IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Henry Knight, of Washington, in the
District of Columbia, United States of America, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS."
Sealed the 5th February 1867, and dated the 20th November 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Henry Knight
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th November 1866.
I, EDWARD HENRY KNIGHT, of Washington, in the District of Columbia,
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS," to be as follows:-
The primary feature of my Invention consists in giving to the hinging axis
of the arms of ball governors, a capacity for adjustment in a plane at right
angles to the axis of revolution, so that as the hinging axis permits the vertical
motion of the ball the adjustment in a horizontal plane of the bearing of the
said hinging axis shall permit the outward swing of the ball, the two in fact
forming a universal joint permitting the ball to follow the line of motion due
to the speed and the proportions of the parts. The provision being thus made.
for the free motion of the revolving balls in a direction, a combination of the
upward and outward, these may be utilized in combination or either separately.
to impart motion to a plate or device connected to the valve or other object
requiring adjustment, that is to say, I permit the balls to swing freely under:

page_text: increment of motion, they swing upward and outward, the details being so
arranged that, first, I can utilize the upward motion alone, that is, the motion
of the ball and arm on the hinging axis, merely permitting the outward for
the sake of freedom and for the purpose of avoiding constraint and reducing
friction, but not directly utilizing it by a direct action on the parts connected
to the valve; or, secondly, I can utilize directly the outward motion as the
hinging axis rotates in a horizontal plane, the upward motion of the ball being
merely permitted; or, thirdly, I can utilize the upward and outward together,
and cumulatively to influence the plate or other object which transmits motion
to the valve. In cases where the balls are compelled to rise in a certain plane
they can only do so with perfect freedom when running at one definite speed,
and their motion on their hinging axes can never be perfectly poised when
running above or below the said definite rate; this fact is recognised by the
introduction of guides which prescribe the path of motion which would be
unnecessary were the action of the balls unconstrained. Any guide or
immovable axis which tends to warp the balls from their true line of motion
affects the freedom of their movements, entails additional friction, and inter-
cepts or prevents their delicate and instant response to an acceleration or
retardation of speed.
By my Invention the balls are free to swing in such direction as may be
induced by their speed and proportions ascending or descending under changes
of speed in such curves as may result from the combined forces of gravity and
centrifugal impulse under the condition of free pivoted attachment to bearings
which are permitted to rotate in a horizontal plane.
The Invention, as above intimated, admits of several modifications of
parts.
I will now describe the more characteristic of the arrangements which
I propose to employ, the governors being adapted, for example, to the supply
valve of a steam engine. The swinging arms which carry the balls I form
with a cam-shaped termination, on the under side of which is a lug to receive
a cross pin, which secures the arm to a vertical spindle that is free to turn in
its bearings in a horizontal plate keyed to the central shaft of the governor;
fitted to this central shaft, but capable of sliding over it while rotating with
the shaft, is a plate connected in any usual way with the valve to be regulated;
this plate bears upon the cam-shaped terminations of the pendent arms, and
as the speed of rotation of the governor balls increases the arms will move
nearer to a horizontal plane, and thus (according to the form of the cam)
raise or depress the plate that operates the valve. In general I prefer that

