IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METERS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NATIIAN
DEFRIES, of Saint Martin's Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, 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-seventh day
of May, in the ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Nathan Defries, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Nathan Defries, my exors, admňors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Nathan Defries, my exors, adññors, 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, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METERS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Nathan
Defries, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately 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, I, the said
Nathan Defries, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and

page_text: Scer Canon and by the tonowing
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention consists in improvements in the construction and application
of rotatory valves to what are called dry gas meters. And in order that the
Invention may be most fully understood, and readily carried into effect, I will
proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a horizontal section of the under side of parts of a dry gas
meter having three flexible partitions, and having a rotatory valve constructed
and applied according to the first part of my Invention; and Figure 2 shows
a section taken at (1) 2) of the part of the meter shewn at Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan in section with the upper part of the valve removed, and
Figure 4 shows an under side view, a top view, and a section of the valve
separately. The construction of dry gas meters being now well understood, I
have not thought it necessary to show a complete one, as the Invention only
applies to the construction and application of valves. The lower part of the
ineter is divided into three compartments A, B, and C, and these compartments
are again divided by three flexible partitions a, b, c, into six compartments for
receiving and measuring gas, and the valve shown is suitably arranged for
admitting gas into the six compartiments, and also for permitting the gas to flow
therefrom, in such manner that the gas is not allowed to enter into the compart-
ment D of the meter, where the necessary apparatus for giving motion from the
flexible partitions to the valve, and to the wheelwork for registering the gas
which passes through the meter, is applied. Motion is communicated from the
partitions a, b, c, to suitable axes and from them by suitable apparatus placed in
the upper compartment D of the meter to the axis of the valve d so as to give
it rotatory motion, as has heretofore been done when using other arrangements
of rotatory valves where the gas is allowed to come into the same chamber as
contains the works or apparatus for giving motion to the rotatory valve. is the
seat of the valve having passages or ways f, g, to the several compartments, as
shown. The axis of the valve d turns in bearings in the frame h. On an exami-
nation of the Drawing it will be seen that the gas passes through the induction
way i through the valve and its seat, and into the several measuring compart-
ments of the meter, and the gas passes back from such measuring compartments
through the valve seat, and through the valve into the outlet pipe j, the gas in
doing so not coming into contact with the apparatus contained in the upper
compartment D, hence the gas cannot act prejudicially on such works or
apparatus. Figure 5 shows a plan, and Figure 6 a section of part of a gas

page_text: meter in which the construction of valve employed is different from that before
described. In this case the similar parts are marked with the same letters
of reference, and the description thereof will apply to the present Figures.
Figure 7 shows the parts of valve and the seat thereof separately, the valve x
in this instance being so arranged as to allow the gas to pass away into a
compartment produced by the cover k, which separates the valve from the
compartment D of the meter where the works or apparatus are contained, all
which will readily be understood on examining the Drawings, the object of
both arrangements being to so construct and apply rotatory valves to dry gas
meters as to prevent the gas passing into the compartment of the mieter whero
the works or apparatus for giving motion to the valve and wheel work for
registering the gas are contained. And although I prefer, when making dry
gas meters, to use three flexible partitions, the improvements herein described
will readily be modified so as to apply them to meters where other numbers of
flexible partitions are used.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the details herein described, so long as the peculiar character
of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is, the so constructing and
applying rotatory valves to dry gas meters that the gas is not allowed to
pass into the compartment where the apparatus or works are contained, as
herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nathan Defries, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of
Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
NATHAN (L.B.) DEFRIES.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1846, the aforesaid Nathan Defries came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
0 aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to
the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.