CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN METERS FOR MEASURING VOLUMES OF GAS, WATER, AND OTHER FLUIDS, WHEN PASSED THROUGH THEM, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF COCKS OR VALVES APPLI- CABLE TO SUCH PURPOSES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM
ESE RESENTS SHALL COME, 1, JOHN
HANSON, of Huddersfield, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-second day of February, in the third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Hanson, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and autho-
rity, that I, the said John Hanson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said John Hanson, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no other, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and.
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN METERS FOR MEASURING VOLUMES OF GAS, WATER, AND OTHER FLUIDS,
WHEN PASSED THROUGH THEM, AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF COCKS OR VALVES APPLI-
CABLE TO SUCH PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said John Hanson, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large andear.

page_text: NOW KNOW 10, that i comptance with the said proviso, 1 ՆԱՆԱ
John Hanson, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following explana-
tion thereof, that is to say:--
My Improvements in Meters for Measuring Gas, Water, or other Fluids
passed through them, consist, in the first place, in a novel or improved con-
struction and arrangement of metres or apparatus applicable to this purpose,
and particularly as regards gas metres, in the novel or improved agent
employed as a liquid packing or hydraulic valve to prevent the gas passing
from one chaniber or compartment in the metre or apparatus to another, and
as regards cocks or valves used there in or applicable to such purposes, in an
improved construction and arrangement of the slide cock or valve used for
shutting off or turning on the supply and discharge of gas, water, or other fluid
to and from the metre or apparatus for measuring the quantity passed through
the same; and, therefore, I will divide my Invention or improvements into the
following heads, as they consist:-
"
"
Firstly, as regards gas metres generally, in the employment of "naptha
distilled from "coal tar or "coal oil" as it is usually denominated at gas
works, or "coal tar oil," or "spirits of coal tar," or "thin coal tar," as it
comes from the gas works, as a packing medium or agent to be used in
hydraulic valves or junctions, to prevent the gas escaping from any one com-
partment of the metre to another, and which "naptha," or "coal tar," or
"oil," may be used in compound or mixture with other oils in proper propor-
tions, if thought desirable, and which "naptha," or "coal oil," or "coal tar,"
or mixture or compound with other oils, may be used as an hydraulic or liquid
valve for various constructions of gas metres. This "coal tar naptha" (I find)
accumulate in the metres; I have, therefore, adopted a separate chamber to
receive any overplus. Fig. 8 is a diagram of a common liquid rotary metre ;
a, a, is the level or ordinary line of the liquid packing; b, a pipe who's aperture
is open to the level; and c is a chamber to receive any overflow from whence
it can be removed.
Secondly, in novel or improved or peculiar construction and arrangement
of metres or apparatus for measuring volumes of gas passed through the same.
Thirdly, in a novel or improved or peculiar construction and arrangement
of metre or apparatus or machine for measuring volumes of water or other
liquid passed through the same. And
Fourthly, in a new or improved construction and arrangement of slide cock
or valve applicable to the above named metres or other metres, or measuring

