Improved Governor for Steam Engines and other Prime Movers.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left. 21st Oct., 1891-Accepted, 21st Nov., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Governor for Steam Engines and other Prime Movers.
We THOMAS LEES and RALPH LEES Engineers, Park Foundry, Hollinwood
near Oldham do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our said invention relates to an improved construction of governor applicable to
steam engines and other prime movers for the purpose of regulating their speed
under varying loads.
In its general construction the said governor contains the elements common to
many existing types of governors that is to say its acting parts are a pair of
suitably shaped weights hereinafter referred to as balls hinged to a rotating spindle
which derives motion from some convenient part of the prime mover it is intended
to regulate. If unrestrained the said balls will as is well known diverge from or
recede towards the rotating spindle according as the velocity of the rotating spindle
increases or decreases.
On the said rotating spindle is a sliding muff with which the balls are connected
in such a manner that as the balls diverge from or approach to the rotating spindle
the said muff will rise or fall. In the said muff is usually a groove in which fits
the end of a lever connected with the mechanism which regulates the admission or
flow of steam or other fluid for working the prime mover as is well understood.
The object of our said invention is to so constrain the movement of the balls
that they may move in an approximately rectilinear path to and from the rotating
spindle in order that their centrifugal reaction on the muff or sleeve may increase
or decrease uniformly with every increment or decrement of the velocity of the
prime mover whatever may be the distance of the balls from the spindle.
To effect this each of the balls is according to our said invention connected with
the rotating spindle in the following manner. On a pin passing through the
rotating spindle is hinged a suspension lever preferably curved downwards and to
this is again hinged a bell crank lever one arm of which carries the ball. The
other arm of the bell crank lever extends beyond the centre of the rotating spindle
and is hinged to the muff at the side opposite to that on which the ball is. In
practice we prefer to use two such bell crank levers one on each side of the
suspension lever working parallel to each other with the rotating spindle between
Both balls are mounted in the same manner and the arms of the bell crank
levers cross over each other between the points where they are hinged to the
suspension levers and the points where they are hinged to the muff.
them.
When the balls diverge they cause the bell crank levers to turn about their
centres of oscillation and thus lift the muff. If this were the only movement tlie
balls would merely move in circular arcs about the said centres of oscillation, but
as the muffs (and consequently the points of attachment thereto of the bell crank
levers) are constrained by the spindle to a rectilinear path the ends of the sus-
pension levers to which the bell crank levers are hinged are forced outwards and
upwards. The path of the balls is thus the resultant of their motion about their
centres of oscillation and of the motion of the centres themselves.
As the curves
of these motions are opposed to and almost neutralise each other the actual path of
the balls becomes approximately rectilinear.
The muff is attached to a counterpoise as is well understood or in lieu of a
counterpoise we use a spiral spring provided with adjusting nuts for readily
regulating its degree of compression in order that the governor may be readily
adapted to any required normal speeds:
Dated this Twenty fund Jay of
1901
EDWARD TURNER WHITELOW,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Governor for Steam Engines and other Prime Movers.
We THOMAS LEES and RALPH LEES, Engineers, Park Foundry, Hollinwood,
near Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our said invention relates to an improved construction of governor applicable to
steam engines and other prime movers for the purpose of maintaining as far as
possible a uniform speed notwithstanding variations in the work to be performed by
the engine.
In its general construction the said governor possesses the chief elements common
to many existing types of governor, that is to say, its principal parts are a pair of
suitably shaped weights hereinafter referred to as balls, hinged to a rotating
spindle which derives motion from some convenient rotating part of the prime
mover it is intended to regulate.
If unrestrained the said balls will as is well known diverge from or approach
towards the rotating spindle according as the velocity of the spindle varies.
On the rotating spindle is a sliding muff or sleeve with which the balls are
connected in such a manner that as the balls diverge from or approach towards the
rotating spindle the said muff will rise or fall on the spindle. In the said muff is
usually a groove into which takes the end of a lever connected with the mechanism
which regulates the admission or flow of steam or other fluid for working the prime
mover the parts above-mentioned are well known and constitute no part of our
said invention, the object of which is to provide means for so constraining the
movement of the balls as that they may move in an approximately rectilinear path
to and from the rotating spindle.
In order that our said invention may be more clearly understood we will describe
the same with reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Fig. 1 is an end elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan.
The same letters refer to the same parts in both figures.
a is the rotating spindle, through the upper end of which passes a pin a¹ on
which are hinged the suspension links 6 preferably curved downwards as shown.
To each suspension link is hinged a bell-crank lever c one arm of which carries a
ball d. The other arm of the bell-crank lever extends beyond the rotating spindle
and is hinged to the muffe at c on the side opposite to the ball. In practice we
prefer to use two such bell-crank levers for each ball, arranged one on each side of
the suspension link b'with the spindle lying between them as shown in Fig. 2.
Both balls are mounted in the same manner, and the lower arms of the bell-crank
levers cross each other between their points of oscillation c¹ c' and the points c² c³
where they are attached to the muffe as shown in Fig. 1.
с
When the balls d diverge they cause the bell-crank levers c to turn about their
centres of oscillation c¹ c and thus lift the muffe. If this were the only result of
the divergence of the balls the latter would simply describe circular arcs about
the centres c¹ c', but as the muffs (and consequently the points of attachment c²
of the bell-crank levers c c) are constrained by the spindle to a rectilinear path, the
centres of oscillation c'e' are drawn outwards and upwards by the diverging balls,
as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The actual path of each ball is therefore
the resultant of the combined motions of the ball about the centre c¹ and of the
proper motion of the centre c¹ itself. The arcs of these component motions being
opposed to each other, the curvature of the path of the ball is almost neutralised
by that of the path of the centre.c', about which the ball turns, and hence the actual
path of the ball becomes nearly rectilinear.
The muffe may be attached to a counterpoise, or in lieu of a counterpoise a

page_text: spiral spring provided with adjusting nuts g for regulating its degree of com-
pression may be used. Such counterpoise or their equivalents form however no
part of our said invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is
1. A governor provided with bell-crank levers carrying the balls at one end and
attached to the muff at the other end, and having their centres of oscillation located
in links hinged to the spindle, in such a manner, that each of the said centres of
oscillation is constrained so as to follow a curved path, whose arc is opposed to that
of the path of the ball oscillating about the said centre of oscillation, substantially.
as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.
2. In a governor the use combination and arrangement of the suspension links b
hinged to the spindle a, with the bell-crank levers c pivoted to the said suspension
links and attached to the muff e, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 20th day of October 1891.
EDWARD TURNER WHITELOW,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicants.
EDWARD TURNER WHITELOW,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agent for the Applicants.