IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTATORY FLUID METERS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles William Siemens of Adelphi Ter-
race in the County of Middlesex Engineer and Joseph Adam-
son of Leeds in the County of York Engineer for an Invention
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles William
Siemens and Joseph Adamson at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 24th March 1853.
WE CHARLES WILLIAM SIEMENS and JOSEPH ADAMSON do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTATORY
FLUID METERS" to be as follows
The first part of our invention consists of arranging in one plane
two concentric sets of guide vanes diverging from the radial lines in
opposite directions in manner of a turbine so that the water or other
fluid to be measured is introduced through the hollow axis and pro-
ceeding outward passes first through the oblique or curvilinear channels
of the inner set of vanes and impinges rectangularly or nearly so
13288.-9. Wt. 4891.

page_text: upon the vanes of the outer disc. The latter being at liberty to
revolve will be impelled by the water in nearly the ratio at which
it moves, hence the number of its revolutions (which are registered
upon dials by counting apparatus similar to those now in use for water
or gas meters) indicates the quantity of fluid passed through and may
by suitable proportions of wheels be expressed in gallons, Cubic feet or
other units of measure. In issuing from the circumference of the outer
vaned disc the water or other fluid is received in a surrounding close
casing from which a pipe conveys it to its destination. In one modifi-
cation of this meter the inner set of vanes are made stationary so
as to guide the fluid merely against the moveable vanes in a certain
direction. It is not absolutely necessary in this case that they should
diverge in their position from radial lines. In another modification thic
inner and stationary vanes are placed obliquely or are made curvilinear
but those upon the outer and revolving disc are straight and placed
cither obliquely or in radial lines.
Another modification consists in making both the inner and the
outer disc revolve either separately and independently of each other
the motion of the second or outer disc being communicated to the
counter, or in concert with each other by means of suitable gearing
connecting them. The arrangements of this meter may be so modified
that the fluid enters the outer stationary or moveable disc of guide
vanes and after impinging upon the inner and registering vaned disc
In another
is withdrawn through the hollow axis of the latter.
arrangement we confine ourselves to one revolving disc with oblique or
curvilinear guide vanes or tangential apertures on the circumference
through which the fluid issues and imparts motion to the same.
Instead of a complete disc only two or more separate hollow arms
or vanes may be attached to a hollow spindle through the open ends of
which arms the fluid issues in a tangential direction in manner of a
Barker's Mill. In order to regulate the speed of the revolving discs in
the various arrangements of our meter above detailed so that the same
quantity of fluid shall under various pressures produce the same
number of revolutions we attach straight radial vanes or drag boards
to the back of the revolving discs or some of them whereby their pro-

page_text: gress is retarded in a greater measure at high than at low speeds.
Another part of our invention consists in constructing a fluid meter
resembling in form a common water wheel or paddle wheel which
wheel is enclosed in a casing which is filled for the most part with air
under the same pressure with the water in the pipes. The water
course passes tangentially and horizontally through the lower portion of
the casing and the fluid in impinging upon the boards or buckets of
the wheel causes the same to revolve in proportion to the amount of
fluid passing
The last part of our invention relates to the fluid meter for which
Letters Patent were granted to the above named Charles William
Siemens on the 15 April 1852 and consists in providing the first
screw drum over which the water is passed (in case it is not connected
by gearing to the succeeding and registering drum) with two or more
straight vanes or drag boards in order to retard its progress at high
velocities and to exercise the opposite effect upon the succeeding or
registering drum
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Charles William Siemens and Joseph Adamson
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th September 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME We
CHARLES WILLIAM SIEMENS of Adelphi Terrace in the County of
Middlesex Engineer and JOSEPH ADAMSON of Leeds in the County
of York Engineer Send Greeting
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the twenty fourth day of March in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty three in the
Sixteenth year of Her Reign did for Herself Her Heirs and Successors
give and grant unto us the said Charles William Siemens and Joseph
Adamson Her special Licence that we the said Charles William
Siemens and Joseph Adamson our executors administrators and
assigns or such others as we the said Charles William Siemens and
Joseph Adamson our executors, administrators and assigns should