page_text: apparatus, and which cocks are to be used for letting on or turning off the liquid
or fluid to or from the said metres as may be required, all of which will be better
understood by the accompanying Drawings and following description thereof.
And previous to entering into the explanation and details of the same,
I would here remark, that I have not shewn in the accompanying Draw-
ings any apparatus, as levers or palls and ratchet wheels used in connection
with the trains of toothed wheels, and dials and indexes for registering the
quantity of gas or fluid passed through the metre or measuring apparatus,
as my improvements do not apply to this department or part of the metres,
and I have purposely left this out in the Drawings to prevent confusion, as
it is quite unnecessary to describe it, as it would form no part of my Invention
or improvements; and it will be well understood by practised metre manu-
facturers or persons competent to construct them, that the movement required
for registering the total quantity of fluid or liquid passed through in a given
time required to be in connection with the train of wheels or "clock work,"
may be taken from any part of the apparatus or metre, which has a regular
movement given to it, such as the axle of the changing valves, the valves
themselves, or the parts they come in contact with as they change, or the rising
and falling of the interior receiving chamber, all of which will be seen by
inspection of the Drawings, and therefore it is not necessary for me further to
point out this registering part or operation of a gas or liquid metre; and I
shall now proceed to describe the Drawings, that is to say:-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation; and Fig. 2 is a section taking vertically through
one of my improved construction and arrangement of gas metres (taken in the
line a, b, Fig. 3), for the purpose of shewing the arrangement and construction
of the interior parts, which latter Figure is a horizontal section or plan view of
the
same, the top part or casing of the upper chambers or compartments being
removed to expose the situation of the inlet and outlet, or changing valves.
Fig. 4 is another horizontal section taken lower down or in the line c, d,
in Fig. 2. All these Figures represent the various parts of the metre in the
same or relative situation, one towards the other, that is, the gas passing into
one receiving chamber and filling it while the other is discharging.
Fig. 5 is also a vertical cross section, but shewing the parts of the metre in
another situation, or after a change has taken place in the valves; that is, the
chamber which in Fig. 2 is shewn as a receiving chamber in this Figure is
the discharging chamber, and that which was the discharging chamber in
Fig. 2 has in this position become the receiving chamber. A, A, is the
outer casing of the metre, which, as well as the various other parts, may be
made of block tin, pure tin, zinc, lead, or other suitable metal. B is the

page_text: inlet, apperture, or gas pipe leading from the gasometer or other reservoir. C is
the discharge or exit pipe from the metre to the burners; D is one of the
alternately receiving and discharging chambers formed by part of the outer
casing; and E is another chamber for a similar purpose. This chamber is
constructed as a small gasometer or gas holder, placed within the other
chamber D, or the outer casing, and may be said to act as a hollow piston
within the other chamber as its cylinder, the lower edges of this gasometer
descending into the hydraulic packing F, F, to prevent the escape of gas from
one chamber to the other, this liquid packing being "naptha," or "coal oil,"
or "compound," herein-before mentioned, and is contained in a circular recess
or space between the outer casing A and another chamber G, which is a general
exit chamber or compartment for both the receiving -chambers D and E, the
contents of both these chambers passing into it previous to escaping to the
burners, and is intended to prevent or obviate any flickering of the lights when
the valves shift and change the passage of the gas from one chamber to another.
H*, H, and I*, I, are the changing valves placed in their chambers K and L,
on the top of the chamber D; these valves are formed as cups a, a, and are
mounted on the ends of levers b, b, having their fulcrum on the cross axis or
shaft c, which is immersed in the liquid packing or medium d, d, contained
within the chambers K, L, and the end of this axis may be passed through
proper stuffing boxes in the sides of the chamber, and the required registering
movement taken from the end thereof, if desired. The edges of the cross
alves, when down or closed, dip into the liquid packing d, d, and prevent the
gas passing through the several apertures, as the case may be. M is an exit
pipe leading from the chamber L downwards to the chamber G; and N is
another pipe leading from one of the valves H to the chamber E. O is another
pipe or tube leading from one of the valves I into the chamber E. The other
valves Hand I*, are only apertures in the top of the chamber D, and fur-
nished with projecting rings or ledges around them, over which the cup valves
Hand I close when their edges descend into the liquid packing d. f is a
syphon for regulating the height of the liquid packing d in the chambers K
and L, and g is another syphon valve for regulating the height of the hydraulic
packing F between the chamber G and D. i is a hollow-weighted tube-
mounted rocking on the centre or fulcrum at k; this tube is close at both ends,
and contains a ball or metal bullet capable of rolling or moving freely. within
it; one end of this tube has a weight 7 attached to it, and at the other is con-
nected the counter balance chain m, m, which also serves to draw down
or pull over the valves and levers b, b. When the chamber F has descended
to the extent of its movement, the other end of this chain being attached to