page_text: the bearing points of the plate shall be in the line of the axes of the spindles to
which the pendent arms are jointed; this arrangement utilizes only the upward
motion obtained from the centrifugal motion of the balls.
. In order to utilize the axial motion of the spindles to which the swinging
arms are hinged I fit the spindles with a worm or worms, or their equivalent,
in the form of slotted or face cams. The worms will work in tapped holes in
the upper plate, or the upper and lower plate and the cams will be keyed to
the spindles between the plates, and serve to sustain the upper plate. The
axial' motion therefore of the spindles (in either case) will impart a vertical
motion to the plate connected with the valve, drawing it to or thrusting it
from the fixed plate. The cams or threads of the worms may be graduated
so as to determine with exactness the amount of motion that shall be trans-
mitted to the valve relatively to the speed of the governor.
To utilize both of the above-mentioned motions dérived from the centrifugal
action of the governor balls I divide the spindle which carries the pendent
arms into two parts, and form a screw on one or both parts as in the last
arrangement, and these divided screw spindles I connect with the cam
termination of the arms (which in this case is slotted to receive a pin from the
upper screwed spindle, the other spindle being jointed to the cam piece as first
described.) The rise therefore of the arms towards the horizontal will cause
the cams to raise or depress the sliding plate, while the axial motion which
will be imparted to the spindles will through the screw. threads increase that
motion. The divided spindles may also be fitted with cams; or a double face
cam keyed on the spindle may be used to separate the plates.
Another arrangement consists in connecting the divided spindles together
by toggle joints, one limb of each joint being a rigid portion of a pendent arm.
carrying the governor ball.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters. Patent, filed
by the said Edward Henry Knight in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th May 1867:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD:
HENRY KNIGHT, of Washington, in the District of Columbia, United States of
America, send greeting.
*WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the year of our

page_text: Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Edward Henry Knight, Her special licence that I, the said Edward
Henry Knight, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Edward Henry Knight, 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 "In-
PROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS," upon the condition (amongst others): that I, the
said Edward Henry Knight, my executors or administrators, by an instru-.
ment 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 imme-.
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
t
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Henry Knight, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed;,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):--
Governor balls suspended by arms from hinging axes are usually so arranged.
as to be obliged to rise relatively to their points of support in prescribed,
vertical planes. If their tendency under increase of speed of the engine to,
which they are attached were only to fly radially from the axis around which
they revolve the ability to rise in that plane would fulfil the necessary con-
ditions; but as they do not naturally rise in that direction, but only by
compulsion of guides or of their hinges, their motion is constrained and
warped, which is injurious to their freedom and efficiency for two reasons;
first, the friction is increased as the arms bind laterally on their guides, or as
their binging joint is strained laterally; second, as it is not their natural line
of motion their response to the change of speed is not as prompt and delicate
as it would be were they permitted at all times to assume the position due to
their speed and proportions by their own line of motion. "Balls suspended
and permitted to swing freely will when they are revolved around a vertical
axis swing upward and outward, their first motion will be due to their inertia;
and they will lag behind in a direction' approximating to a plume tangential to
the circle described by their points of suspension. As the speed increases
:
I

page_text: they will swing further upward and more outward, and will actually describe
a spiral of increasing radius more and more nearly approximating to a radial
position at right angles to their axis of revolution; they will not reach this
position, but will tend towards it as the speed increases and conversely.
The primary feature of my Invention consists in giving to the hinging axis
of the arms of ball governors a capacity for adjustment on a plane at right
angles to the axis of revolution, so that as the hinging axis permits the vertical
motion of the ball the adjustment in a horizontal plane of the bearing of the
said hinging axis shall permit the outward swing of the ball, the two, in fact,
forming a universal joint permitting the ball to follow the line of motion due
to the speed and the proportions of the parts. The provision being thus made
for the free-motion of the revolving balls in a direction a combination of the
upward and outward, these may be utilized in combination or either separately
to impart motion to a plan or device connected to the valve or other object
requiring adjustment, that is to say, I permit the balls to swing freely; under
increment of motion they swing upward and outward, and I have so arranged
the details that I can utilize the upward motion alone, that is, the motion of
the ball and arm on the hinging axis, merely permitting the outward for the
sake of freedom and for the purpose of avoiding constraint and reducing
friction, but not directly utilizing it by a direct action on the parts connected
to the valve; or, secondly, I can utilize directly the outward motion as the
hinging axis rotates in a horizontal plane, the upward motion of the ball
being merely permitted; or, thirdly, I can utilize the upward and outward
together, and cumulatively to influence the plate or other object which transmits
motion to the valve. In cases where the balls are compelled to rise in a
certain plane, they can only do so with perfect freedom when running at one
definite speed, and their motion on their hinging äxes can never be perfectly
poised when running above or below the said definite rate; this fact is recog-
nized by the introduction of guides which prescribe the path of motion which
would be unnecessary were the actions of the balls unconstrained. Any guide
or immoveable axis. which tends to warp the balls from their true line of motion
affects the freedom of their movements, entails additional friction, and inter-
cepts or prevents their delicate and instant response to an acceleration or
retardation of speed. If upon an increase of speed the arms or hinging joints
of the balls have a tendency by a lateral strain or pressure to bind or rub it is
manifest that the balls cannot instantly respond; but that a cumulative force
and speed will be required to obtain such a response as would more quickly
result were the balls perfectly free to respond in their own way, and I find

