IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF WATER TO WATER WHEELS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clissold, of Dudbridge, in the County of
Gloucester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF WATER TO WATER WHEELS."
Sealed the 24th April 1857, and dated the 5th November 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clissold at tho
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th November 1856.
I, WILLIAM CLISSOLD, of Dudbridge, in the County of Gloucester, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF WATER TO WATER WHEELS," to be as follows:-
The mode now generally in use for regulating the supply of water to water
wheels has the disadvantage of drawing too much water after the speed is
sufficiently slackened, or of shutting off the supply too soon before the water
wheel attains the required speed. In fact, the present regulators or governors
do not act with sufficient accuracy and nicety under all circumstances, and
considerable inconvenience and injury sometimes arise in consequence thereof.
The present Invention consists in adapting to the regulating gear of a water
wheel a clutch and cam, which are made to act upon the arms of a cog wheel
placed on a fixed bar at an angle to the toothed gear communicating with the
shut. Accordingly, therefore, as the clutch pin and cam are moved to and fro.
laterally, the pin acts more or less upon the regulating gear, and causes the

page_text: wheel to rotate either a part of a revolution, a whole one, or more than one, as
the case may be. By this means the quantity of water that is required to be
supplied to or cut off from the wheel may be regulated to a nicety, and only
that quantity will be supplied which will suffice to keep the wheel at tho
average and proper speed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clissold in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th May 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLISSOLD, of Dudbridge, in the County of Gloucester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, lid, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clissold, Her special license that I, the said William Clissold,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Clissold, 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, exer-
cise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF WATER TO WATER WHEELS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Clissold, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Clissold, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:-
The mode now generally in uso for regulating the supply of water to water
wheels has the disadvantage of drawing too much water after the speed is s
sufficiently slackened, or of shutting off the supply too soon before the water

page_text: wheel attains the required speed. In fact, the present regulators or governors
do not act with sufficient accuracy and nicety under all circumstances, and
considerable inconvenience and injury sometimes arise in consequence of this
defect.
5 The present Invention of "Improved Apparatus for Regulating the Supply of
Water to Water Wheels" consists in adapting to the regulating gear of a water
wheel a clutch and cam, which are made to act upon the arms of a cog wheel
mounted on a shaft placed at an angle to the toothed gear communicating
with the shut-off apparatus. These parts are so arranged, that as the clutch
pin and cam are moved to and fro laterally, the pin acts more or less upon the
regulating gear, and causes the wheels to rotate either a part of a revolution,
a whole one, or more than one, as the case may be. By this means the
quantity of water that is required to be supplied to or cut off from the wheel
may be regulated to a nicety, and only that quantity will be supplied which
will suffice to keep the wheel at the average and proper speed. The precise
arrangement and construction of parts for effecting the object of my improve-
ments must of course depend in some measure upon circumstances, such as
the arrangement or construction of the regulating gear to which the Invention
is to be applied; the principle of construction will, however, always remain
the same.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn a plan view of one means of
acting upon the shut-off gear of water wheels. I do not, however, mean or
intend to confine myself exclusively to this arrangement. a, a, a, a, is the
framework, in which the shafts b and c and the bevel gearing d and e of the
ordinary governor are mounted in suitable bearings. A toothed pinion ƒ on
the end of the shaft c drives a large toothed wheel g on the axle h, on which is
also mounted the clutch i, which is made to move freely on its shaft h. The
shaft is mounted in bearings in the framework in such a manner as to admit
of its being moved laterally thereon. On this shaft is fixed, by means of a set
screw, as shewn in the Drawings, an arm or fork k, the outer end of which
enters a clutch on the shaft b, and as the clutch / rotates, and is acted upon
by the governor, it acts upon the arm k of the sliding rod or shaft j, and causes
both of them to move laterally in the direction of either of the arrows, according
to the direction of rotation of the shaft 6; the shaft j is provided with a pin m,
which works in cam plates or curved slots at the forked end of the bar or rod n,
which is shewn detached in elevation in Fig. 2. At the opposite end of the
rod n is an arm o, which enters the groove of the clutch i on the shaft h. This
clutch i is provided with a long pin, stud, or arm p projecting therefrom, and
passing through or between the radial arms of the toothed wheel g. It will

page_text: 7.
now be seen that when the sliding rod or shaft j is moved in either direction
by the clutch of the governor shaft 6, the rod or bar n is moved forward or
backward by the pin m working in the slots in the forked end of the said rod
or bar, and therefore the clutch i will be moved laterally along its shaft h, and
the long pin or stud p of the clutch i will be projected more or less through the
wheel g. The shaft 9 (shown broken off in the Drawing) communicates in.the
ordinary manner with the shut-off apparatus, which regulates the supply of
water. A pinion r at the inner end of this shaft is driven by a toothed wheels,
It will be seen that the toothed
mounted on a shaft parallel to the shaft
wheels is placed at the side of and near the wheel g, but at an angle to it; the
effect of this will be, that when the wheel 7 carries round the clutch i with its pro-
eeting pin p, as shewn by dots in the Drawing, the end of the pin p will come
against one of the arms of the wheels, and cause the same to rotate a part of
a revolution, and actuate the pinion rand shaft 7 to a corresponding extent,
and by that means open or close the shut-off apparatus, as may be required.
When the pin p is projected to its fullest extent it will carry round the wheel s
to a greater distance, and consequently act to a greater extent on the shut-off
apparatus. On the other hand, when tho pin p is drawn back, so as to prevent
it from operating at all on the wheels, the shut-off apparatus will remain
unaffected, and in the state at which it was originally set.
I
Having now described my Invention of "Improved Apparatus for Regulating
the Supply of Water to Water Wheels," and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I claim, in conclusion, the mode herein shewn and described of trans-
mitting motion from the governors to the shut-off apparatus of water wheels,
or any mere modification thereof, whereby the motion of the governor, while
continuing in action, is communicated to the shut-off apparatus only at such
times and to such an extent as may be required.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clissold, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord Oud
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
JAMES APPERLY.
WILLIAM CLISSOLD. (L.S.)