Im- PROVEMENTS IN DRY GAS METERS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Glover, of the Ranelagh Works, Ranelagh.
Road, Pimlico, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN DRY GAS METERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Glover at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st December 1863.
I, GEORGE GLOVER, of the Ranelagh Works, Ranelagh Road, Pimlico,
in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRY GAS METERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in dry gas meters.
structing and applying the connecting rods of slide valves of dry gas meters,
it is usual to employ pinching screws in slots, in order to adjust the action
correctly. According to the present arrangement, screw nuts are employed
temporarily for retaining the pins when getting the adjustment and till after
the pins have been fixed by solder, when the nuts are removed. The valve
guides, in place of being bushed with cork, as at present, are bushed' with
leather charred in oil, which is not liable to swell and to bind the guide wires
when exposed to damp.
In order to prevent dry gas meters being driven backward when the meters
are tilted, stops are applied, which allow the axes of the counting apparatus
to move past the stops. only in one direction, whether the meter be tilted or in

page_text: its correct position, and in fastening the flexible diaphragms in the meters the
string is dispensed with.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Glover in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
31st May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
GLOVER, of the Ranelagh Works, Ranelagh Road, Pimlico, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Glover, Her special licence that I, the said George Glover, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Glover, 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 DRY
GAS METERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Glover, 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 George Glover, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
'statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in dry gas meters. In con-
structing and applying the connecting rods of slide valves of dry: gas meters,
it is usual to employ pinching screws in slots, in order to adjust the action
'correctly. According to the present arrangement, screw nuts are employed
temporarily for retaining the pins when getting the adjustment, and till after
the pins have been fixed by solder, when the nuts are removed. The valve

page_text: guides, in place of being bushed with cork, as at present, are bushed with
leather charred in oil, which is not liable to swell and to bind the guide wires
when exposed to damp.
In order to prevent dry gas meters being driven backward when the meters
are tilted, stops are applied, which allow the axes of the counting apparatus
to move part of the stops only in one direction, whether the meter be tilted or
in its correct position, and in fastening the flexible diaphragms in the meters
the string is dispensed with.
In carrying out the first part of my Invention, a slot is attached to the
valve, and the lower end of the pin is placed in it in such manner as that it
may be moved backwards and forwards in the slot till it is adjusted, the pin is
then bound firmly to the slot by means of a temporary pinching screw, the pin
is then soldered and the pinching screw removed.
Figure 1 is a plan of a valve V, with slot S, pin P, and wires W, W.
Figure 2 is a side section through C, D, Figure 1. This view shows the pin
P. passing through the slot as far as the shoulder k, k, which rests upon the
slot. The portion of the pin below the shoulder has a screw thread upon it, so
that the screw nut B may act upon the pin in such a manner as to draw the
shoulder of the pin tightly down upon and pinch the slot. The correcting
adjustment having been effected by these means in place of retaining the
screw nut as heretofore, the shoulder of the pin is secured by solder to the slot,
and the pinching screw is then removed. It will thus be seen that the
pinching screw is employed only to get the required adjustment of the parts,
and that such adjustment, when correctly obtained, is secured and made per-
manent by soldering the parts together, which allows of the pinching screw
being removed.
In carrying out the next or second part of my Invention, which consists in
the use of leather suitably prepared and charred in oil, in place of the cork
bushings heretofore employed, I use thick leather, preferring that known.as
butts, and I place pieces two or three inches square into oil, by preference
almond oil, and raise the heat till the oil boils; I remove the pieces from the
oil soon after the boiling heat has been reached, say in about a quarter of an
hour.
In carrying out the next or third part of my Invention, which has for its
object an improvement in the stop or catch to prevent the action of the dry
gas meter being reversed.
Figure 3 shows a side view of the cock piece C, which supports the crank
of the meter, having attached to it the stop H, K, L. The stop works in a
groove shown by the dotted line F, G. The stop is on the pivot P, so that

