Improvements in Gas Meters.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Mr., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 1st Jan., 1895-4ccepted, 3rd May, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Meters.
WILLIAM JOHN WARNER, 3, Wellington Terrace, South Shields County of
Durham, Gas Engineer, and WILLIAM COWAN, Buccleuch Street Works,
Edinburgh, Midlothian N.B. Gas Meter Manufacturer &c. do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
These improvements are in the construction of the wet meter known as the
"Warner & Cowan Gas Meter," for which Letters Patent were granted in 1874
No. 1698, and relate to that portion of the wheel, drum, or cylinder, for "the
withdrawal of a portion of gas after passing from the inlet & returning to it again
more or less of the gas in excess of the volume that should be passed to the
burners."
In place of the "inner wheel" constructed in the ordinary way with chambers
and overlapping inlets and outlets & therefore with a varying capacity in itself,
plain segments of cylinders are used for the abstracting or withdrawal of the
excess of volume passed from the wheel by the lowering of the waterline. These
segments are placed obliquely to the shaft & with one end external to the wheel
& open to the outlet gas, & the other in the wheel & discharging into a filling
chamber. The segments or channels may be otherwise placed relatively in the
wheel, & they may be true sections of spirals with a greater or less pitch.
The objects of the invention are the formation of abstracting channels with
uniform cross sectional areas through the, whole of their action (other than that
by the variation of the waterline) so as to abstract & deliver the compensating
volumes with greater freedom than has hitherto been done; also the simplification
of the construction of the Warner & Cowan wheel.
Dated this First der of Mawal 1904
W. J. WARNER.
WILLIAM COWAN.
Improvements in Gas Meters,
We, WILLIAM JOHN WARNER, of 3 Wellington Terrace, South Shields, in the
County of Durham, Gas Engineer, and WILLIAM COWAN, of, Buccleuch Street
Works, Edinburgh, in the County of Midlothian, North Britain, Gas Meter
Manufacturer, 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 consists in improvements in the construction of wet gas meters,
as described in the Specification of our prior Patent No. 1698 of 13th May 1874,
and relates to the portion of the "wheel" "drum or "cylinder" employed for
"abstracting or withdrawing a portion of gas after passing from the inlet and
returning to it again more or less of the gas in excess of the volume that should be
passed to the burners."
i
i
The objects of the present invention are the forination of abstracting or with-
drawing channels having a uniform, or approximately so, sectional cross area

page_text: through the whole of their action (other than that by the variation of the water
line) so as to abstract and deliver the compensating volumes with greater freedom
than has hitherto been done. Also the simplification of the construction of the
said wheel, drum or cylinder:
In accordance with the present invention we proceed as follows :—
In place of the "inner wheel" constructed in the ordinary way with chambers
and overlapping inlets and outlets, and therefore, with a varying capacity in itself,
we employ plain segments of a cylinder for the abstraction or withdrawal of the
These
excess of volume passed from the wheel by the lowering of the water line
segments are placed obliquely to the shaft, and with one end of each external to
the wheel and open to the outlet gas, and the other end in the wheel and discharging
into a filling chamber. The segments or channels may be otherwise placed relatively
in the wheel; and they may be a true section of spirals with a greater or less
pitch.
"
66
By the invention of the combined wheels as described in the before mentioned
Patent No. 1698 of 13th May 1874.-A meter with a varying water-line is made
to pass a practically unvarying volume of gas at each revolution of the wheel or
drum, and that too with an increased range or float. The said Patent was for the
"wheel
construction of a gas meter
cylinder" or "drum" with an "inner
wheel." Thus constructed about half of the varying portion of an ordinary wheel
is made unvarying by the inner wheel, and by its action on the other half, and varying
portions of the wheel, the surplus of the volume of gas in each chamber by the lowering
of the water-line is abstracted or withdrawn in succession, and returned to the
common. inlet. The form of the inner wheel is the same as the wheel proper with
the exception of the relative positions of the "partitions" and inlet and outlet
passages or hoods heing reversed, the current of gas having to pass in the opposite
direction to that of the wheel proper. Each chamber of the inner wheel may,
either through its inlets or outlets, be in communication with a chamber of the
major wheel. To withdraw the gas direct from the common outlet of the case, the
inlets have to be open to the case and the volumes taken in by the inner wheel
will be delivered in succession into the filling chambers of the major wheel.. To
withdraw the excess direct from an emptying chamber of the major wheel the gas
must be delivered into the common inlet chamber i.e. the "hollow cover."
position of the inner wheel is thus determined to withdraw the gas from the
common outlet the inner wheel must be placed at the back part of the drum, and
to take the gas direct from the chambers of the major wheel, the delivery must be
into the common inlet, and therefore the inner wheel must be placed in the front
part of the drum.
