IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OB APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGISTERING FLUIDS, AND IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM THE SAME
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ramsbottom, of Accrington, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OB APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGISTERING FLUIDS, AND IN OBTAINING
MOTIVE POWER FROM THE SAME."
Scaled the 6th May 1864, and dated the 10th November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ramsbottom at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition on the
10th November 1863.
I, JOHN RAMSBOTTOM, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGISTERING FLUIDS, AND IN
OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM THE SAME." to be as follows:-
One portion of these improvements relates to those meters which
measure by displacement, and in this instance refers to that description
of meter in which a piston moves within a cylinder, which piston may
either be packed, or the packing may be made to extend to it from the
sides of the cylinder. On the top of the cylinder cover a support is fixed,
which carries a tube in which the piston rod moves; this tube is grooved
or slotted in a curvilinear manner in the direction of its length, and
attached to the end of the piston rod are two arms or pins, which work in
the said grooves as the piston moves upwards and downwards; the per-
pendicular motion of the piston thus imparts semi-rotatory motion to the
[Price 8d7

page_text: tube in the bearings by which it is supported, and the motion of the tube
is transmitted to the indicating apparatus, and is also made available for
working the valve. The projecting arms attached to the piston rod
passing through the tube grooves and tube supports may have a connect-
ing rod affixed thereto for the purposes of motive power, and the valve
is worked either by a spring, a tumbling lever, or by both conjointly.
Another portion of these improvements relates to meters of the turbine
class, and is intended to combine the property of a valve with that of the
instrument, moved by the effluent stream, instead of having two separate
instruments for these objects, for the purpose of avoiding the sticking of
one part whilst the other is operating, and also of enabling very minute
quantities of fluid to be measured. An inverted cone or funnel having
its sides curved is placed vertically in a suitable chamber with a spindle
attached to its centre; the circumference of the cone forms a valve, and
the sides of the chamber projecting inwards forms a seating for the
On the curved sides of the said cone or funnel are helical blades,
and curved passages are also formed in the lower portion of the chamber
extending up to the helical blades of the cone or funnel, but in a direction
opposite to that of those blades usual in these cases. The exit chamber
is situated above the valve seating. The resistance of the valve cone or
funnel to circular motion on its spindle is less than the oblique pressure
on the blades and cone to lift the said valve from its seating, and con-
sequently the slightest motion from its seating must be accompanied by
vertical motion on the spindle, and therefore the slightest quantity of
fluid escaping the valve seating be duly recorded. the motion being
imparted by the spindle in the usual way to the registering apparatus or
for the purposes of motive power, or both.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent. filed
by the said John Ramsbottom in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RAMSBOTTOM, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant

page_text: unto me, the said John Ramsbottom, Her special license that 1, the said
John Ramsbottom, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I. the said John Ramsbottom, my executors, administrators,
and 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
MEASURING AND REGISTERING FLUIDS. AND IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM THE SAME,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Ramsbottom,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 I, the said John Ramsbottom, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
The first part of this Invention relates to those meters which measure
by displacement, and in this instance refers to that description of meter
in which a piston moves within a cylinder, which piston may either be
packed, or the packing made to extend to it from the sides of the cylinder.
On the top of the cylinder cover I fix a support, which carries a tube in
which the piston rod moves, which tube is grooved or slotted in a curvi-
linear manner in the direction of its length, and attached to the end of
the piston rod are two arins or pins, which work in the said grooves as the
rod and piston moves up and down; the perpendicular motion of the
piston thus imparts semi-rotatory motion alternately in different direc-
tions to the tube in the bearings by which it is supported, and the motion
of the tube is transmitted to the indicating apparatus, and is also made
available for working the valve.
The second part of this Invention relates to meters of the turbine class,
styled inferential meters, and consists in the adaptation of a valve as a
means of obtaining approximate indications of the water passing between
it and its seating, by causing such valve to be susceptible of motion by
the effluent stream, and when closed to cut off the supply, thereby serving
the ordinary purpose of a valve as well as that of a fluid meter, and the
"