page_text: that the motion due to the inertia of the balls developed upon an accession of
speed and manifested by their tendency to lag behind is much more imme-.
diately responsive and active than the tendency to assume a more radial
relative position which presently results: By my Invention, the balls are free
to swing in such direction as may be induced by their speed and proportions,
ascending or descending under changes of speed in such curves as may result
from the combined forces of gravity and centrifugal impulse under the
condition of free pivoted attachment to bearings which are permitted to rotate
in a horizontal plane.
In the accompanying Drawing, Figures 1 and 2 are elevations from different.
points of view of my governor, in which the balls and their adjuncts are so
arranged as to depress and elevate the upper plate by rising and falling
respectively, the depression and elevation of the plate and the gland above it
being positive motions derived from the vertical movements of the balls.
Fig. 3 is a Diagram representing the position of the balls in Fig. 2 as
viewed from above. -
Fig. 4 is a detached view of one cam or curved toe with its hanger and a.
portion of the plate on which it is pivoted, and also of the plate above it ; in
this modification the upper plate is to be depressed by a spring or weight
assisted by its own gravity, when by the rising of the ball the cam is rotated
on its hanging axis, the return motion or lifting of the plate being accom-.
plished by the descent of the governor ball.
Fig. 5 is a detached view of a modification, differing from Fig. 4 in this
respect only, that the rising of the ball elevates the plate which rests upon the
cam; the return motion being made by the gravity of the plate assisted by a
spring if necessary.
Fig. 6 is an elevation showing a modification in which the hanger from
which the ball is suspended is supported by bearings above and below the.
cam or curved toe spanning the bracket which forms the upper bearing.
Fig. 7 is an elevation showing a modification in which the supporting.
bracket extends below the plate instead of above it; this form differs from
Fig. 6 in this respect, in Fig. 6 the hanger is supported by pivots or bearings
above and below, in Fig. 7 by an extended bearing below. In the former
case the cam or curved toe is required to span the hanger and supporting
bracket, in the latter case it spans the hanger only; in the former case an
advantage is derived from the mode of supporting, in the latter case an
advantage may arise from diminishing the length of the cam or curved toe.
Fig. 8 is an illustration of a peculiar form of cam or toe arranged to allow

