IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER GAUGES OR INSTRUMENTS FOR INDICATING THE HEIGHT OF WATER IN BOILERS."
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Charles Medwin, of the firm of
Medwin and Hall, of Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey,
Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER GAUGES
OR INSTRUMENTS FOR INDICATING THE HEIGHT OF WATER IN BOILERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Charles
Medwin at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 26th November 1852.
I, THOMAS CHARLES MEDWIN, of the firm of Medwin and Hall, of
Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WATER GAUGES, OR INSTRUMENTS FOR INDICATING THE HEIGHT OF WATER
IN BOILERS to be as follows:
Outside the boiler I affix a dial, and on à spindle or lever tra-
versing the boiler plate I mount an index pointer; the other end
of the spindle or lever carries, or is connected to, a float ball or other
equivalent. Or a spindle may be made to traverse the boiler plate,
and its inner end be made the fulcrum of a lever, one end of which
is weighted, while the other end is connected to a float stone or other

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filéd by the said Thomas Charles Medwin in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 25th May 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
THOMAS CHARLES MEDWIN, of the Firm of Medwin and Hall, of
Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two,
in the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Charles Medwin,
Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Charles Medwin, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Charles Medwin, my executors, administrators, and 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 WATER GUAGES, OR
INSTRUMENTS FOR INDICATING THE HEIGHT OF WATER IN BOILERS, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Charles
Medwin, by an 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 Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Charles Medwin, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-

page_text: tained in and by the following statement thereof (that is to
say):-
I declare the nature of my Invention of Improvements in Water
Guages or Instruments for Indicating the Height of Water in Boilers
to be as follows: Outside the boiler I affix a dial, and on a spindle
or lever traversing the boiler plate, I mount an index pointer, the
other end of the spindle or lever carries, or is connected to, a float ball
or other equivalent. Or a spindle may be made the fulcrum of a
lever, one end of which is weighted, while the other end is connected
to a float stone or other equivalent. The outer end of the spindle
carries an index pointer, which indicates on the dial the level of the
water in the boiler; and in order that the Invention may be most
fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to
describe the means pursued by me.
Figure 1, shows sections of a boiler having part of my improvement
applied thereto; and Figure 2, shews sections of another boiler having
another arrangement of my improvements applied thereto. In Figure
i, a stone float and counter-weight are employed; and in Figure 2,
a hollow ball or float is employed, without a counter-balance weight.
In each of these arrangements, a spindle a, passes from the exterior
of the boiler, through a stuffing box, into the interior of the boiler;
such spindle having at its outer end a pointer b, which points to an
index fixed at the outside of boiler, and thereby the height of the
water is indicated at all times. In Figure 1, the spindle has fixed
thereon, within the boiler, a lever c, which has a counter weight d,
and a stone or suitable float e; the inner end of the spindle is also
to be carried by a suitable bearing fixed within the boiler. In
Figure 2, the spindle is hollow, and has affixed thereto a hollow arm
f, with a closed end, which arm is fixed to the spindle, and on its
other end the hollow globe or floating globe, or float g; there being
an opening through that part of the hollow arm f, which is within
the float, so that air may pass freely into the float. And in some

page_text: cases I apply a whistle tube outside of the boiler in combination:
with the hollow spindle, in which case the hollow spindle acts; as a
hollow plug to the whistle cock; thus, by having an opening into
the spindle for the steam to flow through, the steam will, when per-
initted by the index hand falling or rising too much, pass through
other openings into the whistle tube, and sound the whistle.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it, understood that. I
do not confine myself to the precise details, nor do I claim the parts
separately; but what I claim are the combinations of apparatus here-
in described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Charles Medwin, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May,
in the year of our Lord One thousand-eight hundred and
fifty-three.
F
THOS CHAS MEDWIN. (L.S.)
Witness,
J. T. HARSTON,
12, Cursitor Street, Chancery Lane.