IMPROVEMENTS IN PISTON METERS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, ARNOLD GOODWIN, Junior, of No 56, Sumner Street, Southwark, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN PISTON METERS to be as follows:-
"
This Invention relates to improvements in piston meters of the kind wherein the
piston of each measuring cylinder controls the action of a slide valve plug cock or
other form of distributing apparatus governing the motion of the piston in another
cylinder the object of the invention being the construction of a meter which by
reason of its simplicity, the directness of its action, and the absence of stuffing
boxes can be worked with a very small bead of water and a minimum of leakage.
According to my invention I employ two cylinders with their axes in the same
straight line. Each cylinder is provided with a piston and piston rod and is in
free communication at one end with a chamber in which is pivotted a lever. The
cylinders are preferably placed horizontally in order to prevent the accumulation of
air within them, and above them there is formed a water chamber or valve chest in
which is a valve face or faces having two sets of ports communicating respectively
with the two ends of each cylinder, each set of ports being provided with a slide
valve. The slide valves are operated as hereinafter described by means of slide
rods moving parallel with each other the slide rod of one valve passing clear of the
other valve or through a groove or way formed in the back of it. Each slide rod
passes from the water chamber or valve chest into the chambers at the end of its
respective cylinders through a long hole in the wall or partition that divides the
two. This hole is unprovided with stuffing boxes or glands and I have found in
practice that the leakage due to this arrangement is so small that it may be
practically neglected. For the purpose of actuating the slide valves I employ the
pivotted levers bereinbefore mentioned. One end of each lever is connected by
suitable means with the outer side of one piston. The means I prefer to employ
is a slotted piston rod secured to the outer side of the piston, one end of the said
pivotted lever entering the slot the length of which may be such as to prevent the
piston rod imparting its motion to the lever except when near the ends of its
stroke. It is evident however, that many equivalent methods of operating these
levers can be devised. The other end of each of the pivotted levers is suitably
connected with one of the slide rods. It will thus be readily seen that when
the levers are operated by the pistons their motion will be communicated to the
slide valves.

page_text: To make the pistons water tight I form each of them by preference of a metal
disc provided with a groove or recess fitted with one or more vulcanite split rings
the natural elasticity of which is sufficient to 'cause them to open out and fit the
cylinders watertight. I do not however confine myself to the use of vulcanite
packing rings as metal rings, leather or canvas cups, rolling rubber rings or other
form of packing may be employed in my improved form of water meter.
For recording or indicating the quantity of water or other fluid passed through
the meter I employ a suitable index which receives its motion from one of the
slide rods or valves by means of a projection therefrom which actuates a rocking
pawl. This in turn operates a ratchet wheel provided with a detent or check to
prevent it moving in a backward direction. The motion of the ratchet wheel is
communicated to a set of recording wheels in any well know and convenient
manner.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings, in which Fig.1 is
a vertical section of one form of piston meter embodying my improvements. Fig 2
is 'n plan with the top and end covers removed, and Fig 3 is an end view also with
the end cover removed.
:
a a are two cylinders cast together and may be considered as one cylinder
provided with a partition or diaphragm a² at its central part dividing it into two
equal measuring chambers. a3 a³ are abutment pieces of suitable elastic material
against which the inner ends of the pistons strike. b. 6' are piston rods secured to
the pistons b2b and projecting from their outer surfaces into the chambers c. c¹
which it will be seen are in free communication with the outer ends of the
cylinders a a¹ In these chambers the levers d. d' are pivotted. on cross bars or
supports e. e. The lower ends of the levers enter the slots f. f. formed in the
piston rods while their upper ends engage with a pin secured in the end of each of
the slide rods g. g¹. These slide rods g. g' are connected to their respective slide
valves in any convenient manner the slide rod of each valve sliding or moving
through a groove or way h² formed in the back of the other valve.
