AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM GAUGE
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George William Howe, of Regent Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM GAUGE."-A communication from
abroad by James H. Miller, of Cleveland, in the State of Ohio,
United States of America.
Sealed the 3rd August 1869, and dated the 12th June 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George William Howe
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 12th June 1869.
GEORGE WILLIAM HOWE, of Regent Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM GAUGE," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to produce a steam gauge that shall be
very sensitive in its action, easily adjusted, and shall not be liable to
injury from the action of the steam. The steam is admitted to act upon
the under surface of a plunger, the rod of which is attached to a spring

page_text: which holds it down to its seat. This spring is placed within and made
fast to the gauge case. The top of the plunger rod is jointed to a lever
that is pivotted to the back of the gauge case and immediately above
the plunger rod is fixed a frame which carries the index arbor. Pivotted
to the upper end of 'this frame is a bow-shaped lever, the arms of which
carry a chain or chains connected with a pulley or collar fitted to the
index arbor. A coiled spring is applied to this arbor to return the index
to zero when the plunger is relieved of pressure. The motion of the
plunger is communicated to the bow-shaped lever and so to the index
arbor by a connecting rod which is jointed to the plunger lever and also
to an adjustable plate. carried by the bow-shaped lever. As therefore
the plunger is forced upwards it will rock the bow-shaped lever, which
through the chains will turn the index arbor and cause the index to move
over the graduated face of the gauge and indicate the pressure of the
steam admitted to the gauge.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George William Howe in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WILLIAM HOWE, of Regent Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said. George William Howe,
Her special licence that I, the said George William Howe, my.
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George William Howe, 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

page_text: of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF STEAM
GAUGE," being a communication to me from: James. H. Miller, of.
Cleveland, in the State of Ohio, United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George William
Howe, of executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George William Howe, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.
(that is to say):-
The object of this Invention is to produce a steam gauge that shall be
very sensitive in its action, easily adjusted, and shall not be liable to
injury from exposure to the steam.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 shews the improved gauge in
front elevation; Fig. 2 is a front elevation with the dial plate and index
hand or pointer removed; and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken in
the line 1, 2, of Fig. 2.
A is a circular case containing the gauge mechanism which is closed
in by a cover composed of a glass plate and metal rim. Cast on the
under side of the case A is a hollow projection A', into which the nozzle B.
of a steam pipe B₁ that conveys steam to the gauge is screwed. These:
parts A and B when screwed together form a chamber which is..
divided by the insertion of an elastic transverse diaphragm c the edges of
which are secured between the parts A¹ and B. Upon this elastic.
diaphragm rests the head of a rod or plunger D which extends upwards.
into the case A. Affixed to the inner periphery of this case by screws.
is a curved steel spring E which is made fast to the upper end of the
rod D by a nut, and by resting on a shoulder on the rod it serves to put
a downward pressure upon it in opposition to the upward pressure of the.

page_text: steam admitted to the under side of the flexible diaphragm c. The
rod D is forked at its upper end to receive a lever F which is connected
thereto by a pin and is free to turn on a fulcrum pin secured to the back
of the case A. This lever is intended to transmit motion from the
plunger D to the index hand and thus indicate the pressure of the steam
upon the under side of the flexible diaphragm c. G is a frame fixed to
the back of the case A. In this frame is mounted the arbor H on which
the index hand I is mounted in front of the graduated dial plate I' which
is made fast to the case A. A barrel or collar h fixed on the arbor H
has coiled around and secured to it a chain h¹, the ends of which are
made fast to an arched or bow-shaped rock lever K. The arbor of this
lever turns in bearings in the frame and affixed to it is a slide K' to
which is pivotted a rod L connected at its other end with the lever F.
Surrounding the arbor H is a coiled spring M, one end of which is con-
nected to the spindle and the other to a fixed point on the frame G. Its
use is to return the index hand towards zero as the pressure of steam on
the plunger is lightened. It will now be understood that when the
pressure on the plunger of the steam admitted to the under side of the
diaphragm c is sufficient to bear it up against the resisting power of the
spring E, the plunger will lift the lever F which is pivotted thereto and
through the connecting rod L rock the bow-shaped lever K, thereby
causing it through the coiled chain or chains to turn the arbor and move
the index hand over the dial plate I', and thus indicate the pressure of
the steam admitted to the gauge.
I would remark in conclusion that this improved gauge embraces the
following advantages, viz.,—
First. That the spring E being made fast to the inside of the case it
is not liable to rust.
Second. That by using the lever F the action of the plunger to give
the indication is reduced to about one-third of that required in ordinary
gauges, and consequently the action of the elastic diaphragm will be
proportionately reduced.
Third. That the adjustment is made easy by the use of the slide K'.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improved
Construction of Steam Gauge," and explained the manner of carrying

page_text: the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim, the combination of parts above
described constituting my improved steam gauge.
In witness whereof, I, the said George William Howe, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.