IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC REGULATING VALVES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC REGULATING VALVES."-A communi-
cation from abroad by George Laning Kitson and George
Washington Carr, both of the City and County of Philadelphia,
Sealed the 3rd February 1874, and dated the 18th September 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 18th September 1873.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC REGULATING VALVES," a com-
munication to me from abroad by George Laning Kitson and George
Washington Carr, both of the City and County of Philadelphia, State of
Pennyslvania, United States of America, to be as follows :—

page_text: Eighth. The combination of the regulating valve and its spindle with
a laterally adjustable cylinder having slots or other equivalents for
guiding the spindle.
Ninth. The combination of a mark or pointer on any part of the
spindle of the regulating valve or on any adjunct to the same with a gra-
duated scale on any fixed object on the valve chest.
Tenth. The combination of the automatic regulating valve with a
stationary disc situate below the said valve for the purpose of limiting
the downward movement of the valve.
Eleventh. The combination of the said automatic regulating valve
with a sleeve or cylinder attached to or forming part of a partition in
the steam chest when the said valve operates within such sleeve.
Twelfth. The combination of the said automatic regulating valve with
a sliding throttle valve.
:
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th March 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN..
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes->
sors, give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special:
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC REGULATING VALVES," a communication to
:
•

page_text: an
me from abroad by George Laning Kitson and George Washington Carr,
both of the City and County of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by
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 Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, 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 accom-
panying Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the automatic regulating"
valve for which Letters Patent were granted to me, the said John Henry
Johnson, on behalf of the said George Laning Kitson and George
Washington Carr, bearing date the 12th of February, 1873, Number 521,
the present improvements having been made with the view of rendering
the said valve more positive and sensitive in its action than heretofore
by relieving it from lateral steam pressure, and by limiting the down-
ward movement of the valve.
The following constitute the essential features of the present Invention,
videlicit :-
First. The construction of a steam governor in which a valve operated
in the chest by the pulsation of steam from the boiler, so as to expand
and contract the passage for the steam in its course to the engine is
arrested in its downward movement before the said passage is entirely
closed.
Second. The combination of an automatic regulating valve, a valve
chest, and a lining or sleeve, which shields the valve from any lateral
pressure of steam.
Third. The combination of the automatic regulating valve having one
or more lateral openings with a lining or sleeve, also having one or more
lateral openings for the purpose above set forth.

page_text: Fourth. The combination of the said valve having a lateral opening or
openings therein, and the said sleeve or lining having a lateral opening
or openings therein, with a supplementary valve or other equivalent
device for arresting the automatic regulating valve before the steam from
the boiler is entirely cut off from the space in the chest beneath the said
valve.
Fifth. The combination of the automatic regulating valve and the
supplementary valve or other arresting device with a spring or its
equivalent for assisting in elevating the regulating valve.
Sixth. The use of a supplementary valve adapted to the outlet opening
in the valve chest, and having at the top a notched disc for the purpose
of retarding the descent of the valve by confining a cushion of steam
beneath it.
Seventh. So adapting the regulating valve to the said sleeve or lining
that the valve can be turned laterally to expand or contract the steam
passage.
Eighth. The combination of the regulating valve and its spindle with
a laterally adjustable cylinder, having slots or other equivalents for
guiding the spindle.
Ninth. The combination of a mark or pointer on any part of the
spindle of the regulating valve, or on any adjunct to the same, with a
graduated scale on any fixed object on the valve chest.
Tenth. The combination of the automatic regulating valve with a
stationary disc situate behind the said valve for the purpose of limiting.
the downward movement of the valve.
Eleventh. The combination of the said automatic regulating valve
with a sleeve or cylinder attached to or forming part of a partition in
the steam chest when the said valve operates within such sleeve.
Twelfth. The combination of the said automatic regulating valve with
a sliding throttle valve.
And in order that the present Invention may be fully understood, I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, reference
being had to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.

