on a descending grade.
Thus, the crank being fixed on the rock shaft when its lower end is directly under
the centre line of the governor shaft it holds the valve gear in mid gear; and,
when the governor has moved the lower end of said crank laterally, or out of a
vertical plane and has given it an inclination opposite to the inclination of the
bar, the valve gear is reversed so as to work the steam against the piston until
the speed of the engine is reduced. Thus the governor acts as an automatic
brake.
To counter-
The governor shaft may be shifted manually, to control the speed of the engine,
by means of a T-shaped lever pivoted to a lateral bracket on the standard and
provided with rods for shifting its position as required, one arm of said lever
being loosely connected with the governor stem by means of a link.
balance the weight of the stem or shaft the bar, cross head and half of the
inner ends of the governor arms and rod as well as to resist the centrifugal
action of the governor balls, two spiral springs are attached at one end to a lug
on the standard, and at their lower ends to a block which is rotatably attached
to the inner and lower end of a threaded rod or cylindrical bar, which has a
lateral and downward inclination, the same working in a threaded sleeve forming
a rigid attachment to the pivoted lever, so that it shifts with it as the latter
is shifted with the governor shaft. The screw has a polygonal head to adapt
it for application of a wrench, and a jam nut is also provided to lock the screw
any adjustment. It is apparent that, by rotating the inclined screw, the
tension of the springs will be increased or diminished, according as the screw
is adjusted lengthwise one way or another, so as to increase or diminish the
distance betwen the point where the springs are attached and the pivot of the
lever. Thus, when the screw is screwed down, the length and tension of the
springs are obviously increased and also their leverage. A hand wheel may be
substituted for the screw head.
in

page_text: It is a common defect of spring governors that when the tension of the spring
is reduced so as to decrease the speed of the engine, the governor becomes less
sensitive but by my above described mechanism, the speed of the engine can be
changed to a considerable degree without materially affecting the sensitiveness
of the governor which would not be the case if the tension of the springs were
.decreased or increased without changing the leverage.
Dated this 17th day of August 1899.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London,
Improvements in Adjustable Cut-off Reversing Valve Gear for
Steam Engines.
I, MARTIN OLSON ARNEGAARD, of Hillsboro', in the County of Traill and State
of North Dakota, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention 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 a governor adapted to operate adjustable cut-off
reversing valve gears for steam engines. The principal novel features of the
invention are first, the provision of a pivoted bar forming a flexible downward
extension of the vertically sliding governor "shaft" or bar, and the combination
of such extension with other parts, second, a tension adjustment for the spring
counterbalance for the governor shaft or bar whereby the speed of the engine may
be changed at will without materially affecting the sensitiveness of the governor;
and third, an improved attachment of the governor arms to the cross-head of the
sliding shaft or stem.
The details of construction and operation are as follows. In the accompany-
ing drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved governor. Figure 2
is a top plan view of the governor arms and cross head. Figure 3 is a side
view taken at right angles to that shown in Figure 1. Figure 4 is an enlarged
view of part of the valve gear. Figures 5 and 6 are enlarged detail views illus-
trating different positions of the lower portion of the governor. Figure 7 is
a detail vertical section on line 7-7 of Figure 5.
Figure S is a cross section on line 8-8 of Figure 5.
Figure 9 is a cross section on line 9-9 of Figure 7
Figure 10 is a perspective view of the link or bar forming a flexible extension
of the governor stem.
Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the action of the springs that act on the
governor proper.
The movable parts of the governor are mounted and supported upon a vertical
standard 1 (see Figures 1 and 3) having a tubular upper end 1 and a lateral
tubular portion or arm 1b, which latter constitutes a bearing for the driving
shaft 2, carrying a pulley 3, for the engine belt (not shown).
A bevel gear 4 on the inner end of the shaft 2, meshes with a like gear 5,
keyed upon the lower end of the vertical tubular shaft 6 that carries and rotates
the governor proper.. This shaft has its bearings in the vertical tubular frame
portion 1. and is constructed with branches or lateral right angular arms 7
to which the obtuse angle governor arms 8, are pivoted on bolts 9. The said
arms have balls 10 on their free ends and are connected with the governor shaft 14
by a novel construction and combination of parts. The shaft or stem 14 is

