IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GAS METERS
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Esson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16tli
September 1865.
1, WILLIAM Esson, of Ness House, Cheltenham, in the County of Gloucester;
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF GAS METERS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention, which relates to certain improved mechanical arrangements
to be used in the construction of gas meters, is based upon an Invention for.
which Letters Patent were granted unto the said William Esson on or about
the 27th day of August 1858, and numbered 1942.
According to the first modification of this Invention, instead of placing the
air tube on the outside of the filling tube as formerly, it is in this instance
placed in the plate forming the bottom of the fountain specially arranged for

page_text: its reception, a portion being raised to some distance above the lowest level of
this plate, so as to leave the bottom of the air tube with free access to the
water and gas. The seal tube is fixed to the top of the meter case in the
usual manner, and dips to the bottom of the fountain, a depth sufficiently low
to ensure the seal. The upright spindle passes through the tube into the
compartment of the meter below the fountain by means of a hole in the
fountain plate, the difference between the levels of the bottom of the air tube
and the seal tube constituting the seal. By means of this arrangement the
necessity of fixing the seal tube into the lower fountain plate is obviated, as
well as the screw joint for holding it, and much simplicity of construction is
thereby effected.**.
According to a second modification of this Invention the meter-is-constructed.
generally as in the preceeding arrangement, with the exception that a diaphragm
is carried below that portion of the fountain plate into-which the air pipe is
fixed;
in this diaphragm a small hole is made, through which passes the water
from the air pipe chamber, the use of the small hole being to cause the
depression of the water in the air pipe chamber to be more gradual than when
no diaphragm is present, or less sudden than the depression of the water in
the body of the meter caused by its having to pass through a contracted
passage. At the back of the air pipe chamber a vertical diaphragm is placed,
whose upper edge is higher than the bottom of the air-pipe, the chief' use of
which is to cause the whole of the water to pass from the air pipe-chamber to
the compartment below through the small hole in the bottom diaphragm.
According to a third modification of this, Invention the seal tube is dispensed
with and the air tube is situated in that part of the fountain plate where it is
usual to fix the seal tube; the air tube serving both for the passage of the
gas to the fountain as
well as for the index spindle. In connection with this
modification of the Invention an air-tight index box is used, but as it is
desirable to prevent any direct communication between the index box and the
fountain the spindle is surrounded with a stuffing of tallow, grease, or other
fatty matter.
According to a fourth modification. the air tube is placed in one corner of
the fountain case near to the filling tube, the bottom fountain plate being
raised at this point to form a chamber for the opening of. the air pipe into the
compartment-below.
•
"
According to a fifth modification the bottom-fountain-plate-is-made. level
throughout its whole length, and the air pipe dips into the water at the back
of the case and communicates with the fountain by means of a passage either
inside or outside the case, a hole being also formed to continue the passage

page_text: through the back fountain plate. The object of this arrangement is to prevent
fraud being committed by tilting the meter forward. It is evident that meter
valves of the ordinary or other construction may be used in connection with
this Invention, 'and that the fatty seal herein-before described is adaptable to
any part of the spindle tubes, the air;tight index box.being also applicable to
any of the modifications herein-before, described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Esson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th
March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
Esson, of Ness House, Cheltenham, in the County of Gloucester, send
greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and. successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Esson, Her special license that I, the said William Esson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Esson, 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, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF GAS METERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Esson, by an instrument in writing under my band 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 J, the said William Esson, 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, which relates to certain improved mechanical arrange-