The
In the combined wheels as in the ordinary kind, it is essential that there should
be a continuous flow of gas passing through the same, and this is provided for by
acting upon each chamber of the major wheel, in succession, by one of the chambers
of the inner wheel, thus providing each chamber of the wheel with an abstracting
chamber. through which the surplus of the volume is withdrawn from or delivered
into the major wheel. Though this has been held as an essential common to the
major and inner wheels it is not so; their functions are different. The one must
have a continuous action to maintain a continuous flow, the other, the regulation
of the volume, may be done either by a continuous or by an intermittent action,
or by one partially so. In the case of an ordinary hollow cylinder, closed at both
ends and mounted on a shaft, and placed under the conditions of an ordinary meter
wheel in action, the space above the water within the cylinder if in communication
with the gas would vary with every variation of the water line, and heuce a
corresponding variation in the enclosed volume of gas. The enclosed volume of
gas could not be affected by the enclosing cylinder if made to revolve, nor would
the cylinder be affected by the gas in such a movement, nor by such could the
water affect or be affected. This applies equally to a portion of the cylinder as
to the cylinder itself, therefore in the segment of a cylinder mounted on a shaft,
we have a perfect form of chamber with a uniform capacity through its entire

page_text: action. The capacity of such a chamber would be dependent upon the depth of
the cylinder, its diameter and water line, the latter determining the arc of the
segment.
The practical application of this to an ordinary or common wheel is shewn in
the annexed drawings.
Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 a side elevation shewn partly in section
of an ordinary four-chambered wheel, drum or cylinder fitted into the substitute
for an inner wheel composed of two plain segments of a circle or cylinder.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of a modification. And
Figures 4 to 11 inclusive are diagrams hereinafter referred to.
The said segments A may be mounted within the drum B so as to be near the
inlet side C as shewn in Figure 3, or to be near the outlet or case side D of the
wheel, which as shewn in Figure 2 and the section of the said segments is as
follows:-
Diagram view, Figure 4, shews a drum or wheel having a segment A of half a
cylinder fixed concentrically within it said segment opening into two adjoining
chambers of the wheel through their opposite partitions-the two chambers on the
opposite side being cut off, but subject to the external influence of the segment as
in the case of the inner wheel, as described in the Specification of Patent No. 1698
of 1874, making about half of each of the chambers of unvarying capacity. The
discharging chamber F has the abstracting segment A open to it so as to take in
its volume of gas till the said chamber F is closed by entering the water as shewn
in Figure 5, and will be held until the chamber Frises out of the water and
allows the discharge to take place into the said chamber F1 from the segment A as
shewn in Figure 6.
In this improvement of the means of abstracting or withdrawing the surplus of
the volume delivered by the wheel there is no interference with what may be called
the passive character of the principle already referred to, that is to say, as the
segments occupy about half the variable portion of the chambers of the
wheel, that portion is not affected by the variations of the water-line, such
variation taking place below the periphery of the segments, and the active
principle the inner portion of the segmental chamber-abstracts or withdraws
the surplus of the volume that would otherwise be delivered by the enlarged
chamber of the wheel. The terms "abstracting" or "withdrawing" appear to be
more applicable to the inner wheel of the first Patent of the combined wheels
herein referred to than to this invention--the gas having in our first plan to be
got into and from the chambers through the small inlet and outlet hoods of the
inner wheel whilst in the present improvements the channel or chamber being of
the same sectional area throughout the entire action it appears to have more of
the character of a bye-pass of a variable volume.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 show diagram views of a wheel B having only one of the
segmental channels A shown; it is obvious from such that two should be used to
complete or leave the passive feature of the arrangement untouched, that is
to say, to reduce the variable portion of the whole of the chambers of the wheel to
about one half. In this arrangement, and as is shown, the channel A is empty,
but as the wheel B revolves this channel A will rise up from the water, take in
the volume of gas and discharge it into the chamber b. This arrangement has
been shown as the most simple for describing the principle; but the relative
positions of the segmental channels A may be varied. In the arrangement shown
the compensating action is between chamber and chamber, entirely internal. We,
however, prefer to this, the placing of the two chambers A together at the back of
the wheel, with communication through the back into the outer case, and thus be
in communication with the outlet gas, shown in the Figures 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.
