IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER METERS
Year: 1874

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Haseltine at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 8th April 1874, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton
Buildings, London, Doctor of Laws, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WATER METERS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent
for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that it has been com-
municated to me from abroad by Henry Franklin Read, of Brooklyn,
New York, United States of America, Mechanic.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully
describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following state-

page_text: ment, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings forming a part
of this Specification:-
This Invention relates to water meters of that class in which a screw
propeller is employed for transmitting the measurement of the water to
the indicating dial, and in which the dial face, the indicating hands,
and their operating mechanism work in water, and the said Invention
consists,-
First. In the combination in a liquid meter of a separate gearing
frame for connecting the propeller, a separate gearing frame for the dial
mechanism, a hard rubber propeller, its conical hub and shield, and an
enclosing shell with inlet and outlet openings, all arranged and working
together to obtain the best advantages for being put together and inter-
matching the gearing of the two frames without other adjustments,
and with the dial at the top to be read when placed in a pit.
Second. In a separate winged frame having an enclosed gearing com-
partment, a bearing for the propeller stem, and a deflecting shield as a
unit for the support of the gearing, which transmits motion to the pro-
peller, and for easy insertion into the meter shell and removal therefrom
when desired.
Third. In a compartment for the connecting and operating gearing
formed within the said separate frame by its top, bottom, and wing
plates, in combination with the enclosing shell, whereby the gearing is
isolated from the influence of the direct force of the water, and
maintained in position for ready gearing connection both with the
propeller stem and the dial mechanism.
Fourth. In a separate dial gearing frame seated and supported directly
upon the separate gearing frame, one being put upon the other in the
same vertical line within the shell to obtain the greatest convenieuce
and economy in the construction of these parts.
Fifth. In an intermatching sleeved sealing joint in combination with
the contiguous plates of the dial and gearing frames, and a spindle
which connects the two mechanisms, whereby these separate parts arc
joined to effect the exclusion of the mud and sediment from the
indicating mechanism.
Sixth. In a hard rubber screw propeller as a new article of manu-
facture to obtain lightness and render it highly sensitive to the action of
:

page_text: and enclose the frame of the working mechanism with the dial arranged
and opening to view in a compartment at the top end of the cylinder, so
that it can be easily and conveniently seen from above, whether arranged
within a pit or a room, and thereby dispensing with a separate side
chamber for the dial.
The division D between the chambers of the shell forms the seat and
support for the frame E which carries the working mechanism. This con-
struction has been found most convenient for small meters, but in large
meters, say four or six inches diameter, the wing frame E is inserted
in the case from the bottom, the top part being very slightly smaller,
so that the wing frame must be forced in and held up in place by
screws.
The supply pipe or main connects at F with the upper portion C of
the shell, and the service pipe connects at the lower end A¹ of said shell.
The rubber propeller B has its lower bearing upon a stem a, which
extends up some distance into the rubber hub and bears upon a point of
steel, agate, or other suitable material inserted into the opening within
which the pivot stem a fits, and thus holds the propeller upon a smooth
stem, which is carried by and forms a part of a screw stem 6 passing
through an interior screw in the hub of an open-armed bearing
cylinder F² fitted within the shell at its lower end, thus effecting a very
secure guide and bearing for the lower end of the propeller with the
least possible friction, and affording facility for putting together and
separating the parts of the meter.
The upper end of the propeller B is provided with a conical rubber
projection G, whose base covers the solid surface of the hub between the
propeller vanes, and the cone G fits within an inverted funnel-shaped
shield H on the lower end of the gearing carrying frame E, which
should be below the inlet opening. The object of this contrivance is to
cause the water in entering the shell to strike directly upon the vanes
and to lose none of its force upon solid surface. A metallic axis stem I
projects from the propeller up into a rubber tubular guide bearing J in
the frame E, and a worm K upon the stem I matches with a toothed
wheel L on a horizontal axis M, on which' a worm N matches with a
smaller toothed wheel N¹ on the end of a vertical axis O, whose upper
end carries a pinion P, which receiving motion from the propeller stem I
transmits it through a train of gearing to a suitable number of dial

