IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATORS FOR QUALIFYING THE ACTIONS OF MECHANICAL POWERS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANTOINE
PERPIGNA, of Paris, in the Kingdom of Fiance, Advocate, send greeting
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the tenth year of ler reign,
didd, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Antoine Perpigna, Ier especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Antoine Perpigna, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Antoine Perpigna, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, usc, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, the Town of
Bei wick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REGULATORS FOR QUALIFYING THE ACTIONS OF
MECHANICAL POWERS," being a communication from a Foreigner residing abroad,
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Antoine Perpigna, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled
in Her Majesty's Iligh Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appeal.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Antoine Perpigna, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings her cunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say)
-
The nature of this Invention of Improvements in Regulators for Qualify-
ing the Actions of Mechanical Powers may be thus briefly described -
Suppose that an engine, the speed of which is required to be regulated.
turns a wheel A, which, on being pressed against another wheel B, com-
municates its movement to it, and that the number of revolutions of the wheel
B within a given time is regulated by a pendulum, also that another wheel C,
receiving motion direct from the engine, is diven at such a speed that when
the engine is working at its usual rate it will make exactly the same nuniber
of revolutions as the wheel B in the same space of time. These two rotating
parts are put in communication by a differential movement (obtained either by
means of gearing or by a screw), and when a variation is perceptible between
the speed of the wheels B and C this difference of speed is, by this Invention,
converted into a rotary or rectilinear motion (according to the construction of
the machine) for the purpose of acting on the entrance or exit aperture of the
motive agent, and diminishing or increasing the speed of the engine. The action
of the regulator will thus be always in proportion to the speed of the wheels B
and C As the differential movements which I employ for governing the supply
of steam or other motive power to the engine may be obtained either by means
of a screw or by gearing, it is evident that the apparatus will admit of various
modifications In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn two arrange-
ments whereby this Invention may be carried into effect.
In Sheet I are several views of the improved governor, wherein gealing is
used for applying the differential movements above mentioned Figure 1 is a
front elevation of the governor; Figure 2 is a plan view of the same; Figure 8
is an end viow as seen from the night-hand side of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a
horizontal section taken in the line 1, 2, of Figure 1. A, A, is the framework
for canying the bearings B, B, which support the various parts of the appa-
ratus C, D. and E are shafts placed in a line with each other, and forming
axles for the gearing, F is a cog wheel keyed to the shaft C, and provided
with a smooth side face to act upon a fiction plate G, cast upon one end of
a hollow axle, the other end of which is furnished with a bevil cog wheel II
Into this hollow axle the end of the shaft Centers, to support in a proper cential
position, but it is further supported by the bearing B', and revolves freely on

page_text: the shaft D. is a bevil cog wheel corresponding to H, and also turning
freely on the shaft D The boss of this wheel is continued so to form a
hollow axle, and cany at its other end a cog whool K
cog
b
Between the bevil
wheels H and I is a buss or collar a, keyed fast to the shaft D, and revolving
therewith This boss is provided with a stud or pin 6 (see Figure 4) upon
which a bevil pinion c tuins freely, and gears into the wheels II and I, the
shaft E turning freely in its bearing. B' is intended to support a cog wheel L,
on the boss of which a friction plate M is cast, the night-hand end of the
shaft D enters the boss of the wheel L, and carries a friction plate N, which
turns with that shaft. Both the fiction plates G and M are furnished with
washers of leather or other soft substance, in order to increase the friction of
contact when the apparatus is in motion The several rotating parts of the
apparatus are secured in their proper places by means of an arched beam O,
which springs from the bearing B', and embraces the lower end of the bearing
B¹; and e ale screws for bringing the friction surfaces into contact with cach
other; P, Figure 1, is a shaft, supported in bearings f, f, and furnished with a
wheel Q, which gears into the wheel F on the shaft C. It is also provided
with a cog wheel R (of smaller diameter than Q), whereby motion is commu-