The letters of reference are the same as the foregoing, and the action the same as
that described with reference to Figures 4, 5 and 6, the channel A. discharging the
volume which it has taken from the outside of the wheel, into a chamber of the
wheel.

page_text: In carrying the foregoing into practice, we proceed as is shown in Figures 1
and 2. The channel segments A are placed with their axis obliquely to the shaft H
and across each other at a greater or lesser angle and with their intake ends
projecting beyond the plane of the back D, of the wheel B; the gas being
delivered from the other end direct into their chambers through the partitions to
which they are soundly soldered to below the lowest water-line. This, it need
scarcely be said, is necessary in every case, the channel or segmental chamber A
must be made with a perfectly sound communication between each intake and
delivery above the water line, and entirely separate and distinct from each other.
A true spiral form will allow of the channels to be placed more compactly
within the wheel, or as shewn in Figure 3 the channels A may be so arranged as
to have their outlet ends projecting through the front of the wheel B into the
inlet chamber C of the wheel B.
It
As a modification we may employ a smaller spiral channel but with a greater
pitch may be arranged between the end of wheel and each chamber of it, the
segments of course being sufficient to have their two ends sealed at low water.
is, however desirable that the wheel should be made as simple as possible, and with
as free a water way as can be got through the centre of the wheel; and beyond
this there is the economy of construction. The segment too, should be as near as
possible concentric with the wheel that there may be no unnecessary disturbance of
the water, and that the wheel may pass through unimpeded in its action. It is
desirable that the segments should be of uniform, or nearly so, sectional area
through the whole range of their action, that the action of the meter may in no
way be affected by them. The cross section, however, need not be a
parallelogram in form, the sections may be made to approach each other at the
centre, and so reducing their capacity to meet the reducing capacity of the variable
portion of the chambers of the wheel as the water line gets nearer to the centre
of the wheel. The chord of the are defining the segment is the low water line of
the meter, and the "range of the float" is dependent upon the circle of the
cylinder from which the segment is taken the intersection of the partitions by
the circle being the high water line of the meter; which in order to preserve the
passive principle, it will be seen, the high water-line cannot be raised above the
intersection of the partitions by the circle of the abstracting segment.
<<
"
true
The discharge of the gas from the abstracting channel should take place as
early as possible into a filling chamber-just through the partition-and when
withdrawn from the case of meter and delivered into an empty chamber the channel
need not be a semi-circle but carried round only sufficiently far. to ensure the
sealing of the channel at low water.
Also as a further modification, we may employ a wheel or drum having three
chambers and conjoin therewith three plain segmental channels, arranged between
the end of the wheel and each chamber of it.
For the sake of clearness in describing the construction and action we have
dealt with the various arrangements as being subjected to an equal influence of
the passive and active principles, that is to say that the channels or chambers
occupying one half of the variable portion of the major wheel, the passive
principle does one half and the active principle the other half of the work of
regulation of the volume, passed by the major wheel, thus following the lines of our
original invention with greater freedom of action in these channels or chambers, it
is not necessary thus to deal with the matter by such relative proportions of work.
The distinctive feature of our invention being the regulation of the volume by
the construction of the major wheel with segmental channels or chambers, such
channels or chambers being made of capacity suitable to their position in the wheel
so that actively and passively jointly they may effect the regulation of the volume
passed by the wheel.
Also we may arrange two segmental chambers at each end of the wheel, but
narrower and of less capacity, thus bringing the whole of the four-chambered
wheel into communication with the chambers by two pairs of two each.

page_text: The objects of the invention are the formation of abstracting or withdrawing
chambers with uniform, or nearly so, cross sectional areas through the whole of
their action (except such as arises from the variation of the water-line) so as to
abstract and deliver the compensating volume with greater freedom than has
hitherto been done: also the simplification of the construction of the Warner and
Cowan meter-wheel. This is affected, as described and shown in the accompanying
drawings by the removal, as it were, from the inner wheel of the "partitions
and "hoods or narrow inlet and outlet passages, leaving but two chambers (the
segmental channels) to do the work of compensation.
"
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
In the "drums," "cylinders" or "wheels" of wet gas meters, the arrangement
and employment, in place of or as a substitute for an inner wheel, of plain
segmental channels or chambers, having a uniform, or nearly so, sectional area
through the whole of their action, substantially as and for the purposes herein before
described and shown in the annexed drawings.
Dated this 31st day of December 1894
JOHNSONS,
115, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Applicants' Agents.