page_text: mechanism which reduces the motion for indicating can be conveniently
adapted for purposes of motive power, and thereby utilize the fluid
passing through the instrument.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the
figures and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a section representing my improvements adapted to a meter
which measures by dispiacement; and Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, are
sections and views of detached parts and modifications thereof; and
Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are sections representing my improvements connected
to different arrangements of turbine meters.
The first part of this Invention relates to that kind of meter in which
the amount of the fluid passing through it is ascertained by recording the
travel of the piston, and consequently the amount of fluid displaced by
it. The objects here intended to be effected are greater simplicity,
stability, and directness of action, with increased power of control, and
readiness of access for the purposes of inspection and repair than has
hitherto been attained. In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 the same letters
refer to similar parts.
In Fig. 1, a represents the cylinder; b, the piston; and 6', the packing.
The piston is drum-shaped, and has its rod passing through the cover and
giande into the tube d, having in it two curvilinear slots, and the packing
is formed of two leather rings projecting beyond the body of the cylinder,
and resting against two truly turned side flanges c', so as to leave a free
space for admitting the water pressure behind the packing in order
to tighten it more effectually against the piston. The support or pillar
for the tube and tumbler spindle is shewn at e, and transversely through
the piston rod is fixed the pin /, the ends of which pass through the slots
in the tube and project into the support e, and thereby prevent the piston
from turning round in the cylinder. To the top of the support is fixed
the cap g, which prevents the slotted tube from rising, and also supports
the indicating apparatus. is a ratchet wheel, which works loose on the
top of the tube d, and has the teeth on its circumference turned upwards;
i is an arm supported by the cap g, and fixed to the slotted tube, and
moves with it in a semi-rotary direction horizontally, and by means of a
catch carries with it the ratchet wheel h when moving forwards, and
when returning this ratchet wheel is held by the retaining catch / working
loose on a pin fixed to the cap g. The motion is transmitted by the ratchet
wheel to the indicating apparatus, which is intended to be fixed upon
the aforesaid cap, and to be visible through an aperture in the cover m.

page_text: Fixed to or forming part of the bottom of the tube is the toothed wheel n,
gearing into the toothed wheel o, to which is fixed the tumbler shaft p,
which passes through the support e and support guide q, and has affixed
at its extremity a segmental piece 7, which raises the tumblers to its
talling point alternately in each direction; t represents the valve box; u,
the reversing trigger, v, the valve spindle; w, the rocking or reversing
lever; c, the valve; y, the gland; and z, the fluid ways, the inlet and outlet
passages being situated in a line with each other. The rocking or
reversing lever w is fixed to the valve spindle v, and works the valve when
the trigger is acted upon by the tumbler. There are four port ways in
the valve seating, one of which serves as the feed way to the valve
chamber, the other three serve to connect the upper and lower portions
of the cylinder with feed and exit alternately, in the usual manner, as
shewn detached in Fig. 7.
Fig. 4 is a plan, and Fig. 5 a vertical section of another mode of con-
structing the packing for the piston. It consists of a ring of leather or
other suitable material, and has another ring or girdle attached around
it in the middle; this girdle rests between the flanges of the cylinder, to
which it is screwed tight for making the flange joint. Fig. 6 shews the
leather ring with the girdle inside, to which the piston blocks are
attached, this latter form is intended for those cases where the packing
moves with the piston; and Fig. 7 is a view of the valve and passages,
and also the rocking or reversing lever which actuates the valve. It will
be seen that the gland c is adjusted by screws through the pillar or
support e, and that the tube and adjuncts are raised and depressed there-
with, and that this portion of the meter can be readily detached by these
screws, affording thereby clear access to the piston rod for stuffing the
gland box; again, by removing the joint in the middle of the cylinder,
access is given both to the piston and to the valve. To avoid damage
resulting to the meter where the piston through imperfect action of the
valve might strike the top or bottom of the cylinder, the two spring valves
sands, Fig. 8, are applied. These valves open in opposite directions
on the piston approaching too near the covers, which they then strike,
and opening a passage through the piston its motion ceases, and concus-
sion is avoided. With a view to obtain more uniform pressure on the
valve when the meter is at work, the capacity of the outlet port beneath
the valve is diminished one-half, or thereabouts, beyond that of the feed
ports.
The action of the meter shewn in Fig. 1 is as follows:-The fluid enters