page_text: upon the
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 ROTATORY FLUID METERS "
Condition (amongst others) that we the said Charles William Siemens
and Joseph Adamson by an instrument in writing under our bands
and scals or under the hand and scal of one of us 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 we the said Charles William Siemens and
Joseph Adamson Do hereby declare the nature of the said 'Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof
reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the figures
and letters marked thereon, that is to say,
Our invention relates principally to meters for measuring water but
it may also be employed for meters for measuring other fluids. In the
following description certain materials are mentioned which are appli-
cable to meters for measuring water and similar noncorrosive fluids,
but we do not confine ourselves to the use of such materials and if the
fluid to be measured be of a corrosive nature the meter must be con-
structed of such materials as are capable of resisting its action.
Figure 1 Sheet I of the drawings is a vertical section and Figure 2
is a horizontal section of one of our improved fluid meters. Figure 3
is a plan of the upper part of the same. A is a hollow drum having
two tangential apertures a, a. The water or other fluid is introduced
into the centre of this drum and allowed to escape at the apertures a, a
and in its passage it causes the drum to revolve in the direction of the
arrow. The revolutions of the drum are registered by a counter at the
upper part of the meter which indicates the quantity of fluid which has
passed through the meter.
B is the outer cylindrical casing of cast iron screwed to the base

page_text: plate C. D is the inlet opening for the entrance of the fluid and E
is the outlet. F is a circular chamber of white metal such as pewter
with a bush of German Silver in the centre forming a bearing for the
spindle G of the drum A. His a cylindrical perforated ring or cage
cast in one piece with the chamber F and surrounded with wire gauze
for the purpose of preventing the entrance of any solid matters which might
choke the passages or obstruct the motion of the drum. I is a flat disc
or partition with a cylindrical neck or pipe J which enters the neck K
of the drum A. The top and bottom of the drum are curved as shewn
in the drawing so that the fluid may flow in with as little obstruction
as possible. A small flat piece of steel or agate 6 is fixed to the lower
end of the spindle G and rests upon a round pointed piece of steel or
agate at the top of the cylindrical stem L which rises from the centre
of the disc M. N is a circular plate with the edges turned up and
fixed to the drum A. so as to form a chamber which is to be filled with
oil when the meter is employed for measuring water. n, nare apertures
with screw plugs for the introduction of the oil. A bush c is fixed in
the centre of the plate N to serve as a guide for the drum and to
prevent the escape of the oil. O is a cylindrical lining or inner case
forming a chamber in which the drum A revolves. V. V. are small flat
vanes or drag boards fixed on the drum A for the purpose of somewhat
retarding its motion. These vanes are of considerable importance as
without them the drum would make a greater number of revolutions
when a certain quantity of fluid is passed rapidly through it than it
would when the same quantity of fluid is passed slowly though it.
The vanes V experience a greater degree of resistance as the velocity
increases, and thus serve to equalize the indications of the meter.
'The spindle G carries an endless screw g at its upper end, which
drives the worm wheel h on the axis of which is another endless screw
which drives another worm wheel i on whose axis is a pinion j driving
the wheel k. The speed is thus reduced so that the spindle of the
wheel k only makes one revolution for several hundred revolutions of
the drum A. The spindle passes through a short tube or socket m
fixed to the plate P and carries at its upper end a pinion o which
geers into the two wheels p, q one of which p has one hundred and

page_text: one teeth while the other q has one hundred teeth. The upper one p
is fixed to a short tube which carries the dial Q while the lower wheel q
is fixed to the spindle which carries the index R. Another index S
is fixed to the casing. The dial Q is divided into one hundred parts
which are numbered in one direction on the outside and in the opposite
direction on the inside. The fixed index S points to the units while
the moveable index R points to the hundreds. The units may be
gallons or hundreds or thousands of gallons or cubic feet or other
integer. The dial is protected by a strong glass plate T.
The spindle has a conical shoulder which is pressed up to the end
of the socket m by the pressure of the fluid which is thus prevented
from escaping.
The chamber F is filled with oil so as to keep the wheel work
lubricated and prevent the entrance of the fluid which is being measured.
The drum A may be made with three four or more apertures in lieu
of the two apertures a, a.
Or in lieu of a drum two or more hollow
arms or spokes with tangential apertures at the ends may be employed.
Figure 4 Sheet II is a sido view and Figure 5 is a vertical section
of another of our improved fluid meters. Figure 6 is a plan of the
wheel which measures the fluid and of the channels or guide curves
which conduct the fluid to it.
A is a wheel mounted on a spindle G and consisting of a flat disc a
and a conical ring d with a number of straight or curved blades e. e
between them. The spindle G turns upon a pin bat the lower end and
upon another pins at the upper end-Within this wheel is a circular
block I and a disc J between which are several blades f,f curved or
inclined in the opposite direction to the blades e, e.
B is the casing which is fixed upon the hollow base C. C. D is
the inlet and E is the outlet. H is a perforated plate or strainer to
prevent solid matters from entering the wheel-There is an opening
in the bottom of the base for the removal of any solid matters, which
opening is closed by a plate. F is a partition in the upper part of the
casing with a circular aperture in the centre.
The water or other fluid enters the base C by the inlet D and
ascending through the perforated plate II passes between the guide