page_text: adapted to slide or reciprocate without rotating in the tubular shaft 6, and extends
below the same where it is connected with devices constituting part of the
governor, as will be presently described.
A cross head 12 is attached rotatably to the governor shaft 14 which cross-
head has lateral projections 15 (Figure 3) at its ends, which are provided with
recesses 16, adapted to receive the spherical or cylindrical terminals on the inner
ends of the arms 8, and also allow due sliding movement thereof as the governor
balls 10 rise and fall. The said terminals may rest in sockets formed in plates
having a flat bottom and adapted to slide easily in the recesses 16, of the cross
head 12. It will be seen that the said recessed projections 15 are on opposite
sides of the shaft 14, Figure 2 so that the governor arms 8 pass by the latter
and have consequently a greater length and leverage than would otherwise be
the case.
To adapt the arms S to this relation they are necessarily curved as
shown in Figure 2. The shaft 14 is connected with the cross head 12 by means
of a collar 13, Figure 1.
A short bar 17 (see Figures 1, 5 and 6) is pivoted to the lower end of the
governor shaft 14, and constitutes practically a flexible extension thereof having
an important function. The shaft 14 works vertically between fixed guide
rollers 18 which are journalled on the face of standard 1, while bar 17 works
between rollers 19 that are journalled on a swinging support, which latter com-
prises a crank 22 (Figure 7) fixed on a horizontal rock-shaft 23 which is journalled
in standards 1, 1° and connected with a link or equivalent valve shifting device 24
(see Figure 4) as will be presently described.
A rod 51 (Figure 1) pivotally connects bar 17 with a hand lever 52, having
a locking spring pawl 53 that engages a segmental rack 54 fixed contiguous to the
governor proper. This lever serves for shifting the bar 17 from the vertical
position to a lateral inclination, right or left, for the purpose of shifting the slide
valve (not shown) and thereby reversing the engine.
A roller on the end of the eccentric strap 25 works in the slot of the device 24
on the rock shaft 23. A rod 28 is pivoted to the eccentric strap 25 and to a
valve not shown. On the lower end of crank 22 (see Figures 5 and 6) is pivoted
a bar 31, having the rollers 19 journalled on its ends between which the afore-
mentioned bar or governor shaft extension 17 is arranged to slide It is there-
fore apparent that by shifting the said bar 17 laterally by means of the rod 51
and lever 52, the rock shaft 23 will be rotated more or less and the valve gear
reversed or placed in mid gear. The governor can shift the bar 17 up or down
so as to rotate the rock-shaft 23 and vary the throw of the valve.
It will be understood that I may use any other adjustable cut-off reversing
valve gear, for example an ordinary link for shifting the valve, in place of the
Woolf gear shown in the drawings.
The link or bar 17 is provided with ears 17ª (see Figures 7 and 10) and the
end of shaft 14 is fitted and pivoted between them. By this arrangement the
joint between shaft 14 and bar 17 can be made stronger in proportion to the
weight of the said governor stem or shaft.
The rollers 19, between which the said bar 17 works are constructed with
peripheral grooves (see Figure 9) into which the side edges of the bar 17 fit as
shown. These side edges are made as thick as the lower part of stem 14, for
the purpose of preventing the bar 17 from twisting and for guiding the lower
end of shaft 14 into the grooves of rollers 19 when the stem 14 is pushed down
as shown in Figures 5 and 6. The edges of the bar 17 are extended as shown
best in Figure 5, and form points, triangular projections, or cars 17b, that abut
on the sides of the stem or shaft 14, when the bar 17 is thrown laterally as in
Figures 5 and 6. The governor stem 14 can be pushed down until the pivot
bolt 14 has passed below rollers 19 as shown in Figure 6, and the governor has
reversed the motion of the slide valve so as to allow the steam to work against
the piston, whereby a traction engine may be controlled on a descending grade.
Thus, the crank 22 being fixed on rock shaft 23, when its lower end is directly

page_text: under the centre line of shaft 14, it holds the valve gear in mid gear; and, when
the governor has moved the lower end of said crank laterally, or out of a vertical
plane and, has given it an inclination opposite to the inclination of bar 17, as
shown by the centre lines in Figure 6, the valve gear is reversed so as to work
the steam against the piston until the speed of the engine is reduced. Figure 6
represents the position of the governor stem when it has reversed the valve gear,
so as to work steam against the piston through a small part of its stroke and
control the engine though there be some other force than the steam tending to
accelerate its motion. Thus the governor acts as an automatic brake.
The governor shaft 14 may be shifted, manually, to control the speed of the
engine, by means of the T-shaped lever 33 (Figure 1) to which rods 33b are
attached for shifting its position as required. The said lever is pivoted to a
lateral bracket 34 of the standard 1, one arm 33ª of said lever being loosely con-
nected with the governor stem 14 by means of a link 35 (Figure 1). To counter-
balance the weight of the stem or shaft 14, bar 17, cross head 12 and half of
the inner ends of the governor arms and rod 51, as well as resist the centrifugal
action of the governor balls 10, two spiral springs 36 are attached at one end
to a lug on the standard 1. and at their lower ends to a block 41 which is rotatably
attached to the inner and lower end of a threaded rod or cylindrical bar 37.
which has a lateral and downward inclination, the same working in a threaded
sleeve 38 forming a rigid attachment to the pivoted lever 33, so that it shifts
with it as the latter is shifted with the governor shaft 14. The screw 37 has
a polygonal head 39 to adapt it for application of a wrench, and a jam-nut 40
is also provided to lock the screw in any adjustment. It is apparent that, by
rotating the inclined screw 37, the tension of the springs 36 will be increased
or diminished. according as the screw is adjusted lengthwise one way or another,
so as to increase or diminish the distance between the point where the springs
are attached and the pivot of the lever 33. Thus, when the screw 37 is screwed
down, the length and tension of the springs 36 are obviously increased and also
their leverage. A hand wheel may be substituted for the screw head 39.
It is a common defect of spring governors that when the tension of the spring
is reduced so as to decrease the speed of the engine, the governor becomes less
sensitive but by my above described mechanism, the speed of the engine can be
changed to a considerable degree without materially affecting the sensitiveness
of the governor which would not be the case if the tension of the springs were
decreased or increased without changing the leverage. To further illustrate
and explain this most important part of my invention, I refer to the diagram
Figure 11. For engines of from 15 to 30 horse power I find the size and con-
struction given in this figure preferable. The length of springs 36 is 10%, inches
or from C to the arc D, E, when the distance between the C and Z is 11 inches.
If this distance were greater or less the springs would have to be longer or shorter.
Besides resisting the centrifugal action of the governor balls, the springs must
balance the weight of one half of the inner ends of the governor arms and reverse
rod 51, cross-head 12, and governor stem 14, which altogether weigh from 25
to 30 pounds. In order to balance this the springs, which, together, pull
135 pounds when stretched one inch must be stretched from the arc D, E, to
the lines a, b, c, d, e, g, Figure 11. That is when the springs act along the
line C. H, they act on a 3% inch lever, and must be stretched 049 inch, or
from D, E, to e, to balance the governor stem 14, cross-head 12. and one half
of rod 51 etc. When the springs have the position indicated by line C, K,
they act on a three-inch lever. and must be stretched 057 inch in order to
balance the governor stem. When the springs have the position indicated by
the line C, I, they act on a 2½ inch lever and must be stretched 068 of an inch,
or from D, E, to c, to balance the governor stem and one half of rod 51 etc.
When the springs have the position indicated by the line CL, they act on a
two-inch lever and must be stretched 0-85 inch, or from D, E, to b, in order
to balance the governor stem, cross-head 12, one-half of rod 51 etc. When the