page_text: hands arranged in an upper compartment X. The gearing however
which connects with the propeller spindle is arranged within a quarter
division of the frame E between an upper and a lower plate R, R¹,
while the train of gearing which operates the index hands is arranged
above this division Q and in a compartment X between the dial P² and a
disc S, which fits snugly upon the cap plate R of the gearing carrying
frame. This frame has a number of wings T, and its upper and lower
plates R, R', fit within the shell chamber, the inner surface of which is
turned out to form a close joint with the plates R, R¹, and the wings T,
and the gearing is thereby shielded from the direct action of the flowing
water, which entering the shell at F passes through openings C in the
wings T for full action upon the propeller. The joints of the frame E
and shell are fitted tightly, so that the water enters the dial com-
partment X by passing down to the lower end of the cone H and then
up between cones H, G, through the hub opening H¹ into the division Q
and then up through an opening d, Figure 4, through which the upright
shaft O communicates with the indicator. The shaft O which forms the
communication between the propeller and the dial indicating gearing
passes through openings in the top plate R and the bottom plate S
of the dial and gearing frames; and to seal this joint a sleeve e projects
from the bottom dial plate S into the opening d in the top plate R and
forms a close joint therewith and with the axis spindle O and compels
the water to work its way slowly into the dial compartment X, which is
thereby kept free from mud and grit, and as the lower end of the
sleeve e opens into the closed compartment Q it will be impossible for
the water to rise under the agitation of the propeller and drive into the.
dial place and cover it with mud..
A filter however may be placed between the plates R, S, which in
this case have perforations to allow the water to pass quickly through
the plate R, the filter r, and through the plate S into the dial compart-
ment and at the same time be filtered. The shell is fitted with a screw
cap U with a top glass over the dial and a packing ring to render the
joint water-tight. The wing picce E is held in position by a steady
pin projecting from the edge of the top plate R, see Figure 4, and
fitting into a groove in the shell, so that in screwing down the cap U
upon a ring, the wing piece is thus kept from turning or getting out of
gear. The inlet opening V for admitting the water into the shell is
oblong to direct the water in a flat body upon the propeller.

page_text: The upper guide bearing J for the propeller stem I is a rubber plug
driven into the hub of the winged frame, and the stem I fits into a bore
in this plug, and both propeller bearings a and i are designed to have
the least possible amount of friction. The propeller being of hard
rubber is light and not in any way subject to corrosion or to the accu-
mulation of matter upon its vanes, but remains perfectly smooth, and
all the parts of the meter are designed and adjusted for the freest action
of the working parts.
The propeller B and the gearing carrying frame E arc inserted into
the shell in the same axis line, and both may be removed if desired for
any cause. The screw stem 6 has a lock nut g, which acts against the
open bearing cylinder F², and thereby allows the guide bearing stem a
to adjust the propeller, so that it shall have no bearing friction except at
the point of said stem. The screw propeller is preferably cast of soft
rubber and hardened in the mold by heat or other means, so that when
taken from the mold it is ready for use.
The manufacture of both body and wings of screw propellers of
rubber and in one piece by casting in a metallic mold is of great
advantage for use in liquid meters, because the rubber when vulcanized
is very light and strong. The rubber is not acted upon chemically by
the water, retaining its polish it will not becomic loaded and clogged
with dirt and sand, which would increase its weight, roughen its surface,
and thus render its indications untrue.
1
The metallic mold is composed of spiral segments with straight
ends g¹ having screw threads g² cut upon their outer faces, and the
interior hollow of the mold formed by these segments is of uniform size
and open
at each end. The straight ends g¹ of these sections are joined
and secured together by annular collars h, h¹, to which each segment is
fastened by a screw j passing through the collars and screwing into the
ends of the segments, thus binding the segments together to form a shell
mold, and holding them in place while being being so screwed together
by a rebate k in each collar fitting over the recessed ends of the
segments. Spiral slots are formed between these segments g by
cutting away one side of each segment, and all the slots are to be as
nearly of the same form and capacity as practicable, as within these
slots the vanes 6¹ of the screw propeller are formed. When these
segments are fitted together upon the annular collars h, h', and
fastened the mold is ready to receive screw caps W, W¹, and