page_text: Figure 1 represents a vertical section of the automatic governor valve
for which Letters Patent were granted to me on behalf of the said George
Laning Kitson and George Washington Carr, bearing date the 12th
February 1873, Number 521.
A is the valve chest having two branches a and a³, the former being
connected to the steam pipe which terminates at the steam boiler, and
the latter communicating with the valve chest of the engine, to which
the steam must pass in the direction of the arrows through the chest A..
Within the chest are two partitions d, d', between which is a passage b,
and across the latter operates a valve B, through the medium of which
the engine regulates itself. The valve passes freely through, and is
guided by the partition d, and in the lower partition d' is an opening of
a diameter equal to or a trifle larger than that of the valve, the lower
end of which is guided by its stem e passing through a cross bar f.
Steam from the boiler has free access through openings i, or other
suitable orifices, to the chamber above the valve, from which chamber
however there is no outlet, there being similar openings i¹ in the par-
tition to the chamber beneath the valve, the latter being connected
to the weighted arm G secured to a spindle m, which passes through a
stuffing box into the chest.
A pulley n is secured to this spindle, and to the periphery of this
pulley is attached the end of a flexible band q, the other end of the
latter being connected to the valve, as shewn in Figure 1.
The valve B is operated by the pulsations of steam which result from
differences of pressure between the steam at the boiler end of the steam
pipe and that in the steam chest of the engine, these pulsations so acting
on the loaded valve that it will descend and contract the passage 6 when
the engine is running too rapidly, and will ascend and enlarge the area
of the steam passage when the engine is running too slowly, all of
which is particularly set forth in the first Patent.
The automatic governor valve, which forms the subject of the present
Invention, and which is an improvement on that last described, is repre-
sented by the vertical section, Figure 2, the upper portion of this
Figure being in elevation; Figure 3 is a sectional plan on the line 1, 2;
Figure 4, a sectional plan on the line 3, 4; Figure 5 is a vertical section
on the line 5, 6.

page_text: Figure 7, a vertical section of a modification of the valve.
And Figures 8 and 9, views representing another modification.
In Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, A is the steam chest, of which a is the
inlet for the admission of steam from the boiler, a¹ being the outlet for
the discharge of the steam, either directly into the valve chest of the
engine, or into a pipe communicating with the said valve chest; B is
the valve secured to the spindle D, and arranged to fit snugly but slide
freely in a bush or sleeve E permanently fitted to the interior of the
chest A. The valve consists of a hollow cylinder closed at the top,
where it is secured to the spindle, and has two opposite openings f,f,
made in the instance by cutting two slots in the valve from the
lower edge upwards, and in the sleeve E there are two openings e, e, the
latter openings coinciding laterally with the openings in the valve,
excepting when the latter has been turned to a limited extent for the
purpose of reducing the area of the openings, as explained hereafter.
The steam admitted to the inlet a of the chest traverses passages h, h,
shewn in Figure 3, then passes through the opposite openings e, e, in
the sleeve, and similar openings f, f, in the valve to the space below the
latter, and thence through the opening a¹ at the bottom of the chest A
to the valve chest of the engine. It will be seen therefore that the
quantity of steam which escapes to the engine will depend upon the
altitude of the valve B, and upon its lateral adjustment.
It may be remarked here that this arrangement of the valve and
sleeve and their openings for the passage of steam obviates a difficulty
which was not met with in the device first described in connection with
Figure 1 of the Drawing. In this case the side of the valve was directly
opposite to the volume of steam from the boiler, and this caused such
undue friction of the valve in the chest as to detract from its
sensitiveness. In the present instance the valve is effectually protected
by the sleeve from this lateral pressure, and even when the valve is
turned in the manner and for the purpose described hereafter so that
portions of it are exposed to the steam, the latter entering the sleeve
from opposite sides cannot in any way bias the valve laterally.
There are in the chest A passages i, i, best observed in the sectional
plan Figure 4, through which the steam from the boiler can gain access:
to the space in the chest A above the valve, so that there shall always.

