Improvements relating to the Clockwork Mechanism of Fluid Meters,
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Clockwork Mechanism of Fluid Meters,
We, JOSEPH BREWIN and JAMES RODGERSON, trading as The Acme Engineering
Company, at 32, Park Lane, in the City of Liverpool, Water Meter Makers and
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to water meters in which the flow of water causes a
marking device to indicate upon a clockwork operated diagram the amount or
volume of water which passes through the meter at all times during different
periods of time, and consists of improved means whereby the said diagram may
be caused to revolve at different speeds by one and the same clock. That is to
say, the diagram may be caused to make one complete revolution in six hours,
twenty-four hours, six days, or seven days, or other period, by the same clock and
with the same cylinder or diagram carrier.
The diagram cylinder or carrier is disposed centrally above the clock, as at
present, and its gallery is, according to the present invention, pivotted upon the
upper extremity of a spindle or arbor, which spindle or arbor is the one by which
rotary movement is transmitted from the clock to the carrier. The upper end
of the carrier is sustained by a hinged pivot as at present. Fixedly attached to
the said arbor is a disc or wheel, in whose periphery a gap or notch is formed,
and loosely mounted on the arbor is a sleeve, and to the upper end of this sleeve
is attached a similarly notched disc or wheel but of greater diameter than that
of the disc upon the arbor. The sleeve is geared to the arbor by tooth wheel gear-
ing within the clock, in such a manner that the sleeve and arbor revolve at
different speeds. Thus the arbor may revolve quicker than the sleeve, or slower,
and by preference revolves slower than the sleeve. For instance the arbor may
make one revolution in 24 hours whilst the sleeve may revolve once in 6 hours;
or the arbor may revolve once in 6 or 7 days whilst the sleeve revolves once in
24 hours.
In order that the diagram carrier may be geared with the said arbor or sleeve
at will, whereby the period occupied by its revolution is changed there is pro-
vided beneath the gallery of the carrier a sliding pawl which is adapted to engage
with the notch in the disc carried by the arbor or the notch in the disc carried
by the sleeve respectively. Such pawl is by preference carried in the friction
disc arrangement usually provided beneath the carrier for the purpose of allowing
the latter to be rotated by hand when adjusting the diagram. Such pawl may be
arranged and formed in different ways. It may be of duplex construction and
consist of a sliding bar from whose extremities depend a long and a short leg or
pawl, respectively. The long leg is adapted to engage the notch in the disc
carried by the sleeve and the short leg engages the notch in the disc carried by
tlie arbor, but not siniultaneously, that is to say, when the sliding bar is pushed

page_text: inwardly so that the long leg engages the sleeve disc, the short leg moves out-
wardly so as to free the arbor disc, and when the short leg is pushed inwardly
to engage the arbor disc, the long leg moves out of engagement with the sleeve
disc. Thus by manipulating the sliding pawl, the diagram carrier is caused to
revolve once, in 6 hours or 24 hours respectively, or once in 24 hours and 6 days
respectively, or once in 24 hours and 7 days respectively, according to the capacity
of the clock. If the notched discs are dished and arranged one within the other,
a single pawl may be used.
With a single sleeve upon the arbor only two variations of speed may be im-
parted to the carrier, but it will be understood that by multiplying the sleeves
three or more variations of speed may be obtained.
A diagram for use upon carriers which are capable of different speeds as above
described, possesses horizontal lines representing different volumes of water and
vertical lines representing divisions of time, as at present, but in order that the
same diagram may be used for a 6-hour record and a 24-hour record, or a 24-hour
record and a 6-day record, respectively, the upper edge of the diagram is divided
and marked for one record and the lower edge is divided and marked for the
other record. Thus in a 6- and 24-hour diagram the lines which represent hours
for a 24-hour record will also represent quarter-hours for a 6-hour record, and
intermediate lines will represent periods of 20 and 5 minutes, respectively.
Dated this 7th day of Sentember 1898
J. A. COUBROUGH,
Chartered Patent Agent, 10, St. George's Crescent, Liverpool,
Agent for the Applicants.
Improvements relating to the Clockwork Mechanism of Fluid Meters.
