CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING GAS, WATER, AND OTHER FLUIDS
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
EDGE, of Great Peter Street, in the City of Westminster, Gas Apparatus
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Ninth day of May, in the fifth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas
Edge, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said Thomas Edge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others
as I, the said Thomas Edge, my executors, administrators, 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 mentioned, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
MEASURING GAS, WATER, AND OTHER FLUIDS;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Thomas Edge, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Edge, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the lotters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention of certain improvements in apparatus for measuring gas,
water, and other fluids, consist, firstly, in improvements upon the ordinary
water gas meter, by means of which a more correct registration is obtained of
the quantity of gas passed, and the action of the meter is stopped with greater
certainty when the water has sunk by evaporation or other causes below a
certain level.
Secondly, improvements in constructing a station meter for gas works,
whereby the total quantity of gas issuing from the gasometer and consumed
by the public within any given time may be ascertained and its pressure
regulated.
Thirdly, in a novel construction or arrangement of parts constituting a
meter for measuring water or other fluids.
And, lastly, an improved method of, constructing the counting apparatus of
meters, whereby the quantity of gas or other fluid that passes through the
compartments may be more easily ascertained; which last improvement may
be applied to any machine, or apparatus intended for measuring fluids.
Having now briefly mentioned my various improvements, I will proceed
to point out and explain the methods I adopt for carrying them into effect;
and in order to do so more clearly, I have aunexed hereto four Sheets of
Drawings. In the meters now in use the action is arrested when the water is
too low by closing the valve through which the gas onters, but owing to the
peculiar construction and arrangement of the parts connected with this valve
they are liable to become corroded, and thereby prevent the valve from closing
when the meter is deficient of water, and consequently the meter will register
incorrectly.
Now, the object of my first improvement is to remove this evil, and cause
the valve to close as the level of the water in the meter sinks. Figures 1, 2, 3,
and 4, in the accompanying Drawings, represent three views of an ordinary
water gas meter, with the first part of my improvements applied thereto.
Fig. 1 is a front view of a meter, seen partly in section, to show more clearly
the internal arrangement; Fig. 2 is a similar view, but with some of the
parts shown in different positions to those in Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a horizontal
view of Fig. 1, partly in section; the same letters referring to the same parts in

page_text: ll these three Figures. a, a, is tho outer casing enclosing the wheel or drum,
artly immersed in water, as usual; b is the pipe for admitting gas into tho
meter, and in order to enter the drum the gas must pass through the valve c.
When the meter is properly supplied with water this valve is always kept
open by a small rod affixed to the upper part of the ball or spherical float d
(see Fig. 2), which float rises and falls as the level of the water varies. Tho
rod on the top of the ball d supports the lid of the valve at the end of a small
lever e, which has its fulcrum at f, and as the lever of the water descends,
from evaporation or other causes, the ball d descends with it, and allows the end
of the levere to fall down and close the valve (as seen in Fig. 1). A shield
or guard g formed of tin plate is placed above the valve c and lever e, to pre-
vent any sudden flow of gas down the pipe b operating to close the valve,
and also to prevent deposition upon the valve of any extraneous matter; at
the bottom of the float d a small weight d* is attached, as shewn in Fig. 1, for
the purpose of keeping the rod on the top of the float erect, and proventing
the lid of the valve tilting or resting on one side of the raised rim or valve seat;
or instead of this weight, the lower part of the float may be rendered thick,
as shewn in section at Fig. 2, or be otherwise weighted within, which will
effect the same object.
'
Another improvement which I propose to make upon the ordinary meter is
to surround the pipe h (through which water is poured into the meter) with a
vertical casing or box, as at i, i. The upper edges of this box ought to be on
a level with the water (as in. Fig. 2), and thus form a syphon, so that any
pressure that may be produced in the water will never be able to expel the
water therefrom through either the charging or side plugs. Fig. 4 represents
a mode of compensating for either an increase or decrease in the quantity of
water contained in a gas metre. a is the frustrum of a cone fixed upon the
vertical spindle turned by the ordinary worm shaft; b is a similar frustrum of
a cone inverted and affixed to the spindle of the counting machine; c is a
0 band embracing these two cones, which is raised and lowered by a guide d
connected to the lever on which the float e is fixed; hence, as the float rises
and falls, the band is passed higher or lower on the peripheries of the cones,
so as to operate upon the larger diameter of the one cone and the smaller
diameter of the other cone. If it be supposed that the registration of a meter
5 would vary ten per cent. by the increase or decrease of one inch in the level
of the water, then the larger and smaller extremities of the frustrums should
vary about one-twentieth in diameter; and, consequently, the cones being
properly adjusted, the different situations of the band would communicate from
the cone a to the cone 6, and thence to the counting machine, such rotary

