Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Dec., 1886.
Specification Accepted, 22nd Feb., 1887.
I GEORGE STORRS FOLLANSBEE of No. 26 Soley Street Charlestown in the State
of Massachusetts one of the United States of America do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to fluid meters of that class known as piston-meters and has
for its object to improve and simplify the construction of the same.
My invention has for its primary object to increase the capacity of the meter
without increasing its size and I accomplish this feature of my invention by making
the piston rod of the piston in the fluid measuring cylinder hollow, and extending into
the said hollow piston rod, a rod connected as will be described with and so as to
actuate the mover for the valve controlling the auxiliary pistons.
The especial features in which my invention consists will be hereinafter described in
detail and be pointed out in the claim at the end of this specification.
Figure 1 is a vertical section in the line - Figure 3 of a fluid meter embodying
my invention.
Figure 2 a right hand side elevation of Figure 1.
Figure 3 a partial top and sectional view of Figure 1, the section being on line a¹¹
to clearly show the construction of the valve.
Figure 4 a side view of the valve shown in Figure 1.
Figures 5 and 6 details to be referred to.
Figure 7 a sectional detail of the ported head on line y-y of figure 1 looking down,
to show the ports in said ported head, and Figure 8 a section through the valve chest
on line- Figure 1.
The metallic outer casing A containing within it a measuring cylinder a has a
ported head A' secured thereto by suitable bolts A2, the said head being surmounted

page_text: by a cap A³ secured thereto by bolts A*, and forming a chamber into which the water
is first admitted.
The cap A³ is shaped as shown in the drawing to serve as a cover for a valve chest a³
containing a piston valve, as will be described.
The valve chest a³, see Figures 1 and 3, is divided to constitute passages a¹, a³, aº,
in communication with passages in the ported head A³, the passage a* being in com-
munication with a port a², see Figures 7 and 8, leading from the ported head into
the upper end of the measuring cylinder a, the passage as being in communication
with a passage a leading from the ported head to the lower end of the casing A, see
Figure 1, while the passage a communicates with the outlet port b of the meter.
The walls of the valve chest a³ are provided with apertures to form ports 2, 3, 4, 5
which are closed by means of valves herein shown as cylinders or pistons 61, 62, 63,
mounted in suitable manner upon a common valve stem 64.
The pistons and 3, as herein shown are made of sufficient size to enter auxiliary
cylinders c², c³, herein shown as attached by screws 10, to a second casing d which as
herein shown in Figure 3 forms part of the valve chest a³, the valve 2 being
reciprocated across the passage a to open the port 4 and close the port 3 and vice
versa.
The casing d is provided with ports d', d², d³, see Figures 1 and 4 the port d² being
connected by passage d', see full lines Figure 3, and dotted lines Figure 4, with the
cylinder and the port d by passage with the cylinder c³, while the port ³ is
connected to the discharge port through the passage as.
The ports, 2, communicating with the auxiliary cylinders c², c³, respectively, are
opened and closed by an ordinary slide valve e, fitted into and actuated by a valve
mover e¹, see Figure 1, a piece of india-rubber to being herein shown as inserted
between the saia valve and its mover, to keep the valve pressed upon its seat.
Within the cylinder a is a piston e³, the piston rode of which is provided at its
upper end with a packing e, secured by a collar ex, said packing being fitted to and
moved in a tube e supported in the ported head A¹.
The piston rode is made hollow to receive within it a rod e, provided at one end
with a collar e to be engaged by the collar ex when the piston is at the bottom of
its stroke.
The rode has its other end extended through a plate having depending from it
rods which are secured to the valve mover e¹ see Figures 1 and 5.
The rod e is also extended through a second plate g and is screw threaded at its
upper end to receive a nut g¹ by which the length of the rod e below the plate ƒ can
be adjusted, thereby controlling the movement of the valve e and determining the
length of the piston stroke.
The plate g supports rods h, which are connected at their lower ends to a collar h²
having a projecting arm 3, which in practice will be jointed with any usual registering
mechanism common to piston meters, but not herein shown, as such registering
mechanism does not form part of my invention.
The rods are extended through guides in the valve mover e¹, as shown in
Figure 6.
To the underside of the plate g and extended into the tube e' are depending arms h¹,
see Figure 6, against which the collar ex strikes as the piston e² is moved on its up
stroke, the said piston through the said arms moving the plate g upward, thereby
actuating the registering mechanism to register the amount of fluid flowing through
the meter in the usual manner.
As the piston moves upward and just before it reaches the end of its stroke, the
collar ex strikes against the plate lifting it and its attached rods f¹ upward, a
sufficient distance to move the valve e through the valve mover e¹, and thereby open
the port d' and admit fluid through the passage d to the cylinder, and at the same
time connect the cylinder e³ with the exhaust or discharge pipe through the passage d³.
In the operation of the meter and as shown in the drawings, the piston e' is supposed
to be on its down stroke, as indicated by the arrow 20, and the passage at which com-

