Year: 1886

page_text: JOHN GORDON Jr. Maryfield Dundee & EDWARD JOSEPH BOWDEN LOWDON
65 Reform Street, Dundee do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to anemometers and pressure gauges for indicating the
force of currents the strength and velocity of the wind and its variations, pressure
of gas & and to providing a better apparatus for enabling observations to be made
on board ship or in an observatory and for automatically registering the force and
duration of each seperate blast the length of interval between the blasts and the
time when each occurred and to enable the observer to see at a glance whether a
gale is increasing or abating. This instrument will also shew and register the
variations of pressure in gas mains, the force of currents in mines, shafts, boiler
flues and elsewhere.
The gauge when it is to be used merely as an indicator may be like to an
ordinary pressure gauge having the scale on its dial marked to shew tenths of an
inch as indicated in a column of water or when used to indicate velocity-feet per
second or miles per hour as may be preferred and has a needle or indicator like
an ordinary pressure gauge. Inside the gauge case which is made of metal is
placed a large co-lapsable air chamber or bellows resembling in form an ordinary
round blacksmiths bellows made partly of wood and metal and partly of leather,
cloth, or other flexable material and to this bellows is fitted a single inlet tube
which forms the connection with the atmosphere or other power which actuates the
instrument when in action a steel spring or its equivalent is fitted to press on to
the co-lapsable bellows and can be adjusted to any required pressure. A lever is
fitted with a fulcrum on to the outside of bellows in such a way that when air
or other pressure enters through the tube into the bellows the bellows will be
inflated more or less according to the amount of the pressure and in being so will
move the lever and the motion of the lever will be conveyed to the indicator by
means of a band and pulley and will indicate visibly on the dial the amount of the
pressure.
When the apparatus is to be used as a recording and indicating instrument
combined or simply as a recording instrument it is more convenient to put
the bellows flat on bottom of a box or case similar to that used for holding an

page_text: ordinary recording barometer using the ordinary revolving cylinder movement and
chart and to fix a pen or pencil on to the lever attached to the bellows and in this
way when the lever is moved up and down by the pressure in the bellows it will
mark or register direct on the chart every variation of pressure in a manner
similar to the markings of an ordinary recording barometer.
E
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Anemometers and Recording Pressure Gauges.
We, JOHN GORDON Junior, of Maryfield, Dundee and EDWARD JOSEPH BOWDEN
LOWDON, of 65 Reform Street, Dundee, 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 :-
This invention relates to anemometers and pressure gauges for indicating the
force of gaseous currents, the strength and velocity of the wind and its variations,
and the pressure of gas etc; and to providing a better apparatus for enabling
observations to be made on board ship or in an observatory, and for automatically
registering the force and duration of each separate blast, the length of interval
between the blasts, and the time when each occurred, and to enable the observer
to see at a glance whether a gale is increasing or abating. This instrument will
also show and register the variations of pressure in gas mains, the force of currents
in mines, shafts, boiler flues, and elsewhere.
The gauge, when it is to be used merely as an indicator, may be like to an
'ordinary pressure gauge having the scale on its dial marked to show tenths of an
inch as indicated in a column of water, or when used to indicate velocity,-feet per
second or miles per hour, as may be preferred, and has a needle or indicator like an
ordinary pressure gauge.
Inside the gauge case which is made of metal is placed a large collapsible air
chamber or bellows, resembling in form an ordinary round blacksmith's bellows,
made partly of wood and metal, and partly of leather, cloth, or other flexible
material, and to this bellows is fitted a single inlet tube which forms the connection
with the atmosphere or other power which actuates the instrument when in action.
A steel spring, or its equivalent, is fitted to press on to the collapsible bellows,
and can be adjusted to any required pressure. A lever is fitted with a fulcrum on
to the outside of the bellows in such a way that when air or other pressure enters
through the tube into the bellows, the bellows will be inflated more or less
according to the amount of the pressure, and in being so will move the lever, and

