Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Aug., 1880.
Complete Left, 6th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 10th June, 1887.
I JAMES BOWIE, of 21 President Street, Goswell Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has reference to liquid meters of that class in which a wheel or frame,
carrying hinged or swivelled vanes or blades, rotates in a circular casing, each of the
vanes or blades being in turn first moved out against the wall of the casing to allow
the liquid which enters the casing to act upon it and then moved in by means of an
incline or cam so as to be flush with the periphery of the wheel or frame. The liquid
enters the casing at one part and after acting on the blades issues at another part and
the rotary movement which it imparts to the wheel or frame is transmitted to any
suitable counting or integrating apparatus.
In my improved meter the hinged or swivelled vanes or blades are constructed with
a tail or lever arm which extends behind the hinge or pivot and serves not only to
balance the vane, or practically so, but also to come against a fixed pin situated at
such a position that the contact of the tail or arm therewith causes the vane to move
out at the proper time for the incoming liquid to act against it. The vane or blade is
also formed with a segment which prevents the liquid passing into the space in the
centre of the wheel or frame and thence out at the other side of the frame. For the
same purpose of preventing the passage of the liquid across the wheel there is secured
to the top of the wheel a ring having one or more grooves around its periphery, and
this ring enters a circular recess in the cover of the apparatus. In order to prevent
or diminish noise the parts against which the vanes strike in closing are preferably
made of vulcanite or other analogous material. The meter is preferably horizontal
and the rotating wheel or frame is balanced on a steel centre. Its spindle is fitted
with a cup leather held down by a screw gland; this leather prevents the escape of
any liquid that tends to rise. Around that part of the casting in which the spindle
rotates a recess is formed to constitute an oil cup which is enclosed by a screw cap
or plug that carries the step bearing for the spindle. The bearing and spindle are thus
effectually lubricated.

page_text: In order that the inlet and outlet for the liquid may be diametrically opposite each
other and that the liquid may nevertheless strike tho vanes tangentially to the wheel,
a passage is carried from the inlet partly around the casing, this passage terminating
so as to deliver the liquid tangentially. There is a similar passage leading to the
outlet.
The meter is fitted, at the inlet orifice, with a uniform pressure valve of novel
construction. This is composed of a perforated casing in which a perforated spring
piston plug works. The liquid passes through the piston plug and thence through the
perforations of the casing but in proportion to the pressure of liquid upon the piston
plug this is more or less pushed into the casing and therefore closes more or less of
the perforations thereof.
The meter is also provided with a dirt box at the inlet side. This box contains two
concentric cones with a space between them. The liquid passes between the first cone
and the outside of the box and then finds its way back between the two cones and
thence into the channel leading to the meter, while the dirt becomes deposited in the
part of the box beyond the cones.
L 11-
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.
1 JAMES BOWIE, of 21 President Street, Goswell Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer 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:-
My invention has reference to liquid meters of that class in which a wheel or frame
carrying hinged or swivelled vanes or blades rotates in a circular casing each of the
vanes or blades being in turn first moved out against the wall of the casing to allow
the liquid which enters the casing to act upon it and then moved in by means of an
incline or cam so as to be flush with the periphery of the wheel or frame. The liquid
enters the casing at one part and after acting on the blades issues at another part and
the rotary movement which it imparts to the wheel or frame is transmitted to any
suitable counting or integrating apparatus.
In my improved meter the hinged or swivelled vanes or blades are constructed with
a tail or lever arm which extends behind the hinge or pivot and serves not only to