We, JOSEPH BREWIN and JAMES RODGERSON, trading as The Acme Engineering
Company, of 32, Park Lane, in the City of Liverpool, Water-meter Makers and
Engineers, 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 the clockwork mechanism of fluid meters wherein a
marking device which is operated by and is sensitive to fluctuations in the
volume of water passing through the meter, draws a diagram upon a clockwork
operated chart, the said diagram thus affording a record of the different volumes
of water which were passing at stated times; and the said invention consists of
improved clockwork mechanism, whereby the said chart may be caused to revolve
at different speeds by one and the same clock. That is to say the chart may be
caused to make one complete revolution in six hours, twenty-four hours, six days,
seven days, or other period, by the same clock, and with the same cylinder, or
diagram carrier.
In carrying out our invention, we make use of two or more spindles or shafts
having a common axis and revolving at different speeds. Said shafts carry discs
in which a gap or aperture is made, and into these gaps is adapted to enter a
sliding pawl or stop, which is carried by the diagram carrier above mentioned,
in such a way that by moving the pawl the said diagram carrier is engaged with
one or other of the said discs, whereby the diagram will revolve at different
speeds according to the disc with, which it is engaged.
In the drawings hereto annexed are illustrated different arrangements of our

page_text: improvements relating to the clockwork mechanism of fluid meters, that is to
say;
Sheet 1 illustrates the clockwork mechanism arranged to rotate a diagram
carrier once in six-hours, twenty-four hours, or seven-days, at will.
Sheet 2 illustrates the clockwork mechanism arranged to rotate a diagram
carrier once in seven days or twenty-four hours at will. This sheet also illustrates
an arrangement for rotating a diagram carrier once in six-days, or twenty-four
hours at will, and an arrangement for rotating it once in six-hours or twenty-four
hours at will.
Sheet 3 illustrates the clockwork mechanism arranged to rotate a diagram
carrier once in seven days.
Inasmuch that the diagram carrier and its friction disc, the general arrange-
ment of the clockwork container, the disposition and method of winding the
spring, and the escapement train, employed in connection with the mechanism
herein described are already well known and largely used by fluid meter makers,
we shall confine the following specification as far as possible to a description
of our present improvements only.
Sheet 1. The supporting disc a of the diagram carrier is pivotted upon the
upper end of the central spindle b. Arranged beneath the friction disc c is
a duplex sliding pawl d, d, which is adapted to enter gaps e, f and g' in the
discs e, f and g, at will. The discs e, f, g, each rotate at a different speed, namely
the disc é rotates once in twenty-four hours, the disc f once in seven days, and the
disc once in six hours. These different speeds are obtained as follows. The
disc e is attached to the sleeve which also carries the main spur wheel i possess-
ing ninety-six teeth. The actuating spring which is disposed in the case reacts
directly on to the sleeve h. From the wheel is led an escapment train which
limits the travel of the wheel to one revolution in twenty-four hours. Con-
sequently the disc e makes one revolution in twenty-four hours. The disc f
is attached to the sleeve which also carries the spur wheel possessing fifty-
six teeth, which gears with a pinion possessing sixteen teeth. The pinion
is attached to the spur wheel possessing forty-eight teeth which gears with a
pinion mounted on the sleeve and possessing twenty-four teeth. Hence by
gearing the sleeve and the sleeve by this train of wheels, the sleeve & rotates
at one-seventh the speed of the sleeve and consequently makes one rotation in
seven days. The disc is attached to the central spindle 6 which carries the
spur wheel possessing forty eight teeth. The wheel gears with the wheel ³
also possessing forty-eight teeth. Fixed to the same spindle as the wheel is
the pinion g possessing twenty-four teeth, which gears with the main spur wheel i.
Consequently by gearing the sleeve h to the spindle by this train of wheels the
spindle and disc are caused to make one revolution in six hours.
In order that the carrier a may be engaged with one or other of the discs e, f,
and g, the sliding pawl or stop d, is moved upon the disc c a specified distance.
That is to say, when in the position shewn in Figures 1 and 2 the pawl d'engages
the gap in the disc g and the meter is thus set for a six hour record. To alter
the speed, the carrier is lifted and the pawl dis moved till its pointer d
registers with the mark 24 on the scale shewn in Fig. 2. On replacing the
carrier, it will be found that the pawl now engages the gap el in the disc e whilst
the pawl has moved clear of the disc g. Similarly by moving the pawl still
further, namely until its pointer d² registers with mark in Figure 2 it will be
found that the pawl d then engages the gap f¹ in the disc f. Figure 1 is a
sectional elevation shewing the general arrangement of our improvements.
