US2478797A - Governor mechanism - Google Patents

Description

-Aug. 9, 1949.

w. J. WlLLIAMS GOVERNOR MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 27, 1944 INVENTOIIQ. v V/////'0m J kV/W/d/fl: f2 Z!!! 2 3% ATTORNEY w; J. WILLIAM S GOVERNOR MECHANISM Aug. 9, 1949.

s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 27, 1944 7 INVENTOR.

W/W/dm J WW/qms ATTORNEY /52 I BYfiM) 1949- w. J. WILLIAMS 2,478,797

' GOVERNOR MECHANISM Filed Nov. 27, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet s I E E IN V EN TOR.

Patented Aug. 9, 1949 UNITED STATES QFFICE GO ERN R Mt wem William J. Williams; Wilmette. 111. r i e e b 27, a seess sites This invention relates to a governor mechanism constructed so thatithe resultant action produces a substantially straight line' curve throughout the operating speed'range of the governor; hence with a given change in speed of rotation of an element connected with the mechanism which is to be regulated, a corresponding substantially equal variation in movement occurs in a control ling element which may be connected to thereby regulate the movement of the basic mechanism of m improved type of governor.

An object of the present invention therefore is to provide in a governor mechanism having a controlling element, inertia means adapted for variable movement caused by the operation of centrifugal force and means arranged for modifying the movement of said inertia means in such a manner that said means may beconnected :with the controllin element and will move the latter in substantially the exact ratio of any variations in speed of a member connected with or driven from the mechanism to be governed.

Other objects include the simplification of parts; the compact arrangement of the elements; and in certain embodiments of my invention, of means to adjust the element actuated by the governor mechanism to vary the range .of effective operative movement of the actuated element or the time of operation of the mechanism being controlled, or the like, a still further object being the simplified manner 'in which this iadjust ment may be accomplished.

Further objects and advantages are within the scope of this invention such as relate to the ar rangement, operation, and function of the related elements of the structure, to various .details of construction and to combinations of :parts, elements per se, and to economies of manufacture and numerous other features as will be apparent from a consideration of the specification and drawings of a form of the invention, which may be preferred, in which 7 Figure I is a vertical, sectional, elevational View of one embodiment of my invention shown connected with a throttle or other co'ntrollinkage;

' Figure II is a similar view taken at right angles to'FigureI; V '1 I Figure HI is a sectional plan view taken on the line ,III-III of Figure I;

' Figure IV is a vertical, sectional view taken on the line IVIV of Figure I; v r

Figure 1 an external elevational View of a modification of my invention applied as a switch 1 Claim. (01. zeta-=3) 2 operating governor to make and-break circuits at set p r. V Figure VI is a vertical sectional view of the embodiment er Fig-lire V'witli'the'parts atrest; And Figursvrris a similar view showing the parts in position to actuatea switch or other mechanisms; f' FigureVIII is a diagrammatic view showing the operation while Figure IX is a diagram showing the'correlation of speedva'riation of themecha' nism'to be controlled'cornpared with the'm'ovee ment of the control element of the governor;

Referring to Figure I, I have shown a governor housing' lfi made in' two' parts as illustrated, having'an upper part II, which, iii certain embodi ments'of my invention may be adjustable with respect to'the'bottom part III as will hereinafter be polnted' out; Within "this housin In extends the drive shaft 12, the revolutions of which may vary as being'connected with some mechanism whose spedivaries", the contrbl of which it is the object of my governing "mechanism to effect. The shaft I2 ismounlze'd in a suitable bearing [3, the shaft 12 carrying 'iwithin' the housing, the rotatable support 14 for the lg'overnor weights [5, the support l4 being pinned to the shaft l2 in the illustration. :These governor'weights l5 are pivoted as atpoint P to the support 14 so that under the centrifugal action .of the revolving of shaft I2 these weights move outwardly and down wardly around the point P as a center.

A freely movable sliding lplunger or control-,- ling element 18 is providedwith collars l9 and 19', while the Weights :15 have a contact tongue or cam 28 fitting between collars l9 and I9 and adapted to move the plunger 13 longitudinally in line with theaxis of the shaft 12 as cam 20 of the weights moves upwardly-and downwardly as shown. It is :to be noted that the weights ii are recessed at 2] to receive theco'llar 49.

Each weight I5 is connected :to the control plunger 18 love. pair of springs 25, one end of each spring 25 being connected at point Ste the slide or control plunger 1.8 and the other end connected at the point'W with the weight ii, the spr n s being normally under te sion to retain the narts in the position illustrated-in full lines in Figure; when the governor is at 1 In the embodiment of: Fi ures .1. to the controlling elem nt or plung r 1.8 is c nnected y a suitable anti-fric ion thrust earing 30 to a stem 31 thrcuehthe Musics I l connected toa crank 32 p v ted at 331 9 the top oi-the hous ng shown.- 11 1c all crank 32 is intended to be connected with a thro t e son;-

trol link 34 for controlling the speed of any type of steam, internal combustion, or other engine or mechanism. The bell crank 32 may also be connected with a suitable member such as the member 34 for controlling the speed of a dynamo electric machine interposing resistances, etcetera, as may be desired.

