IMPROVEMENTS SAN COWNING AND REGULATING THIS SUPPLY OF GAS."
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Small Cathels, Gas Engineer, of Lower
Sydenham, in the County of Kent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
SAN COWNING AND REGULATING THIS SUPPLY OF GAS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Small Cathels
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th December 1866.
I, EDMUND SMALL CATHELS, Gas Engineer, of Lower Sydenham, in the
County of Kent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING AND REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF
GAS," to be as follows:-
The first part of this Invention relates to the construction of cast-iron pipes
or mains, and consists in casting on the exterior longitudinal bands or belts so
as to increase the substance along that portion of the main which is usually
pierced for the admission of service pipes, thereby affording far more effectual
means for securing a sound connection between them than exist in mains as
hitherto formed.
The second part of this Invention refers to a contrivance for regulating the
flow of gas generally, but more particularly in mains where the pressure is
unduly increased by a rise in the level of the ground in which such mains are
laid, an effect which the ordinary governor fails to obviate. The object
of this part of the Invention is to remedy this defect, and this is done by

page_text: the use of an apparatus of which the following is a description:-A bell or
cylindrical chamber similar to a small gasholder is suspended in such manner
that it is free to rise and fall within a tank, and as the tank is partially filled
with water or other liquid the lower part of the bell or gasholder is sealed
without interfering with its motion. From the bottom of the tank two pipes
concentric to each other rise, the one serving as an inlet for gas, the pressure
of which actuates the gasholder, and the other as an outlet. Above the outlet
pipe is suspended from the centre of the bell a conical, parabolic, hemispherical,
or other suitably shaped valve, which fits into a seat in the top of the outlet
pipe, but the valve in this case is hung with its apex or small end downwards,
or exactly the reverse of the ordinary governor; the consequence is that its
action is also reversed. Thus, in the ordinary governor, whatever the increase
of pressure may be at the inlet, the pressure at the outlet will remain constant,
while in this governor an increased initial pressure tends to open the valve and
increase the pressure at the outlet, which is for the purpose for which this
Invention is more especially designed an incalculable improvement upon the
one now used. In dry governors, where the bell is substituted by a flexible
gas-tight diaphragm which is free to move within a chamber, the same
principle may be applied by using a valve with its small end suspended down-
wards, whereby the same result is produced as in the case just before
described; or the diaphragm may be connected by means of a rod and lever
to a flap valve hanging at an angle in the main. Another mode of producing
the same effect is by the employment of two diaphragms of unequal areas, the
spindle carrying the valve being attached to both, and each being actuated by
the inlet pressure. In either of the foregoing forms of apparatus. arrange-
ments are made to admit of the bell or flexible diaphragm being so loaded or
adjusted by means of weights, screws, or other contrivances as to give the
reanisita sunnly
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Edmund Small 30
Cathels in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th June 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
SMALL CATHELS, Gas Engineer, of Lower Sydenham, in the County of Kent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 85
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of December, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Edmund Small Cathels, Her special licence that I, the said Edmund
Small Cathels, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Edmund Small Cathels, 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 of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING AND REGULATING THE SUPPLY
or GAS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edmund Small
Cathels, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 I, the said Edmund Small Cathels, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and
to the letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention consists of, firstly, an improvement in the mode of con-
structing cast-iron pipes or mains, so as to get an increased thickness of
metal along that portion of the main which is to be drilled and tapped for
connecting the service pipes thereto, in order to obtain sufficient length of
thread or screw in the metal of the main to form a strong and secure
junction or connection with the service pipes. This is effected by casting
as part of the pipe a band or belt about 2 to 3 inches in width, and having
a flat surface along both sides of the pipe of such a thickness as to give a
total substance from the outside of the belt to the inside of the pipe of not less
than three-quarters of an inch to one inch. These two belts extend longi-
tudinally from the back of the socket to within about nine or twelve inches of
the spigot end of the pipe, and sectionally are on the upper half of the pipe at
angles of 45 degrees, with central, vertical, and horizontal sectional lines.
By slightly diminishing the thickness of the metal in the pipe these belts
may be made part of it without impairing its soundness or increasing its
weight, or they may be advantageously added to pipes of the ordinary
thickness. The improvement is also applicable to mains, whether for gas or

