IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS AS APPLIED TO COMPENSATING GAS METERS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hunter, of 30, Sussex Place, Kensington,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS AS APPLIED
TO COMPENSATING GAS METERS."
Sealed the 24th July 1860, and dated the 14th February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hunter at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th February 1860.
I, WILLIAM HUNTER, of 30, Sussex Place, Kensington, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS AS
APPLIED TO COMPENSATING GAS. METERS," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to compensating gas meters, in which a true water
line is maintained by means of a supply fountain, similar in principle to the ordi-
nary bird fountain, and they consist in shutting off the gas or preventing the
passage of the gas to the interior of the meter when the supply of water in the
reservoir or fountain is exhausted. This is effected in the following manner:

page_text: An air vessel in the supply reservoir or fountain slides up and down a guide
rod accordingly as the reservoir is full or empty. This air vessel is connected
with or gives motion to the valve by means of suitable rods or levers working
on hinges or pivots. A flexible diaphragm made of metal, leather, vul-
canized india-rubber, or other suitable material is provided, to which a rod
working the valve is connected; the diaphragm being sufficiently flexible to
allow of the slight movement of the rod to raise or shut the valve. When the
reservoir is full the air vessel rises at the same time, by means of rods and
levers the valve is raised. The diaphragm serves as a stuffing box, which
would otherwise be required; the chamber in which the valve is placed being
situated in the supply fountain.
I also use a regulator in connection with this arrangement to regulate the
pressure of the gas admitted into the meter, and worked by a float in a reser-
voir supplied with oil or other liquid not easily frozen or evaporated. The float
regulates the admission of the gas by means of a conical valve. The regulator is
divided into two compartments, one being totally inside the meter and the
other attached to the exterior of the meter, which is in communication with the
atmosphere. The regulator is adjusted by the addition or subtraction of oil
or other liquid.
The valve may be placed in the meter instead of in the supply reservoir, in
which case the air vessel in the fountain or reservoir is connected to it by
means of a rod passing through a flexible diaphragm at the bottom of the
fountain or reservoir.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Hunter in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th July 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HUNTER, of 30, Sussex Place, Kensington, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Hunter, Her special licence that I, the said William
Hunter, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Hunter, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should

page_text: .
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 APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS AS APPLIED TO
COMPENSATING GAS METERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Hunter, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 calender months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Hunter, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
These improvements relate to compensating gas meters, in which a true
water line is maintained by means of a supply fountain, similar in principle to
the ordinary bird fountain, and they consist in shutting off the gas or prevent-
ing the passage of the gas to the interior of the meter when the supply of water
in the reservoir or fountain is exhausted. This is effected in the following
manner: An air vessel in the supply reservoir or fountain slides up or down
a guide rod, accordingly as the reservoir is full or empty, or it may
be guided
in the manner usually employed in gas meters. This air vessel is connected
with or gives. motion to the valve by means of suitable rods or levers working
on hinges or pivots, or connected directly therewith. A flexible diaphragm
made of metal, leather, vulcanized india-rubber, or other suitable material is
provided, to which a rod working the valve is connected, the diaphragm being
sufficiently flexible to allow of the slightest movement of the rod to open or shut
the valve. When the reservoir is full, the air vessel is lifted, raising with it
the valve which lets the gas into the meter. The diaphragm serves as a
stuffing box, which would otherwise be required; the chamber in which the
valve is placed being situated in the suppy fountain is sometimes immersed
in water.
I also use a regulator in connection with this arrangement when required to
-regulate the pressure of the gas admitted into the meter, and worked by a float
in a reservoir supplied with oil or other liquid not easily frozen or evaporated.
The float regulates the admission of the gas by means of a conical valve. The

page_text: regulator is divided into two compartments, one being totally inside the meter,
and the other attached to the exterior of the meter which is in communication
with the atmosphere. The regulator is adjusted by the addition or subtraction
of oil or other liquid.
The valve may be placed in the meter instead of in the supply reservoir, in
which case the air vessel in the fountain or reservoir is connected to it by
means of a rod passing through a flexiable diaphragm at the bottom of the
fountain or reservoir.
And that the same may be fully understood, I will proceed to describe the
Drawings accompanying and forming part of this Specification.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a sectional elevation of the front part of a meter, con-
structed accordingly to my Invention; Fig. 2, a transverse section of the same;
Fig. 3, a sectional elevation of the front part of a meter, constructed according
to my Invention, with the governor or regulator; and Fig. 4, a sectional plan
of the same. In each of these Figure ssimilar-parts are indicated by the like
letters of reference.
The gas is admitted through the inlet pipe A, which is in communication with
the valve box C, and passing through the valve seat B, enters the pipe D, which
is a prolongation. of the spout or syphon pipe, and is thus taken directly to the
measuring drum by the bent arm; the inlet gas being thus entirely excluded
from the front chamber or supply reservoir E. The upper end of the pipe D
is soldered or made gas-tight to the box or chamber F beneath the valve box.
The float I is guided by a rod at the bottom and another rod at the top, which
carries the valve at its upper extremity. The upper rod passes through the
flexible. diaphragm L,. to which it is made gas-tight by a collar and screw, or
any other suitable manner, and immediately above it is a condensation plate H,
which is made slightly convex. This condensation. plate H is for the purpose
of preventing any condensation or other impurities from the gas falling upon
the diaphragm, the plate being made sufficiently large that anything dropping
over its edges would fall away from the flexible diaphragm and on to the
bottom of the chamber F, in which it is placed, and thence down the pipe D
into the seal P, which is in the waste water chamber Q.
The flexible diaphragm L is made of a circular or other shaped piece of
leather, india-rubber, metal, or any other suitable material, but I prefer a cir-
cular piece of leather. This is secured and made gas-tight round its circum-
ference to the bottom of the chamber F by a ring of metal, which is forced in