page_text: the tangent coming against the upper part of it and touching at a, presses the
stop round on its axis P till the point H is lowered sufficiently to let it pass.
Whenever the tangent is past the weighted part of the stop W pulls it back
till it is stopped in its proper position by the lower arm L coming in contact
with the cock piece. The dotted line E, V, N, shows the position the stop
must resume to let the tangent pass. If, however, the action of the meter is
reversed, the tangent comes against the upper part of the stop at b, and the
tangent is stopped because the stop is prevented from revolving on the pivot to
the left by the lower part L coming in contact with the cock piece or other
fixed part of the meter. It will be evident that this stop may, in place of
being applied as shown, be fixed to the tangent.
Figure 4 is a front view of the stop H, K fastened to the cock piece C,
carrying the crank M, on which the tangent T revolves. Figure 5 is a plan
of Figure 4. The arrow shows the direction in which the tangent must move
to pass the stop.
No. 1 is a section through A, B, shown in Figure 5, with the meter in its
upright position. No. 2, the same section, with the meter laid on its right
side. No. 3, the same section, with the meter laid on its left side, so that in
those three positions, or any position between such points, the stop will only
allow the meter to move in one direction. Hence it will be seen that by
peculiar construction and arrangement of parts, the meter, when passing gas
through it, is prevented working but in one direction, and all the gas which
passes through the meter will be correctly recorded.
In carrying out the next or fourth part of my Invention, which consists in
dispensing with the use of the string which is now used for binding the edge
of the flexible diaphragms of leather, the edge of the leather is placed in the
usual way on the metal ring to which it is to be fastened, and a flexible band
of suitable length is placed over the edge of the leather, such band is by pre-
ference of metal, and it has a stud (temporarily fastened) at each end, against
which the points of two opposite screws work. These screws are carried by a
the leather by the screws till
clip and the band is gradually tightened round
the leather is securely held by the band. The ends of the band, when of
metal, are then to be permanently fixed by soldering a metal shield, being
previously placed under the ends where they come together to prevent any
injury to the leather, and also to secure the ends of the band to each other.
The clip, screws, and studs are then removed, leaving the band tightly bound
round the leather. The inner ring on which the leather is fastened has an
inner rim soldered or formed thereon previous to the leather being fastened
to the ring, so that instead of soldering the ring to the case of the meter, as

page_text: at present, the inner edge of the rim is soldered to the case. A similar rim
is attached to or formed with the outer ring to which the leather is fixed and
a disc of metal is soldered to it instead of to the ring as hitherto.
Figure 6 shows the band K, which is of metal, with studs L, L fastened
thereon, also the clip C, and the screws S, S, and the shield T. In Figure 7
the band is shown by the dotted line K, which binds the leather V to the ring
G. The dotted red line T shows the position of the shield immediately under
the ends of the band.
Figure 8 shows a side view of the diaphragm showing the leather fastened
by bands to the rings G and P after the clip, screws, and studs have been
removed, E, E being the points of fastening the band. Figure 9 shows &
front view of the measuring chamber of a meter, with the inner ring P.
fastened to the meter by the interposition of the rim M, which is fastened to
the partition of the meter case at the line N. Figure 10 shows a side section
through A, B, shown in Figure 6, with leather and front ring G attached,
showing the chamber D by which the gas passes in and out of the interior of
the leather.
I would state that I am aware that in very large meters bands have before
been employed, which are drawn tightly around the edges of the leather and
the clips and screws left on; but in smaller meters the edges of the leather
are fixed on the rings by binding them with string. By this part of my
Invention the edge of the leather in each case is securely held round its ring
by means of a band, which, when the ends are drawn tightly towards each
other by a suitable clip and screws, or otherwise, the ends of the band are
soldered or otherwise permanently fixed to each other, and the clip and screws
or instruments employed in drawing the band tight are removed, leaving the
edges of the leather securely fixed.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Glover, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
GEO. GLOVER. (L.S.)