CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CENTRIFUGAL GOVERNORS FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MOTORS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CENTRIFUGAL GOVERNORS FOR
STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MOTORS."-A communication.
Sealed the 3rd December 1858, and dated the 23rd June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 23rd June 1858.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CENTRIFUGAL GOVERNORS
FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MOTORS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to obtain in a governor of the centrifugal
kind the two great requisites for a perfect governor, viz.: 1st, that it shall
effect the whole of the movement necessary to enable it to open wide and
close the regulating valve, or give the full range of variation which the regu-
lator is capable of, with but an inappreciable variation in the speed of the
engine or motor; and 2nd, that it shall commence to effect the said move-
ment instantaneously upon the slightest variation of speed and effect it very
rapidly. Neither of these requisites is possessed by the centrifugal governor,
as ordinarily applied; although, notwithstanding the serious defects of the
latter, it is generally admitted to be on the whole superior to any of the

page_text: various governors that have hitherto been devised. To obtain the desired
results the improved centrifugal governor may be constructed on any of the
usual plans with balls and arms, but it must be made very much lighter; and
instead of giving it only about the number of revolutions in a given time
that would be due or natural to it, considered as a conical pendulum, as has
hitherto been customary in the application of centrifugal governors, it should
be driven at a very much higher velocity, and to the side of the governor which
connects it with the regulator is to be applied a counterpoise of a weight
much greater than the aggregate weight of the balls and arms, and sufficient to
balance, as nearly as possible, the great amount of centrifugal force developed
by the rapid revolution of the latter; and it is in the employment of a
counterpoise so proportioned in weight, in combination with the arms and
balls revolving at a much higher velocity than would be natural to them, con-
sidered as a conical pendulum, that the present Invention principally consists.
The Invention also consists in so applying the counterpoise to the governor
that its effective load on the governor shall be lessened in such a degree as
the balls and arms of the latter expand as to render it constant, or as nearly
so as desired, relatively to the power of the governor to sustain it. The
counterpoise weight is placed or mounted on the end of the regulating lever
in such a manner that it may be moved to and fro thereon. This is effected
by means of a rod or rods attached at one end to the weight, and at the
opposite end to a fixed standard, and as the regulating lever rises or falls, the
rod will move the weight along the lever in the required direction.
The Invention further consists in the employment of the counterpoise as a
means of controlling the exact speed of the engine or motor. This is effected
by making the rods which move the weight or counterpoise along the regu-
lating lever adjustable in their length, so that they may be lengthened or
shortened when desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on 30
the 23rd December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 35
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of June, in the year of our Lord Onė

page_text: thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CENTRIPUGAL GOVERNORS FOR STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MOTORS,'
being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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) :-
The object of this Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign corre-
spondent, is to obtain in a governor of the centrifugal kind the two great
requisites for a perfect governor, viz: First, that it shall effect the whole of
the movement necessary to enable it to open wide and close the regulating
valve or give the full range of variation which the regulator is capable of,
with but an inappreciable variation' in the speed of the engine or motor;
and second, that it shall commence to effect the said movement instantaneously
upon the slightest variation of speed and effect it very rapidly. Neither of
these requisites is possessed by the centrifugal governor, as ordinarily applied;
although, notwithstanding its serious defects, it is generally admitted to be on
the whole superior to the governors that have hitherto been devised.
To obtain the desired results, a centrifugal governor constructed on any of
the usual plans with balls and arms, but made very much lighter than usual,
is employed, and instead of giving it only about the number of revolutions in
a given time that would be due or natural to it considered as a conical pen-
dulum, as has hitherto been customary in the application of centrifugal
governors, the Inventor proposes to drive it at a very much higher velocity.