page_text: ments to be used in the construction of gas meters, is based upon.an Invention
for which Letters Patent were granted unto. me on or about the 27th day
August 1858, numbered 1942. - :
'
According to the first modification of this Invention, instead of placing the
air tube on the outside of the filling tube as formerly, it is in this instance
placed in the plate forming the bottom of the fountain specially arranged for
its reception, a portion being raised to some distance above the lowest level of
this plate, so as to leave the bottom of the air tube with free access to the
water and gas: The seal tube is fixed to the top of the meter case in the
usual manner, and dips to the bottom of the fountain, a depth sufficiently low
to ensure the seal. The upright spindle passing-through the tube into the
compartment of the meter below the fountain by means of a hole_in_the
fountain plate, the difference between the levels of the bottom of air tube
and seal tube constituting the seal. By means of this arrangement the
necessity for fixing the seal-tube into the lower fountain plate is obviated, as
well as the screw joint -for holding it, and much simplicity of construction is
thereby effected.
T
According to a second modification of this Invention the meter is constructed
generally as in the preceding arrangement, with the exception that a diaphragm
is carried' below that portion of the fountain plate into which the air pipe is
fixed; in this diaphragm a smal hole is made, through which passes the water
from the air pipe chamber, the use of the small hole being to cause the
depression of the water in the air pipe chamber to be more gradual than when
no diaphragm is present, or less sudden than the depression of the water in
the body of the meter caused by its having to pass through a contracted
passage. At the back of the air pipe chamber a vertical diaphragm is placed;
whose upper edge is higher than the bottom of the air pipe, the chief use of
which is to cause the whole of the water to pass from the air pipe chamber to
the compartment below through the small hole in the bottom diaphragm.","
According to a third modification of this Invention the seal tube is dispensed
with and the air tube. is situated in that part of the fountain plate: where it is
usual to fix the seal tube, the air-tube serving both for the passage of the
gas to the fountain as well as for the index spindle. In connection with this
moilification of the Invention an air-tight index box is used, but as it is
desirable to prevent any direct communication between the index box and the
fountain the spindle is surrounded by a stuffing of tallow, grease, or other
fatty matter.
According to a fourth modification the air tube is placed in one corner of
the fountain case near to the filling tube; the bottom. fountain-plate being

page_text: '
raised at this point. to form a chamber for the opening, of the air pipe into the
compartment below..
According to a fifth modification the bottom fountain plate is. made level
throughout its whole length, and the air pipe dips into the water at the back
of the case, and communicating with the fountain by means of a passage
either inside. or outside the case, a hole. being also formed to continue.thé
passage through the back fountain plate...
.
The object of this arrangement is to prevent fraud being committed by
tilting the meter forward.
..It is evident that meter.valves of the ordinary or other construction' may
be used in connection with this Invention, and that the fatty seal, herein-before
described, is adaptable to any part of the spindle tubes, the air-tight index
box being also applicable to any of the modifications herein-before described."
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I-shäll
now proceed; more particularly: to describe the system, mode, or manner, in or
under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect;
reference being had to the several Figures upon the three explanatory Sheets
of Drawings, which I have hereunto appended, that is to say:
"
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 is an elevation, showing the main interior working
parts of the first modification of my said Invention, Figure 2 being.a corre-
sponding view of the second modification.
In Figure 1 the circular box A, containing the measuring drum.is of the
construction generally employed for wet gas meters, and to its front portion is
attached the rectangular box or casing B containing the inlet valve-C, float D,
inlet chamber E, and the partly vertical and horizontal diaphragm F. The
gas from the main. is brought by a service pipe attached to the coupling or
union joint G, into the inlet chamber E, and passing through the valve C
enters by the pipė G. into the saturation chamber H, whence it escapes by the
curved pipe I into the interior of the drum. It will be observed that the
bottom diaphragm,.forming the bottom of the fountain, has a certain part
about its centre raised 'to.some distance, into which part the air-tube. K. is
fixed; thus by this arrangement the lower part of this tube. has continual
access to the water and gas. The seal tube L is fixed to the top of the meter
case. by a screw joint as usual, and as will be seen on referring to Figure 1
this dips into the water.to an extent sufficiently low to ensure the seal, the
layer of water equal to the difference of the levels of the bottom orifice of the
air tube K, and seal tube L, constituting the seal. The index spindle M-
passes through the tube, and through a hole in the bottom plate or dia-
phragm of the fountain.
:

page_text: "It will be evident that by means of this modification of my Invention the
necessity for fixing the seal tube into the lower fountain plate (as bas hitherto
been done in some wet gas meters, as well as the screw joint for holding the
same) is avoided.
In Figure 2, Sheet I, the circular case of the meter is marked, A, to which
is attached in the usual manner the rectangular box B, and as in the herein-
before mentioned first modification, the gas enters by the pipe G into the
saturation chamber H, whence it is conducted into the drum by means of the
curved pipe I. The chief difference in this modification from the preceding
is, that a diaphragm M is carried below that raised part of the fountain plate,
into which the air tube K is fixed;-and-in this diaphragm a hole is made,
through which an upturned part of the wire or stem: carrying the float and
valve passes, in order by the motion of the float, to keep the hole clear. The
use of this hole is to produce a depression of the water in the air pipe chamber
more gradually than it would occur if no diaphragm was present; or in other
words, to cause the depression in the air pipe chamber to be less sudden than
what takes place in the body of the meter, this variation in the depression
being produced by the water having to pass, through, so contracted a passage,
and so as to compel the whole of the water, which may at any time pass from
the air pipe chamber O to the chamber below.P, to escape only through the
small hole in the diaphragm; a vertical diaphragm is placed at the back of
the air pipe chamber, separating it to a certain extent from the body of the
meter containing the drum; the upper edge of this vertical diaphragm is
shown by the line a, a, and is slightly higher than the level of the opening
into the air pipe K. The other parts of this meter are similar to those
described in reference to the first modification, and need not be again
referred to..
1
Figure 1, Sheet 2, represents a sectional elevation of an improved wet gas
meter as arranged under the third modification of my Invention. In this
modification the gas passes into the measuring drum in the same manner as
described, in reference to the former. modification, and therefore need not be
again referred to...
The chief peculiarity of this arrangement consists in adapting a single tube
to effect the two-fold purpose of the ordinary seal tube, as well as the ordinary.
air tube. The tube marked A, on-Figure 1, Sheet. 2, is that which effects the
two-fold purpose, in which it will be seen the index spindle-I-passes through
it, as in an ordinary seal tube; at the same time the gas has free access there-
through to the fountain. At the part of the case through which the index.
index box B, a box or cup is fitted surrounding; the
spindle I passes into the