page_text: the motion of the lever will be conveyed to the indicator by means of a band and
pulley, and will indicate visibly on the dial the amount of the pressure.
When the apparatus is to be used as a recording and indicating instrument
combined, or simply as a recording instrument, it is more convenient to put the
bellows flat on the bottom of a box or case similar to that used for holding an
ordinary recording barometer, using the ordinary revolving cylinder movement
and chart, and to fix a pen or pencil on to the lever attached to the bellows; and
in this way, when the lever is moved up and down by the pressure in the bellows,
.it will mark or register direct on the chart every variation of pressure, in a manner
similar to the markings of an ordinary recording barometer.
And in order that our invention may be the better understood, we now proceed
to describe the same, reference being had to the drawings hereto annexed, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon. Like letters refer to like parts in the
different figures.
Figure 1 shows an outside elevation of our apparatus, the indicating dial and
recording device being operated from a single collapsible bellows.
Figure 2 is a modification in which a separate but similar collapsible bellows is
used to operate the indicating dial and recording device respectively.
Figure 3 is a plan of the same.
Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the operating collapsible bellows
and attachments.
A is the collapsible air chamber or bellows formed of a top and bottom rigid
plate B B (figure 4) of any suitable material and a flexible or collapsible body C
of a suitable air-tight or gas-tight material such as leather or cloth. An inlet
pipe D provides the access for the air-blast or gaseous pressure, or for the with-
drawal of the same as a vacuum, to or from the interior of the said air chamber or
bellows A.
A steel spring E, or its equivalent, is fixed at one end to any fixed part of the
frame, and is attached at the other end to the top of the bellows, or to a link or
part connected thereto, and thus holds one of the plates F of the bellows in normal
equilibrium when the air or gas within the air-chamber or bellows is in atmo-
spheric equilibrium, the other plate G of the bellows being a fixture to the frame.
It is obvious that the top plate might be equivalently weighted by a variable weight
in place of the spring E. The plate F of the air chamber or bellows will thus rise
or fall by a slight increase or decrease of pressure within the air chamber or
bellows A.
This movement may be transmitted direct to the indicating dial J by a cord or
chain K and pulley L on the axis of the indicating dial finger, a coiled spring M
on the said axis returning the said indicator finger to zero; or the movement may
be transmitted by an equivalent rack attached to the plate F of the air chamber
and a pinion upon the axis of the indicating finger; or the movement of the
plate F may be first transmitted to the multiplying lever N pivoted on a fulcrum
at any fixed part of the frame and the cord K or equivalent rack may be attached
to any part of the said lever to effect a multiplication of the travel of the plate F
of the bellows A.
In figures 2 and 3 such a collapsible bellows A' is used behind the indicating dial
to communicate its movement by the cord K' and the pulley L to the indicating
finger, a similar collapsible bellows A" being used with lever attachment N, by
which the movements of the top plate of the drum are automatically recorded. In
figure 1 the same collapsible bellows A is caused to effect both the indication and
the automatic record of its movements simultaneously.
The automatic record is effected as follows:-
A cylindrical drum O is covered with a chart, indicating time by horizontal
spaces and pressure by vertical spaces, the chart being a band wound upon the
main drum O by its rotation, from the cylinder P. The said drum is caused
to rotate uniformly by clock work so that equal angular movements are rotated
through in equal times,

page_text: To the end of the lever N is fixed a pencil or other marker pressing lightly upon
the surface of the revolving chart.
As the recording chart thus slowly and uniformly revolves, it receives an
automatic record of the amount and duration of the movements of the pencil
or marker fixed to the lever N, and thus of the plate F of the air chamber or
bellows A.
The indicating dial may be marked with units of pressure, or with units of
velocity corresponding to variations of pressure, or with both.
The indicating part of the device, when used with a separate collapsible spring-
pressed air chamber or bellows, may be used apart from the recording part of the
device, as may often be convenient.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
1st. The combination of a spring pressed or variably weighted collapsible bellows,
forming a pressure or vacuum receiver, with an indicating speed or pressure dial
operated by a suitable multiplying lever and band and pulley, or rack and pinion
gear, and a uniformly rotated registering drum, receiving permanent records of the
movements of the said collapsible bellows by a pencil or other marker conveniently
mounted on a multiplying lever operated by the said bellows, substantially as and
for the purposes described.
2nd: In such an improved speed or pressure gas gauge, the combination of a
spring-pressed or weighted collapsible bellows, forming a pressure or vacuum
receiver, with an indicating speed or pressure dial, operated by a suitable multi-
plying lever and band and pulley, or rack and pinion gear, to indicate the pressure
or speed of gaseous currents substantially as described.
3rd. In such an improved speed or pressure gas gauge, the combination of a
spring-pressed or weighted collapsible bellows, forming a pressure or vacuum
receiver, with a uniformly rotated registering drum, receiving permanently the
record of the movements of the said collapsible bellows by a pencil or other marker,
conveniently mounted on a multiplying lever, operated by the said bellows, to
record automatically and permanently the duration, variation, and magnitude of
any changes of gaseous pressure substantially as described.
4th. In such an improved speed or pressure gas gauge, the construction of the
collapsible bellows, consisting of rigid top and bottom plates of any suitable
.material, connected by a flexible or collapsible cylindrical case, the top plate of the
said bellows being spring-pressed or equivalently weighted, so as to afford a
constantly increasing resistance to the expansion or collapse of the bellows from
.a normal point of equilibrium, to indicate or record by suitably connected devices
the variable pressures above or below atmosphere of the gas or air within the said
bellows, substantially as described.