As shown in Figure VIII, weight I5 moves outwardly around the point P as a pivot as the speed of the shaft I2 increases with the result that the cam 20 moves the collar I9 and the control plunger I8 tangentially in a vertical direction, assuming the governor to be located upright, as illustrated in Figure I. The spring 25, which has a modifying influence on the action of the weights I5 being connected at one point S to the sliding control plunger I8, assumes various positions affecting the cycle of the movement of the weights I5, and hence the anchor of the controllin spring 25 is not fixed in relation to the point W where the other end of spring 25 is connected to the weight I5. It will be noted that the point W and point S may be so chosen that the spring 25 is inclined to the horizontal when the parts are at rest as in Figur VIII and that upon outward movement of the weights [5 due to the action of centrifugal force, the point W moves by increments equal to the co-tangent of the angle of the line PW with the vertical through the point P. In the meantime, it will be seen that the contact point C of the cam 20 has moved the collar I9 and control plunger IB by increments of equal amounts as illustrated in Figure III, upon various angular movements of the point C around the pivot point P. Thus, the several positions taken by the point S of the spring 25 varysubstantially exactly in proportion to the several positions of the point C of the cam 20. By the arrangement disclosed, I have provided a mechanism which remains at initial position until after a certain increase in speed of the shaft I2 to a point where the centrifugal force will cause the weights I5 to move outwardly, and from then on I am able to provide a substantially'straight line governor control of the movement of the control plunger I8, in exact proportion to the increase or decrease in the speed of rotation of the shaft i2. This is illustrated in Figure IX, where the base line 60 represents the speed of rotation of the shaft I2, and the vertical line 6I represents the movement of the control plunger I8. Plotting the R. P. M. of shaft I2 against the movement of the plunger, I have found I have obtained a straight line 62 over a large range of R. P. M. for the shaft I2, and irrespective of the strength of the springs 25 employed.

By the arrangement disclosed, it will be seen that I vary the singularity of the spring 25 on the weights I5; I vary the length of the springs and hence the effect of the modifying forces thereof acting with or against the effect of the weights I5 in the cycle of their movement in effectin governor control.

After an initial period, and the governor begins operating at low speed, the weight retarding springs tend to give an upward force on the plunger due to the placing of the pin in the plunger and the subsequent angularity. As the weights open slightly, due to increased speed and centrifugal force, the plunger will rise to the point where the springs are exerting a directly opposed force without any upward or downward component. As the speed is still further increased, the weights move farther out, and the plunger rises to the point where the plunger pin is above the center of the pins in the weights. In this latter position, a downward force is exerted on the plunger to retard its movement, due to the angularity of the position of the springs. This construction results in a practically straight line curve throughout the operating range of the governor.

In the embodiment of my invention, illustrated in Figures V, VI, and VII, I have shown the application of my improved governor mechanism as an overspeed governor for controlling electric circuits in any desired system. In this case, the shaft I2 connected to be driven by any suitable connection with the electrical or other mechanism to be controlled is arranged in a bearing I3 in the housing III as in the other embodiment. Moreover, the corresponding parts described in the embodiment of Figures I through IV are the same in this embodiment of Figures V through VII, the main difference being that the controlling element or plunger I8 in the latter embodiment merely contacts the pin 40 of an electric control switch 4|, mounted on the top of the adjustable part of the housing I I. It will thus be seen that when the plunger I8 reaches its upper position for any particular setting of the adjustable top portion II relative to the base III of the housing of the governor such as illustrated in Figure VII, the same operates the switch ll by contact with the element 40 to break or make the circuit as stated.

Figure V illustrates an embodiment of my two-part housing I0 and II, in which the lower part I0 has an indicating index 50 vertically arranged so that as the upper part is screwed upwardly and downwardly by reason of the screw threaded connection 5I illustrated in this embodiment, the pin 40 is moved away from and toward the plunger I8. In view of the fact that in the mechanism I have constructed, the governor provides a straight line control, it will be seen that I can provide equal variations in space of the indicie, 55 on the rotating top II, which can be readily adjusted to change the time of action of the switch or other mechanism provided.

The operation of the governor mechanism, itself, in the embodiment of Figures V to VII, is, of course, substantially the same as that described in the operation of the mechanism in connection with Figures I to IV.

It is apparent that, within the scope of the invention, modifications and different arrangements may be made other than is herein disclosed, and the present disclosure is illustrative merely, the invention comprehending all variations thereof.

What I claim is:

A governor mechanism including a governor housing; a vertically arranged rotatable shaft extending into said housing; a rotatable member carried by said shaft forming a rotatable support; a plurality of weights pivotally connected at their lower portions to said support and arranged to rotate with said member, said weights adapted to move in an arc around said pivots under the action of centrifugal force; a controlling member adapted to be vertically moved in one direction by said weights; and a tension spring connected to each of said weights and to said movable controlling member one end of the spring being connected to the weight and the other end connected to said controlling member at a, point below the horizontal plane passing through the connecting point of said spring to said weight in inoperative position,

whereby the spring acts in conjunction with the ffi g weights on said controlling member during part 1 337865 of the movement of said weights and against 5 2 101447 said weights during other parts of such move- UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Lamont Sept. 10, 1872 Wells Apr. 20, 1920 Oldham Dec. 7, 1937 Antonsen Feb. 15, 1938 Hoof Dec. 30, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Oct. 29, 1930 France Sept. 2, 1924

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