Speed governor for music box or the like

A speed governor of controlling an operational speed of a shaft driven by an energized spring and supported between a bearing portion of a fixed surface and a drive wheel operatively connected to the energized spring by a gear train, the governor comprising:

• a rotary member fixedly coupled to the shaft and including a plurality of weight portions, a boss and a plurality of coupling members, each of said coupling members coupling a corresponding one of said weight portions to said boss and having a corresponding groove;
• and
• brake means for braking rotational speed of the shaft due to friction between said brake means and at least one surface of said rotary member when a rotational speed of the shaft is greater than or equal to a predetermined speed;
• said coupling members located in a plane substantially parallel to but not coincident with an imaginary plane perpendicular to an axis of the shaft and intersecting a center of gravity of said rotary member, said coupling members and said corresponding grooves cooperatively supporting said weight portions so that at least one surface of said rotary member is substantially parallel to said plane when said rotary member is in a stopped state, and said weight portions elastically deform portions of said coupling member adjacent to said corresponding grooves when said rotational speed is greater than of equal to said predetermined speed.

A speed governor for controlling a operational speed of a shaft driven by an energized spring and supported between a bearing portion of a fixed surface and a drive wheel operatively connected to the energized spring by a gear train, the governor comprising:

• a rotary member fixedly coupled to the shaft and including a plurality of weight portions, a boss and a plurality of coupling members, each of said coupling members coupling a corresponding one of said weight portions to said boss and having a cross section reduced from an adjacent cross section of said boss and further having a corresponding groove;
• and
• brake means for braking rotational speed of the shaft due to friction between said brake means and at least one friction surface of said rotary member when a rotational speed of the shaft is greater than or equal to a predetermined speed;
• wherein said coupling members and said corresponding grooves cooperatively support said weight portions so that at least one outer surface of said rotary member is substantially parallel to but not coincident with an imaginary plane perpendicular to an axis of the shaft and intersecting a center of gravity of said rotary member when said rotary member is in a stopped state, and said weight portions elastically deform portions of said coupling member adjacent to said corresponding grooves when said rotational speed is greater than of equal to said predetermined speed.