nicated through an intermediate pinion S to the wheel K, which is thus made
to evolve in an opposite direction to the wheel F, in order that their respective
bevil wheels H and I may rotate in reverse duections. These wheels Q and
R are driven by means of a bevil wheel T, which is keyed on the same shaft
P, and take into a bevil wheel U in connection with the engine which the
apparatus is intended to govern; attached to the back of the bevil wheel II is
a pin 9, projecting radially therefrom This pin, which I term the "impulse pin,
is intended to take into a notch formed in the 1m of a cucular plate V, which
is supported by and vibrates on a stud h, having its bearings in a cuived bai
W provided for that purpose. To the lower part of the plate V a pendulum X
is firmly attached, as shewn at Figures 1 and 3. The pendulum may be made
so as to be adjustable in its length to suit various speeds of beating, or it may
be of a certain fixed length, when the engine to be governed is required to work
always at the same speed its vibrations are caused by the action of the impulso
pin g. Against the sides of the notch in the plate V, Y, is a rack in gear with
cog wheel L, and at its upper part it carries a rod, which is intended to
be brought into connection with the supply and cut-off valve of the engine in
any convenient manner Whenever, therefore, the rack ascends or descends,
the supply of steam or other motive agent to the engine is diminished or in-
creased, and by this means the speed of the engine is controlled. J will now
explain more particularly the action of the machine Let us suppose the wheel
the

page_text: I
I to make sixty revolutions per minute, when the engine is working at its usual
speed, the pendulum X to be beating seconds, and the wheel F to be making
twenty-five revolutions per minute; as the wheel F is brought into contact with
the friction plate G, as before stated, this plate, together with the bevil wheel K,
will have a tendency to revolve at the same speed; but they are prevented
from making more than sixty revolutions per minute by the action of the
pendulum X, which vibrating on the centre pin h, at the given speed of sixty
beats per minute, brings the notch in the rim of the plate V in a line with the
pin at every second, and thus, if the pin g comes into the position to pass the
notch when the pendulum is out of the perpendicular, its further rotation will
be stopped by the rim of the plate V, against which it will be held until the
notch in the rim again presents itself. This check in the rotation of the
wheel II will cause the friction plato G to slip on the face of the wheel F, and
the same effect will be produced whenever the rotations of the pin g are
unequal to the number of vibrations of the pendulum. We have assumed the
speed of the bevil wheel I (which receives motion through the wheel K duect
from the engine) to be sixty revolutions per minute; if then the rotation of the
wheel H is momentarily stopped, the pinion c in gear with both these wheels
as it rotates will be made to traverse over the face of the wheel H in the direc-
tion of the arrow, and in so doing will cause the shaft D to move round until
the wheel II, disengaged as before explained) continues its rotation, by this
movement of the shaft D the friction plate N keyed thereto will communicate
motion to the plate M in contact therewith, and also to the cog wheel L, which,
gearing into the rack Y, will cause that rack to descend, and draw down the rod
in connection with the supply valve, whereby the admission of steam to the
engine will be diminished. If the speed of the engine is so reduced as to be
unable to drive the wheel I at a rate equal to the vibrations of the pendulum,
the 1otation of the wheel II will cause the pinion c to traverse the face of the
wheel I in an opposite ducction to that of the arrow. The shaft D will then
move round in the opposite direction, and through the action of the function
plates N and M, the wheel L will rise the rack Y with the rod in connection
with the supply valve, whereby a greater quantity of steam will be supplied to
the engine When the supply valve is open, either to its full extent, or is com-
pletely closed, the rack which is provided at top and bottom with studs 1, i, will
be stopped in its ascent or descent, as the case may be, by one of the stops
coming in contact with the roller in the rack guide Z. and the friction plate N
will then slip over the face of the plate M In order to call the attention of the
engincer to the working of the engine it may be thought desirable to attach a
striking apparatus to the governor. In the Drawings one mode of affecting this

page_text: is shewn. At the back of the rack Y an aim 1, (see Figure 3, Sheet I,) IS
affixed, its lower end being bent slightly inwards. This arm is intended to act
upon a finger m, secured to a horizontal 1od n, mounted in cars on the back
frame, and on this rod is also mounted an aim o, and hammer p, which, by
means of a spring shown by dots in Figure 2, have always an inclination to
fly upwards; projecting from the upper part of the arched beam o is a stud 7,
which carries a bell r. On one side of the cog wheel K a pin s is provided.