page_text: be a boiler pressure of steam on the top of the valve, as in the device
shewn in Figure 1, this being an indispensable feature of the Invention.
To the lower end of the spindle D is secured a valve F passing through
:the outlet opening a¹, this valve having grooves m for the passage of
steam, but the top of the valve consists of a plain disc n, which on
certain emergencies described hereafter will close the outlet opening a¹
with the exception of slight orifices made by notching the disc at p.
The valve spindle is carried upwards through a stuffing box in the
cover G of the chest A, and is furnished at the top with a nut and
washer H, between which and a hollow cylinder I intervenes a spiral
spring K, the said cylinder being secured by screws q, q, to a plate M
supported on pillars J, J, attached to the cover G. The holes in the
plate M through which these screws q, q, pass are elongated concentrically
with the spindle, as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 6, so that on
loosening these screws the cylinder I can be turned laterally by means
of its handle t, and secured after adjustment. Within this cylinder I
slides a collar w on the valve spindle D, and this collar has two pins with
antifriction rollers passing through and guided by vertical slots in the
said cylinder.
The object of this mechanism is as follows:-The valve B as will
appear hereafter rises and falls automatically, and determines the
amount of steam permitted to escape into the valve chest of the engine,
but independently of this automatic regulation of the steam it is essential
that there should be some means of expanding and contracting to a
limited extent the openings in the sleeve, and this is accomplished by 2
simply turning the cylinder I and consequently the valve B, and thus
causing the valve to laterally contract the openings f to the extent
desired, after which the cylinder may be secured. This adjustment of
the valve in no way interferes with its operation, as the slots in the
cylinder I permit it to rise and fall at pleasure.
On the fixed plate M there are index marks, which in conjunction
with a mark or pointer on the cylinder will always determine the extent
to which the openings f have been contracted or expanded by the turning
of the valve.
3
The spring K tends to raise the valve B, while the constant boiler 3
pressure tends to force the valve downwards, the spring in fact which
may be adjusted at pleasure by the nut H takes the place of the weighted
lever shewn in Figure 1

page_text: While the steam engine is in operation there is always a variation of
pressure of steam in its passage from the boiler to the engine, and this
variation causes pulsations of steam which are utilized by making them
the means of actuating the valve B and causing it to rise and fall, and
contract or expand the openings for the admission of steam to the space
in the chest below the valve and to the valve chest of the engine. In
other words a sudden increase in the speed of the engine will create a
pulsation which cause the valve to automatically contract the openings,
while a diminution of the speed of the engine will create an opposite
pulsation which induces the valve by the aid of the spring to expand
the steam openings.
When the engine is running too fast the boiler pressure on the valve B
will depress the latter and contract the steam openings, but when the
engine is running too slowly the pressure above and below the valve
will be equal or nearly so, and the spring will raise the valve and expand
the steam openings.
In no case should the said steam openings be entirely closed by the
descent of the valve, otherwise its operations would cease, the steam
pressure above the valve keeping it down.
In order to prevent this entire closing of the valve I use the
supplementary valve F, the disc n of which will come in contact with
the bottom of the chest before the steam passages in the sleeve are
closed; even this supplementary valve is never entirely closed, the
notches p presenting small orifices for the passage of steam when the
valve is down.
During the movement of the valve B and consequently that of the
supplementary valve there is no variation in the area of the outlet
opening a¹ until the disc n is approaching its seat, when the outlet area
diminishes, and this diminution has a tendency to slightly retard the
descent of the valve, so that as the disc nears the seat it will act against
a cushion of steam to meet the abrupt descent of the valve B.
As long as the engine is running the valve will rise and fall twice
during every revolution of the crank shaft, the disc of the valve F
lightly touching or nearly touching its seat, but instantly recovering
itself by the action of the spring, as long as the engine is running at a
comparatively uniform speed, but should the engine have a tendency to
unduly increase its speed owing to the breaking of the driving belt or

page_text: other like cause, then the disc will remain in contact with its seat until
the engine resumes its uniform speed when the valve B will resume
its duty.
It will be seen that the valve F is a precautionary device to so limit
the descent of the valve B that there shall always be openings through
the sleeve to permit sufficient steam to gain access below the valve B to
aid the spring in raising it. To arrest the valve in its descent by a
permanent shoulder or other stop in the chest would cause such a rapid
destruction of the valve itself as to soon render it impracticable, the
succession of jars would also rapidly damage all moving adjuncts of the
valve, but by the use of the supplementary valve the descent of the
main valve, although instantaneous, is arrested gently as it reaches its
destination.
In the first device represented in Figure 1, the valve B had no seat to
positively determine the limit of its descent, as the valve could pass into
the opening of the partition d³, reliance for arresting the valve in its
descent being placed on the boiler pressure of steam beneath the valve.
While this plan succeeded in its object the movement of the valve B
was not of that positive character which insures the sensitiveness of
action acquired by the improvements described.
2
In the modification illustrated in Figure 7, steam addmitted to the
chest at the inlet a can pass entirely around the sleeve, on opposite sides
of which are three openings one above another, and corresponding with
similar openings in the valve B, the steam also having access through
openings i, i, in the sleeve to the space in the chest above the valve. 2
In this case the downward movement of the valve is limited by a
stationary disc K secured to a cross bar win the chest. This disc is so
situated that it must arrest the valve before the openings f, f, f, in the
same are closed, hence there must also be beneath the valve steam the
volume of which is commensurate with the openings. There is in the 3
disc K a circular recess of such a diameter as to just admit the lower edge
of the valve, the latter however in its operations providing there is no
excess in or diminution of the duty of the engine will barely touch the
disc before it recovers itself. Should any accident occur to the engine,
however, such as the breaking of the driving belt which will induce it 3
to run at an excessive speed, the valve will remain in contact with the
disc until the engine is restored to its normal running condition.
•