page_text: motion as will indicate the quantity of gas passed through the chambers o
the meter.
My improved station meters, of which there may be several arrangements o
modifications, are shown in the following Figures of the Drawing:-
Fig. 5 represents an external elevation of a tank and gas holder with the
registoring apparatus attached thereto; Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the same
a, a, a, is the tank; b, b, b, the gas holder; c, the vertical pipe by which the
gas is introduced into the gas holder; and d, the pipe for leading the gas off
to the mains and thence to the burners. The upper end of the tube c has a
contracted aperture e, e, in which a parabolic cone f is suspended, acting as
a valve, its apex being attached at g to the interior of the gas holder, con-
sequently, by the ascent and descent of the gas holder, the cone is made
more or less to close or open the aperture e for the ingress of the gas into the
holder. To the outside of the gas holder a vertical rod h is affixed, having a
rack on its edge taking into the teeth of a wheel i, the axle of which turns
upon bearings on a stationary bridge k, k, and the ascent of this rod is guided
by a friction wheel; upon a square at the end of the axle of the wheel i an arm
or lever is affixed, carrying an adjustable weight m, which lever or weight is
raised by the turning of the wheel i (as shewn by dots in Fig. 6). The bridge
k, k, also has a bracket standard n supporting a going clock p, from whence a
vertical spindle 7 descends, which is carried round once in twelve hours
by wheelwork within the clock. Upon this spindle is fixed a drum r, intended
to be covered with a sheet of white paper, graduated vertically round its
periphery into twelve compartments, answering to the twelve hours of the
night, and also into horizontal compartments corresponding to the altitude of
the gas holder. The upper end of the rod h carries pencils, the point
of which is in contact with the periphery of the drum r, and hence, as the gas
holder rises or falls, the point of the pencil marks its altitude, and the rotation
of the drum shews the time and the extent of opening of the aperture or valve
e, e, and consequently the quantity of gas which has passed at any time during
its action, as previously ascertained and known by experiment. If the burners
are all closed, so as to prevent any passage of gas through the pipe d, then the
gas in rising through the valve e will raise the holder to its highest elevation
and draw up the cone so as to close the valve, at which time the weighted
lever or arm will be raised nearly into a vertical position and give its least s
amount of pressure upon the holder; but when the jets are opened and the gas
is passing off through the pipe d, the holder and cono will descend and allow
so much gas to pass as may be required for the consumption of the jets, the
weighted arm falling at the same tine, and consequently increasing the

page_text: essure as it approaches a horizontal position, and thereby affording a com-
ensating pressure according to the passage and friction of the gas through tho
ains.
Fig. 7 shews another construction of the compensating pressure lever; h
epresenting the vertical rod, as shewn in Fig. 6, slidden up and down between
uide pullies by the rising and falling of the gas holder. In this instance,
stead of the rack and toothed wheel i, the lever has a horn extending from
s side, against which an antifriction roller acts for the purpose of raising
nd lowering the compensating lever 1, with a similar effect to that before
escribed in reference to Fig. 6.
Fig. 8 represents, partly in vertical section, a tank a, a, in which is immersed
gas holder b, b, covering the inlet and outlet pipes c and d, as before; this
as holder is weighted by a leaden ring z, z, at bottom, or by any other con-
venient means, to give the gas a certain pressure. To the centre of the gas
holder on the top a ropo or chain is attached, the reverse end of which is made
fast to a wheel e turning upon an axle in a bridge or standards. To the
periphery of the wheel a radial arm is affixed carrying an adjustable weight,
which, as the gas holder rises and falls, operates as a compensator, in the way
already described.
Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 represent modifications of station gas meters,
in which the quantity of gas passed through them is ascertained by the
measurement of a fractional part of the volume of gas only, and whereby the
whole quantity may be inferred.
་
Figures 9 and 10 are sections of a station gas meter, taken vertically at
right angles to each other; and Fig. 11 is a horizontal section of the same,
taken through the upper part. a, a, is a cylindrical tank containing water;
b, b, is a gas holder working within, having an air chamber c, c, at its bottom,
to give the gas holder buoyancy. A central tube d has a small pipe e in its
bottom communicating with the inlet gas pipe fand its chamber g. A vertical
rod h, h, attached to the gas holder passes between guide pullies carrying
a parabolic cone i at its upper end, which cone has a valve fits into the seat or
aperture, communicating between the chamber g and the upper part of the
tank a, a. Another vertical rod k attached to the gas holder, shewn in Fig. 10,
carries a smaller parabolic cone at its upper end, which cone acts as a valve
An ordinary
in an auxiliary chamber m placed by the side of the chamber g.
gas, meter n, of small dimensions, is placed at the upper part of the apparatus,
having an inlet tube from the chamber 7 for conducting a small quantity of
gas into this little meter, and from whence that small quantity of gas is dis
charged through an aperture into the auxiliary chamber m. The gas holder b, b