page_text: index spindle; and this box or cup is filled with wax, tallow, or other suitable
greasy packing, in which the spindle revolves, and by this means any commu-
nication between the fountain and the index box is obviated, and any injury
that might occur to the index box mechanism by the condensation thereon of
the vapour arising from the water in the fountain is obviated.
In connection with this modification of my Invention, it is preferred to use:
an air-tight index box, for which Letters Patent were granted to Thomas.
Newbigging and Alexander. Hindle on or about the 17th day of April 1865, and
numbered 1072. Esson's valve also may be used, or any other that may be.
found suitable.
Figure 2, Sheet 2, represents a sectional elevation of the fourth modification
of my Invention, the only essential difference in this from the last modification.
being that the bottom fountain plate P is carried along 'horizontally for the.
greater portion of its length, and turned up at one end to receive the air:
tube K, the seal tube being fixed into the bottom fountain plate,.and.the:
index spindle fitted at its upper part with a suitable greasy packing to prevent
access between the fountain and the index box, as in the last arrangement.
In connection with this modification of my .Invention, Newbigging, &;
Hindle's air-tight index box is shown, as at M, applied thereto.
On Sheet 3; Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, showing some of the interior.
working parts of a gas meter, as. constructed. under. the fifth modification of
my 'Invention, Figure 2 being a transverse section on the line. a, a, Figúre.1.
In this modification. the bottom fountain plate A, Figures. 1 and 2; is made:
level, or in one plane throughout its whole length, and the séal tube B is:
fitted therein, as in a previous modification herein-before described. In this
arrangement the air tube C dips into the water at the back of the meter case,
and is connected to the fountain by means of the horizontal branch pipe D,
the air pipe C, and its branch D being more particularly seen in the transverse
section, Figure 2.
The chief object of this arrangement is to prevent fraud being committed
by tilting the meter forward.
It is evident, firstly, that meter valves of any suitable construction may be
used, besides those that are shown and described in connection with all or any
of the herein before described modifications of my Invention; secondly, the
means employed for sealing the opening, through which the index spindle
passes, may be applied to any part of the tube through which the spindle
passes; and, thirdly, that the air-tight index box is also applicable to all or
any of the several modifications.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner

page_text: in which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, I would
observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and original, and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the berein-before in part récited
Letters Patent is,-
First, the general construction.or combination of parts forming the several
modifications of my Invention, as herein-before described, or any mere
modification thereof.
Second, the raising of a portion of the fountain. plate, and the fixing the
air pipe therein, as herein-before described and shown at Figure, 1, Sheet 1, of
the accompanying Drawings.
1. Third, the carrying a horizontal diaphragm below that raised part of the
fountain bottom plate, into which the air tube is fixed, and the formation of a
small hole therein, through which the water passes from the air pipe chamber,
the means for keeping the hole clear, and the fixing a vertical.diaphragm at the
back. of: the air pipe "chamber, as herein-before described and--shown at
Figure 2, Sheet 1, of the accompanying Drawings.
i
Fourth, the arranging of gas meters, so that one tube serves the two-fold:
purpose of an air tube and seal tube, and the employment therewith of the
means of sealing the opening between the fountain and index. box, as herein-
before described and shown at Eigure 1, Sheet 2, of the accompanying
Drawings, or any mere modification thereof...
. Fifth, the placing or arranging of the air tube, as herein-before described
and shown at Figure 2, Sheet 2, of the accompanying Drawings, or any mere
modification thereof. .
In witness whereof, I; the said William Esson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM ESSON. (L.S.)