IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METERS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Crosley, of No. 16, Westbourne Park,
in the County of Middlesex, and 103, Southwark Bridge Road, in
the County of Surrey, Gas Meter Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METERS."
Sealed the 25th January 1856, and dated the 12th November 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Crosley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
November 1855.
I, WILLIAM CROSLEY, of No. 16, Westbourne Park, in the County of
Middlesex, and 103, Southwark Bridge Road, in the County of Surrey, Gas
Meter Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METERS" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in what are commonly known
as wet gas meters; whereby great accuracy of register is obtained, and fraud
either on the part of the supplier or the consumer prevented.
The improvements consist, first, in regulating the level of the water line
within the hollow cover of the measuring wheel by introducing an overflow
pipe therein, such overflow pipe communicating with the atmosphere at any
portion of the meter below the true water level.
1. 2

page_text: Second, in the application of an hydraulic seal to the water line or overflow
pipe, such seal being formed by an inverted.cup or chamber so arranged as to
constitute a double seal, and thereby prevent the water forming such double
seal from being surreptitiously abstracted from the seal in a manner to afford
a passage for the gas through such overflow pipe. Another mode of effecting
this object consists in the application of either a spherical or flap valve to the
interior of the water line or overflow pipe, & so arranged or disposed that the
valve will open freely to allow of the exit of the water, whilst at the same time
it will be instantly closed if the pipe be blown into, or a cotton wick syphon
attempted to be introduced, or other means employed for the purpose of
expelling or extracting the water from the pipe.
Third, in the application of a similarly constructed double hydraulic seal to
the bottom of the ordinary gas syphon or passage pipe, for the purpose of
preventing frauds by the abstraction of gas from the bottom of such syphon
pipe.
Fourth, in the application of a double hydraulic seal to the water supply
pipe, such hydraulic seal being on the same principle as. that herein-before
described, whereby the, fraudulent extraction of gas from the meter through
the water supply pipe is effectually prevented.
Fifth, in the application of a gas passage in lieu of the ordinary outlet either
to the inside or outside of the case of the meter, the mouth or gas entrance to
such passage being placed so near to the true level of the water, that whilst
a sufficient quantity of gas would be allowed to pass to supply the requisite
number of burners so long as the true level of the water was maintained, yet
if the meter be tilted, or any appreciable excess of water be poured into it, the
entrance to the gas passage will be closed thereby and the supply cut off.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by, the said William Crosley in the Great Seal, Patent Office on the
12th May 1856..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL. COME, I, WILLIAM 3
CROSLEY, of No. 16, Westbourne Park, in the County of Middlesex, and
108, Southwark Bridge Road, in the County of Surrey, Gas Meter. Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of November, in the year, of our Lord s
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Crosley, Her special license that I, the said William Crosley, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Crosley, my executors, administrators, or 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, exerciso,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GAS METERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Crosley, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 William Crosley, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to certain improvements in what are commonly
known as wet gas meters; whereby great accuracy of register is obtained, and
fraud either on the part of the supplier or the consumer prevented.
1
The improvements consist, first, in regulating the level of the water line
within the hollow cover of the measuring wheel by introducing an overflow
pipo therein, such overflow pipe communicating with the atmosphere at any
portion of the meter below the true water level.
Second, in the application of an hydraulic seal to the water line or overflow
pipe, such seal being formed by an inverted cup or chamber so arranged as to
constitute a double seal, and thereby prevent the water forming such double
seal from being surreptitiously abstracted from the seal in a manner to
afford a passage for the gas through such overflow pipe. Another mode of
effecting this object consists in the application of either a spherical or flap
valve to the interior of the water line or overflow pipe, and so arranged or
disposed that the valve will open freely to allow of the exit of the water,
whilst at the same time it will be instantly closed if the pipe be blown
into, or a cotton wick syphon attempted to be introduced, or other means
employed for the purpose of expelling or extracting the water from the pipe.
Third, in the application of a similarly constructed double bydraulic seal to
the bottom of the ordinary gas syphon or passage pipe, for the purpose of