page_text: the top of the chamber E, and it is furnished with an adjusting screw and nut
at m*, for the purpose of regulating the extent of motion of the chamber E.
On the upper part of this tube is mounted the two arms or forks n, n*, one or
the other of which act upon the short end of the bell crank or right angle lever
o, mounted on a pin or stud as its axle or fulcrum, the other or longer end
being connected by proper joints by means of the bridle piece p attached to
one of the shifting or changing valves I*. q is a tappet piece fixed on to the
top of the chamber E, which, as this chamber rises, comes into contact with
the underside of the tube i, and raising it, causes one of the forked arms n to
come into contact with the short arm of the lever O, and shift the valves. ris
a guide rod moving through a tube s, which is passed air-tight through the
chamber K, and then serves to guide the gasometer chamber E in its move-
ments. This tube is covered in by an air-tight cap piece t, which may be said
to form a part of the chamber D, as an open communication may be made
between them. It will be found requisite in a well-regulated metre to supply
a counter balance weight to the chamber E, for the purpose of preventing any
difference in the lights when this chamber is descending or ascending, as in the
former case the expansive force of the gas will have to overcome its weight in
raising it up, and the gravitating power or weight would be in favour of the
pressure of the gas in its descent; therefore I have shewn, in Figs. 2 and 5, a
rod u attached at its upper end to the top of the chamber E, its lower end
being connected to a chain passed over a pulley v, and carrying at its other
extremity a counter balance weight w, equal to the weight of the chamber E,
and its rod r, and tappet 9. This weight acts within a tube x, passed air-tight
through the chamber G, and, as regards its holding of gas, may be called part of
the chamber E. y is a cock for the purpose of drawing off any superabundant
quantity of liquid packing which may be in the chamber G. The action of the
metre is as follows:-Supposing the parts to be in the position shewn in Figs. 2, 3,
(and corresponding Figures), the gas will be entering the compartment K by
means of the inlet pipe B, and, flowing into this chamber K, it will be free to
pass through the open valve I, down the pipe O, as shewn by the arrows, into the
moving chamber or gasometer E, which chamber will rise under the pressure
of the gas, as is shewn in these Figures as in the act of rising, until the
tappet piece q comes into contact with the underside of the tube I, when, as
before stated, it will lift it and shift the valves, the gas contained in the
compartment or chamber D being forced therefrom (as the gasometer E rises)
through the open valve or apperture I* into the chamber L, from which
chamber it will flow through the pipe M into the general receiving chamber G,
from whence it will pass off by the outlet pipe C to the burners. As soon as

page_text: the end of the tube has been forced upwards' beyond the horizontal line the
bullet or running weight within it will pass from this end of the tube to the
other, and by its weight cause the other end to descend very quickly and bring
the tappet or forked piece n into contact with the short end of the lever o, and
force it towards the right hand, or in the direction of the red arrow (see Fig. 2),
and this movement, by means of the other or longer arm of the lever, and
connecting piece p, will draw down and close the valves I and I," and conse-
quently raise the other valves H, H*, and thus change the valves and chambers
into the position shewn in Fig. 5, that is, the gas entering the compartment K
by the inlet pipe B, the gas now passing through the open valve H* into the
chamber D, and by its elastic pressure force down the chamber E, the gas
contained in this chamber passing from it through its outlet pipe N, up into
the chamber L, whence it will pass by the pipe M into the general receiving
chamber G, and off to the burners by the exit pipes C, and as the valves and
chambers are changed alternately the number of these changes or movements
are to be registered by the the train of toothed wheels, dials, and indices, as
usual; the cubical contents of each chamber, or the quantity of gas passed
through the metre between each change, being the amount to be ascertained
and registered.
Fig. 6 is a cross section, taken vertically, of one of my improved con-
structions and arrangements of water or liquid metres, and will be sufficient
to explain the construction of the same without further Drawings. In this
liquid metre the chambers which receive the water or liquid have a tilting or
rocking movement given to them upon an axis or fulcrum, which movement is
caused by the superior gravity of one chamber when filled over the other
when empty, and may be called self-acting, as they open their discharge valves
at the required moment to let out the quantity of liquid contained therein, and
to be registered while the valve of the opposite or empty chamber closes ready
to receive its charge or quantity of fluid. And I would here remark that the
same observations as regards the registering of the total quantity of fluid
passed through the metre applies to this apparatus as well as the above
described gas metre, as the registering movement may be taken from the axis
or fulcrum of the rocking or tilting measuring chambers, or from any part of
the said chambers convenient for this purpose; for instance, the outer edges
of the top parts, or the lever arms of the ficats, all of which will readily be
seen by competent persons. In Fig. 6 the supply and discharge pipe for the
liquid are also shewn in sections, and my improved construction of slide cock
or valve adapted thereto, "which will be further described hereafter in reference
to Fig. 7. A, A, is the outer chamber or casing of the metre, which may be