page_text: balance the vane or practically so, but also to come against a fixed pin situated at such
a position that the contact of the tail or arm therewith causes the vane to move out at
the proper time for the incoming liquid to act against it. The vane or blade is also
formed with a segmental web which prevents the liquid passing into the space in the
centre of the wheel or frame and thence out at the other side of the wheel. For the
same purpose of preventing the passage of the liquid across the wheel there is secured
to the top of the wheel a ring having one or more grooves around its periphery and
this ring enters a circular recess in the cover of the apparatus. In order to prevent
or diminish noise the parts against which the vánes strike in closing may be made of
vulcanite or other analogous material. The meter is preferably horizontal and the
rotating wheel or frame is balanced on a steel centre. Its spindle is fitted with a cup
leather held down by a screw gland; this leather prevents the escape of any liquid
that tends to rise. Around that part of the casing in which the spindle rotates a recess
is formed to constitute an oil cup which is enclosed by a screw cap or plug that carries
the step bearing for the spindle. The bearing and spindle are thus effectually
lubricated.
The accompanying drawings represent a meter constructed according to my
invention, Figure 1 being a plan with the cover in place, Figure 2 a plan with the
cover removed and some of the parts in section, and Figure 3 a section on the
line C D of Figure 2. Figures 4 and 5 are detail views. The casing is
composed of the base a and circular wall preferably cast in one piece and it is
provided with a cover c fixed thereto by screws d, d as seen in Figure 1. e is the
wheel or frame that carries the vanes or blades. It is mounted concentrically in the
casing a in which it is free to be rotated and it is of such diameter relatively to
the diameter of the casing as to leave sufficient space between them for the flow of
the liquid; one half or thereabouts of this space is however occupied by a segmental
block cast with or fixed to the wall b. y is the inlet for the liquid and the
outlet for the same. i i are the vanes or blades placed at equal distances apart around
the periphery of the wheel e; six of these vanes are shown but any other suitable
number may be employed; they are pivoted to the periphery of the wheel on pins k, k
or they may be otherwise attached to the wheel so as to be capable of moving out
and in as hereinafter described. Each vane (see the detail view Figure which
represents one of them in back view) is constructed with a tail or lever arm / which
extends behind the pin or pivot k and serves not only to balance the vane or
practically so but also to come by means of a projection m (see Figure 4) on the
underside against a fixed pin a situated at such a position that the contact of the
arm therewith causes the vane to move out at the proper time for the incoming
liquid to act upon it. The pin is fixed to a central circular boss o at the bottom of
the casing which boss fills up a large portion of the circular space within the
periphery of the wheel. Above the boss is a camp or guide against which the
ends of the tails or arms bear while the vanes i are in the outward position;
any liability of the vanes moving inwards at a wrong time is thus prevented. The
inward movement of the vanes is effectel by the incline on the end
segmental block against which each vane comes after passing the outlet h. The
vanes are each formed with a segmental web which by always filling up the slot
in the wheel's periphery which is required to enable the vanes to move prevents the
liquid passing into the space in the centre of the wheel and thence out at the
other side without being registered. For the same purpose a ring & is secured to
the top of the wheel having a groove (Figure 3) around its periphery; this
ring enters a circular recess in the cover c and acts as a sort of trap to prevent
the liquid passing. The spindle u of the wheel is mounted on a steel centre v.
upper end of this spindle u has a nick cut across it, as seen in Figure 2, and this
nick receives a corresponding fin or projection on the lower end of an upper
spindle which thus forms a continuation of the spindle u and rotates there-
The spindle is fitted with a cup leather held down by a screw
gland y this leather prevents the escape of any liquid that tends to rise. The
spindle carries the pinion z (or other device) which actuates any suitable counting
with.
the
The

page_text: or integrating apparatus. The spindles and wo may be made in one but I prefer
to make them separately as described so that the parts may be more readily got
at in case of need. Around that part of the casting in which the spindle u
rotates a recess a¹ is formed to constitute an oil cup which is enclosed by a screw
cap or plug that carries the steel centre or bearing v.
The spokes or radial arms of the wheel e are made as thin as practicable and
are feather edged so as to offer little resistance in passing through the dead water
contained in the centre of the wheel.
The inlet g and outlet for the liquid are diametrically opposite other and the
inlet is curved or inclined at its inner end, as shown, so that the liquid may strike the
vanes tangentially to the wheel. The outlet is correspondingly curved.
The meter is fitted at the inlet orifice with a uniform pressurevalve of novel
construction. This is composed of a perforated cone c¹ over which a concentric
cone d¹ works, the cone d which is shewn in end view in Figure 5 has webs or
wings e¹ that fit the pipe f¹ and is acted upon by a spring g' that tends to force it
outwards. The liquid passes between the webs of the cone d¹ and thence through the
perforations of the cone c', but, in proportion to the pressure of liquid upon the
cone d¹, this is more or less pushed inwards and it therefore, more or less, closes
the perforations in the cone c¹.
The meter is also provided with a dirt box g¹ with entrance h¹ at the inlet side. The
entrance h¹ is in communication with the space between the two concentric cones c¹
and d¹ and the dirt that tends to accumulate in the lower part of this space passes down
into the dirt box.
It is evident that my improvements are not necessarily all combined in the same
meter but I prefer that they should be so.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim, in
respect of meters of the kind or class herein referred to, is:-
1. Constructing the hinged or swivelled vanes or blades with a tail or lever arm
which extends behind the hinge or pivot, and providing a fixed pin for the said tail or
lever arm to come against when the vane or blade has to be moved outwards,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. Constructing the hinged or swivelled vanes or blades with a segmental web
substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
3. Securing to the top of the rotating wheel a ring with a grooved periphery, and
forming a circular recess in the meter cover to receive the ring substantially as and
for the purpose hereinbefore described.
4. The combination with the meter of a uniform pressure valve at the inlet orifice
constructed substantially as herein before described.
5. The combination with the meter of a dirt box at the inlet side substantially as
herein before described the said box receiving the dirt that tends to accumulate between
two concentric cones.
6. The combination of parts hereinbefore described forming an improved liquid
meter.
Dated this 29th day of April 1887.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.