When the rack Y has arrived at its highest position the arm / will have left
the finger m fice; this will allow the hammer p to fly up and strike the bell r,
and at every rotation of the wheel K. the pin s, on its side, will depress the
end of the pin o, and, drawing the hammer back, will cause it to strike on the
bell once for every rotation of that wheel. A similar effect will be produced
when the rack is at its lowest position, for the finger m, which has been kept
back as long as it was in contact with the arm l, will then be above the
arm and free from it, the hammer will therefore again fly upwards and strike
the bell, such striking being continued by the rotation of the pins, until the
arm is carried up and brought into contact with the finger m, as before. At
Figure 5 the improved governor is shewn as connected to the throttle valve of
an engine, and it is obvious that it may be as readily applied to sluice cocks
and other similar purposes.
In Sheet II., Figure 1 represents in front elevation, Figure 2 in side eleva-
tion (partly in section to shew the parts more clearly), and Figure 3 on plan
view, an apparatus in which a screw 15 employed instead of gearing, for obtain-
ing the differential movements before mentioned, and applying them to the
governing of steam. water, and other engines a, a, is a vertical screw mounted
in sockets b, attached to brackets, which project from the back plate or frame
of the apparatus. Upon the lower end of the shaft of the screw a is fixed a
circular plate d, furnished with a horizontal finger e. f is a fiction wheel placed
immediately over the plate d, and pressed down by springs 9 upon that
plate. The pressure of these springs may be increased or diminished by
lowering or raising the inverted cup (which incloses the springs), by means
of the ring i. The cup and wheelf both turn loosely on the shaft of
the screw a On the under face of the wheelf a leather washer is provided,
in order that it may more readily drive the plate d by friction of contact, the
periphery of this wheel is furnished with cogged teeth as shewn; above this
friction wheel is a wheel k, which turns freely on the shaft of the screw a, and
is kept in its place on one side by the thread of the sciew a. and on the other
by the stop ng or collar ; in this wheel Kare fixed the lower ends of two
vertical rods m, the upper ends of which are attached together by a cross piece

page_text: n, provided with a socket that it may tuin ficely on the shaft of the screw a;
theso two rods m pass through a rotating disc, carrying at its centre a collar o,
having a female screw on its inner face, and this disc is embraced at opposite
sides by two forks p, fixed cach on a vertical sliding rod 9, which 1ods are
kept in a position parallel to the screw by guides 7, attached to the sockets b, b;
at top and bottom of the apparatus the rods 7 are united at the upper ends
by a cross pieces, which cross piece is connected to the supply and cut-off
valve of the engine to be governed, t is a shaft mounted in sockets u, w,
supported by brackets from the back plate, and receiving motion from the
engine, upon this shaft the wheels u and are mounted, the former being
keyed firmly thereto, and the latter, turning loosely on the shaft, communicates
motion to the wheels fand k. The wheel u, which is driven by gearing
connected with the engine to be governed, takes into the wheel f, whereby
rotary motion is communicated to the screw shaft a, the pressure of the springs
9, 9, causing the wheelf to dive the plate d (which is keyed on the shaft a)
by friction of contact, as before stated. Beneath the wheel is a friction
plate ', keyed to the shaft t, and above the wheel an inverted cup h'. furnished
with springs and a collar i, are provided for the purpose of driving the wheel v
by friction of contact. This wheel takes into the loose cog wheel, before
mentioned, and causes it to rotate, but being thus driven by friction only,
it is capable of shipping at certain required times. is a pendulum, the
centie of oscillation of which is in the plane described by the rotation of
the centre of the finger on the plate d, this pendulum works upon a
stud attached to the back plate of the apparatus and at its centic of motion,
it carries a disc y, furnished with a recess, cut in its periphery for the
passage of the 1otating finger c, when the pendulum is in a vertical position;
but if the finger 6, in its rotation, meets with the circumference of the disc y,
when the pendulum in oscillating moves out of the vertical position, it is im-
mediately stopped, and cannot continue its 10tary movement until the recess =
comes opposite to it again. The stoppage prevents the further rotation of the
screw shaft a, and the wheel fis therefore compelled to slide over the plate
until the recess z, coming into a line with the finger c, allows the further rota-
