AN IMPROVED
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Thomas Abell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th June 1880.
JOHN THOMAS ABELL, of the City of London, Engineer.
GOVERNOR FOR STEAM ENGINES."
"AN IMPROVED
The object of this Invention is to secure a better regulation of the supply of
steam to the engine cylinder by simple and efficient means, which object I attain
as follows:-
To the hollow spindle of a governor I attach two arms at right angles thereto,
forming a sort of †; on each of these two arms I loosely fit a metal ball, so that,
when in motion, they can freely move thereon. The sockets of the said balls
project slightly on their outer sides, on which I fit each end of a curved spring.
The centre or upper part of such curved spring I secure to the upper end of the
valve spindle, which works in the ordinary way within the said hollow spindle.
The balls of this improved governor, when in action, freely fly apart upon the said
arms, and thereby open the said curved spring, which causes the upper part thereof
to press downward the valve spindle, and thus reduces the supply of steam to the
engine cylinder, and which consequently reduces the speed of the engine, when the
said balls are pressed inwards by the said spring, which causes the upper part
thereof to rise and, with it, the valve spindle, thereby opening the said valve and
increasing the supply of steam to the said cylinder.
It will thus be seen that the construction of this governor is very simple,
compact, and neat, and consequently cheap.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Thomas Abell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
December 1880.
JOHN THOMAS ABELL, of the City of London, Engineer.
GOVERNOR FOR STEAM ENGINES."
"AN IMPROVED
The object of this Invention is to secure a better regulation of the supply of
steam to the engine cylinder by simple and efficient means, which object I attain
as follows:
In order that my said Invention may be more fully understood and be more
readily performed, I will explain the same with the aid of the accompanying
Drawing, which forms part of this Specification, reference being made thereto by
the numerals and letters marked thereon; the same index letter refers to similar
parts in each Figure of the said Drawing.
Fig. 1 is a front view, one-half in section, of my improved governor; and Fig. 2
is a side elevation of the same.
To the hollow spindle a of a governor I attach two arms b projecting at right-
angles thereto; on each of the two arms b I loosely fit a metal ball c, so that, when
in motion, such balls can freely slide to and fro on the said arms, controlled by the
spring d; the sockets of the said balls project on their outer sides at c', as shown in
Fig. 1. On these projecting sockets I fit the ends of a spring d made to any
suitable or convenient curve. The centre or upper portion of such curved spring I
secure, in any convenient manner, to the upper part of the valve spindle at e.
The balls c of this improved governor, when in action from centrifugal force,
freely fly apart, sliding on the arins b, and thereby open the curved spring d, which
causes the upper portion of such spring to press downwards the valve spindle f,
which partially or wholly closes the throttle valve, and thereby dimishes the
supply of steam to the engine cylinder, and consequently reduces the speed of the
engine, as usual.
When the centrifugal force is reduced, the balls c are pressed
inwards by the spring d, which causes the upper part of such spring to rise and lift
the valve spindle f, thereby opening the said throttle valve and increasing the
supply of steam to the said cylinder, and consequently increasing the speed of the
engine, as usual.
The action of this improved governor is found in practice to be oasy, sensitive,
regular, and efficient. It is simple in construction, neat, and compact, and
consequently cheap.
One of the advantages of my improved governor is that it can be used horizontally
and at any angle, as well as vertically.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention and
the method of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not
restrict myself to the precise dimensions or forms of the several parts now described
by way of illustration, but I claim as my Invention and desire to secure by the
before-mentioned in part recited Letters Patent,-
The construction of a steam governor with the balls thereof arranged to slide
freely on rigid arms, and to control the action of such balls and operate them
inwards by a curved spring, substantially as herein described and shown in the
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Thomas Abell, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.