IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR APPA- RATUS FOR REGULATING OR CONTROLLING THE PRESSURE AND FLOW or İLLUMINATING OR OTHER GAS."ATION
Year: 1875

page_text: A
LETTERS PATENT to David Bruce Peebles, of the Fountainbridge
Works, Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR APPA-
RATUS FOR REGULATING OR CONTROLLING THE PRESSURE AND FLOW or
İLLUMINATING OR OTHER GAS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David Bruce Peebles
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 26th June 1876.
I, DAVID BRUCE PEEBLES, of the Fountainbridge Works, Edinburgh,
in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS
OR APPARATUS FOR REGULATING OR CONTROLLING THE PRESSURE AND FLOW OF
İLLUMINATING OR OTHER Gas," to be as follows, that is to say :—

page_text: luminating or other gas, such modifications being respectively designed
for station governors, district governors, and lamp or small governors.
An important and advantageous feature of the station and district
governors consists in the action of their main parts being controlled by
small governors such as those described in the Specification of Letters
Patent granted to the present applicant, and dated 16 September 1871,
(No. 2446), or other suitable small kind, such small governor being
placed near the large one or at a greater or less distance from it as may
be most convenient.
In a station governor made with the improvements a bell or holder is
placed in a closed vessel containing water or other suitable liquid, and
is rendered buoyant by a float formed round its bottom edge. The bell
is guided vertically by tubes fixed to it and working freely over
cylindrical guides fixed to the bottom of the vessel, and the pumping
action of the guides in the tubes moderates pulsations, which sudden
changes of pressure may tend to create.
The main regulating valve, which may be of a conical, conoidal, or
spherical form, is suspended from the centre of the dome of the bell by a
rod passing down through a tube which is fixed to the bottom of the
vessel and reaches above the water level. The bottom of the tube opens
into the outlet compartment of the part containing the valve, the valve
seat being in the bottom of that compartment, and having the inlet
space beneath it. The raising of the valve by the bell contracts the
passage, diminishing the flow of gas, and vice versa, and in order to
counteract tendency to pulsate, the valve may be made hollow and with
a bottom cylindrical part working on or in a fixed cylindrical guide.
Pulsation is also diminished by fixing to the valve rod a tube, the upper
end of which is closed except one or two small lateral perforations.
This tube extends down over the fixed central tube and dips into the
water. As the gas can get into or out of the interior of the bell only
through the small perforations, a change of pressure in the outlet pipe
cannot act too suddenly on the bell.
The apparatus is adjusted to allow the desired flow and pressure of
gas in the outlet pipe by regulating the pressure of gas occupying the
upper part of the vessel outside the bell, and which pressure controls
the lifting action of the bell. This gas outside of the bell has access
to the vessel by a very small branch pipe from the main inlet pipe, and
there being a similar branch pipe having a small orifice leading from the

page_text: vessel to the main outlet pipe there is always some gas flowing through
the vessel outside of the bell. On the small inlet branch pipe there is
a small governor which determines the pressure in the vessel, and which
is itself adjusted by means of very small weights.
In a modification of the apparatus suitable as a district governor or
for a theatre or other establishment having a large number of lights,
there is substituted for the bell and the water a bellows or diaphragm of
flexible material to which a lifting tendency is imparted by a counter-
weighted lever. These parts are contained in a closed compartment to
which gas has access by a small inlet branch fitted with a small
governor, and from which it passes by a small outlet branch. The large
governor is adjusted to give the minimum day pressure. The small
governor is adjusted to give the maximum night pressure. So that
when increased pressure is put on in the evening, the various district
3 governors working automatically will also give increased pressure, until
they reach the pressure to which the small governor is adjusted, above
which point they cannot go however much the initial or inlet pressure
may be increased.
Instead of controlling the main station or district apparatus by a
O small governor, it may be done by means of a simple adjustable stop
valve on the small inlet pipe, or such pipe may be fitted with both
governor and stop valve. The small governor or stop valve may be fitted
up in the engineer's or manager's office, or at any reasonable distance
from the main apparatus, the small branch pipe being led from and to
the apparatus for the purpose.
In the small or lamp governor which is of a kind regulating the
volume or flow of the gas the principle object of the improvements is to
facilitate the cleaning of the parts. In it the gas from the inlet presses
on the under side of a horizontal diaphragm, the upper side of which
communicates with the outlet. The valve is a conical, conoidal, or
spherical one, entering up into the bottom of the burner or outlet tube,
which last is screwed into the cover of the governor. The bottom of the
valve is pointed and rests in a conical cup fixed on the centre of the
diaphragm. The gas has access to the upper side of the diaphragm and
to the outlet by a lateral passage controlled by a small screw, the point
of which opens or closes a hole made in a block tin washer or disc
inserted between the top and bottom casing. The head of the screw fits

