Adjustable centrifugal governor speed control
AssigneeGraco Minnesota Inc.
InventorsGeoffrey Alexander Bullock, John Russell Ingebrand
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotational speed governor for an air motor comprises a housing, a valve, a shaft, a cross-bar, a plate and a pair of weights. The housing has an air inlet and an air outlet. The valve is disposed between the air inlet and the air outlet. The shaft extends along an axis within the housing. The cross-bar is connected to the shaft. The plate intersects the shaft between the valve and the crossbar. The weights are rotatably connected to the crossbar at pivot points. Each weight comprises an arcuately profiled edge extending beyond the crossbar to engage the plate. The arcuately profiled edges are shaped to increase a moment arm on the plate as the weights pivot away from the shaft.
Claims20
A centrifugal governor comprising:
- a housing;
- a valve seat mounted within the housing;
- a governor shaft mounted to the housing to rotate along an axis;
- a centrifugal arm rotatably linked to the governor shaft at a pivot point so as to be extendable in a radial direction from the axis, the centrifugal arm including an arcuately profiled edge that is non-uniformly disposed with respect to the pivot point;
- and
- a valve stem mechanically resting against the arcuately profiled edge within the housing to engage the valve seat;
- wherein rotation of the centrifugal arm displaces the valve stem with respect to the valve seat.
A rotational speed governor for an air motor, the governor comprising:
- a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet;
- a valve disposed between the air inlet and the air outlet;
- a shaft extending along an axis within the housing;
- a cross-bar connected to the shaft;
- a plate intersecting the shaft between the valve and the crossbar;
- and
- a pair of weights rotatably connected to the cross-bar at pivot points, each weight comprising a profiled edge extending beyond the crossbar to engage the plate, the profiled edges being shaped to increase a moment arm on the plate as the weights pivot away from the shaft.
A centrifugal governor for an air motor, the centrifugal governor comprising:
- a housing comprising:
- an air inlet;
- an air outlet;
- a first valve socket;
- a second valve socket;
- and
- a shaft socket;
- a valve seat configured to adjustably translate within the first valve socket, the valve seat including an air path extending between the air inlet and the air outlet;
- a valve stem configured to freely slide within the second valve socket, the valve stem including a stem post that intersects the air path in the valve seat;
- a governor shaft that extends along an axis, the governor shaft having:
- a first end disposed in the shaft socket;
- and
- a second end engaging the valve stem;
- and
- a governor mechanism coupled to the governor shaft that pushes the valve stem along the second end of the governor shaft within the second valve socket under centrifugal force, the governor mechanism comprising a profiled surface that applies increasing force to the valve stem under increasing rotational speed of the governor shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.