Improvements in Liquid Meters.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Aug., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 21st May, 1891-Accepted, 27th June, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Liquid Meters.
I, JOSEPH JOHN TYLOR, of 2 Newgate Street, in the City of London, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of positive or piston meters
in which two cylinders and pistons are employed, so arranged that the piston of
each cylinder operates the slide or other valve by means of which the liquid is
admitted to and released from the other cylinder; and my improvements consist in
certain means and arrangements, for actuating the valves by the pistons which,
enable me to reduce the size of a meter to measure satisfactorily a given volume of
liquid in a given time as compared with the size of such a meter as heretofore
constructed.
My improved means and arrangements for actuating the valves by the pistons, in
such meters, are of the following character :-It is well known that as the length of
the stroke of the pistons is usually considerably greater than that of the stroke of
the valves, and as the latter only require to be moved as the pistons approach the
end of their strokes, it is necessary to provide for a certain amount of lost motion
in the pistons; in other words it is necessary to arrange so that the pistons only
move the valves as the pistons approach the end of their strokes in either direction,
the remainder of the stroke of the pistons having no action on the valves whatever.
According to my present invention, I allow of the lost motion of the piston by
mounting a hollow sleeve on the piston and valve rod, either the piston rod or valve
rod being free to slide in such sleeve to the extent corresponding to the amount of
lost motion required, the movement of the valve being effected by pins or projections
on the piston or valve rod coming against stops in the sleeve. In some cases, I
arrange for part of the required lost motion being effected by the sliding of the
piston rod in the piston itself and part by the sliding of the valve rod in the valve
or, in a sleeve connected therewith, or by the sliding of the piston rod in a part
connected with the valve, or I otherwise divide the lost motion between the piston
and the valve, whereby I am enabled to save space and material. I also in some
cases provide for the necessary lost motion by causing the piston rod to push the
valve in one direction by direct action, and to draw it in the opposite direction by
means of a chain, cord or other suitable flexible material, such chain, cord, or flexible
material becoming slack when the piston moves in the opposite direction in order to
allow of the required lost motion.
Dated this 20th don of Aucn1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Liquid Meters.
I, JOSEPH JOHN TYLOR, of 2 Newgate Street, in the City of London, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say :-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of positive or piston meters
in which two cylinders and pistons are employed, so arranged that the piston
of each cylinder operates the slide or other valve by means of which the liquid is
admitted to and released from the other cylinder; and my improvements consist in
certain means and arrangements for actuating the valves by the pistons which
CD 077

page_text: enable me to reduce the size of a meter to measure satisfactorily a given volume of
liquid in a given time as compared with the size of such a meter as heretofore
constructed.
My improved means and arrangements for actuating the valves by the pistons, in
such meters, are of the following character :-It is well known that as the length of
the stroke of the measuring pistons is usually considerably greater than that of the
stroke of the valves, and as the latter only require to be moved as the pistons
approach the end of their strokes, it is necessary to provide for a certain amount of
lost motion in the pistons; in other words it is necessary to arrange so that the
pistons only move the valves as the pistons approach the end of their strokes in
either direction, the remainder of the stroke of the pistons having no action on the
valves whatever. According to my present invention, I allow of the lost motion of
the piston by mounting a hollow sleeve on the piston and valve rod, either the
piston rod or valve rod being free to slide in such sleeve to the extent corresponding
to the amount of lost motion required, the movement of the valve being effected by
pins or projections on the piston or valve rod coming against stops in the sleeve.
In some cases I arrange for part of the required lost motion being effected by the
sliding of the piston or valve rod in the piston itself and part by the sliding of the
valve rod in the valve or in a sleeve connected therewith, or by the sliding of
the piston rod in a part connected with the valve, or I otherwise divide the lost
motion between the piston and the valve, whereby I am enabled to save space and
material. I also in some cases provide for the necessary lost motion by causing the
piston rod to push the valve in one direction by direct action, and to draw it in the
opposite direction by means of a chain, cord or other suitable flexible material, such
chain, cord, or flexible material becoming slack when the piston moves in the opposite
direction in order to allow of the required lost motion.