page_text: "
in a recess into which wax or a soft fusible metal can be run and be
impressed with a seal.
When the governor appears to require cleaning it is simply necessary
to unscrew the outlet tube and to lift out the conical valve by a stem
with which it is made for the purpose; the valve can then be easily 5
cleaned as well as the bottom orifice of the tube which forms the valve
seat.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said David Bruce Peebles in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
BRUCE PEEBLES, of the Fountainbridge Works, Edinburgh, in the
County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, Engineer, send greeting.
3
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said David Bruce Peebles, Her special licence,
that I, the said David Bruce Peebles, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said David Bruce Peebles, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GOVERNORS OR APPARATUS FOR REGULATING OR CONTROLLING THE PRESSURE AND
FLOW OF ILLUMINATING OR OTHER GAS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said David Bruce Peebles, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said David Bruce Peebles, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
.
My said Invention comprises various modifications of governors or
apparatus for regulating or controlling the pressure and flow of
illuminating or other gas, such modifications being respectively designed
for station governors, district governors, and lamp or small governors.
An important and advantageous feature of my improved station and
district governors consists in the action of their main parts being
controlled by small governors, such as those described in the Specifi-
cation of certain Letters Patent granted to me, and dated 16 September
1871 (No. 2446), or other suitable small kind, such small governor
being placed near the large one, or at a greater or less distance from it
as may be most convenient.
In my small or lamp governor, which is of a kind regulating the
volume or flow of the gas, the principal object of my improvements is to
facilitate the cleaning of those parts which are more liable to have
their action rendered imperfect by the deposition on them of matters
from the gas.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I hereunto append a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be berein-after referred to, and representing
various modifications of my improved apparatus. In these Drawings
the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts
wherever they are repeated.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a station governor as made with a
modification of my improvements. In this case a bell or holder 1 is
placed in a closed vessel 2 containing water or other suitable liquid, and is
rendered buoyant by a float or annular water-tight compartment 8
formed round its bottom edge. The bell 1 is guided vertically by
tubes 4 fixed to the float 3, and working freely over cylindrical guides 5
fixed to the bottom of the vessel 2, and the pumping action of the
guides 4 in the tubes 3 moderates pulsations which sudden changes of
pressure may tend to create.
Small apertures are formed at the tops of

page_text: the tubes 3 for the equalisation of the gas pressure inside and outside of
.them.
The main regulating valve 6 which may be of a conical, conoidal, or
as shown of a spherical form, is suspended from the centre of the dome
of the bell 1 by a rod 7 passing down through a tube 8 which is fixed
to the bottom of the vessel 2, and reaches above the water level. Tho
bottom of the tube 8 opens into the outlet compartment 9 of the part
containing the valve 6, the valve seat being in the bottom of that
compartment and having the inlet space 10 beneath it. The raising of the
valve 6 by the bell 1 contracts the passage through the valve seat,
diminishing the flow of gas, and vice versâ; and in order to counteract
tendency to pulsate the valve 6 is made with a bottom cylindrical
part 11 working on or in a fixed cylindrical guide 12. Pulsation is also
diminished by fixing to the valve rod 7 a tube 13, the upper end of
which is closed except one or two small lateral perforations. This
tube 13 extends down over the fixed central tube 8 and dips into the
water. As the gas can get into or out of the interior of the bell 1 only
through the small perforations in the top of the tube 18, a change of
pressure in the outlet passage 9, 14, cannot act too suddenly on the
bell 1.
The apparatus is adjusted to allow the desired flow and pressure of
gas in the outlet pipe by regulating the pressure of gas occupying the
space 15 in the vessel 2 above the water and outside of the bell 1, and
which pressure controls the lifting action of the bell. Gas has access to
the space 15 by a very small branch pipe 16 from the main inlet pipe 17, 2
and there is a similar branch pipe 18 which communicates with the vessel 2
by a small orifice, and which leads from the vessel 2 to the main outlet
pipe 14, so that there is always some gas flowing through the space 15.
On the small inlet branch pipe 16 there is a small governor 19 which
determines the pressure in the space 15 of the vessel 2, and which is 3
itself adjusted by means of very small weights. The branch pipes 16, 18,
are fitted with stop-cocks 20, 21, to stop communication with tho
mains 17, 14, when opening the vessel 2 for any purpose.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of a modification of my improved
station governor in which the central tubes 8, 13, and the guide tubes 4 8
and guides 5 are dispensed with in order to simplify and cheapen the
apparatus. The inlet and outlet spaces 10, 9, are carried up inside the