page_text: another ring fixed to the bottom of the chamber, the leather being held
between them.
Water is put into the meter through the screw plug a, which is attached to
the tube N, down which it runs into the reservoir or front compartment V ;
there is no communication between this compartment and the one in which
the measuring wheel is placed, except through the bearing of the drum shaft,
which is only the small amount allowed for the play of the shaft. The water,
therefore, does not run into the measuring compartment in any considerable
quantity until the level in the front has reached to the top of the bent pipe T,
up which it rises at the same time as in the compartment V; when it arrives
at the top it descends by the pipe T' at the back of the measuring chamber.
This pipe reaches to the true level of the water. To prevent the pipe T, T',
acting as a syphon, a small hole is pierced at Z in its upper surface, which
also serves to admit the requisite quantity of gas into the front compartment.
When the level in the measuring chamber descends below its true level, the
bottom of the pipe T, which releases or forces out sufficient water from the
front chamber into. the measuring compartment through the shaft bearing, to
bring the level up again and seal the pipe T¹.
The overplus water runs down the bent arm E of the syphon pipe or spout,
thence into the small trough P, which seals the bottom O of the syphon pipe
D, and when the trough P is filled, the overplus runs into the waste water
box Q, and thence, on withdrawing the screw R, through the waste water plug.
To prevent the water in the reservoir coming in contact with the leather
diaphragm in the arrangement shewn in Fig. 1, the ring of metal securing the
diaphragm is prolonged, or a ring of metal may be affixed thereto, projecting
about an inch or an inch and a half from the surface of the diaphragm, for the
purpose of, when filling the meter, and the level of the water reaches to the
bottom of the ring, the air within will be sealed, and having no vent, the
water cannot rise any higher within, and consequently will be prevented
from coming in contact with the diaphragm.
Whilst there is sufficient water in the front compartment the valve is kept
open by the float I, which is raised by the water, and at the same time lifts
the valve by the rod fixed to the top; but when the level of the water becomes
too low or to about the same level as in the measuring compartment, and con-
sequently containing no further supply to compensate for the evaporation, the
float follows the water level, and descending, closes the valve, thus preventing
any further gas entering.
Should the meter be tilted forward, the orifice of the pipe T¹ would be un-

page_text: sealed, and the gas would ascend into the top of the chamber V, and force out
the water into the measuring compartment; when overflowing the bent or
level pipe E, it would be precipitated into the waste water chamber Q, and the
gas would either be shut off by the float falling, or by the water rising in the
syphon pipe or spout.
Fig. 3 represents a meter identical to the one herein-before described, with
the addition of a regulator for controlling the passage of the gas, and keeping
it uniformly at any desired pressure.
The arrows indicate the passage of the gas which enters by the inlet pipe A,
thence through the valve B, along the pipe b, and passing through the regu-
lating valve into the chamber a, is conducted to the measuring wheel by the
syphon pipe or spout D, as in Figs. 1 and 2.
The conical valve j enlarges or contracts the space for the passage of the
gas according to its pressure, by means of the float Y, to which it is attached
by wires or other suitable contrivance. When the pressure of the
gas increases,
the oil or other liquid in the chamber 2 is depressed, and consequently with it
the float Y, the oil or other liquid rising in the chamber 3, no pressure being
upon it but that of the atmosphere.
The oil or other liquid in the float chamber 2 of the regulator is depressed
according to the pressure of the gas, and rises in the same ratio in the
chamber 3, upon which there is no pressure but that of the atmosphere. As
the float Y is attached to the valve j by wires or other suitable means, it
follows that the passage through the valve will be enlarged or contracted
according to the amount of depression of the liquid contained in the cham-
ber 2. The float I is guided at the top by a tube fitting over the stud M.
To prevent it raising too high and putting any strain upon the diaphragm,
the tube is made sufficiently long to come in contact with the casing, when the
valve is raised to its proper height.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of the Invention, and the
manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would have it understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details as herein-before described,
as the same may be varied without departing from my Invention; but what I
claim and desire to have secured to me is,―
Firstly, the application of a flexible or an elastic diaphragm to compensating
meters, for the purposes as herein-before described.
Secondly, having no hole or orifice below the water line expressly to
make a communication between the front and measuring compartments,
excepting that necessary for the play of the drum shaft in its bearing.

page_text: Thirdly, the application of a governor or pressure regulator to compensating
gas meters, substantially as hereiu-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hunter, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
(L.S.) WILLIAM HUNTER.
Witness,
JOSEPH WILLCOCK,
Patent Agent & Consulting Engineer,
89, Chancery Lane, London.