Improvements in Indicating Apparatus for Gas-holders and other Purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Indicating Apparatus for Gas-holders and other
Purposes.
We TOM SETTLE of No. 26 Okehampton Street in the Parish of Saint Thomas the
Apostle, in the County of Devon, Foreman of Gas Works, and CHARLES BERRY of
Faraday Works, Fitz-William Street, Huddersfield, in the County of York, Electrician,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The chief object of this invention is to provide means whereby the cubical contents
of a gas-holder at any given moment may be ascertained by the chief engineer in his
office at any distance from the Works, but the invention also applies to the recording,
at a distance, of the quantity of gas, air, or other fluid contained in any vessel or
container.
For convenience, the invention will be described in connection with a gas holder.
In carrying out this invention, a contact maker is employed operated by the rising
or falling of the gas-holder, and in connection with this contact maker is an
electrically-operated index apparatus.
The contact maker consists of a shaft operated in any convenient manner (say, a
counter-weighted chain and pulley arrangement) from the gas holder, the rising of
the holder operating one way, while the weight operates in the coutrary direction, the
shaft making one rotation to each foot of movement of the holder.
On the shaft are insulated metal discs or arins carrying pivotted contact pieces,
and having a rubbing connection with the wire from one pole of a battery.
Each of these contact pieces is intended to strike once at each rotation of the discs,
according to the direction in which the discs are moving, against a stationary contact
piece, in order to close a circuit through the index apparatus to the other pole of the
battery.
The stationary contact piece may consist of a spring-supported pivotted arm
carrying an insulated piece in electrical connection with a terminal.
The disc contact strikes on the arm, and gradually rides along it, depressing it,
and, at the right moment, slips off it, and into momentary contact with the insulated
piece, by which means the circuit is closed and the index operated.
The index apparatus consists of a vertical spindle suitably mounted, and having on
its upper end a pointer which works over a dial marked for each foot of the height of
the gas holder, each foot in height representing so many (say, 1000) cubic feet
of gas.
Below the dial is mounted on the spindle a pallet wheel, which is operated by
pallets controlled by electro-magnets in the circuit.
The pallets, of which there may be two, are mounted on one end of a rocking arm,
the other end carrying an armature.
The upward movement of one pallet will move the wheel the distance of half a
tooth, and the downward movement of the other pallet will move the wheel another
half tooth, which will represent on the dial a movement equal to one foot; and, at
the same time, this pallet will act as a retaining pawl.

page_text: This operating mechanism will be in duplicate, one on each side of the wheel, one
to operate for the rising, and the other for the falling holder.
When a continuous movement in one direction, only is required, as in a Station)
Meter, for example, only one pallet arrangement will be necessary, the ordinary meter
index being used, fitted with a suitable pallet wheel arranged to indicate, say, each
thousand feet passing through.
The contact pieces on the discs will be arranged to tip, so that only one will work
in each direction, means being provided to avoid contact when moving in the reverse
direction.
It may be here remarked that we do not intend to confine ourselves to the exact
arrangements described, as these may require more or less modification to adapt them
to the various purposes for which the invention is applicable.
Dated this Oth dow of October 1000
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Indicating Apparatus for Gas-holders and other
Purposes.
We TOM SETTLE of No. 26 Okehampton Street in the Parish of Saint Thomas the
Apostle, in the County of Devon, Foreman of Gas Works, and CHARLES BERRY of
Faraday Works, Fitz William Street, Huddersfield in the County of York, Electrician,
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:-
The chief object of this invention is to provide means whereby the cubical contents
of a gas-holder, at any moment, may be ascertained by the chief engineer in his
office at any distance from the works, but the invention also applies to the recording,
at a distance, of the quantity of gas, air, or other fluid contained in any vessel or
container, or passing any particular point, as in a station meter, for example.
For convenience, the invention will be described in connection with a gas-holder
and station-neter.
. In carrying out this invention, a contact maker is employed, operated by the
rising or falling of the gas holder, or by the "thousands" pointer of the station
ineter, and in connection with these contact makers are electrically-operated indicating
apparatus or mechanisms.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is an external elevation of the indicating apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a side view, partly in section, of a gas-holder contact-maker, showing its
connection with the indicating dials.
Fig. 3 is a front view, partly in section, of this contact maker.
Fig. 4 is a back view.
Fig. 5 is a plan view; and
Fig. 6 a side view of indicating mechanism in connection therewith.
Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view, showing the station meter and its connections with
indicating apparatus.
Fig. 8 is a back view.
Fig. 9 a plan view; and
Fig. 10 a side view of the indicating mechanism;
Fig. 11 representing a front view of the dial.
Referring to Fig. 1, A designates the indicating mechanism in connection with