page_text: is weighted to about two-tenths of a column of water, and therefore when the
prossure is the same both above and below the gas holder, it will bring down
the cones i and land close the communications. If then the pressure of the gas
in the tank a, a, be diminished by the required discharge through the pipe p
to the main and burners, the passage of tho small quantity of gas admitted
through the pipe e to the interior of the holder 6 will cause the holder to rise,
and thereby open the valves i and land allow the equivalent quantity of gas to
pass through them to the tank a,a. As the cone valves i and l bear a certain
relation to each other in all their parts, the former being so many times larger
than the latter, the passage of the gas through the small meter n from the
chamber g to the chamber m, and thence to the tank, will always measure
a proportional quantity of gas, and thereby indicate by inference the whole
quantity passed through the valve i.
Figures 12, 13, and 14 exhibit another modification of a station meter of a
cylindrical form; Fig. 12 being an elevation in which a part of the tank
is shewn in section; Fig. 13, a vertical section, taken through the middle of
the apparatus; and Fig. 14, a horizontal section through the lower part. a, a,
is the tank or external casing; b, b, is a circular partition, between which and
the outer casing the space is occupied with mercury. The gas holder c
descends into this mercurial chamber, which forms an air-tight valve. On the
side of the gas holder thero is a smaller chamber d, intended to receive a small
current of gas through tho pipe e leading from a small gas motor; tho pres-
sure of the gas introduced into the gas holder by the pipe fraising it, as in the
former instance, the large volume of gas will be discharged into the tank at
the large aperture g, whilst the lesser quantity of gas from the small meter,
bearing its relative proportion, will pass to the tank through the narrow slit h,
and thereby indicate, as before, the amount of the whole.
a
Fig. 15 represents an improved apparatus for indicating gas pressure.
may be supposed to be part of a gas main; 6 is a pipo inserted into the main,
which conducts the gas into a chamber, shewn in section at c*, Figs. 9 and 10.
The lower part of this chamber is occupied with water, colored red to render it
more evident, and into the chamber is inserted and passed down into the water
the open end of a vertical glass tube d. According to the pressure of the gas
in the main thus enabled to act upon the surface of the water in the chamber
c, so will the colored water be raised in the glass tube to an altitude equivalent
to the difference of their respective diameters, that is, if the area of the water
in the chamber c* bo ten inches and that of the tube: one inch, any pressure
acting upon its surface will raise the colored water in the glass tube d nine
times that of its depression in the chamber, the graduated scale upon the glass

page_text: owing the absolute pressure. The adaptation of this pressure guage is SHOWN
on the pipes f and p in Figs. 9 and 10.
My apparatus for measuring water or other liquids is represented in the
rawings at Figs. 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. It is of a rectangular form, made
flat iron plates bolted or rivetted together; but I do not intend to confine
yself to this particular form, as the improved mechanism may be placed.
ithin vessels of various shapes. Fig. 16 is an external elevation of the
essel; Fig. 17, a longitudinal section of the same taken vertically; Fig. 18,
horizontal section; Fig. 19 is a vertical section, taken through the chamber A
f Fig. 17, looking toward the right hand; and Fig. 20, a section of the same
ooking toward the left hand. Within the rectangular vessel a, d, there is a
artition b, crossing it in the middle, as shewn in Figs. 17 and 18, which
livide the vessel into two compartments A and B, leaving a narrow slit or
opening at the top of the partition 6 to afford a free communication of air
between the two chambers. The water is admitted into the vessel by a
vertical pipe c, leading into a passage d, as shown by dots in Fig. 18; the
inner extremity of this passage communicates with a slit 1 in the valvebox c.
The valve f is of a fan shape, sliding horizontally over the valve box, and is
hollowed within, like the D valve of a steam engine, so as to communicate
with two of the slits in the valve box, into whichever position it may be
slidden; a spherical float g is attached by an arm to a horizontal spindle h,
the pivots of which turn in stationary bearings. To a square on this hori-
zontal spindle an arm or lever i, with a spade-formed end, is affixed, which,
as the float rises and falls by the clevation or depression of the water in the
chamber a, is made to vibrate and to act against teeth or pins on the side of
a tumbler k. Supposing the chamber A to be occupied with liquor, the float g
will necessarily have risen to its highest position, and consequently have forced
the lever i into the situation shown in Fig. 19, having thrown the tumbler k
over by its action against the tooth 1, as represented. One of the claws of tho
O under side of the tumbler will by this movement have pushed the sliding
valve sideways, opening the slit 3 in the valve box, and thereby allowing the
liquor to pass to the discharge pipe l. This situation of the valve will allow
the liquor from the passage e to flow from the slit 1 through the hollow valve
into the slit 2, and thence by a central passage, shown by dots in Fig. 18, into
the liquor rises, the air wil
5 the compartment D, in which compartment, as
become compressed, and passing through the slit at top into the compartment A
will assist in discharging the liquor therefrom: As the liquor sinks in th
chamber A the float g will fall, and when it has so done will force the lever
into the situation shewn by dots in Fig! 19, throwing the tumbler and valv