page_text: To the slide of the governor, which connects it with the regulator, a counter-
poise is applied, of a weight much greater than the aggregate weight of the
balls and arms, and sufficient to balance as nearly as possible the great
amount of centrifugal force developed by the rapid revolution of the latter,
and it is in the employment of a counterpoise so proportioned in weight in
combination with the arms and balls revolving at a much higher velocity than
would be natural to them considered as a conical pendulum that the present
Invention principally consists. The Invention also consists in so applying the
counterpoise to the governor that its effective load on the governor shall be
'lessened in proportion as the balls and arms of the latter expand, so as to
render its action constant or as nearly so as may be desired relatively to the
power of the governor to sustain it. The Invention further consists in the
'employment of the counterpoise as a means of controlling the exact speed of
the engine or motor.
In the accompanying Drawing, which forms part of this Specification,
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a governor, shewing the Invention applied thereto;
Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same below the balls and arms, exhibiting
the method of applying the counterpoise. Similar letters of reference denote
like parts in both of the Figures. A is the frame of the governor; B is the
main spindle, arranged vertically, and fitted to suitable bearings in the top
and bottom of the frame A; C, C, are the upper arms, to which are secured
the balls D, D; E, E, are the lower arms, and F is the slide; G is the lever,
which connects the slide F with the throttle valve or other regulator
employed. This lever works on a fulcrum a, and has its connection with the
regulator at b. H is the counterpoise applied to the lever G, the forked
portions d, d, of which carrying the pins c, c, which connect it with the slide
F, are extended to a considerable length for the purpose of receiving the
counterpoise, which consists of a heavy block of metal.. For the convenience
of shifting this counterpoise upon the lever, to vary its effective load on the
governor, it has two, slots made in it to receive the portions d, d, of the
lever, and in these slots are mounted rollers e, e, which bear upon the portions
d, d, of the lever; I is a small fixed standard, which serves as a rest for the
lever G when the governor is not in operation, and also to carry two fixed
pins ff, to which the counterpoise H is connected by means of two radius
rods g, g, the duty of which is as the slide rises and carries the lever G with
it to draw the counterpoise nearer to the fulcrum a of the lever, and to
sustain that portion of the weight of the counterpoise which is transferred to
them as the inclination of the upper surfaces of d, d, is increased, and in both
or either of these ways, according to the arrangement of the radius rods to

page_text: diminish the effective weight of the counterpoise. The governor is to be
driven by toothed gearing as belts are not sufficiently positive in their
operation.
I have already stated, that in applying the Invention the balls and arms
are made very light. This is done for several reasons, as thus:-It is not the
mere weight of the balls that is depended upon for overcoming the friction
which interferes with their action, and is the great cause of the sluggishness of
the centrifugal governor as ordinarily applied, but the velocity with which the
balls revolve, and as the force developed in the governor by any given per-
centage of variation in its speed increases as the square of the velocity,
abundant force for this purpose is in this manner developed in very small
balls. Larger balls would be not only unnecessary but disadvantageous, as
the centrifugal force developed by their revolution at the speed desired would
require in order to balance it a counterpoise of very great weight. The small
balls, moreover, create but little friction by resistance to the force applied to
quicken or retard their speed.
It is evident that the smaller the balls and the higher their velocity, the
more trifling will be the friction occasioned, and the greater, by a rapidly
multiplying ratio will be the power developed by any given change in the
motion of the engine or other motor to which the balls are applied. Yet it
is necessary that the arms should be of considerable length, as the plane in
which the centre of percussion revolves must be at such a distance below the
point of suspension that the speed due to the governor, considered as a conical
pendulum, would be moderate, and considerable action would be occasioned
by slight changes in its velocity. It is not necessary, however, to establish
any rule for the weight of the governor, or the length of its arms, or the
velocity of revolution, but it is desirable in no case to have the centre of
percussion revolve in a plane in which the speed due to the governor, regarded
as a conical pendulum, will exceed fifty revolutions per minute, and if it be
considerably lower it will be better, while the speed at which it is driven may
be about six times that velocity. The aggregate weight of the balls and arms
should not exceed five or six pounds. The counterpoise must be sufficient to
hold down the slide to confine the centre of percussion of the governor
between the highest and lowest desired planes of revolution when the
governor revolves with the desired velocity. A range of about one inch for
the slide F will be sufficient to enable the throttle valve or regulator to be
moved through its entire range.
The operation is as follows:-I will first suppose the counterpoise to be
fixed on its lever, and its weight to be invariably the same. The centrifugal