page_text: plungers X1, X2, carried by them. These caps W, W', are cylinders
open at one end and provided on their interior surface with screw
threads m, m³, to allow them to be screwed over the collars h, h¹, and
upon the threaded ends of the segments' g when the mold is filled. The
outer ends of these caps W, W', are pierced with. central. openings n, n³,
into and through which the outer ends of plungers X, X³, project,
while their inner. ends extend into the mold through the annular end
collars h, h¹. The caps are of a depth to allow them to be screwed over
each end of the shell mold and meet in the middle of its length, as shown
in Figure 5, so as to form an enclosing case for the spiral openings 7 of`
the mold; and the plungers X¹, X³, are shouldered at o, o, to fit
against the inner sides of the cap ends, and thereby cause the plungers
to be carried within the mold by the screwing on of the caps as the.
plungers are prevented by their shoulders o, o, from moving outward.
One of these plungers X has a stem p projecting from its end to förm
the opening in the end of the propeller for the lower guide stem
bearing a, and the other has a conical-shaped recess q in its end to form
the conical. deflecting shield G at the upper end of the propeller. B,
while the two plungers X¹, X², by being forced inward from the ends of
the propeller and force the rubber within the mold out through the
spiral openings to form the propeller vanes. The inner ends of the
plungers for this purpose fit snugly within the open ends of the mold,
and as they are forced inward by the screwing on of the caps W, W¹,.
serve as pistons to compress the rubber within the mold from both ends.
alike, and out into the spiral openings 1, and in this way form the hub
and the projecting vanes of the screw propeller at the same operation.
The conically recessed end q of the plunger X2 has a central stem to
form an opening in the conical deflecting shield G of the propeller for
the insertion and securing therein of the stem I.
In the operation of molding the caps and their plungers are removed
from the ends of the mold and the proper quantity of prepared rubber*
is admitted into the mold, the plungers are then inserted into the ends
against the rubber filling and the caps screwed down on each end of the
mold, and in doing so form the propeller, as described, which is then
3 hardened in any suitable way. The mold is then opened by the removal:
of the parts so as to release the completed propeller.
Instead of the sectional mold a solid mold, shown in section in Figure 11;;
may be employed to form the rubber propeller, the molding chamber.
.

page_text: being formed in a solid core Y with spirally-formed grooves S in the
solid metal of a depth just equal to the projection of the vanes, and the
requisite draft is obtained by making the depth of the grooves very
slightly decreasing from one end of the mold to the other, sufficient
only however to allow the easy withdrawal of the screw propeller from
the mold upon its spiral pitch.
In using the solid mold a piece of rubber is rolled into the form of
a hollow cylinder and inserted into the chamber, and the ends of the
rubber cylinder are sealed with rubber discs after a small quantity of
water has been put into the said cylinder and metallic caps are applied
to each end. The mold is then subjected to heat which generates steam
within the closed chamber of the rubber core, and the force thereof
drives the rubber out into all the spiral grooves, forming thereby the
vanes with a hollow hub. It is then cooled and screwed out of the mold
and the cone G made separately and attached with the stem in place.
In this way propellers may be quickly formed.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,--
First. The combination in a water meter of a separate gearing 2
frame E, a separate dial frame S, P2, a hard rubber propeller B with its
conical hub G and the shield H, and an enclosing shell A, C, having
inlet and outlet openings F, A', all working together by enclosed gearing
as above described.
Second. The separate winged frame having the gearing compart- 2
ment Q, upper rubber bearing J for the propeller stem I, i, and the
deflecting shield H, as and for the purpose described.
Third. The separate gearing frame E, its end plates and wings, in
combination with the enclosing shell C, whereby an enclosed compart-
ment for the gearing is obtained, as above described.
Fourth. The separate gearing frame as a seat and support for the dial
gearing frame S, P², when the same are put together one upon the other
in the same line, as and for the purpose described.
3
Fifth. The intermatching sleeved sealing joint e in combination with
the discs R, S, of the dial and gearing frames and their gearing con- 3
necting spindle O, as and for the purpose described.

page_text: Sixth. A hard rubber screw propeller for water metors, as above
described.
Seventh. The combination of the sealing shield H of the gearing
frame with the cone G of the propeller stem I, as and for the purposes
described.
Eighth. The filter 7 in combination with the perforated plates R, S,
as and for the purpose described.
Ninth. A hollow metallic mold for screw propellers, having spiral
openings or grooves, formed either by spiral segments or in one piece,
as above described.
Tenth. The annular collars h, h¹, in combination with the spiral
segments and the screws j, as and for the purpose described.
g
I
Eleventh. The screw caps W, W¹, in combination with the
plungers X¹, X³, and the spiral segments g, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Witness,
W. ROBT. LAKE.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.S.)