Figure 2 is an underside plan of the sliding pawl. Figure 3 is a plan of the
discs e, f, and g and Figure 4 is a diagram of gear wheels.
Sheet 2. The apparatus herein described only differs from that shewn in
Sheet 1 in so far that it is a two speed mechanism. The disc e is attached to
the sleeve which also carries the spur wheel and which makes one rotation in
twenty four hours. The disc f is attached to the central spindle 6 which also

page_text: carries the spur wheel possessing fifty-six teeth, which gears with the pinion
possessing sixteen teeth. Fixed to the same spindle as the pinion is the spur
wheel possessing forty-eight teeth which gears with a pinion possessing
twenty-four teeth and mounted on the sleeve k. Hence by gearing the spindle b
and the sleeve k by this train of wheels the spindle rotates at one-seventh of
the speed of the sleeve and consequently makes one rotation in seven days,
whilst the sleeve k makes one rotation in twenty-four hours. In order that
apparatus shewn on this sheet may be arranged to make six day and twenty-
four hour records instead of seven day and twenty-four hour records, a wheel of
forty-eight teeth is substituted for the wheel of fifty-six teeth; and in order that
the apparatus may be arranged to make six-hour and twenty-four hour records
the wheel of forty-eight teeth is geared with a pinion of twenty four teeth,
but in this instance the escapement train of the wheel must be such as will
cause the latter to rotate once in six hours. Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of
mechanism arranged to afford a seven-day or twenty-four record at will. Figure 6
is an underside plan of the sliding pawl d, d. Figure 7 is a plan of the discs e
and f. Figure 8 is a diagram of gear wheels for seven day and twenty-four
hour records. Figure 8 is a diagram of gear wheels for six day and twenty four
hour records, and Figure 9 is diagram of gear wheels for six hour and twenty
four hour records.
Instead of the duplex pawl we may employ a single pawl d as shewn in
Figure 9*.
Sheet 3. The apparatus herein shewn only differs. from that shewn in Figures
to 8 of Sheet 2 in so far that the disc e is absent, and the sleeve is not continued
through the top of the case j, whilst the frictional adjusting arrangement of the
diagram carrier is combined with the disc f as shewn. The essential feature
of this clockwork is the combination of the spindle and the sleeve k, whereby
we are enabled to keep the clockwork so compact that it is entirely contained
within its case and the outside wheels now used upon seven-day record meter
clocks are dispensed with, and the clock, as a 7-day clock, can be applied to most
existing meters of the type herein referred to without in any way altering the
drum or drum wheel. This apparatus thus only provides for a seven day record
being taken. Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation of mechanism arranged to afford
a seven day record and Fig. 11 is a diagram of gear wheels used therein.
We are aware that it has been heretofore proposed to construct meter clock-
work which will impart different rates of speed to a diagram carrier, and we would
have it understood that what we claim to be novel is set forth in the succeeding
claim clauses.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. In a clockwork for rotating a diagram carrier at two or more different
rates of speed, the employment in combination, of two or more spindles or sleeves
arranged concentrically and having a common axis, each spindle or sleeve being
geared with the others in such a manner that each spindle or sleeve possesses a
different rate of speed, said spindles or sleeves each carrying a disc, to either of
which the said carrier is connected at will, whereby the speed of the diagram
carrier coincides with that of the disc to which it is temporarily connected, sub-
stantially as described.
2. In a clockwork comprising two or more concentrically arranged spindles or
sleeves, each of which revolves at a different rate of speed and carries a disc pro-
vided with a gap or aperture, the use in combination with said discs, of a sliding
pawl or stop, arranged on the diagram carrier, and adapted to engage with one or
other of said discs at will, whereby the said carrier may be connected to either
disc and so rotated at the required speed, substantially as described.
3. A clockwork for rotating the diagram carrier of a fluid meter once in seven

page_text: days, in which the spindle upon which such carrier is mounted is geared by a
suitable train of wheels to a spring actuated sleeve arranged concentrically with
said spindle, whereby the clockwork is rendered so compact, that it is entirely
contained within the clock case substantially as herein described with reference
to Sheet 3 of the drawings hereto annexed.
Deted the 2nd day of June 1899
J. A. COUBROUGH,
Chartered Patent Agent, 10, St. George's Crescent, Liverpool,
Agent for the Applicants.