page_text: force of the governor is employed, firstly, in supporting the governor balls and
arms themselves; and, secondly, in lifting the counterpoise. After this it has
no other duty except to overcome resistance from the friction of the joints
h, i, j, which is the only obstacle to the action of the governor. This friction
is so trifling, owing to the lightness of the balls and arms, that a very slight
increase in the centrifugal force of the governor is sufficient to overcome it
and raise the counterpoise and slide F, and a corresponding diminution in
centrifugal force leaves a portion of the weight of the counterpoise un-
suspended, and allows the counterpoise and slide to descend; and as the
centrifugal force of a revolving body is as the square of its velocity, the
sensitiveness of the governor may be considered as very nearly in the same
ratio, and hence a slight increase or diminution of the very high rate of
velocity of the governor is sufficient to lift the counterpoise or cause it to
fall instantly through the entire range of the slide F. But in a centrifugal
governor, operating as a conical pendulum, by a variation of velocity of the
motor similar to that which is necessary to move the slide of the improved.
governor through the whole range, a scarcely perceptible increase of cen-
trifugal force is produced, and hence the next reason of its sluggishness. The
method commonly employed to counteract this sluggishness is to make the
balls very heavy, and in theory the sensitiveness of the governor is as the
weight of the balls, but in practice their weight, if increased beyond a
moderate amount, occasions more friction by their own resistance to any force
which would quicken or retard their motion than the weight can overcome.
In order to make the operation of the counterpoise perfect, its weight or
effective load on the governor must be constant or nearly so, relatively to the
power of the governor, to sustain it, and as owing to the change of angle
formed by the upper arms C, C, with the axis of the governor, a given amount
of weight applied in the manner of the counterpoise has a greater effect in the
upper planes of revolution of the balls, it becomes necessary to reduce the
effective load of the counterpoise as the balls rise. This may be effected in
a variety of ways, as by transferring a portion of its weight to other bearings
or by moving it upon a lever, as is done, by the arms g, g, represented in the
Drawing, and herein-before described, or by suspending it from an excentric
pulley, or by causing it to rest on a plane of varying inclination, and in other
ways not necessary to mention, but equivalent to the method represented and
described.
The adjustment of the counterpoise for the purpose of fixing or adjusting
the exact speed of the engine may be done in various ways. When the
counterpoise is applied in the manner represented in the Drawing, pro-

page_text: vision may be made for its adjustment by making the arms g, g, of variable
length. To increase the velocity of the engine, the weight of the effective
load of the counterpoise must be increased, and vice versa. In cases where
it will never be required to vary the speed of the engine, the counterpoise
being made of proper weight or applied to produce a proper effective weight,
serves permanently to fix and control the speed.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Certain Improve-
ments in Centrifugal Governors for Steam Engines and other Motors," as
communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the
above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,―
First, in combination with arms and balls, or their equivalents, revolving at
a much higher velocity than would be natural to them, considered as a conical
pendulum, I claim the employment of a counterpoise applied substantially as
described, and so proportioned in weight as to balance, or nearly so, the
centrifugal force developed by the revolution of the said arms and balls, or
their equivalents.
Secondly, I claim so applying, the counterpoise to the governor that its
effective load shall be lessened as the governor rises or as the balls and arms
thereof or their equivalents expand, for the purpose of rendering it constant,
or as nearly so as desired, relatively to the power of the governor to
sustain it.
Thirdly, I claim the employment of the counterpoise applied to the
governor in any manner, substantially as herein specified, as a means of fixing
or adjusting the exact speed of the engine, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON.
(L.S.)