IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METER INDEXES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Bertie Paterson, of No. 15, Arnold's
Place, Francis Street, Walworth, in the County of Surrey,
Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS METER
INDEXES."
Sealed the 18th September 1868, and dated the 24th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Bertie Paterson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th March 1868.
I, GEORGE BERTIE PATERSON, of No. 15, Arnold's Place, Francis
5 Street, Walworth, in the County of Surrey, Machinist, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS
METER INDEXES," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to allow consumers of gas to have a
safe index, easily read, and not liable to be put out of order. The index

page_text: tampered with.
The nature and description of my Invention consists in having three
or more revolving dials with figures from 0 to 9 marked near the edge
or rim thereof. The right hand dial represents hundreds, the second
or centre dial thousands, the third dial tens of thousands, and so on
in like decimal proportion for every other dial that would be added on
the left, in the usual manner of ordinary indexes. For small meters
I use three dials, the centre dial being placed behind the others and
partly covered by them, the rims of the side dials being brought nearly
together. When four dials are used the left dial would be placed partly
behind the third dial, a fifth dial partly before the fourth, and so on,
alternately placing one dial partly before or behind the other in order to
bring their edges respectively close to each other, but always leaving
the top figure on each dial clear. Each of the dials has a spindle
worked at both ends into a metal frame. Upon each of these spindles
(excepting the last on the left) are fitted two wheels, one having one
notch or tooth on its edge and the other ten notches or teeth, both
wheels revolving together. The wheel with one notch or tooth works
the neighbouring wheel of ten notches or teeth and causes it to revolve
once to every ten revolutions of the one toothed wheel, and so on to
cach of the other wheels in succession, the last spindle on the left
having only one wheel with ten notches or teeth. On the right of all
the dials is fitted another spindle having a wheel with one notch fitted
thereon that works into the adjoining wheel of ten notches or teeth.
On the same spindle is worked an eccentric cam with a lever and
friction roller to ride over it, and as the cam revolves the lever drops
down in its place and prevents the machinery from being reversed. I
would sometimes make the index with three wheels on each spindle
instead of two (excepting to the spindle on the extreme left, which
would have only two wheels). One of the wheels has only one notch or
tooth on its edge, and one pin by the side of the notch; the other two
wheels have ten teeth in each, one wheel being rather less in diameter
than the other, and into which the notch or tooth of the first wheel
works whilst the pin simultaneously acts against the teeth of the larger
wheel and revolves the same one-tenth. The other wheels are acted
upon in like manner in the decimal proportion herein described. Action
is given to both or either of these indexes in the usual manner by a shaft

page_text: from the meter with endless worm and pinion wheel, and a drum or
dial would be fitted at the top with pointer to show the number of feet
of gas that has passed through the meter. The index is enclosed and
attached to the meter, and is covered in front with a piece of glass
blackened or otherwise obscured at the back excepting where it covers
the top centre figure of each dial, such parts of the glass being left
transparent as well as the part over two cyphers marked on the right of
the other figures to make up the complement and denote the quantity
of gas that has passed through the meter, the whole of the figures seen
being read off in one line. All the other figures of the dials are out
of sight.