page_text: preventing fraud by the abstracting of gas from the bottom of such syphon
pipe.
Fourth, in the application of a double hydraulic seal to the water supply
pipe, such hydraulic seal being on the same principle as that herein-before
described, whereby the fraudulent extraction of gas from the meter through
the water supply pipe is effectually prevented.
Fifth, in the application of a gas passage in lieu of the ordinary outlet either
to the inside or outside of the case of the meter, the mouth or gas entrance to
such passage being placed so near to the true or proper level of the water,
that whilst a sufficient quantity of gas would be allowed to pass to supply the
requisite number of burners so long as the true level of the water was main-
tained, yet if the meter be tilted, or any appreciable excess of water be poured
into it, the entrance to the gas passage would be closed thereby and the supply
cut off.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a vertical section of the front portion of
my improved wet gas meter; and Figure 2 is a corresponding vertical section
of the same, taken at right angles to Figure 1 along the line 1, 2, and
shewing the mode of regulating the level of the water within the hollow cover
of the measuring drum, and also the double hydraulic seals, herein-before
referred to, and more particularly described hereafter; and Figure 3 is a
plan of the meter, partly in section, shewing the positions of the overflow pipe,
syphon pipe, and double hydraulic seal for the water supply pipe, herein-after
referred to.
A, A, is the outer shell or casing of the meter; and B, the measuring wheel,
fast on the spindle C; D is the hollow cover of the measuring wheel, within
which cover is brought the mouth E of the overflow pipe F, shewn more
clearly in the enlarged details, Figures 4, 5, 6, & 7. This pipe is made to
pass from the front portion or chamber G of the meter across a portion of the
chamber H, containing the measuring wheel, and passes by a sealed central
opening I into the interior of the hollow cover D; the lower portion of the
overflow pipe passes through the bottom of the front chamber G, and dips into
the seal or cup K underneath it. One or more openings are left on the upper
edge of the cup K, to allow the water to run over into the waste water reservoir
L; from this reservoir the water is drawn off until it assumes the proper

page_text: level in the measuring wheel by the discharge nozzle M, connected to the bent
or dip pipe N, which dips into the waste water reservoir L. This dip pipe, in
combination with the cup or scal K, constitutes a double hydraulic seal, which
will effectually prevent the bottom of the overflow pipe from being unsealed,
and thus preclude the possibility of fradulently extracting the gas therefrom.
O is the vent plug, which is withdrawn to admit air when any superfluous
water is to be run off. The bottom of the ordinary gas syphon pipe P is also
sealed by a double hydraulic seal, the lower end of such pipe being also
immersed in the water in the cup K, which is itself immersed to a considerable
extent in the waste water reservoir L, as is clearly shewn in Figure 1. Before
either the overflow or syphon pipes can be unsealed, it is obvious that the water
in the cup K must be abstracted, and as this cup is perfectly concealed and
unapproachable from without, the unsealing of such pipes will be totally
impossible without displacing or injuring the meter. A double bydraulic
seal, of a slightly modified construction, for closing the overflow and syphon
pipes F and P, is shewn in vertical section at Figure 8. In this case the
double seal is formed by having an inverted cup R placed over the mouth
of an inner or second cup or reservoir Q, into which inner cup dips the end of
the pipe to be sealed. These cups are contained in an outer casing or box K,
similar to the cup in Figure 1, which allows the water to run off by suitable
apertures at the at the top, as shewn by the arrows, and yet effectually protects
the cups themselves from injury, or from having the water contained therein
abstracted from them fradulently.
Figure 9 represents a sectional elevation of a portion of a meter, shewing
another mode of preventing the fradulent abstraction or expulsion of the water,
which seals the overflow pipe F, for the purpose of drawing off the gas therefrom;
and Figure 10 is a corresponding sectional plan of the same. A small spherical
valve S is inserted into the mouth of the overflow pipe, and a vent pipe T is
also connected therewith, and opens into the supply chamber or reservoir U.
This supply reservoir communicates by a suitable passage V with the atmosphere,
as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 9, and 13, and the mouth of this vent passage is
placed behind the nozzle of the inlet pipe W, as shewn clearly in Figure 1.
Should an attempt be made to suck out the water which forins the seal to
the overflow pipe, the air will rush in by the vent passage V and down the
small vent pipe T, and thus destroy or rather prevent the formation of a
vacuum, by which the water might be drawn out of the overflow pipe. If, on
the other hand, it is attempted to blow out the water from the pipe into the
meter, the spherical valve will instantly close and plug up the mouth, and the
air will escape freely by the vent pipe T and passage V into the atmosphere