And in order that the said invention may be fully understood I will now proceed
to describe the same with the aid of the accompanying sheet of drawings in
which
Figure 1 is a sectional plan, taken on line X X of Figure 2, of a meter with one
arrangement in accordance with my invention applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of same taken on line Y Y of
Figure 1.
Figures 3 and 4 are partial vertical sections showing somewhat modified
arrangements, and
Figure 5 is an elevation of a piston and the end of a valve rod with another form
of connection.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, A is the inlet pipe of the meter leading the water
into the valve case B, C the outlet pipe connected to the exhaust ports of both
slide valves D and E. F is the main measuring cylinder in which works the
piston F G is a shorter auxiliary cylinder with a piston G working therein.
The chief purpose of the cylinder G, and piston G¹ working therein, is to operate
the slide valve D governing the admission of water to, and its release from,
the front and back of the piston F' while the piston F1 operates, in the manner to
be hereinafter described, the valve E governing the admission of water to, and its
release from, the front and back of the piston G'. The piston G¹ is connected to
the valve D by the valve rod D', and as the stroke of the piston G' is only sufficient
to move the valve D to the required extent to open and close the ports this
connection may be of the ordinary kind, no lost motion having to be provided for.
But in the case of the piston Fl the stroke of the latter is so much greater than
that of the valve that lost motion has to be provided for, and for this purpose I
form a stem F2 on the piston F¹. This stem carries a projection or head F. The
valve rod E¹ may be connected at one end to the valve E in the ordinary way, and
at the other end is provided with a projection or head E2. A sleeve H is adapted
so that the valve rod E' and the stem F2 of the piston are free to slide therein until
their respective projections or heads come in contact with the stops formed by the
ends of the sleeve.

page_text: It will now be understood, by reference more especially to Figure 1, that the
piston F is supposed to have reached the end of its stroke to the right, the
stem and its head F³ pulling the sleeve H and with it the head E², rod E' and
valve E, in the same direction. When by this movement the slide valve E
has uncovered the port I (the longitudinal section of the valve E being similar to
that of the valve E in Figure 3) water will pass from the valve case B to the back
of the piston G' which will then move to the right, causing the valve D to open the
port J and to close the port K. Water will then pass from the valve case B to the
back of the piston F' and will move it to the left, but as the sleeve H is loose
on the stem F and rod E¹, the said stem either slides in the sleeve H, or the latter
slides on the rod E', or both actions take place together without the valve E being
moved, until the piston F¹ has moved far enough to bring the head F³ of the
stem F2 in contact with the head E. Further movement of the piston F¹
then causes the valve E to move to the left, covering the port I and uncovering the
port L by which water is admitted to the front of the piston G which is then
moved to the left, uncovering the port K by which water is re-admitted to
the front of the piston F¹. The piston F¹ then moves again to the right but
the stem F has no effect on the valve rod E' until the piston F¹ has moved
far enough to bring the head F³ against one end of the sleeve H and the other end
of the latter against the head E². Further motion of the piston F¹ then pulls the
valve E to the right until the port I is uncovered and the port L covered as
before.
If preferred, the sleeve H may be fixed either to the stem F2 of the piston,
or to the valve rod E. In the former case, the rod E¹ will be left free to slide in
the sleeve; in the latter case, the stem F' will be free so to slide.
The release of the water from both sides of the two pistons F1 and G' takes place
through the exhaust hollows in the valves D and E in the usual manner, which will
be well understood without further description.
In Figure 1, only one of the pistons is shown as having a stroke longer than the
valve it operates, and that piston alone is provided with the lost motion appliances
described, but it is obvious that, if preferred, both pistons may be arranged to
make strokes longer than those of the valves operated by them respectively, and
both may, in that case, be provided with the lost motion appliances already or to be
hereinafter described.
Figure 3 shows a modification of the lost motion appliances in which the
stem F2 of the piston F' is made hollow so as to take the place of the sleeve H, and
the valve rod E', instead of being connected to the valve E in the usual way,
is allowed to slide longitudinally therein to some extent so that the lost motion is in
this case divided between the piston on the one hand and the valve on the other.