page_text: "
bell 1, as in some existing governors, the valve 6 being near the top.
The body 11 of the valve works in a guide 12, which in this example is
a cylindrical vessel communicating by a small pipe 22 with the water
outside the outlet piece 9, and as the water can only pass slowly into or
out of this vessel 12 it prevents pulsations. The pipe 22 serves for
fixing the guide vessel 12 to the inlet and outlet pieces 10, 9.
Figures 3 and 4 represent a modification of my improved apparatus
suitable as a district governor, or for a theatre, or other establishment
having a large number of lights, Figure 3 being a plan of the apparatus
as with the cover removed, and Figure 4 a vertical section. In this
modification there is substituted for the bell 1 a diaphragm 28 of flexible
material, to which a lifting tendency is imparted by a counterweighted
lever 24. These parts are contained in a closed compartment 15, to
which the gas has access by a small inlet branch 16 fitted with a small
governor 19, and from which it passes by a small inlet branch 18.
The large governor is adjusted by means of the weights 25 applied to
the lever 24 to give what is desired to be the minimum pressure during
the day. The small governor 19 is adjusted to give what is desired to
be the maximum night pressure, so that when increased pressure is put
on in the evening the various district governors working. automatically
will also give increased pressure until the gas passing them attains the
maximum pressure for which the small governor 19 is adjusted. But
the gas passing through each district governor cannot attain a greater
pressure than that for which the small governor 19 is adjusted, however
much the initial pressure may be increased. A water sealed com-
munication 82 is provided between the inlet 17 and outlet 14 to allow
any water deposited in the pipes from the gas to pass in either direction,
and when the governor is first placed, sufficient water to seal the
passage 82 is filled in by a pipe 83 with a screw plug provided for the
purpose.
Instead of controlling the main station or district apparatus by a
small governor 19 it may be done by means of a simple stop-cock 20 on
the small inlet branch pipe 16, or such pipe may be fitted with both
governor and stop valve. The small governor 19 on the stop valve 20
may be fitted up in the engineer's or manager's office, or at any
reasonable distance from the main apparatus, the small branch pipe 16
being led from and to the apparatus for the purpose. The modifications
of my governing apparatus herein-before described as designed for

page_text: "station" and "district "
governors may also be used for controlling
the pressure and flow of gas in cases in which the terms “station" and
"district" are not applied.
Figure 5 is a vertical section of a small or lamp governor as made
with my improvements. In this apparatus the gas from the inlet 17
presses on the under side of a flexible horizontal diaphragm 23, the
upper side of which communicates with the outlet. The valve 6 is a
conical, conoidal, or spherical one, entering up into the bottom of the
burner or outlet tube 26, which last is screwed into the cover 27 of the
governor. The bottom of the valve 6 is pointed and rests in a conical
cup 28 fixed on the centre of the diaphragm 23. The gas has access
to the upper side of the diaphragm 28 and to the outlet tube 26 by a
lateral passage.29 controlled by a small screw 30, the point of which
closes or opens a hole made in a block tin washer or disc inserted
between the cover 27 and the lower part 31 of the governor casing. The
head of the screw is in a recess in the cover 27, into which recess wax
or easily fused metal can be run and be impressed with a seal. When
the governor appears to require cleaning it is simply necessary to
unscrew the outlet tube 26 and to lift out the conical valve 6 by a
stem with which it is made for the purpose; the valve can then be
easily cleaned as well as the bottom orifice of the tube 26 which forms
the valve seat.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention and the manner
of performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself to
the precise details herein described or delineated; but that what I
believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The combining together of a large and small governor for gas, the
small one regulating the pressure on one side of a bell or diaphragm in
the large one, substantially as herein-before described.
2. The opposing of the lifting or valve closing tendency of the bell or
diaphragm in a gas governor by gas continuously flowing by small
orifices into and out of the space above such bell or diaphragm, and the
pressure of which gas is regulated by a small governor (19) or by a
stop-cock (20), substantially as herein-before described.
3. The arranging of the main valvo (6) with a body (11) to work
3. The arranging of the main valvo (6) with a body (11) to work
1

page_text: over or in a guide (12), substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before described.
4. The arranging of the tubes (13, 8), and the tubes (4) and guides (5)
to check pulsation, substantially as herein-before described.
5. The arranging of separate adjustments for maximum and minimum
pressures in the same governor or compound governor, substantially as
herein-before described with reference to Figures 3 and 4 of the accom-
panying Drawings.
6. The constructing and combining together of the valve (6), cup (28),
tube (26), and cover (27), in the manner and for the purposes herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said David Bruce Peebles, have-here-
unto set my hand and seal, this. Twenty-first day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
D. BRUCE PEEBLES. (L.S.) ·