page_text: without in any way acting on the water in the overflow pipe.
The same valve,
which I may here observe is kept in its place by a small transverse pin passed
through the mouth of the overflow pipe, offers an insurmountable obstruction
to the entrance of a cotton wick syphon for drawing off the water.
In place of a spherical valve a hanging or flap valve may be used, as shewn
by the detail, Figure 11, or any other convenient arrangement of self-closing
valve may be employed.
The water supply pipe X is also provided with a double hydraulic seal, for
the purpose of preventing the abstraction of gas thereby by first unsealing the
pipe. The lower end of this pipe dips into the cup Y (see detail, Figure 12),
which is filled with water up to the edge or lip, and is contained in the
closed supply chamber or reservoir U, which is always filled with water up
to the level of the lower supply pipe Z, which descends to within a short
distance from the bottom of the meter.
Inside the upper or outer supply pipe X are arranged a number of inter-
secting ledges or cross plates or diaphragms, for the purpose of preventing the
introduction of a cotton wick syphon therein, whilst at the same time it affords
a free passage to the water when supplying the meter. On referring to the
Drawing, it will be obvious that the abstraction of the water from the body of
the meter through the supply pipe is effectually prevented, for although the
water may be nearly all withdrawn from the dip cup Y by sucking at the
mouth of the pipe X, after that water has been abstracted air alone will be
drawn out, such air finding a free admission by the vent passage V, herein-
before referred to, and so preventing the formation of a vacuum in the supply
reservoir U; and as the lower supply pipe Z will still remain full of water up
to the level of the water in the meter, it follows that no gas can be drawn off
by that medium.
Figure 18 represents a section of the meter, for the purpose of shewing the
construction and position of the gas passage, herein-before referred to under
the fifth head of my Invention; Figure 14 is a section at right angles to
Figure 13, and Figure 15 is a corresponding plan of the meter.
a, a, is the
gas passage, which may be formed either inside' or outside the meter. The
mouth or gas entrance b to this passage is placed so near to the proper level
of the water, that whilst a sufficient quantity of gas will be allowed to pass to
supply the requisite number of burners so long as the proper level of the
water be maintained, yet if the meter be tilted towards the opening, or forward,
or any appreciable excess of water be poured into it, the entrance to the gas
passage will be closed tliereby, but if tilted in either of the two opposite
directions, then the ordinary float valve will be closed and the supply cut off.

page_text: But in order that this stoppage of the supply may not occur suddenly or
without notice, I have cut the mouth of the passage in an oblique or slanting
direction, as shewn in Figure 13, by which means the aperture will close
gradually and reduce the area of the gas passage by degrees when the meter
is tilted or has had too much water poured into it; whereas, were the mouth
of the gas passage straight or parallel to the surface of the water, the capilliary
attraction would draw up the water instantaneously when the level had
approximated closely to the mouth of the gas passage, and thereby cut off the
supply at once without notice or warning. The upper end of the gas passage
forms a shield to the gas outlet pipe C, and will serve to prevent the intro-
duction of instruments for the purpose of puncturing or perforating the
measuring wheel, to allow the gas to escape without being first duly measured.
It will be seen, on referring to Figure 13, that the actual gas passage itself
is of much smaller area than the mouth or entrance thereto, the object of
which is to throttle or impede the flow of gas when any great excess of pressure
of gas or number of burners is applied to the meter over and above the proper
number suited to the size thereof; in other words, the passage is made only
large enough to supply a certain fixed and proportionate number of burners to
the size of the meter. I lay no claim, however, to the regulation of the size
of the gas passage, nor to the number of burners that may be supplied by the
meter. As I have shewn in my Drawings certain parts of wet gas meters
which are not described or referred to in my Specification, I may here observe
that I lay no claim to them, since they form no part of my Invention, and are
well known to gas meter manufacturers.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my said Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of certain of
the various parts of wet gas meters, as herein-before described.
Second, the introduction of the mouth of the overflow pipe in wet gas
meters into the interior of the hollow cover of the measuring wheel.
Third, the application of a double hydraulic seal to the bottom of the over-
flow pipe in wet gas meters, for the purpose herein-before referred to.
Fourth, the application of a spherical flap or other valve to the mouth

page_text: of the overflow pipe, in the manner and for the purpose herein-before
referred to.
Fifth, the application of a double hydraulic seal to the bottom of the
ordinary gas syphon or passage pipe, for the purpose herein-before referred to.
Sixth, the application of a double hydraulic seal to the water supply pipe of
wet gas meters, for the purpose herein-before described.
Seventh, the application and use of a gas passage placed inside or outside
the case of the meter, having its mouth or gas entrance so near to the proper
or true water level, that by tilting the meter or otherwise raising the water
level, the gas will be wholly or partially cut off.
Eighth, the peculiar construction and arrangement of double hydraulic seals
for wet gas meters, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Crosley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Tenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-six.
WILLIAM CROSLEY. (L.S.)