hh are ordinary slide valves working in the water chamber or valve chest i
formed on the upper side of the cylinders a a¹. klare valve faces on which the
slide valves h h¹ work and ke¹. k. k³ and 1. 12. 13 are two sets of ports formed therein
and communicating with the two ends of each of the cylinders and with the
exhaust or delivery pipe in the manner hereinafter described. are long holes
formed in the ends of the water chamber or valve chest i and through which the
slide rods g g work practically. water-tight. m is the inlet or supply pipe
communicating with the water chamber or valve chest i and n is the outlet or
delivery pipe communicating with the exhaust ports 2 and 12. o is the top cover
extended at each end; with the end covers p p it conveniently forms the
chambers c c¹. ppare extensions formed in the end covers p p. for the
accommodation of the piston rods. These extensions may be provided with elastic
cushioning pieces p² p². q is a projection attached to the slide valve h_to_actuate-
-a-rocking pawl at every alternate movement of the said slide valve. is a ratchet
wheel into which the pawl takes and a is the recording or indicating mechanism
driven in any well known and convenient manner by the ratchet wheel r.
split vulcanite packing rings inserted in a recess groove or cavity formed in the
pistons b² b³.
8
.
tt are
The operation of my improved piston meter is as follows:-
Supposing the position of the slide valves to be that shown in Fig: 1, water or
other Huid to be measured enters the chamber or valve chest i through the inlet m
and passing through the open port 1³ into the chamber c¹ acts upon the right hand
side of the piston 63 moving it to the left hand. The water upon the left hand
side of the piston 63 during this movement escapes through the port lª, cavitÿ h*
in the slide valve h¹, exhaust port ² and away to the outlet or delivery opening n.
During this action the water in the chamber i is in free communication with the
left hand side of the piston 62' through the open port and chamber c. The
movement of the piston 63 continues until the outer end 6* of the slotted piston
.

page_text: rod b' comes in contact with the lower end of the lever d¹ and moves it to the left
while its upper end together with the connected slide rod g', and slide h moves to
the right, the piston 6s being now at the end of its stroke. The port ¹ being now
open to the water chamber i water passes through it to the right hand side of the
piston b², the direction of the port crossing the direction of the port as shown
in dotted lines in Fig: 1. The port being now in communication with the
exhaust the water at the left hand side of the piston b escapes to the delivery
pipe n the motion of the piston 6 continuing until it reaches the end of its stroke,
just previous to which the inner. end 6° of the slotted piston rod b comes in contact
with the, lower end of the lever & carrying it to the left, whilst its upper end
together with its connected slide rod g and slide valve h¹ are moved to the right.
The port being thus opened to the chamber i water enters it and forces the
piston 6s to the right whilst the water which previously forced it to the left escapes
through the port to the exhaust. This continues until the piston 63 reaches the
end of its stroke and the inner end 6° of the piston rod 6 carries the lever d¹ to
the right and its upper end and connected slide rod g¹ and slide h to the left,
whereupon the port being now open to the chamber i the piston is forced to the
right the water on its right hand side escaping through the port k¹ to the exhaust.:
This continues until the said piston 62 reaches the end of its stroke and the outer
end of the slotted piston rod has carried the lower end of lever d to the right
and its upper end and connected slide rod g and slide valve h¹ to the left where.
upon the valves being now in the position shown in Fig: 1 the actions above
described again take place.
By these means a continuous flow of water is obtained.

page_text: $
.
·I, ARNOLD GOODWIN Junior of 56 Sumner Street, Southwark in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PISTON METERS," and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This Invention relates to improvements in piston meters of the kind wherein the
piston of each measuring cylinder controls the action of a slide valve plug cock or
other form of distributing apparatus governing the motion of the piston in another
cylinder the object of the invention being the construction of a meter which by
reason of its simplicity, the directness of its action, and the absence of stuffing
boxes can be worked with a very small head of water and a minimum of
leakage.
According to my invention I employ two cylinders with their axes in the same.
straight line. Each cylinder is provided with a piston and piston rod and is in
free communication at one end with a chamber in which is pivotted a 'lever. The
cylinders are preferably placed horizontally in order to prevent the accumulation of
air within them, and above them there is formed a water chamber or valve chest
in which is or are a valve face or faces having two sets of ports communicating
respectively with the two ends of each cylinder, each set of ports being provided
with a slide valve. The slide valves are operated as hereinafter described by means
of slide rods moving parallel with each other the slide rod of one valve passing
clear of the other valve or through a groove or way formed in the back of it.
