IMPROVEMENTS IN GAB METERS
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE. PRESENTS SHALL COME, We, JOHN
KING, Foreman to Messieurs Shears and Sons, Bankside, Southwark, and
HENRY MEDHURST, Operative Engineer to the said Messieurs Shears and Sons,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present, most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of
July, One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, in the twelfth year of
Ier reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said John King and Henry Medhurst, our exors, adiñiors, and assigns,
Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said
John King and Henry Medhurst, 'our. exors, adiñiors, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said John King and Henry. Medhurst, our exors, admors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, 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, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed; our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAB
METERS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the
said John King and Henry Medhurst, or one of us, should cause a particular
description of the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately

page_text: 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 appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
John King and Henry Medhurst, do hereby declare that the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our Invention consists,-
First, of improvements in gas meters, described in the Specification of a
Patent granted to Joseph Gray on the Seventeenth day of August, One thou-
sand eight hundred and forty-six. And,
Secondly, our Invention consists of an improvement in the instrument
used for communicating motion to the registering train of wheels.
-
And in order that our Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us.
In the said Specification of
the manner of acting on the valves and
apparatus for recording the quantity of gas which passes the meter are described,
and our Invention consists, First, of improvements in the apparatus which acts
on and is acted upon by the diaphragms or moving partitions of the meter, and
by this modification of the apparatus the flexible part of the diaphragm is first
caused to move, whilst the inflexible part of the diaphragm is held back; and it
is the arranging the apparatus with reference to obtaining this result that con-
stitutes the peculiarity of this our Invention; but in order that the same may
be fully understood, we will proceed to describe the Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1 and 2 show two vertical sections. Figure 3 shows a horizontal
section of the upper part, and Figure 4, a horizontal section of the lower part
of a meter having our present improvements applied thereto. a is the move-
able partition affixed to the axis b, and dividing the lower part of the meter
into the two compartments No. 1 and No. 2. a is the fixed portion of the
partition. The axis b at the lower part rests in the bearing 6', and at the
upper end it passes through a stuffing box into the upper part of the meter,
where it has affixed to it the cross bar f, one end of which is embraced by the
two arms of the weighted lever h. This lever turns upon an axis h¹ affixed
to the back of the meter, and the weighted end of it always acts as a resist-
ance to the forward movement of the diaphragm plate a, thus obliging the
flexible part to return, or move first from the extremity of its action, by

page_text: which means
greater uniformity of registration and steadiness of light is
obtained; and we would; state that these improvements are not confined to
single diaphragm gas meters, or to that shown in the Drawing, but are appli-
cable to gas meters having moving diaphragms. The other end of the cross
barf has affixed to it the plate f, which is capable of being adjusted in
position on the end of the cross piece f by means of the set screw f³, and tho
plato f¹ is by means of the link g connected to the sliding plate i, which
slides to and fro within the guides 1, 2, and this sliding plate has a slot or
opening formed in it to receive the stem of the weighted lever j; and it is by
the to and fro inmovement of tlie plate i carrying the weighted lever ; just
beyond a central position, whereby the lever j will fall over by its own weight
in a direction the reverse of that in which it was for the time, that the chango
in the position of the valves is effected. This is accomplished in the following
manner-k, l, are the inlet and outlet valves to the two compartments, tho
passages to which are indicated by the Drawing. It will be seen that the two
valves and the two valves are connected together in like manner by bars
,, which turn upon axes m, m, and the bars, l, have each horns pro-.
jecting upwards, one on each side of plates n attached to the axes o, which
pass from the valve chambers through stuffing boxes into the part of the meter
containing the apparatus by which the various movements are effected. The
axes are each connected, as shewn, to the bent bar p, which is formed with a
slotted opening at p', within which works the lever j; and when the leverj is
thrown over in cither direction by means of the bar i, the lever i will fall
against one or the other end of the opening p', as the case may be, causing tho
bent bar p, and consequently the plates n, to make a slight movement with
the axis o, and reverse the position of the valves. 9, 9, aro pieces acted upon
by light springs g', q', to steady the valves. Mction is given to suitablo
wheelwork and indices by means of the bar r, one end of which is attached to
the sliding bar i, and moves with it, the other end turns upon the fixed pin r',
and to the bar r is attached the driver, which takes into the wheels on the
axis s', and during each movement to the left causes the axis s' to make a
partial rotation. On the axis s' is formed the worm t, which takes into and
gives motion to the wheel u, on the axis of which is formed a pinion u', in
order to give motion to other wheel work of the index, as is well understood;
5 or in place of the worin t, we sometimes adopt the arrangement shewn in
Figures 5, 6, and 7, and which constitutes the second part of our Invention.
The peculiarity of this arrangement consists in this, that in whichever way the
axis s' is turned the wheel w will be turned in the direction of the arrow; this
is accomplished by means of two or more of the peculiarly shaped pieces t,

page_text: The axis s¹ is supposed
and we would remark,
the form of which is clearly shewn by the Drawing.
now to be revolving in the direction of the arrow;
that it is not important that the axis s' should make a complete revolution, as
it will be found to do equally well in cases where the axis s only makes a
partial, say half a rotation from 1 to 2, and back again; and the same is equally
applicable to wet and dry gas meters, and other arrangements and construc-
tions than that shewn.
Having thus described the nature of our Inventions, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we would have it understood that we do
not confine ourselves to the exact details, so long as the peculiar character of
either part of our Invention be retained; but what we claim is, the mode of
combining apparatus, as herein described. And,
Secondly, we claim the mode of combining the apparatus w, t, and axis s¹,
as described in respect to Figs. 5, 6, & 7.
In witness whereof, we, the said John King and Henry Medhurst, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-sixth day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.