page_text: water, where lead service pipes are connected thereto by means of brass ferules
driven therein.
Secondly, an improvement in the means of controlling or regulating the
flow or pressure of gas in mains, more particularly where the pressure is
unduly increased by the altitude of the ground in which the main is laid.
Governors as ordinarily constructed and fixed on the mains, in hilly districts,
with the view of reducing an excess of pressure, are in a great measure
ineffectual, consequent upon their action, which is to give a constant outlet
with a varying inlet pressure; they require to be adjusted so as to give a
sufficient outlet pressure for the maximum requirements of the night when
all the consumers are burning gas, and this maximum pressure is of necessity
maintained in the mains during the whole of the day as well as the night,
thus increasing the loss of gas by leakage from the pipes. The object of
the improved governor is to obviate this defect, and this it accomplishes
through the principle of its action being just the opposite of the ordinary
governor; that is to say, increased pressure at the inlet increases the pressure
at the outlet, while, on the contrary, diminished inlet pressure. contracts the
gas way in the governor, and also decreases the pressure at the outlet; this
is, as before said, by reversing the conditions of the ordinary governor, viz., by
making the usual outlet port the inlet of the improved governor, and also
reversing the position of the cone by having its apex or smallest end turned
downwards. The consequence is that an increased initial pressure has the
effect of distending the diaphragm and raising the cone from its seat, thus
enlarging the gas way and increasing the pressure at the outlet, while a
decreased initial pressure causes the diaphragm and cone to fall and partially
close the orifice, and so diminish the pressure at the point of egress. The
diaphragm is counterbalanced by an adjustable weight attached to a lever
in connection with the spindle which carries the cone. The diaphragm may,
however, be made of such dimensions and weight as to render a counterbalance
unnecessary. The space above the diaphragm, although enclosed by a cover,
may be subjected to the atmospheric pressure by connecting thereto a small
pipe, and leading the same to the nearest lamp post or other convenient place;
but it is found to be much more advantageous to make this chamber air-tight,
and connect it with the outlet port of the governor, as shown on the Drawing.
The means of adjusting the governor is afforded by sliding the weight along
the lever until the requisite pressure is obtained, and then fixing it by a
screw or other suitable contrivance. Although the foregoing has reference
10 what are termined dry governors, the principle may be equally well applied to
wet ones, or those where instead of a diaphragm a small gasholder or bell rising

page_text: and falling in a tank of water is employed. Instead of a conical, parabolic,
or hemispherical valve, as shown on the Drawing, what is commonly known as
a flap valve may under some circumstances be preferred. In this case all
that is necessary is to hinge the valve on its upper edge to the pipe within the
governor, so that it shall hang at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical, more
or less, and attaching the spindle which is carried by the diaphragm at or near
to its lower edge. No partition in the pipe will then be required beyond that
of the moveable one which the valve itself forms, and the effect of the pressure
communicated to it by means of the diaphragm will be precisely the same as
before described.
In order to give a more distinct idea of the manner in which this Invention
is carried out Drawings are attached hereto showing the construction most
generally preferred.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of the pipe first spoken of in this Specification and
shows the longitudinal bands, A, A; Fig. 2 is a section of the same; Fig. 3
is a longitudinal section of the improved governor.
B, B, B, is the outer case; C, a partition dividing it into two parts; D is the
valve, and E its seat; F, F, is the flexible leather diaphragm attached to a
metallic shield G; H is the spindle carrying the valve and fixed to the shield
at the point I J is the lever spoken of pivotted at the point K, and L is
the weight which slides thereon; M is the space above the diaphragm which
is by preference connected with the outlet port by means of the pipe N in
the manner shown; O and P are guides for the spindle H to work through.
In conclusion I would observe that I do not confine or restrict myself to the
precise details which I have described or referred to, as variations may be
made without departing from the principles or main features of this Invention,
but what I consider to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
construction of pipes and gas governors or regulators substantially as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Small Cathels, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
E. S. CATHELS. (L.S.)