IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR OPERATING THE VALVES OF WATER METERS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR OPERATING THE
VALVES OF WATER METERS." · A communication from abroad by
Charles Wilberforce Kinne, of Cortland, New York, United States
of America.
Sealed the 15th September 1871, and dated the 1st July 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st July 1871.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANISM FOR
OPERATING. THE VALVES OF WATER METERS," a communication, to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object the production of mechanism for
operating the valve of a water meter, which mechanism shall be capable

page_text: of being actuated to move the valve, by means of the pressure of the
water itself, and consists in the employment of a flexible or moving
diaphragm or piston B forming the exterior, or a portion thereof, of
one side of a water case, chamber, or divison 4, in connection with
suitable devices for moving the valve.
The said Invention is especially designed to be used in connection.
with either that class of meters known as piston meters, or with those
known as diaphragm meters. In cither of these classes of meters, a
reciprocating movement is ordinarily obtained by the direct pressure,
of the water, the latter in one case forcing the piston to and fro, and
in the other the diaphragm, the valve being operated by auxiliary
devices to change the flow of water from one side to the other of
the piston or diaphragm at cach movement. The means heretofore
employed for moving the valve to change the flow of water have been
usually springs or weights, in the use of which serious objections have
invariably arisen. These objections have been entirely obviated by this
Invention, which will now be described. An auxiliary water case or
chamber is provided of any proper form, and in any proper location,
one side of which, or a portion of one side of which, is made moveable
by means of an auxiliary flexible diaphragm F or by an auxiliary
moving piston. To this moveable portion are connected suitable devices
for operating the valve M, so arranged that when the former, i.e., the
moving portion, or auxiliary diaphragm or piston F moves outward,
the valve is changed. If water is admitted to the auxiliary case E, the
pressure of its head must of course always have a tendency to press
the movcable side outward, and if suitable means be employed to draw
the latter, i.c., the moveable side, inward, and to release the same at the
proper moment to permit it to be acted upon by the pressure of the
head of water, the necessary reciprocating movement will be obtained
for operating the valve. Now, by connecting the main diaphragm or
piston B of the meter with the auxiliary diaphragm or piston F by
proper devices, it is made possible to draw in the latter by the movement
of the former in consequence of its greater area, and by releasing the
latter (i.e., the auxiliary moving portion), at the proper moment, it is
of course carried outward by the pressure of the head of water, and the
valve is thereby changed.
That is to state the operation differently, the water being admitted

page_text: diaphragm or piston B and crowds it to the opposite side. This move-
ment being communicated to the auxiliary diaphragm or piston → by
proper connections, the latter is drawn against the pressure of the head
of water. At the proper point, however, in this movement the auxiliary
diaphragm or piston being released from its connection with the main
diaphragm or piston and being free to move, is thrust outward by the
pressure of the head of water and in moving outward shifts the valve M,
by which latter means the flow of water is changed to the other side of
the main diaphragm or piston B when, of course, the operation just
described is again performed.
The red ink letters refer to the Drawings hereto annexed, which are
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th December 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-fifth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence that
I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 MECHANISM FOR OPERATING THE VALVES OF WATER METERS,”
a communication to me from abroad by Charles Wilberforce Kinne, of
Cortland, New York, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,