Each slide rod passes from the water chamber or valve chest into the chambers at
the end of its respective cylinders through a long hole in the wall or partition that
divides the two. This hole is not provided with stuffing boxes or glands and I have
found in practice that the leakage due to this arrangement is so small that it may
be practically neglected. For the purpose of actuating the slide valves I employ
the pivotted levers hereinbefore mentioned. One end of each lever is connected by
suitable means with the outer-side-of-one-piston. The-means-I-prefer to employ is
a slotted piston rod secured to the outer side of the piston one end of the said
pivotted lever entering the slot the length of which may be such as to prevent the
piston rod imparting its motion to the lever except when near the ends of its stroke.
It is evident, however, that many equivalent methods. of operating these levers can
be devised. The other end of each of the pivotted levers is suitably connected
with one of the slide rods. It will thus be readily seen that when the levers
are operated by the pistons their motion will be communicated to the slide
valves.'
To make the pistons water tight I may form both of them of a metal. disc pro-
vided with a groove or recess fitted with one or more vulcanite split rings the
natural elasticity of which is sufficient to cause them to open out and fit the
cylinders water tight. I do not, however, confine myself to the use of vulcanite
packing rings as metal rings; leather or canvas cups, rolling rubber rings or other
form of packing may be employed in my improved form of water meter.

page_text: For recording or indicating the quantity of water or other fluid passed through
the meter I employ a suitable index which receives its motion from one of the rods
or valves.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings, Fig 1 is a vertical
section in the line z Fig. 2 of one form of piston meter embodying my improve-
ments. Fig 2 is a plan with the top cover removed, and Fig 3 is an end view
partly in section with the end cover removed. a a are two cylinders cast together
and may be considered as one cylinder provided with a partition or diaphragm a² at
its central part dividing it into two equal measuring chambers.
b. 6 are piston rods secured to the pistons 62. 6s respectively and projecting from
their outer surfaces into the chambers c c¹ which it will be seen are in free commu-
nication with the outer ends of the cylinders a. a¹. In these chambers the levers d d'
are pivotted on cross bars or supports e e¹. The lower ends of the levers enter the
slots ff1 formed in the piston rods while their upper ends may engage either with
a pin secured in the end of each of the slide rods g g¹ or with a slot or opening g¹ -
formed in the said rods as in the example shown.. These slide rods g. glare con-
nected to their respective slide valves in any convenient manner the slide rod of
each valve being either arranged to slide or move through a groove or way formed
in the back of the other valve or being arranged clear thereof as shown in the
drawing. h h are ordinary slide valves working in the water chamber or valve
chest i formed on the upper side of the cylinders a a¹. klare valve faces on which
the slide valves h h¹ work and ¹³ and 111213 are two sets of ports formed
therein and communicating with the two ends of each of the cylinders and with
the exhaust or delivery pipe in the manner hereinafter described. ¹¹ are the long
holes (shown with linings or brushes) formed in the ends of the water chamber or .
valve chest i and through which the slide rods g g work practically water-tight.
m is the inlet or supply pipe communicating with the water chamber or valve
chest i, and n is the outlet or delivery pipe communicating with the exhaust
ports and lo is the top cover extended at each end; with the end covers pp
it conveniently forms the chambers c c¹. .p¹ p¹ are extensions formed in the end
covers p p for the accommodation of the piston rods. A projection may be attached
to one of the slide valves to actuate a rocking pawl at every alternate movement
thereof. Or a pin or projection q on the piston rod b¹or the rod itself may be
employed to actuate an arm or finger q fixed to a vertical spindle rod q² at each
alternate movement of the piston rod; the reverse movement of the arm or finger
being effected by a second pin or projection (not shown) on the rod b¹. The
movement of the said rod q² is imparted to recording or indicating mechanism q in
any well known and convenient manner, as for instance by ineans of a pawl
on the rod q' working into a ratchet wheel that is in gear with the recording
mechanism.