page_text: the upper plate to drop by the vertical motion of the balls in either direction.
from a given vertical position. The object of this Figure is to illustrate the
fact that the cam or toe may be made of such a form as to drop the plate by
a vertical motion either above or below a certain point.
.
Fig. 9 shews a modification pressing the same general characteristics as
the other Figures in respect of the revolution in a horizontal plane of the
hangers from which the governor arms and balls are suspended, but differing
from the former Figures in this respect, that the curved toe spur or cam is
below the axis of oscillation of the governor arm, which may somewhat facili-
tate the suspension of the governor from the ceiling, or from a point above
rather than upon a post or other sub-support.
In the Drawings A represents a standard or post which supports the revolving
portion of the governor; B is the plate from which the balls C are suspended
by the arms D; the latter have their bearings in the hangers E which are
pivoted in the plate B. Under the required impulse the ball C rises vertically,
vibrating on its horizontal bearings in the hanger, while it can move horizon-
tally by the rotation of its supporting hanger in a horizontal plane on its
vertical bearings in the plate B. The motion of the ball under an increment
or diminution of speed will call into play both these adjustments, as the ball
will ascend or descend in curves of increasing or decreasing radii. - It is this
freedom of motion which forms the distinguishing characteristic of my governor,
as the balls are not compelled to follow any particular track by guides or by
bearings which have no horizontal adjustment under impulses which tend in
that direction. This general characteristic of freedom of motion is main-
tained in all the illustrations, while certain modifications of detail are apparent
in the different Figures. Attached to the arms of the governor are cams, toes,
or tappets H which more with the vertical motion of the balls irrespective of
the actual position of the hangers E in the plane of their horizontal adjust-
ment. It is preferred, as in Figures 4, 5, and 8, that a vertical line through
the axis of the hanger E shall strike the line of the axis of suspension of the
arms D, and also the point where the cam H touches, the plate F; or, as
in Figures 1, 2, 13, 15, 16, 17, and .,19, where the vertical axis of the
hanger E and the swivel pin I-intersect, the axis of the pin which traverses in
the slot of the cam H and the pivot upon which the governor ball arms are
hinged.
.
In Figures 6 and 7 the axis of vibration of the ball arms is somewhat on
one side of the vertical line of the axis of horizontal vibration, but the same
principle is retained of vibration on the horizontal axis to permit the balls

page_text: to swing according to their tendency under the conditions of speed and
proportions.
In Figures 1, 2, 4, 9, 18, 17, and 19 it will be perceived that the rising.
of the balls causes the downward motion of the plate F, to which the
gland G is attached, while in the Figures 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, the rising of the
governor balls has the effect of raising the plate F; this variation is an
optional feature, the respective. value of the. two plans varying perhaps with
different circumstances.
.
-In Figures 1, 2, 9, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, it may also be observed that.. the
upward' and downward motions of the plate Fare both caused by: the direct
action of the balls as they fall or rise. The hanger E and swivel pin I are
easily rotated in a horizontal plane, so as to permit the formerly described
motions of the balls. The cam H in these Figures has a slot of the required
curve, relatively to the axis upon which it turns, so as to raise or drop the
plate a given distance with a given vertical motion of. the balls, more or less,
and in such proportions as may be proper for the purpose designed. The
means by which the governor is driven is not material. I have shown a pair
of bevil cog wheels which run the vertical shaft O on which the plate B is
fastened, so as to rotate with the shaft O; attached by a feather to the said.
shaft, but with a vertical. adjustability,. is the plate F which rises and falls as
attached by the governor balls. A gland G is attached to the plate F, and
revolves therewith, and upon this gland the arms of a rod may be placed, so
that the vertical movements of the plate may be communicated to an arm,
lever, or mechanical device or means of transmitting motion to the throttle or
other valve, or to any other object requiring adjustment.
Figures 10 and 11 are elevations from different points of view of a portion
of a governor, so arranged that the motion in a horizontal plane of the hanger
or spindle from which the ball is suspended is made to impart the required
motion to the plate F. The means by which the rotation of the spindle. may
be made to effect the motion required may be a thread, threads, or worm
upon the spindle or spindles which traverse counterpart hollow screws in the
plate or plates, as in Fig. 12, or the means may consist, as in, Figures 10 and
1.1, of an inclined' plane or groove-in or upon a pièce attached to the spindle,
the said incline actuating a plate which communicates with the steam valve or
other object in any suitable manner.
'The Invention in the form illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and some other
Figures, consist in making the hanger from which the governor ball is
suspended adjustable in a horizontal plane, so that the arm carrying the