page_text: four gas-holders, and is arranged to show the contents of each holder at any hour,
day or night. B designates indicating mechanism showing the state of the station
meter at any given moment. C designates a clock, and D a disc of paper on which a
diagram is drawn, in a manner well known. This apparatus is placed in the engineer's
office or his house or other position convenient for his use at any distance from the
gas-works.
In connection with each gas holder, is a contact-maker of any convenient form or
character. The mechanism which we prefer to employ is that shown at Figs. 2 and 3.
E is a box or casing, in the sides of which are the bearings for a shaft E, which
projects through the side, and carries, on one end, a pulley or sprocket wheel E', to
receive a chain or cord, one end of which is attached to the top of the gas-holder,
and the other to a weight. This box is placed at the top of one of the columns of
the gas-holder frame. The mechanism is operated in one direction by the descent of
the weight, and in the other direction by the descent of the holder.
Upon the shaft E, and insulated therefrom, is mounted a metal disc a, and hinged
to opposite sides of the discs are bell-cranks bb, the longer arms of which are
maintained in a horizontal position by light springs 6. The bell-cranks act in
opposite directions, as shown.
In rubbing contact with the edge of this disc is a blade c, which is connected
through the terminal c¹ and its wire with one pole of the battery d.
The longer arms of the bell-cranks b b act as contact pieces, and they strike once
in each rotation against other and fixed contact pieces, 1, 2, in order to close a circuit
through the index apparatus to the other pole of the battery.
These fixed contact pieces, 1, 2, consist each of a spring regulated lever e of
insulating material, which carries, at its outer end, a metal piece el electrically
connected with the terminal e². As the dise a rotates, under the rising or falling
action of the gas-holler, the arm bor b strikes against its lever e, and rides along it,
depressing it as it goes. When the arm comes to the end of the lever, it slips past
it, and comes in contact with the plate e', and momentarily closes the circuit
through the wire for f, as the case inay be, in which the indicating mechanism is
situate.
As the disc turns in one direction, the arm b, Fig. 3, will operate the indicating
mechanism in one direction through the wire f, and as the disc turns in the opposite
direction, the arm & will operate the indicating mechanism in the opposite direction
through the wire.
The arm which is not, for the moment, operating to make contact, strikes against
an insulating block e', carried by its lever e, and trips past it, the spring b¹ bringing
the arm back to its normal position.
The indicating apparatus consists of a numbered dial y (see Figs. 4, 5, and 6), to
which motion in opposite directions can be given as follows:-On the spindle of the
dial are mounted two ratchet wheels gg. These wheels are worked by pawls g³ g*,
connected with the armatures h, h', of, and operated by, electro-magnets h³, h.
The pawl g' has a double face, or two pallets, and works across the wheel g', one
pallet acting also as a retaining pawl, while the pawl acts in the ordinary way on
wheel g¹.
The magnets are connected with the wire f, and the magnets h³ with the wire f¹,
lending from their respective contact makers. Thus, according to the movement of
the holder, one or other of the pawls acts to work the dial in the desired direction,
and so indicates fairly accurately, at any moment, the contents of each holder.
Referring now to Fig. 7, and the subsequent figures, G represents the station-meter
index, and B, as before mentioned, the indicating apparatus in the engineer's office
or elsewhere. Dial No. 1 of G will represent, for each revolution, of the pointer G*,
1000, and the said pointer once in every revolution, will touch platinum points G¹ G,
carried by an insulated plate, and connected by wire X with one pole of a battery X¹.
The other pole of the battery, through the indicating mechanism B and the wire Z,
connects with the metal plate G, carrying the station-meter index.
Dial No. 1 of B represents "thousands," and when the pointer G touches the

page_text: first point G', the pointer B* will be moved half the distance from zero to 1 of its
dial (see Fig. 11). When the pointer G touches the second point G2, the pointer B*
will move the rest of the distance to 1 of its dial, thus marking 1000 cubic feet.
By a chain of gear wheels, in a manner now well understood, the station meter
index and the indicating mechanism dials, will indicate the bigher figures, and
further description of these will be unnecessary.
It will be advisable, however, to describe the mode of communicating motion to
the pointer B of No. 1 Dial. On the spindle of this pointer is mounted the ratchet
wheel (see Figs. 8 and 9), and this wheel is actuated by the double-faced pawl or
pallets k, in connection with the armature of an electro-magnet.
When the pointer G* touches either of the points G1 G2, the current passes to
energize the electro-magnet, which attracts the armature, and moves the pawl,
which acts in both directions, and thus rotates the ratchet wheel the necessary
distance.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we may here remark that we, do
not intend to confine ourselves to the mechanisms herein shown and described, as
these may be more or less modified, without departing from the nature of our
invention, the said mechanisms being shown as fully answering the purpose of the
invention, and by way of example; but what we claim is:-
1. The combination of a floating fluid container with a periodically acting contact
maker, an electric circuit, and an indicating mechanism, as and for the purpose herein
set forth.
2. The combination of a fluid container or conduit, a meter, an electric circuit,
means for periodically closing the circuit, and an indicating mechanism, as and for
the purpose set forth.
3. The contact maker as herein shown and described.
4. The combination with a meter, of means for periodically closing an electric
circuit, for the purpose of indicating the state of the meter, as set forth.
5. The indicating mechanisms arranged and operating as herein shown and
described.
6. The combination of a floating fluid container or conduit, a meter, electric
circuits, and a case containing indicating mechanisms, for indicating the state of the
meter and the contents of the fluid container, as set forth.
Dated this 9th day of July 1897.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicants.