A NEW WATER METER, OR ROTARY WHEEL OR MACHINE, SUITABLE ALSO AS AN AIR AND GAS BLOWER OR EXHAUSTER, AND AS A PUMP FOR RAISING OR FORCING LIQUIDS, AND AS A HYDRAULIC OR STEAM MOTOB
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Niels Ludvig Martinus Smith.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd September 1871.
.
I, NIELS LUDVIG MARTINUS SMITH, of the City of Glasgow, in the '
County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare .the.
nature of the said Invention for "A NEW WATER METER, OR ROTARY
WHEEL OR MACHINE, SUITABLE ALSO AS AN AIR AND GAS BLOWER OR EXHAUSTER,
AND AS A PUMP FOR RAISING OR FORCING LIQUIDS, AND AS A HYDRAULIC OR
STEAM MOTOB," to be as follows, that is to say :-
"
'
The nature of my said Invention consists as follows, when used as a
water meter, of an outer casing or differential segmental cylinder A, A',
formed hollow, with disc formed ends A³, by preference portable and..
truly turned on their inner face to fit the open ends and edges or flanges
"A", of the cylinder A, A', to which they are bolted or otherwise secured, as,
detachable covers fluid pressure tight. This hollow cylinder A, A', has a,
solid or hollow cylindrical. barrel or piston B, fitted so as to revolve.
within it, and also for a short distance within a cylindrical recess A³ in.
each end cover A², which retains it in working position as bearings,

page_text: (or in addition to the bearings when the spindle or shaft of this piston
is made to pass out through the end covers A³, A², with stuffing box
bearings), so as to work fluid tight close up to a segmental part a of the
interior of the cylinder A, A¹, and coinciding with it between the inlet
and outlet ports 1, 2, and ducts 1', 2', which open on the opposite sides
in the acting space C of the cylinder A, A¹, made in the form of a
large concentric or segmental open or hollow space between the cylin-
drical barrel of the piston B and inside a¹ of the cylinder A, A', on the
opposite side to the corresponding but close bearing segmental part or
surface a, before referred to, the axis 6 of the piston barrel B coin-
ciding or being the same as that of the two working segmental surfaces
a, a', of the cylinder. The two inner parts a², a", of the hollow cylinder
A, A', at the inlet and outlet parts 1, 2, are made to glide by a smooth
curved surface a³, a", tangentially into that of the close bearing segment a
and the large segmental surface a¹ of the open acting part C at each
side; these opposite curvilinear surfaces a³, a", being generated so that
a straight line equal to the radius of the small segment a and the large
segment a¹, combined and turned on the axis 6 of the piston B (of
these segmental surfaces a, a¹,) could pass freely round without touching
or friction at both ends of the blades B and surfaces a², a", at the. same
time. When the open acting segmental part 0 of the cylinder A, A³,
is made rather more than the quarter of a circle the revolving piston B
is made with two sliding and acting plates or blades B' working in
narrow radial and broad longitudinal slots b¹ passed through the axis of
the piston B at right angles. The slides B₁ are equal in length to
the radius of the small segment a and the large acting segment a¹
taken together, the centre or axis 6 of both of which is the same as that
of the barrel of the piston B, so that these blades fill and close the
space C (while turning with the barrel B) throughout the concentric
segmental parts a, a¹, but having some little play or shift at the side
tangentially curved parts a³, a", joining the segmental parts a, a', so
that the projecting long end of each blade B' filling the open acting|
space C as it comes round to the delivery end a" of that space and
delivery port 2 comes in contact with and glides over the radial con-
tracting curve a", and so pushes its other end out on the inlet side and
end a of the acting space C, so as to fill or close it before the acting
end of the intermediate blade reaches the outlet end a¹¹ of the said
acting segmental a¹ or cylindrical space C, which is thus never without
one end of a blade or piston B acting in it; each end of these blades B¹

page_text: in succession becomes the actual acting pistons for turning their.
cylindrical barrel B, and measuring the liquid at the same speed and
rate they turn through the said acting space C. The slides are half
checked to half the width where they cross each other at the centre, and
can make a convenient shift for the radial height of the acting space,
equal to fully one-third the diameter of the barrel B of the piston B', .
which gives such a great area when multiplied by the width that this:
form of meter admits of having a very large inlet pipe 1', and can.
supply a very large discharge pipe 2¹ proportional to their size.
this meter will deliver and measure as many cubic inches of water every :
revolution of the piston B¹ and barrel B as there are inches in the :
longitudinal width cc of the blade B', multiplied by the radial height:
c¹¹of the projecting part, as B³, beyond its barrel B, filling the acting
space C multiplied by the circumference of the circle, which would be
equal to that d through the centre of the annular acting space C, all in
inches, (minus of course the cubical contents of the four parts of the
blades B³ projecting into the acting space C) and which would be indi-
cated in gallons by a proper indicating apparatus and train of wheels as
usual, fitted at one side E of the outer case A, A', actuated by a small
spindle D, passed out through a stuffing box D¹ from the axis of the
barrel B¹. For the convenience of manufacture, the large segmental
part A would be made equal to a third of the circle to which its inner
surface a¹ is to be bored, which would be done by bolting three of them
together and afterwards bolting each one to a separate meter, and then
turning and fitting their end flanges to their respective disc covers A³,
all substantially as indicated in the accompanying transverse and longi-
tudinal sections, Figures 1 and 2, respectively on the Sheet of Drawings
which I have hereunto appended for showing the nature of my said
Invention, and having the same parts indicated by the same reference
letters used in the description.
When this construction of rotary wheel is used as an air blower or air
or gas exhauster the ends of the sliding pistons B' would by preference
have leather or wood packing or rubbing faces fixed to them, well
blackleaded to prevent wearing of the metal surface of the cylinder; for
these purposes, and when used as a pump or water or steam motive
engine, a strong shaft formed or fixed on the solid ends of the barrel of
the piston would be passed out through stuffing box bearings in the end
covers A², which might be made to screw up when desired to tighten

page_text: up towards the edges of the sliding pistons B', which could have spring
backed metal packing plates at their ends, and have a like spring
packing and plate at the centre e of the small close bearing segmental
part a, between the entrance and exhaust ports 1, 2. The ducts 1', 2',
for these parts 1, 2, might be carried straight up, as indicated in the
dotted line in Figure 1, and have a close chest (fitted to them, with inlet
and exhaust passages leading therefrom) with a hand starting and
reversing valve in it to reverse the currents in the ducts 1', 2¹, opening
to the pressure supply and exhaust as desired, to reverse the action of
the motor when that was desired, as when applied to hoists, winches,
and such purposes where reversing is required; and a base or sole could
be cast on the lower segmental part A', or on the end covers A², as
indicated also in dotted lines in the same Figure, for setting or fixing the
whole to a foundation wall or frame, as desired to suit the position,
circumstances, and purposes to which it is to be applied.
When this rotatory machine is used with fluid under considerable
pressure, as particularly for pumps or motive power engines, the
pressure on the acting side C of the piston B, and its consequent friction
working on the small segmental part a, is relieved by leaving a thin
open recess or space at e¹ in the segmental surface a, on each side of
the central packing piece e, over the greater part of the surface of the
piston B, for the counter action of the fluid and pressure on that side
of it; or otherwise, for some purposes, a very thin open space might
be left at the segmental part a, for the like purpose without the recess,
through which great surface very little leakage would take place. The
arrows indicate the direction of pressure and action or motion of the
wheel B, B', whether as used as a meter or motor.