page_text: into the reverso positions, which will open the slit 1 to conduct the liquor from
the passage to the chamber A, and form the communication from the
chamber B to the discharge pipe through the slits 2 and 3.
Attached to
the horizontal spindle h is a click m, working into a contrite wheel n, con-
nented with the counting apparatus in the box p (see Fig. 17); hence, by the
rising and falling of the float the number of times that the vessels A and B
have been filled with liquor will be registered. To prevent any inconvenience
which might arise from escape or absorption of air from the vessel, a float q in
the chamber B is connected by a lever r to a valves in the pipe c, which, in
the event of the liquor rising too high, will close the supply pipe, and if such
should be the case, a two-way cock t may be turned to stop the inlet and let
off the liquor from the chamber B.
In order to measure the quantity of water passed into a steam boiler I
adapt the contrivance shown in Fig. 21, a being the boiler; b, an archi-
medean measuring wheel through which the water is passed to the boiler.
Fig. 22 is a section of the box exhibiting the wheel within; and c is a pipe
by which steam from the boiler is conveyed into the box for the purpose of
giving the same pressure therein as exists in the boiler. The steam pipe c in
this contrivance is the only feature of novelty to which I lay any claim.
The fourth and last part of my Invention, namely, improvements in the
counting machines for meters, is shewn in the Drawings under the following
Figures. The improvement consists in a novel or improved construction of
this part of a meter, whereby the indicating or registering apparatus is much
simplified, and toothed gearing in a great measure dispensed with. The index
box containing the apparatus may be placed in the same situation on the meter
as in ordinary water gas meters, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, and upon a larger
scale at Fig. 23. Figures 24, 25, and 26 represent different views of one
description of registering apparatus; Fig. 24 is the index box, with the face
plate removed to shew the dials; Fig. 25 is a section, taken through the appå-
ratus just behind the dials; and Fig. 26 is a horizontal view of the apparatus.
The upright shaft k receives motion from the drum within by means of a worm
on the axle of the said drum, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. This worm l gears
into a horizontal toothed wheel m at the lower end of the shaft k. The rotary
motion thus obtained is communicated to the registering apparatus by means
of a worm n (shewn in Fig. 25) on the upper end of the shaft k, which gears
into the wheel or pinion o, and causes it to rotate in the direction of the arrow;
on the same shaft as the pinion o, a peculiarly shaped snail or cam p is
mounted, against the periphery of which one end of a long lever 7 bears (seen
best in Fig. 25). This lever vibrates on a centre, and is kept in contact with the

page_text: mail or camp by means of the spring r; it is also furnished with a pall or
lick s, which falls into the notches or teeth of the ratchet wheel t. This wheel
s furnished with ten of these notches or teeth, and the action of the registering
pparatus is as follows:-As the camp on tho shaft of the pinion o revolves in
the direction of the arrow, it gradually raises the end of the lever q into the
position (shewn by dots in Fig. 25), thereby drawing the pall or click so:it of
the notch or tocth of the wheel t and allowing it to drop into the notch above;
then, immediately that the longest radius of the cam has passed the extreme
end of the lever g, this lever is made to descend, and by means of the pall or
click forces the ratchet wheel t round the distance of one notch or tooth; but
in order that the force of the blow may not turn the wheel more than one.
notch, the pall or click comes into contact with the banking piece u, which
prevents the wheel from turning any further until the pall or click is again
released. It must now be understood that one hundred feet of gas pass
through the meter for every revolution of the pinion o and cam p, and that
every rotation of the said cam makes the wheel t move forward one tooth,
therefore the numbers marked on the dial o*, which is in connection with the
pinion o, indicate tens, and those on the dial t*, which is on the same shaft as
the wheel t, will indicate that one hundred feet of gas have passed through the
meter. This quantity is registered by the ratchet wheel w, by a small pin or
stud v on the wheel t acting against one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel w,
and turning it round on its axis one notch; as there is only one pin or stud v
on the wheel t, this wheel must make a complete rotation before it can act
against the next tooth of the wheel w; and as there are ten teeth on the
wheel t, and each tooth corresponds to one hundred feet of gas consumed, as
above mentioned, so each tooth or notch of the wheel w will correspond to one
thousand feet. Another pin or stud x, similar to v, is affixed to the wheel t, and
acts upon the teeth of the ratchet wheel y, in the same way as vacts upon the
teeth of tho wheel w. Each of the wheels t, w, and y has ten teeth or notches,
and upon the wheel t making a complete revolution, thereby indicating that
one thousand feet have passed through the meter, this quantity will be regis-
tered on the dial w* of the wheel w by turning the said wheel round one
tooth; and when this wheel shall have accomplished one revolution it will
turn the wheel y round one tooth, and thereby indicate on the dial y* that ten
thousand feet have passed through the meter. The wheels t, w, y, and their
corresponding dials, only move periodically, that is to say, when a quantity
corresponding to their numbers has passed through the meter, for example,
the wheel t moves one notch at every hundred feet, the wheel to one notch at
every thousand, and the wheel y one notch at every ten thousand.
z, z, z, aro

page_text: palls acted upon by springs, for the purpose of keeping the wheels in their
positions when not acted upon by the click s.
Figs. 27 and 28 represent another arrangement of wheels, in which the
axles of three wheels a, b, and c, carry the dial plates, and a sliding catch bar
d, d, moved by an excentric e on the vertical spindle, drives them round in the
following way-The wheel a has nino shallow teeth and one deep tooth, and
every time that the catch bar is slidden forward by tho excentric, the first
click takes a tooth of the wheel a, until the deep tooth arrives under the
click, by which the catch bar is allowed to fall far enough to enable the
second click to take a tooth of the wheel b, which by the snail is mado to
advance and drive the wheel one tooth, thereby registering ten rotations of
the wheel a. The wheel b is in like manner formed with nine shallow and
one deep tooth, allowing, tho third click in the same way to act upon the
wheel c after every rotation of b.
Figures 29 and 30 exhibit another modification, in which the snail employed
in Fig. 25 is placed upon a vertical instead of a horizontal shaft.
In witness whereof, I, tho said Thomas Edge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Ninth day of November, in
the year
above mentioned, the aforesaid Thomas Edge came before our Lady
the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And also
the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
d in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the samo Ninth day of November, in the year above writton.