page_text: ball may be free to rise in such a vertical plane or in such curve as may be
induced by the speed and proportions of the parts. In said Figures 1 and 2.
it is the vertical motion of the governor ball that is utilized in producing an
effective action upon the plate connected to.the throttle valve, the horizontal
adjustment of the hanger from which the ball is suspended sérving to give.
the ball freedom of motion, which, diminishes friction and gives sensitiveness.
to the governor, as has been explained.
In my Invention, as illustrated in Figures 10, 11, 12, the rotary motion of
the hanger from which the governor. ball is suspended is made to actuate the
devices which control the steam valve opening or other object while the
vertical motion of. the ball is not directly, utilized; as the speed increases the
ball will fly upwardly. and outwardly. In the illustrations, Figures 1 and 2,
its upward motion is utilized, and the rotary motion of its hanger permitted..
In the illustratons, Figures 10, 11, 12, the rotary motion of the hanger is
utilized, and the upward motion of the ball permitted.
. In Figures 10 and 11, B represents the plate from which the governor
balls. C are suspended. by arms D and hangers, E, which have a capacity for
horizontal adjustment or partial rotation in their sockets when the balls move
outward or inward under changes of speed in the engine.; when the hangers E
and the boxes L attached thereto are thus rotated the T-heads of the upper
spindles M; which are. rigidly attached to the plate F, are caused to traverse
the inclined grooves in the boxes L, which elevates or depresses the plate F
as the said T-heads ascend or descend in the grooves. The upper spindles M
in Figures 10 and 11 are attached to the plate F, and. their vertical motion
is 'communicated to the throttle valve by means of a forked and pivoted lever
arm which clasps the gland G, or in any other suitable manner.
In Figures 10 and 11, which are elevations from different points of view of
the same form. of governor, although the plates B, F, revolve together with
the shaft O, the plate F is connected with the shaft by a feather so as to
revolve with it, and also have a capacity for vertical motion under the circum-
stances detailed of change of speed of the driving power.
In Fig. 12 instead of a box L whose enlarged diameter permits a given
pitch without making the inclined plane too steep the thread is placed imme-
diately upon the spindle of the hanger E, which occupies threaded sockets in
the plates B, F, so that as the spindle rotates it causes the plate F'to rise
and recede from the plate B by the sum of the vertical distances traversed by
the right and left screw threads in their respective sockets. As the revolving
plate B is a fixture, as regards change in vertical position, the lower screw

page_text: spindle E climbs in the plate B, raising the plate F to that extent, while the
plate F rises by the same impulse on the upper screw spindle, so that the
actual rise of the plate F is equal to the sum of the longitudinal motion of
the spindles in their screw sockets. The short post T on the plate B, Fig. 12,
stops the revolution of the spindles by the contact of the spur S on the latter
with the post; this is for the purpose of stopping the downward motion of the
spindle so that it may stop at the right place, permitting the arm of the governor
ball to swing nearly tangentially to the circle of revolution of its point of suspen-
sion at the moment of its start. The curved arm or cam attached to the arm
of the governor ball, or the thread on the spindle from which the ball is sus-
pended, may be so constructed or proportioned that as the ball swings outward
and upward under the impulse derived from its revolution it shall give a
gradually increasing or decreasing motion to the plate F or its equivalent.
Fig. 13 is an elevation of a. cam, calculated as shown by the respective
ordinates to move the plate to a greater extent with a given motion at the
early portion of its stroke than with an equal motion on its axis at a later
period of its stroke; the ninety degrees embraced in the curve of the cam
being divided into nine equal parts, it will be seen that the amount of vertical.
motion of the plate moved by it will gradually decrease as the governor
ball ascends; by this means a greater vertical motion of the plate' will be
attained at low speeds with a given vertical motion of the balls than is obtained
by an equal vertical motion of the balls at a higher speed, thereby enabling.
the governor to make corresponding changes in the area of steam opening ;
the capacity for automatic adjustment in this respect is a valuable feature in
steam engines, the form of the curve of the cam being calculated and adapted
to the requirements of any particular case. H is the slotted curved plate or cam,
from which is suspended the arm D, on whose end the governor ball is attached;
B is the plate on which the hanger E is placed, the plate B being revolved on
a vertical axis in the same manner as shown in Figures 1 and 2; F is the upper
plate, which also revolves on the said vertical axis, and its swivel I carries a
pini, which occupies the slot h in the cam H, which is journalled by means
of the pin k in the hanger E. As the plates B and F revolve, the governor
ball will fly outward in the direction of the arrow, and will cause the cam H
to rock on its axis k, drawing down the plate F by means of the traversal of
the pin i in the slot h of the cam H; the said slot, as will appear by a com-
parison of the lengths of the ordinates, will not only as the cam H is rocked
cause the plate F to approach the plate B, but the cam H will have a greater
effect at the earlier portion of its motion than at the later, that is, a gradually.