Split vulcanite packing rings may be inserted in a recess; groove, or cavity formed
in the pistons 62 63 to render them liquid tight or the pistons may be provided with
cupped leather rings or discs t. t as shown in Fig 1. r. rare guides or supports,
on the covers p. p for supporting and guiding the piston rods bb. 8 is a
strainer to prevent the entrance of extraneous matter with the liquid to be
measured.
The operation of my improved piston meter is as follows:-
Supposing the respective positions of the slide valves to be as shown in Fig 1,
water or other fluid to be measured enters the chamber or valve chest through
the inlet m and passing through the open port 13 acts upon the right hand side of
the piston 6 moving it towards the left. The water upon the lefthand side of the
piston 62 during this movement escapes through the chamber c, the port 1, cavity h*
in the slide valve h¹, exhaust port and away to the outlet or delivery opening n.
During this action the water in the chamber i is in free communication with the
lefthand side of the piston 63 through the open port ³ The movement of the
piston 62 continues until the inner end, b* of the slot in the piston rod b comes
in contact with the lower end of the lever d and moves it to the left while its

page_text: -
upper end together with the connected slide rod g, and slide / move to the right till
the piston b² reaches the end of its stroke. The port / being now open to the
water chamber & water will pass through it to the chamber c¹ and to the righthand
side of the piston b³. The port.³ being now in communication with the exhaust k²
the liquid at the lefthand side of the piston b will escape to the delivery pipe 'n as
the cylinder a¹ is filled from the chamber the motion of the piston 63 continuing
until it reaches the end of its stroke just previous to which the outer end b° of the
slot in the piston rod 6' comes in contact with the lower end of the lever d² carrying
it to the left; whilst its upper end together with its connected slide rod g¹ and slide
valve h¹ are moved to the right. The port A being thus opened to the chamber i
water will enter it and passing to the chamber c force the piston 62 towards the
right whilst the water which previously forced it to the left will escape through the
cylinder a through port 3 in valve h¹, port to the exhaust.
This will continue until the piston reaches the end of its stroke and the outer
end b¹º of the slot in the piston rod b has reversed the position of lever d¹ and its
connected parts whereupon the port ³ being now open to the chamber i the
piston ba is forced towards the right, the water on its right hand side escaping
through the port to the exhaust: This will continue until the said piston b³
reaches the end of its stroke and the inner end 6* of the slot in piston rod b¹ has
moved over the lower end of lever d and its connected parts into the position
indicated in Fig 1 and so on.
By the means and operation described a practically continuous flow of water is
obtained.
At each outward stroke of the piston b³ the indicating and recording mechanism
is actuated in the manner herein before explained. Figs 4 and 5 illustrate in
vertical section and end view respectively, a modification wherein one of the levers
for actuating the slide valves comprises two arms s. s with a fulcrum in the form of
rocking shaft d. The lever arms is actuated by the slotted rod of the piston b
and motion thus imparted to the arm s is transferred to the slide valve h by the
upper lever arms in a manner that will be readily understood. 'The lever at the
end of the cylinder a¹ is of the kind hereinbefore described. By tliis means it is
not necessary to cross the ports and ³ as in the previously described arrangement
whereby the pistons and slide valves move alternately in similar directions instead of
in opposite directions as is the case with the arrangement hereinbefore described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed; I declare that what
I claim is
1. În a piston meter the use of two measuring cylinders arranged in the same
axial line and each opening into a chamber wherein is contained a pivotted lever,
connected to a distributing valve in an adjoining valve chest, the whole being so
arranged that the piston of one cylinder operates the valve of the other cylinder
substantially as described and illustrated.
2. The improved. piston meter constructed arranged and operating substantially
as described with reference to Figs 1 to 3 and to Figs 4 and 5 of the drawings.
3. Making the bearings through which the slide valve rods pass in the form of
long holes unprovided with glands or other packing substantially as described for