It will be understood that the valve E in Figure 3 will be drawn to the right, as in
the figure, by the heads E2 and E³ of the rod E', bearing, the one against the left
hand end of the hollow in the stem F, and the other against the lug E' on the
valve E; and that the valve E will be moved to the left by the heads E' and E³
of the rod E', bearing, the one against the right hand end of the hollow in the
stem F, and the other against the lug E' on the valve E.
If preferred, the valve rod E' may be secured to the valve E in the usual way,
and the hollow in F made long enough to allow of the whole of the requisite lost
motion.
On the other hand, the valve rod E¹ may be connected at one end to the
piston F cr to its stem F2 and at the other end be arranged to slide in a hollow or
sleeve formed in, or secured to, the valve E.
The sleeve H, or the corresponding hollow in the stem F2, may be made with
open sides to facilitate the attachment of the heads or projections E2 and F³,
or it may be formed as an open frame or otherwise as may be preferred.
Figure 4 shows an arrangement in which the valve E is drawn to the right by a
chain H' connecting the piston F to the end of the valve rod E. and pushed in the
opposite direction by the part F3 on the piston F¹ coming in contact with the
::--

page_text: end E2 of the rod E¹, the chain H¹ at that time hanging slack; the lost motion
being provided by alternate tightening and slackening of the chain H¹, the
lost motion in either direction being equal to the distance passed over by the
piston F from the position in which the point F3 is in contact with the point E² in
which the chain H¹ is quite slack to that in which the chain is sufficiently tight to
move the valve.
Figure 5 shows another arrangement in which instead of a chain H' a metallic or
other suitable flexible band H2 is employed which, when the piston F' is moving to
the right and drawing the valve rod E' in the same direction, assumes the form of a
horizontal loop as shown in full lines in the figure; but when the piston is moving
in the opposite direction with the part F3 pressing against the end E2 of the rod E,
the said band H2 assumes the form of a more or less vertical loop as shown in
dotted lines in the figure, the amount of lost motion in either direction being, as in
the last case, equal to the distance passed over by the piston F1 from the position
in which the point F3 is in contact with the point E, in which the band H
assumes the vertically looped position, to that in which the band H2 assumes
the horizontally looped position."
Instead of a chain as shown at H' in Figure 4, a cord, band, or other suitable
flexible connecting device may be employed.
Similar letters of reference relate to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I desire to have
it understood that I am aware that certain methods have already been used for
enabling the pistons of water meters to operate valves having shorter strokes than
themselves by the application of the method of lost motion and that I make
no general claim to the application of such method to that purpose, but that what I
do claim is :-
First. For the purpose of enabling the piston of a meter to move the valve at or
near the end of the stroke of such piston, and to have no effect upon the valve
during any other part of the motion of such piston, the combination, with the
piston and valve-rod, of a hollow sleeve or frame in which a part of the piston, or a
part of the valve rod, or parts of both, are free to slide to an extent corresponding
to the amount of lost motion required without moving the valve as hereinbefore
described, and illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings.
Second. For the purpose of enabling the piston of a meter to move the valve at
or near the end of the stroke of such piston, and to have no effect upon the valve
during any other part of the motion of such piston, the combination of a hollow
stem or other part connected with the piston and a valve rod one end of which is
free to slide in such hollow stem either to the full extent of the lost motion
required, or only partly to that extent, the remainder of the lost motion being, in
that case, obtained by the sliding of the other end of the valve-rod in the valve
itself or in a sleeve or hollow part connected therewith, as hereinbefore described,
and illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings.
Third. For the purpose of enabling the piston of a meter to move the valve at
or near the end of the stroke of such piston, and to have no effect upon the valve
during any other part of the motion of such piston, connecting the piston with the
valve-rod by means of a chain, cord, band, or other flexible device which becomes
slack so as to allow the piston to push the valve in one direction by direct action,
and, becomes tight to enable it to draw the valve in the opposite direction,
substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of the
drawings.
Dated this 21st day of Mor 1801