page_text: Johnson 8 improvements in Automneyvavony
As long as the valve is above the disc K the pressure of steam within
the valve and around the disc will of course be the same, but the
moment the valve touches or nearly touches the disc the communication
between the interior of the valve and the chest will be cut off, or nearly
so, and the excess of pressure of steam admitted to the interior of the
valve will be such that it will aid the spring in raising the valve, for it
should be understood that a spring must be used in connection with the
modification, Figure 7, precisely as in Figure 2.
A weighted lever may in some cases be used in place of the spring, as
in the original automatic regulator, but in most instances the spring is
to be preferred.
It will be seen that the disc K performs precisely the same important
duty of limiting the downward movement of the valve B as the sup-
plementary valve F in Figure 2; the disc may be preferred to the valve,
as it permits a more free passage of the steam to and through the outlet
opening a¹ than the valve.
Figures 8 and 9 represent another modification of the Invention,
Figure 8 being a vertical section, and Figure 9 a vertical section on the
line 7, 8. In this case the inlet opening a and outlet opening a¹ are on.
opposite sides of the valve chest A, within which are combined an
ordinary sliding throttle valve X, and the improved automatic regulating
valve B. The separate sleeve E referred to in connection with prior
modifications is dispensed with in Figures 8 and 9, or rather the sleeve
forms a part of the partition y within the chest, as seen in Figure 9.
The valve is elevated in this instance by a spring acting through the
médium of a lever, in a manner readily understood without explanation.
The regulating action of the valve B will be precisely the same as that
described above.
Referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that one edge of one of the slots
in the cylinder I is graduated, and that there is a mark serving as a
pointer on the spindle D.
By means of the pointer and graduations the movement of the valve B
and the duty which the engine is performing can always be ascertained,
and the admission of steam can be adjusted in accordance with this
duty by turning the cylinder I, and thus expanding or contracting the
steam opening of the valve to an extent which may be suggested by the
graduations shewn in the plan view Figure 6.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. A steam governor, in which a valve operated in the chest by
the pulsation of steam from the boiler, so as to expand and contract the
passage for the steam in its downward movement before the said
passage is entirely closed, substantially as herein-before described.
Second. The combination of an automatic regulating valve B, a valve
chest A, and a lining or sleeve E, which shields the valve from a lateral
pressure of steam, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before set
forth.
Third. The combination of the automatic regulating valve B and its
opening or openings with the lining or sleeve E and its opening or
openings e, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described.
Fourth. The said valve and its opening or openings fand sleeve or
lining with its opening or openings e in combination with a supplementary
valve F or other equivalent device for arresting the valve before the
steam from the boiler is entirely cut off from the space in the chest
beneath the valve, substantially as herein-before set forth.
Fifth. The combination of the automatic regulating valve B, its
supplementary valve F, or other arresting device with the spring K or
its equivalent for aiding to elevate the valve, substantially as herein-
before described.
Sixth. The valve F adapted to the outlet opening a¹, and having at
the top a disc n, substantially as and for the purpose set forth and illus-
trated in Figure 2.
Seventh. So adapting the valve to the sleeve or lining that the former
can be turned laterally to expand or contract the steam passage, sub- 3
stantially as described.
Eighth. The combination of the valve B and its spindle with the
laterally adjustable cylinder I, having slots or other equivalents for
guiding the spindle, substantially as herein-before described.

page_text: trated in Figures ♂ and y.
Twelfth. The combination of the automatic regulating valve B with a
sliding throttle valve, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day
of March One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.