tion of the plate d, and the shaft to which it is keyed The construction of
this modified arrangement of governor being now understood, in order to
clearly comprehend its action let it be supposed that the pendulum æ is made
to beat seconds, and that the wheel k makes sixty revolutions per minute when
the engine is working at its usual speed. If the wheel falso makes sixty re-
volutions per minute, the finger e of the plate & will enter sixty times into the
recess, which is equal to the number of beats of the pendulum; the screw <<

page_text: will also make sixty revolutions per minute, and the collai o will remain sta-
tionary, but immediately that the wheel makes a greater or less number of
revolutions than the screw a the collar o will ascend or descend, as the case
may be, and being connected by the forks p and rods g to the supply and cut-off
valve of the engine, the speed of the engine will be thereby regulated. The
pendulum & having been constructed so as to beat a given number of vibrations
in a minute, as is well understood, the finger e will, by pressing on the inclined
sides of the recess z, communicate the impulse movement thereto in the same
way as before described with reference to the first arrangement. When the colla
o has, by its superior rotating speed, arrived at the upper end of its course on
the 1otating sciew a, the orifice for the motive agent will be either open to its
full extent or closed, as the case may be; the wheel k will then be prevented
from 1otating, and being in gear with the wheel v, as before stated, it will cause
that wheel to slip on its shaft t, until the continued rotation of the screw a has
carried down the collai o, the fiction of contact of the cup h¹ will then again
cause the wheel v to revolve, and give a rotating motion to the wheel has
before. This, as well as the before-described governor, may be provided with
a striking apparatus, to call the attention of the engine man to the engine.
Upon the disc of the collar o is a pin 1, which, when carried up, is made to
strike upon a finger 2, attached to a colla on a vertical od 8, supported and
turning freely in bearings 4. This 1od at its upper end carries a hammer 5,
which, when the pin 1 comes in contact with the finger 2, is caused to strike
upon a bell 6, affixed on the top bearing b A spring 7, which presses on a
pin projecting from the collar of the finger 2 returns the hammer to its
ouginal position immediately the rotating pin 1 has passed the finger
At Fig 4, this improved governor is shown as applied to the regulating of
an engine from which it receives its motive power.
Figure 5 represents the mode of applying the governor to regulate the speed
of a water wheel. It is evident that in the two modifications above described
the functions of all the parts are identically the same, the only difference being,
as has been remarked, in the manner of producing the differential movement.
Having now described the improvements in regulating the working of
engines, as communicated to me by my Foreign Correspondent, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise anlangements herein
described and shewn in the accompanying Diawings, as many minor alterations
might be effected without departing from the nature of the Invention But
that which I claim and desne to secure under the above in part recited Letters
Patent, 15,
First, the general arrangement of self-acting apparatus for governing and

page_text: regulating the speed of engines as above descubed, with reference to Sheet I.
of the Drawings, such apparatus being made to act upon the valve of the
entrance passage or supply pipe for conveying the motive power to the engine,
so as to increase or diminish the amount or other motive power supplied
thereto as may be required.
Secondly, I claim the general arrangement of self-acting apparatus as above
described, with reference to the Sheet II. of the Drawings, for controlling the
action of steam or other engines.
Thirdly, I claim the application of a vibrating pendulum to governors of
steam and other engines, whereby 1 am enabled to make available the vary-
ing speeds obtained from such engines so as to regulate their action to the
determined pulsations of the pendulum
And lastly, I claim the application of friction surfaces to governors, as above
described, whereby the motion communicated to the governing apparatus is
controlled in its power, and prevented from breaking or straining the various
working parts of such apparatus.
In witness whercof, 1, the said Antoine Perpigna, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
Taken and acknowledged by Antoine
Perpigna, party hereto, at Paris, in the
Kingdom of Fiance, this Twenty-first
day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-six, before me,
ANT PERPIGNA. (LS)
THOMAS PICKFORD,
Her Britannic Maiesty's Consul at Paris.