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
EDGE, of Great Peter Street, in the City of Westminster, Gas Apparatus
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Ninth day of May, in the fifth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas
Edge, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said Thomas Edge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others
as I, the said Thomas Edge, my executors, administrators, 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 mentioned, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
MEASURING GAS, WATER, AND OTHER FLUIDS;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Thomas Edge, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Edge, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention of certain improvements in apparatus for measuring gas,
water, and other fluids, consist, firstly, in improvements upon the ordinary
water gas meter, by means of which a more correct registration is obtained of
the quantity of gas passed, and the action of the meter is stopped with greater
certainty when the water has sunk by evaporation or other causes below a
certain level.
Secondly, improvements in constructing a station meter for gas works,
whereby the total quantity of gas issuing from the gasometer and consumed
by the public within any given time may be ascertained and its pressure
regulated.
Thirdly, in a novel construction or arrangement of parts constituting a
meter for measuring water or other fluids.
And, lastly, an improved method of, constructing the counting apparatus of
meters, whereby the quantity of gas or other fluid that passes through the
compartments may be more easily ascertained; which last improvement may
be applied to any machine or apparatus intended for measuring fluids.
Having now briefly mentioned my various improvements, I will proceed
to point out and explain the methods, I adopt for carrying them into effect,
and in order, to do so more clearly, I have annexed hereto four Sheets of
Drawings. In the meters now in use the action is arrested when the water is
too low by closing the valve through which the gas enters, but owing to the
peculiar construction and arrangement of the parts connected with this valve
they are liable to become corroded, and thereby prevent the valve from closing
when the meter is deficient of water, and consequently the meter will register
incorrectly.
..
Now, the object of my first improvement is to remove this evil, and cause
the valve to close as the level of the water in the meter sinks. Figures 1, 2, 3,
and 4, in the accompanying Drawings, represent three views of an ordinary
water gas meter, with the first part of my improvements applied thereto.
Fig. 1 is a front view of a meter, seen partly in section,, to show more clearly
the internal arrangement; Fig. 2 is a similar view, but with some of the
parts shown in different positions to those in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal
view of Fig. 1, partly in section; the same letters referring to the same parts in

page_text: all these three Figures. a, a, is the outer casing enclosing the wheel or drum,
partly immersed in water, as usual; b is the pipe for admitting gas into the
meter, and in order to enter the drum the gas must pass through the valve c.
When the meter is properly supplied with water this valve is always kept
open by a small rod affixed to the upper part of the ball or spherical float d
(see Fig. 2), which float rises and falls as the level of the water varies. The
rod on the top of the ball d supports the lid of the valve at the end of a small
lever e,
which has its fulcrum at f, and as the lever of the water descends,
from evaporation or other causes, the ball d descends with it, and allows the end
of the lever e to fall down and close the valve (as seen in Fig. 1). A shield
or guard g formed of tin plate is placed above the valve c and lever e, to pre-
vent any sudden flow of gas down the pipe 6 operating to close the valve,
and also to prevent deposition upon the valve of any extraneous matter; at
the bottom of the float d a small weight d* is attached, as shewn in Fig. 1, for
the purpose of keeping the rod on the top of the float erect, and preventing
the lid of the valve tilting or resting on one side of the raised rim or valve seat;
or instead of this weight, the lower part of the float may be rendered thick,
ns shewn in section at Fig. 2, or be otherwise weighted within, which will
effect the same object.
.
Another improvement which I propose to make upon the ordinary meter is
to surround the pipe h (through which water is poured into the meter) with a
vertical casing
or box, as at i, i. The upper edges of this box ought to be on
a level with the water (as in. Fig. 2), and thus form a syphon, so that any
pressure that may be produced in the water will never be able to expel the
water therefrom through either the charging, or side plugs. Fig. 4 represents
a mode of compensating for either an increase or decrease in the quantity of
water contained in a gas metre. a is the frustrum of a cone fixed upon the
vertical spindle,turned by the ordinary worm shaft; b is a similar frustrum of
a cone inverted and affixed to the spindle of the counting machine'; c'is a
band embracing these two cones, which is raised and lowered by a guide d
connected to the lever on which the float e is fixed; hence, as the float rises
and falls, the band is passed higher or lower on the peripheries of the cones,
so as to operate upon the larger diameter of the one cone and the smaller
diameter of the other cone. If it be supposed that the registration of a méter
would vary ten per cent. by the increase or decrease of one inch in the level
of the water, then the larger and smaller extremities of the frustrums should
vary about one-twentieth in diameter; and, consequently, the cones being
properly adjusted, the different situations of the band would communicate from
the cone a to the cone 6, and thence to the counting machine, such rotary