page_text: springs act along the line C, N, they have a 1½ inch lever, and must be
stretched one inch or from D, E, to a, in order to balance the governor stem ete.
The line a, b, c, d, e, g, is almost straight being slightly curved upward which
shows that if the springs were shorter it would bring the points a, b, c, d, e, y,
in a more nearly straight line since then the are D, E will curve more; but,
as it is well to have long springs this must be left as it is. To find the force
with which the springs resist the action of the governor balls 10, the number
of pounds 135, which they lift when stretched one inch, must be multiplied
by the number of inches the springs are stretched below the line a, b, c, d, e, g,
and this again must be multiplied by the length of the lever on which they
act and divided by the true leverage of lever arm 33. The result will be the
force acting along link 35, available for resisting the centrifugal action of the
governor balls. When the screw 37 is adjusted to change the speed of the
engine, the lower end of the springs will move along the line P, N, L, I, K, H
which if in the same plane would form with the line an angle of nearly 50°.
The position of this line has been found by placing the line in various posi-
tions and then figuring out the number of revolutions it would take to hold the
governor balls in different positions throughout their range of movement.
Among the various positions I have tried for line P, N, L, I, K, H, Figure 9
I find the positions given it on said figure the best. It is demonstrable that the
sensitiveness of the governor remains practically the same though the speed
of the engine is changed; also that the governor is most sensitive through the
middle of its range which is the place through which it will generally be moving
while the engine is running. If the line P, N, L, K, H, were lowered, it would
make the governor too sensitive; and if it were raised it would make the
governor less sensitive; if it were lowered at the end H and raised at the end P,
it would make the governor too sensitive while running at high speed, and
not sufficiently so while running at low speed. If the end P were lowered and
the end H raised, the governor would not be sensitive while running at high
speed, but would be too sensitive while running at low speed. It is impossible
to describe all the positions in which the line F, G, might be put and still have
a good governor provided the other parts were changed to satisfy that position
of line P, H. Slight changes in the position of the crank to which the springs 36
are attached, or in the length or power of said springs, or in the length or
distance between C, A, or in the angle of the governor arms, greatly affect the
workings of the governor.
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. In connection with an automatic governor cut-off for steam engines, the
vertically slidable governor shaft or stem having a jointed extension provided
with lateral ears which are adapted for contact with said stem and form a practical
continuation of its edges, substantially as described.
2. The guide rollers having grooves into which fit edges provided on the
pivoted or flexible extension of the governor shaft substantially as described.
3. The provision of lateral projections on the ends of the cross head of the
governor shaft, the same having recesses or sockets adapted to receive the heads
of the governor arms which are curved laterally, substantially as specified.
4. The provision of a pivoted lever for lifting the governor shaft in connection
with the two counterbalance springs, and with an adjusting device which con-
nects the springs with said lever and regulates their tension, substantially as
described.
!
5. The construction of the adjusting device (mentioned under head 4) with a
screw rod connected with the counterbalance springs and working in a screw
threaded sleeve rigidly attached to the lever, substantially as described.
6. Shifting the slidable governor shaft manually by means of the pivoted

page_text: T-shaped lever and connecting link 35, an adjustable screw or rod working in a
fixed attachment of the lever, a block on the lower end of the latter, and springs
attached to said block and to the frame of the governor, substantially as described
to operate as specified.
Dated this 30th dor of Anvil 1900
A. M. & WM. CLARK.
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.