Apparatus for Regulating or Controlling from a Distance the Flow of Gases or other Fluids through Pipes or other Conduits.
Year: 1883

page_text: Apparatus for Regulating or Controlling from a Distance the
Flow of Gases or other Fluids through Pipes or other
Conduits.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Phillips Thompson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th October 1883. A
communication from Messieurs Ferdinand Louis Muratori and Edouard Cros
persons resident at Paris in the Republic of France.
WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON of the Liverpool and London Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street Liverpool in the County of Lancaster, Fellow of
the Institute of Patent Agents. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS
FOR REGULATING OR CONTROLLING FROM A DISTANCE, THE FLOW OF GASES OR
OTHER FLUIDS THROUGH PIPES OR OTHER CONDUITS." A communication from
Messieurs Ferdinand Louis Muratori and Edouard Cros, persons resident at Paris
in the Republic of France.
The following is a translation of the description of the invention as forwarded
to me, the pronoun we referring of course to the inventors.
"
,,
"This invention consists of an apparatus designed to effect from any point the
closing, regulating, and controlling of the flow of fluids, to which we have given
the name of teledynamic obturator'
"To obtain this obturation from a distance, we act upon the liquid of a system
of vessels or cisterns communicating with each other so as to keep at the same
level and obtain by the lowering of the level a greater or less opening of the exit
aperture for the outflowing fluid. In order to transmit from a distance the power
required for this lowering of level, we employ preferably a compressing fluid which
we blow out or force back by means of a reservoir of variable capacity, we can
also apply for the same purpose appropriate mechanical means, as for example a
metallic wire or cable passing over pulleys or even a series of rods and levers.
"
Our system of teledynamic obturator comprises four principal parts, namely.
First. The obturator properly so called which is simply a system of communicating
vessels. Second. The compresser or reservoir having a variable capacity and of
any suitable form, and acting upon the compressing fluid so as to displace it and
produce according to circumstances a blowing out or forcing back of the said fluid
to or from the communicating vessels. Third The compensating tube or
ו”n...

page_text: equilibrium column serves to limit the charge of compressing fluid which presses
on the surface of the liquid in the communicating vessels. Fourth. The
manometric tube of special form permitting of applying an electric warning of the
obturation.
"For the better understanding of our system of teledynamic-obturator, we have
represented a specimen in the annexed drawings as well as some modifications of
the compressers.
In these Fig 1 is a general elevation of our system of
obturator. Fig 2 is another form of compressor. Fig 3 represents a modification
of the obturating apparatus permitting of automatically intercepting the entry of
the gas or fluid to be distributed, in case of accident. In all these figures, like
letters of reference indicate like parts.
We have taken as a specimen of our system of obturator that which can be
applied to intercept from a distance the supply of gas from a town to the various
burners of a dwelling house. In this installation, before or after the entry of the
gas at b into the meter a (in the actual case it is on the exit pipe o c¹) we make a
branch or deviation in order to oblige the gas to pass through our obturating
apparatus A before returning to the distribution pipe c c¹. In case the apparatus
will not work, we connect the portion c d with the portion d f of the pipe by
opening the tap d. The deviation e e' leads into one of the communicating
vessels of the apparatus A. The exit pipe of the gas for distribution to the
burners descends in the interior of this vessel to about one centimetre below the
level which the mercury takes in the vessels when they are both in contact with
the atmosphere. The end h of this pipe is cut to the shape of a "whistle" (see
Fig 1) so that the obturation only takes place gradually in proportion as the level
of the mercury contained in the communicating vessel i and j, rises under the
weight of a column of compressed fluid, such as air or other compressed gas, or
any liquid of small density and as far as possible unfreezable. Immediately after
the communicating vessel j, a special manometric tube D is fixed upon the pipe
bringing the compressed fluid. This manometric tube is open to the air at one
end, and contains mercury in its legs uv, but the quantity of mercury is less in
height of tube than that which the obturator A contains. Its working will be
explained hereafter. At / upon the lid of the vessel; the general conduit or pipe
for the compressing fluid is fixed, and from this latter pipe at any point either on
the same floor as the meter or on various other floors as desired, a branch
pipe m m is taken to the compresser B. The compresser B is composed of a
plate with hollow bottom fastened to a wall by screws or bolts t.
On this
convex bottom we place a hollow metallic pear-shaped vessel n composed of two
discs emboutis,' re-united and soldered at their open part, the interior commu-
nicating with the exterior by the pipe m in communication with pipe m m³. On
the metallic pear' n is mounted a screwed shaft which forms the axis of a hand
wheel o maintained at a constant distance from the convex plate u by blocks v₁ 80
that by turning the wheel o by the handle p, on the screwed shaft, it draws towards
it the superior or outer side of the metallic pear (the other side being fixed) and
thus causes the compressing fluid to enter. The contrary is the case by turning
the wheel in the opposite direction, and consequently there is a forcing back of
fluid.
"When the pipe of compressing fluid has to be raised above the floor on which
the obturator is situated, we add to the system of obturator above described, a
sliding tube which we call a compensating tube.' The object of this tube is to
equilibrate the column of compressing fluid, which rises above the level of the
mercury in the obturator A. This tube C consists of two receivers or bulbs
and q¹ of the same diameter and united by a bent tube 111, the right leg rll of
which may be lengthened at pleasure in order to permit of always employing the
same type of compensator whatever may be the character of the installation. The
difference in level between the points q and q' varies with the height of the 5
column of compressing fluid which is above the bulb q¹; there is therefore only
the column q. . of compressing fluid which acts upon the mercury of the obturator.