page_text: or
one of their hands and scals, 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 William Robert Lake, 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 forming a part of this Specification.
This Invention has for its object the production of mechanism for
operating the valve of a water meter, which mechanism shall be capable
of being actuated to move the valve by means of the pressure of the
water itself and consists in the employment of a flexible or moving
diaphragm or piston forming the exterior or a portion thereof of one
side of a water case, chamber, or division in connection with suitable
devices for moving the valve.
The said Invention is especially designed to be used in connection
either with that class of meters known as piston meters or with those
known as diaphragm meters. In either of these classes of meters a
reciprocating movement is ordinarily obtained by the direct pressure of
the water, the latter in one case forcing the piston to and fro, and in the
other the diaphragm, the valve being operated by auxiliary devices to
change the flow of water from one side to the other of the piston or
diaphragm at each movement. The means heretofore employed for
moving the valve to change the flow of water have been usually springs
or weights in the use of which serious difficulties have invariably arisen.
These difficulties have been entirely obviated by this Invention which
I will now describe. An auxiliary water case or chamber, is provided
of any proper form and in any proper location one side or a portion of
one side of which is made movable by means of an auxiliary flexible
diaphragm, or by an auxiliary moving piston. To this movable piston
are connected suitable devices for operating the valve so arranged that
when the former, i.e., the moving portion or auxiliary diaphragm or
piston, moves outward, the valve is changed. If water is admitted to
the auxiliary case the pressure of its head must of course always have a
tendency to press the movable side outward, and if suitable means be
employed to draw the latter, i.e., the movable side, inward and release

page_text: the same at the proper moment to permit its being acted upon by the
pressure of the head of water the necessary reciprocating movement
will be obtained for operating the valve. Now by connecting the main
diaphragm or piston of the meters with the auxiliary diaphragm or
piston by proper devices, it is made possible to draw in the latter by the
movement of the former in consequence of its greater area, and by
releasing the latter i.e., the auxiliary moving portion, at the proper
moment, it is of course carried outward by the pressure of the head of
water and the valve is thereby changed. Or to state the operation
differently the water being admitted to the meter from the supply pipe
enters upon one side of the main diaphragm or piston and forces it to
the opposite side. This movement being communicated to the auxiliary
diaphragm or piston by proper connections, the latter is drawn against
the pressure of the head of water. At the proper point, however, in this
movement the auxiliary diaphragm or piston being released from its
connection with the main diaphragm or piston and being free to move
is thrust outward by the pressure of the head of water, and in moving
outward shifts the valve by which latter means the flow of water is
changed to the other side of the main diaphragm or piston, when, of
course, the operation just described is repeated.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a central sectional elevation of a diaphragm meter
having my improved valve operating mechanism attached thereto.
Figure 2 represents a vertical transverse section of the auxiliary
water case or chamber containing the said improved valve operating
mechanism; Figure 3 represents a vertical transverse section of the
main diaphragm chamber, and Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views of
the valve.
A is the main diaphragm chamber, constructed in any proper form,
in which moves the main diaphragm B made of any proper material and
held in place in any suitable manner; b, b, are discs centrally located
upon each side of the diaphragm and united thereto by means of a bolt
and nut as clearly shown; C is a lever or rod connected at one end to
the main diaphragm B by means of the discs and bolt, and at the other
to the rock shaft D as shown in Figures 1 and 3. This rock shaft D
revolves in suitable bearings and extends through the auxiliary case or
chamber E, as shown in Figure 1, in which chamber it serves to actuate.
by proper connections, which will now be described, the auxiliary