page_text: municates with the upper end of the cylinder through the passage a² is supposed to be
open, as shown in Figures 3 and 8, so that the water or other fluid froin the inlet
pipe flows into the valve chest a through the passage at and through the
passage a into the upper part of the cylinder a as indicated by arrow 12, Figures 3
and 8.
With the piston on the down stroke the port d' communicating with the cylinder c³,
is open as shown in Figure 1, the water or other fluid flowing through said port and
passage d' to the cylinder e², thus moving the piston 63 outward or in the direction of
arrow 21 Figures 3 and 4, to close the port 5 by means of the valve 63, the valve b
opening the port 4 and closing the port 3 and the valve b¹ opening the port 2.
When the piston e has reached the bottom of its stroke the collar ex engages the
collar e to move the valve e through the valve mover, so as to open the port i² and
connect the port d' with the exhaust d³.
The water flows through the ports d' passages d³ into the cylinder c³ moving the
piston valve b¹ to close the port 2 to the water inlet and open it to the exhaust b, and
to open the port 5 to the water inlet.
As the pistone is moved down, the water below it is forced out through the
passages a¹ and a to the exhaust b, as indicated by arrow 22 Figures 1, 3 and 8.
With the piston e at the bottom of its stroke and the port d¹ communicating with
the exhaust passage d³, and the port d² communicating with the inlet f³ as above
described, the water first flows through the port d², passage d' into the cylinder c³ to
move the piston valves 61, 62, 63, toward the other end of the valve chest from the
position shown in Figures 3 and 5, that is, cutting off the passage a³ from the exhaust,
and opening it and the passage a¹, to place them in communication with the outside
of the valve chest a³ that is with the inlet/*.
As the passage a³ is cut off from the exhaust the passage at is connected therewith,
thereby connecting the passage a with the exhaust so that the water above the
pistone may be discharged on the up stroke of the piston.
The piston e at the end of its upstroke strikes the plate f and moves the valve e
into the position shown in Figure 1, as above described.
The piston rod being hollow and receiving within it the rod e permits of a longer
stroke of the piston than if the rod e formed an integral part of the piston rod,
thereby increasing the capacity of the meter without increasing its size.
I do not wish to limit myself to the means herein shown for connecting the rod e
with the valve e as other suitable means might be employed, but I prefer the
construction shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
:-
1. In a fluid meter, the measuring cylinder a, a valve chest containing a valve to
control the admission of fluid to the ineasuring cylinder, an auxiliary valve to control
the admission of fluid to said valve chest, the piston e in the measuring cylinder
having the hollow piston rod e³, and the rod e extended within the said hollow piston
rod and upon or over which the latter slides on the movement of the piston e², com-
bined with means, substantially as described to connect the rod es with the said
auxiliary valve, as and for the purpose specified.
2. In a fluid meter, a measuring cylinder, a valve chest communicating with said
measuring cylinder and having passages a, as, as, and ports 2, 3, 4, 5, a piston valve
to co-operate with said ports, an auxiliary valve to control the admission of fluid to
said valve chest, a piston in the measuring cylinder having a hollow piston rod and a
second rod extended within the said hollow piston rod and upon or over which the
latter slides on the movement of the piston e³, combined with ineans, substantially as
described to connect the said second rod with the said auxiliary valve, as and for the
purpose set forth.
3. In a fluid meter, a measuring cylinder, a valve chest communicating with said
measuring cylinder and having passages a, a, a, and ports 2, 3, 4, 5, auxiliary

page_text: cylinders c, c¹, an auxiliary valve to control the admission of fluid to the said auxiliary
cylinder, a piston in the measuring cylinder having a hollow piston rod, and a second
rod extended within the said hollow piston rod, and upon or over which the latter
slides on the movement of the piston e³, combined with means, substantially as
described, to connect the second rod with the said auxiliary valve, as and for the
purpose set forth.
4. In a fluid meter, a measuring cylinder, a valve chest, piston valves located
therein, auxiliary cylinders c, c', in which the piston valves are reciprocated, an
auxiliary valve to control the admission of fluid to the said auxiliary cylinders, a
piston in the measuring cylinder having a hollow piston rod, and a second rod
extended within the said hollow piston rod and upon or over which the latter slides on
movement of the piston e, combined with means, substantially as described to connect
the second rod with the said auxiliary valve, as and for the purpose set forth.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the Applicant.