page_text: «
The mode of working of the apparatus is as follows. The gas arriving from
the meter or from the town gas main, enters the vessel i through the pipe e'. It
can pass out through the pipe h which we will suppose is not covered by the
mercury in said vessel, and thence into the distribution pipe to feed the various
burners. If on the burners being lit we wish to regulate their consumption from
any part of the house, we actuate one or other of the compressers B B₁
B₁₂
B, for example in the various situations in which the gas is
distributed, so as to force in or out of the 'pear' of the compresser on which we
act, a certain quantity of compressing fluid. It results from this that the level
of the mercury falls or rises in j and i and 'obtures' (closes) or opens the exit
pipe h.
"If in consequence of fire or malevolence or from any other accident the pipe of
compressed fluid should burst at x, for example, the column of fluid l. a. would
descend into the vessel j and raise the mercury in vessel i so as to obture or stop
the exit of gas. If on the other hand the pipe should break or burst at y for
example, the mercurial equilibrium column 11 tends to find its own level and
produces an aspiration or blowing out in the vessel j, but at this moment the
mercury in the manometric or safety tube D is blown out; the atmospheric
pressure consequently acts on both sides and equilibrium is established in the two
vessels i and thus causing the obturation of pipe h. We have represented in
Fig 3 the arrangement of the different parts in the case where the column of
compressing fluid has burst accidentally.
'
"The arrangement of compresser represented in Fig 2 at B₁ comprises a
hollow metallic pear' analogous to that described for the compresser B but we
obtain the dilatation or contraction of this pear much more slowly by acting, not
directly upon the main axis but on a toothed wheel, with which engages a pinion,
the axis of which carries the wheel on which one acts. In this way it is necessary
to make a certain number of complete revolutions before obtaining the obturation
by the compression of the fluid. We can be warned of the complete obturation
by means of an electric circuit. For this purpose we place in the special
manometric tube D some platinum wires, that is to say, two in each of the
tubes and 8, one for each pole of the battery, and one in each of the legs u
and ; that in u terminates about one centimetre above the level of the mercury
while that in vis immersed at least two centimetres. These wires communicate
with an ordinary electric bell-alarm. When the normal obturation is produced,
the level of the mercury rises in leg u and as soon as the mercury touches the
platinum wire the bell rings, but an instant after the level falls in vand the bell
stops ringing. The warning is brief and signifies complete obturation.
"In case of accident arising from rupture of the column of compressing fluid,
at for example, the outrush carries a little mercury into the tube 8, and the
alarm circuit which is closed by the mercury sets the bell ringing and keeps it
going continuously till the damage has been examined and repaired. If we
employ infusible pipes for the compressing fluid, the heating of the tube in the
case of fire for example were it ever so little, forces some mercury from the.
vessel j into and obturation results, while at the same time the mercury in u
and v passes into the tuber and the alarm bell is set ringing continuously. In the
case where we employ several compressers B. B₁ B, et-cetera, it is necessary to
regulate their relative position so that one or other of these apparatus may not be
blocked at any given moment by the other compressers being wedged or
immovable, while one of them is being moved. We therefore give the preference
to a system of tele-dynamic obturator only comprising a single compresser, which
advantageously replaces all the regulators of gas consumption hitherto invented
or constructed.
"Fig 2 bis. represents another arrangement of compresser in which the
'pear' is composed of india-rubber and enclosed in a case having rigid sides.
A plate a¹ which moves under the double action of a spring b' and of an operating

page_text: lever c, presses against this pear diminishing its capacity. The inverse movement
of the lever c¹ produces an aspiration which increases the volume of the pear v¹.
"The system of obturator which we have just described is susceptible of
numerous applications, in particular it permits of the regulation of the consumption
of gas in buildings, workshops, or theatres, and also of cutting off the supply of
gas in case of fire. The proprietor or master can without being in the
neighborhood of the meter make sure whether it is open and close it, or lessen its
rate of consumption. Finally by the adaptation to our system of the manometric
safety tube D.above described we are certain that in case of fire, the obturation or
cutting off of the gas in the burning building or structure would be performed
automatically by the rupture of the column of compressing fluid whether enclosed
in a fusible pipe or not.