CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM OR OTHER MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Smith and John William Jackson, both of
Keighley, in the County of York, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM OR OTHER MOTIVE-POWER
ENGINES."
Sealed the 29th September 1865, and dated the 7th April 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Smith and
John William Jackson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 7th April 1865.
We, SAMUEL SMITH and JOHN WILLIAM JACKSON, both of Keighley, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN GOVERNORS OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM OR OTHER
MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention is designed for the purpose of acting upon the "throttle"
or steam valve with more accuracy and quickness than hitherto, and thereby
to regulate the amount of steam to be supplied to the cylinders in steam or
other engines with precision.
The Invention consists in the employment and use of a slide or bearing for
the governor balls, which is secured to the vertical shaft of the "governor," and
projects upwards in the form of a parabolic curve, the line of curve being

page_text: quicker than the arc described by the rise and fall of the balls, the radii or
supporting arm being connected to the balls by a sliding joint or slot, so that
at whatever distance the said weights are from the central shaft of the
governor the centripetal or inward force of the weights shall remain the same
so long as the weights or balls remain at one given distance from the centre
of the governor. It will therefore be evident that the two forces will only be
balanced when the governor is running at one given velocity; thus, when the
-speed falls short of the required speed the centripetal force will be the greater,
-causing the balls to fall towards the central shaft, and thereby acting upon
the throttle valve of the engine through the medium of the ordinary connecting
rods and levers, so as to open such valve until the required velocity is again
-obtained and the two forces balanced. In like manner when the speed becomes
accelerated, and exceeds the fixed speed, the centrifugal force being the greater,
the weights or balls will rise and diverge from the central shaft, and thereby
sclose the throttle valve until the speed is reduced and the two forces again
balanced. The principal feature of the Invention consists in causing (at one
given or fixed speed of the governor) the centripetal or inward force of the
weights to equal or balance their centrifugal or outward force at any position
sin which they may be placed.
ESPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Smith and John William Jackson in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 5th October 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
SMITH and JOHN WILLIAM JACKSON, both of Keighley, in the County of York,
.send greeting.
WHEREAS Her inost Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the, year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Samuel Smith and John William Jackson, Her, special license that
we, the said Samuel Smith and John William Jackson, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Samuel Smith
and John William Jackson, our 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

page_text: Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention.
for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN 'GOVERNORS' OR REGULATORS FOR STEAM OR OTHER
MOTIVE-POWER ENGINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Samuel Smith and John William Jackson, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or one of our, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Smith, 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
and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
:-
Our Invention is designed for the purpose of acting upon the "throttle" or
steam valve with more accuracy and quickness than hitherto, and thereby to
regulate the amount of steam to be supplied to the cylinders in steam or other.
engines with precision.
The Invention consists in causing the balls of the governor to move in the
direction or course of a parabolic curve, instead of in a circular curve as
hitherto, when moving to or from the vertical centre, which may be effected
by using or applying a slide or bearing for the governor balls, which is secured
to the vertical shaft of the "governor" and projects upwards in the form of a
parabolic curve, such line of curve being quicker than the arc of the circle
described by the rise and fall of the ordinary governor balls, the radii or
supporting arms being connected to the balls by a sliding joint or slot, so that
at whatever distance the said weights are from the central shaft of the governor
the centrepetal or inward force of the weights shall, as their centrifugal or
outward force, so long as the governor continues to revolve at the same speed,
remain the same. It will therefore be evident that the two forces will only be
balanced when the governor is running at one given velocity; thus, when the
speed falls short of the required speed the centripetal force will be the greater,
causing the balls to fall towards the central shaft, and thereby acting upon the
throttle valve of the engine through the medium of the ordinary connecting
rods and levers, so as to open such valve until the required velocity. is again
obtained, and the two forces balanced. In like manner when the speed
becomes accelerated and exceeds the fixed speed, the centrifugal force being
the greater, the weights or balls will rise and diverge from the central shaft,
and thereby close the throttle valve until the speed is reduced and the two
forces again balanced. The principal feature of the Invention consists. in.

page_text: causing (at one given or fixed speed of the governor) the centrepital or
inward force of the weights to equal or balance their centrifugal or outward
force at any position in which they may be placed by causing the balls to move
in a parabolic curve.
In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail we have hereunto attached a Slieet of Drawings representing a centri-
fugal governor suitable for an engine of about ten horses power and made
upon a scal of about three inches to a foot, similar letters of reference being:
marked upon corresponding parts on all the Figures, and exhibiting one
arrangement of mechanism or means which we consider well adapted to
impart the required parabolically curved course, wherein bearings or guides.
are employed of a parabolically curved form, on which the balls or weights
roll.
Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the improved governor; Fig. 2 repre-
sents a side view of the same; and Fig. 3 a detached view of one of the
grooved balls, shewing the connection of the same with the levers of the
governor."
In Figs. 1 and 2, a, a, is the standard or support of the " governor " in which
the central shaft or spindle 6 revolves, upon which shaft two arms are keyed,
and revolve therewith; these two arms c, c, project upwards from the centre
shaft in the form of a parabolic curve or thereabouts; the balls or weights d, d,
of the governor are formed with grooves e (scen in Fig. 3) which fit on to and
are supported by the curved arms c, c; these balls are also supplied with a
central shaft or axis passing through them at right angles to the groove e, the
ends of which terminate in the form of bosses f, f; these bosses form guides
for the forked ends of the bell crank levers g, g, the fulcra of which are
situated in the bracket h, secured to and revolving with the central shaft b.
To the opposite ends of the bell crank levers g, 9, rods or levers i, i, are
jointed, which connect such bell cranks with the sliding sleeve k, this sleeve
is connected to the throttle valve by the rod 1. The ascent or descent of the
balls upon the parabolic or similar curve as they approach or depart from the
centre gives a corresponding rising or falling movement to the sleeve k, through
the medium of the lever g, g, and i, the variable sliding motion of this sleeve
being communicated to the throttle valve, whereby the admission of steam
into the cylinder of the engine is regulated. The action of the governor may
be thus described:-When the "governor" is revolving at any uniform given
rate of speed, the centripetal force of the balls or inward force will always
balance or equal the centrifugal force, whatever may be the position they
occupy on the curved arms c, c, or whatever be their proximity to or distance

page_text: from the central shaft or centre of revolution; for instance, the centrifugal
or outward force of the balls increases as the distance from the centre of
revolution is increased, and also their centripetal or inward force is increased
in exact proportion to their distance from the centre of revolution by the
action of the parabolic curved arms supporting and acting upon the balls.
When the speed of revolution of the "governor" balances the said two forces
the balls remain in equilibrium at a certain distance on the curve from the
centre of revolution, which corresponds to the proper speed of the engine;
the forces will also be balanced and kept in equilibrium should the balls be
removed to half, double, or treble their regular distance from the central
shaft without any variation in speed of the governor.
We would remark that the required parabolically curved course may be
imparted to the balls by various well known mechanical means, therefore we
do not confine ourselves to any particular arrangement or application of
mechanism whereby the balls are to be guided or actuated or caused to move
in such parabolically curved course, but we wish it to be understood that we
claim imparting to the balls or weights of a centrifugal "governor" a para-
bolically curved course in a direction to or from the central vertical shaft
(in contradistinction to allowing them to partake of a course in the arc of a
circle as hitherto) for the purpose of causing the centripetal force to balance
the centrifugal force of the balls in their revolution at any position they may
occupy, so long as the governor revolves at one uniform speed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witnessed by
JOHN L. DAVIES, C.E.,
Office for Patents,
Manchester.
SAMUEL SMITH. (L.S.)