page_text: decreasing effect'in producing vertical motion of the plate F. It will be per-.
ceived (see Fig. 18) that the ninety degrees described by the slot are for
illustration divided by ordinates into sections of ten degrees each, and that the
point m occupied by the pin i at one end of the slot is more distant from the
centre k than the point n at the other end of the slot. For the sake of illus-
tration I have divided this space of, say, three-quarters of an inch in the
illustration into nine unequal parts, marked respectively.9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1;
which represent respectively so many forty-fifths of three-quarters of an inch.
The space marked 9 is supposed to consist of one-fifth of the whole space of
three-quarters of an inch, equal to ths of inch; the next space this;
the ths, and so on; thus when the cam H is rocked 10 degrees at the
commencement of the upward motion of the governor. balls the plate F is
drawn down, of of an inch, and each succeeding 10° of motion of the
cam having a gradually decreasing vertical effect upon the plate F; which
is connected by a rod or any other mechanical device to the steam valve, or
other object requiring adjustment.
In Figure 14 is shown a worm or thread & upon the spindle of the hanger E
which is rotated by the swinging outwardly of the governor balls, and this
thread or inclined plane, instead of having a regular pitch has a gradually.
decreasing pitch. As the governor balls and arms with an increase of speed:
assume a position more and more nearly radial to their axis of revolution the
hangers from which they are suspended will rotate if permitted. This motion,
more fully explained heretofore in this Specification; is therein proposed to.be..
utilized in obtaining a rectilinear motion, and I herein propose to make the
lifting thread of an increasing or decreasing twist, so that the said motion of thei
governor balls in a direction approaching the radial shall have the graduated.
effect described when treating of Figure 13 of the Drawing accompanying
this Specification. It is not a material point to the present Invention whether
the governor be so constructed as to cause the plate F to rise or to fall by the
vertical motion of the governor balls. In the former case the lowest point on
the bearing surface of the cam will be in contact with the plate For its
adjuncts when the balls are at rest, and in the latter case the highest point
will be in the said contact under like circumstances of inaction. I consider it
best that the bearing point of the lifter on the plate should be above the
hinging axis of the governor ball, but this is not an absolute necessity:
_ I now proceed to show that the vertical movement of the cam and the
rotary movement of the hanger may be combined either with or without the
graduated action of Figures 13 and 14.
. .

page_text: · Fig. 16 represents a ball' suspended by an arm from a slotted cam hinged
in a hanger E which has a partial rotation on a vertical axis in the plate B:
As the ball swings outwardly the upper spindle I rotates in the plate F, and
the screw on the said spindle causes the plate F. to rise when rotated.in.the
proper direction. At the upper part of the governor arm is a slotted cam: H
occupied by a cross pin i at the lower part of the spindle I. As the ball rises
in starting or with increment of speed the pin i:at the end of the spindle I
traverses in the slot and is thereby raised, the end of the curved slot being
farther from the pivot in the hanger E than the end:n which is occupied by
the pin when at rest: Thus it will be seen in Fig.16 that when the: ball rises
and moves outwardly, both of which motions will naturally follow an increase
of speed, the plate E will be raised by the revolution of the screw.spindle I
therein and also by the slotted cam H, the raising of F being-due to both and
equal to the sum of these influences, that is, the rising of..the ball and its
outward motion, which causes the spindle to: revolve..:
In Fig. 17 is shown a combination, the union of the slotted cam H, shown
in Fig. 16, and the two screw spindles, shown in Figure 12; in the latter Figure
the screws have a combined effect upon the moveable plate F; and the motion
of these screws is 'due to the outward motion of the, ball, not the upward, for.
that is free in its bearing at w and does not affect. the plate. F... In Fig.1.6
one of the spindles has a thread upon it which raises: the plate. F as the ball.
swings outward; and a slotted cam H which raises. the plate Fan additional
amount as the ball rises, the cam H rotating on its pivot in the hanger E.
In Fig. 17 the motion of the plate F is effected by the rotation of the two
spindles E, I, and also by the rotation in a vertical plane of the slotted cam H,
so that three motions, all tending in the same direction, are brought to bear
to produce the effect which in this case is to depress the plate F and catise it
to approach the plate B. I have shown in this Figure (17) the plate Fas
depressed by the increment of motion of the balls, it is immaterial, so far as
the Invention is concerned, whether the plate F is raised or lowered, as a
motion being generated it can be conveniently transmitted to the steam valve
or other object by any suitable mechanical contrivance in a manner familiar
to those acquainted with this class of machinery. In Figure 15 is shown a
mode of combining the variable adjustment with the cam, Figures 1 and 2, as,
in addition to the arrangement for giving the cam H freedom to rise in the
direction incident to the speed and proportion of its parts, it has the variability
of action or graduation before explained under Fig. 13.
In Figure 18 is an illustration of the combination of the spindle or hanger