page_text: motion as will indicate the quantity of gas passed through the chambers of
the meter.
My improved station meters, of which there may be several arrangements or
modifications, are shewn in the following Figures of the Drawing:
Fig. 5 represents an external elevation of a tank and gas holder with the
registering apparatus attached thereto; Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the same.
a, a, a, is the tank; b, b, b, the gas holder; c, the vertical pipe by which the
gas is introduced into the gas holder; and d, the pipe for leading the gas off
to the mains and thence to the burners. The upper end of the tube c has a
contracted aperture e, e, in which a parabolic cone f is suspended, acting as
a valve, its apex being attached at g to the interior of the gas holder, con-
sequently, by the ascent and descent of the gas holder, the cone f is made
more or less to close or open the aperture e for the ingress of the gas into the
holder. To the outside of the gas holder a vertical rod h is affixed, having a
rack on its edge taking into the teeth of a wheel i, the axle of which turns
upon bearings on a stationary bridge k, k, and the ascent of this rod is guided
by a friction wheel; upon a square at the end of the axle of the wheel i an arm
or lever is affixed, carrying an adjustable weight m, which lever or weight is
raised by the turning of the wheel i (as shewn by dots in Fig. 6). The bridge
k, k, also has a bracket standard n supporting a going clock p, from whence a
vertical spindle q descends, which is carried round once in twelve hours
by wheelwork within the clock. Upon this spindle is fixed a drum r, intended
to be covered with a sheet of white paper, graduated vertically round its
periphery into twelve compartments, answering to the twelve hours of the
night, and also into horizontal compartments corresponding to the altitude of
the gas holder. The upper end of the rod h carries a pencil s, the point
of which is in contact with the periphery of the drum r, and hence, as the gas
holder rises or falls, the point of the pencil marks its altitude, and the rotation
of the drum shews the time and the extent of opening of the aperture or valve
e, e, and consequently the quantity of gas which has passed at any time during
its action, as previously ascertained and known by experiment. If the burners
are all closed, so as to prevent any passage of gas through the pipe d, then the
gas in rising through the valve e will raise the holder to its highest elevation
and draw up the cone so as to close the valve, at which time the weighted
lever or arm will be raised nearly into a vertical position and give its least
amount of pressure upon the holder; but when the jets are opened and the
is passing off through the pipe d, the holder and cone will descend and allow
so much gas to pass as may be required for the consumption of the jets, the
weighted arm falling at the same time, and consequently increasing the
gas

page_text: pressure as it approaches a horizontal position, and thereby affording a com-
pensating pressure according to the passage and friction of the gas through the
mains.
Fig. 7 shews another construction of the compensating pressure lever; h
representing the vertical rod, as shewn in Fig. 6, slidden up and down between
guide pullies by the rising and falling of the gas holder. In this instance,
instead of the rack and toothed wheel i, the lever has a horn extending from
its side, against which an antifriction roller acts for the purpose of raising
and lowering the compensating lever 1, with a similar effect to that before
described in reference to Fig. 6.
Fig. 8 represents, partly in vertical section, a tank a, a, in which is immersed
a gas holder b, b, covering the inlet and outlet pipes c and d, as before; this
gas holder is weighted by a leaden ring z, z, at bottom, or by any other con-
venient means, to give the gas a certain pressure. To the centre of the gas
holder on the top a rope or chain is attached, the reverse end of which is made
fast to a wheel e turning upon an axle in a bridge or standards. To the
periphery of the wheel a radial arm is affixed carrying an adjustable weight,
which, as the gas holder rises and falls, operates as a compensator, in the way
already described.
.
Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 represent modifications of station gas meters,
in which the quantity of gas passed through them is ascertained by the
measurement of a fractional part of the volume of gas only, and whereby the
whole quantity may be inferred.
Figures 9 and 10 are sections of a station gas meter, taken vertically at
right angles to each other; and Fig. 11 is a horizontal section of the same,
taken through the upper part. a, a, is a cylindrical tank containing water;
b, b, is a gas holder working within, having an air chamber c, c, at its bottom,
to give the gas holder buoyancy. A central tube d has a small pipe e in its
bottom communicating with the inlet gas pipe fand its chamber g. A vertical
rod h, h, attached to the gas holder passes between guide pullies carrying
a parabolic cone i at its upper end, which cone has a valve fits into the seat or
aperture, communicating between the chamber g and the upper part of the
tank a, a. Another vertical rod k attached to the gas holder, shewn in Fig. 10,
carries a smaller parabolic cone at its upper end, which cone acts as a valve
in an auxiliary chamber m placed by the side of the chamber g. An ordinary
gas meter n, of small dimensions, is placed at the upper part of the apparatus,
having an inlet tube from the chamber g for conducting a small quantity of
gas into this little meter, and from whence that small quantity of gas is dis-
charged through an aperture into the auxiliary chamber m. The gas holder b, b,