page_text: "
diaphragm F. This diaphragm is preferably exposed to the air but if
desired may be covered or made to work in an air chamber or vacuum.
În Figure 2 d, d, are fingers located upon the shaft D and loose
thereon; they are free to move however when in place in only one
direction, their upward motion being limited by shoulders resting in
recesses in collars d', dª, rigidly secured to the shaft D. After having
been forced downward they are, of course, free to return to their normal
position, being preferably aided in this return movement by a small
spring properly located for that purpose. ○ is a yoke which, for
convenience, is made in two parts secured together by means of the
bolt F, as clearly shewn. The upper end of the yoke terminates in a
central projection, and is connected by means of a nut J and washers y, y',
to the flexible diaphragm, which is secured by means of the cap G to
the case E. The said cap G is not designed to serve as a cover, but
is extended over the diaphragm for the purpose of forming a stop to
limit its upward movement, in order that it may not be driven too far
by the pressure of the head of water. To the upper end of the yoke may
be attached a shaft or rod for operating the mechanism for indicating
the amount of water that has passed through the meter. The lower
part of the yoke is provided with horizontal arms I, I', as shewn.
H, H', are pawls which have a partial revolution upon the pins X, X,
secured to the horizontal arms I, I¹; c, e, are arms rigidly attached
to the pawls H, H', and connected together by means of the slotted
connecting rod L. These pawls are so arranged relatively to each other
that when the projection of one pawl is thrown outward, the other is
thrown inward as clearly indicated in the Drawing; K is a spring bar,
the upper end of which is attached directly or indirectly to the rock
shaft D, and the lower end of which rests in the slot of the bar L.
M is a rotary valve which turns independently upon the shaft D, and
is provided with a bar m rigidly attached thereto, having projections
m², m², as shewn..
The operation of my Invention is as follows:-Water is admitted
from the supply pipe into the valve, and also to the case E by a proper
waterway, indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1. As the water passes
through the valve into the main diaphragm chamber it forces the main
diaphragm or the piston, as the case may be, of the meter to one side
in the usual manner. This movement of the main diaphragm or the
piston is communicated to the rock shaft D by the lever C, and the

page_text: latter is thus caused to turn on its bearings and make a partial
revolution. This movement of the rock shaft in its turn causes one of
the fingers d, d, which of course revolve with it to be brought into
contact with one of the horizontal arms I, I', of the yoke F; the latter
is consequently forced downward in the case E against the head of
water which exerts its pressure to force the diaphragm F upward.
This downward movement of the yoke continues until one of the fingers d
has been turned out of connection witli the horizontal arm I or I', of the
yoke by the revolution of the shaft D, when of course the yoke will be'
released; and will consequently be free to spring, up again under the
influence of the pressure of the head of water against the diaphgram F.
During the downward movement of the yoke, however, the rock shaft
in its revolution has carried with itself the spring bar K, and through
its instrumentality actuated the slotted bar L. By means of the move-
ment of the latter bar one of the pawls H, H¹, has been caused to turn
inward, in which position it's projection is necessarily brought into
contact by the upward spring of the yoke with one of the projections
or arms m³, m², of the valve bar m. By this means one side of the said
valve bar is carried upward, and the valve being thereby revolved on.
the shaft D, the flow of water is changed to the other side of the main
diaphragm or piston.
In other words, to state the operation more briefly, the position of
the valve is changed at each upward movement of the yoke through
the instrumentality of the pawls H, H', which strike alternately the
arms m³, m², of the valve bar m. The yoke is drawn down by the
fingers d, d, of the rock shaft which receives an oscillating motion from
the reciprocating movement of the main diaphragm or the piston, as
the case may be. The upward movement of the yoke is caused by the
pressure of the head of water against its diaphragm F, the pressure
being free to act when the finger of the rock shaft revolves away from
the horizontal arm I or I'. A special advantage is gained by the
employment of the supplemental diaphragm F, from the fact that the
power supplied by the head of water acting upon this diaphragm always
bears the same relation to the resistance to be overcome in moving the
valve. If there is 50 lbs. pressure to the square inch, and consequently
great resistance from the friction of the parts, there is also 50 lbs.
pressure to the square inchi upon the diaphragm, and thus ample power
is provided to overcome the resistance occasioned by the heavy pressure.

page_text: If the pressure upon the valve is less, the pressure upon the diaphragm
is also less, the same pressure per square inch always being exerted upon
both the diaphragm F and the valve B.
The apparatus described is simple in its construction and effective in
its operation. No springs or weights are employed to operate the valve,
and all its movements are positive.
I do not limit myself to the specific construction of the parts for
operating the valve, for these may be infinitely varied, nor do I limit
myself to any particular arrangement or form of the case E. It may,
if desired, be located in the main diaphragm chamber.
In witness, whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-one.
Witness,
W. J. LOWE.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)