page_text: the feed port and passes to the bottom of the cylinder, and filling the same
presses the leather or packing 6' tightly against the piston, and also forces
the piston upwards. The pin f, which is fastened to the piston rod, and
which works np the slots of the tube through which the piston rod moves,
presses against the sides of those slots, in consequence of their curvilinear
or spiral form, and moves the tube through a portion of a circle, the
wheel n on this tube thereby drives the wheel o, the tumbler shaft P, and
the segmental piece or carrier 7, and this carrier raises the tumbler s
which is loose on its shaft to the perpendicular, from whence it falls to
the other side; g', Fig. 2, shews the space left in the carrier through which
the tumbler is free to fall, and as in falling it strikes the trigger uit
reverses the slide, and opens the waterway, and causes the piston to
change its direction, and so the motion is continued. One or both of
the projecting arms of the pin attached to the piston rod passing
through the tube grooves and tube supports may have a connecting rod
jointed therewith for purposes of motive power. The cylinder may be
bored throughout its interior, and carry a piston surrounded with packing
similar to the one shewn in Fig. 6; or the cylinder may be of the form
shewn in Fig. 1, and the piston packed with packing held to the flanges
of the cylinder, as before described. The cylinder may be placed hori-
zontally, and the tube may be placed within the cylinder with its end
simply extending through the cover. but as this form is not likely to be
so accessible, it is less to be preferred than the other, though less gearing
might be required. Instead of making the piston rod solid, it may be
tubular, and slotted with curvilinear siots, and the rod carrying the
transverse pin works within the tube, and the ends or arms of the pin
within the slots; or there may be studs in a tubular piston rod working
in curvilinear grooves cut in a rod for giving it a semi-rotatory motion,
which can be transmitted to the carrier tumbler and valve. When the
grooves for the two ends of the pin are cut in a rod they appear like a
two-threaded screw of half a circumference, and the grooves are cut in
the usual manner; but for making the two threads in the tube, one for
each end of the pin, I bore holes in the tube opposite each other, and pass
through them a revolving cutter, and then operate in the same manner
as when cutting one of the external threads; or, if desired, each slot may
be cut in the tube in the same manner as the thread in the rod.
In Figs. 9, 10, 11, representing the second part of my Invention, the
same letters refer to similar parts. In Fig. 9, which is a section of an
arrangement of meter of the turbine class having my improvements

page_text: applied, a represents the body of the meter or apparatus; b, the valve
seating. projecting downwards, and containing spiral passages to guide
the water against the blades c on the valve d, which blades are also spiral,
but constructed in an opposite direction to the passages; e represents a
worm on the valve shaft, gearing into and driving the wheel f, the shaft
of which carries another worm g which drives the wheel h and shaft i,
giving off motive power by the pulley k, and driving the indicating appa-
ratus, as at l; m represents the handle to open and close the valve through
the medium of the screw n, which is kept tight by a gland, there being
a washer interposed betwixt the valve spindle and the handle spindle.
The valve shaft works at the bottom on a footstep or bearing o, and the
opening leading to the body of the meter is provided with a sieve P, for
preventing extraneous matter passing with the fluid. Fig. 10 shews the
application of this principle applied to parallel flow turbines, q being the
guide passages; c. the valve blades; d, the valve; and o the footstep.
Fig. 11 shews the valve principle applied to those turbines of the Barker's
mill class; d is the hollow disc or valve with two faces, its mouth-piece
working through the support of the seating b, and the internal portion
of the disc containing spiral passages, as is usual in this class of instru-
ment. The mode of action is as follows:-The handle m, Fig. 9, being
turned, the valve is free to be raised from its seating by the pressure
of the water, which enters in the direction of the arrows, and passing
into the curved channels of the seating is directed against the spiral
recesses of the valve, thereby imparting circular motion, and driving the
gearing before explained. The valve is now free to rise and fall, and
the pressure of the water fluctuates by the greater or less freedom of
delivery; but there will be a certain altitude at which the valve will be
most efficient as a motive power, and as the weight of the valve will
in great measure regulate or adjust this altitude, it may to that extent
be considered self-regulating. An additional closing valve may, how-
ever, in some cases be used with advantage, as where applied it will
balance the pressure to a certain amount, and enable the valve to rotate
more closely to the seating.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I do not claim in machinery or apparatus for measuring
and registering fluids, and obtaining motive power from the same, either
the drum-shaped piston, the tumbler, or the valve described in the first

page_text: part of my Invention, nor the forms of turbines described in the second
part; but what I do claim in both these forms of apparatus is,―
First, the use of a tube or rod slotted or grooved in a spiral direction,
actuated by a piston, for the purpose of recording its motion or the
amount of fluid displaced thereby, and for working the valve, whether
such valve be flat or plug-shaped, or whether the tube forms a component
part of the piston, or be internally or externally applied for use as a fluid
meter.
Secondly, the use of the forms of packing, as shewn in Figs. 4, 5, and 6.
Thirdly, the general form of construction of the meter shewn in Fig. 1.
Fourthly, the application of valves and springs to the pistons of water
meters for the prevention of concussion.
Fifthly, the use of a diminished outlet port as applied to water meters,
for the purposes described.
And, sixthly, the combination and use of the property of a valve, either
single or double-faced, in those meters or instruments of the turbine class,
to be used either alone or in conjunction with an additional stop valve,
as a means of obtaining motive power, and indicating and registering the
flow of water and other fluids.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ramsbottom, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named John Ramsbottom,
in the presence of
JOHN RAMSBOTTOM. (L.S.)
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.