page_text: is weighted to about two-tenths of a column of water; and therefore when the
pressure is the same both above and below the gas-holder, it will bring down
the cones i and I and close the communications. If then the pressure of the gas
in the tank a, a, be diminished by the required discharge through the pipe p
to the main and burners, the passage of the small quantity of gas admitted
through the pipe e to the interior of the holder 6 will cause the holder to rise,
and thereby open the valves i and land allow the equivalent quantity of gas to
pass through them to the tank a, a. As the cone valves i and l bear a certain
relation to each other in all their parts, the former being so many times larger
than the latter, the passage of the gas through the small meter in from the
chamber g to the chamber m, and thence to the tank, will always measure
a proportional quantity of gas, and thereby indicate by inference the whole
quantity passed through the valve i.
Figures 12, 13, and 14 exhibit another modification of a station meter of a
cylindrical form; Fig. 12 being an elevation in which a part of the tank
is shewn in section; Fig. 13, a vertical section, taken through the middle of
the apparatus; and Fig. 14, a horizontal section through the lower part. a, a,
is the tank or external casing; b, b, is a circular partition, between which and
the outer casing the space is occupied with mercury. The gas holder c
descends into this mercurial chamber, which forms an air-tight valve. On the
side of the gas holder there is a smaller chamber d, intended to receive a small
current of gas through the pipe e leading from a small gas meter; the pres-
sure of the gas introduced into the gas holder by the pipe fraising it, as in the
former instance, the large volume of gas will be discharged into the tank at
the large aperture g, whilst the lesser quantity of gas from the small meter,
bearing its relative proportion, will pass to the tank through the narrow slit h,
and thereby indicate, as before, the amount of the whole.
a
Fig. 15 represents an improved apparatus for indicating gas pressure.
may be supposed to be part of a gas main; b is a pipe inserted into the main,
which conducts the gas into a chamber, shewn in section at c*, Figs. 9 and 10.
The lower part of this chamber is occupied with water, colored red to render it
more evident, and into the chamber is inserted and passed down into the water
the open end of a vertical glass tube d. According to the pressure of the gas
in the main thus enabled to act upon the surface of the water in the chamber
c*, so will the colored water be raised in the glass tube to an altitude equivalent
to the difference of their respective diameters, that is, if the area of the water
in the chamber c* be ten inches and that of the tube one inch, any pressure
acting upon its surface will raise the colored water in the glass tube d nine
times that of its depression in the chamber, the graduated scale upon the glass

page_text: showing the absolute pressure. The adaptation of this pressure guage is shown
upon the pipes f and p in Figs. 9 and 10.
My apparatus for measuring water or other liquids is represented in the
Drawings at Figs. 16; 17, 18, 19, and 20. . It is of a rectangular form, made
of flat iron plates bolted or rivetted together; but I do not intend to confine
myself to this particular form, as the improved mechanism may be placed.
within vessels of various shapes. Fig. 16 is an external. elevation of the
vessel; Fig. 17; a longitudinal section of the same taken vertically; Fig. 18,
a horizontal section; Fig. 19 is a vertical section, taken through the chamber A
of Fig. 17, looking toward the right hand; and Fig. 20, a section of the same
looking toward the left hand. Within the rectangular vessel a, d, there is a
partition 6, crossing it in the middle, as shewn in Figs. 17 and 18, which
divide the vessel into two compartments A and B, leaving a. narrow slit or
opening at the top of the partition 6 to afford a free communication of air
between the two chambers. The water is admitted into the vessel by. a
vertical pipe c, leading into a passage d, as shown by dots in Fig. 18; the
inner extremity of this passage communicates with a slit 1 in the valvebox e.
The valve is of a fan shape, sliding horizontally over the valve box, and is
hollowed within, like the D valve of a steam engine, so as to communicate
with two of the slits in the valve box, into whichever position it may be
slidden; a spherical float g is attached by an arm to a horizontal spindle h,
the pivots of which turn in stationary bearings. To a square on this hori-
zontal spindle h an arm or lever i, with a spade-formed end, is affixed, which,
as the float rises and falls by the elevation or depression of the water in the
chamber a, is made to vibrate and to act against teeth or pins on the side of
a tumbler k. Supposing the chamber A to be occupied with liquor, the float g
will necessarily have risen to its highest position, and consequently have forced
the lever into the situation shown in Fig. 19, having thrown the tumbler k
over by its action against the tooth 1, as represented. One of the claws of the
under side of the tumbler will by this movement have pushed the sliding
valve f sideways, opening the slit 3 in the valve box, and thereby allowing the
liquor to pass to the discharge pipe l. This situation of the valve will allow
the liquor from the passage e to flow from the slit 1 through the hollow valve
into the slit 2, and thence by a central passage, shown by dots in Fig. 18, into
the compartment B, in which compartment, as the liquor rises, the air will
become compressed, and passing through the slit at top into the compartment A
will assist in discharging the liquor therefrom. As the liquor sinks in the
chamber A the float g will fall, and when it has so done will force the lever i
into the situation shewn by dots in Fig. 19, throwing the tumbler and valve