page_text: blades ƒ. ƒ and impinges upon the blades e e of the wheel A and
causes it to revolve. The fluid ascends through the aperture in the
partition F and escapes at the outlet E. The partition F serves to
prevent the establishment of unequal currents from different parts of
the wheel to the outlet.
The number of revolutions of the wheel A is registered by means
of wheel work and a dial or dials as in the meter shewn in Figures 1
and 2 or as employed in gas meters or other apparatus in which
counters are used.
Small vanes V V are fixed on the top of the wheel A for the
purpose of somewhat retarding its motion as in the meter shewn in
Figures 1, 2 and 3.
This meter may be modified by making the inner set of blades
moveable and allowing them to revolve. Figure 7 is a section of a
portion of such an arrangement having an internal moveable wheel
consisting of the disc J and blades f. f as before, with the addition of
another circular plate W with a neck X. Y is a fixed pin round
which the inner wheel revolves and on the top of which the outer
wheel revolves. The remainder of the meter is similar to that shewn
in Figures 4, 5 and 6. The wheels will revolve in opposite directions
when the fluid passes through them and they may either be allowed to
revolve independently of each other or they may be geered together so
as both to act upon the counter. The meter may also be arranged so
that the fluid may enter at E and escape at D and the motions of the
wheels will then be reversed and the graduations on the dial or dials
must be made to correspond. The outer wheel may also be fixed and
only the inner one allowed to revolve, its revolutions being registered
by connecting the counter to it.
In all these arrangements of meters the apparatus is inclosed in a
case with an inlet and outlet opening so that the meter may be
employed for measuring fluids under pressure-Thus if one of our
improved meters be employed fer measuring the water supplied to a
dwelling or a factory, the meter may be placed on the ground floor or
other convenient position and the outlet pipe from it may be carried up
to the top of the building or wherever the water is required. This

page_text: would not be the case if the measuring wheel were not inclosed in a case
and the water merely dropped from it into a cistern. The omission of
the case would also render the indications of the meter less accurate
under varying pressures of fluid, and would also increase the friction.
Figure 8 is a vertical section of another of our improved meters for
measuring fluids. A is a paddle wheel with straight or curved blades
revolving in the air tight case B. D is the inlet and E is the outlet.
The upper part of the case B is filled with compressed air or other
suitable gas which prevents the liquid from rising into it. The liquid
thus flows through the lower part of the case from D to E and carries
round the paddle wheel A with it. The revolutions of the paddle
wheel are registered by a counter as in the other meters herein-
before described.
By simply inverting this apparatus it may be employed to measure
fluids lighter than that contained in the chamber provided that they
do not mingle together. Thus by filling the chamber with water it
may be employed for measuring air, and by filling the chamber with
mercury it may be employed for measuring water.
Our invention relates also to an improvement or improvements in
certain varieties of fluid meters constructed with screw drums and
described in the Specification of certain Letters Patent granted to me
the said Charles William Siemens and bearing date at Westminster
the fifteenth day of April in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty two for the invention of "An Improved Fluid
Meter."
In some of the modifications of this Meter, two screw drums are
employed, the first of which is allowed to revolve freely while the
second drum is connected to the counter. We apply the vanes or drag
boards to the first screw drum so as to retard it somewhat and cause
the fluid to impinge with greater effect upon the second or registering
drum.
We also construct screw meters in which the first screw is fixed
and the second or registering screw drum is provided with the vanes or
drag boards to produce a greater resistance at high velocities than at
low velocities.

page_text: This meter may be modified so as to relieve the spindle of the
screw drum from end pressure by employing a long drum having a
right handed screw upon one end and a left handed screw upon the
other end with the vanes or drag boards in the centre of the inter-
mediate space. The fluid is then admitted through left handed
and right handed screws fixed at opposite ends of the case of the meter
and is conveyed away from the centre of the case.
Having now described the nature of the invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed We hereby declare that what we
claim is.
Firstly, the construction and arrangement of rotatory fluid meters with
a revolving wheel or wheels connected with a counter and inclosed in a
case and so arranged that the fluid to be measured flows from the
centre towards the circumference or from the circumference towards
the centre of the wheel or wheels in manner hereinbefore described in
reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Secondly, the construction of fluid meters with a paddle wheel
connected with a counter and revolving in a chamber containing
another fluid which is not miscible with the fluid to be measured as
hereinbefore described in reference to Figure 8.
Thirdly, the application to rotatory fluid meters of vanes or drag
boards in manner herein before described.
In witness whereof I the said Joseph Adamson on behalf of
myself and the said Charles William Siemens have hereunto
set my hand and seal this twentyfirst day of September in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty
three.
JOSEPH ADAMSON. (L.S.)
Witness, JAMES WILD CLARE, Leeds.