page_text: with a capability of rotation in a horizontal plane and a variable pitch to the
screw thereon, so that the variability previously referred to and more par-
ticularly illustrated in Fig. 20 may be used in connection with the horizontally
rotating spindle described, which receives its motion from the outward action
of the balls, and effects the movement of the plate or gland which is connected
to the valve or other object requiring adjustment: :
In Fig. 19 is shown a governor in which several features of my Invention
are combined. As the ball revolves and swings upward and outward its
hanger E is permitted to rotate so as to secure freedom of motion. The
threads t, t, upon the spindles E, I, as the latter rotate, will affect the relative
position of the plates B, F, and the peculiar curve of the cam H causes a
greater vertical motion of the plate F at low speed with a given vertical
motion of the ball than is obtained by an equal vertical motion of the ball
when revolving at a higher speed.
Fig. 20 is a Diagram illustrating the graduated thread having a function
corresponding to the cam in Fig. 13. The thread t has-a-gradually decreasing
pitch, as appears by the ordinates; and the effect of the screw upon the
projections R of the plate F is to give a graduated action, as formerly explained
in connection with Fig. 13.
In Fig. 21 a spur or finger V from above the hinging joint of the governor
arm projects upward and is jointed to a link P pivotted above to a spindle I in
the plate F; the finger V and link I together form a toggle, and the upward
motion of the ball bends the toggle and brings the plate F nearer to the
plate B, the two ends of the toggle being hinged in bearings which are capable
of horizontal rotation in the respective plates F, B. The downward motion
of the balls restores the normal position. The parts may be so arranged as to
straighten the toggle by the raising of the ball, if so desired. A different effect
in the graduation of the movement of the plate F will be thereby produced.
Having described my Invention of "Improvements in Governors," and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be under-
stood that what I claim as new and desire to secure under the above recited
Letters Patent is,-
First, a governor whose ball arms are hinged in bearings capable of adjust-
ment or motion in a horizontal plane in such a manner as to enable the arms
to assume their own plane of vertical motion, as above described.
Second, a governor having its ball or balls suspended from vertical spindles
whose partial rotation actuates a steam valve or other object requiring adjust-
ment, as above described.

page_text: Third, I claim, in combination with a partially rotating vertical spindle, a
cam or curved plate supported by or connected with the said spindle and
partially rotated by the vertical movement of the ball, as above described.
Fourth, in a governor whose ball arms are hinged in bearings capable of
partial rotation in a horizontal plane, I claim a graduated cam, substan-
tially as indicated in Fig. 18, or graduated thread, substantially as shewn in
Fig. 18.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Henry Knight, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witnesses,
SALEM HOWE WALES,
W. DEAN OVERELL.
EDWARD HENRY KNIGHT. (L.S.)