page_text: into the reverse positions, which will open the slit 1 to conduct the liquor from
the passage e to the chamber A, and form the communication from the
Attached to
chamber B to the discharge pipe 7 through the slits 2 and 3.
the horizontal spindle h is a click m, working into a contrite wheel n, con-
nented with the counting apparatus in the box p (see Fig. 17); hence, by the
rising and falling of the float the number of times that the vessels A and B
have been filled with liquor will be registered. To prevent any inconvenience
which might arise from escape or absorption of air from the vessel, a float q in
the chamber B is connected by a lever r to a valves in the pipe c, which, in
the event of the liquor rising too high, will close the supply pipe, and if such
should be the case, a two-way cock t may be turned to stop the inlet and let
off the liquor from the chamber B.
:
In order to measure the quantity of water passed into a steam boiler I
adapt the contrivance shewn in Fig. 21, being the boiler; b, an archi-
medean measuring wheel through which the water is passed to the boiler.
Fig. 22 is a section of the box exhibiting the wheel within; and c is a pipe
by which steam from the boiler is conveyed into the box for the purpose of
giving the same pressure therein as exists in the boiler. The steam pipe c in
this contrivance is the only feature of novelty to which I lay any claim.
The fourth and last part of my Invention, namely, improvements in the
counting machines for meters, is shewn in the Drawings under the following
Figures. The improvement consists in a novel or improved construction of
this part of a méter, whereby the indicating or registering apparatus is much
simplified, and toothed gearing in a great measure dispensed with. The index
box containing the apparatus may be placed in the same situation on the meter
as in ordinary water gas meters, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, and upon a larger
scale at Fig. 23. Figures 24, 25, and 26 represent different views of one
description of registering apparatus; Fig. 24 is the index box, with the face
plate removed to shew the dials; Fig. 25 is a section, taken through the appa-
ratus just behind the dials; and Fig. 26 is a horizontal view of the apparatus.
The upright shaft k receives motion from the drum within by means of a worm
on the axle of the said drum, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. This worm gears
into a horizontal toothed wheel m at the lower end of the shaft k. The rotary
motion thus obtained is communicated to the registering apparatus by means
of a worm n (shewn in Fig. 25) on the upper end of the shaft k, which gears
into the wheel or pinion o, and causes it to rotate in the direction of the arrow;
on the same shaft as the pinion o, a peculiarly shaped snail or cam p is
mounted, against the periphery of which one end of a long lever q bears (seen
best in Fig. 25). This lever vibrates on a centre, and is kept in contact with the

page_text: snail or cam p by means of the spring r; it is also furnished with a pall or
click s, which falls into the notches or teeth of the ratchet wheel t. This wheel
is furnished with ten of these notches or teeth, and the action of the registering
apparatus is as follows:-As the cam p on the shaft of the pinion o revolves in
the direction of the arrow, it gradually raises the end of the lever q into the
position (shewn by dots in Fig. 25), thereby drawing the pall or clicks out of
the notch or tocth of the wheel t and allowing it to drop into the notch above;
then, immediately that the longest radius of the cam has passed the extreme
end of the lever q, this lever is made to descend, and by means of the pall or
click forces the ratchet wheel t round the distance of one notch or tooth; but
in order that the force of the blow may not turn the wheel more than one
notch, the pall or click comes into contact with the banking piece u, which
prevents the wheel from turning any further until the pall or click is again
released. It must now be understood that one hundred feet of gas pass
through the meter for every revolution of the pinion o and cam p, and that
every rotation of the said cam makes the wheel t move forward one tooth,
therefore the numbers marked on the dial o, which is in connection with the
pinion o, indicate tens, and those on the dial t*, which is on the same shaft as
the wheel t, will indicate that one hundred feet of gas have passed through the
meter. This quantity is registered by the ratchet wheel w, by a small pin or
stud v on the wheel t acting against one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel w,
and turning it round on its axis one notch; as there is only one pin or stud v
on the wheel t, this wheel must make a complete rotation before it can act
against the next tooth of the wheel w; and as there are ten teeth on the
wheel t, and each tooth corresponds to one hundred feet of gas consumed, as
above mentioned, so each tooth or notch of the wheel w will correspond to one
thousand feet. Another pin or stud x, similar to v, is affixed to the wheel t, and
acts upon the teeth of the ratchet wheel y, in the same way as v acts upon the
teeth of the wheel w. Each of the wheels t, w, and y has ten teeth or notches,
and upon the wheel t making a complete revolution, thereby indicating that
one thousand feet have passed through the meter, this quantity will be regis-
tered on the dial w* of the wheel w by turning the said wheel round one
tooth; and when this wheel shall have accomplished one revolution it will
turn the wheel y round one tooth, and thereby indicate on the dial y* that ten
thousand feet have passed through the meter. The wheels t, w, y, and their
corresponding dials, only move periodically, that is to say, when a quantity
corresponding to their numbers has passed through the meter, for example,
the wheel t moves one notch at every hundred feet, the wheel w one notch at
every thousand, and the wheel y one notch at every ten thousand. 2, 2, 2, are

page_text: palls acted upon by springs, for the purpose of keeping the wheels in their
positions when not acted upon by the click 8.
Figs. 27 and 28 represent another arrangement of wheels, in which the
axles of three wheels a, b, and c, carry the dial plates, and a sliding catch bar
d, d, moved by an excentric e on the vertical spindle, drives them round in the
following way: The wheel a has nine shallow teeth and one deep tooth, and
every time that the catch bar is 'slidden forward by the excentric, the first
click takes a tooth of the wheel a, until the deep tooth arrives under the
click, by which the catch bar is allowed to fall far enough to enable the
second click to take a tooth of the wheel b, which by the snail is made to
advance and drive the wheel one tooth, thereby registering ten rotations of
the wheel a. The wheel b is in like manner formed with nine shallow and
one deep tooth, allowing the third click in the same way to act upon the
wheel c after every rotation of b.
Figures 29 and 30 exhibit another modification, in which the snail employed
in Fig. 25 is placed upon a vertical instead of a horizontal shaft.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Edge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
Inrolled the same Ninth day of November, in the year above written.