Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 15th June, 1887.
Specification Accepted, 26th Aug.. 188
I, JOHN GORDON, Junr., of Winchester House, Old Broad Street, London, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The object of my invention is to enable anemometers as secured by letters patent
No. 8920-1886, more perfectly to register or indicate the pressure of the wind at
any given point. The recording or indicating portion of the anemometer as may be
learned by a perusal of the above mentioned patent, is an apparatus which may be
placed in a room or ship's cabin. Connection is made between it and the point
at which it is desired to test the wind pressure by a tube, which may be flexible
or permanent in its character. The end of the tube furthest from the indicating or
recording portion of my instrument is that portion alone which is necessary to expose
to the wind. It is essential to the proper working of my apparatus that this end of
the tube be at all times kept pointing in the direction from which the wind is coming,
and it is to the more perfect accomplishment of this object that this present invention
relates.
My object is therefore to keep the exposed ond of the tube always pointing to the
wind, and at the same time to enable the apparatus to disregard or be independent of
any momentary change in the direction of the wind caused by natural wind action or
by such means as the motion of a ship, or other moving body on which the apparatus
may be placed.
On the
In carrying my object into effect I use the following apparatus.
accompanying sheet at Fig. 1, is shown a side elevation of the end of the tube with its
attachments. At Fig. 2, is shown a section through A. B. and at Fig. 3, is shown a
sectional plan through C. D. At Fig. 4, is shown a full sized section through E. F.
At G, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, is shown a wheel provided with wind vanes and which is
shown double but which may be single, or otherwise constructed. This wheel is
fixed to a worm as shown at H, Fig. 3, which engages with a worm wheel K,
Figs. 2, and 3. The worm wheel is rigidly affixed to the main tube as shown at L,
Figs. 2, and 4, which tube leads to the indicating or registering instrument.
At M,
Fig. 1, is shown the mouth of the tube which is presented to the wind. This tube
D

page_text: may be curved as shown, to prevent as far as possible the lodgement of water, but it
may have any other convenient curve, and it is attached to the piece of metal which
serves to support the worm and vane wheel as shown at N, Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The
curved tube, vane wheels with worm and supports, are hung from a socket in a
perforated disc within the tube O, as shown at Fig. 2, the whole being supported on a
pointed upright which rises from a perforated disc connected with the main tube, as
shown at P, Fig. 2. At the lower end of the tube O, Fig. 2, is a perforated disc
having a central hole large enough to allow of the free passage of the supporting
upright, and to allow of free turning with a minimum of friction. This disc serves to
keep the inner and outer tubes concentric.
The action of my apparatus is as follows:-If the vane wheels happen to be in any
other direction than with their edges to the wind, they are caused to rotate by the
wind acting on their inclined planes. The worm acting on the rigid worm wheel as
an butment, causes the vane wheels to come with their edges to the wind, when their
action ceases. The bent tube being attached to the same piece of metal which
supports the vane wheel and worm is carried round until the axis of the mouth of the
tube is brought as nearly as possible to point towards the direction from which the
wind is coming.
In the event of a change taking place in the direction of the wind,
the wheels again rotate and bring the mouth of the tube to the new direction. In the
event of the change of direction of the wind being momentary, such as that due to
the lurching of a ship, or to a momentary natural change in the direction of the wind
itself, the vane wheels have not time to materially affect the direction of the tube,
and the mean direction is maintained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is ;
1. The use of an apparatus for the automatic adjustment of the direction of the
air inlet tube, in combination with an anemometer substantially as described.
Dated this 11th day of June 1887.