page_text: open or closed to prevent the evaporation of spirituous liquids. B is the inlet
or supply pipe leading from the reservoir or vat into the vertical tube C, which
contains the supply and shutting-off cocks, D & E, connected together by the
rod F. The cocks are shewn in the Drawings as open, and the liquid will
therefore be free to flow out of the pipe B into the pipe C, and off the metre
by the branch supply pipe G, its end being open; H and I are the two measur-
ing chambers mounted upon one bottom plate K, which is securely attached to
the axis or fulcrum at L. The two chambers are divided by a partition
plate M, and are each furnished at the bottom part with a valve or cock N, N,
mounted on proper seats, and with rods, bearings, & guides. 0, 0, are stop
pieces placed on the bottom of the metre against which the lower ends of the
rods of the valves come into contact whenever the chambers fall over or tilt
by the superior gravity of the liquid contained therein. P, P, are floats
mounted on lever arms Q, Q, having the fulcrum on an axis turning in proper
bearings in the casing; these floats rest on stationary pins or studs R, until the
liquid rises up in the chamber a sufficient height to float them and effect the
releasing of the chamber and discharge of the liquid, which are held by the
following contrivance, until the proper or required quantity of liquid has been
passed into them. S, S, are short arms or catch pieces on the levers Q, which
come into contact with stop pins T, T, (as shewn as shewn in the Drawings in
respect to the chamber H); these pins are furnished with adjustable screws, by
which the exact point at which the catch pieces S shall be released from the
pins T, and consequently the quantity of liquid that shall be received into the
measuring chambers, and it will be seen that these chambers are prevented
from tilting over or discharging until the stop S has escaped from the pin T,
and when the liquid rises high enough to raise the floats P, that as they rise
they will depress the catch piece S until it escapes past the pin T, when the
now filled chamber will fall over and discharge itself of its contents by the rod
of its valve N coming into contact with the stop 0 (as shewn with respect to
the chamber I), and thus open its valve, and the liquid will be free to flow out
of the metre by the discharge pipe U, away to the proper receiver. At the
same time that the one chamber falls over and discharges the other rises, its
valve closing, and its catch pin S passing the end of the pin T, comes into
contact with it, and locks the chambers in this position until the liquid passes
into the next chamber and raises its float and discharges its catch as before
described.
Fig. 7 is a section on an enlarged scale of one of my improved constructions
and arrangements of slide cocks or valves, which will be sufficient to explain
the same without further drawing, a, a, is the tube or barrel of the cock;

page_text: b, b, the supply pipe, leading from a gasometer, vat, or reservoir of fluid or
liquid; the end of this pipe embraces the tube with a hollow channel or
chamber c, c, and around the pipe or barrel a, at this part, are pierced a
number of holes or apertures d, d, through which the liquid has free passage
to the discharge aperture at e, whenever the cock is open, as shewn in this
Figure; f, g, f, is the slide cock or valve, which in this instance is shewn as
moved up and down its barrel by means of the connecting rod h and lever i,
which has its fulcrum at R, but the slide cock or valve may be moved by
male and female screws, or a rack and pinion, or any other convenient manner.
The slide valve is composed of the middle piece of wood or metal g, and two
caps of leather or other elastic material f, f, which are secured to the middle
piece g by plates and screw nuts at k, k; these elastic pieces press against the
interior of the barrel, and render the valve water-tight, and between these
pieces there is a space l, l, left, which, when the cock or valve is closed, will
be brought opposite the apertures d & c of the pipe b, and the two elastic
pieces f, being one above and the other below it, will effectually close the cock
and
prevent the liquid from discharge.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hanson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty.
Inrolled the Twenty-second day of August, in the year above written.